ARCHIVES
VOL. 8, ISSUE 1 (2026)
History of Women’s Resistance in Colonial Chotanagpur and Santhal Pargana
Authors
Sumanta Kumar Mishra
Abstract
The history of the colonial struggles in
eastern India can never be complete without taking into consideration the
important but underestimated role of women in Chotanagpur and Santhal Pargana.
The paper analyses the mobilisation of tribal women in Munda, Oraon, Ho and
Santal communities against the British rule, abusive land policies, invasion by
missionaries and social unrest. The paper uses the archival sources, district
gazetteers, oral traditions, and the existing scholarship to reconstruct the
involvement of women in the major uprisings like the Kol Revolt (1831-32), the
Santhal Hul (1855-56), the Munda Ulgulan (1899-1900) and in the Tana Bhagat
movement. It is an effort to note different types of resistance, which include
armed action, social and economic non-cooperation, ritual activism, and
everyday defiance, and this has shown women as strategic agents as opposed to
passive supporters. The paper states that the gendered violence of colonial
rulers and subsequent administrative reactions enhanced the political awareness
of women unintentionally. Through anticipating these narratives, the paper
advances gendered tribal historiography and gives women a voice in
anti-colonial struggles.
Download
Pages:6-10
How to cite this article:
Sumanta Kumar Mishra "History of Women’s Resistance in Colonial Chotanagpur and Santhal Pargana". International Journal of Educational Research and Development, Vol 8, Issue 1, 2026, Pages 6-10
Download Author Certificate
Please enter the email address corresponding to this article submission to download your certificate.