163 Years of Phulaguri Dhewa: The untold story of Assam's uprising seeks recognition

Raha, Oct 19: The local people of Phulaguri on Friday paid homage to the peasants who died in firing by the British military 163 years ago. The revolt, known as 'Phulaguri dhewa', in which a British official was killed and several police officers were injured, was triggered by a ban imposed on opium cultivation and a proposed taxation on betel leaf and nut.

In 1861, a total ban was imposed on the cultivation of poppy. This prohibition led to a serious riot at Phulaguri in Nagaon. The local farmers who were dependent on this cultivation for their livelihood, were badly affected. The British government then imposed tax on betel nuts and leaves. The local people were unable to bear the burden of such a strict tax regime. This led to the peasants of Raha, Barapujia, Saragaon, Katahguri to revolt against the British government.

Later, public meetings were held to criticise the taxation policy of the British Government. The district authorities of Nowgong then sent Lieutenant Singer to find out the root cause of the trouble and to suppress the revolt with a firm hand. Lt Singer's rude behaviour and ill management made the people more hostile. Many rioters were killed, and some were sentenced to death. Lt Singer was brutally killed and his body was thrown into the Kolong river by some peasants.

The incident triggered a brutal retaliation by the British and 141 persons were arrested as per government estimates and tried at Nagaon and even at Calcutta with many of them awarded death sentences and life imprisonments.

“Whatever might have been its original objective, the uprising became a symbol of challenge to the mighty British power in the Assam province and projected the anti-colonial character of the Assamese people,” Pradeep Deka, secretary, Phulaguri Dhewa Smiti Rakshya Samiti, said. He mentioned that though the British crushed the rebellion, but the incident shook the foundation of the British rule in the region all the same.

“But today neither the State government, local MLA nor the district administration have come forward to commemorate the heroism of the common people and the heritage of Phulaguri that completed 163 years on Friday. The local people's aspiration to get national recognition to this event in the country's freedom struggle like the Jallianwala Bagh massacre on April 13, 1919, is yet to be achieved,” Deka said.

“In fact, the Phulaguri massacre occurred long before the Jallianwala Bagh massacre. But this tragic yet glorious chapter of the freedom struggle of India, is still neglected by the historians as well as the government,” he lamented.

He further urged the government to preserve the site known as Manuh Pura Beel, a place where a total of 69 peasants, killed during the uprising by the British-led security forces, were buried together.

-By Dibya J Borthakur