Chapter-III
Kherwar Movement and Its Impact on the Life of the Santals
The period that followed the collapse of the Santal insurrection (1855-56) witnessed a
great deal of change in the life of the Santals. It was an era of awakening to them in many
ways. The Santals now realized that their political objective of reviving the golden days
of the past, including their dream of enjoying absolute liberty and mastery over their
lands was hard to come by. Everywhere, within and outside the Santal Parganas, they
were once again subjected to the exploitations and tortures of the zamindars, mahajans
and the agents of the British government after the revolt of 1855. They seemed to have
also understood the futility of depending on their Bongas and Spirits for protection
against the aggression of the British government.1 Dismayed and frustrated, they tried to
grapple the reality around. At last they realized the futility of carrying out armed struggle
against the colonial government.2 They, therefore, concentrated on bringing cultural
upliftment of their community vis-a-vis the cultural standard of the neighbouring caste
society. There came, as a result, a change in their strategy of struggle.
But these effects notwithstanding, the failure of the revolt of 1855 did not mark an end to
the anti-British struggle of the Santals. In the 1880s and 1890s, there was considerable
unrest and excitement among them over sharp enhancement of rent, dismissal of the
majhis and usurious activities of the mahajans. They also opposed the proceedings of the
Census operations during this time.3 But the most important development that marked the
life of the Santals in the decades after 1855 was the emergence of a new socio-religious
consciousness that led to give birth to the Kherwar movement in the Santal Parganas
district. This movement had two aspects, political and socio-religious.4 While the
political object was to resist imposition and enhancement of rent and to drive away the
British and other aliens from Santal territory, the socio-religious objective of the
1 T. Hembrom., The Santals, Calcutta, Punthi Pustak, 1996, p. 69.
2 Samar Kumar Mallick., Transformation ofSantal society, Calcutta, Minerva Associates, 1993, p. 148.
3 Binoy Chowdhury., “Dharma O’ Purba Bharater Krishak Andolan (1824 - 1900 )”, in Gautam
Chattopadhyay (ed.), Itihas Anusandhan, Vol III, Calcutta, K.P. Bagchi and Company, 1988, p. 628.
4 N. Datta-Mazumdar., The Santals: A Study in Cultural Changes, Calcutta, Govt, of India Press, 1956, p.
61.
65
movement was to introduce reforms tending towards Hinduization. Indeed, for some
unknown reasons, the Santals came to realize that without sophisticated cultural practices
they could not prosper as a community nor could they be able to materialize their dream
of establishing an independent Santal Raj. In the districts under study, similar socio
religious movements in line with the Kherwar movement had also taken place, indicating
rising concerns for cultural reforms in the society. But before going into the details of
such movements, it is necessary to outline the general objective situation in which
Kherwar movement had originated.
Origin of the Kherwar Movement
There has been a general tendency among scholars to view the Kherwar movement as a
socio-religious reform movement and to find its origin as far back as the first half of the
nineteenth century. Martin Orans,5 for example, has said that socio-religious
consciousness among the Santals developed due to their acculturation with Hinduism, a
process, which had started much before the outbreak of the Santal revolt. Cultural contact
with Hinduism, in fact, led them to believe that the only way to bring improvement in
their cultural practices and consequent resurgence among the members of the community
was through borrowings from the cultural practices of the Hindus. This realization,
according to Orans, became acute among the Santals particularly after the failure of the
Santal rebellion in 1855. The political objective of the Santals having suffered a setback,
the Santals now showed preference towards embracing Hindu beliefs and practices for
their cultural improvement.6 The understanding that Hinduism was superior to their own
religion and culture had, in fact, bred a sense of inferiority complex among them. This,
according to Orans, is a “rank concession syndrome,”7 which means voluntary
acceptance of the cultural superiority of others. But Binoy Chowdhury is of opinion that
underpinning all the outward activities for socio-religious reforms, the objective to
establish an independent Santal Raj had always motivated the Santals.8 According to him,
the Santal acculturation with Hinduism did not emerge merely for the sake of cultural
5 Martin Orans., The Santals: A Tribe in Search ofa Great Tradition, Detroit, Wayne State University
Press, 1965, pp. 30 - 39.
6 Ibid., pp. 30-39.
7 Ibid., p. 108.
8 Binoy Chowdhury., op. cit., p. 628.
66
upliftment of the community. It was also the need of the hour as the economic distress of
the Santals, at that time was extreme. Throughout the nineteenth century, they suffered so
much exploitations and tortures at the hands of the British government, zamindars and
mahajans that they were virtually in a state of ruin. The political object of the Kherwar
movement, i.e. to resist imposition and enhancement of rent and to drive away the British
and other aliens from Santal territory, therefore, remained the same, as it had been in the
previous despite their marked preferences towards Hinduism. But their failure in 1855
had prompted them to change the strategy of struggle.9 This is also evident in a letter
written by a Norwegian missionary, L. Skrefsrud, to the newspapers. The Statesman and
The Friend of India. According to Skrefsrud, the Kherwar movement was “a rabid,
socialistic, political agitation, the religion being only a means towards an end.”10
There is, perhaps, little doubt that the Kherwar movement went along the lines of the
socio-religious reform movements of the Hindus in the 19th century. The call for practices
of cleanliness was aimed not only to bring moral purification among the members in the
society, but also to uplift the social status of the community on the whole. The
enthusiasm for bringing reforms was so prominent that soon there emerged a group of
Santals called ‘Sapha Hot’ willing to practise certain purification code in life. The
followers of the leaders, like Bhagrit, Gyan Parganait and Dubia Gossain took several
oaths i.e. to kill fowls and pigs, to worship the Hindu deity Rama under the name Ram
Cando, to take bath before cooking, and to refrain from working on Sundays.*11 Since the
underlying objective was to disseminate a spirit of cleanliness and to bring moral
rejuvenation among the members in the society, the Kherwars however, considered it
impossible to achieve without emulating Hindu ways of life.12 But this idea was not liked
by others. Binoy Chowdhury has remarked that this new social philosophy was
unacceptable to the majority of Santals as it meant following certain code of conduct in
life (such as killing pigs and fowls, worshipping Hindu god Rama and taking time off
from work in Sundays etc.), which was inconsistent to their social system.13 The majority
9 Ibid., pp. 635 - 637.
10 Quoted from Edward Duyker., Tribal Guerrillas, Bombay, OUP, 1987, p. 113.
11 Samar Kumar Mallick., op. cit., p. 152.
12 N. Datta-Mazumdar., op. cit., p. 62.
13 Binoy Chowdhury., op. cit., pp. 634 - 635.
67
of them was still in favour of maintaining their traditional socio-economic set-up and was
opposed to Hindu influences. There developed, as a result, a cleavage between the
‘Sapha’, the adherents of the new faith and ‘Jhuta’ i.e. the bulk of common Santals, who
did not support emulating Hindu ways of life. So widespread was this ill feeling of
separation between them that an old Santal once lamented, “It is very hard on the old
Santal (Jhuta) that his property should be involved in the crusade against pigs and fowls
carried on some by his neighbours to whom the deity has lately manifested himself and
ordained this course of action; and it is very hard on the new Santal (sapha) that his
neighbours, who cling to the old custom should annoy and insult him because he chooses
to forswear certain foods and turn over a new leaf in the matter of drinking.”14 The
relationship between the two sects was farther strained when the Kherwars stopped eating
and drinking with other Santals. The Kherwars pronounced attachment with Hinduism
and thus, alienated themselves from the rest ofthe society.
