Diku
Topic: Peasant and Tribal Resistance under Company Rule · NCERT: Class 12, Ch 1 "Colonialism and the Countryside"
Meaning
Diku is the word the Santhals used for outsiders. It meant mainly moneylenders and traders, but also zamindars (landlords) who came into their lands. Dikus lent money at very high interest. When a Santhal could not repay, the diku took over his land. Anger against dikus, together with heavy state taxes and zamindar control, led to the Santhal Hul (rebellion) of 1855–56.
Example
In the Damin-i-Koh in the 1840s and 1850s, Santhals who had cleared the forest themselves lost those fields to moneylenders when they failed to repay loans. In 1855, led by Sidhu and Kanhu Murmu, they rose against the dikus, the zamindars and the colonial state.
Don't confuse with
- Sahukar: the moneylender-cum-trader of the Deccan villages, whose account books were burnt in the Deccan Riots of 1875. "Diku" is a tribal word for any outsider, not only a moneylender.