Methodist Mission, 'Our Christians were compelled to give rice police stations, were burnt and looted and grain redistributed;
and to pay from two pice to five rupees each, some gave more.' in some cases money was extorted from the traders in order to
Although the Christians were initially allowed to sit in the let them escape; while in other cases the men from these families
committees, they were later prohibited on the grounds that they were beaten and the women stripped naked and turned out on
would tell the padre, who in turn would tell the government at the roads." Recounting the episode at the Kukanar police
Raipur.7 Thus rebellion was organized in the same fashion as station, Ghasi Parja of Durras described how the crowd ran to
mandais and Dussehra through universal contribution of kill a woman from one of the police families coming out of
people and materials, and coordinated by village heads and her house. Beda Parja shouted that he would kill her personally
pargana majhis.8 The crucial difference here is that no women and pretended to strangle her. But when the rest had gone on,
are mentioned in the records of the time or indeed in contem- he set her free.12 Others were not as lucky, however. Three
porary oral histories as having taken part in the actual fighting. policemen in Kuakonda and one in Bhairamgarh were killed,
No doubt, however, they were present at bazaars and other as were a lone forester and a hapless trader who asked a Maria
localized events where action took place, even if they didn't for the way through the forest. In Kuakonda, the overall leaders
travel to fight. of the rebellion were thought to be the Nethanar Parjas rather
The rebellion spread to other parts of the state starting from than the Lai. After killing the head-constable, a mock-court was
the Kanger area. In quick succession, starting on 2 February, held where the local Maria leaders dressed as Parjas, the other
the bazaars at Puspal, Chingpal, Kukanar and Karanji were characters acting the raja and the diwan. When Koria Majhi,
looted, and the Lai s authority cited for the act. At Kukanar alias Sukta Dhakad, was asked who would be king, he invoked
bazaar, a trader, Nursab Khan, was chased and beaten to death a certain 'Gondu Dhurwa.'13 Elsewhere Koria Majhi was quoted
by a 500-strong crowd. They cam? from Kokawada, Soutnar, as saying that 'the former Raj had been abolished and it was
Chitulnar, Leda, Mudwa . . . the villages south of the Kanger now a Muria Raj.' To show his devi-shakti and invulnerability,
forests, and were led by Bantu Parja, majhi from Kokawara, and he slashed himself with a sword without breaking the skin, and
Syamnath Dhakad of Mudwa, Chitulnar. The elders of Kukanar threatened to kill anyone who refused to obey him.
described how the men had flowers in their bows as on hunting In the north of Bastar, too, government and immigrant
expeditions. On seeing the trader, Bantu exclaimed: 'This is the property was attacked. The mail from Raipur, Dhamtari and
wbain-chode (sister-fucker) who eats oil and grows fat and robs places around the state was stolen, and runner's huts and mail
us kill him.'9 The Kukanar people say they themselves did boxes destroyed.1"1 William Ward describes the phenomenon
not take part as their majhi was away, and the second in thus: 'from all directions came streaming into Jagdalpur, police,
command, Chamtu Chalan, refused to act in his absence. Later merchants, forest peons, school masters and immigrants.'15 Some
Chamtu called Nursab Khan's wife to identify him, but by that of the destruction was led by members of the royal family
time his body had been mostly eaten away by wild animals themselves. Kunwar Bahadur Singh supervised the cutting of
where it had been left in the jungle.10 the Jagdalpur-Dhamtari telegraph line, while at Bhiragaon near
Everywhere the houses of officials and traders, schools and Kondagaon, the raja's uncle, Mukund Deo Machmara Babu
apparently orchestrated the loot of Jethu Kunjam, the sole
7 For Sec. i, Aug 1911, Pro. nos. 34-40, Microfilm Ace. no. 211, William outsider there. He had been sent by the raja to bring back Lai
Ward, 'The Bastar Rebellion; A Missionary's Experience", TOI, 14 March
1910, NAI. 11 DeBrett, Confidential no. 4417.
8 See also Guha (1983:124). 12 Durras, 7 June 1992.
9 For. Gen. B, April 1910, nos. 7-10, Sessions Case no. 1 of 1910, Bastar 13 For. Sec. I, Sept. 1910, Pro 16-17, NAI.
State vs. Bantu Parja and Syamnath Dhakar, NAI. 14 XMI 1/9, JRR.
