100%(1)100% found this document useful (1 vote) 683 views2 pagesReij Mel in Assam
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monn 7 aner
1897 We esr BY ermENt also Imposed various duties a the people
of Assam which practically impoverished th
description. Parka was introduced
the imposition of excise duty, tax for cutti i
. British government in its bid to Pbisia db pee ome d
the selling price of opium. All this caused serious etter ae
the people, particularly the peasantry of Assam, The piateeset rte
peasant community found expression in various uprising in Assam.
a. Raij-mels:
7 One of the most important aspects of peasant movements in the
Brahmaputra Valley in the later half of the 19" century was the role of
the mels or popularly known as the ‘Raij-mels’. The Raijmel was not
amoder type of political Organization. The Raijmel played an important
role in making the people politically conscious of their extreme
helplessness in which they lived under the British,
~The word Raijmel is consisted into two words i.e. Raij means
People and Mel means Assembly. The word Raij is derived from the
f Rajya which meant a fiscal unit or an administrative organ in
: parts of medieval Assam. The word mel is most probably derived
1 ssamese word Khel (clan) consisted of villagers under the
ly the word mel in Assamese means meeting
VAssam, Raij Mels were actually village
I
h © peasantry beyond
in 1858. This was followed
}166 History of Modern Assam
had been in existence for long time in Assam
lage man in social Pea ib a had
semblies (i.e. mels) of the people. Not only
ear, Aatiarhe village, but people from other villages too
participated in it to make it really a people’s assembly. It may be
mentioned here that in the peasants’ rebellion against the British
government these mels played a very important role.
_Raijmels were the first political organization in Assam. After
English education was underway, the educated middle class took
charge of the Raijmels. They were well aware of the happenings all
over India. In 1852 some intellectuals of Guwahati submitted a
representation to the Government urging for introduction of Municipal
administration in Guwahati. Though their effort did not succeed at that
time, but it was perhaps the earliest organized effort to express public
opinion. In 1885, ‘The Assam Desh Hitaisini Sabha’, a socio-cultural
organization was formed in Sibsagar. In 1857-59 Anandaram Dhekial
Phukan established the ‘Gyan Pradayini Sabha’, mainly for the spread
of advanced knowledge among the people. Many more organizations
were established in that period,
b. Phulaguri Uprising or Dhawa:
_. The Phulaguri Dhawa or the battle of Phulaguri was the first
during the period after 1857. Phulaguri is a
¢ Raij Mels which
acted as the guardian of vill
i
