The Chuar uprising was a series of peasant rebellions against the East India Company that took place between 1771 and 1809 in the area around the West Bengali villages of Midnapore, Bankura, and Manbhum. The rebels rose in revolt in response to the East India Company’s oppressive land revenue policy, which endangered their economic survival. Chuar Uprising is also called Jungle Mahal Revolt.
Chuar Uprising – Background
- The Chuars were Bhumij tribes descended from the Mundari mainstream.
- After leaving the Chotanagpur plateau, they settled in considerable numbers in the Bengal districts of Midnapur, Bankura, and Purulia.
- These people were primarily farmers and hunters, with some working for local zamindars.
- The Chuars were an important ethnic group in Manbhum and Barabhum, particularly in the highlands between Barabhum and Ghatsila.
- They owned their holdings under a form of feudal tenure, but they were not very committed to the land, being willing to switch from farming to hunting at the whim of their jungle chiefs or zamindars.
- These forest zamindars were used to recruit Chuars as paiks (guards who policed the community). Sardars were the name given to the chief paiks.
- The Chuar uprisings took place in stages, each with its own set of traits, leaders, and epicenter.
Chuar Uprising
- The first Chuar uprising erupted in response to the jungle zamindars’ increased earnings. The money was difficult to generate because the forest region produced little.
- Furthermore, in 1767, the British residents of Midnapur were ordered to demolish their mud forts, which infuriated the zamindars.
- In 1768, Jagannath Singh, the zamindar of Ghatsila (or the monarch of Dhalbhum), led a rebellion with thousands of Chuar supporters. The Company’s government surrendered.
- The Chuar sardars, Shyam Ganjan of Dhadka, Subla Singh of Kaliapal, and Dubraj, rose in revolt in 1771. However, the uprising was put down this time.
- Durjan (or Durjol) Singh led the most major revolt in 1798.
- The East India Company’s tax and administrative policies (including the Permanent Settlement), as well as the police restrictions enforced in rural Bengal, rendered the practice of employing local paiks obsolete since they were eventually replaced by professional police.
- In the Chuar uprising of 1798, disgruntled paiks and common Chuars banded together with the jungle zamindars.
- Durjan Singh was the zamindar of Raipur, which he lost due to the actions of the Bengal Regulations.
- In May 1798, his supporters, a group of 1,500 Chuars, engaged in violent operations in Raipur to prevent the auction of Raipur’s estate.
- In 1799, the British violently repressed the insurrection. Other Chuar chiefs were Madhab Singh, the raja of Barabhum’s brother; Raja Mohan Singh, zamindar of Juriah; and Lachman Singh of Dulma.
- The individuals involved in the uprisings were all connected to the land in some way: zamindars, paiks, and common Chuars.
- It may be said that there was a collision of lifestyles. The rebels had previously lived an agricultural lifestyle, in a small community.
- The invasion of colonial armies into their territory introduced them to a new circumstance that disrupted their way of life.
- They were also unwilling to accept foreigners (or non-Adivasis).
- Some historians believe the epithet ‘Chuar’ to be disparaging, and instead, refer to this as the Revolt of the Jungle Mahal.
Conclusion
With the assistance of local landlords, the British were able to quash the uprising with maximum severity and deception. In the process, around 200 insurgents were executed. Some historians oppose the name “Chuar ” being used to describe this uprising since it was a disparaging epithet employed by the ruling class. Some wish to call this uprising the ‘Freedom Struggle of the JangalMahal.’
