Compiled by Arthur Ekka

JHARKHAND- A NEW DAWN CHRONOLOGY OF A STRUGGLE
---------------------------------------------

1765 -- Successful military mobilization to bring Santhal Pargana under British rule. Thousands of Santhals
were killed.

1772-80 -- Pahariya Revolt.

1780 -- Establishment of Army Collectorate in Ramgarh
hill area.

1780-85 -- Tilka Majhi led a tribal revolt to make the
English leave the region. Tilka managed to injure
British Army chief Augustine Clevetend. He also led a
guerilla war in the hills of Sultangunj.

1785 -- Tilka Majhi was hanged to death in Bhagalpur.
The place is famous as Tilka Majhi square even today.
The specialty of the revolt was that "Sakhua" leaves
were used to carry messages from village to village.

1795-1800 -- Tamar revolt.

1797 -- Munda revolt in Bundu under the leadership of
Vishnu Manaki.

1798 -- Chaur revolt in Birbhum Bankura to protest the
imposition of levy on land by the British, consequently
the British Government repealed the law.

1798-99 -- Bhoomij Revolt of Manbhum.

1800-1802 -- Munda Revolt under the stewardship of
Dukhan Manaki of Tamar.

1819-1820 -- Munda revolt in Palamou under the
leadership of Bhukhan Singh.

1824 -- Changes were made in the tribal self-rule
system and the entire area was declared as Government
property and marked -Damin-i-Khol-, Sardar Nayab and Manjhi were given -Jagir- in place of allowances.

1831 - Sindrai and Bindrai led the khol revolt against
the British Government and local exploiters. The main
cause of the revolt was that 12 villages of Sindrai Manki
and land Suranga Munda of Bargaon were illegally given -
"Dikus" (outsiders). To protest this villagers of Tamar
and Bargaon gathered together at Lanka village on
December 11,1831 Captain Wilkinson led the military
operation to supress this revolt. Following the crushing
of the , land was restored to the Mundas and Mankis and
new province named South-West-Border Province was
constituted.

1832-33 -- Kherwar revolt under the leadership of
Bhagirath, Dubai Gosal and Patel Singh.

1833 -- Chotanagpur plateau got incorporated under
South - West Frontier Agency and was made the headquarter
of the Hazaribagh Agency.

1833-34 -- Bhumij Revolt under the leadership of Ganga
Narain of Birbhum.

1837 --The Britishers amalgamated Kolhan area to the
South - West Frontier Agency by defeating the tribals.
Capt. Wilkinson converted the Ho dominated area into
special Kolhan Government State. This marked the beginning
of the Wilkinson rule in the area.

1855 -- Santhals waged war against the permanent
settlement of Lord Cornwallis under the leadership of
Sidhu, Kanu, Chand and Bhairav. About 10,000 Santhals
chased the Britishers away in the course of the war,
thousands attained martyrdom. It was only after this war
that the Santhals dominated area were bifurcated from
Bhagalpur and Veerbhum and non-regulation district was
created in the name of Santhal Pargana. South - West
Border province was constituted.

1855 -- On June 30,Siddhu gathered together 10,000
Santhals and launched a parallel government. The British
Government announced a reward of Rs. 10,000 for getting
the two brothers Siddhu and Kanhu arrested.

1856 -- Police brigade was constituted.

1856-57-Martyr Sahid Lal Vishwanath Shahdeo, Sheikh
Bhikhari, Ganpatrai and Budhu Veer led a movement against
British Government in the sepoy mutiny.

1874-99 --This period is famous for the Birsa Movement.
Birsa Munda was born in Ulihatu village Khunti. He
mobilized people against exploitation. In course of time,
he came to be revered as Bhagwan Birsa. He revolted to
establish Munda State in 1899. He died in Ranchi jail on
June 9,1900.

1874 -- Kherwar Movement shot into fame under the
leadership of Bhagirath Manjhi. He was the resident of
Tardha village in the then Godda sub-division. He actively
participated in the movement of 1855 and 1868.

1874 -- Scheduled District Act came into force.

