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120-624: The rebellion of the Santals began as a reaction to end the revenue system of the East India Company (EIC), usury practices, and the zamindari system in India; in the tribal belt of what was then known as the Bengal Presidency . It was a revolt against the oppression of the colonial rule propagated through a distorted revenue system, enforced by the local zamindars, the police and the courts of

240-463: A mortgage on their land. When the Santals were unable to pay the moneylenders back, they became owners of the land and the Santals became dispossessed landless peasants. The Baniya merchants and other outsiders also began to treat Santals as outcastes in a Brahminical system. Eventually, these acts of exploitation , combined with British tax policies and corrupt tax collectors, deteriorated to

360-502: A 'local' insurrection. The main attack which largely began the end of the rebellion came on 24 July. 50 EIC troops, led by a Commissioner Toogood along with 30 elephants and 200 soldiers sent by the Nawab of Murshidabad had marched from Pulsa towards Maheshpur, on the plain east of the Damin-i-koh, where they fought 5,000 Santals. It took the soldiers 10 minutes to kill 100 Santals, after which

480-503: A 5000 km area, called Santal Parganas , where the normal procedures of British India did not apply. Administration of the community was primarily made the responsibility of the village headman, or pradhan, who was also given the power to collect taxes. It was made illegal for Santals to transfer land to non-Santals, allowing them to have legal rights over their land. After the British Crown formally took control over India in 1858,

600-491: A cave, where they stayed for the rest of their days. The children of these seven couples became the progenitors of the Santal clans. A characteristic feature of a Santal village is a sacred grove (known as Jaher ) on the edge of the village where many spirits live and where a series of annual festivals take place. This grove is set aside in the founding of the village and left undisturbed except at times of festival. Inside

720-602: A chieftain called Margo Raja began cultivating a network of secret disciples throughout the Damin-i-koh, aiming to unite all Santals into a single body. In addition, several calamitous portents arrived in the Damin-i-koh that frightened the Santals: The tales of these various calamities made the Santals more fearful, and the rumours of them spread from village to village and made them alert for anyone promising to save them. On 30 June 1855, two Santal rebel leaders, Sidhu and Kanhu Murmu , mobilised roughly 60,000 Santals and declared

840-611: A common ancestor, no more than a few generations back, that live nearby. The khunti is identified by some distinguishing feature of the ancestor, such as poeta , people who wear a thread on their chest in worship. In many cases, all the people of a gusti live in their ancestral village, but some members may have migrated to neighbouring villages. Sohrai is the principal festival of Santal community. Besides that Baha , Karam , Dashain , Sakrat, Mahmore, Rundo and Magsim are important festivals. They traditionally accompany many of their dances during these festivals with two drums:

960-529: A contingent of regular EIC soldiers and officers, who had pursued them to a village called Narayanpur, making a stand, killing several Indian officers and 25 sepoys, the worst EIC defeat during the rebellion. During this battle, the EIC troops' guns would not go off when fired due to wet gun caps, making them essentially unarmed. To prevent their troops from fearing the Santhals had divine favour, as Sidhu and Kanhu had claimed

1080-399: A group of men from the bride's village, including the jog majhi , headman, village elders, and the bride's father and some relations, arrives at the bride's village. They are seated at the headman's house with respect and organized by marang or hudin status. Meanwhile, the groom's family gathers to discuss the bride price the groom's father should pay. The two parties then meet and

1200-468: A large group of Santals were moving towards Dumka and Birbhum. Due to the high water in the Mor river, they were unable to ford it, but once they did they planned to attack Suri. The EIC was using the Mor as a defence line, and often engaged the Santals. In one on 22 July, a Lieutenant Toulmain took only 106 men, and was attacked by a force of 8000 rebels. The rebels managed to kill Toulmain along with 13 others, with

1320-546: A large number of casualties for the Santal forces. The primitive weapons of the Santhals proved to be unable to match the gunpowder weapons of the EIC army . Troop detachments from the 7th Native Infantry Regiment, 40th Native Infantry, and others were called into action. Major skirmishes occurred from July 1855 to January 1856, in places like Kahalgaon, Suri, Raghunathpur, and Munkatora. In this event, over 15,000 were killed, tens of villages were destroyed, and many were displaced during

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1440-555: A large swathe of land. There were even rumours that Santals from further away, in Bankura and Singhbhum districts, were joining the rebellion. In some cases members of non-Santal tribes, namely the Mal Paharias, joined the rebellion. Sindhu and Kanhu even sent letters to zamindars, hoping to cajole or threaten them into supporting his cause. The numbers gathered around Sidhu and Kanhu himself were less well-known. The most accurate information

1560-491: A missive was sent to Kolkata from the District Magistrate of Bhagalpur based on information from Zamindars. According to their information 1,000 Santals were ready, with 4-5,000 others ready to mobilise when called. The district magistrate of Aurangabad, A. Eden, informed by zamindars and a traitor who had been a scribe at the court of Sidhu and Kanhu Murmu, sent a message to Kolkata on 9 July 9,000 Santals were mobilised in

1680-558: A population of 74,464. Males constitute 51% of the population and females 49%. Jangipur has an average literacy rate of 62%, higher than the national average of 59.5%: male literacy is 68%, and female literacy is 56%. In Jangipur, 15% of the population is under 6 years of age. According to the District Census Handbook, Murshidabad , 2011, Jangipur covered an area of 8.2 km . The protected water-supply involved overhead tank etc. It had 6,968 domestic electric connections. Among

1800-530: A rebellion against the EIC. Sidhu Murmu had accumulated about ten thousand Santals to run a parallel government during the rebellion. The basic purpose was to collect taxes by making and enforcing his own laws. Soon after the declaration, the Santals took to arms. In many villages, the Zamindars, money lenders, and their operatives were executed. The open rebellion caught the Company administration by surprise. On 9 July,

