British Colonial Rule
&
Resistance Movements
Rokunuzzaman Biswas Lecturer
History of the Emergence of Bangladesh and Bangla Language
The Coming of the Europeans
• What is colony?
• The coming of the Portuguese – 1516
• The coming of the Dutch
• The coming of the Danish
• The coming of the English – 1600,1633
• The coming of the French – 1664,1690
British East India Company
• East India Company formed in 1600
• Company became involved in politics
• Acted as an agent of British imperialism
• Company was formed to share in the East Indian spice trade
• Company acquired control of Bengal in 1757
• Bengal under British rule from 1858 to 1947
• Exploitation & money laundering
• Development activities
Fakir-Sannyasi Resistance 1760 – 1812
• Muslim fakirs and Hindu Sannyasis (সনননসস)
• The movement was led by Majnu Shah (মজনন)
• Issued decrees banning collection of alms
• Imposed tax on their pilgrimage
• Broke down the traditional village system
• Farmers & artisans became unemployed
• Military became jobless
• The rebels mainly engaged in guerilla warfare
Official Place of Company
• Company kuthir, revenue house, kacharis of Zamindars, houses of their officials
• Bakerganj, Rampur Boalia in Rajshahi
• Attacks spread in Rangpur,Rajshahi, Kuch
Bihar,Jalpaiguri, Dhaka, Mymensing,Comilla
• Their den was in Madhupur jungle
• Majnu Shah died on 26 January 1788
• Musa Shah continued the revolt till the 1812
Ancient picture
Ananda math
Indigo Revolt (1858-61)
• Background
• Indigo revolt was a peasant movement
• commercially more profitable in Europe
• Planters compelled farmers to grow indigo/foods
• The peasants were deprived from fair price
• The farmers combined to free from clutches
• Burdwan,Birbhum,24Parganas, Nadia, Jashore, Kushtia, Pabna, Faridpur, Khulna
• The revolt was ruthlessly suppressed
• Indigo commission – 1960
Indigo Dye Extraction
Titumir
(1782 – 1831)
• Started preaching religious values in 24 Parganas and Nadia
• Initially aimed at socio-religious reforms
• Conflict with the Hindu zamindars for imposing illegal taxes
• Opposed to taxes on mosques and the wearing of beards
• Titumir formed a "Mujahid" consisting of lathials
Declaration of Independence
• Declared independence from the British
• Declared himself Badshah and urged upon the people to participate in jihad
• Initially became successful in several attacks
• Built a fort of bamboo at Narikelbaria
• Lieutenant Colonel Stewart drove an attacks on 19 November 1831
• Titumir died of his wounds on that day
Captured
Faraizi Movement
Haji Shariatullah
• Early life
• Religious reform movement in the 19th
• instructed his followers to follow every religious duty
• British domination is harmful to the religion
• Peasantries were displeased with Hindu zamindars and indigo planters
• The landlords imposed illegal tax upon muslims & ban on the slaughter of cow
• Movement spread in Dhaka, Faridpur, Bakerganj, Mymensingh, Comilla, Chittagong and Noakhali
• Propaganda campaign with the British officials
Dudu Miyan
(1819–1862)• Dudu Miyan became the leader in 1840
• Turned it to socio-economic move
• He established his own Panchayet and administrative system
• Called upon his followers not to pay revenue to zamindars
• Clash with the oppressive landlords
• He became so popular with all peasantries
• played active role in the Rebellion of 1857
• Dudu Miyan died in 1862
Sepoy Revolt : 1857
সসপনসহ সবপব
Causes of the Rebellion
• British imperialism after 1757
• Army recruited higher castes
• Resentment over overseas service
• Soldiers dined overseas service, considered polluting to caste system
• British-style social reforms, harsh land taxes,
• Skepticism about the improvements
• Sepoy troopers at Meerut refused the Enfield cartridges
Causes of the Rebellion
• Pay was relatively low & issue of promotions
• Many soldiers were became jobless in India
• Western methods of education
• Abolition of sati and the legalisation of widow remarriage
• British aimed at breaking down the caste system
• Conversions of Hindus and Muslims to Christianity
• Introduction of the new Enfield rifle
Rifles
Sepoy Revolt : 1857
• Sepoy Mutiny, Great Rebellion, Revolt of 1857 First War of Independence
• Mangal Pandey attacked British officer at Barrackpore
• outbreak of the mutiny in Meerut,Delhi,Lucknow
• Bahadur Shah Zafar was declared as the Emperor
• Punjabis, Sikhs, Gorkhas helped the British
• Hyderabad, Mysore, and Kashmir, Rajputana, did not join the rebellion
• Infantry of Chittagong seized arms and ammunition
Aftermath
• The rebellion posed a threat to British power
• The East India Company was abolished
• Government of India Act 1858 ,Queen Victoria issued a proclamation to Indians (Nov 1)
• They gave up their expansionist policy
• Friendly relation with princely state
• The Indian army was also extensively reorganized
• Mughal empire declined for good
• Recruitment of the Indians in office
• Two nations united on one issue
• Friendly relation with princely state
• public works continued without interruption
• society began to break down by a Westernized class system
• Generated the sense of Indian nationalism