Kherwar Movement and its Impact on Bankura District
The period that followed the Santal rebellion of 1855-56 also witnessed a lot of changes
in the life of the Santals living outside Santal Parganas. In the districts of South West
Bengal since the Santals remained more or less in a ‘dispersed’15 state, a compact
movement of the type of Kherwar movement of the Santal Parganas district was not
possible. But the impact of the Kherwar movement and consequent consciousness for
socio-religious reforms spread far and wide, including the erstwhile Jungle Mahals i.e. in
the districts of Bankura, Birbhum and Midnapore in the second half of the nineteenth
century.16 However, in other districts such movements were not necessarily known as
Kherwar movement, nor was the cleavage between the adherents of the new faith and the
old Santals, so acute in the Santal Parganas district was evident in the districts of
southwest Bengal. In fact, in some cases, like in Bankura the movement assumed a
broad-based character and it even roped in other tribal communities of the region. It is
reported that in Bankura district most of the followers of this creed were Santals, though
believers also included persons from such other communities, as the Koras, Kharias,
14 Quoted from Samar Kumar Maltick., op. cit., p. 158.
15 Edward Duyker., op.cit., p. 4.
16 Senna Zahan., ‘Bidrohe Saontal; Dharabahiktar ak Itihas (Bengali)’, Paschimbanga, June 2005, p.205.
68
Lohars, Maghaiya, Doms and Bauris. “The movement is a more broad-based successor of
the Kherwar movement among the Santals.”17
The new religious movement that developed among the Santals in Bankura district was
known as Sridharma, which was basically rural in character.18 As in the Santal Parganas,
it also encouraged cultural assimilation with the neighbouring Hindu peasants, while at
the same time, aimed at strengthening the sense of identity among the tribals. Basically,
puritanistic in approach, this new faith in Bankura district however, borrowed heavily
from the Gaudiya Vaishnava Bhakti cult. “The believers are urged to refrain form liquors,
beef, pork and such other edibles disliked by the Bengali Hindus. Propagation of glorified
myths about their ancestry with emphasis on identifying their forefathers with respectable
people described in Hindu mythology is an important element of the religion.”19
It is necessary to mention that the objective situation prevailing in Bankura district also
helped to spread this new faith quite rapidly. Unlike other areas, Hinduism in Bankura
district never remained an exclusive preserve of the upper caste Brahmins. Rather, the
impact of Rarh culture represented by the relatively little known alternative cultures, such
as, tribal culture and Vaishnava culture, was so prominent in most of the areas of
southwest Bengal that Hinduism got firmly entrenched in these cultures, thereby making
it more easier for people to assimilate with Hinduism. For example, Hinduism had its
impact upon the religious cults of the tribals such as Marang-Buru, Sing Bongo, Gosae
Era, Barpahar, Kudrasini, Bhadu and also on the cults that resulted from cross-cultural
fertilization between Aryan and non-Aryan faiths, like Dharmaraj, Siva, Manasa and
Chandi. Further, in Bankura district, Gaudiya Vaishnava Bhakti cult had been a major
domineering influence in shaping the cultural history of the district since the 17th century.
The Malla rulers of Bishnupur-Bankura region being believers in Gaudia Vaishnavism,
patronized this religion and also worked for the popularization of the cult among their
subjects. In fact there are evidences to show that Vaishnavism was equally popular
among the upper caste Hindus as well as the Bagdis of Vishnupur Subdivision. “Festivals
17 A. Baneijee., West Bengal District Gazetteers, Bankura, (Calcutta), 1968, p.163. (Hereafter, West
Bengal District Gazetteers, Bankura)
’* Ibid., p. 163.
19 Ibid., p. 163.
20 Ibid., p. 164.
69
like Ras and Doljatra, particularly in Vishnupur subdivision are now associated with
elaborate worship of Radha and Krishna”11 Thus, Bankuraremained a fertile ground for
cross-cultural fertilization among different religious faiths, which also facilitated the
process of Santal acculturation with Hinduism.
The impact of Hinduism on the socio-religious practices of the Santals was indeed
extensive. According to Risley, the term ‘Thakur ’or ‘Thakur Jiu ’ which the Santals used
to mean the Supreme Being was actually borrowed from the Hindus. The word ‘Thakur’
did not exist in the original religious pantheon of the Santals as it is a Hindu word and
therefore, it might have been adopted by them later.22 Risley has also noted that there was
a tendency among the relatively educated Santals in Bankura district to equate their
Supreme Being, ‘Thakur Jiu ’, with Hindu ideas in the Upanishads.
Hindu influence seems to have also impregnated in the religious system of the Santals in
the district long ago. Santal religion, in general, consists of hordes of Bongos and Spirits.
The village tutelary spirits of the Santals include Marang Buru, Moreno Turniko, Jaher
Era, Gosai Era, Parganas Bonga, Manjhi Haram Bonga etc. Apart these, they have a
host of gods and godlings such as Orak Bonga, Abge Bonga etc. The Santals believe that
these Bongos control nature and are responsible for natural calamities. So they always try
to appease them through worship and by observing various religious rites and rituals.
Sometimes these methods of worship and forms of sacrifices made to the deities by them
are borrowed from the Hindus.23 While referring to the influences of Hinduism in the
religious life of the Santals, N. Datta-Majumdar has remarked that, “The pantheon of
Bongas is elastic enough to include within its fold some Hindu deities.”24 This is quite
evident in the religion of the Santals in Bankura district. In Bankura, the Santals have
been worshipping some gods originally belonging to the pantheon of gods of the lower
caste Hindus. For example, in Chhatna police station, a rural deity called Dharma Thakur
is worshipped by lower Hindu castes with the help of a Dom. The same deity is
worshipped by the Santals under the name ‘Dharma’ and is officiated by a Santal of
21 Ibid., p. 162.
22 H.H. Risley., Tribes and Castes ofBengal, Vol- 2, Calcutta, Firma KLM (Reprint), 1981, p. 232.
23 Ibid., pp. 232-233.
24 N. Datta-Mazumdar., op.cit., p. 100.
70
Murmu clan.25 Similarly, some of the festivals of the Santals are believed to have close
relationship with the festivals of the Hindus. The famous Sohrae festival is regarded as
the extension of the Hindu Kali puja as the festival of the Santals coincides around the
time when the Hindus celebrate their Kali Puja.26 In fact as a result of its association with
the Hindu Kali puja, it is believed that some of the old rituals connected with the festival
like Hato-Katkom i.e. catching fish or crabs and Jale, the greetings ceremony, practiced
earlier by the Santals have been dispensed with. Also some other Hindu festivals, like
Durga puja have become popular among the Santals since long. “Santals living in
hamlets adjoining Hindu villages are found nowadays to go round the places of Durga
worship in festive dress.” Similarly, mention should be made of the pata festival e.i. the
Santal version of the Hindu Charak (hook-swinging festival). In the traditional judicial
system of the Santals, this festival plays an important part. The final trial of an offender
takes place during the celebration of Pata Cando, i.e. in the month of worship of
Mahadeo. “Hook-swinging penance voluntarily undertaken by special devotees called
Bhaktyas is an essential part of the celebration of pata. How closely it resembles the
religious practices ofthe low-caste Hindus!”28
We also get the reference of Deswali Majhis in the district of Bankura, who supposedly
embraced Hinduism long before this trend of coming into the fold of Hinduism gained
ground among the Santals. According to H.H. Risley, “Deswali Manjhis are a sub-tribe of
Santals in the south of Manbhoom, who employ Brahmans (for officiating religious
rituals) and have adopted portions of Hindu rituals.”29 It is also reported that Deswali
Majhis have stopped eating beef, pork, snakes and frogs and have shaped their habits
according to the norms set by their Hindu neighbours. Caste Hindu Brahmin priests
belonging to Deoghariya sreni gerenally perform the sraddha ceremony of the Deswali
Majhis according to Smriti rites. In all other festivals, the village priest or the laya
perform the sacred rites. They also celebrate the festival of Asadhi puja (held in June-
July) for bumper crops. White goats and fowls are sacrificed on agricultural fields on this
25 West Bengal District Gazetteers, Bankura, op. cit, p.157.
26 Charulal Mukjeijee., The Santals, A Mukheijee & Company, Calcutta, undated, p. 252.
27 West Bengal District Gazetteers, Bankura, op. cit., p.157.
28 Ibid., p. 157.
29 H.H. Risley., op. cit,, p.217.
71
occasion. In Sraban (July-August), individual family heads perform Manasa Puja to
propitiate the snake goddess. In Karttik (October-November), Bandhna-parab is
performed in each household for the welfare of the domestic animals. In Paus
(December-January), Tusu parab is performed throughout the month and Tusu songs are
being sung by the girls of the villages. Similarly, Dharam Puja is also performed on
every fifth or tenth year for the smooth continuation of the family line.30 Some of these
pujas observed by the Santals, thus, bear clear evidence of borrowings from the festivals
of the Hindus.
