Bihar before Gandhi: State archives plans to make public lesser known struggles against British

Confidential records of various uprisings and resistances against the British rule from 1800 to 1914, including the First War of Independence in 1857 and role played by various freedom fighters from today’s Bihar and Jharkhand, will be made public on August 15 this year by the Bihar State Archives, a top official said.

These include records of tribal movements and resistances like the Kol resistance in 1832 in United Bihar, the Chhotanagpur mutiny in 1857 and the tribal resistance led by Birsa Munda.

The records, mainly of resistance against the British rule before the arrival of Mahatma Gandhi on the scene, will be made available on the state archives’ website.

Bihar State Archives is celebrating “Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav” to mark of 75th anniversary of the country’s Independence, which falls on August 15, 2022, and the online display of confidential records and reports is a part of this celebration.

Titled “Representing Colonial Resistance from Archival Texts: From 1800 to 1914”, the report also includes documents related to political agitations held at various colleges like BN College and Patna College and the public halls in Patna between 1900 and 1914. Over 100 confidential records and documents, from 1800 to 1914, will be made available on the archives’ website.

“People have been reading about our freedom fighters like Veer Kunwar Singh or about Pir Ali and Birsa Munda in text books. But going through the original reports on their works and activities is an altogether different experience. These British government reports and letters may reveal many new things,” said Mahendrapal Singh, director, Bihar State Archives.

“For decades, these reports remained confidential. Now is the time to make it public. People should know what exactly happened at that time and how did it happen,” he said.

Dr Rashmi Kiran, who is handling the online display of confidential records, said this was important because many important aspects of the freedom struggle and sacrifices of people have remained least known and are rarely discussed.

“We tend to ignore tribal resistances against Colonial rulers. Much before the better known struggle, tribals of United Bihar had started resisting the British rulers,” she said.

Besides, there is also less information among people about the students’ meetings held in the state capital much before Mahatma Gandhi stepped into the country’s freedom movement.