Western India also witnessed tribal unrest, which expressed itself in the following ways
BHIL UPRISING (1817-19)
The Bhils were mostly concentrated in the hill ranges of Khandesh. The British occupation of Khandesh in 1818 enraged the Bhils because they were suspicious of outsiders’ incursion into their territory.
It was believed that Trimbakji, rebel minister of Baji Rao II, instigated the Bhils against the British occupation of Khandesh. The British Government used its military force to suppress the rebels and at the same time tried to win them over through various conciliatory measures. But, the British measures failed to bring the Bhils to their side.
KUTCH REBELLION (1819)
The people in Kutch rose against the British in 1819, when they deposed Rao Bharmal and placed his infant son on the throne. The masses got violent and the British had to opt for conciliation.
RAMOSI UPRISINGS (1822-26)
Ramosis were hill tribes of the Western Ghats. They first revolted under their leader Chittur Singh in 1822, resisting the new British administration. Another pattern of the Ramoshi rebellion took place between 1825-26 and 1829. Once again Ramoshi uprising took place in the 1840s, to oppose the deposition of Raja Pratap Singh of Satara.
Later in 1879, a Maharashtrian Vasudev Balawant Phadke had some English education and was influenced by MG Ranade’s lectures on the drain of wealth. By the experience of the famine of Deccan of 1876-77, organized an anti-British uprising with the support of some Brahman youths and many low caste Ramosis and Dhangars. It is the case of a short-lived concord between conscious intelligentsia nationalism and plebeian militancy.
FAQIR UPRISING (1776-77)
They were a group of wandering Muslim religious mendicants. Manum Shah the leader of faqirs, defied the British authority and levied contributions on zamindars and peasants. Later, the faqirs under Chirag Ali Shah gained considerable strength and attacked English factories. The faqirs were finally brought under British control at the start of the 19th century.
WAHABI MOVEMENT (1820-70)
Syed Ahmed (1786-1831) was the founder of Wahabi Movement in India. In 1820-21, he began to preach doctrines of religious reforms.
His fundamental creed was that India being an enemy territory (Dar-ul- harb), was incumbent on Muslims or his followers either to wage a war against the infidel and the British or to migrate to some other Muslim country. In 1830, he captured Peshawar, but in the following year, he was killed in the Battle of Balakot.
KITTUR REBELLION (1824-29)
Kittur is located in the present state of Karnataka. The British prevented the adopted son of the local chief of Kittur from assuming the throne by taking over the administration. Rani Chennamma of Kittur fought fiercely but was captured and imprisoned at Bailhongal fort.
KHOND UPRISINGS (1846-55)
The Khonds lived in vast hill tracts stretching from Tamil Nadu to Bengal and covering Central Provinces. Their uprisings from 1837 to 1856, were directed against the British in which the tribals actively participated.
The movement was led by Chakra Bisoi in the name of Young Raja. The main issue was government the attempt to suppress human sacrifice (Mariah), the introduction of new taxes by the British and the influx of zamindars and chukars into their areas, which was causing the tribals untold misery. Chakra Bisoi disappeared in 1855, after which the movement petered out Another important leader of the revolt was Radhakrishna Dandasena.
SATARA REVOLT (1830)
The people of Satara rose in revolt under Dhar Rao in 1840. Narsing Patekar led the Revolt in 1844. He was defeated and captured by the British.
KUKA REVOLT (1863-72)
It was started by Bhagat Jawahar Mal in about 1840. The aim was to purify the Sikh religion by removing the superstitions and abuses from it. After the annexation of Punjab, the revival of Sikh sovereignty became the chief programme. In the 1870s, one of their leaders, Ram Singh, put up a stiff resistance. He was caught and deported to Rangoon.
KOYA REBELLION (1879-80)
It occurred in 1879-80 in the Eastern Godavari tract of present-day Andhra Pradesh and also affected some districts of Orissa. The rebellion was led by Tomma Sora and reflected problems faced by tribals, like erosion of customary rights over forests, police extortions, exploitation by moneylenders and new excise regulations restricting domestic production of toddy. Sora was shot dead by the police and the movement collapsed, but only with the use of six regiments of the Madras infantry.
JATRA BHAGAT AND TANA BHAGAT MOVEMENTS (1914-15)
These movements developed among the Oraons of Chhotanagpur during the period of World War I. The Mundas joined the Oraons in open revolt with the news of the beginning of World War I. A movement was started by Jatra Bhagat in 1914, calling for monotheism, abstention from meat, liquor and tribal dance. The movement called for a Return to shifting cultivation. It took a more Millenarian character with the rumour of the arrival of a saviour.
The Jatra Bhagat Movement was suppressed by the British Government but the more pacific Tana Bhagat Movement survived from 1915 onwards. The Tana Bhagat movement combined some form of Sanskritisation with radical Millenarian ideals.
The message of the Tana Bhagat Movement was that God would send a most powerful and benevolent delegate to the Earth to redeem the Oraons from the miserable conditions (this saviour was identified with Birsa Munda or German Qaiser and it was believed that he would expel all foreigners from the tribal territories.
RAMPA REBELLION (1922-24)
A unique example of tribal militancy came from the Rampa region North of Godavari, which had witnessed various uprisings in the 19th century. In 1916, it saw a revolt that was a prelude to veritable guerrilla warfare in the region between August 1922 and May 1924. The movement was led by an outsider, Alluri Sitarama Raju, claiming astrological and healing powers, and has become a folk hero in Andhra Pradesh. He was inspired by the Non-cooperation Movement and admired Gandhi, though he considered violence necessary to win tribal goals.
He claimed to be bulletproof. Sitarama Raju was a formidable tactician and his band of rebels enjoyed the confidence of the surrounding population of about 2500 square miles. Raju was captured and killed in May 1924, after immense efforts, which finally ended the massive rebellion, which cost the Madras Government 15 lakh.
VELU THAMPI (1765-1809)
Velu Thampi, the Dewan of Travancore, rose in rebellion against the British. He rebelled against his removal and the heavy burden that was imposed through Subsidiary Alliance. Velu Thampi died in the forest and the movement came to an end.
RANI GAIDINLIU’S NAGA MOVEMENT (1905-31)
Rani Gaidinliu integrated the Naga tribal movement with Civil Disobedience to oppressive laws and non-payment of taxes. Her movement used Gandhi’s name and the Indian National Army called her Gaidinliu Rani. However, after its suppression, the movement was converted into a peaceful movement, with the establishment of tribal organisations like Kabui Samiti, Zeliangong Council etc.