It is necessary to mention in this context that in 1959 an investigation was carried out on
the Deswali Majhis in Chilagara village under Ranibandh Police Station in Bankura, in
response to their demand for enlistment in the category of Scheduled Tribe. The report of
the investigation states, “...the Deswali Majhis are at present more Hinduised rather than
tribal. If, at present, they may be included as scheduled tribe like the Santals, the process
of their Hinduisation would be disturbed and the automatic process of integration will be
dislodged. So it is suggested not to include them as Scheduled Tribe.”31
Apart these, a puritanistic movement had also surfaced among the Santals in Bankura
district during the first half of the twentieth century along the lines of Hindu religious
reforms. The followers of this new ideology were known as Suriya Pujaris or the sun-
worshippers. These people generally wore reddish clothes and uttered fixed incantations
(mantras) during the time of sun rise and sun-set. They used to finish their evening meals
before the setting of the sun. “This movement in Bankura district has been started by a
sannyasi known as Kripa Sindhu Abadhut ofthe village Tilaboni in P.S. Khatra and it has
gained ground among the Deshwali Manjhis of Ranibandh, Khatra, Raipur and Saltora
police stations.”32
From the foregoing discussions, it can be said that the religious practices of the Santals
in Bankura district had undergone an immense change since 1855. Santals were drawn
into the vortex of Hinduism more elaborately than ever before, as several of the Hindu
30 West Bengal District Gazetteers, Bankura, op. cit., p.158.
11 Manis Kumar Raha., “A Short Note on Ethnic Identity”, in Bulletin ofCultural Research Institute, Vol.
IV, 1965, p. 24.
32 West Bengal District Gazetteers, Bankura, op. cit., p. 158.
72
religious rituals, traits including deities came to be absorbed in their religious life. These
absorptions undoubtedly came as a part of the growth of a new consciousness among
them and were aimed at bringing moral regeneration among the members of the
community as well as gaining recognition in the society. But what is interesting to
observe is that despite these adoptions and emulations, the Santals never intended to
forsake their own traditional faiths and social practices. In most cases, absorptions took
place in an informal way, sometimes even going unnoticed by the Santals themselves.
Moreover, these absorptions did not always happen according to Hindu orthodox ways
and often revisions and alterations were made to fit them into the patterns of regional
tribal culture. We have already seen how Dharam Puja originally belonging to the low-
caste Hindus was also being celebrated by the Santals with a person from Murmu clan
officiating as a priest. Further, we have seen that in Bankura district the impact of the
Rarh culture with its regional folk elements had considerably changed the shape of the
orthodox Hindu cultural practices of the area. It not only dented the popularity of
orthodox Hinduism but also tilted the balance of people’s preference in favour of the
popular culture of the region. It had also rendered Hinduism in the district a regional
flavour. The cross-cultural fertilization of Hindu and non-Hindu beliefs and practices in
fact emerged in this backdrop, giving birth to cults like Dharma, Manasa, Chandi etc. A
recent researcher has shown that the local cult of Siva, like the parallel cults of Dharma
and Manasa stems from a cross-cultural fertilization of Hindu and non-Hindu beliefs and
practices.33
The rising influence of Hinduism particularly the influence of Bengali language in the
district of Bankura is further testified by the fact that in “1931, 93.2 per cent of the
Santals declared Santali and the rest of them Bengali...In 1931, 95.7 per cent of the
Santals declared Santali and the remainder Bengali as their mother tongues while in 1951
at least 10 per cent of them returned Bengali as their spoken language. It would thus
appear that while the Bengalis have invariably returned Bengali as their mother tongue,
sizable proportions of the tribal groups have also returned the same language as their
spoken language. Significantly, there is no trend in the direction of tribals showing any
other tribal language as their mother tongue, the preference being exercised, over the
33 Amiya Kumar Bandyopadhyay., Bankurar Mandir, Calcutta, 1965, pp. 53 - 60.
73
decades, only in favour of the Bengali language.”34 Further, the Census of 1931 records
47,491 Santals professing Hinduism as their religious faith out of a total 1,14,577 Santals
living in the district.35
Kherwar Movement and its Impact on the Santals of Birbhum District
Culturally though the Santals are more or less the same everywhere, difference in
territory and topography and variation in the degree of exposure to outside cultures
sometimes, make all the difference in the process of Santal acculturation with the
neighbouring caste society. For example, Santiniketan being the world famous centre of
educational excellence and a premier institution of convergence of world culture in India,
has a major influence in shaping the cultural ambience of the district. The Santals living
in and around Santiniketan also feel this influence in their life. N. Datta-Mazumdar, thus
says, “...the educational institutes of Santiniketan and Srinikitan, between which these
villages are situated, have been instrumental in introducing certain changes in the life of
these people not found elsewhere in Santal territory.”36
Santiniketan and Sriniketan lie some two miles west of Bolpur in the district of Birbhum.
Sriniketan is further, about a mile and a half southwest of Santiniketan, which was first
established by Maharsi Devendranath Thakur in 1863. Santiniketan, originally meant to
be an abode of peace for devotees seeking meditation has been transformed into a
fantastic centre of academic and cultural excellence by Rabindranath Thakur ( known in
the world as Tagore). It was here that Rabindranath established an school to materialize
his long-conceived ideal of Topovana or “forest school” where students could learn
academic pre-requisites like discipline, power of concentration, a keen appreciation of art
and above everything else strength of character.37 In 1918 Rabindranath thought of
establishing Visva Bharati as a world class university with a view to promoting education
and synthesizing diverse culture worldwide. “Such a university would not only teach the
34 Ibid., p.143.
35 Quoted from Ibid., p. 156.
36 N. Datta-Mazumdar, op. cit., p. 60.
37 Ibid., p. 60.
74
arts and sciences, but also would apply them in the surrounding countryside thereby
building an organic link between it and the life of the people.”
According to him, some important changes have crept into the socio-cultural and material
life of the Santals as a result of their associations with persons from Santiniketan and
Sriniketan. For example, the habit of drinking tea has now become widespread among the
Santals. Santals are now drinking tea together with milk. Aversion towards drinking milk
is absent and Santal children, nowadays are being increasingly fed with milk. Changes
have also appeared in the construction of houses, including materials used. Leaf plates
and cups are rarely found these days in the houses of the Santals, as aluminium and
enamel utensils have entered their houses. Santal women nowadays like to dress
themselves in the same way as the neighbouring Hindu women. “Cow tail hairs, formerly
i
used by women in tying their hair knots, have been replaced by black ribbons purchased
IQ
from visiting peddlers.”
According to N. Datta-Majumdar, the economic life of the Santals has also changed over
the years. Some traditional occupations like fishing and hunting as well as collecting
forest resources have been lost. Santals even have lost their attraction for the great annual
hunt i.e. Lo Bir Sendra. Sharecropping has become popular in agriculture due to scarcity
of land and increase in population. The number of landless agricultural labourers has
increased much nowadays, in the Santal society and the incidences of day (casual) labour
have also multiplied. Some part-time occupations, like serving as maid servant and
selling liquor have found places in their economic activities at present. New occupations
like weaving, carpentary and serving in different capacities in the institutions of
Santiniketan and Sriniketan have gained popularity among them recently.40
Apart these, contacts with Bengali speaking people have made the Santals bilingual.
People from Santiniketan and Sriniketan have been undertaking literacy drives among
them. Some Hindu religious festivals like Kali puja. Durga puja are also being celebrated
by them nowadays. On the other hand some of their own festivals, like janthar (an
offering of the first fruit of the winter rice crop) and the iri gundli nawai (an offering of
38 Ibid., p. 60.
39Ibid., p. 118.
