UPSC Prelims 2018 · Question 51 of 99
UPSC Prelims 2018 question on Santhal Rebellion Aftermath
- ExamUPSC CSE
- Year2018
- PaperGeneral Studies Paper I
- SubjectModern History
- TopicPeasant and Tribal Movements
- DifficultyHard
- TypeStatement
After the Santhal Uprising subsided, what measure/measures were 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.
Show answer
Answer: C. Both 1 and 2
Analysis
Both measures were taken, so the answer is (c) Both 1 and 2.
Statement by statement
Statement 1 is CORRECT. After the Santhal Revolt of 1855 and 1856, the Santhal Parganas was created by carving out 5,500 square miles from the districts of Bhagalpur and Birbhum. The colonial state hoped that a separate territory with special laws inside it would conciliate the Santhals.
Statement 2 is CORRECT. To protect the economic basis of Santhal society, special regulations governed land transfer, and it became illegal for a Santhal to transfer land to a non-Santhal.
Source
Shekhar Bandopadhyaya, Plassey to Partition, chapter on Reform and Rebellion, page 165.
How to crack it
The colonial response to tribal revolts followed a standard template: create a separate administrative unit and restrict alienation of tribal land to outsiders. The same pattern recurs after the Munda rebellion with the Chotanagpur Tenancy Act. Learn the template once and you can reason your way through most tribal revolt aftermath questions, because the exam tests the pattern far more often than the specific acreage or district names.