Revaluation of Tradition in the Ideology of the Radical Adivasi Resistance in Colonial Eastern India, 1855–1932—Part I

Abstract

The study has two parts, the rise of a radical ideology in the resistance, and cultural implications of this ideology for the adivasi world. This part (Part I) discusses the rise of a radical ideology in the adivasi resistance, taking the cases of Munda, Oraon, Santal and Ho tribes. The ideology of radical movements of the adivasi society necessitated an assessment which is partly a judgment on whether an effective mobilisation could be built on the basis of traditional institutions and culture, and hence a revaluation of the tradition. The rebel leadership assured the followers of the inevitability of the triumph of their cause, because a Supernatural Being had willed it. The leader also claimed that God directly conveyed to him His blessing for the rebel cause. After presenting the three elements of the radical adivasi movement and defining tradition and ideology, the present and first part of the article discusses the radical build-up and main features of the Santal, Munda, Oraon and the Ho movements, which believed in the supernatural intervention and reposed faith in their rebel leaders as redeemers.