Country: Bihar, India

Group: Santal

Date: October 3, 2023

Team: Ash Pessaran (lead), Rebekah Dilks, Anish Verma, Teagen Allen, Jhanz Marco Garcia

Content Warnings: Violence, Murder

Approximate Time Period: 1600’s – Present

          There are approximately 400,000 Santal people living in Bihar, predominantly in rural areas (Census Digital Library, 2011). The Santals transitioned from a primarily hunter-gatherer lifestyle to agriculture during British rule in the 1800s, marked by unjust land seizures. From the 1600’s – 1900’s, the British imposed heavy taxes on lands cleared for cultivation. They encouraged all Santal people, especially the women, to buy goods on credit and charged high interest rates on these loans (India, N., 2022).

There is clear evidence of lethal violence against the Santal in Bihar. The Santal community attempted to protest against the British during their occupation due to forced labor, sexual assault, and extortion. The British responded with lethal violence, killing 1500 people in 1855 (India, N., 2022). On November 22, 1971, an armed mob (unidentified but presumed to be sent by principal landholders or Maliks of the land which the Santal occupied) attacked a Santal settlement in the western part of the Purnea district resulting in ten Santals being shot dead and four burnt alive (Chakravarti, 1986). The Santals had settled there for over three decades before the incident. They had been allowed on the land by the Maliks because they were known to be diligent, efficient, and honest cultivators (Chakravarti, 1986). However, the Maliks had denied the Santal the ability to cultivate the lands and produce crops for themselves leading to increased tension between the groups (Chakravarti, 1986).

India created the tribal state of Jharkand in recognition of the Santal tribes and the suffering they endured during colonial rule (India, N., 2022). However, there are reports that grievances of the Santal community are overlooked by mainstream society. In 2008, police killed two youths and injured dozens during a protest. The Indian government acquired Santal land to allow a Kolkata based company to build a power station (Baski, B., 2013). The Naxalites, a left wing radical group in India is recruiting Santal youth into their militia, using the youth as human shields in uprisings against the government/state agencies (Baski, B.,2013)

Data Quality: 2/3 There is substantial evidence supporting cases of lethal violence discrimination against the Santal people, however, some information regarding modern cases are not from credible sources. 

Sources

  1. Chakravarti, A. (1986). The Unfinished Struggle of Santhal Bataidars in Purnea District, 1938-42. Economic and Political Weekly, 21(42), 1847–1865. http://www.jstor.org/stable/4376236
  2. Data & Resource. Home | Government of India. (n.d.). https://censusindia.gov.in/census.website/
  3. Ray, S., & Web Desk, D. (2022, July 25). A brief history of the santhal tribe. Deccan Herald. https://www.deccanherald.com/india/a-brief-history-of-the-santhal-tribe-1129883.html
  4. Baski, Boro. “Santal Worries: D+C – Development + Cooperation.” Frontpage, 13 May 2013, www.dandc.eu/en/article/young-generation-indias-adivasis-struggles-tough-problems-other-youth-do-not-have.
  5. India, Navrang. “Genocide of Santhal Tribes of India and the British Henchmen – Early Colonial India.” Genocide of Santhal Tribes of India and the British Henchmen – Early Colonial India, Blogger, 14 July 2022, www.navrangindia.in/2015/01/genocide-of-santhal-tribes-of-india-and.html.