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Colonialism And The Countryside
“The battle between the hoe and the plough was a long one”. Substantiate the statement with reference to the Santhals and Paharis of Raj Mahal Hills during 18th century.
The battle between the hoe and the plough was a long one:
i. The British wanted to bring more land under cultivation for increasing agricultural produce and revenue.They failed to convince the Paharias to practice settled
agriculture.
ii. Hill folk in the Rajmahal hills were known as Paharias. They depended on forest produce and shifting cultivation or their living and grew a variety of pulses and millets for consumption.
iii. The British gave land to Santhals (Damin-i-koh) to settle in cultivate. The Santhals cleared land and converted it into cultivable land.
iv. Santhals displaced the Paharias. They practiced plough agriculture and ploughed land to grow rice and cotton.
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How did the Paharias respond to the coming of outsiders?
Why did the Santhals rebel against British rule?
Why were many zamindaris auctioned after the Permanent Settlement?
In what way was the livelihood of the Paharias different from that of the Santhals?
How did the American Civil War affect the lives of ryots in India?
What are the problems of using official sources in writing about the history of peasants?
On an outline map of the subcontinent, mark out the areas described in this chapter. Find out whether there were other areas where the Permanent Settlement and the Ryotwari system were prevalent and plot these on the map as well.
Mention the revenue system introduced by the British in Bombay Deccan with one of its main characteristics.
Why was British introduce new systems of revenue?
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