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May 15, 2022 9 tweets 5 min read Read on X
On 7th July 1855, a group of Santhal tribals assembled in a field in #Jharkhand and declared themselves free. This act of defiance triggered an armed rebellion. The tremors it created were felt a century later, in a movement that drew the attention of the world. 1/9 Image
The Santhal Revolt of 1855 pitted the Santhal tribes in the forests of #WestBengal, #Bihar, Jharkhand and #Odisha against local zamindars, who were supported by the #British. For the Santhals, it was a fight to retain the right to their lands. 2/9 Image
These rights had been taken away by the East India Company, which in the 18th century began clearing the forests in which the Santhals lived, to grow cash crops like indigo and poppy. Things grew worse when the Zamindari System was introduced in 1793. 3/9 Image
The zamindars enjoyed perpetual and hereditary rights over the land, in return for fixed revenue that they paid the British. So they began to buy large swathes of the forest. The Santhals lost all their rights to their land, including their way of life. 4/9
#FightForRights
The Santhals were reduced to being labourers on their own land. The introduction of currency was the final blow. After following the barter system for centuries, they suddenly had to pay the zamindars in cash, forcing them into debt. 5/9 Image
Resentment festered till it split over. On 7th July 1855, a large number of Santhals gathered in a field and declared themselves free of bondage. It was the beginning of the Santhal Revolt. 6/9
#tribalrights
It was all-out #war but the Santhals’ bows and arrows were no match for the latest weapons used by the British. Although they didn’t stand a chance, the Santhals had taken an oath to fight till the end. They lost around 20,000 men. 7/9
It took an entire year to crush the revolt and a few pockets of Santhal resistance continued till 1857. The fight for tribal rights has always been an uphill battle and the first organized movement – the #Naxalite movement – was launched in 1967. 8/9
One of the founding members of the Naxal movement was a Santhal named Jangal Santhal. Sadly, like his forefathers and their heroic struggle a century earlier, he has been forgotten. 9/9. Full story: livehistoryindia.com/story/eras/the…

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More from @PeepulTreeWorld

Dec 5, 2023
This spectacular mountain pass near Nashik in Maharashtra, has a very peculiar feature seen near it - a large 2000 year old urn that was used to deposit coins. It is this urn that gives the mountain pass its name ‘Nane Ghat’, ‘Nane’ being a reference to coins. (1/6) Image
While popular with mountain trekkers today, this place would have been buzzing with merchants and caravans, two thousand years ago. (2/6)
The Nane Ghat was an important mountain pass on a trade route that connected Paithan, the Satavahana capital, with Sopara, its main port. (3/6) Image
Read 6 tweets
Jan 13, 2023
Lohri is a harvest festival celebrated in the Punjab region. It marks the end of Winter Solstice and people celebrate it by singing folk songs in front of a bonfire. One such song is of Dulha Bhatti, who is considered to be the Robinhood of Punjab. 1/5
This folk hero Dulla Bhatti, was born in Badar village in the 16th century CE. He belonged to the Muslim Rajput Bhatti clan who controlled the Pindi Bhattian town near Lahore. Dulla’s father and grandfather had fought against the Mughals and lost their lives. 2/5
Emperor Akbar imposed the zabti system of taxation and appointed faujdar to collect taxes from the zamindars. So, Dulla Bhatti led a peasant rebellion against the imperial authority. Dulla Bhatti terrorized and looted the treasury of the imperial officials & helped the poor. 3/5
Read 5 tweets
Aug 6, 2022
#RajivGandhi began his political career as ‘Mr Clean’ but this image was shattered by the end of his term in office. Allegations of #corruption first surfaced in April 1987, when kickbacks in government deals were linked to Rajiv. 1/9
Problems started when his Finance Minister V P Singh conducted a series of inquiries and raids into alleged #forex violations of industrialists and other prominent people known to Rajiv. Some were his close friends. Rajiv moved Singh to the Defence Ministry. 2/9
But in April 1987, the Indian Embassy in Bonn sent a letter to Singh informing him that a Rs 30-crore bribe had been paid to middlemen during the purchase of HDW submarines. Singh ordered an inquiry and resigned from the Cabinet in protest. 3/9
Read 9 tweets
Aug 5, 2022
Just after his victory in the 1984 elections, #RajivGandhi faced his first big challenge. On 23rd April 1985, the Supreme Court ordered the ex-husband of a Muslim woman from Indore, Shah Bano, to pay her maintenance under Section 125 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC). 1/13
Shah Bano's ex-husband Mohammed Ahmad Khan had argued in the Madhya Pradesh High Court, that under Islamic Law, he had paid his divorced wife three months' maintenance, and he wasn't obliged to pay any more. 2/13
#IndiaAt75
But the apex court maintained that "there is no conflict between the provisions of Section 125 and those of the Muslim Personal Law on the question of a Muslim husband's obligation to provide maintenance for a divorced wife who is unable to maintain herself". 3/13
#ModernIndia
Read 13 tweets
Aug 4, 2022
#RajivGandhi was barely 40 when he became Prime Minister of #India. #Politics was not his first choice as a career and yet Rajiv, an airline #pilot, found himself in the hot seat after his mother, Indira Gandhi, was assassinated in October 1984, when she was PM. 1/13
#IndiaAt75 Image
When Rajiv took over, he had a clean personal and political image. He was non-controversial. His initiation to #politics had taken place on the death of his brother Sanjay. In 1981, Rajiv stood for election from Amethi in Uttar Pradesh and won a seat in the Lok Sabha. 2/13
#Terrorism was already raging in Punjab, and in the midst of the 1984 election campaign, #India was hit by the world’s worst industrial disaster. On 3rd December, a poisonous gas leak from American multinational Union Carbide killed 2,000 people in Bhopal. 3/12
#ModernIndia Image
Read 13 tweets
Jun 14, 2022
Caste-based #reservations are always a subject of debate but the #quotasystem is much older than most people think. The first reservations on economic grounds were introduced in #India as early as 1902. 1/11
On 26th July 1902, an order was issued by the ruler of the princely state of #Kolhapur. It said that 50% of all vacancies in offices/government jobs will be filled by the #backwardclasses. This order sent shockwaves across British-India. 2/11
And he royal who introduced this revolutionary change was Kolhapur’s visionary ruler Chhatrapati Shahu Maharaj. 3/11
Read 11 tweets

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