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Q65 (IAS/2020) History & Culture › National Movement (1857–1947) › Peasant and tribal movements Official Key

With reference to the history of India, "Ulgulan" or the Great Tumult is the description of which of the following events ?

Result
Your answer: —  ·  Correct: D
Explanation

The correct answer is Option 4: Birsa Munda's Revolt of 1899 - 1900.

The term "Ulgulan" (meaning the Great Tumult) is specifically associated with the tribal uprising led by Birsa Munda in the Chotanagpur region. This movement was a response against the destruction of the traditional Khuntkatti (joint landholding) system by colonial policies, moneylenders (dikus), and missionaries.

Why other options are incorrect:

  • The Revolt of 1857: Known as the First War of Independence or the Sepoy Mutiny.
  • The Mappila Rebellion (1921): An agrarian riot by Muslim peasants in Kerala against Hindu landlords and British rule.
  • The Indigo Revolt (1859-60): A peasant movement in Bengal against forced indigo cultivation.

Birsa Munda aimed to establish a Munda Raj and reform tribal society. His leadership earned him the title Dharti Aba (Father of the Earth), making "Ulgulan" synonymous with his specific revolutionary legacy.

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Q. With reference to the history of India, "Ulgulan" or the Great Tumult is the description of which of the following events ? [A] The Revo…
At a glance
Origin: Books + Current Affairs Fairness: Low / Borderline fairness Books / CA: 2.5/10 · 7.5/10
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This is a classic 'Reward for Reading' question. It checks if you read the text of the chapter rather than just the summary tables. The term 'Ulgulan' is bolded in standard texts like Spectrum and NCERT. If you missed this, you are skimming, not studying.

How this question is built

This question can be broken into the following sub-statements. Tap a statement sentence to jump into its detailed analysis.

Statement 1
In the history of India, is "Ulgulan" (the Great Tumult) the name used for the Revolt of 1857?
Origin: Web / Current Affairs Fairness: CA heavy Web-answerable

Web source
Presence: 5/5
"His leadership during the Ulgulan (Revolt) of 1899-1900 against British colonialism"
Why this source?
  • Explicitly names Ulgulan as a revolt led by Birsa Munda dated 1899-1900.
  • By giving the date 1899-1900, this passage assigns Ulgulan to a different event than the 1857 revolt.
Web source
Presence: 5/5
"The Munda Rebellion, also known as the Ulgulan or the Great Tumult, ... The rebellion, which took place between 1899 and 1900,"
Why this source?
  • Defines the Munda Rebellion as "also known as the Ulgulan or the Great Tumult."
  • Provides the date for that Ulgulan as occurring "between 1899 and 1900," distinguishing it from 1857.
Web source
Presence: 4/5
"Birsa Munda’s spiritual beliefs became the foundation of the Ulgulan (The Great Tumult), a powerful movement that aimed to overthrow the British authorities"
Why this source?
  • Describes Ulgulan (The Great Tumult) as the movement founded by Birsa Munda aiming to overthrow British authorities.
  • Associates the term Ulgulan with Birsa Munda’s late-19th-century tribal movement rather than with 1857.

Rajiv Ahir. A Brief History of Modern India (2019 ed.). SPECTRUM. > Chapter 6: People’s Resistance Against British Before 1857 > Ho and Munda Uprisings (1820-1837) > p. 157
Strength: 5/5
“The Raja of Parahat organised his Ho tribals to revolt against the occupation of Singhbhum (now in Jharkhand). The revolt continued till 1827 when the Ho tribals were forced to submit. However, later in 1831, they again organised a rebellion, joined by the Mundas of Chotanagpur, to protest against the newly introduced farming revenue policy and the entry of Bengalis into their region. Though the revolt was extinguished in 1832, the Ho operations continued till 1837. Nor were the Mundas to be quiet for long. [In 1899-1900, the Mundas in the region south of Ranchi rose under Birsa Munda. The Ulgulan was one of the most significant tribal uprisings in the period 1860-1920.”
Why relevant

Explicitly associates 'the Ulgulan' with the Birsa Munda tribal uprising of 1899–1900, showing the term is used for a later tribal revolt rather than 1857.

How to extend

A student could note the temporal mismatch and check that 'Ulgulan' refers to the Munda movement (1899–1900) not the 1857 events, making it unlikely to be a common name for 1857.

