What are the factors of 'Blue Rebellion'?
Answers
Answer: Blue rebellion or The Indigo revolution (1859-61) was one of the greatest struggle aganst the British colonial power in 18th century.
Indigo - a herbal product was the essential ingridient to allow required brightness of cotton products.
As we know, The colonial British made India the supplier of Raw materials for their Mills & factories by destroying our cottage Industries. They forced the planters to plant indigo instead of paddy, tobacco and other crops. The planters faced inhuman oppression even worst than that was against the bonded negroes in the then America. During the later part of 18th century indigo plantation aws startet in Bengal. By the third decade of 19th century, forceful indigo plantation expansed enormously and colonial oppression touched the peak.
The Indigo planters at last organised themselves in various parts of Bengal Nadia and Maimansingha District in particular and the their struggle culminated into a violent revolution in 1659-60. In the face of the violent revolution, the British set up Indigo commission (1860)
and the commission compelled to observed in their report how cruel was their oppression for the forcefull indigo plantation. Then the then Governor general Grant passed a law directing not to force the planters for indigo plantation against their will.
In Bengal in March 1859, with thousands of ryots started a rebellion against indigo cultivation known as the blue rebellion or the indigo revolt. The ryots armed with spears, bows and arrows and swords attacked the indigo factories and planters.
The blue rebellion began just two years after the great revolt of 1857 and it worried the British.
The rebellion prompted the government to bring in the military to safeguard the planters and to set up the indigo commission to investigate further into the situation.
After the blue rebellion, indigo production in Bengal collapsed, and the indigo planters shifted base to Bihar.
In 1917, Gandhiji visited Champaran in Bihar and moved by the plight of the ryots, initiated a movement against the indigo planters, known as the Champaran movement.