History of The Santals of Jungle Terai (1800-1855) - Re-Visited

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The region between Rajmahal, Bhagalpur and Kharagpur, was a constant source of trouble for the Company due to the serious and widespread Revolt of the Hillmen Paharias and the Ghatwals (1770-1803). The seriousness and the violent nature of the revolt led the Britishers to organize it as a military district with the name of Jungle-Terai. The colonialists adopted the policy of conciliation and suppression and tried to change their way of life - from shifting cultivation to wet cultivation. However, the British rulers could not succeed.

At this juncture, the Santals wanted to migrate from Birbhum and Chotanagpur due to strict collection of rent by Zamindars. Although Damin-I-Koh (in jungle-Terai) had been created in 1833 only for the Paharias, the British officers circumvented the laws and encouraged the settlement of the Santals in Damin-i-Koh. Thus, the Santals became the tool of Colonisation and they expanded at the cost of the Paharias whom they pushed back to the hills.

However, very soon the Santals revolted against their patrons, the Britishers. Many scholars have dealt with the causes and nature of this revolt. However, many basic things have been either overlooked or misinterpreted.

The conventional historiography emphasizes on the rapacity of the Mahajans and the Zamindar - Police nexus. This is a superficial view which does not take into account basic causes such as the treatment of the Santals as the 'New Comers' and beyond the purview of lex loci, concept of private property, land-revenue collection in cash and on measurement basis. The Britishers created a market -economy in place of barter economy and the Santals were forced to take a leap in historical stage- from nomadic to settled life. This was forced on them in a short time span of less than 50 years. This imposed complexities of the market economy, 'engulfed' the Santals creating, a sense of despair and loss of cultural attributes.

As to the nature of the Hul, we find it as a complex phenomenon. It cannot be brushed away as a "Primitive Revolt" manifesting inhuman acts, killings, loot and all that. The doyen of sub-altern historians, Dr. Ranjit Guha, has mentioned some basic characteristics of sub-altern movements but ground level facts contradict them. We have examined them in the book and found that the paradigms evolved by Dr. Guha is not sufficient for explaining such complex phenomena. Thus, in this study, there has been an humble attempt to 'Revisit' the whole story.

Born in village Rajpur, P.S. Belhar, District Banka (Bihar) in January 1953, Dr. Surendra Jha has passed all examinations from matriculation to M.A. in first Division / Class. He topped the list of successful candidates in B.A. previous in 1970 from old Bhagalpur University in 1972-74 session. He obtained his Ph.D. degree from Bhagalpur University. He has successfully supervised ten candidates for Ph.D. degree. He has published many articles in standard research journals, presently he is engaged in researches in regional history of Bihar and Jharkhand. He has been teaching in S.P. College, Dumka (Jharkhand) since 1976.

Presently he is Associate Professor, Post- Graduate Department of History, S.K.M. University Dumka (Jharkhand). His other published books are :-

(1) Readings in Regional History of Bihar and Jharkhand the Sarkar of Monghyr (1556- 1765).

(2) The Colonial Economy of Jungle Terai - Santal Pargans (1793-1947).

(3) Synthesis of Buddhist, Saiva and Sakta Tantras -An Unknown Siddhapitha Maluti,

(4) Co-edited with Dr. Chittabrata Palit, Jadavpur University Kolkata Indian History". "Situating the Tribals in Indian History.”

Dr. Shiv Shankar Raut Born in October 1951 at Rakudih near Rohini (Deoghar) Dr. Shiv Shankar Raut passed in M.A. examination from Patna University in 1976. He has been teaching in Madhupur College, Madhupur Since March 1980. Presently he is the Head of the Deptt. of History at Madhupur College, Madhupur in S.K.M. University, Dumka (Jharkhand). He obtained his Ph.D. Degree under the Supervision of Dr. Surendra Jha from S.K.M. University in 2009. This is his first Publication.

The Santals are the largest tribe of India spread over Jharkhand West Bengal, Orissa and Assam. However, Jungle-Terai, presently known as Santal Parganas, is regarded as their principal seat due to the Santal Hool (Revolt) of 1855-56. Jungle-Terai was the name given to the military Collectorship constituted by Warren Hastings. This region witnessed a serious revolt of primitive Paharias or Hill-men just after the assumption of Diwani by the Company. The aboriginal Paharias, Ghatwals and Bhuiyans refused to recognise the authority of the Company. The entire area remained a Challenge to the Britishers from 1770 to 1780. This Paharia Ghatwal Revolt (1770-1780) was the first anti-British revolt in Indiar" with a profound anti-British bias. The Colonial rulers dealt with this revolt with double-edged policy- Suppression and Conciliation. On the one hand, the rebels were suppressed ruthlessly by the army; on the other hand they were bribed and conciliated through the systems of Brooke Browne and Cleveland. The British rulers had only one intention-to appropriate the surplus product or revenue from this region. And for this, the Britishers tried to induce the Paharias to the ways of settled cultivation or wet rice cultivation instead of shifting cultivation.

However, like the Baigas or Agarias of Madhya Pradesh, the Paharias were resilient enough and they did not change their way of life.

Thus, the British plan of earning revenue was going to flop. At this juncture, the Santals wanted to migrate from Birbhum and Chotanagpur due to strict Collection of rent by Zamindars created by Permanent settlement. Although Damin-i-koh (in Jungle Terar) had been created only for the Paharia, the British officers circumvented the laws and encouraged the settlement of the Santals Damin-i-Koh.