1875-95 -- Fight for chieftainship between Munda and
Oraon.

1881 -- The Kherwar movement boasted of 40,960 members
from Santhal Pargana. The then Colonel Gorden got 45,000
soldiers deployed in the whole of Santhal Pargana. The
government arrested Dubai Gosai and deported him to
Lucknow. The then Santhal Pargana commissioner Oldam
invited outsiders for settlement in the Damin area and got
police permanently stationed in Santhal Pargana.

1895-1900 -- Launching of Ulgulan under the leadership of
Birsa to protest the British government decision to end the
Khutkati rights of Mundas.

1902 -- Tana Bhagat Movement was started by Oraon tribals.

1907-08 -- Chotanagpur Tenancy Act formulated.

1910-13- Students union constituted in 1910 at Hazaribagh
under the leadership of J. Warshilman.

1912-Bihar bifurcated from Bengal and some part of
Chotanagpur merged in Bengal.

1913- Rev. Joel Lakra, Bandi Oraon and other leaders
together constituted Chotanagpur Unnati Samaj. The Samaj
led by Rev. Joel Lakra presented a memorandum to the Simon
Commission in 1928 demanding a separate tribal state. At
this time Thewle Oraon constituted Kissan Sabha.

1914-This movement had the participation of 26,000 tribal
members. Jatra Oraon was born in 1888 in Chingari village
under Vishnupur block of Gumla district. In 1914, Jatra
Oraon made a call to his community to give up the practice
of animal sacrifice, non-vegetarian and alcoholism and
other vices and lead a virtuous life. They also led a
movement against veneration of evil sprits and done feudal,
moneylenders and Britishers organize people for a non-
violent protest against exploitation. He urged people not
to pay taxes or work without wages. It was this revolt of
Jatra Bhagat which subsequently came to be known as "Tana
Bhagat Movement", panicking the British Government
arrested Jatra Oraon in due course the movement came under
the influence of the Swadeshi Movement of Gandhi Ji. Tana
Bhagats participated in the 1921 congress convention and in
the 1923 Nagpur Satyagrah in large numbers.


1915-Establishment of Chotanagpur Unnati Samaj primarily
aimed at safeguarding tribal identity in the prevalent
political scenario. The Organization started the
publication Of a magazine titled "Adivasi" in four
languages, namely, Hindi, English, Mundari, and Kurukh.
The forerunners of this Samaj included leaders like
Thewale Oraon, Joel Karia, Bandi Ram Oraon, Paul Dayal,
Alfons Kujur, Elias Topno, Veer Singh Munda and others.


1929-Simon Commission presented with a memorandum, which
demanded formation of Jharkhand State.

1930- Simon Commission recommended for a separate
administrative system to usher in Development in the
region. It suggested for use of governor's Agency through
All India Services.

1935- Chotanagpur commissionary was declared a partially
prohibited area by the British Government, where by none
of the legislative rules could come into force without the
specific concurrence of the Governor.

1935- Dhaka Student Union founded by J. Warshilman and
Chotanagpur Unnati Samaj founded subsequently.
Influenced by them the Roman Catholic tribals constituted
the Chotanagpur Catholic Sabha. In the 1935 elections,
Ignas Beck was elected to the central body.

1936- Orissa was created as a separate state. Some parts of
the Chotanagpur were given away to Orissa.

1938- the first convention of Chotanagpur Adivasi Mahasabha
was held in Khunti. Of its two main objectives, the first
was getting statehood for Jharkhand and the second was to
safeguard tribals from exploitation in the hands of "
Dikus" .

1942-On August 25, the Kherwar agitation, under the
leadership of P.C. Patnaik and Krishna Prasad, set fire to
the dak bungalow and the forest guard's residence located
in Aloobera and Dumarchair. The agitators led by Lal
Hembrom also caused serious damages to the bridge and
telegraph line on August 30. On September 1, in a meeting
at Kadama village of Dhanmora block under the leadership
of Paika Manjhi, it was agreed upon to continue blowing up
liquor shops, bridges and telegraph lines.

1947- All India Jharkhand Party came into inception.