Santal Hool SantalVidroh : 185455

The Santal Hul is a book that highlights the true nature of the great anti-colonial rebellion in Jharkhand and its rightful place in the history of the Indian independence movement. India has witnessed a long history of tribal resistance against British rule. The tribals of Chhotanagpur and Santal Parganas never allowed the British to live in peace in their strongholds in the hills and dense forests. They were dissatisfied with the exploitative policies and discriminatory system of the East India Company. They did not accept its subjugation. They wanted their own rule, and therefore, they rebelled repeatedly. One of these rebellions was the Santal Hul, which took place in 1854-55, just before the much-celebrated First War of Independence of 1857. The leaders of this rebellion were Sido, Kanu, Chand, and Bhairav. The Santal Hul, as is evident in other tribal rebellions, had a clear anti-colonial stance and a clear objective of independence. The martyrdom of its leaders and participants was also unquestionable. Despite this, confusion persisted, and the Santal Hul was not given its due place in the mainstream of Indian history until years after the idea of looking at history from the bottom up flourished in the intellectual and academic world. In light of this situation, Dr. S.P. Sinha, an authority on tribal history and culture, has, in this book, based on all the available documents, traditional, and oral sources about the Santal Hul, presented the true nature of the Santal Huls own system, their dissatisfaction with the British system, the personalities and leadership abilities of the Huls leaders, and the Huls objectives and ideals. This book not only reviews previous studies on the Santal Hul but also offers relevant guidelines for future studies. By giving due credit to the early architects of the Indian freedom struggle, such as Sido, Kanu, Chand, and Bhairav, this book completes the incomplete perspective of history.