The Kherwar movement (also called the Sapha Har movement) of the 1870s, which called for a return to an older, purer way of life, arose among the:

The Kherwar movement, also called the Sapha Har ("pure") movement, arose among the Santhals in the 1870s, in the Santhal Parganas region (now in Jharkhand).

Meaning of the name:

• "Kherwar" was believed to be an ancient name of the Santhal people.
• "Sapha Har" means "the clean (pure) ones".

Background:

• After the Santhal rebellion of 1855-1856, the British made special arrangements for the administration of the Santhals.
• However, the Santhals continued to suffer from the loss of land, high rents, the oppression of moneylenders and zamindars, and the spread of outsiders (dikus) into their areas.

The movement:

• It began as a religious and social reform movement, led by Bhagirath Manjhi (also known as Babaji), who called himself a king of the Santhals.
• It urged the Santhals to give up drinking, eating pork and fowl, and to purify themselves.
• It called for a return to the golden age before the coming of the outsiders, when the Santhals were free.
• It preached monotheism and the worship of one god.
• Gradually, it took on a political character, and its followers refused to pay rent to the zamindars and taxes to the government.
• They claimed that the land belonged to the Santhals, who had cleared the forests.

Government response:

• The British regarded the movement as dangerous, and arrested its leaders.
• The movement weakened by the 1880s, but its ideas continued to influence later tribal movements.

Similar tribal movements:

• The Birsa Munda movement (Ulgulan, 1899-1900) among the Mundas, which also combined religious reform with resistance to outsiders.
• The Tana Bhagat movement (1914 onwards) among the Oraons, which urged the people to give up liquor and animal sacrifice and later joined the Gandhian movement.

Significance:

Such movements show that tribal resistance often combined religious revival, social reform and political protest.

Why not the other options?

• ✗The Mundas, Bhils and Khasis had other movements; the Kherwar movement was a Santhal movement.