48 SOCIAL SCIENTIST "Crushed apparently in four months after its outbreak, it again almost immediately burst out afresh; and it was not till November 1863 that the last of the rebel leaders surrendered, and the pacification ofjaintia could be said to be complete."9 What were then the real causes of the rebellion ? Was it really the outcome of the various taxes introduced or were its causes far more deep-rooted than appeared to contemporary officialdom ? The course of events culminating in the rebellion continues to intrigue the present-day historians working on the history and politics of north-east India, many of whom are inclined to accept the official explanation that the disturbances were entirely due to the financial measures and that the imposition of taxes, particularly income tax, on a people unaccustomed to such payment was "unwise and inexpedient". ' Tradhg the causes of the outbreak J.C. Haughton, the Officiating Agent to the Governor-General, remarked; "Taxation was introduced without supervision.... It was followed up by fresh taxation^ and rumours of other taxes...."10 He believed that though the people in general were in a position to pay the tax, its introduction on a people who could furnish no accurate account of their income was a myopic act; "the tax practically became one on property and not on income and it was exacted from many who should have been exempted in the spirit of the section 130 of the Income-tax Act."11 It was not Haughton alone but a band of other English civil and military officers serving in north-east India also entertained such an opinion and felt that taxation, particularly income tax, was the root ca^se of the outbreak. There is perhaps very litde doubt that the Symengs were naturally annoyed as "imposts of one son or another were in fact appearing like 'mushrooms." It is also an undeniable fact that the introduction of income tax had further aggravated the situation. But still it is doubtful if taxation alone could have sparked off the rebellion had there been no other combustible material long hidden underneath. Had income tax been a potent factor the rebellion would have automatically subsided as soon as it was withdrawn. It is to be noted here that when income tax was first levied in thejainria hills no hostility was witnessed and the tax for the first year was paid without a mur- ' mur. The Deputy Commissioner of the district travelled extensively through the hills in 1861 but no visible sign "of disaffection was witnessed.12 It has already been stated that the amount realised from income tax wa^ trivial and ' there was no reason why the entire tribe should have been at war for a cause which affected only a small percentage of them directly. Against this backdrop of events let us now review the whole history of British relations with Jaintia from 1835 to 1860. Unlike many other hill tribes of north-east India the Jaintias were politically and militarily an advanced people. In the medieval times the Jaintia kingdom included a Urge slice of Assam's Nowgong district and some parts of the district of Svlhet (now in Bangladesh). They had a long history of trade relations with Bengal and Jayantipur, their capital, was the "great entrepot in whcti all commercial dealings are transacted between the inhabitants of the plains and hills/*15