The First Indian War of Indepdence and Assam (1857) Assam lost her independence in 1826 to the British.

During the first thirty years of British rule, the struggle for independence was among the nobles and the higher classes. One of the great patriotic leaders in this period was Maniram Dewan. In the beginning, he was a friend of British. In 1839, he became the Bar Bhandar Barua (the finance minister) of Purandar Singha. He was courageous, intelligent and patriotic. However, when Purandar Singha was deposed, he protested strongly. Around this time, the British Government was planning to extend the tea plantations in Assam. Maniram was appointed as the Dewan of the Assam Tea Company. In the process, he came to know about the true motives of the British. He found that things were not happening for the sake of Assamese people. So he resigned from his post. In 1853, Mofat Mills visited Assam, and Maniram explained the evil effects of the British rule and as an example he pointed out the selling and cultivation of opium in Assam. He also wanted to restore Upper Assam to Kandarpeswar Singha (grand son of Purandar Singha). But the British Government turned a deaf ear to these appeals. Again in 1857, Maniram proceeded to Calcutta to press the Government to restore the kingdom to Kandarpeswar Singha. At the same time, the great revolution broke out all over the country. The British termed it as the Sepoy Mutiny. Soon, several princes, nobles and the Sepoys of the British Government had joined forces under the banner of war for independence'. Maniram came to know about it, and revealed the same to Kandarpeswar Singha. Pyoli Phukan, a trusted friend of Kandarpeswar, along with some other patriotic people of Jorhat organized an armed revolution against the British. But before the rebellion actually took place, the British came to know about it. Kandarpeswar was arrested and detained, and Maniram was arrested in Calcutta. He was sent to Assam where he was tried and convicted; he was sentenced to death along with Pyoli Phukan. After the 1857 war, the Queen of England took over the Government of India from the East India Company by a proclamation in 1858. Significance of the revolt of 1857 in Assam National consciousness had now begun to grow among the people of Assam. Gradually, they became aware of the destructive nature of the British rule. The rebellion of 1857 made the working class people of Assam conscious about the repressive nature of the foreign rule. Lastly, Maniram's fight against the British greatly stirred the people's minds. His patriotism and sacrifice of life for the cause of the country is still remembered by the people of Assam. Assam'sAwakening after the Revolt (After 1857) Effect of revenue settlement in Assam Queen Victoria of England by a Proclamation in 1858 directly assumed the responsibility of the Indian administration. This meant that India became an integral part of the British Empire. After the revolt, the British Government had to face a severe financial crisis. Incomes derived from the various taxes was not enough, so to increase the income, the Government doubled the existing rates of revenue on land. Stamp duty, excise duty, and income tax were imposed in the different parts of Assam. Also, in 1861, poppy cultivation was banned. These rules affected the peasants to a great extent. Discontent began to grow among the peasant population in different parts of Assam. They made their protests through Raijmel'. The peasants demonstrated their protest against the Government from time to time. But they were suppressed by the Government. In spite of that, the demonstrations continued and sometimes open violence occurred in different places. The Raijmel' at different places played a great role in awakening the consciousness of the people against the unjust measures of the British Government. The Raijmel' in Assam The village panchayats were known as Raijmel in Assam. They were the assemblies of common people. It was a popular institution through which people could express their opinion on socioeconomic matters. They would discuss matters of common interest, particularly the social issues, and take a decision. But slowly they had grown to be real assemblies of people. Not only members of a particular village, but people from other villages too participated in it to make it stronger. In the peasant's rebellion against the British government, these mels played a very important role. Phulaguri Uprising The Phulaguri Dhawa was the first agrarian revolt in Assam after 1857. The people of Phulaguri in Nowgaon district, mostly tribal (like the Lalung and the Kachari tribes), strongly opposed the ban on the cultivation of Poppy, through the Raijmel. These people were mostly opium-users and the British government had increased and fixed the rate for opium. Therefore they had to spend a large amount of their income on opium. Also, the British imposed a

ban on private cultivation of opium. At the same time the rumor spread on the imposition of taxes on pan and betel-nut. This was enough provocation to give rise to an uprising against the British. In 17 October, 1861, when people from distant villages assembled in a mel', the British police forcibly tried to disperse the villagers. The people rose against them and the Assistant Commissioner of police was killed. Immediately, the British overpowered them and forced them to surrender; many of their leaders were severely punished. Despite the fact that the Phulaguri uprising was a failure, its significance is great. It was the first popular rebellion of the peasantry of Assam against the British colonial rule. For the first time, the middle classes also supported it. It served as an inspiration for other village men and tribal folk. Rangia Revolt After the Phulaguri rebellion, large numbers of police forces were deployed in various places to maintain law and order. Meanwhile, the government kept on increasing the revenue demand on peasantry. The people of Rangia followed the foot steps of Phulaguri, and lodged their protests in Raijmels'. In 1893 they ransacked the Rangia market. In 1894 they raised the defiant slogan that they would not pay the increased revenue. The very same day, a ban on the mel' was imposed by the Deputy Commissioner of Kamrup. All the leaders were arrested and the Rangia revolt came to an end. Luchima Revolt The people of Luchima took recourse to violence in course of the rebellion. They assaulted the revenue collectors who were the agents of the British governments. Near Luchima, in Kapla on 29th January, 1894, two revenue collectors were severely beaten. One of them died.Immediately the British arrested seventy-five villagers who were afterwards freed. Patharughat Uprising After these uprisings, land tax was doubled. The people of Patharughat in Mongaldoi district became the center of a rebellion in 1894. Raijmels' were held. Along with the lodging of protests against the increased revenue, the villagers were told not to pay it. On 28 January, the police came to the village to attach the property of a peasant-cultivator who was a defaulter; the entire police force was surrounded by a mob. When they advanced towards the police camp, the British opened fire, and many of them died or were injured. This was another revolt suppressed by the British. The effect and significance of the peasants' rebellion The increase of revenue collection greatly affected the income of the peasants, and their plight worsened every day. Though their rebellion was ruthlessly contained, the British realized that the tax-structure needed revision. The British Government became alarmed at the growing influence of the Raijmel' and considered it as a source of danger. Therefore, the Raijmel was banned. But the brutal action of Government had created a stir throughout the India. The media supported the demands of the peasants. The Government became convinced of the popular discontent and did undertake some kinds of reformation of the tax and revenue structure.