Prelims 2018 · Q51
MediumAfter the Santhal Uprising subsided, what was/were the measure/measures taken by the colonial government?
- 1.The territories called 'Santhal Paraganas' 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:
Answer & explanation
Answer: (c) Both 1 and 2
Both measures were taken. After the Santhal Revolt of 1855–56 the British carved out a separate Santhal Pargana territory, and special laws there protected Santhal land from passing to outsiders.
- ✓ 1. The Santhal Pargana was created after the revolt, carved out of Bhagalpur and Birbhum districts, in 1855, as a separate territory to conciliate the Santhals.
- ✓ 2. The special laws for the Santhal Pargana barred the transfer of raiyati land: Regulation III of 1872 (Section 7) made the holdings non-transferable, and Regulation III of 1908 declared their non-transferability and empowered the Deputy Commissioner to act against illegal alienation. Santhals had lost land to moneylenders and outsiders. The protection continues today in the Santal Parganas Tenancy (Supplementary Provisions) Act, 1949, which makes a raiyat's transfer invalid unless the right is recorded.
Remember · Santhal Hul (1855–56, Sido–Kanhu) led to the separate Santhal Pargana district and special land-protection laws against transfer to outsiders.
📘 Read it in NCERT: Class 12 Themes in Indian History, Part III, Ch 1 (practise this chapter) · Class 12 Themes in Indian History, Part III, Ch 1 (practise this chapter)
Sources
- NCERT Class 12 · Themes in Indian History, Part III, Chapter 1 “It was after the Santhal Revolt (1855-56 ) that the Santhal Pargana was created, carving out 5,500 square miles from the districts of Bhagalpur and Birbhum.”
- NCERT Class 12 · Themes in Indian History, Part III, Chapter 1 “The colonial state hoped that by creating a new territory for the Santhals and imposing some special laws within it, the Santhals could be conciliated.”
- District Sahibganj, Government of Jharkhand: History ↗ “As a direct consequence of the Santhal Hul or Rebellion of 1854-55 led by Sido and Kanu brothers Santhal Pargana has been created as a separate district in 1855”
- LBSNAA (Government of India), Tribal Land Rights in India: Santal Parganas Settlement Regulation III of 1872 (Section 7) ↗ “either because there was no right of transferability at any point of time in Santal Parganas, or even alternatively because Section 7 of Regulation III of 1872 had made them non-transferable, which section was replaced by Section 20 of the Act in 1949. … Regulation III of 1872 was further amended by Regulation II of 1904 and Regulation III of 1908. The latter definitely declared the non-transferability of raiyati lands and affirmed the power of the Deputy Commissioner to interfere with the illegal alienation”
- Santal Parganas Tenancy (Supplementary Provisions) Act, 1949, Section 20 (text as hosted by IELRC) ↗ · reference work “No transfer by a raiyat of his right in his holding or any portion thereof, by sale, gift, mortgage, will, lease or any other contract or agreement”
Question and answer: UPSC's official GS Paper I (2018, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 1 Oct 2026 (how we verify). Permalink ·