Why this matters now
Tilka Manjhi is increasingly tested for the pre-1857 tribal revolts chapter — the Pahariya/Santhal Damin-i-Koh resistance, the assassination of Augustus Cleveland and his execution at Bhagalpur. Several state PSC papers include him as the “first tribal anti-British martyr”.
Damin-i-Koh: the British clearance
Between 1770 and 1784 the East India Company classified Damin-i-Koh — the Rajmahal hills tract between the Ganga and the Damodar — as fallow land and began settling outside zamindars and moneylenders (dikus) on it. The local Pahariya and Santhal communities, who had used the forests for shifting cultivation and gathering, found themselves dispossessed and forced into bonded labour.
The Damin-i-Koh revolt (1771-84)
From 1771 Tilka Manjhi led raids on Company outposts, zamindari treasuries and moneylenders’ granaries from the Rajmahal hills. In 1784 he killed Augustus Cleveland, the Collector of Bhagalpur, who had introduced the “Hill Assembly” co-option scheme — striking a major blow to the Company’s authority.
Capture and martyrdom (1785)
The Company pursued him with overwhelming force. He was captured in early 1785 after being chased by Company cavalry — tied to a horse, dragged to Bhagalpur, and publicly hanged from a banyan tree on 13 January 1785. The tree (now known as Tilka Manjhi Chowk) is preserved at Bhagalpur; the Tilka Manjhi Bhagalpur University is named after him.
UPSC angle
Know Tilka Manjhi — born Jabra Paharia (Pahariya), Damin-i-Koh resistance (1771-84), assassination of Augustus Cleveland (1784), hanged at Bhagalpur banyan tree (13 Jan 1785), often cited as the first tribal anti-British rebel; Tilka Manjhi Bhagalpur University named after him.
Frequently asked questions
Who was Tilka Manjhi?
A Pahariya/Santhal tribal chief who led the Damin-i-Koh resistance against the East India Company between 1771 and 1785.
Who did Tilka Manjhi assassinate?
He killed Augustus Cleveland, the Collector of Bhagalpur, in 1784.
Where was Tilka Manjhi hanged?
At Bhagalpur, from a banyan tree on 13 January 1785 — the spot is now Tilka Manjhi Chowk.
Why is he called the first anti-British rebel?
His 1771 revolt predates most other major Indian uprisings against the East India Company.