Explained: A 19th-century Adivasi uprising in Jharkhand, and its contested commemoration

British trade expansion policy

To understand the reasons for the battle, it’s first important to understand its socio-political context, and the people at the centre of it — the Ho Adivasis.

The Hos were the original, autonomous inhabitants of the Kolhan region, comprising Jharkhand’s present-day East Singhbhum, West Singhbhum, and Seraikela-Kharsawan districts.

Around 1820-21, however, Kolhan fell under the jurisdiction of the Bengal Presidency. The British, who were looking to increase trade with Madras, needed direct control over the Adivasi regions such as Kolhan to facilitate travel along the trade routes. Around this time, the British set up a camp in the Kolhan region’s Chaibasa area, sparking a year-long conflict with the Hos.

Finally, in 1821, the Adivasis signed a treaty with the British. It bound them to pay eight annas per plough per year to the local Hindu king and zamindars, allowed people from other communities to reside in Adivasi lands and imposed the Hindi and Oriya languages.

These suppressions, including sexual harassment of Adivasi women by non-tribal zamindars, eventually built up to another uprising in 1831, not only in Kolhan but also Ranchi and Hazaribagh. This is known as the Kol uprising of 1831.

This, too, was eventually somewhat suppressed. Beginning October 1836, British forces under Captain Thomas Wilkinson captured around 22 pirhs (administrative territories of Hos) and around 600 villages. With these captured Pirhs and villages, the British announced the establishment of the ‘Kolhan Estate Government’.

The Kol resistance, however, was far from over.

Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren offers tributes at the battle memorial on February 2. Activists contest that date. Express photo

The Battle of Serengsia

According to Adivasi activist and researcher Sunny Sinku the Hos never accepted subordinate status. “We believe that Kolhan, our land, is bestowed by Sing-Bonga, our supreme deity. Thus, no outsider can come and rule over us,” he said.

And by 1837, Adivasi leaders were holding secret meetings and organising fighters against the British.

The British, too, were looking to suppress the resistance. In late November of 1837, a sizable British force marched towards the Ho villages — around 400 infantrymen with firelock guns, about 60 cavalrymen, and two cannons. They were supported by 200 fighters sent by the local Hindu ruler of Saraikela.

This was how the Battle of Seringsia began. The Adivasis were led mainly by Poto Ho, who was from Rajabasa village. The other leaders included Berai Ho, Punduva Ho, Badai Ho, Nara Ho, Devi Ho and Sugni Ho.

The Serengsia valley was a narrow passage. The Ho fighters, armed with traditional weapons such as bows and arrows, put up obstacles along the valley floor to hinder British cavalry movement and positioned themselves along the slopes.

Damyanti Sinku, a Ho scholar and professor at Ranchi University, paints a vivid picture of what unfolded in her book Singhbhum ka Shaheed Larka ‘Ho’: “When British forces advanced, the horses lost footing on the uneven path, triggering confusion. Ho fighters attacked simultaneously from both sides, firing arrows and hurling burning cow dung mixed with ash and chilli powder, causing severe irritation to the soldiers’ eyes. Swarms of bees further disrupted the troops, forcing the British to retreat in disarray.”

More than 100 British soldiers and around 26 Adivasi fighters were killed in the battle, according to an inscription at the government’s Siringsia (Serengsia) Valley Shaheed Smarak (martyrs’ memorial).

The aftermath

The victory wouldn’t last long. According to the memorial, British forces launched retaliatory attacks on Rajabasa and nearby villages, burning settlements and arresting villagers. It links the Serengsia resistance to the declaration of Kolhan as Kol state in 1837 that paved the way for a system of self-governance.

By December 8, all the Ho leaders were arrested, brought to Jagannathpur and sentenced to death.

Poto Ho, Narra Ho and Berai Ho were publicly hanged in Jagannathpur on January 1, 1838. The following day, Bora Ho and Pandua Ho were hanged near Mundasai in Serengsia village. In addition to these executions, 79 other Ho fighters were imprisoned on various charges.

Why the date matters to the community

For Ho activists, January 1 and 2 symbolises the culmination of the Kolhan resistance, the day when Ho leaders sacrificed their lives. Sunny Sinku argues that remembering the dead on February 2 disconnects the event from its historical context and turns it into a routine political programme.

He says the community’s demand is not just about remembrance, but about accurate remembrance rooted in documented history and lived memory.