The British authorities invited the Santhals to settle in the Rajmahal Hills. Choose the correct statements-
A. They were the original inhabitants of the Rajmahal Hills
B. They were eager to adopt settled agriculture
C. They were very powerful zamindars
D. The Santhals forced the Paharias to move deeper into the hills, as the British wanted
Choose the correct answer from the options given below:
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 3
The correct answer is Option (3) → B and D Only
A. They were the original inhabitants of the Rajmahal Hills Incorrect. The Santhals had begun to come into Bengal around the 1780s and moved into this area around 1800, where they displaced the hill folk, the Paharias, who lived on the lower slopes.
B. They were eager to adopt settled agriculture Correct. The Paharias refused to cut forests and resisted touching the plough, while the Santhals appeared to be ideal settlers, clearing forests and ploughing the land with vigour. In the Damin-i-Koh they were to practise plough agriculture and become settled peasants.
C. They were very powerful zamindars Incorrect. The Santhals were not zamindars; zamindars hired them to reclaim land and expand cultivation, and the British gave them land to settle on.
D. The Santhals forced the Paharias to move deeper into the hills, as the British wanted Correct. Having failed to subdue the Paharias and make them settled agriculturists, the British turned to the Santhals. When the Santhals settled on the peripheries of the Rajmahal hills, the Paharias resisted but were forced to withdraw deeper into the hills.
NCERT (2026-27): “2.2 The Santhals: Pioneer settlers … On enquiry he discovered that the frontiers of cultivation here had been extended by the Santhals. They had moved into this area around 1800, displaced the hill folk who lived on these lower slopes, cleared the forests and settled the land. How did the Santhals reach the Rajmahal hills? The Santhals had begun to come into Bengal around the 1780s. Zamindars hired them to reclaim land and expand cultivation, and British officials invited them to settle in the Jangal Mahals. Having failed to subdue the Paharias and transform them into settled agriculturists, the British turned to the Santhals. The Paharias refused to cut forests, resisted touching the plough, and continued to be turbulent. The Santhals, by contrast, appeared to be ideal settlers, clearing forests and ploughing the land with vigour.… 2.2 The Santhals: Pioneer settlers … When the Santhals settled on the peripheries of the Rajmahal hills, the Paharias resisted but were ultimately forced to withdraw deeper into the hills. Restricted from moving down to the lower hills and valleys, they were confined to the dry interior and to the more barren and rocky upper hills.…” |