40 Ibid., p. 118.
75
the jungle millets like iri and gundli) have fallen into disuse. The displacement of
communal landownership by individual landownership right has also greatly reduced the
importance of the Magh sim festival.41 Some of these changes, according to N. Datta-
Mazumdar, have arisen out of their association with Santiniketan, the nature of guidance
from the latter being one of “direction without dominance.”42
However, as in Bankura district, Dharma worship is also quite popular among the lower
class people including the Santals in Birbhum. Dharma is identified with
Dharmarajthakur and is believed to have association with Manasa, Chandi or Kali
standing for female energy. It is necessary to state in this connection that Dharma
worship, actually, is a feature of the entire Radha (Rahr) area. “Bereft of Hindu ideas of
higher order, the worship is an admixture of the relics of dead Buddhism, popular Hindu
ideas and practices and tribal beliefs and ceremonies. Thus, it is not purely Buddhist
Hindu or autochthonous in origin and nature, but is an admixture of all.”43 Deities like
Chandi Manasa etc. are also worshipped in folkish forms in different places of the
district bearing names like Payrachandi, Byaghrachandi, Barahichandi, Sonaichandi
etc.44
Impact of Missionary Activities
It is relevant here, to refer to the impact of Christianity on the Santals in the districts
under study. India had been a breaking ground for the missionaries ever since the
beginning of the British colonial rule. The evangelical activities of the missionaries had
affected a large section of the Indian people including the tribals. The gospel of
Christianity, even at times, came as a succor to the tribals when legislations on land had
failed to protect their rights and privileges on land. Also, the drive to come under
Christian missionary influence is believed to have resulted from their materialistic
concern, namely to alleviate poverty and to get relief from the oppression of the landlords
and moneylenders.45
41 Ibid., pp. 117-122.
42 Ibid., p. 61.
43 Durgadas Baneijee., West Bengal District Gazetteers. Birbhum, (Calcutta), 1975, p. 162.
44 Ibid., p. 162.
45 W.J. Culshaw., Tribal Heritage: A Study ofthe Santals, London, Butterworth press, 1949, pp, 161 - 174.
76
The beginning of mission work, in the tribal areas dated as far back as the second half of
the nineteenth century after the Santal Rebellion of 1855-56. Rev. E.L Puxley and Rev.
W.T. Starrs of the Church Missionary Society led the first missionary effort in the
northern part of the Santal Parganas in 1862. But the credit to initiate missionary
activities among the Santals belonged to a remarkable Norwegian, Lars Olsen Skrefsrud,
and his Danish companions, Mr. and Mrs. Boerresen. Both of them, after resigning from
the Gossner Lutheran Mission began working independently and established a mission
station at Benagaria in Dumka Subdivision in 1867. In 1910, it assumed the name Santal
Mission of the Northern Churches. Subsequently, other missionary organizations
followed suit. In 1870 the United Free Church of Scotland began to work among the
southwestern part of the district, while other missions like American Methodist Episcopal
Mission in Pakur, Plymouth Brethren mission in Jamtara, Karmatar and Mihijam and the
American Seventh Day Adventists in Karmatar etc. began to work among the Santals.46
Other societies also have made notable contributions to missionary works in the Santal
Parganas and in its adjoining territories. In all these societies, the number of Santal
members was substantial and together they formed a body called Santal Christian Council
in the year 1934. The motive was to bring all Santals from different provinces in India for
mutual consultation on different aspects of life and religion and to form community
consciousness as well.47
Before the establishment of the Methodist mission in the headquarters town of Bankura
district, the American missionaries based on Midnapore made long toms in the
southwestern areas of the district. But they seemed to have had little effect on the lives of
the people. However, it was only after the establishment of the Sarenga mission (1888)
that missionary activities in Bankura district made real progress.48
The missionaries at Sarenga were quite aware about the exploitations over the Santals in
and around their areas. In fact in some cases they even maintained records of such
exploitations of the zamindars and moneylenders in order to bring them under the notice
46 Samar Kumar Mallick., op. cit., p. 161.
47 WJ. Culshaw op. cit., p. 163.
48 West Bengal District Gazetteers Bankura, Calcutta, 1968, p. 435.
77
of the government.49 Further, the missionaries also tried to improve the condition of the
Santals both as tenants and as cultivators. During this time different missions, particularly
those working in the tribal-belts started to purchase land or zamindary estate and began to
act as landlords to provide security to the tribals. In the Santal Parganas and elsewhere,
thus, different missions acquired vast landed property, which sometimes even included
properties, such as tea estates of Assam so as to save the Santals from illegal eviction or
to protect them from paying enhanced rate of rent. The phenomenon has been well
recorded by Culshaw, as he says, that, “During the period when the law was of little use
as a safeguard of the rights of cultivators it seemed that the only way in which they could
be helped was by acquiring landlord rights over the Santals and so assuring them of their
square meals.”50 Sarenga mission, in particular, was known to have helped the Santals to
get rid of indebtedness by offering them loans at reasonable rates of interests as well as
improve their methods of cultivation.51
The missionary contribution to the development of Santal education was, however,
remarkable. In Bankura district the missionaries took the first initiative to set up schools
to spread education among the Santals. In 1840 Rev. Mr. Weitbrecht of the Church
Missionary Society established few schools in the district, one of which, subsequently,
came to be known as Bankura Zilla School.52 Later Wesleyan Mission with its
headquarters at Sarenga near Raipur had pioneered the cause of Santal education in the
southwestern part of the district under the leadership of Rev. G.E. Woodford. Here, in the
mission compound, a flourishing boy’s boarding school was set up with 40 students to
start with. Teaching was provided up to middle vernacular standard and the scholarship
facility available here lured many promising students, including Santal pupils to pursue
higher education. In addition to this school, there was also a girls’ school in the mission
compound with as many as 50 students in it. There were also several primary schools
scattered throughout the southwestern part of the Bankura district. Since there was no
provision of learning in Santali language, the Santal students had to take their
49 W.J. Culshaw., op. cit, p. 164.
50 Ibid., p. 164.
51 Ibid., p. 164.
52 L.S.S O’Malley., Bengal District Gazetteers, Bankura, Calcutta, 1908, p.46.
78
examinations in Bengali in these schools.53 Evidences show that the Santal students were
in no way inferior from the average Bengali students in these schools and it has been
reported that one Santal boy trained in the Wesleyan Mission School had cleared the
entrance examination in 1907. What is perhaps more encouraging was that in some
villages “there are now a number of fairly well educated Santals intelligent, sober, thrifty
cultivators of the soil against whom the wiles of the money lenders should have small
chance of success.”54 But the most striking feature of Santal education in the district was
the relative progress of the Christian Santals in respect of imbibing education than the
other members in their society.
According to the Census of 1901, the literacy rate among the tribals in this district was
only 45 per thousand. The sex-wise ratio was being 9 in every 1000 males and 0.06 per
1000 females.55 Reporting in 1918 for the years 1912-1917 Homwell wrote, “During the
period under review a scheme for the improvement and extension of education among the
Santals in the district of Bankura, Birbhum and Midnapore was sanctioned by the govt,
and a recurring grant of Rs 10,257 was made for the purpose. A Board of Santal
Education was formed in the district of Bankura. It is composed of the District
Magistrate, a missionary and a deputy Inspector of the Schools. The functions of this
Board are both advisory and executive.”56 Setting up of this Board might have facilitated
the educational activities of the Wesleyan Mission in Bankura. The quinquennial report
on the progress of education among the aboriginal races between 1942-43 and 1946-47
shows the contribution of the missionaries to the spread of education among the tribals.
The report reads: “Although their primary object was to convert them into Christianity,
the preparatory means adopted to that end namely social welfare and spread of literacy
did produce some real benefits. Modem education was for the first time made available to
these backward people through the efforts of the Christian missionary.”57 The names of
some great missionaries, like Rev, J.R. Brodhead, Rev. L.E. Folklinton and Rev. WJ,
53 M.C McAipin., Report on the Condition oftheSonthals in the Districts ofBirbhum, Bankura,
Midnapore and North Balasore, Calcutta, FIRMA Mukhopadhyay, 1981, p. 56. (Hereafter, McAipin
Report)
54 Ibid., p. 56.
55 West Bengal District Gazetters, Bankura, op. cit., p.440.
56 Ibid., p. 440. Quoted from W.W. Homwell, Progress ofEducation in Bengal, 1912-1913 to 1916-1917;
Fifth Quinquennial Review, Calcutta 1918, p. 141.