1920-421: A relationship exemplified by the couple's parents, or sangat , between cross-siblings of a couple. Santal society has much less stratification and is more egalitarian than adjacent caste Hindu society, but still has some status differences. The most important marker of a person when interacting with others in Santal society is their standing as marang ("senior") or hudin ("junior"). This standing

2040-531: A senior clan do not marry members of a junior clan, and there are some forbidden marriages as well, such as between Marandi and Kisku. In addition, Besras are sometimes treated differently due to their perceived low status, but other than the context of marriage, they play no role in social life. The clans also avoid harming their clan totem, lest evil befall them. The Santals have another social organisation important for rituals, called khunti , or gusti in south Chota Nagpur. The term refers to descendants of

2160-402: A senior leader or administrator. During their expansion, Sidhu and Kanhu had desired to organise a more just settlement of the land, appointing Zamindaris and charged a much lower rent to the peasants (mainly Bhumij and Bengalis) than the EIC had. Each district could call on military assistance on its own, but to coordinate all anti-rebellion activities the EIC created a "Special Commissioner for

2280-621: A time came upon the daughters, who had become maidens and were unrecognisable. They became introduced and made love. Looking for his sons, Pilchu Haram discovered an old woman and asked for fire, and upon talking to her more, he discovered his wife and reconciled with her. Another version tells how Pilchu Budhi was in fact in tears at her daughters' disappearance, but Marang Buru reassured her that they were all safe and brought her to reconcile with her husband. When their sons found out they had married their sisters, they were very angry and would have killed their parents if Marang Buru had not hidden them in

2400-796: A total population of 6,570,807 according to the 2011 Census of India . Of this population, 63.15% are reported as Hindu , 23% as Sarna , 7.28% as Sari Dharam (all in West Bengal), and 5.46% as Christian . Other minor religious affiliations include Bidin (27,602), Muslim (13,014), Santal (4,771), Sumra Sandhi (2,059), Sarvdharm (1,625), Buddhist (1,121), Adi Bassi (1,100), Sikh (987), Kharwar (385), Sant (356), Saran (352), Jain (348), Achinthar (273), Sarin (185), Marangboro (167), Saranath (157), Seran (125), Adi (84), and Alchichi (78). Additionally, 102 were Atheist , 331 were believers of Tribal religion , 1,123 followed other unclassified religions, and 16,974 did not state any religious affiliation. In

2520-483: Is phul , a ritual friendship with members of other ethnic groups. Children of phul brothers consider themselves as brothers, and they attend each other's main lifecycle events, such as weddings or funerals, as pera . They also give help in times of hardship. Those who do not have brotherhood are referred to as pera , or guests. Members of other communities, especially those not speaking Santali, are excluded from this grouping, except for communities such as

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2640-502: Is common. Although spread out over a large area, they now consider the Santal Parganas as their cultural heartland. The base of Santal society is a division between "sibling" ( boeha ) and "guest" ( pera ), a divide found in many other tribal societies of central and eastern India. Children of the same father (sometimes grandfather), known as nij boeha , often live next to each other and own adjacent pieces of land. Those in

2760-402: Is encouraged in children from a young age. However the hudin - marang distinction does not apply to phul or bala , who instead greet each other as if greeting a marang . The Santals also have totemistic clans , known as pari . These 12 clans are divided into two ranks: 7 senior and 5 junior. The senior clans are believed to originate from the 7 sons and daughters of

2880-462: Is evaluated by relation: for example, is someone is greeting their father's elder brother's son, they would be the junior irrespective of age. Similarly, when someone greets their elder brother's wife, the wife would be marang . However, for strangers or guests with no clear kin connections, the question of marang or hudin is decided by age. The ritual greeting ( god in Santali) of someone

3000-412: Is generally light and it is seen wrong to stop two young people from marrying because of a disagreement about bride price. After an agreement is reached, celebrations ensue and festive drinking continues into the night. A short time afterwards, a relative of the groom along with the jog majhi of the groom 's village hand over the bride price to the bride 's family. Afterwards the couple arrive in

3120-402: Is given much importance and is done in the courtyard of a house when a pera visits. The greeting differs by gender, and whether the person is junior or senior to the one being greeted. The greeting rituals given by a hudin involve an "offering" ( dobok' johar ) of respect, while a marang "receives" this respect. This greeting should not be done hastily, and correct practice of it

3240-696: Is most likely derived from an exonym. The term refers to inhabitants of Saont in erstwhile Silda in Medinapore region in West Bengal. The Sanskrit word Samant or Bengali Saont means plain land. Their ethnonym is Hor Hopon ("child of human"). According to linguist Paul Sidwell , Austro-Asiatic language speakers probably arrived on coast of Odisha from Indochina about 4,000–3,500 years ago ( c.  2000  – c.  1500 BCE). The Austroasiatic speakers spread from Southeast Asia and mixed extensively with local Indian populations. Due to

3360-589: Is often termed as the Red Corridor . After Jharkhand was carved out of Bihar in 2000, the Santal Parganas was made a separate division of the state. These Santals have also agitated for recognition of their traditions in the census as a separate religion, sarna dharam , for which Jharkhand assembly passed a resolution in 2020. Many still face poverty and exploitation, and in Bangladesh, theft of their lands

3480-602: Is overlap of ideology, belief, culture and practices in between Sarnasim and Hinduism. Jangipur, Murshidabad Jangipur is a city and a municipality in Murshidabad district in the state of West Bengal , India . It is the headquarters of the Jangipur subdivision . It is situated on the banks of the Bhagirathi . Jangipur is an old town having reference from the historical period of Moghul emperor Jahangir when an army camp

