by the rebels of Rohilkhand. Though the British succeeded in crushing the rebellion in its infancy itself, the tension of suppression of that time sporadically flared into different forms of resistance from time to time. There was also a dissatisfaction with the British's exploitation of the forests of Kumaon. Coolie Begar was made mandatory for the residents of Kumaon division in 1913. It was opposed everywhere; Badri Datt Pandey led the movement in Almora, while other leaders like Anusuya Prasad Bahuguna and Pt. Govind Ballabh Pant also played an active role in the Movement in Garhwal and Kashipur respectively. Through his Almora Akhbar, Badri Datt Pandey started protesting against this evil. In 1920, the annual Convention of the Congress was held in Nagpur. several leaders including Pt Govind Ballabh Pant, Badri Datt Pandey, Hargovind Pant, Victor Mohan Joshi, Shyam Lal Shah etc. attended the session, to take the blessings of Mahatma Gandhi for the Coolie Begar movement. When they came back, they started raising awareness against this evil. Movement On 14 January 1921, on occasion of the Uttarayani fair, this movement was initiated from the grounds of Confluence (Bagad) of Saryu and Gomati. Before the commencement of this movement, a notice was issued by the District Magistrate to Hargovind Pant, Lala Chiranjilal and Badri Datt Pandey, but it had no effect on them. To participate in this movement, people from different villages came out to the fair ground, and turned it into a huge show. The people first went to the Bagnath Temple to offer prayers, and then about 40 Thousand people went to Saryu Bagad, in front of the procession carrying a flag, with the words "End the Coolie Begar". After that, there was a meeting in Saryu Ground, Badri Datt Pandey, while addressing the gathering, took an oath saying, "Taking the water of the sacred Saryu, and with the Bagnath temple as a witness, we pledge that we will not tolerate 'Coolie Utar', 'Coolie Begar' and 'Coolie Burdayash' any more." All the people took this oath and the Village heads who had brought the 'record registers' with them, flung these registers into the confluence while raising slogans in praise of Bharat Mata. The then deputy commissioner of Almora district was also present in the crowd. Though he wanted to open fire on the crowd, he had to step back due to the lack of police force. Aftermath After