Structure:

• Introduction: (upto 30 words) what is nagar insurrection and its background in brief
• Body: (upto 100 words) its impact on the politio-economic condition of Mysore
• Conclusion: (upto 30 words)

Supporting Points:

Nagar insurrection:

• In late August and early September in the year 1830 disturbances broke out in the province of Nagar, a district located in the northwest corner of Mysore kingdom.
• This small uprising soon spread to most of the districts in Mysore, and became a Kingdom wide insurrection.
• Most of the mass gatherings of peasants, referred to as kuttams, consisted of farmers and village servants, and were easily dispersed. However the fighting lasted for almost a year in the province of Nagar.
• Here the poligars, who were former chiefs and local rulers, a pretender named Budi Basvappa and adventurers joined the peasant uprising, armed with muskets and employing mercenaries recruited from Southern Maratha country.
• Internal conflicts and shifting alliances between leading Maratha Brahmins, the royal family and others in the administrative departments and at the king’s court worsened the situation. This came to be known as the Nagar insurrection
• The British East-India Company, intervened, first with advisors and non-interventional military presence, then later with active regiments of native infantry and cavalry, supported with artillery. In June 1831 most of the insurrection was quelled and on the 19th of October the same year Krishnaraja Woodeyar III – the Rajah – surrendered his rule peacefully to the Company.

Cause:

• Amildars occasionally resorted to the use of force to compel outstanding revenue, taxes and when imposing forced labour upon the peasants.
• Every now and then hostages were taken, usually women and children, and kept in confinement until the rent was paid.
• In the Nagar District, where central political control was weak and unstable, the possibilities for individuals and kin to carve out personal domains encouraged corruption among elite Maratha Brahmins.

Aftermath:

• The British East India Company appointed a committee to determine the causes of the uprising.
• Composition of the committee: Major General Thomas Hawker, William Morison, J M Macleod and Mark Cubbon
• The committee spent a year investigating, and submitted its report on 12 December 1833 to Governor-General Lord William Bentinck. The committee relied on oral testimony by witnesses, some of which were contradictory and a few also proven to be false. Most witnesses were active participants in the events under investigation and some went on to be employed by the British administration.
• The report: It blamed the rebellion on the king's style of ruling and personal character, and not particularly on tax laws. The report did acknowledge that the standard of living in the kingdom had deteriorated since the turn of the century, due to factors beyond the king's control, like bad crop seasons and reduced income.

Impact:

• A British Commission of prominent Company officers took over, and Mysore was directly governed by the British for the next 50 yearsIt was the Nagar Uprising (1830) which ultimately resulted in the founding of Mysore Representative Assembly in 1881.
• The British learnt to respond to the grievances of the people quickly.
• Local self-governing bodies were founded in towns during 1850’s and 1860’s. People also learnt that without proper organisation, it is not possible to free the country from the British.
• The British also felt the need to improve the means of transport and communication to enable them to meet situations of breach of peace. The communication facilities initiated by them mainly served their colonial economic purposes.