Kingsman3 at 11:44, 14 November 2022

2022-11-14T11:44:36Z

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{{Infobox event
|title = Chuar rebellion
|image = Midnapore Railway Station Area - West Midnapore - 2015-02-25 6086.JPG
|image_size = 300px
|caption = A memorial to the rebellion in [[Midnapore]]
|date = 1771-1809
|location = [[Midnapore]], [[Bankura]] and [[Manbhum]]
|motive = Land revenue policies of the [[East India Company]] (EIC
|Participants = Inhabitants of the [[West Bengal]]i countryside
|Result = Suppression of the rebellion by the EIC
}}

The '''Chuar rebellion''' was a series of [[List of peasant revolts|peasant rebellions]] between 1771 and 1809 by the inhabitants of the countryside surrounding the [[West Bengal]]i settlements of [[Midnapore]], [[Bankura]] and [[Manbhum]] against the [[Company rule in India|rule]] of the [[East India Company]] (EIC).<ref name="sengupta"> History of the Bengali-speaking People by Nitish Sengupta, first published 2001, second reprint 2002, UBS Publishers’ Distributors Pvt. Ltd. pages 187-188, {{ISBN|81-7476-355-4}}</ref> The rebels rose in revolt due to the exploitative land revenue policies of the EIC, which threatened their economic livelihoods.<ref name="forward">{{cite web | url = https://www.forwardpress.in/2018/07/an-early-freedom-struggle-that-is-still-not-free-of-the-chuar-label/ | title = An early freedom struggle that is not free of the ‘Chuar’ label | publisher = Forward Press |accessdate = 11 September 2020}}</ref>

Prior to the [[Colonial India|arrival of Europeans]] on the [[Indian subcontinent]], the Bengali countryside (comprised primarily of hills and rainforests) were not directly controlled by the [[Mughal Empire|Mughal authorities]]. Local rulers, who paid [[tribute]] to the Mughals, held control over the area. In turn, the local rulers granted to inhabitants of the countryside tax-free lands in exchange for the military protection they provided to the former. The recipients of these land grants were called [[Paika (community)|Paika]]. However, after the East India Company annexed [[Bengal]] in the aftermath of the [[Seven Years' War]] and incorporated the region into the [[Bengal Presidency]], the Company administration stipulated that local rulers would now collect taxes from the Paika, which would go into the Company coffers. In response, the Paika [[Paika Rebellion|rose in revolt]], earning the derogatory nickname "Chuars" (meaning uncivilised in [[Bengali language|Bengali]]).<ref>{{cite web | url = https://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/e/9780203826010/chapters/10.4324/9780203826010-23 | title = The politics of belonging in India | publisher = Taylor & Francis Group |accessdate = 11 September 2020}}</ref><ref name="forward"/>

According to L.S.S. O’Malley, an EIC administrator who wrote the ''Bengal District Gazetteer'', "In March 1766 Government resolved to send an expedition into the country west and north-west of Midnapore in order to coerce them into paying revenue, and to capture and demolish as many of their strongholds as possible."<ref name="forward"/> Amongst the many dispossessed ''[[zamindar]]s'', those who lent support to the rebels included royalty such as Jagannath Singh of Dampara (Dhalbhum), Durjan Singh of Raipur, Baidyanath Singh of Dhalbhum, Managat Singh of Panchet, Raghunath Singh of Dhalbhum, Ganga Narayan Singh of Birbhum, Dubraj Singh of Birbhum, the Rani Shiromani of Karnagarh and Raja Madhu Singh of Manbhum.<ref name="sengupta"/>

==See also==
* [[History of Bankura district#Chuar rebellion]]
* [[Karnagarh#History]]
* [[Gongoni Danga#Rebel stronghold]]
* [[Bhumij revolt]]
* [[Ganga Narayan Singh]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

[[Category:History of Bengal]]
[[Category:Rebellions in India]]

{{WestBengal-stub}}

Chuar rebellion - Revision history

Kingsman3 at 11:44, 14 November 2022