Chuar rebellion

The Chuar Rebellion or Chuar Revolt was a series of peasant rebellions between 1771 and 1809 by the inhabitants of the countryside surrounding the West Bengali settlements of Midnapore, Bankura and Manbhum against the rule of the East India Company (EIC).[1] The rebels rose in revolt due to the exploitative land revenue policies of the EIC, which threatened their economic livelihoods.[2]

Chuar rebellion

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 Bengali countryside
Outcome	Suppression of the rebellion by the EIC

Prior to the arrival of Europeans on the Indian subcontinent, the Bengali countryside (consisting primarily of hills and rainforests) were not directly controlled by the 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. 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 rose in revolt, earning the derogatory nickname "Chuars" (meaning uncivilised in Bengali).[3][2]

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."[2] Amongst the many dispossessed Bhumij zamindars, those who lent support to the rebels included royalty such as Durjan Singh of Raipur, Jagannath Singh of Dhalbhum, Baidyanath Singh of Dhalbhum, Mangal Singh of Panchet, Ganga Narayan Singh of Barabhum, Dubraj Singh of Birbhum, Raghunath Singh of Dhalbhum, the Rani Shiromani of Karnagarh, Raja Madhu Singh of Manbhum, Subal Singh of Kuilapal, Shyam Ganjam Singh of Dhadka, Sunder Narayan Singh, Mohan Singh and Fateh Singh.[1]