57 West Bengal District Gazetter, Bankura, op. cit., p. 441.
79
Culshaw should be mentioned in this regard. The views of M. Mitra and Zacharia
corroborate this fact as they have stated, “The chief agencies responsible for educational
work amongst the Santals are the American Baptist Missionary of Midnapore and
Wesleyan Mission of Bankura.”58
But in spite of these efforts, there was very little progress in education among the Santals.
The rate of literacy among them was very low in comparison with the caste people of the
region. The Santals remained largely indifferent to education, because psychologically
they were yet to understand the significance of education. Most of them conceived
education as wastage of time and energy. We get following statistics from McAlpin about
the percentage of Santal students attending schools in the district.
“The percentage of Sonthal pupils to the whole number of pupils is 3.02; but as the
percentage of Sonthal population to the whole population is 9.5, the number of Sonthals
attending school is considerably in defect of the population. Under the 15 percent rule,
15,852 Sonthals are of a school going age, whereas only 1,328 actually attend school, that
is 8.3 percent of the whole number of a school going age.”59
Medical works carried out by the missions were also significant. The missionary
churches in Bankura district had set up seven general hospitals, five leper hospitals and a
number of clinics. Though the hospitals had no deficiency of patients yet their potential
as medical institution remained largely unexplored due to the attitude of the people “who
regard it too often as a last resort.”60 Further, since the treatment from hospitals incurred
some expenditure, the Santals tended to avoid it. A nurses’ training school was also
established to provide nursing training to the Santal girls.
Apart from educational and medical services, the missionaries also extended their help in
other sectors as well. In Bankura district, there developed a puritan reform movement
under the influence of the missionaries. Though this spirit of ongoing social reform
movement in the district had little to do with elements of conversion to Christianity, it
had been found that the persons organizing reforms and propagating it, were the ones
58 Ibid, p. 442. Quoted from M. Mitra and K. Zachariah, Eighth Quinquennial Review ofthe Progress of
Education in Bengal, 1927-1932, Calcutta 1933, p. 97.
59 McAlpin Report., op. cit., p. 56.
60 W.J. Culshaw., op. cit., p. 167.
80
who received their education at the boys’ boarding school and had subsequently been
trained there as village school teachers. Mention should be made of, three such teachers
in Bankura district playing leading roles in organizing mass movements for mobilizing
the Santals in favour of reforms.61 The reforms proposed by them were almost similar to
those of other Hinduisation movements of the Santals, which included abstention from
liquor consumption, prohibition of public dancing by the Santal women, reduction in the
cases of broken marriages and a general tightening of the authority of village officials to
save the traditional social structure of the Santals. According to Culshaw, “There was
nothing specifically Christian about them and indeed they were exactly similarly to those
advocated by many movements among Santals and others that have influenced by
Hinduism.”62
A clear picture of the number of Santal people professing Christianity in Bankura district
can be had from the Census reports of different decades of the first half of twentieth
century. According to the 1931 Census, Christian Santals accounted for only 0.42 per
cent of the total number of Santals and only 3.21 per cent of the total number of Indian
Christians in the district. “The data provided by the 1931 Census would permit a tentative
conclusion that in Bankura the Adivasis show no marked preference for embracing
Christianity. On the contrary, the tendency among them to come within the Hindu fold is
far more strong despite a century of social welfare work carried on in their midst by
dedicated Christian missionaries.”63 W.J. Culshaw also says, “In the Bankura district the
number of Santals who have responded to the preaching in this manner is not much more
than a thousand... that only a small proportion of the Santals has entered the Christian
Church.”64 Further social work conducted by the missionaries in the field of education
and health nourishment also failed. 65
The impact of missionary activities on the Santals of Birbhum district is also worth
exploring. It is reported that missionaries in Birbhum district have forbidden the Christian
Santals “to drink rice-beer, or to participate in certain social dances. Burial of the dead, in
61 W.J. Culshaw., op, cit., p.167.
62 Ibid., p. 168.
63 West Bengal District Gazetteers, Bankura, p. 164.
64 WJ. Culshaw., op. cit., p. 163.
65 Ibid., p. 167.
81
place of cremation, has also been urged on the converts. Yet, the Christian Santals retain
most traditional customs that are not in direct conflict with the doctrines of Christanity.”66
For example, they followed the rule of sib exogamy, and other rituals pertaining to their
birth, marriage and death, which were not in direct conflict with the doctrines of
Christianity. Further, the acceptance of the doctrine of Holy Trinity did not undermine
their belief in their Supreme God Cando. The perception of the Santals in respect of their
Supreme God Cando got reinterpreted as the influence of other religious faiths, like
Hinduism and Christianity increased upon them. For example, Cando became Ram-
Cando to signify Hindu elements in it and so was Cando reinterpreted as the Holy Trinity.
“Finally, Ram Cando has been conceived as encompassing the reinterpreted Cando of the
Christians.”67 This trend of reinterpretation and syncretization of the elements of other
religious faiths along with their own has been a prominent feature everywhere, in Santals’
acculturation with the neighbouring religious faiths. While it proves the impact of other
religious faiths on them on the one hand, it also shows their firm belief in their own
system on the other.
The credit for spreading education among the Santals in Birbhum, as in elsewhere during
the British colonial rule, belonged to the Christian missionaries. In Birbhum, the history
of Santal education dated back to 1881 when five schools were opened on experimental
basis for spreading education among the Santal children. But due to paucity of records we
do not know much about the state of Santal education in Birbhum district at that time. It
can be stated from the available information that in 1907-1908 the Director of Public
Instruction on the basis of the report of the District Magistrate was pleased to sanction
Rs-4600/- for the education of the Santal children in the district. In the latter part of 1906-
1907, Sub- Inspectors were requested to open schools in their respective areas. In these
schools, the Santal children were exempted from payment of school fees and a special
lower primary scholarship was reserved for them. The District Magistrate himself took
interest in supervising the educational progress of the Santal students in the schools.68 A
proposal was also raised to increase the age limit of Santal pupils to 16 instead of 13 to
compete for the lower primary scholarship while keeping the age limit of other general
66 N. Datta-Mazumdar., op. cit., p. 116.
67 Ibid. ,p. 116.
68 McAlpin Report., op. cit., p. 53.
82
students as usual. Appointment of an additional Sub-Inspector of schools was also given
serious consideration to supervise the educational progress of the Santal students.69
The educational condition of the Santals in the district of Midnapore was also deplorable.
According to McAlpin, “there are 45 primary schools under the control of the Missionary
bodies where Sonthal and other aboriginal bodies receive education each having on an
average 20 boy pupils. Altogether there are 900 boys and 190 girls under training.”70 The
areas, like Jhargram, Binpur, Garbeta and Salbani remaining under direct influence of the
missionaries, however, witnessed some progress in education among the Santals. But the
condition of Santal education in the south of Subamekha was worst. There developed, in
some places, one or two schools like the one in Kristonagar, and another in Chamarband
under Gopiballavpur thana. While these schools suffered owing to lack of fund and
enthusiasm for learning, the Bhimpur High School registered remarkable progress in
education of the Santal students. In Bhimpur High School, Rev. L.C. Kitchin introduced
the practice of teaching in Santali and probably it was the only institution in Midnapore
where students could take their matriculation exam in Santali language. The teachers who
taught in 1930s in Bhimpur High School were Priyanath Baske, Ramchand Mandi,
Vidyabhusan Soren, Paranchandra Tudu, Dhanaram Hembrom and Padmalochhan
Mandi.71 As a member of the district educational committee. Rev. Kitchin further tried to
improve educational standard at the primary level by writing text books for school-
children and also arranged a training programme for teachers on the art of teaching young
students in the schools. He also wrote a book called Primary Education among Santals of
Midnapore, which contains valuable information on Santal education in the Midnapore
district. A survey shows that in 1867 the number of primary school in the district was 33
and the number of Santal students in those schools was 450. In 1881, while total number
of schools increased to 75, the corresponding increase in the number of students was
1600.72 The stoiy goes that Rev. Skresffud in order to prevent the Santal girls from
fleeing to their home had brought four Santal girls from Bhimpur School to the mission
69 Ibid., pp. 53 - 54.
70 McAlpin Report, op. cit., p. 57.
71 Dhiren Baske., Santali Bhasa O Sahityer Itihas, Calcutta, Subamarekha Publishers, 1999, p. 27.
72 Ibid., p. 105.
83
school at Benagaria to look after a hostel meant for Santal girls.73 Rev. August. A. Berg
popularly known as ‘Har Saheb’ working at the Mission centre in Midnapore also
deserves to be mentioned in this context. His activities centered in Jhargram and in
Dampara region of Singhbhum. He had written a songbook in Santali by collecting and
recording Santal songs from these regions and was believed to have tremendous expertise
on the language of the Santals. This book is called ‘Har Seren’ and is written in Santali
through Bengali script. Songs from this book were sometimes sung at the morning prayer
in Bhimpur High School.74 Nevertheless, the educational standard of the Santals in the
district was hardly satisfactory, owing to their general indifference towards education
during the colonial rule. However, as in elsewhere in Midnapore also, the Christian
Santals were more favourably inclined towards education than the Santals in general.
