ABSTRACT
The chapter addresses the changes to Santal religion that Sido and Kạnhu attempted to introduce during the Santal rebellion, with special emphasis on how far they managed to carry them through. Of particular relevance is their introduction of a new, universal approach to moral and ethical questions that would provide an ethically consistent rationale for their attacks on moneylenders, zamindars and, not least, the East India Company for all of their illegal and immoral acts. The chapter is organised with reference to the steps regarding performative rituals advanced by Clemens Six: from a simple claim of a religious legitimation for the acts, to the organisation of the rebellion and the court, to the transformation morals and ethics. The chapter further argues that, other than Santals, few communities backed the rebellion, and that a number of Santals who joined only did so in response to threats on their lives. Contra R. Guha and N. Kaviraj, whose work is addressed critically, only scarce evidence is found to support the idea that this was a class-based rebellion or insurrection, and considerable evidence challenges such an interpretation.
