No full-text available
To read the full-text of this research,
you can request a copy directly from the author.
Bhils of Southern Rajputana During British Raj
Abstract
In Rajputana, Bhils mostly resided in southern belt of its territory consisting of the then Udaipur, Dungarpur, Banswara and Sirohi states. Traditionally, rulers hardly interfered in their way of life though there was interaction of the Bhils with the state. Rise of British power led these states to form alliance with it for protection from other regional powers. Till 1818, almost states accepted the suzerainty of British government. Consequently, these states came to be known as princely states. Relationship formed on this pattern subsequently gave access to British power to exploit these tribal belts on various pretexts for its interests. Bhils living in these princely states could not tolerate interference of British authority in their traditional rights and life. Therefore, British policies became the focal point of dissatisfaction among Bhils. Aggrieved over policies framed by princely states in accordance with British directions, Bhils raised the flag of rebellion against princely states and British Government. From 1818 onwards, Bhil revolts against authorities became frequent in the southern princely states of Rajputana. This paper deals with British policies, resentment of Bhills, their revolts and movements against de facto power during British Raj.
In Indian history one of the crucial dimensions of tribal relations with the British reflects in resentment and protest against the former. The protest is recorded primarily as armed struggle which is evident from such dictions as tribal revolt, insurrection, insurgency, uprising, etc. The petition mode of protest which the Bhils and Santals, if we see the history, had adopted did not get prominence. Similarly, reform mode of protest launched by Bhagirath Manjhi, Birsa Munda, Jatra Oraon, Govind Giri (Guru). Haikou Jadonang and Rani Gaidinliu did not get due place in the history of tribal resistance to colonial rule. Instead, protests through reform have been presented as revival or socio-religious movements. In the beginning of these movements socio-religious reforms appeared prominent which attracted huge followers. But subsequently, leaders of the movement directed the course to resist all types of exploitation in the colonial rule which they also justified through religious teachings. They exhorted their followers not to pay tax, supply forced labour, etc. This not only changed the form of the movement but linked it with the then ongoing struggle for Independence. Tribal freedom fighters joined various phases of the freedom struggle of the nation and played crucial role therein. It is therefore argued that resistance with socio-religious reform was a tribal strategy of freedom from colonial rule and claims an understanding in totality and in pan-Indian context. In view of this, five reform movements under the messianic leadership of Bhagirath Manjhi, Birsa Munda, Jatra Oraon, Govind Giri (Guru) Jadonang and Rani Gaidinliu have been examined in this paper.KeywordsForeign ruleTribal resistanceMass resistanceCapital punishmentSocio-religious movementsEast India companyPolitical disturbanceFreedom movementBritish GovernmentPolitical agitationChristian missionariesMoneylenders
Focusing on recent debates over the ways in which subaltern groups engage with the state in India, the article proposes that it is imperative to historicise our conceptions of subaltern politics in India. More specifically, the argument is made that it is imperative to recognise that subaltern appropriations of the institutions and discourses of the state have a longer historical lineage than what is often proposed in critical work on popular resistance in rural India. The article presents a detailed analysis of Adivasi rebellions in colonial western India and argues that these took the form of a contentious negotiation of the incorporation of tribal communities into an emergent “colonial state space.” The conclusion presents a sketch of a Gramscian approach to the study of how subaltern politics proceeds in and through determinate state-society relations.
Office of the superintendent of Government printing
- R Gazetteer
Protest movements of the Bhils under the British “Raj”. Publication Scheme
- L P Mathur
- LP Mathur
A text-book of Indian History: With geographical notes, genealogical tables examination questions and chronological, biographical, geographical and general indexes
- G U Pope
Process of tribal unification and integration: A case study of the Bhils
- S L Doshi
- SL Doshi
Imperial Gazetteer of India, provincial series
- K D Erskine
- KD Erskine
The political movements and awakening in Rajasthan
- K S Saxena
Bhil villages of Western Udaipur: A study in resistance to social change
- G M Carstairs
- GM Carstairs
The causes of discontent among the Bhils of Southern Rajputana (1818-1900)
- P D Gupta
The Meywar Bhil corps
- H L Showers
The Bhil rebellion of 1881
- H Sen
Social and political awakening among the Bhils of Mewar State during 1930-48
- H S Sharma
The Bhils in colonial Mewar
- H Sen
The Maharana and Bhils; The Eki movement in Mewar
- H Sen