10 Ibid. 15 Ward, TOI, 14.3.1910.
136 Subalterns and Sovereigns Rebellious Pasts 137
Kalandar Singh, but reneged and attempted to demoralize the of these was the negi of Barsur, who thrice burnt the mango
tahsildar and other officials at Kondagaon by saying the diwan, boughs sent to him, and attempted to stop the rebels. He was
Panda Baijnath and the rajguru, Mitranath Thakur, who were severely beaten with bamboo sticks, leaving him with permanent
the raja's chief advisors on behalf of the British, had been killed.16 damage to his eyesight.
Rani Subran Kaur called for Bhondia Majhi of Morathpal, one Violence was not the only or even dominant form in which
of the villages in her charge, and ordered him to collect men and the rebels expressed themselves. Often they made do with threats.
cut off the diwan, Panda Baijnath's (writing) hand. Bhondia's For example, Jakari Pedda of Karli who had been despatched
subsequent actions, according to information recorded by De- with twenty-five picked men to chase the diwan, passed through
Brett were as follows: Tumnar and threatened to punish the villagers if they had not
burnt the police outpost before he returned. He and the men
Bhondia collected 400 men, sacrificed a number of goats and started
off to intercept the Dewan who was expected to return from the
went on to release the rebel accused of murdering the Bhairam-
direction of Bijapur. This mob started on the 10th February, burnt garh policeman from the lock-up. On their return, they found
the Marenga school, fhe police post, lines and pound at Keslur and no action had taken place, but Jakari merely removed all state
the school at Tokapal (Rajur), detached a contingent to burn Karanji property from the police station, and gave it to the head man
school and captured a head constable and four constables of the State of Tumnar to keep, pending orders from Koria Majhi. The latter
reserve police who had been sent out to escort the Dewan and bring had, in the meanwhile, left for Jagdalpur with the Mutanpal
him in. The mob did not maltreat the guard seriously but eased them and Killepal contingents.
of their weapons and let them go. One party of rebels under Bhondia O.T. Sinclair, employee of Parry & Co., who had a lease on
Majhi went off to the Koer river to block the passage there in case MFP, and was stationed at Tongpal had the following experience
the Dewan left the main road. The rest went on to Dilmilli to stop as relayed by him to DeBrett.
the main road from Bijapur. Buddhu Majhi and Harchand Naik led
the main body.17 He, found himself at once blockaded (on 1 February) by order of the
Parjas of Nethanar. From that date he could only communicate with
Similar independent initiatives were being taken everywhere. the outside world secretly. Fortunately, his own Parja workmen stood
Rora Pedda sent by the raja to save the diwan on 8 February,; by him and brought him supplies under cover of darkness and on
turned instead to organizing the rebellion, and sent emissaries the 7th they faced and drove off very pluckily a crowd of rebels who,
like Koria Majhi to mobilize the parganas of Killepal and after looting Leda Bazaar, came on to rush his house. Next d,ay he
Mutanpal. But far from betraying the characteristics of a 'mob', received orders from the rebel spoken of as Gondu Dur that, because
there are many instances to show that, as in 1876, the people of his great kindness to the people, he would be allowed to remain
had discipline and organization on their side. Authority was, I in safety at Tongpal and would not be put to any trouble, but that
however, decentralized. The locat headmen everywhere, majhis' if he attempted to leave Tongpal he would be killed."
and peddas, were in charge, and whether the resistance was I Later, when he saw hundreds of men leaving for Jagdalpur with
encouraged or stopped depended on them, although, according 'an arrow, chilli, bugle and axe . . . passed down the line to
to Ward, the chief leaders were Gunda Dhur, Rora Pedda, Kanda show that it was war,' he got uneasy, but again 'the Gondu Dur
Dhur, Banda Dhur, and Chaitu of Dongar. The targets were sent word to him not to be afraid and promised to give him
only those who had oppressed them in the past or who, by land, bullocks and ploughs if he remained staunch.' 20 Evidently,
refusing to join with them, were effectively collaborators.18 One Mr Sinclair was not attracted by the promise. He sent messages
Jagdalpur five days after the full moon, i.e. on 30 March.39 But that hundred-year-old Hirma Kumhar of Kukanar remembered
before this could happen, at 2 a.m. on 27 March, six hundred of this time was that: 'In the English period there were a lot of
fighters asleep in an opening in the jungle of village Alnar, were soldiers. English noses were very big.' This may seem inconse-
surrounded on all sides. Alerted by their sentry, they fought quential to us but clearly represented the face of oppression to
back killing one soldier and wounding eleven others: 'The arrows him.
