38 SOCIAL SCIENTIST riotous outbreaks among the Son thals. The 1855 insurrection was a reminder and that action was not to be put off lest matters took a turn for the worse.18 In the summer of 1871 the Sonthal unrest was brought to the notice of Campbell. It was reported that agitated Sonthals of several par-ganas were contemplating a visit to Dumka. Massive crowds gathered to make tumultuous scenes before the British local officers or collected in the jungles in the pattern of the customary hunting parties14. Campbell had reason to believe that there was enough provocation for the protest demonstrations . i s At this time, the agitation was not confined to Dumka,16 as unmistakable signs of unrest were coming from the Godda sub-division.! 7 The Hindoo Patriot stated: ^We are now informed that it has played among the Sonthals of the Regulation zillah, Moorshedabad". 18 An earlier issue of the same journal noted''the late incipient rising of the Sonthals by holding an assembly near the railway station at Moorari^ beating drums and showing other signs of discontent, led us to make some inquiries as to their alleged grievances'5.19 The tribals intended to march on all the divisional headquarters, even as far as Bhagulpore with the avowed intention of obtaining redress of grievances. Their main complaint was that many of their manghis had been deprived of their traditional rights. The rents for the lease of villages were raised, and manjhis found themselves dispossessd when they disagreed on the expiry of the leases to renew them at the excessive rates imposed.20 Storm Warning It was reported that 500 to 600 Bengalees of the Mahespore district had left their homes and passed through to Jangipore in fear of the Sonthals.2 i The inhabitants of the district had retained a vivid recollection of the atrocities committed during the rebellion of 1855.22 The railway volunteers turned out to meet the danger. The Raja of Mahespore, Gopal Singh, took immediate steps to allay panic by reassuring the ryots who stayed back and persuading those who fled to return to the villages so that in two or three days the alarm subsided.28 Deputy commissioner Wood proceeded to Moral to ascertain the cause of the panic. He had an interview With some parganaits and gave them assurances that Dumka Sonthals5 complaints were being considered by the govermcnt. At the same time he told them that large gatherings massed for the purpose of intimidating government officers would not be tolerated and would only weaken their case. The Dumka gathering had without doubt been the primary cause of the panic. The parganaits assured their cooperation to allay the panic. This set at rest the Bengalees' nagging fear of a repetition of the 1855 outbreak. The scare persisted for months, repeated gatherings of Sonthals giving rise to considerable uneasiness.24 The Hindoo Patriot described the discontent of the Sonthals^The cause is said to be arbitrary enhancement of rent by some zamindars at a rate which is beyond their means to meet".23 This pro-landlord newspaper also did not fail to defend the zamindars : "Some of our contemporaries