3600-525: Is said to have been founded by the Mughal emperor Jahangir . During Moghul period, it was known as Jahangirpur and an army camp was established in this place. During the early years of British rule (then it was known as Jungypore, Jungypoor etc) it was an important centre of the Silk Trade and the site of East India Company's commercial residencies. The Jungypore silk was very famous during that time period. It

3720-520: Is set a series of natural (uncut) stones which represent the bongas, but are not substitutes except during festival. The Majhi Than , a raised mound of earth covered with a thatched roof outside the headman's house, is where the Majhi's ancestors' spirits live. During the summer, a jug of water is placed there so the spirits can drink. Here the most important decisions of the village are made, including judgements. A yearly round of rituals connected with

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3840-453: The Majhi Than , the bride thanks the headman for all he has done and gives a symbolic gift. The headman then blesses the couple and wishes the bride strength, good luck and many strong sons. The couple then leaves for the groom's village to start their new life. Marriages done by kesimek' involve very little ritual: Santal society has clearly defined roles for marriage, and the choice of

3960-592: The Bhagirathi River . Jangipur College was established in 1950 at Jangipur. Affiliated to the University of Kalyani it offers honours courses in Bengali, English, Sanskrit, history, geography, philosophy, political science, economics, physics, chemistry, mathematics, botany, zoology and accountancy. From 2016 to 2017, it is offering post-graduate courses in Bengali, English, history and education in distance mode. There

4080-736: The British Raj , are not considered Scheduled Tribes. Instead, they are classified as Other Backward Class in Assam, and the remaining population living in other states is considered part of the general population . The inclusion in Schedule Tribe list have been opposed by respective states and tribal activists organization following Sixth Scheduled autonomy, such as the Coordination Committee of Tribal Organizations of Assam (CCTOA). The organisation feared up that granting Scheduled Tribe status to

4200-602: The Chota Nagpur Plateau like the Kharia , Munda , and Oraon . Smaller and more isolated tribes often demonstrate less articulated classification systems of the spiritual hierarchy described as animism or a generalised worship of spiritual energies connected with locations, activities, and social groups. Religious concepts are intricately entwined with ideas about nature and interaction with local ecological systems. As in Santal religion, religious specialists are drawn from

4320-606: The Indian subcontinent . Santals are the largest tribe in the Jharkhand and West Bengal in terms of population and are also found in the states of Odisha , Bihar , Assam and Tripura . They are the largest ethnic minority in northern Bangladesh's Rajshahi Division and Rangpur Division . They have a sizeable population in Nepal . The Santals speak Santali , the most widely spoken Munda languages of Austroasiatic language family. Santal

4440-460: The Karmakar , Mahali or Lohar of their locality, who are enmeshed in Santal society. Those with this relationship can marry, and attend major festivals as guests. People related by marriage, although pera , have special roles in life-cycle events. Women perform special welcome rituals for pera when they visit. Those related by marriage can have one of two relationships. They can be bala ,

4560-588: The beedi industry in Jangipur subdivision. 90% are home-based and 70% of the home-based workers are women. As of 2013, an estimated 2.4 million people reside along the banks of the Ganges alone in Murshidabad district. Severe erosion occurs along the banks. Note: The two maps present some of the notable locations in the subdivision. All places marked in the maps are linked in the larger full screen maps. The city

4680-546: The "plunder" of the insurgents, and saw the application of martial law, killing of any Santal under arms and burning of villages thought to contain plundered property as the only solution to stamp out the rebellion. Eventually even the Lieutenant Governor sought to persuade the Governor General of India to declare martial law in the districts affected by the insurgency. He claimed that it would be difficult to suppress

4800-462: The Bhagalpur commissioner announced a bounty of Rs.10,000 to arrest Sidhu or his brother Kanhu Murmu, 5,000 for his Dewans and 1,000 for the chiefs of various parganas under Sidhu and Kanhu. This reward was seen as "enormous" by the government, and was rescinded. In August 1855, the EIC stressed to its commanders that they should pardon any insurgent to speedily surrenders, except any principal leaders. As

4920-410: The Damin-i-koh, usually leading attacks with 1,000 man bands, and by the 11th of July were 11 miles from Colgong (modern Kahalgaon). Many of these groups were not around to meet Sidhu and Kanhu and were likely acting independently. By the 17th they had moved further to the west and had cut off road and rail connections between Colgong and Bhagalpur, although eyewitnesses told the District Magistrate that

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5040-573: The EIC troops burned Santhal villages in revenge. Towards the end of July, both the British and Santals reorganised their forces. The ECI brought in Major General G. W. A. Lloyd from Dinajpur district , who took control of the troops from Bidwell, and gathered even more forces for the full suppression of the rebellion. At the time his command was established, he had 5 regiments of local infantry, Hill Rangers, some European troops, and cavalry, in addition to

5160-528: The EIC's guns would turn to water when fired, the EIC invested much time in persuading them that their guns' impotency was due to natural causes. The news of the Santal victory at Narayanpur spread like wildfire, and motivated the Santals to fight and believe victory was still possible. On 21 July 1855, the Bhagalpur Commissioner wrote that the Santhals were in force all along the road from Rajmahal to Palassour, and were looting and burning villages along

5280-536: The Governor General declared martial law. This applied to the area from Bhagalpur district on the right bank of the Ganges to the left bank of the Ganges in Murshidabad district. This allowed for immediate punishment of death to any Santal caught under arms, although the Government of India requested to the Government of Bengal that they try and "reduce them to complete submission with as little bloodshed as possible." Initially

