Causes
- Threat to the livelihood of the people by the colonial government due to the enactment of the forest laws and the forest reservation proposal
- Exploitation of people and excessive revenue demands
- Degradation of the Bastar king who was regarded as an incarnation of God
- Famines of 1899-1900 and 1907-1908
The Bhumkal rebellion
How did the rebellion happen?
The Bhumkal was the seventh and last rebel movement against British colonial rule in the region of the princely state of Bastar. The uprising of February to mid-May 1910, mainly by members of indigenous tribes . It was the largest in a series of regional rebellions in the last 150 years
- The rebellion was spread in almost 46 out of 84 parganas.
- Important figures- Lal Kalendra Singh and Gundadhur
- Mango boughs, a lump of earth, chillies and arrows were circulated among villages as invitations to join the rebellion.
- Markets were looted, houses of officials and traders, schools and police stations were robbed and redistributed.
Important figure - Gunda Dhur
How did the British react?
- It took the British 3 months to regain control. (march - may)
- The people who took part in the rebellion were severely punished
- On 6th march, military campaign began against the tribals.
- Wearing of sword and bow and arrow was banned
- Heavy collective fine was imposed on 838 villages.
Tribal of Bastar
70% of the total population of Bastar comprises of tribals, which is 26.76% of the total tribal population of Chhattisgarh. The major tribes of the Bastar region are the Gond, Abhuj Maria and Bhatra.
Outcomes
Tribes
The people of Bastar believe that land is a gift from Mother Earth to humans, and that humans should respect this gift. They look after their forests with great affection and care.
- Dhurwas
- Dandami Maria
- Dorla
- Despite the leadership of Gunda Dhur the rebellion was not systematically planned and thus it was the main reason for its defeat.
- the rebellion did not grow from one region to another as it was expected to nor did the leadership try to consolidate the areas under control. Lack of investment in arms also became a limitation
- a major victory for the tribals was the temporary suspension of the forest reservation policy
LOCATION
Credits
Making of the Presentation - Japnit
Following information has been provided by the following students:
Location and basic intro of Bastar -Hritwik
Tribal culture of Bastar - Hriday
More about the tribes - Hritwik
Introduction of the Bhumkal rebellion - Hriday
Causes of the Bhumkal rebellion - Japnit
How did the rebellion take place - Oishani
How did the British react- Japnit
Outcomes - Rajat
THE BASTAR REBELLION -1910