in the ground all around each of our men were as thick as the
quills on a porcupine's back,' wrote DeBrett. In return however, Punishing the Rebels
at least twenty-one rebels were killed, and probably about a
hundred more injured. 40 A Bhatra song blames the debacle on By the beginning of May, the bulk of the troops had been sent
betrayal. The traitor, Sonu Majhi, got the fighters drunk on two back, and only DeBrett remained, with forty men and three
huge drums of liquor. When they were sleeping, with their bows sowars. The rebel 'rank and file' were whipped and sent back,
and axes lying unheeded by their side, he went and told the on the grounds that summary justice rather than long imprison-
padre. And the padre brought the paltan to catch them un- ment was better suited to wild men. They were to learn that
awares.41 But once again, it is not clear who really won, since they 'could not with impunity flout the overtures made to them,
memories survive and take on lives of their own. Chendru not only by their chief but also by the officers of the British
Murtak narrated the battle: government deputed to deal with them'.42 In fact, it was claimed,
the punishment was 'just, necessary, and in the interest of these
On the people's side, were the big elders Mille Mudaal of Palem, forest people generally, in the truest sense humane'.43 Individual
Soyekal Dhurwa of Nandrasa, and Pandwa Majhi. All the pargans
cases of leaders were tried under law, including that of Bantu
camped in Alnar tarai. The paltan surrounded the people in a flash.
Gunda Dhur had flying powers and flew away. But what could those
Parja and Syamnath Dhakad for the murder of the trader at
with bows and arrows do? As many people died on the paltan's side Kukanar market.44 Some were hanged and others deported.
as died on ours. The battle took place at night. The people hid in Chendru Murtak in his accounting of victors and losers said:
murtand shrub, tendu shrubs and crawled away. The paltan also ran There was a Sicklel (Sinclair) Sahib during the Bhumkal. During that,
away. All those who remained alive (of the rebels), somehow found time the English paltan would come and beat and harass all those
their way home to their villages. Then in honour of having won, they who had come back from the Bhumkal. Sicklel prevented them and
sacrificed chickens and pigs and ate them. Some died and some were answered for them. At that time the English" were searching all over
saved. for Gunda Dhur. He was hiding. Sicklel wouldn't allow anyone to be
After this final encounter, columns of police went out and beaten or sent to jail. He took the risk for his pargana. Then all those
who won were given Bhumkal muafi land and land titles.
'secured' the countryside marching through the jungles around
the Kangeir and Kolab rivers, through Katekalian, Kuakonda Others in Kukanar, e.g. the elders of Bokadabadar, corroborated
and Dantewara parganas, fining, trying and punishing those Chendru Murtak on 'Sicklel Sahib's' role in the enquiry. They
who had taken part. They often found the villages deserted. The said that Chamtu revealed all and the Kukanar people were
elders today vividly recall being told by their mothers of the saved. But many were scared by the enquiry and fled to Korra.
flight into the jungles, the terror lest a child's cry alert the troops Several of the 78 Bastar prisoners sent to Raipur fell seriously
to their presence. And eighty years later the most striking thing
42 DeBrett, Confidential no. 4417.
39 DeBrett, Daily Notes, 20th March, 1910. 43 For. Sec. i, Aug 1910, Pros. nos. 12-41, B.P. Standen, Chief Sec. to CC,
40 DeBrett, Confidential no. 4417. CP, to Sec. to FD, GDI, Confidential no. 60, 29 March 1910), (henceforth
41 Bhumkal Geet, sung by Supal Dhurwa of Niyanar, collected and Standen, Confidential no. 60), NAI.
translated by Lala Jagdalpuri, M.P. Adivasi Lokkala Parishad (1988:1-3). 44 For. Gen. B, April 1910, nos. 7-10, NAI.