The causes for Santals’ failure in education are not hard to seek. Several problems, like
poverty, exploitations and moral degeneration were, in fact, responsible for their
educational backwardness. The break up of the mandali system, largescale dispossession
of land and increasing indebtedness had also dented their pursuit of education. Thus, in a
situation where their identity itself was at stake, education appeared to be a sheer luxury
to them, which they could not afford to take. Also the fact that they detested being taught
by the diku teachers, further, pulled them away from education.
There are also several reasons for which Christianity failed to impress the Santals. Often
Christianity was confused with material prosperity, which hardly delighted the Santals.
“The Santal who has no desire to change his lot or who sees no possibility of doing so is
content with the old way of life.”75 Secondly, the Santals valued their communal integrity
above everything else in the world. Anything that was threatening to this communal
integrity was beyond their tolerance. Christianity was often conceived as one such
disintegrating force, which, for average Santals was unacceptable. Further, Christianity
appeared to be in disagreement with some of the socio-religious and cultural practices of
the Santals. All these impediments along with the possibility of facing social ostracism
from the majority prevented some of them from embracing Christianity.
73 Ibid., p. 105.
74 Ibid., p. 95.
73 W.J. Culshaw., op.cit., p. 169.
84
Indeed, for a community as strong as that of the Santals, collective preferences often
prevailed over individual preferences. Not all the Santals were capable of embracing
Christianity even if they had intended to do so, being regardless of the traditions and
customs in which they had been living for centuries. This is quite evident in the remark of
a Santal, which goes in the words; “Yes, your religion is good and some day we shall all
become Christians; but we shall wait until all of us can do it together.”76 Further, the
remark, “if the headman became a Christian, all in this village would do so,” is also an
indication of the popular sentiment of the Santals in connection with their acceptance of
Christianity. These remarks can also be cited as the reason why Christianity could not
make much headway in the district.
Development of Santal Language and Literature
A. Missionary Contribution
Since the Santals do not possess a script, Santali literature has mostly remained as oral
literature for ages. The first major initiative to record the centuries-old oral literature of
the Santals came from the Christian missionaries in the first half of the nineteenth
century. However, missionary impetus to improve Santali language and literature came in
the wake of the larger mission-objective to spread the gospel of Christianity among the
Santals in India. There developed, therefore, an attempt to mobilize the Santals to accept
Christianity, which resulted in bringing the missionaries closer to the life and culture of
the Santals. In the process some missionaries came in contact with the rich cultural
heritage of the Santals including myriads of their songs, poems, ballads, riddles and folk /
fairy tales. Amazed at seeing the richness of Santali literature, some of them devoted
completely in recording and collecting different forms of Santali literature and learning
the language as well.
American Baptist Foreign Mission Society was the first among others to appear in India
with a mission to proselytize the Adivasis. They began working among the Santals of
Bihar, Bengal and Orissa. Subsequently, Church Missionary Society, Northern
Evangelical Lutheran Church, Methodist Missionary society and Roman Catholic
76 Quoted from Ibid., p. 169.
77 Quoted from Ibid., p. 169.
85
Mission appeared on the scene with the same objective. Associated with them, were some
leading Christian missionaries of the time, such as Rev. J. Phillips, Rev. L.O. Skrefsrud,
E.L.Puxley, Rev. A. Campbell, Rev. P.O. Bodding and others. They not only took steps
in collecting and compiling a huge mass of Santali literature but also worked for its
improvement.
Rev. J. Phillips78 wrote a book in english entitled. An Introduction to Santali Language,
which may be regarded as an attempt, ever made by a missionary to cultivate the
language of the Santals. It was published in 1852 from the American Baptist Foreign
Mission Society with which Rev. J. Phillips was associated. The book contains a list of
five thousand Santali words. Rev. Phillips also published a book, Santali Bhasa Siksha in
Bengali as he knew Bengali language very well. Before coming to Jaleswar in Orissa to
work with the American Baptist Foreign Mission Society, he was in Midnapore where he
developed his mastery over Bengali language. Gradually, he came to know that the
Santals had a very rich tradition of oral literature in various forms, such as songs, poems,
ballads, lyrics, etc. But lack of script had prevented them from recording it down or
compiling or publishing their literature in any big manner. He, therefore, took initiative to
publish their literary creations in Santali language with the help ofBengali script.
Rev. E. L. Puxley and Rev. W. T. Stars also made significant contributions to the growth
of Santali language and literature. In 1868 Rev. E. L. Puxley published A Vocabulary of
the Santali Language in English. He worked with the Church Missionary Society in
North Bengal. He also wrote books to impart lessons of the Bible among them and
collected numerous songs in Santali. Rev. W. T. Stars, who worked in the same
organization, published books on church laws and obligations in Santali language on
Bengali script. Santali songs published by him in Bengali script set the standard of
contemporary Santali language and literature.79
Mention should also be made in this context of a particular songbook written in Santali
and published before 1870. It is said that the American Baptist Foreign Mission Society
while spreading the message of Christianity in and around Midnapore town publicized
78 Dhiren Baske., op.cit., p. 89.
79 Ibid., p. 79.
86
those songs written in the book. Some Christian Santals also seemed to have contributed
to that book.80
Names of a few notable songbooks written in Santali language and published by the
missionaries in the 19th century are mentioned below.81
1. Midnapore Seven Punthi: It is believed to have been a creation of American
Baptist Mission stationed at Midnapore. It was published before 1870. Written in Bengali
script it was reprinted six times since then.
2. Benagaria Seven Punthi: This book was written in Roman script and published
from Benagaria Mission of the Santa! Parganas. It contained as many as 329 songs in
Santali language and became very popular among the Santals. It was reprinted more than
a dozen times between 1872 and 1922.
3. Taljhavi Seven Punthi: It was also a very popular song-book of the Santals. It was
written on Roman script and several editions of it were reprinted later on.
4. Pakhuvia Seven Punthi: This book contained Santali songs in Roman script and
was also an important work of the missionaries. It was first published in 1883 and was
reprinted in 1913.
5. Sevenga Seven Punthi: It was published in 1936 by Araest Soren from Sarenga. It
was written on Bengali script and contained as many as 140 Santali songs.
6. Hav Saven: This book was published by Rev. August. A. Burg of American
Baptist Mission. It contained some very popular songs of Bengal and Bihar. In Bhimpur
High School songs from this book were sung during morning prayer.
The contribution of Rev. L.O. Skresfrud to the development of Santali language and
literature deserves special attention in this context. Popularly known as ‘Karap Saheb’
among the Santals, he was attached to the Benagaria Mission of the Santal Parganas
district. He, along with two other missionaries, Johnson saheb and Papa saheb had laid
80 Ibid., p. 91.
81 Ibid., p. 94.
87
the foundation of the Baptist mission at Benagaria village in the Santal Parganas on
September 26th 1867.82
Rev. L.O. Skresfrud for the first time introduced the process of teaching and learning in
Santali language and published books like ‘Seren Punthi', ‘Santali Pouhil Punthi’
‘Santali Baser Punthi’ and ‘Buj Rakap PunthV to serve the purpose. In 1873 he
published his famous book on Santali grammar known as A Grammar of the Santali
Language. It was written on Roman script. Again it was under his initiation that a famous
account on Santal ancestors came to be published in 1887 entitled More Hapram Ko Reak
Katha from Benagaria Mission Press. Skresfrud sought the great Santal Pandit Koleyan
Guru’s experience and knowledge in preparing the account.84 It certainly is a masterpiece
of literature of the Santal. However, Rev. Skresfrud not only encouraged teaching and
learning in Santali but also composed several songs in Santali.
