'Phulaguri Dhawa' and the Politics of Opium in early colonial Assam

India during the post 1857 era witnessed a continuation of the earlier peasant mobilization and tribal uprisings, although with a renewed vigour and vitality which severely challenged hegemony of the colonial state. These revolts propped up in every nook and corner of the subcontinent, however, they mostly remained disjointed and localised in their nature and appeal. The peasant consciousness was overwhelmingly "communal" and their collective concerns as the economic category of "class" had yet not taken a concrete shape, albeit instances where class and community organisation often converged, particularly when religious and enthic identities coincided with their class boundaries. It is within the ambit of these overarching developments, Assam, in the early 1960s witnessed two uprisings of a local nature - one in the Jaintia hills and the other one in the plains of Nowgong - against  colonial oppression in the wake of a series of new taxation measures.

The case of the Khasis

In the Khasi hills, the traditional chiefs mobilized their people and rose to an open rebellion when the British government introduced house tax and stamp duty in 1860. The Colonial masters dealt with the bow-and-arrow wielding rebels with a heavy arm deploying two Sikh regiments and an elephant battery. The Khasis finally surrendered in November 1863.

Background

The case of the peasant rebellion at Nowgong is quite fascinating at it revolves around the already boiling popular discontentment against the colonial policies, which in a way, were heavily influenced by the interests of the Planters, and the much intrinsic politics connected to opium, the most important cash crop grown locally.

Broadly, the planter community pressed on two demands :

1. Faced by acute shortage of labour, they insisted the government in 1859 to raise the revenue rates so that the poor peasants were forced to leave their villages to work for wages in their plantations. 

2. Moreover, they also urged for a ban on cultivation and sale of opium, the widespread consumption of which they believed to have made the local people too indulgent and apathetic towards work. 

Having that been taken into account, there seemed to be a deeper reason behind the government taking the decision to ban opium, which appears to be largely motivated by revenue considerations. In the preceding years, the growing monetization of the economy prompted farmers to grow more poppy for cash, sometimes even at the cost of food crops. The importance of poppy as a cash crop increased to an extent that over the years traders had started advancing payments to cultivators to ensure timely deliveries. On realizing that it was losing out on a valuable source of revenue, the British prohibited cultivation of opium in 1860, but the lucrative monopoly sale of north Indian opium, that had been a major source of profit for the government for a decade now was not discontinued. The sale price of this opium, imported from Bengal, was increased from Rs 14 per seer in 1860 to Rs 23 by 1873. The addicts were forced to buy high priced government opiums instead of growing it by themselves. The ban on poppy cultivation adversely affected the peasant economy of Nowgong, the largest opium producing district of Assam during that period. 

At the same time, the Colonial government ordered land revenue rates on dry crop lands to be increased by 15 to 30 percent in the districts of Lakhimpur, Darrang, Sibsagar and Nowgong (Assam Proper, the erstwhile Ahom territory). This increase in land revenue was much resented in Nowgong as it was in the other three affected districts. The tensions further escalated when the Bengal government called upon its officers in Assam to finalize its scheme to introduce a new license tax. At the same time rumours were rife among the tribes of Phulaguri near Nowgong that the government intended to levy additional taxes on houses, orchards (baris) and betel nut and paan cultivation. Despite the government dismissing these as 'unfounded apprehension', the people were convinced that they would have to bear the brunt of additional taxes if they don't register protest against their moves. 

Already, the people were aware that in the nearby Jaintia Hills, peasants had fought with arms against unfair taxes. The ban on poppy was looked upon as an infringement on the traditional customs and habits of the native Lalungs. Moreover, without any doubt there was an element of growing scepticism which amply demonstrates the mounting friction and antagonism between the colonial masters and the local populace.

The Uprising

In September 1861, some 1500 peasants rallied to the sadar court at Nowgong. Their protest was peaceful and they presented a petition to the Magistrate referring to the harm that had already been inflicted on them due to the prohibition of poppy cultivation. Also, it reinforced the demand of no further taxes to be levied on their betel nut and paan gardens.

The Magistrate failed to address the crowd and some demonstrators forced their way into his office. The former had the trespassers arrested for their 'riotous and disorderly conduct' and imposed a fine on them for allegedly 'making noise' within the court. It was later established through an official enquiry that the Magistrate always dealt with the ryots (peasants) in a high handed and provocative manner and didn't allow them to even enter his office compound.

A raij mel (people's assembly) was thereupon held at Phulaguri in October 1861 to discuss the future course of action when the grievances of the peasants were not adequately met. In order to enable peasants from distant regions to take part in its deliberations, the assembly was scheduled for a period of five days. Approximately 1000 people turned out on 15 October, of whom more than half of them were armed with lathis. A police force was sent by the District Magistrate to arrest the leaders and disperse the crowd. When the protestors defied orders, the daroga returned with reinforcements the following day, but the situations remained unchanged. By 17 October, the number of protestors increased to 4000. Thereupon Lieutenant Singer was called with his forced to deal with this situation. Singer met the leaders of the assembly and asked them to give up their protest. The leaders were reluctant to concede with his orders and reiterated their demands, resulting in a squabble with turned violent and gruesome. Armed with sticks and clubs, the crowd attacked Singer, beat him till death and disposed his body off into the Kolong river. The police force accompanying him fled in panic and it was only after the arrival of the Magistrate, who sent troops to open fire on the crowd, the situation was brought under control. 

Narsingh Lalung and eight other peasant leaders, mostly tribals, were punished with long term imprisonment or transportation. By 23 October, normalcy was restored with the advent of fresh forces from Tezpur and Gauhati. The rebellion was neither a cohesive and well organized peasant uprising nor was an ordinary riot caused by few disgruntled tribal peasants.

Aftermath and Legacy

The Phulaguri uprising is a crucial landmark in the long history of peasant resistance against the ruthless colonial policies and revenue measures. It was a culmination of certain deep rooted factors associated with the advent of the Britishers and their mercantilist policies, which stimulated changes in the nature of Assam's economy to its core. Amidst limited marketing facilities and deficient currency supply in the given transitional situation, the colonial policies caused enormous hardship and misery, because the peasantry failed to secure enough cash to pay their taxes. Added to that, the grievances against the District Magistrate whose inconsiderate and callous behaviour and mindlessness was getting on the nerves of the common people, fuelled matters. This episode of heroic struggle by the people is still very much preserved in the popular memory as the 'Phulaguri Dhawa', dhawa meaning 'armed conflict' which connotes to its violent character. It heralded a new phase of peasant awakening in Assam, giving birth to the institution of raij mel which were instrumental voicing the demands of the Assamese peasantry, paving way for the later agrarian uprisings in Rangia, Lachima and Patharughat. These riots were so severe that it garnered considerable attention from the national media. One of the far reaching consequence of these peasant uprisings, quite obviously, was the widespread agreement among the masses in realizing the tyranny of colonialism and its exploitative character.

Sources :

• Planter Raj to Swaraj by Amalendu Guha.

• From Yandaboo to Partition by Priyam Goswami.

• (4.2) Agrarian society and peasant discontent, From Plassey to Partition by Shekhar Bandopadhyay.