Bhumkal- 10th feb,1910

The Bhumkal rebellion took place in the year 1910 in and around the present Indian state of Chhattisgarh. It is among the most vigorous and widespread rebellion in India. Thus it is one of the most important protest movements till date.

Out of the eighty-four parganas of the district of Batsar, the Bhumkal rebellion was spread in almost forty-six of them. According to most of the historians the origin of the Bhumkal protest movement was rooted in the previous rebellious movements that took place in this region. It was a movement based in the age-old struggle of the tribal people of Batsar to protect and preserve their tradition, culture and customs. This was linked to their demand of being allowed to retain their traditional way of life and livelihood. The revolt of the tribal people of Batsar was to reassert their rights on the forests and other natural resources of this area. It is because all their customs, culture and economic activities depended on their basic belief about the relation between man and nature.


Thus the sudden dispossession of the forestland when in 1908 they were declared to be reserved zones initiated the Bhumkal rebellion. This tribal struggle in Batsar started taking a more vigorous shape when the contractors became the only people to be allowed to take wood and timber from the local forests for making railway sleepers. This decision of the government hampered the different economic activities that were traditionally practiced by the tribal communities in Batsar. Apart from this there were many other issues that gave rise to the vigorous Bhumkal rebellion in Batsar.