Marathas, British Rule, 1857 & the Freedom Movement of Chhattisgarh — Practice

Question 1

Who was appointed governor of Chhattisgarh by the Bhonsles in 1758?

Accepted Answer

Bimbaji Bhonsle, appointed by Janoji Bhonsle after Mohan Singh, the last Haihaiyavansi ruler, died. He ruled from Ratanpur until 1787 as a subahdar with considerable autonomy.

Question 2

Who was the first British superintendent of Chhattisgarh and when?

Accepted Answer

Captain Edmonds, in 1818, after the Third Anglo-Maratha War. The superintendent period lasted until 1830, when administration returned to the Bhonsle rulers.

Question 3

Name the leaders of the Bhumkal rebellion of 1910.

Accepted Answer

Gunda Dhur, a Dhurwa of Netanar village, led it on the ground, and the king's cousin Lal Kalendra Singh organised it behind the scenes. The grievances were forest reservation, forced labour and the liquor monopoly.

Question 4

List the tribal revolts of Bastar from 1774 to 1910 with their leaders. (~100 words)

Accepted Answer

The Halba rebellion (1774-79) was linked to Ajmer Singh. The Bhopalpatnam struggle (1795) resisted Captain Blunt's entry. Paralkot (1825) was led by Gend Singh. Tarapur (1842-54) was led by Anand Singh and the Meria rebellion (1842-63) by Hidma Manjhi. The Koi revolt (1859) opposed forest and timber contracts, and the Muria rebellion followed in 1876. Bhumkal (1910), led by Gunda Dhur and Lal Kalendra Singh, was the largest. Most arose from taxation, forced labour and forest policy.

Question 5

Describe the role of Veer Narayan Singh in 1857. (~100 words)

Accepted Answer

Veer Narayan Singh, the zamindar of Sonakhan, is the first martyr of the state. In the famine of 1856 he took grain hoarded by a trader at Kasdol and distributed it to the poor. He was arrested, escaped from Raipur jail with help from local soldiers and raised a force of about five hundred at Sonakhan. He was recaptured and hanged on 10 December 1857 at Raipur, now Jaistambh Chowk.

Question 6

What was the Kandel Nahar satyagraha?

Accepted Answer

A 1920 protest at Kandel in Dhamtari tehsil against illegal taxes and water charges, led by Pandit Sundarlal Sharma with Babu Chhotelal Shrivastava. The authorities withdrew the fine, and it is a landmark of the early nationalist movement in the region.

Question 7

Who led the Rajnandgaon mill workers' strikes and when?

Accepted Answer

Thakur Pyarelal Singh led them in 1919-20, 1924 and 1937. The 1920 strike is described as a long strike that reduced working hours.

Question 8

Assess the role of tribal movements in the freedom struggle of Chhattisgarh. (~175 words)

Accepted Answer

Tribal resistance in Chhattisgarh began well before the national movement. Bastar produced a chain of revolts: the Halba rebellion (1774-79), Paralkot (1825), Tarapur (1842-54), Meria (1842-63), Koi (1859), Muria (1876) and Bhumkal (1910). Their causes were taxation, forced labour, forest reservation and interference with customs, which show that resistance was rooted in loss of livelihood and autonomy. In 1857, Veer Narayan Singh linked a famine grievance to open revolt and was hanged in Raipur on 10 December 1857. Bhumkal, led by Gunda Dhur, was the largest rising, and its forest grievances remained unresolved. These movements were not part of the Congress campaign, but they created a tradition of resistance and gave the region its first martyrs.

Question 9

Trace the movement for a separate Chhattisgarh and the formation of the state. (~175 words)

Accepted Answer

The demand for a separate Chhattisgarh was first raised in 1924 by the Raipur Congress unit, and Thakur Pyarelal Singh and others pressed it. The States Reorganisation Commission of the mid-1950s rejected it, and the region merged into Madhya Pradesh on 1 November 1956. The demand revived in the 1990s under the Chhattisgarh Rajya Nirman Manch, led by Chandulal Chandrakar, which organised strikes and rallies with the support of major parties. The Madhya Pradesh Reorganisation Act, 2000 received the President's assent in August 2000, and Chhattisgarh came into being on 1 November 2000 as the 26th state, with Raipur as the capital. Naya Raipur was planned as a new capital city. The state's formation reflected a long regional identity built on language, culture and tribal heritage.

Practice — Marathas, British Rule, 1857 & the Freedom Movement of Chhattisgarh

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