International Journal of Social Science Research (IJSSR)

Reflection and Reaction of the ‘Assam Riots’ of 1893-94 in the Native Newspapers

Abstract: The second-half of the history of the nineteenth century Assam is remarkable for the peasant movements against the excessive hike of the land revenue by the colonial government. Loaded with the burden of numerous problems, particularly excessive enhancement of the land revenue, the peasantry of the Brahmaputra valley launched vigorous protest movement against the government in three phases i.e. in 1861, 1868-69, and in 1893-94. The last and the most vigorous phase with militant character was occurred in 1893-94 as the helpless peasantry, particularly of Darrang and Kamrup districts organised under the leadership of a rural organization called raijmel and started a vigorous protest movement. When the government tried to suppress the movement, at certain places e.g. at Rangiya and Sarukshetri (Lachima) in Kamrup and at Patharughat in Darrang, the colonial forces came into violent physical conflicts with the disgruntled peasantry resulting loss of several lives. The contemporary native press of India not only mirrored the events but also harshly criticized the government for their policies and actions. This study is an attempt to trace out the reflection and reaction about these insurrections in the contemporary newspapers in India. Keywords: land revenue, Assam Riots, native newspaper, reflection and reaction.