Late-eighteenth-century revenue records describe hill folk of the Rajmahal hills who burnt forest undergrowth and scratched the ground lightly with hoes. Which statements about them are correct?
(A) The revenue records knew these hill folk as Santhals.
(B) They grew a variety of pulses and millets on the cleared patches for consumption.
(C) They cultivated the cleared land for a few years, then left it fallow.
(D) From the forests they collected silk cocoons and resin for sale.
(E) From the forests they collected mahua for sale and wood for charcoal production.
Choose the correct answer:
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 1
The correct answer is Option (1) → B, C and D only
(A) The revenue records knew these hill folk as Santhals. — Incorrect. The revenue records call these hill folk the Paharias. The Santhals were a different group who came into the area later and cleared forests with the plough.
(B) They grew a variety of pulses and millets on the cleared patches for consumption. — Correct. The ash left after burning gave potash to the soil. On these patches the Paharias grew pulses and millets for their own use.
(C) They cultivated the cleared land for a few years, then left it fallow. — Correct. This is the core of shifting cultivation. The land was used for a few years and then left fallow to recover its fertility, and the Paharias moved to a new area.
(D) From the forests they collected silk cocoons and resin for sale. — Correct. The forest was a source of goods for trade as well as food. Silk cocoons and resin were collected for sale.
(E) From the forests they collected mahua for sale and wood for charcoal production. — Incorrect. Wood for charcoal is right. Mahua (a flower) was collected for food, so the word sale makes this statement wrong.
NCERT (2026-27): “2.1 In the hills of Rajmahal … “From the forests they collected mahua (a flower) for food, silk cocoons and resin for sale, and wood for charcoal production. …” |