HistoryModern India: Colonialism and the Countryside

Under the 1832 land grant to the people the British saw as ideal sett…

Under the 1832 land grant to the people the British saw as ideal settlers, what share of the demarcated area was to be cleared and cultivated within the first ten years?

Answer & explanation

Correct answer: option 2

The correct answer is Option (2) → At least one-tenth

The ideal settlers were the Santhals, whose land in 1832 was the Damin-i-Koh; their land grant required that at least one-tenth of the area be cleared and cultivated within the first ten years.

NCERT (2026-27): “2.2 The Santhals: Pioneer settlers …
The Santhals were given land and persuaded to settle in the foothills of Rajmahal. By 1832 a large area of land was demarcated as Damin-i-Koh. This was declared to be the land of the Santhals. They were to live within it, practise plough agriculture, and become settled peasants. The land grant to the Santhals stipulated that at least one-tenth of the area was to be cleared and cultivated within the first ten years. The territory was surveyed and mapped. Enclosed with boundary pillars, it was separated from both the world of the settled agriculturists of the plains and the Paharias of the hills.”