5400-496: The Paharia's guerrilla attacks, managed to drive them out. They clear the forest tracts and started cultivation in these areas. Their settlement took place between the 1830s and 1850s: in 1830, the area was home to only 3,000 Santals, but by the 1850s, 83,000 Santals had settled in the land and had turned it into paddy fields. This resulted in a 22 times increase in Company revenue from the area. However, as they became more agricultural,

5520-468: The Santal Parganas to the districts of Bihar and North Bengal such as Purnia, Malda and Dinajpur. The Santals still faced retaliation after the Santal Hul and were invited by zamindars to cultivate many parts of north Bengal, which had become scrubland, land which the Santals specialized in farming. By the 1930s, their numbers in this region the Santals had become two lakh. Most were settled on wasteland where

5640-645: The Santal and other 40 migrated tribal communities will squeeze up the benefits of natives , the "original tribal people" of the state. The Santhal people believe in nature worship , and their place of worship is in sacred groves known as Jaher and Sarna , in contrast to Hindu places of worship in temples . They also perform animal sacrifices to honor their gods and accept flesh, including beef and pork , practices that are generally prohibited in Hinduism . Thus they consider themselves believers of Sari and Sarna religion rather than Hinduism. Although there

5760-401: The Santal community, each with its own degree of social acceptance. The most elaborate kind of marriage is the hapramko bapla , or ancestor's marriage, but the most widely practiced is kesimek' . In this form of marriage, a boy and girl who wish to marry decide to go to the groom's house and stay there a while. When the girl's family are made aware of their situation, the jog majhi of

5880-510: The Santal religion, the majority of reverence falls on a court of spirits ( bonga ), who handle different aspects of the world and who are placated with prayers and offerings. These benevolent spirits operate at the village, household, ancestor, and sub-clan level, along with evil spirits that cause disease and can inhabit village boundaries, mountains, water, tigers, and the forest. The bonga are intermediaries between noa puri (visible world) and hana puri (the invisible reality),

6000-495: The Santals continued their system of government and traditions. Newly established Christian missions brought education, and many Santals moved to the tea plantations in Assam , North Bengal , where they still remain today. However, most continued with their old life, but were still not prosperous. In addition, secular education did not become widespread until after Indian independence. In the late 19th century, many Santals migrated from

6120-613: The Santals once had a significant presence in Hazaribagh . Colonial scholar Colonel Dalton claimed in Chai there was a fort formerly occupied by a Santal raja who was forced to flee when the Delhi Sultanate invaded the territory. In the latter half of the 18th century, the Santals entered the historical record in 1795 when they are recorded as "Soontars." During the Bengal Famine of 1770 ,

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6240-619: The Santals provided significant support to the Tebhaga movement . After the Pakistani military crushed the uprising and burned many Santal homes, many fled across the border to Malda in India. In northern West Bengal , tribal peasants participated in Naxalbari uprising led by a Santal communist leader Jangal Santhal . The impoverishment has led to the Guevarist inspired Naxalite insurgency in what

6360-464: The Santals were exploited by the zamindars . Unlike the Santals, the British valued individual competition instead of cooperation, and had a rigid system of laws very different from the relatively relaxed norms of the village council, the highest form of government most Santals knew. Mahajans from Bengal and Baniyas from Bihar began selling goods from elsewhere, and many Santals, seeing them as exotic, were tricked into debt to buy them, usually with

6480-502: The Santals were attacking villages saying that Company rule was over and the rule of their suba had begun. On July 15, the District Commissioner of Bhagalpur sent a proclamation asking the Santals to lay down their arms and promising to examine their grievances, but this proclamation was ignored and the Santals continued to fight. These Santals fought a company of Hill Rangers (Paharia soldiers), who fled. The Santals also defeated

6600-618: The Santals, under Sidhu and Kanhu Murmu, had moved south of the hills to the village of Mohulpahari, where they held a Chata festival. They then intended to march east to Pakur and kill the Rani, thence to Maheshpur to kill the Raja, and march to Samserganj, then to Banaigram to do Puja in the Ganga, and from Rajmahal towards Bhagalpur and Munger. Estimations of the rebel force varied widely, with some saying 10-12,000 on 8 July, and others 13,000 on 11 July. By 15 July,

6720-455: The Santhals had been driven out the northern part of the hills and most of Bhagalpur. The Santals now resorted to a policy of hit-and-run attacks on the EIC troops. These attacks generally resumed in August 1855, although it is unclear whether these attacks were organised by the central leadership of the rebellion or whether thakurs were acting on their own in what they saw as the best interests of

6840-643: The Suppression of the Sonthal insurrection", a job given to A. C. Bidwell, who was a commissioner of a district to the east of the Ganga and was already in Kolkata. Letters sent to all relevant districts indicated that Bidwell would be responsible for civil affairs in the districts during the period of the rebellion. The governor's council authorized full military action to crush the rebels. They intended to send troops from Barrackpore to Raniganj, and redistribute troops already in

6960-605: The Tamak‘ and the Tumdak’. Chadar Badar , a form of puppetry known also as Santal puppetry, is a folk show involving wooden puppets placed in a small cage which acts as the stage. Local affairs are handled by a village council , led by a manjhi . The walls of traditional Santal homes are ornamented with carved designs of animals, hunting scenes, dancing scenes, and geometric patterns . Santal bridal palanquins are also finely carved. There are seven kinds of marriage recognized in

7080-551: The abode of a Creator. This creator is variously called Marang Buru (Supreme Deity or literally The Great Mountain) or Thakur Jiu (life giver), and is the "cause of all causes," making the Santal religion, in a deep sense, monotheistic as well as pantheistic. There are several ranks of bongas : the most important are associated intimately with Marang Buru and are worshipped by all Santals. These include Marang Buru bonga , Jaher Era bonga and Gosae Era . Other bongas , who are held to be less powerful, are

