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Home/Anthropology/Mains PYQ/2019/Paper II/Ethnicity, Tribal Movements & Social Change
UPSC MainsAnthropology Optional Paper II 2019 15 Marks Model Answer Available

Tribal Contribution to the Indian Independence Movement — 2019 Paper II

Question · 2019 · Paper II · 15 Marks

What has been the contribution of tribal people to the Indian Independence movement ?

Model Answer

VAID ICS

Approach

  • Demand of Question: Explain the contribution of tribal communities to resistance against British rule and the wider Indian freedom struggle.
  • Structuring the Response: Trace major tribal uprisings chronologically, identify their causes and forms of resistance, and assess their place within nationalism.
  • Key Dimensions to Cover: Kol, Santhal Hul, Birsa Munda, Bhil, Tana Bhagat, Rampa rebellion, forest laws, land alienation and anti-colonial mobilization.

Model Answer

Introduction: Tribal resistance constituted an important strand of the anti-colonial struggle in India. Tribal communities challenged British rule particularly when colonial land settlements, forest laws, taxation and penetration of moneylenders and contractors disrupted their traditional control over territory and resources.

Major contributions

  1. Early resistance to colonial penetration: Tribal uprisings often preceded organized Indian nationalism. They challenged colonial authority at the local and regional levels and demonstrated that resistance to British rule was not confined to urban elites.
  2. Kol uprising, 1831–32: The Ho, Munda and related groups of Chotanagpur resisted outsiders, revenue arrangements and colonial interference.
  3. Santhal Hul, 1855–56: Led prominently by Sidhu and Kanhu Murmu, the Santhals revolted against:
  • moneylenders;
  • zamindars;
  • revenue officials;
  • colonial administration.

The movement mobilized thousands and directly challenged British authority.

  1. Birsa Munda and Ulgulan: Birsa Munda led the late nineteenth-century Ulgulan, demanding restoration of customary land rights and resistance to dikus and colonial domination.

It combined:

Religious revitalization + Land rights + Political resistance

The movement contributed to subsequent legal recognition of tribal land concerns in Chotanagpur.

  1. Bhil resistance: Bhil communities in western and central India repeatedly resisted colonial revenue systems and administrative penetration.
  2. Tana Bhagat movement: Emerging among the Oraons in 1914, it combined religious reform with opposition to taxes and colonial authority. Later, sections of the movement identified strongly with Gandhian nationalism and non-cooperation.
  3. Rampa/Manyam rebellion, 1922–24: Tribal communities, particularly Koyas, participated in armed resistance in the Andhra hill tracts under Alluri Sitarama Raju.

Forest restrictions and compulsory labour were major grievances.

Nature of tribal contribution

Tribal movements contributed by:

  • defending customary land and forest rights;
  • attacking symbols of colonial authority;
  • refusing taxes and forced labour;
  • disrupting colonial administration;
  • creating traditions of armed and non-cooperation resistance;
  • joining wider nationalist mobilizations in some regions.

Critical perspective

Many early tribal uprisings were not nationalist movements in the modern pan-Indian sense. Their immediate goals were often restoration of customary autonomy and protection from local exploitation.

However:

Local resistance to colonial transformation → Challenge to colonial legitimacy → Wider anti-colonial history

Anthropologically, these movements combined economic grievances, ethnic identity, religious symbolism and territorial autonomy.

Conclusion

Tribal people were active agents in India’s freedom struggle, not peripheral participants. From the Santhal Hul and Birsa’s Ulgulan to Tana Bhagat and Rampa resistance, tribal mobilization weakened colonial authority and added a distinctive dimension of land, forest and cultural autonomy to anti-colonial politics.

2026 Tana Bhagat movement. 2026 Kumar Suresh Singh's contribution in studying tribal movements. 2026 Discuss the impact of Christianity on the tribal population of Jharkhand. 2025 Regionalism and Autonomy

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UPSC Anthropology Optional 2019 — Paper II

28 questions

5(c) Anthropological understanding of communalism.

10 Marks150 words
Syllabus: Paper II > 9.3 Contributions of anthropology to the understanding of regionalism, communalism and ethnic and political movements
2019Paper IIEthnicity, Tribal Movements & Social ChangeModel answer available

5(a) Ethnicity and regionalism.

10 Marks150 words
Syllabus: Paper II > 7.3 The concept of ethnicity > Regionalism and demand for autonomy
2019Paper IIEthnicity, Tribal Movements & Social ChangeModel answer available

5(d) Issues relating to tribal education.

10 Marks150 words
Syllabus: Paper II > 6.2 Problems of the tribal communities > Low literacy and poor educational facilities
2019Paper IITribal Problems & DisplacementModel answer available