What was Damin-i Koh in Rajmahal area?
- (a)A large area of land demarcated and declared to be the land of the Santhals
- (b)The land of the Paharias cultivated exclusively for paddy
- (c)The British territory marked for their military camp
- (d)The land earmarked for locating settled agriculturists
Correct — A, a large area of land demarcated and declared to be the land of the Santhals. In the 1830s the Company marked off a tract in the Rajmahal Hills, named it Damin-i-Koh ('skirts of the hills'), and settled the Santhals there to clear forest and farm it. The Santhals were given this demarcated land in return for cultivating it — exactly what the NCERT account records.
- (b)The land of the Paharias cultivated exclusively for paddy — The hill-dwelling Paharias practised shifting cultivation and were pushed deeper into the hills; Damin-i-Koh was allotted to the incoming Santhals, not reserved as Paharia paddy land.
- (c)The British territory marked for their military camp — Damin-i-Koh was an agrarian settlement zone for the Santhals, not a military camp.
- (d)The land earmarked for locating settled agriculturists — It was demarcated specifically for the Santhals to settle and cultivate, not for settled agriculturists in general.
As the Paharias resisted the plough and retreated into the Rajmahal Hills, the Company invited the Santhals to settle the foothills. The demarcated tract, Damin-i-Koh, was declared Santhal land around 1832-33; the Santhals cleared forest and expanded cultivation. Rising revenue demands, moneylenders and Company officials later provoked the Santhal rebellion (hool) of 1855-56.
The name Damin-i-Koh signals a demarcated hill-foot tract given to a specific community — the Santhals. Do not confuse them with the Paharias, the earlier hill people whom the Company failed to subdue.
- Damin-i-Koh means the 'skirts' or foot of the hills, in the Rajmahal region (present-day Jharkhand).
- It was demarcated around 1832-33 and declared the land of the Santhals.
- Santhals cleared forest and settled to farm it, paying revenue.
- Oppression by moneylenders and the state led to the Santhal rebellion (hool) of 1855-56.
- Confusing the Santhals (settlers of Damin-i-Koh) with the Paharias (the earlier hill people).
- Reading Damin-i-Koh as a military or general settlement rather than specifically Santhal land.
Asked as 'what was Damin-i-Koh', or by linking it to the Santhals, the Rajmahal Hills and the 1855 rebellion.
After the Santhal Uprising subsided, what was/were the measure/measures taken by the colonial government? 1. The territories called ‘Santhal Parganas’ were created. 2. It became illegal for a Santhal to transfer land to a non-Santhal. Select the correct answer using the code given below:
- (a) 1 only
- (b) 2 only
- (c) Both 1 and 2
- (d) Neither 1 nor 2
Answer(c) Both 1 and 2
Same concept — the Santhals of the Damin-i-Koh / Rajmahal region. UPSC tests the colonial response after the Santhal Uprising (Santhal Parganas; the ban on land transfer to non-Santhals); this one tests what Damin-i-Koh was.
- practice — not a real PYQ
The Santhal rebellion (hool) against the Company and moneylenders broke out in
- (a)1831-32
- (b)1855-56
- (c)1875
- (d)1899-1900
Answer(b) 1855-56 — in the Damin-i-Koh / Rajmahal region.
- practice — not a real PYQ
'Damin-i-Koh' was demarcated by the Company in the hills of
- (a)the Nilgiris
- (b)Rajmahal (present-day Jharkhand)
- (c)the Aravallis
- (d)the Western Ghats
Answer(b) Rajmahal (present-day Jharkhand) — settled by the Santhals.