7200-459: The agricultural cycle, along with life-cycle rituals for birth, marriage and burial at death, involves petitions to the spirits and offerings that include the sacrifice of animals, usually birds. Religious leaders are male specialists in medical cures who practice divination and witchcraft (the socio-historic meaning of the term, used here, refers to the ritual practice of magic and is not pejorative). Similar beliefs are common among other tribes on

7320-403: The appeasement of evil spirits or as representing bongas as exclusively harmful. However bonga in itself simply means a supernatural force in the world and has no specific connotation with good or evil. Moreover, these bongas do not refer to specific objects but to the invisible force that governs or is associated with those objects. The Santal creation story holds that originally the world

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7440-519: The arrests of rebel leaders from surrendering villages often led to Santals who had surrendered being compelled to betray insurgents who had not surrendered. In this way rebels in the forest of the Gurmala country. This also led to the capture of Sidhu either on 20 August or in early October by a group consisting of Santhals and one Bengali, who later requested compensation from the government for their work. Kanhu had hid himself along with Chand and Bhairab in

7560-418: The assumed centre of the rebels. 12,000 Santals were marching to attack the city. On 21 July, the Bhagalpur Commissioner, who had kept most troops for the defence of Bhagalpur, was ordered to spread out his troops more evenly, and keep no more than 100 for the defence of the city. However troop transports were bringing more troops up the Ganga to Rajmahal, and around 200 troops were deputed to Colgong. Meanwhile

7680-430: The beginning of a road building project when he made a supplier named Rajyadhar Konai sign the contract with the impression of his right hand. In the 2011 census, Jangipur Urban Agglomeration had a population of 122,875, out of which 62,734 were males and 60,141 were females. The 0–6 years population was 16,299. Effective literacy rate for the 7+ population was 75.71 per cent. As of 2001 India census , Jangipur had

7800-409: The boy's family is consulted for the best day for the kesimek' . The bride and groom are not bound by any obligation to marry. During this time, the jog majhi stays in the village to give all the information he can to the bride's father: both in determining what would be a good bride price to demand and whether the marriage might end in a short time. On the day of the kesimek' ceremony,

7920-471: The branch offices of 7 nationalised banks, 1 private commercial bank, 1 cooperative bank. Jangipur is well connected with Kolkata and district headquarter Baharampur via NH 34 . A railway station, (In Azimganj - Farakka line) Jangipur Road railway station is situated in Raghunathganj. Many express and passengers trains pass regularly over the city. Raghunathganj is a twin town of Jangipur opposite of

8040-427: The bride's natal village. The bride arriving first carrying a pot with white clay, the symbol of a woman returning to her natal village as a guest. The bride greets her mother first and neighbours are invited to share handi reserved for pera ( pera hor handi ), while getting acquainted with the husband. When the couple leaves the bride's village, the bride pays her respects to the headman in his courtyard. At

8160-454: The closest form of brotherhood, called mit orak hor ("people of one house") in Singhbhum, cannot marry each other and propitiate the same deity, since the house refers to a common ancestor from which all the families are believed to descend. Only mit orak hor marriages are severely stigmatised. Another brotherhood is membership of a clan, which are exogamous. The last form of brotherhood

8280-484: The country, splitting up Santal forces and turning the villagers into refugees. The District Magistrate of Munger had armed some of the ghatwals and discharged sipahis, and sent them to block the passes into the plains in early August. Later some 4,000 Santals who had intended to move into Munger's plains had found the passes blocked and moved further south. On 10 August, a steamer carrying General Lloyd learned in Cologong that

8400-428: The couple is respected. Decisions by the families are done in a spirit of consensus rather than adversarially, and marriage is seen just as important for the entire village as for the couple. Religion among Santal people of Bihar, West Bengal, Jharkhand, Odisha and Tripura The Santal are granted Scheduled Tribe status in five states: Bihar , West Bengal , Jharkhand , Odisha , and Tripura , where they account for

8520-568: The drier western and southwestern parts of Bengal, especially the Jungle Mahals region, were some of the worst-hit areas and were significantly depopulated. This depopulation resulted in a significant loss of revenue for the East India Company . Therefore, when the Permanent Settlement was enacted in 1790, the Company looked for agriculturalists to clear the lands. British officials turned their attention to Santals, who were ready to clear

8640-430: The entire Santal tribe while he was under threat of Santhal attacks. However the EIC refused to declare martial law and thus allow the burning of villages or execution of unresisting Santals. However many officers in the field continued to burn villages, claiming that they housed participants in the rebellion. On 23 July, Bidwell wrote to the government writing that it would be impractical to collect prisoners and not to take

8760-449: The fathers negotiate the bride price to be paid. The groom is first asked whether he wishes the marriage to continue. As a symbolic marriage contract , the groom 's father gives a small amount of cash and gives handi (rice-beer) to the guests. The negotiations for bride-price continue between the fathers exclusively until an amount is reached. Although this is nowadays in cash, livestock or other goods are not uncommon. The bride price

8880-404: The first man and woman, and in order of seniority they are: Hansda (goose), Murmu ( Nilgai ), Marandi ( Ischaemum rugosum ), Kisku (kingfisher), Soren ( Pleiades ), Hembram ( betel palm ) and Tudu (owl). The junior clans are Baskey or Baske (stale rice), Besra ( falcon ), Chorey or Chonre (lizard), Pauria or Pawria (pigeon) and Bediya. Members of

9000-555: The forest for the practice of settled agriculture. In 1832, a large number of area of the Raj Mahal hills demarcated as Damin-i-koh . Santal from Cuttack , Dhalbhum , Birbhum , Manbhum , Hazaribagh migrated and started cultivating these lands as peasants sponsored by landowners and the British who were desperate for labour. Under British direction, Santals took loans from non-Santal moneylenders to buy iron tools, seed grain and oxen as individuals and families, rather than groups as

