The hundred years following the battle of Plassey (1757) saw the expansion and consolidation of British rule in the Indian sub-continent. But almost from its inception the British domination was challenged by a large number of local risings and civil disturbances in different parts of the country. The general cause of disaffection was the overthrow of the old political order which affected not only the princely families but also feudal nobles, disbanded soldiers and, to some extent, the common people. The displaced rulers and feudal lords naturally tried to recover the lost ground, and in some cases they were supported by their subjects. Then again, the new revenue systems, laws and administrative institutions introduced by the British in the annexed territories caused widespread dis-location, and it was only natural that the affected interests would resist in some way or other. Historians have divided these risings broadly into four categories. In the first place, dispossessed princes and powerful landlords tried from time to time to recover their lost properties and privileges. "The risings of the Rajas of Vizianagram (1794) and the Poligars of Kurnul (1801-05), the Ramosi risings of Maharashtra led by the local chiefs (1826-29), the rebellion of Velu Tampi in Travancore (1808-09), the insurrection of Wazir Ali in Oudh (1799) etc. indicate a continuous trend which reached its culmination in the leadership of Nana Saheb and Lakshmi Bai in the 'Mutiny' of 1857". In the second place, there were tribal risings, caused generally by the harsh administrative rules and regulations introduced by the British rulers and the economic exploitation by the landlords, merchants and money-lenders who entered the tribal areas in the wake of the British. The ignorant and unsophisticated tribals could be exploited more easily than the villagers in the regularly administered areas, but they also were bound to react after an initial period of bewilderment and confusion. Such were the risings of the Chuars of the Jungle Mahals in Bengal (1799), the Hos, Kols and Mundas of Bihar (1831-32), the Santals of Chhotanagpur (1855-56), the Khonds of Orissa (1846), the Khasis of Assam (1829-33) and the Bhils of Gujarat (1818-31).
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