Modern History Of Bihar: Revolts And Movements

Bihar state is located in one of the fertile regions of the world drained by the river Ganga. It is famous worldwide for cotton, textile, saltpetre, and indigo. Bihar was an important trading centre from Ancient to Medieval India. It has a rich heritage culture and is the largest producer of fruits and vegetables in the country. The capital of Bihar is Patna. The modern history of Bihar includes the arrival of European countries to establish factories and several movements. The rich resources of fertile land, water and skilled workers attracted foreign investors. They came to settle their trades in Bihar and later came into ruling power. Bihar was a part of the Bengal presidency under the British Government.

European Companies in Bihar

Europeans entered Bihar by establishing trading companies for the production and transportation of goods. The first Europeans were Portuguese who entered Bihar. Hooghly became the first place in the Bihar region where the Portuguese constructed their factory in the year 1579. They established the factory after Emperor Akbar gave permission to a Portuguese captain, Pedro Tavares. They started the business of textile in the cotton-producing region. The second European were Britishers who built their factory in Patna in 1620 but later in 1621, it was closed. The British East India Company made another attempt of establishing a factory again in Bihar in 1651 which turned into a governing printing press at Gulzar Bagh. The factory of the Dutch East India Company was also established at Patna in 1632, later the place is known for Patna Collectorate.

British East India Company and Bihar

In 1764, the Battle of Buxar was a victory of the British East India Company that eventually gave power to the British as a ruler. The battle took place between British Forces under the leadership of Hector Munro and a combined army of Mughals under Shah Alam II, Mir Qasim, and Shuja-ud-doula. Mir Qasim was the Nawab of Awadh and Shuja-ud-doula was the Nawab of Bengal. The British won the battle and they signed two separate treaties of Allahabad for the Diwani rights of Bengal and Bihar. The first treaty was signed with Mughal Ruler Shah Alam II and the second with Shuja-ud-doula. The Company created the office of Deputy-Governor for exercising Deewan functions. They appointed two deputy Deewans. The ‘Revenue Council of Patna’ was established in 1770 which in 1781 was replaced by a position named ‘Revenue Chief of Bihar’.The Governor-General of India Warren Hastings ordered the construction of the dome-shaped granary of Golghar in 1783 in order to fight against famine. Captain John Garstin in 1786 AD constructed the massive granary. Lord Cornwallis introduced a permanent settlement of land in Bengal, Orissa, and Madras to fix the share of revenue between the British and Zamindar. According to this settlement, the share of revenue was distributed as 10/11th for British and 1/11th for Zamindars. The Bengal Tenancy Act was introduced to define the rights of tenants due to widespread discontent against Zamindars in 1885.

The Revolution of 1857 in Bihar

The revolt in Bihar began in Deoghar which is a part of Jharkhand now, at the headquarters of 32nd Infantry Regiment on 12th June 1857. Lt. Norman Leslie and Sergeant Dr Grant were the two British officers who were in this revolt but later the revolt was crushed by McDonald. The revolt was started in Patna under Pir Ali who was a bookbinder on 3rd July. Babu Kunwar Singh of Jagdishpur was the most important figure of revolt. He is a notable figure in the history of the First War of Independence in India. He led a band of armed forces of 4000 soldiers and recorded victories in many battles. He successfully gained control over Arrah district in July 1857 and later with the help of Nana Saheb defeated British forces at Azamgarh.

British Raj in Bihar

 Until 1912, Bihar remained part of the Bengal Presidency of the British Government in India when the province of Bihar and Orissa was declared as a separate province. After 1905, there were many changes in the British administration. Delhi became the capital of British India. Patna became the capital city of the newly constructed province. The Patna Movement took place in Bihar as it was the centre of all movement in Bihar. There were a number of educational institutions constructed by the British Government in Patna which included medical and engineering colleges. Bihar College Engineering, Prince of Wales Medical College, Patna College, Patna Science College, and the Patna Veterinary College were built by the British.

Famous Movements of Bihar

The Movements that took place in Bihar are given below.

• Wahabi Movement

Abdul Wahab of Saudi Arabia and Shah Waliullah of Delhi were the source of inspiration for the Wahhabi Movement. Haji Shariyatlluah was the main leader of the Wahabi Movement. Patna became the center of the Wahhabi movement.

• Revolutionary Movement

Anushilan Samiti’s branch was established in Patna by Sachindranath Sanyal in the year 1913. Bankimchandra Mitra of BN College took the responsibility to lead the organization.

• Champaran Satyagraha

Champaran Satyagraha was started in 1917. Mahatma Gandhi was invited by Ram Lal Shah and Rajkumar Shukla to look after the system of Tinkathiya. He got support from national leaders such as Dr Rajendra Prasad,Shambhu Sharan, Acharya Kriplani, Dr Anugrah Narayan Sinha, Mahadeo Desai, Ram Navami Prasad, and Dharnidhar Prasad. This movement of Champaran Satyagraha forced the British rulers to make a committee called Champaran Committee. Mahatma Gandhi became a member of the committee. He played a role in convincing the authorities of the atrocities perpetrated under the Tinkathiya System. It is considered the first victory of the Civil Disobedience battle of Gandhi. 