The contribution of Rev. A. Campbell to the growth of Santali language and literature is
also remarkable. Rev. Campbell worked with Pakhuria Mission in the district of
Manbhum. He established a press in the mission and published several books on Santali
including textbooks for school children. He was also notable for translating the Bible in
Santali. His most valuable work A Santali-English Dictionary came out in 1899. Several
renowned Santals like Ragda Hansda, Bisam Baske, and Dewa Hansda helped him in
Of
preparing the dictionary. He was also involved in editing and publishing several other
books in Santali.
Rev. F.T. Cole also worked significantly for the Santals. The village Taljhari in Santal
Parganas was the centre of his mission workshop. He was known for his translating skill.
He translated a book called ‘Daniel and the Minor Prophet’ in Santali language. He was
also involved in translation work of the Bible into Santali. He published ‘‘Taljhari Seren
Punthi ’ from Pakhuria mission.86
Rev. P.O. Bodding is another name greatly revered by the Santals for his contribution to
the growth of Santali language and literature. Bodding came to India in 1890 and spent
82 Chotrae Desmajhi., Chotrae Desmajhi Reak Katha, Benagaria, The Santal Press, 1938, p.27.
83 Dhiren Baske., op.cit., p.98.
84 Ibid., p. 98.
85 Ibid., p. 98.
86 Ibid., p. 98.
88
the rest forty-four years of his life in Benagaria mission in the Santal Parganas. He came
to India primarily for preaching Christianity but when he came in contact with the rich
cultural heritage of the Santals he devoted himself completely to serve the cause of
Santali language and literature. Under his supervision, a monthly journal known as 'Har
Hapram Pera’ was published regularly till 1904. The journal was later revived in 1922
under a new name ‘Pera Har'?1 Bodding also involved himself in translating the Bible in
Santali. Some of Bedding’s notable works are: Traditions and Institutions ofthe Santals,
Santal Folktales, Vol I, II, III. etc. Much of Bodding’s works are still preserved in Oslow
University, Norway.
B. indigenous Initiative
Indigenous initiative in literary activities from among the Santals appeared at a much
later period since the first half of the 20th century long after the trend of writing in Santali
language had been set by the missionaries. The most valuable piece of literature in
Santali in the 19 century was Majhi Ramdas Tudu’s Kherwal Bansha Dharam Punthi.
The book was written in Bengali script and was published in 1895. It deals at length with
various aspects of Santal religion and culture. Another book entitled Chotrai Deshmanjhi
Reak Katha,89 considered as a masterpiece of Santal literature was published in 1917. It
was written in Roman script by Raya Soren dictated by Chotrai Desmanjhi. Rev. P.O.
Bodding helped its publication from Benagaria Mission Press. It is a fine documentary on
the incidents of Santal rebellion and also shows how a stream of Santals branched
themselves off from their mainstream location at the Santal Parganas and set up colonies
in Assam. In 1927 a Santali songbook known as Baha Soren was published. It was
written in Bengali script by Cham Chandra Soren. The main theme of the book is the
Baha festival of the Santals, including the rituals and customs associated with it. Dhiren
Baske has noted that around this time i.e. during the first half of the 20th century, the
Hindus also, much in the manner of the Christian missionaries, set up missions in
different tribal regions for spreading messages of Hinduism and to prevent their
conversion to Christianity. They published books in Bengali script but in Santali
87 Ibid. ,p. 101.
88 Ibid., p. 121.
89 Ibid. ,p. 121
90 Ibid., p. 122.
89
language, such as Baha Seren Punthi and Ganer Punthi.91 In 1930 a book known as
Santal Aur Pahariakaoa Itihas was written in Roman script in Santali language. The
author of the book was Hembrom Kumar and it was published from Taljhari mission in
the Santal Parganas. The book deals with the activities of the Santal rebels during 1855
and provides a valuable account on the socio- economic and religious life of the Santals.
In the thirties of the 20th century, a Santal named Paul Jughair earned fame as a poet and
wrote several poems in Roman script. Some prominent Santal litterateurs of 1940s were
Gopal Gamaliyal Soren, W.G. Archer, Soloman. Murmu, Stefan Murmu and others.
Gopal Soren and W.G. Archer published their collections of Santal songs in 1943 in two
volumes known as Har Seren and Dang Seren. In 1944 Soloman Murmu published his
book Gam Kahani, which is basically a collection of folk tales of the Santals. Har
Kadam, another book in Santali, is a collection of riddles of the Santal society written by
W.G. Archer and Stefan Murmu. In 1945 Panchanan Mandi published Seren Itto in
Bangali script. Harma’s Village, the account of R.Carstairs, the Deputy Commissioner of
the Santal Parganas was translated in 1946. It came to be known as Harmaoah Aato.09
Another famous literary figure among the Santals was Sadhu Ramchand Murmu, who
provided a fresh lease of life to Santali language and lilterature. Sadhu Ramchand
emerged at a time when the religion and culture of the Santals was at stake. The cultural
impact of Bengal renaissance had meanwhile assigned a position of supremacy to Hindu
religion and culture over others and pushed the culture of the relatively ‘little
communities’ almost to insignificance. The Santals during this time showed an
inclination to come under the folds of Hinduism and Christianity at the cost of their own.
Sadhu Ramchand was at pains in seeing this trend of the Santals as it emerged from their
utter frustration and neglect to their own language and culture.93 According to Suhrid
Bhowmick, Sadhu Ramchand Murmu tried to deliver the Santals out of this frustration
and sense of inferiority complex and resurrected the entire community by working for the
improvement of Santali language and literature.94 His major contribution was the
introduction of rhythm (chanda) in Santali songs and poetry, a feature, which had not
91 Ibid., p. 122.
92 Ibid., pp. 128 - 129.
93 Suhrid Bhowmick., Sadhu Ramchand, Mecheda, Marang Bum Press, 1996, p. 10.
94 Ibid., pp. 110-113.
90
been taken care of by other writers in Santali literature so far. Sarada Prasad Kisku,
himself a famous litterateur in Santali, has said in his novel Santali Sahitya O ’ Ami that
Sadhu Ramchand attained a very high level of literary perfection in his attempt to master
the art of poetic rhythm (‘chanda’), syllabic metre and accent and it impressed him so
much while he was a student at Bishnupur college that he made up his mind to write on
same lines and format in future. According to Suhrid Bhowmick, Sadhu Ramchand thus
ignited the poetic genius in Sarada Prasad Kisku to prosper much the same way as
Vidyasagar did to Rabindranath.95
Santali Language and Its Relation with Bengali Language
It is true that Santali language has undergone influences of various other Aryan
languages. In “The Annals ofRural Bengal”, Hunter has shown the relationship of Santali
with other languages of the Aryans, particularly, Sanskrit. According to him, some
features of the Santali language “exhibit curious analogies to languages of the Inflecting
order, and in particular to Sanskrit.... There is a curious particle, chit, in Sanskrit, which
never stands by itself as a personal pronoun, but is used to impart indefiniteness to the
relative. Thus, has, who, with the particle chit added to it, becomes kas-chit, some one.
The same particle supplies the indefinite conjunction chet, if. But this particle, which in
the Sanskrit tongue has almost dropped out of the rank of independent pronominals, and
clings as an affix to a stronger root, stands forth in Santali as the pronoun of
indefiniteness, resting on its own strength, and the parent of a numerous family of words.
Thus Santali, chet, what; chet-hong, anything; chet-cho, perhaps, who knows; chet-leko,
like what, etc.”96
He also says, “Santali being barren of abstract terms, has no word to ‘time’; but it forms a
number of compounds, expressing periods of time, from a root kal : thus, kal-om, next
year; din kal-om, last year; hal-kalom, two years ago; mahang-kalom, three years ago.
