Prelims 2020 · Q35
EasyWith reference to the history of India, "Ulgulan" or the Great Tumult is the description of which of the following events?
Answer & explanation
Answer: (d) Birsa Munda's Revolt of 1899 – 1900
"Ulgulan" (also spelt Ulgulaan), meaning the Great Tumult, is the name of the tribal uprising led by Birsa Munda in the Chota Nagpur region in 1899-1900. It is remembered as a Munda movement against colonial authority, not as any of the other revolts listed.
- ✗ (a) The Revolt of 1857 was the wide uprising against Company rule in north and central India. It is not called Ulgulan.
- ✗ (b) The Mappila Rebellion of 1921 took place in the Malabar region of Kerala and has no link with the Munda tribe of Chota Nagpur.
- ✗ (c) The Indigo Revolt of 1859-60 was a peasant revolt in Bengal against planters who forced cultivators to grow indigo.
- ✓ (d) NCERT records that in 1899-1900 Birsa Munda led a widespread uprising known as Ulgulaan or the Great Tumult, in which tribal communities rejected colonial authority and tried to reclaim their land.
Remember · Ulgulan (Great Tumult) = Birsa Munda's uprising of 1899-1900 in Chota Nagpur; he was arrested in early 1900 and died in jail that year.
📘 Read it in NCERT: Class 8 Exploring Society: India and Beyond (Part 2), Ch 2 (practise this chapter)
Sources
- NCERT Class 8 · Exploring Society: India and Beyond (Part 2), Chapter 2 “In 1899–1900, Birsa led a widespread uprising known as 'Ulgulaan' or the Great Tumult, mobilising tribal communities to reject colonial authority and reclaim their land.”
Question and answer: UPSC's official GS Paper I (2020, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 30 Sept 2026 (how we verify). Permalink ·