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(Redirected from Bhumij revolt) 1832-33 Indian Tribal Rebellion

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Bhumij Rebellion
Part of Indian independence movement
Location	Jharkhand, West Bengal 22°54′15″N 86°12′59″E / 22.90417°N 86.21639°E / 22.90417; 86.21639
Commanded by	Ganga Narayan Singh
Objective	Self-governance
Date	1832–1833
Outcome	Surrendered and estates transferred to Burdwan District & Manbhum District
Casualties	Unknown

Barabhum, Dhalbhum, Manbhum & SinghbhumLocation of the rebellion

The Bhumij Rebellion, also known as Jungle Mahal Uprising or Ganga Narain's Hungama was a revolt during 1832–1833 by Bhumij tribals based in the Dhalbhum and Jungle Mahal areas of the Midnapore district of the erstwhile Bengal state. It was led by Ganga Narayan Singh.

The British have called it "Ganga Narayan's Hungama" while historians have also written it as the Chuar rebellion. The word 'Hungama' (হাঙ্গামা) in Bangla means 'disturbance'.

Background

Chuar Rebellion

Main article: Chuar Rebellion

The Chuar Rebellion began in 1767 in Dhalbhum and Barabhum, spreading to nearby districts like Manbhum and Midnapore, led by leaders such as Jagannath Singh Patar and Subal Singh. The rebellion intensified between 1782-85 under Mangal Singh and peaked in 1798-99 with leaders like Durjan Singh, Lal Singh, and Mohan Singh. Despite its strength, the uprising was eventually crushed by the British forces.

Barabhum Raj

Main article: Ganga_Narayan_Singh § Barabhum_Raj

Raja Vivek Narayan Singh of Barabhum had two sons, Lakshman Narayan and Raghunath Narayan, who fought for succession after his death. Though Lakshman was the rightful heir according to tradition, the British supported Raghunath, leading to Lakshman’s exile. His son, Ganga Narayan Singh, later led a revolt against the British East India Company.

Rebellion

Ganga Narayan was the first leader to fight against the Company rule and exploitation policy, who first formed the Sardar Gorilla Vahini Sena. On which there was support of every caste. Jirpa Laya was appointed as the chief commander of the army. Dhalbhum, Patkum, Shikharbhum, Singhbhum, Panchet, Jhalda, Bamni, Baghmundi, Manbhum, Ambika Nagar, Amiyapur, Shyamsunderpur, Phulkusma, Raipur and Kashipur's Raja-Maharaja and Zamindars supported Ganga Narayan Singh. Ganga Narayan attacked and killed the Diwan of Barabhum and British broker Madhab Singh in Vandih on April 2, 1832 AD. After that, along with Sardar Vahini, the court of Barabazar Muffasil, the office of salt inspector and the police station were handed over to the front.

The Collector of Bankura, Russell, arrived to arrest Ganga Narayan. But the Sardar Vahini army surrounded him from all sides. All the English army were killed. But Russell somehow escaped to Bankura after saving his life. This movement of Ganga Narayan took the form of a storm, which trampled the British regiments in Chhatna, Jhalda, Akro, Ambika Nagar, Shyamsundarpur, Raipur, Phulkusma, Shilda, Kuilapal and various places in Bengal. The impact of his movement was vigorous in places like Purulia, Bardhman, Medinipur and Bankura in Bengal, entire Chotanagpur in Bihar (now Jharkhand), Mayurbhanj, Keonjhar and Sundergarh in Orissa. As a result, the entire Jungle Mahal was out of the control of the British. Everyone started supporting Ganga Narayan as a true honest, heroic, patriot and social worker.

Eventually the British had to send an army from Barrackpore Cantonment, which was sent under the leadership of Lieutenant Colonel Kapoor. The army was also defeated in the conflict. After this Ganga Narayan and his followers expanded the scope of their action plan. The commissioner baton of Bardhaman and the commissioner hunt of Chotanagpur were also sent but they too could not succeed and had to face defeat in front of the Sardar Vahini army.

From August 1832 to February 1833, the entire Jungle Mahal remained disturbed at Chotanagpur in Bihar (now Jharkhand), Purulia, Bardhman, Medinipur, Bankura in Bengal, Mayurbhanj, Keonjhar and Sundergarh in Orissa. The British tried in every way to suppress Ganga Narayan Singh, but the British could not stand in front of Ganga Narain's cleverness and fighting skills. The commissioners of Bardhadman, Chotanagpur and Orissa (Raipur) escaped after being defeated by Ganga Narayan Singh. Thus the struggle was so fast and effective that the British were compelled to withdraw the land sale law, inheritance law, excise duty on lac, salt law, jungle law.

At that time Thakur Chetan Singh of Kharsawan was running his rule in collusion with the British. Ganga Narain went to Porahat and Singhbhum and organized the Kol (Ho) tribes there to fight against Thakur Chetan Singh and the British. On February 6, 1833, Ganga Narain attacked the Hindshahar police station of Thakur Chetan Singh of Kharsawan with the Kol (Ho) tribes, but unfortunately died on the same day while fighting against the British and the rulers till the last breath of his life.

Thus on February 7, 1833, a mighty, mighty warrior who took iron against the British, the hero of the Bhumij rebellion (also Chuar rebellion), Ganga Narayan Singh, left his indelible mark and became immortal.

Aftermath

Main article: Jungle Mahals

By Regulation XIII of 1833, the district of Jungle Mahals was broken up. The estates of Senpahari, Shergarh and Bishnupur were transferred to Burdwan District and the remainder constituted the Manbhum District.

References

"Jungle Mahal Uprising, 1832-33". INDIAN CULTURE. Archived from the original on 2024-01-12. Retrieved 2025-01-10.
Orans, Martin (May 1969). "The Bhumij Revolt (1832–33): (Ganga Narain's Hangama or Turmoil). By Jagdish Chandra Jha. Delhi: Munshiram Manoharlal, 1967. xii, 208 pp. Map, Glossary, Bibliography, Index, Errata". The Journal of Asian Studies. 28 (3): 630–631. doi:10.2307/2943210. ISSN 1752-0401. JSTOR 2943210. S2CID 161861350.
Kumar, Akshay (2021-06-18). "Bhumij Revolt & Santhal Rebellion | Jharkhand". Edvnce. Retrieved 2022-03-21.
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Guha, Abhijit. "Article on Chuar Rebellion in Forward Press(PDF).pdf".
"1248929 | रांची : चुआड़ विद्रोह के महानायक शहीद रघुनाथ व गंगा नारायण को सम्मान देगी सरकार". 2021-01-12. Archived from the original on 2021-01-12. Retrieved 2022-07-23.
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Aquil, Raziuddin; Mukherjee, Tilottama (2020-02-25). An Earthly Paradise: Trade, Politics and Culture in Early Modern Bengal. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-000-07180-1.
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