The Chuar Uprising, 1767-1802 (They (Chuar) are Settled in the Fields)

This painting is titled The Chuar Uprising, 1767-1802 (They (Chuar) are settled in the fields). It is painted by M. R. Acharekar using ink, tempera and watercolours on paper. The painting is one of the 52 works M. R. Acharekar was commissioned for on the commemorative occasion celebrating the completion of the first hundred years of the freedom movement (1757-1856). The Chuar tribals of the Midnapur and Bankura region in West Bengal were dependent on their sustenance on the primitive farming methods and the surrounding forests. The tribals were frequently abused by the zamindars (feudal lords) as chars( pig in Bengali); hence the rebellion came to be known as the Chuar rebellion. By 1798 the tribals rebelled and took to arms and adopted the guerrilla tactics of war when they realized that the British took away their land. They successfully destroyed government offices, administrative institutions, along with the army's barracks in different parts of Bengal. The heavy bloodshed and frequent skirmishes with the tribals were quelled with much difficulty by the British Company. The rebellion came to an end when the British burnt the entire forest of the Chuars by firing continuously with heavy artillery. The artist describes the painting with a subtitle which reads-attacks on the collection officers. This painting is signed and dated 'M. R. acharekar, 1973' in English along the bottom margin of the painting with brush.