British Imperialism and Native Resistance in India: A Case Study of Nuzvid Zamindari in Andhra

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This work explores the various steps taken by the British in the second half of the 18th Century to undermine the authority and power of Narasimha Opparow, zamindar of Nuzvid, one of the ancient and extensive native estates in Andhra.

The moves in that direction met with stout resistance at every stage from the turbulent native chief and his followers. Following his arbitrary removal from all power there began an era of confrontation and contest between the two contending powers. The attempts to seize the person of the zamindar first at Nuzvid and later at Masulipatam were foiled by his followers. The women residing in the fort of Nuzvid were equally firm in their resolve not to allow the government sepoys' entry into the fort. Unstable conditions prevailed in the country even after the death of the deposed Zamindar. This situation forced the British to change their policy and buy peace by partitioning the Zamindari and restoring it to the members of the opparow family.

The present work constitutes an entirely original contribution to modem history, for it provides insights into the British imperial interests and the heroic native turbulence witnessed in the area.

Dr. B. Kesavanarayana was educated at Osmania University, Hyderabad, and taught at Aurangabad and Nuzvid. He is now Professor of Modern History at Andhra University, Visakhapatnam (A.P.). He is also the author of 'Political and Social Factors in Andhra 1900-1956' and several research papers.

THIS WORKED aims to study the early British policy towards Nuzvid, one of the largest and turbulent zamindaries in Coastal Andhra. It is primarily concerned with British experiments made and native reactions they inevitably produced. In 1766, the estate came under the direct rule of the English East India Company consequent on the acquisition of the Northern Circars from the Nizam of Hyderabad. The years that followed witnessed the British endeavours to establish their supremacy in the region and to collect revenue regularly. Believing that the native ruler was the main stumbling-block to achieve their goals, serious attempts were made during the period under study to rob the local refractory chief of his absolute power and independence. The steps taken in that direction fanned native discontent, created chaotic political conditions and badly affected revenue collections. For nearly a decade the writ of the British Raj did not run in the region. These developments compelled the British to reconsider their policy and seek friendship with Nuzvid, and inspired by considerations of stability and security to revenues the estate was partitioned into two and in both of them was introduced the system of permanent settlement in 1802. In the following pages it has been attempted to throw light on the various steps taken by the British in the Nuzvid area to establish their sway and the extent of the success or failure of them.

The English Company held that the native zamindar was solely responsible for the large balances outstanding against the zamindari and precipitately dispossessed him and made their own arrangements for revenue collection. There was however no direct assumption of responsibility for administration of the country. There was also no replacement of the personnel. Hence, none of the changes introduced in the system of administration yielded expected results. This failure was admitted when the zamindari was restored to members of the original family. This study will show that the individuals appointed for the purpose of collecting the revenues lacked qualities of character, faith- fulness, loyalty and a sense of duty and failed to show absolute commitment to the system. The British made no serious attempts to correct loop-holes noticed in the existing system of revenue collection and establish an inherently strong and honest administrative set-up.

The present work provides a detailed narrative of the events which led to direct confrontation between the native ruler and the English Company. Special emphasis is laid on the repressive measures adopted by the authorities to nip native turbulence and the determined resistance they met with in the region. The various experiments tried from time to time to secure revenue are also discussed in detail.

All the fresh matter included in the following chapters was gathered for the most part from unpublished manuscript sources lying embedeed in the archival repositories of the Governments of Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu. The proceedings of the Board of Revenue, the Masulipatam District Records and many other official documents throw sufficient light on the events of the time. They contain a huge mass of letters exchanged between the native zamindar or their relations and the Company's authorities. Besides these, there are a few works in Telugu such as the "Indumati Parinayam", a histori cal work in verse and the "History of the Apparow Family" These are works of a general nature, providing only a scanty gleaning of significant events and occasionally suffering from factual inaccuracies.

**Contents and Sample Pages**