Modern India ,Bipin Chandra, History class XII (NCERT 1982 ed.)[Old NCERT] > Chapter 8: The Revolt of 1857 > The Revolt of 1857 > p. 133
Strength: 4/5
“MIGHTY popular Revolt broke out in Northern and Central India in 1857 and nearly swept away British rule. It began with a mutiny of the sepovs, or the Indian soldiers of the Company's army, but soon engulfed wide regions and people. Millions of peasants, artisans, and soldiers fought heroically for over a year and by their courage and sacrifice wrote a glorious chapter in the history of the Indian people. The Revolt of 1857 was much more than a mere product of sepoy discontent. It was in reality a product of the accumulated grievances of the people against the Company's administration and of their dislike for the foreign regime.”
Why relevant

A standard NCERT account of the 1857 Revolt describes its leaders, spread, and popular nature yet does not use the term 'Ulgulan' or any alternate indigenous label in this snippet.

How to extend

A student could infer that major textbook treatments of 1857 would likely mention a widely used indigenous name if one existed, so absence here weakly counts against 'Ulgulan' being a common name for 1857.

Modern India ,Bipin Chandra, History class XII (NCERT 1982 ed.)[Old NCERT] > Chapter 8: The Revolt of 1857 > MODERN INDIA > p. 140
Strength: 4/5
“They say that many of the Indian regiments were carefully linked in a secret organisation which had fixed 31 May 1857 as the day when all of them were to revolt. The Revolt began at Meerut, 36 miles from Delhi, on 10 May 1857 and then gathering force rapidly it cut across Northern India like a sword. It soon embraced a vast area from the Punjab in the North and the Narmada in the South to Bihar in the East and Raipurana in the West. Even before the outbreak at Meerut, Mangal Pande had become a martyr at Barrackpore. Mangal Pande, a young soldier, was hanged on 29 March<sup>1</sup>857 for revolting single-handed and attacking his superior officers.”
Why relevant

Another standard description (same chapter) gives dates, places and key incidents of 1857 without using 'Ulgulan', reinforcing that mainstream accounts of 1857 do not employ that term.

How to extend

Combine this absence with the explicit use of 'Ulgulan' for 1899–1900 (snip 5) to suspect 'Ulgulan' is not a name for the 1857 Revolt.

Rajiv Ahir. A Brief History of Modern India (2019 ed.). SPECTRUM. > Chapter 7: The Revolt of 1857 > Consequences > p. 182
Strength: 3/5
“The revolt of 1857 marks a turning point in the history of India. It led to far-reaching changes in the system of administration and the policies of the British government. Even before the Revolt could be suppressed fully, the British Parliament, on August 2, 1858, passed an Act for the Better Government of India. The Act declared Queen Victoria as the sovereign of British India and provided for the appointment of a Secretary of State for India (a member of the British cabinet). The direct responsibility for the administration of the country was assumed by the British Crown and Company rule was abolished.”
Why relevant

Describes legislative and administrative consequences of the 1857 Revolt (1858 Act) without referring to 'Ulgulan', indicating conventional terminology for 1857 is 'Revolt of 1857' or similar.

How to extend

A student could use this to argue that major consequences and formal records use the standard name, so 'Ulgulan' likely refers to a different event.

Rajiv Ahir. A Brief History of Modern India (2019 ed.). SPECTRUM. > Chapter 6: People’s Resistance Against British Before 1857 > People's Resistance Against British Before 1857 > p. 136
Strength: 3/5
“Most of us think of the 1857 Revolt as the first major show of resentment against the British who were represented by the rule of the East India Company. However, there were many incidents before the 1857 revolt that indicated all was not well and that there was a building resentment against the alien rule. This resentment manifested itself in several bouts of resistance by different groups of people in different regions of India.”
Why relevant

Discusses various pre-1857 resistances and labels them by region and tribe, demonstrating that Indian uprisings often have specific tribal/regional names (e.g., Ho, Munda), suggesting 'Ulgulan' might be a tribal/regional label separate from the pan-Indian 1857 label.

How to extend

A student could reason that 'Ulgulan' being attached to a tribal uprising (see snip 5) fits the pattern of region-specific names, making it less likely to be a general name for 1857.

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Statement analysis

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Statement analysis

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