The Bhumij Tract - a land of unheard rebellions

According to the National Health Systems Resource, by the 2011 census, about 90 districts across the country have a Scheduled Tribe population that exceeds 50%. The top 10 Indian states, according to the same census, having the highest tribal population in the country, are as follows: 

1. Madhya Pradesh (~15.3 million)
2. Maharashtra (~10.5 million)
3. Odisha (~9.6 million)
4. Rajasthan (~9.2 million)
5. Gujarat (~8.9 million)
6. Jharkhand (~8.6 million)
7. Chhattisgarh  (~7.8 million)
8. Andhra Pradesh (~5.9 million)
9. West Bengal (~5.3 million)
10. Karnataka (~4.2 million)

A population as large as that of Zimbabwe is the largest tribal number in India. And the same census report stated that there were about 704 distinct Scheduled Tribe communities in India in 2011. This post shall focus on an area that's rich in natural resources, exploited brutally by post-independence politics, a burning hell for Maoist-affected states, and a land of rebellions that was beyond the revolutionaries and INC sessions - the Bhumij tract. 

Right from the beginning of the Chuar Rebellions (1766-1833) to the Kol Uprising (1831-1833), the Ganga Narayan Hungama (1832-1833) to the great Santal Rebellion (1855-1856), the Chota Nagpur Uprising (1857-1859), and Birsa Munda's Ulgulan (1899-1900), the Bhumij districts of Singhbhum, Dhalbhum, Manbhum, Barabhum, and Birbhum have challenged the British authorities, creating a parallel but lesser-known freedom movement in colonial India. 

The Chota (or Chutia) Nagpur region or the Bhumij tract, during the colonial era, consisted of the following districts: 

1. Chang Bhakar (part of today's Koriya district, Chhattisgarh)
2. Korea (part of today's Koriya district, Chhattisgarh)
3. Sirguja (today's Surguja, Surajpur, Balrampur districts of Chhattisgarh)
4. Jashpur (in Chhattisgarh)
5. Udaipur (part of today's Raigarh district, Chhattisgarh)
6. Gangpur (part of today's Sundargarh district of Odisha and Simdega of Jharkhand)
7. Lohardaga (Gumla, Lohardaga, Khunti and Ranchi districts of Jharkhand)
8. Singhbhum (Purba and Paschim Singhbhum and Saraikela-Kharsawan district, Jharkhand)
9. Manbhum (part of Puruliya district, West Bengal)
10. Hazaribagh (Hazaribag, Ramgarh, Bokaro, parts of Giridih and Dhanbad, Jharkhand)

The region generates over 80% of the country’s coal, yet it has been embroiled in numerous conflicts and political dramas surrounding coal. This history dates back to the British era, with a notable difference: the absence of numerous powerful players. Coal extraction began in 1774, making it easier for the British to monopolise this rich natural resource without competition. This monopoly led to assumed rights for mapping and surveying, resulting in encroachment and agitation among tribal communities, particularly in the Raniganj-Rajmahal belt of today’s eastern Jharkhand.

One prominent figure in this period of revolt was Tilka Manjhi, who famously shot the Bhagalpur collector and magistrate, Augustus Clevland, during the 1784 uprising. While this conflict raged in the east, the Chota Nagpur region also resisted. The Paharia (1772-1780) and Chuar (1766-1809) rebellions were among the earliest expressions of freedom from the tribal hinterlands of India.

Despite these armed rebellions occurring nearly a century before the popular 1857 uprising, the Bhumij people remained largely unrecognised in the annals of history. Out of the 54 annual sessions of the Indian National Congress held from its inception in 1888 to 1947, only one session in 1940 took place in the Bhumij belt, at Ramgarh, chaired by Abul Kalam Azad. Several factors contributed to this disconnect. The tribal communities were largely isolated from the mainland masses, and there was a lack of understanding of their language. Additionally, the Bhumij region had a non-Hindu or non-Muslim majority, which further marginalised it in the national consciousness.

The focus of the independence movement, which later became a significant part of post-independence history, was primarily on select provinces, largely from the perspective of the INC. Consequently, the struggles and sacrifices of the Bhumij people were overshadowed and forgotten. 

Another reason for the British victories was that most of these leaders who fought against them were clan-based and focused solely on their groups. For example, Tilka Manjhi fought for the Santhals (Santhal Hool) in 1784, Raja Jagannath for the Sauria Paharias in 1778, and Ganga Narayan Singh for the Bhumij communities in 1832-33. Birsa Munda, however, was the only leader whose agitation, while focused around the Mundas, also attracted other tribes, especially the Oraons and Kharias, due to his new faith and call for social reform.

Interestingly, all these rebellions took place in different districts of today’s Jharkhand. Despite their efforts, each rebellion faced crushing defeat at the hands of the British. The Santhal Hool of 1784 resulted in Tilka Manjhi’s capture and execution, but the revolt became an enduring symbol of tribal resistance. The Pahariya rebellion of 1778-82, suppressed by the British, led to a review of forest encroachment laws. Additionally, rebellions against the rising feudalism, jagirdari, and landlord system, such as the Kol Uprising of 1831-32, along with British influence, targeted exploitation. This led to the formation of the Kolhan Government Estate in 1837, a combination of Porahat (in Jharkhand), Saraikhela (in Jharkhand), Kharsawan (in Jharkhand), and Mayurbhanj (in Odisha). 

One major drawback of their struggles against imperialism was that their rebellions focused on eradicating local issues rather than uniting the entire nation to form an independent nation. This was because the concept of ‘nation’ for the tribes differed from that of other Indians. Their allegiance was to their tribal chieftains, not Delhi or Calcutta. Another key reason was the disconnect in language, which bound the sociopolitical sphere of British India. The majoritarian Hindi belt was different from the multi-linguistic region of Chotanagpur, where languages such as Santali, Mundari, Ho, Kharia, Kurush, Sadri, and Kurmali were spoken. Even the scripts of these languages, such as Ol Chiki (for Santali), Mundari Bani (for Mundari), Warang Citi (for Ho), Kaithi (pre-20th century for Sadri), and so on, were incomprehensible to Hindi speakers. 

Another reason for not discussing Chotanagpur and Bhumij regions extensively in chapters of the Indian independence movement was that the majority of the region was made up of Princely States. By 1947, while larger districts like Palamau, Ranchi, Singhbhum, Manbhum, and Hazaribagh were part of the British province of Bihar, numerous smaller states such as Saraikela, Kharaswan, Surguja, Jashpur, Udaipur, Raigarh, and Gangpur were Princely States. These Princely States were grouped under the Eastern States Agency. Consequently, the political uprising primarily focused on the more developed and advanced region of Bihar, which had always been centred around Patna and its surroundings. Economically, these regions were also among the most backward and impoverished, further contributing to the situation.

The agitation did not end with independence but continued to evolve. The demand for Jharkhand as a separate state had originated in Hazaribagh in 1912, initiated by students from St. Columbia College. This demand was finally realised in 2000. However, the most intriguing story is the demand for a separate nation of Kolhan, which resurfaced most recently in 2017. The movement had been ongoing for 40 years since 1977, aiming to declare the three districts of West Singhbhum, East Singhbhum, and Seraikela-Kharsawan as a separate ‘Kolhanistan’. Ramo Birua, an 80-year-old leader of an underground movement, declared himself the de facto ruler of Kolhanistan. On 30th March 1981, another leader, Narayan Jonko, declared it as a separate nation. Such separatist movements have been closely monitored by the police, who track their supporters and leaders.