Question

What do you infer by Damin-i-Koh? How did it come into being, illustrate?

Answer 1

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. After the demarcation of Damin-iKoh, Santhal settlements expanded rapidly. From 40 Santhal villages in the area in 1838, as many as 1,473 villages had come up by 1851. 
• Over the same period, the Santhal population increased from a mere 3,000 to over 82,000. As cultivation expanded, an increased volume of revenue flowed into the Company’s coffers. 

The Santhal had a tireless search for a place to settle. Here in the Damin-iKoh their journey seemed to have come to an end.