MPPSC 2022 Prelims Paper-I · Question 69 of 100

Correct — A, Sidho. Sidhu Murmu, together with his brother Kanhu Murmu (and siblings Chand, Bhairav, Phulo and Jhano), led the Santhal Hul (rebellion) of 1855–56 in the Rajmahal Hills region against oppressive zamindars, moneylenders (mahajans) and the colonial revenue administration.

• (b)Birsa Munda — Led the later Munda 'Ulgulan' (Great Tumult) uprising of 1899–1900 in Chhotanagpur — a different tribal revolt roughly four decades after the Santhal rebellion.
• (c)Bhima Nayak — A Bhil leader associated with resistance in the Nimar/Khandesh region around 1857–58, not the Santhal rebellion.
• (d)Swami Govindgiri — Led the Bhil 'Bhagat' reform-and-resistance movement in the Banswara-Dungarpur-Mangarh belt, culminating in the 1913 Mangarh massacre — unconnected to the Santhals.

The Santhal rebellion (Hul) of 1855–56 was a major tribal uprising in the Rajmahal Hills (present-day Jharkhand/West Bengal border) against exploitative zamindars, moneylenders and the colonial state, led chiefly by the Murmu siblings — Sidhu and Kanhu foremost among them.

MPPSC/UPSC frequently test 'which tribal leader led which revolt', and the trap is mixing up chronologically and geographically distinct tribal uprisings (Santhal 1855–56 vs Munda 1899–1900 vs Bhil movements) that share a broadly similar cause — loss of land/forest rights and exploitation by outsiders.

• Santhal rebellion (Hul): 1855–56, Rajmahal Hills; led by Sidhu and Kanhu Murmu
• Aftermath: the British created the separate Santhal Parganas and barred land transfer from Santhals to non-Santhals
• Birsa Munda's Ulgulan (1899–1900) was a distinct, later Chhotanagpur tribal uprising
• Swami Govindgiri's Bhagat movement among the Bhils culminated in the 1913 Mangarh massacre

• Confusing Sidhu Murmu (Santhal, 1855–56) with Birsa Munda (Munda, 1899–1900)
• Attributing Bhil-region leaders (Bhima Nayak, Govindgiri) to the Santhal rebellion

MPPSC/UPSC pair a tribal leader with their specific revolt and region/decade — memorise leader-revolt-year as a set rather than the cause alone.

No directly related past PYQ was found.

• practice — not a real PYQ

  The Santhal rebellion (Hul) of 1855–56 was led by Sidhu Murmu along with which of his siblings?

  • (a)Kanhu Murmu
  • (b)Birsa Munda
  • (c)Tantia Bhil
  • (d)Govindgiri

  Answer(a) Kanhu Murmu — Sidhu's brother and co-leader of the Hul.

• practice — not a real PYQ

  Birsa Munda led which tribal uprising against British colonial rule in the Chhotanagpur region?

  • (a)Santhal Hul
  • (b)Ulgulan (Munda rebellion)
  • (c)Bhil Bhagat movement
  • (d)Kol uprising

  Answer(b) Ulgulan (Munda rebellion), 1899–1900.