9120-407: The girl's village arrives at the house of the headman of the boy's village to discover the couple's intentions. The couple are summoned to the village headman and the bride is asked whether she wishes to set a date for kesimek' . If she replies 'no', the boy's family will have to pay a small fine to the jog majhi of the girl's village, who would take the girl back to her father. If she assents,

9240-516: The grievances of Santals of North Bengal. The Santal community, like the others of the region, was split between West Bengal in India and East Bengal in Pakistan during Partition. After independence, the Santals were made one of the Scheduled Tribes in India. In East Pakistan, there were some regions in the west where Santals were still in significant numbers. There and in neighbouring West Bengal,

9360-468: The hills after being wounded, with what was initially deemed as only a few followers. In November however, it was reported there were still thousands of armed Santals south of the Mor river. However Kanhu and his companions were captured in early December 1855 by Paharia rangers while pretending to be peasants. In January 1856, marital law was revoked and military operations ended the following month. A number of skirmishes occurred after this which resulted in

9480-480: The hills taking as much of the plundered property as they could. Later events would prove Kanhu was not killed at that time. Toogood then posted troops at Barhait to secure the hills, and August 1855 was generally peaceful. To the southeast in Birbhum, the fighting was back and forth. In open confrontations, the EIC soldiers won, but the Santals would simply retreat and return when the Company soldiers had left. On 17 July,

9600-561: The lack of significant archaeological records, the original homeland of the Santhals is not known with certainty. The folklore of the Santhals claims they came from Hihiri , which scholars have identified as Ahuri in Hazaribagh district . From there, they claim, they were pushed onto Chota Nagpur Plateau , then to Jhalda , Patkum and finally Saont, where they settled for good. According to Dalton, where they were renamed to Santal from cluster name Kharwar. This legend, which has been cited by several scholars, has been used as evidence that

9720-432: The largest projects of its kind in the country. Murshidabad district shares with Bangladesh a porous international border which is notoriously crime prone (partly shown in this map). The subdivision has two large power plants - the 2,100 MW Farakka Super Thermal Power Station and the 1,600 MW Sagardighi Thermal Power Station . According to a 2016 report, there are around 1,000,000 (1 million/ ten lakh) workers engaged in

9840-598: The legal system set up by the British East India Company. The Santals lived in a territory that stretched from Hazaribagh to Medinipur , spanning the Subarnarekha River , along with other Munda ethnolinguistic tribals, and they engaged on agriculture. Those areas were greatly affected by the 1770 Bengal famine . In 1832, the EIC demarcated the Damin-i-koh region in present-day Jharkhand and encouraged

9960-400: The loan, their lands were forcibly taken and they were forced into bonded labour. Numerous petitions were made by disgruntled Santal leaders to the administration against these activities, but these were largely ignored. This sparked the Santals to mobilise against the intermediaries, eventually leading to a rebellion against the EIC and the establishment of self-governance . In the lead up to

10080-440: The loss of 300 of their own, before allowing the others to flee back towards Suri. In another, at a place called Nangolia, the Santhals forded the river Mor but were met by EIC troops, who fired continuously and slowly pushed the Santals back across the river, with 200 casualties for the Santhals. However maintaining control over the territory recaptured was often difficult for the EIC commanders. In some cases civilians accompanying

10200-458: The maps can be seen alongside. The subdivision is located in the Rarh region that is spread over from adjoining Santhal Pargana division of Jharkhand . The land is slightly higher in altitude than the surrounding plains and is gently undulating. The river Ganges , along with its distributaries, is prominent in both the maps. At the head of the subdivision is the 2,245 m long Farakka Barrage , one of

10320-559: The medical facilities it had 1 hospital (with 250 beds), 3 charitable hospitals/ nursing homes, 100 medicine shops. Among the educational facilities, it had 57 primary schools, 6 middle schools, 5 secondary schools, 5 senior secondary schools, 1 general degree college. It had 46 non-formal education centres (Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan). Among the social, recreational & cultural facilities it had 1 working women's hostel, 1 stadium, 1 cinema theatre, 1 auditorium/ community hall, 3 public libraries, 3 reading rooms. It produced beedi , napkins. It had

10440-450: The next day they were 6 miles away. Most of the Santals had fled their villages ahead of the EIC troops. Those who remained often heorically resisted the EIC forces, while some gave up and collaborated. Many of these eventual collaborators had written desperate pleas to Sidhu and Kanhu asking for instructions or assistance after being surrounded by numerically superior forces. Sidhu and Kanhu were not completely idle. Kanhu marched out to face

10560-423: The number of agriculturists resulted in a 22-fold increase in Company revenue from the area. Subsequently, Mahajans and Zamindars, acting as money lenders, tax collectors, and other intermediaries employed by the EIC, came to dominate the local economy, governance, and administration. Many Santals became victims of corrupt money lending practices. They were lent money at exorbitant rates. When they were unable to repay

10680-492: The numbers were estimated at around 20,000, although the real number was never known. By the 16th, it was reported that the Santals had moved towards Rampurhat , and a day later, they had defeated any resistance and burned the town to the ground. Before 15 July, the Santhals destroyed the town of Pulsa. By 19 July, a group of Santhals were moving towards Maheshpur , numbering 15,000 and being joined by more men as they marched. Moreover another group of Santals numbering around 10,000

10800-443: The plains to the west of Colgong. Many zamindars had taken shelter in the city but were not permitted to lead out their troops and attack the rebels. To the east, Rajmahal was little defended except for some barricades that had been put up, and the only forces available were a small number of policemen, 12 armed Europeans and 160 sepoys with very little ammunition. The majority of their normal garrison had been sent to attack Barhait ,