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• Non-Cooperation Movement

The Non- Cooperation movement was started by Mahatma Gandhi against the cruelty of the Jallianwala Bagh Massacre. Mahatma Gandhi inaugurated ‘Bihar National College’ and the building of ‘Bihar Vidyapeeth’ in February 1922. The Prince of Wales visited Bihar. This visit was opposed by Congress.

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• Swarajist Movement

All India Congress Session was organised in the Gaya district of Bihar in December 1922, under the presidency of Chittaranjan Das. This session of Congress resulted in an ideological faction between congress. The one faction came in support of the entry of the legislative council and on the other hand, one faction was opposing this to support the Gandhian path. He supported the entry of legislative council CR Das, Motilal Nehru, and Ajmal Khan. The non-supporters of the entry of the legislative council were Vallabhai Patel, C Rajagopalachari, and MA Ansari. Swaraj Dal was formed by great leaders Motilal Nehru and Chitranjan Das.  Narayan Prasad was appointed as the first Chairman of the Swaraj Dal and Abdul Bari was the first Secretary. Then a branch of the Swaraj Dal was formed under the leadership of Srikrishna Singh of Bihar.

• Simon Commission

The All-Party Meeting was organized under the leadership of Anurah Narayan Sinha for boycotting the Simon Commission. On 12th December 1928, the Simon Commission reached Bihar.

• Boycott Movement

The Boycott Movement was a movement where Indians were boycotting foreign goods and adopting Indian goods. A campaign began under the guidance of the Congress committee in Bihar to make popular the use of  Khadi through magical lanterns to reach villages.

• Purna Swaraj or Complete Independence Resolution

Bihar Congress Working Committee promoted the plan of complete independence known as Purn Swaraj of Congress through the unfurling of the Flag on 20th January 1930.

• Civil Disobedience Movement (Salt Satyagraha in Bihar)

Dr Rajendra Prasad started the Salt Satyagraha. He decided the date of the movement on 6th April 1930. Pt. Jawaharlal came to Bihar for the success of the Salt Satyagraha. The movement was started in the Champaran and Saran districts of Bihar. The movement focused on the use of Indian Khadi. It conveys the message to Indians against intoxicating drinks, refusal to pay the Chaukidari tax. The Swadeshi Committee was established at Patna. The movement got huge female participation from every section of society. Sachidanad Sinha, Hasan Imam, and Sir Ali Imam were leaders of the Civil Disobedience Movement. Bihar Satyagrah was also started at the same time. 

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• Kisan Sabha in Bihar

Kisan Sabha was organised by Sri Krishna Singh and  Mohammad Zubair in Munger district in 1922. Kisan Sabha in Bihar was formed by Swami Shajanand Saraswati in 1929 to mobilize grievances of peasants against Zamindars atrocities of occupancy rights. In 1933, Bihar Kisan Sabha was formed. Swami Shajanand Saraswati was President of all India Kisan Sabha and NG Ranga was appointed as secretary.

• Bihar Socialist Party

Few national leaders formed Bihar Socialist Party in 1931. The main founders of the party were Rambriksh Benipuri, Ganga Sharan Sinha,  and Ramanand Mishra. Bihar Congress Socialist Party was formed in 1934 when Jaiprakash Narayan convened a meeting at Anjuman Islamia Hall in Patna. Acharya Narendra Dev was the first president of the Bihar Socialist Party and Jai Prakash Narayan was made General-Secretary.

• First Congress Cabinet in Bihar

The Government of India Act of 1935 came into existence with constitutional aspects and provincial autonomy in the state, dual administration in the union resulted in many constructive works such as  Elections were held for the first time in different zones. Congress fought elections with 107 members of which 98 were winners. Congress got the majority in the legislative council. Among them, the eight candidates were the winners of the election but Sri Krishna Singh refused to form the government. Therefore, Mohammad Yunus, the leader of independent candidates formed the government. Mohammad Yunus became the first Prime Minister of Bihar. Mr Ramdayalu Singh and Abdul Bari were appointed as the Speaker and Deputy Speaker of the Legislative Council respectively. The newly elected minister did remarkable works such as removal of the ban on the press, magazines, the release of political prisoners, and raising the status of Harijans. Shri Krishna Singh resigned when the British announced that India was also participating in World War II. Congress started to resent the decision.

• Quit India Movement

Committee of Congress in Bihar under the guidance of Dr Rajendra Prasad drew the first line of action towards the Quit India movement on 31st July 1942. Many outages were going on in the country such as the unfurling of the National Flag. The British came with a herculean attempt to crush the movement. The firing by British forces was done on the order of WC Archer, District Magistrate.

Did You Know?

• The state of Bihar had given famous leaders who will be remembered in the history of India such as Swami Shahjanand Saraswati, Dr Rajendra Prasad, Shaheed, Baikuntha Shukla, Lokmany, Jaiprakash Narayan, Bhadra Yajee, Pandit Yamuna Karjee, Dr Maghfoor Ahmed Ajani. 

• Mithila Paintings of Bihar are famous all around the world. These traditional paintings of Bihar are usually created on walls during festivals, religious events, marriages, and other cultural functions.