Pathrighat rebellion: When 143 farmers in Assam lost their lives fighting the British

A golden history of India’s freedom movement lies buried in Pathrighat, Assam, a town located in Darrang district, about 45 km from Guwahati. It is the site of the Pathrughat massacre, carried out by the British during the Peasant Revolt on January 28, 1894, a day celebrated as Krishak Swahid Diwas.

The rebellion, which most of us might have seen in Amir Khan’s Lagaan, is a battle for revenue between British and Indian farmers. The peasants of Pathrighat in the Darrang district of lower Assam revolted against the British Empire on January 28, 1894.

In the year 1833, the British colonial government imposed plow tax in Darrang district and an amount of Rs 3 was fixed as tax for each plough. In this way he had collected an amount of about Rs 41 thousand. Later the tax was increased to Rs 5 making it unbearable for the farmers, who decided not to pay the unfair and illegal tax imposed on them.

Citing the incident, Nagendra Nath Sarma, a prominent historian and writer from Darrang district, said, “After the refusal by the British authorities, the farmers had no option but to revolt.”

On January 28, 1894, all the farmers gathered in a field at Pathrighat. When the farmers were discussing this issue in the meeting, Darrang Deputy Commissioner JD Anderson, Superintendent of Police Barrington and SDO Remington reached there and a large number of policemen were also present with them. The British officials clearly stated that the British would not reduce taxes, which enraged the farmers.

When the situation became more tense, they started shouting against the British government, after which SP Barrington ordered to open fire and the police opened fire on the crowd present there. 140 farmers died on the spot and about 150 were injured.

According to Nagendra Nath Sarma, “Although initially 140 farmers were declared dead in that incident, later more people were killed. However, the British suppressed this incident and due to their conspiracy this brutality of the British remained unknown to the rest of the state and the country.”

Probably after this incident the British feared that if this news spread to other places then there could be a rebellion. So they hurriedly collected the dead bodies and buried them in the same pit. After which it became a place of interest for both Hindus and Muslims.

The recognition and irony was such that till 2017 neither the state government nor any organization had taken any initiative to pay proper tribute to these martyrs. In 1994, AASU celebrated the 100th anniversary of this event.

Sarbananda Sonowal was the leader of AASU at that time. After becoming the CM of Assam, Mr. Sonowal officially organized a special function to pay tribute to the martyrs and said that every student should know about this incident, the Pathrighat rebellion.