10920-517: The point where Santals grew discontented. In 1855, they revolted in the Santal rebellion , better known as the Santal Hul . 30,000 Santals, led by Sidhu and Kanhu Murmu , attacked the zamindars and other outsiders ( dikkus ) who had made their lives so miserable, as well as the British authorities. Eventually, around 10,000 British troops managed to suppress the rebellion. Although the rebellion's impact

11040-544: The pre-existed Paharia tribe of the Rajmahal hills to clear forests and practice agriculture. However, the Paharia tribe declined the offer, leading the company to invite the Santals to settle in the region. Due to promises of land and economic amenities a large numbers of Santals came to settle from Dhalbhum , Manbhum , Hazaribagh , Midnapore , and other surrounding areas. Soon, their population increased significantly from 3,000 to 83,000 in between 1830 and 1850. This growth in

11160-510: The rebellion was gradually suppressed, the EIC began to offer grace periods or rent annulements for the villagers but only if they surrender their arms and give up anyone who was "guilty of murder or plundering". However the commanders on the ground did not distinguish between insurgents and civilians often. In one case, after having one of their soldiers shot by an insurgent near a village, the commander ordered its plundering despite its inhabitants declaring they were not insurgents. The demands for

11280-482: The rebellion without committing acts which were crimes under civil law, and that troop actions might be unreasonably hindered by civil officers. Initially the Governor-General was averse to declaring martial law, and replied that the troops were already given sufficient freedom to fight the insurgents without this step. A repeated request from the Lieutenant Governor was similarly turned down. However on 8 November,

11400-428: The rebellion, the EIC recorded numerous instances of dacoits who were especially targeting Bengali zamindars. One was Bir Singh Manjhi, a Santal who led a gang of robbers and who claimed to have received support from a god who had whispered a secret mantra into his ear. Many other leaders like him promoted a mix of anti-state activity mixed with millenarian fervour, making the Santals ripe for rebellion. Simultaneously,

11520-400: The rebellion. During the period of these guerilla attacks by the Santals, the EIC was debating whether to impose martial law. On 23 August, the Bhagalpur Commissioner issued an Urdu proclamation allowing for the killing of Santals "found collected together in armed parties", but opposed the harming of women or children. The magistrate who was at Rajmahal had in fact urged the EIC to exterminate

11640-417: The rebellion. During the rebellion, the Santal leader was able to mobilise roughly 60,000 Santhal forming groups, with 1500 to 2000 people forming a group. The rebellion was supported by poor tribals and non-tribals like Gowalas and Lohars (who were milkmen and blacksmiths ) in the form of providing information and weapons. Ranabir Samaddar argues that apart from Santhals, other aboriginal inhabitants of

11760-608: The recent conflicts, they are infinitely more respectable than our civilized enemy, the Russians, who would most likely consider such forbearance as foolish, and declare that is not war." Mrinal Sen 's film Mrigayaa (1976) is set during the Santhal rebellion. Karl Marx commented on this rebellion as India's first organised 'mass revolution' in his book Notes on Indian History . Santal people The Santal (or Santhal ) are an Austroasiatic -speaking Munda ethnic group of

11880-465: The region like Kamars , Bagdis , Bagals and others also participated in the rebellion. English author Charles Dickens , in Household Words , wrote the following passage on the rebellion: There seems also to be a sentiment of honor among them; for it is said that they use poisoned arrows in hunting, but never against their foes. If this be the case and we hear nothing of the poisoned arrows in

12000-469: The regions immediately around it, initially the Santals knew nothing of this rebellion. However eventually the news spread, so that by 11th of July a British farmer claimed that armed bands of Santals, not under 20,000, were proceeding to join the rebels and were threatening non-Santals that they would "return with an order from the Soobah for their extermination." The Santals began to move to attack regions west of

12120-413: The rent was cheaper than the more fertile wet lands. However they faced heavy taxation from the zamindars, and were oppressed by moneylenders, upper castes, and the bureaucracy in general. In 1924, several Santal sardars, influenced by Gandhian ideology and led by Jitu Sardar, began to lead agitations against the oppressive double system of elite Bengalis and British government. Santals stopped paying rent to

12240-433: The rest scattered, leaving behind many of their possessions. It appears that Sidhu and Kanhu were encamped here, and later Sidhu told of how both he and his brother were wounded in this battle. However the EIC troops did not move further towards Bhagnadi because spies informed them 20 to 30,000 Santals remained in the area and there were numerous bands of Santals operating nearby. On 22 July, they were 14 miles from Bhagnadi and

12360-525: The service of the EIC, including the Nawab of Murshidabad, who sent 30 elephants. Even the Commissioner of 24 Parganas, outside Kolkata, was asked to purchase or hire elephants for the campaign. However, despite recommendations for 1,500 troops sent by the Divisional Commissioner of Burdwan, the Lieutenant Governor refused to send more troops, deeming such a large force unnecessary for what he termed

12480-501: The soldiers, and on 24 July the EIC marched towards Barhait, from which they would proceed to Bhagnadi. As they came into a large valley through a pass in the hills, around 200 Santals moved out of the villages towards the EIC troops. Although the EIC troops fired a few shots, they did not appear to hit the rebels, but later when they came to Bhagnadi they heard rumours that Kanhu had been shot and killed that day. After hearing tidings of Kanhu's death, Sidhu, Chand and Bhairab had retreated to

12600-498: The spirits of important people of the village who have since been deified. There is also another class of bongas who are feared as bringers of evil. These spirits are not placated by a priest but by a medicine-man called ojha . In the present-day, belief in these malignant bongas is eroding due to the penetration of modern medical science. The lack of a separate name for malignant bongas caused many early colonial scholars to present Santal religion as wholly focused on

