A Mirror to Blue Mutiny

Contemporary literature has ample evidence to show the deep impact of the indigo revolt on society.

- Subhojit Goswami

It is with the economic history of the industry that the story of the indigo disturbances must begin,” writes Ananda Bhattacharya, assistant director of West Bengal State Archives, in his 2012 book, Indigo Rebellion. His probe into the English newspapers of the late 1850s and other archival documents has brought forth the hitherto unknown pro-peasant attitude of both elite and middle-class Bengalis that had emerged in the undivided Bengal during the Blue Mutiny of 1859.

In the autumn of 1859, localised acts of resistance by the peasantry against colonial economic policies turned into a general uprising in nine districts of Bengal. This set a precedent for other peasant movements like Champaran or the Bardoli Movement of 1928. “It is this indigo revolt in Bengal that inspired Gandhi to launch a movement against the tinkathia system (cultivate indigo on 3/20th of a land) in Champaran and establish a cult of non-violence,” says Bhattacharya.