12720-510: The spirits with the bodies, they flew away and asked for a place to build a nest. Marang Buru could not get anyone else to bring land to the surface, and so the tortoise volunteered and pushed the Earth onto his back. The birds then gave birth to a boy and a girl called Pilchu Haram and Pilchu Budhi . These two had seven sons and seven daughters, but the couple soon had a quarrel and separated. Pilchu Haram and his sons became great hunters, and on

12840-473: The subdivisional headquarters there from Aurangabad in 1856. North of Jangipur is Giria , where two important battles were fought. One between Alivardi Khan and Sarfaraz Khan on April 29, 1740, and the other between the English under Major Adams and the troop of Mir Qasim in 1763. In 1858, W. J. Herschel , while serving as Magistrate at Jangipur, first began the use of fingerprints for identification at

12960-569: The town to defend the railway station and the Grand Trunk Road. The eventual plan was to secure threatened positions near the Ganga, limit their movement to the north side of the road, and cut off the rebels' line of retreat to the hills. On 10 July, 160 men marched from Bhagalpur under a Major Burroughs and others were deputed to protect villages in Samserganj thana. A number of local Zamindars were sent letters asking them to place their elephants at

13080-622: The various soldiers sent by the many Zamindars who were aiding the EIC. After his retreat from Bhagnadi Sidhu had regrouped with Ram Manjhi, a suboordinate near Birbhum, who became the new leader of the rebellion, along with other suba thakurs . Eventually the East India Company resumed its attacks. Captain Sherwill, who had passed through the hills several times, had come to offer his advice in Rajmahal. The EIC troops in Rajmahal began moving into

13200-581: The village of Murdapur, intending to attack the Pakur Raj, then Samserganj , and come back to Rajmahal and Bhagalpur after taking a dip in the Ganga. A missive sent on 10 July claimed 10-12,000 Santhals were mobilising near Jangipur , and later the Magistrate of Aurangabad sent a message that they had occupied the railway houses. Another missive from the magistrate said that 13,000 Santals were mobilising from Birbhum, threatening Pakur and burning railway bungalows in

13320-509: The village or family and serve a wide range of spiritual functions that focus on placating potentially dangerous spirits and co-ordinating rituals. The Santhal people are constitutionally designated as Scheduled Tribes only in Fifth Schedule areas , such as Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Odisha, and Tripura. While the Santals, who migrated from Fifth Schedule areas to Sixth Schedule areas , specifically to Assam as tea garden laborers during

13440-434: The west bank in consequence of the encroachments of the river. This quarter of the town is called Raghunathganj and is within municipal limits. Here there is an old mosque with an inscription saying that it was built by Saiyad Kasim and containing a chronogram, which gives 1075 A. H., or 1664 A. D., as the date. Sir Ashley Eden, Lieutenant Governor of Bengal from 1877 to 1882, was once stationed at Jangipur and transferred

13560-478: The zamindars, beat up revenue inspectors, and led agitations against the moneylenders. In 1928, the Santals stopped paying the chaukidari tax and led protests in Thakurgaon in 1929. In 1932, several Santals attempted to organise their own state with Jitu Sardar as head, initially based on Gandhi's Ram Rajya but quickly criticised Gandhi when he did not help them. In 1933, a British commissioner was appointed to look into

13680-485: Was also an important centre of indigo cultivation during the later years of Company rule. In the early twentieth century, it was best known as the toll station for registering all the traffic on the Bhagirathi. But now the trade and traffic has fallen and much of the town has been swept away by the river Bhagirathi . The subdivisional courts and offices formerly stood on the east bank of the Bhagirathi, and were moved to

13800-415: Was established here. Jangipur is located at 24°28′09″N 88°06′12″E  /  24.4691°N 88.1032°E  / 24.4691; 88.1032 . It has an average elevation of 11 metres (36  feet ). There is a 1 km long barrage across the Bhagirathi at Jangipur. Jangipur subdivision is crowded with 52 census towns and as such it had to be presented in two location maps. One of

13920-604: Was largely overshadowed by that of the Indian Rebellion of 1857 , the impact of the Santhal Rebellion lives on as a turning point in Santhal pride and identity. This was reaffirmed, over a century and a half later with the creation of the tribal province in the Republic of India , Jharkhand . Following the rebellion, the British satisfied all Santhal demands, due to their importance as a tax-paying group. The British created

14040-420: Was looting and burning villages to the south along the base of the hills, moving towards Suri . Many Santals at this time were granted the title of suba thakur , a leadership position under the suba . Many of these titles were granted to various followers during Sidhu and Kanhu's brief period of administration, while others simply claimed the title for themselves. Some others were granted the title nazir , for

14160-429: Was obtained from a non-Santal interrogated under oath on 9 July, who claimed they had 7,000 men with them, while a report a few days later claimed they had 30,000 men, of which 12,000 would attack Rajmahal and the rest proceed down the railway line to Jangipur and thence to Murshidabad. A person recorded on 14th July recorded that all the traders from Suri, Rampurhat and Nalhati had fled. To the west, in Bhagalpur town and

14280-402: Was their custom for working the land. When they arrived in Damin-i-koh (present day Santal Pargana ), the British provided no protection for the Santals against the preexisting Mal Paharias , who were against destruction of forest, were known raiders of the plains areas and had only recently been partially "pacified". Eventually, the Santals, with their better technology and ability to match

14400-422: Was water, and Marang Buru and some lesser deities were the only inhabitants. When some spirits requested permission to make humans, Marang Buru asked Malan Budhi to create the human bodies. When she had finally succeeded, she was told by Marang Buru to use the human spirits that were high on the rafters of his hut. She could not reach the human spirit, and took the bird spirit instead. When Marang Buru integrated

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