Now curiously enough, Kal-a is the Sanskrit word for ‘time’, from the root to/.”97
Hunter has also shown how Santali in its turn has affected Sanskrit and other languages
as well. According to him, “While treating of the alphabet, we found reasonable ground
95 Ibid., p.10.
96 W.W. Hunter, The Annals ofRural Bengal, London, Smith Elder, 1871, p 95.
97 Ibid., p. 96.
91
to conjecture that the Aryan invaders of India had come in contact with the Santals, or a
cognate race, in primitive times and mentioned that the Prakrit, a very early form of
Sanskrit, had adopted pure Santali terms. Thus, instead of employing the Aryan stambha,
‘a post,’ ‘a pillar,’ ‘a peg,’ the Sanskrit population used an aboriginal word khunt-a. This
khunt-a is an undisguised Santali word, the only change being in the terminal vowel:
thus, ancient Prakrit, khunt-a modem Santali, khunt-i, ‘a post’. The identity is complete,
even to the circumstance that in both words the cerebral t and n are used. Bheda, ‘a
sheep,’ appears to furnish another example. It is a Santal word in use at the present day;
in Sanskrit it stands alone and without any clear origin. The cerebral d, with which it is
spelt, renders the probability still greater, that it is a true aboriginal word which the Aryan
settlers borrowed from the races they found living in the land.”98 Hunter also says that
likewise several Santali words had integrated into Bengali language. For example “The
Bengali Poune and poya are unquestionably adopted from pon-ea, the vernacular of the
aborigi• nes.”QQ
Scholars like Dhiren Baske, Gurucharan Murmu, Suhrid Bhowmick also think likewise.
According to Gurucharan Murmu, “In Bengali, if we take the verb ‘kha‘> ‘to eat’ for First
Person Singular, and Plural in the Future Tense we get the form ikhabo\ This abo / bo is
the verbal suffix. In Santali abo is the First Person Plural Number. In Second Person
Singular and Plural we get ‘‘khabe’ in Bengali, in which abe / be is the verbal suffix. In
Santali ‘ape’ is the Second Person Plural Number. In Bengali, First Person Singular and
Plural in the Past in the Past Tense we get ‘khelam\ Suffix is elam. Santali ‘alan’ is First
Person Dual. Bengali ‘Khaben’ in Second Person Singular and Plural has aben / ben as
verbal suffix. In Santali abin / aben is the second person Dual used in the sense of
respect. Bengali lapni / Apani' is also closer to Santali ‘aben’. Bengali past tense ‘khele’
in Second Person Singular and Plural, the verbal suffix is ‘e/e’. In Santali ‘a/e’ is the First
Person Plural.”100
Gurucharan Murmu again says, “Moreover the Third Person Past Continuous from
‘khetechilen’ has ‘etechhileri* as suffix. In Santali lettaheleri> is verbal suffix which can
98 Ibid., p. 97.
99 Ibid., p. 97.
i0° Gurucharan Murmu., “Did Santali Influence Bengali ? - A Philological Question”, in Bulletin of
Cultural Research Institute, Vol. XVIII, No. 1-2, 1992, p. 99.
92
be used with any of the above eleven forms, e.g. kamiet tahelen ain, (I had been
working); kamiet tahenain (I was working). Hindi, khatehain, is used in Second Person is
respect. Santaii taken is verb ‘to remain’. Tahenain, (I shall remain). Morever, Bengali
Techhen, Hindi, ‘ta hain’ sound similar. Santaii 7en’ is intransitive past e.g. tahelen ain
(I remained), while Bengali has ‘techhilerf e.g. khetechhilen. Santaii ‘e/’ indicates
continuity; e.g. edi-et-air (I am talking).101
“In this comparison the forms are not strictly adhering to the same tense. It might be that
since out of eleven personal pronouns of Santaii only one for each person has
resemblance i.e. First Persons iabo\ Second Persons tape\ and Third Person ae for both
Singular and Plural in Bengali; it is likely that the rest of the forms were left free. It is not
unlikely that those free forms were left free. It is not unlikely that those forms might have
some other similar placing in the verb structure of Bengali or some other language akin to
it. (Santaii a = Bengali a) ”102
Surhid K Bhowmick has also shown the relationship between the two languages, Santaii
and Bengali. According to him the picture of socio-cultural life that we get in Charchapad
is akin to the life-style of the Santals visible in the vast area of land ranging from
Chhotonagpur plateau down to the plains of Bengal. A literature of nearly thousand years
Charchapad depicts the picture of convergence of Hindu with those of the Adi•vasis.1 flT
Dhiren Baske gives a list of words of Santaii origin also in use among the Bengali
speaking population of Bankura Midnapore and Pumlia regions. For example, Kacha,
Kuli, Khala, Bhuluk, Heer, Bakhol, Baid, Dahi, Dungra, Tanr, Dangua Bakhar Aowla,
Udma Hemal etc.104 Lots of other scholars like Sukumar Sen, Niharanjan Roy, Suniti
Kumar Chattopadhyay and others have investigated various aspects of mutual
relationship between the two languages.
Nabendu Dutta-Mazumdar has made an interesting observation in this regard. According
to him, “.. .the Bengali the Santals speak, is however, cast into the grammatical mould of
Santaii, especially in the case of illiterate Santals. This remark, although based on the
101 Ibid., p. 99.
102 Ibid., p. 99.
103 Quoted from Dhiren Baske., op.cit., pp. 14 - 15.
104 Ibid. ,pp.9-25.
93
speech of the Santals of Birbhum district, is equally applicable to that of the Santals
residing in Bankura and other regions as well.”105
Growth of Political Consciousness of the Santals
According to Dilip Soren,106 the political consciousness of the Santals actually surfaced
way back in the 1780s when a movement broke out under the leadership of Tilka Murmu
long before the outbreak of the Santal Insurrection in 1855. However, if struggles for land
and liberty have to go anything by the name of political consciousness, then it can be said
that the Santals already had it in them in full by the second half of the nineteenth century.
Indeed, it would be wrong to assume that the tribal communities in India had remained
mute spectators to the changes brought in by the aliens to their lands. The revolts of the
Bhumijs, Kols, Bhils and other tribal communities are testimonies to their rising concerns
for their rights over land and forests, already at stake during the colonial rule. The great
Santal Insurrection in 1855 was also a reflection of that spirit of independence the Santals
had in them, as it was not merely directed to resolve their immediate grievances against
exploitations of the mahajans, moneylenders and zamindars.
However, the Santal disturbances in 1855 seem to have affected, more than anywhere
else, the areas of Damin-i-Koh and its adjoining Birbhum district. Of course, the Santals
of other regions like Bankura and Midnapore, also joined hands in great numbers. A vivid
description of the stories and subsequent events during and after the rebellion can be had
in the accounts of two contemporary Santal, Jugia Haram,107 and Chotrae Desmanjhi.108
According to Jugia Haram, several rumours were doing rounds on the eve of the revolt.
Two outstanding leaders emerged from among the Santals. They were two brothers, Sido
and Kanhu, blessed with supernatural power to guide their people. According to Chrotrae
Desmanjhi, an elaborate preparation was made before the outbreak of the rebellion. Oil
and vermilion were sent in leaf cups by Sido and Kanho to several villages to placate the
Bongas so that they might help in the fight. Sido and Kanhu ignited the passion of the
105 Quoted from West Bengal District Gazetteers, Bankura, p. 151.
106 Dilip Soren, “Santal Bidrohs”, in Amal Kumar Das and Shankarananda Mukhopadhyay (eds.),
Paschimbange Adivasi Andolen, Calcutta, Cultural Research Institute, Backward Classes Welfare
Dept.,Govt, of West Bengal, Calcutta, 1977, p. 73.
107 N. Datta-Mazumdar., op. cit, p.26.
104 Ibid., p. 29.
94
fellow Santals by drawing precedence from the golden days of the past. They also
declared that the Santals were not liable to pay extra taxes and that they should only pay
eight annas for a buffalo plough and four annas for a bullock plough. The rebellion
started with a violent note when a daroga (Police Inspector) along with nine members of
his platoons were hacked to death on July 7th 1855 in the heart of Barheit valley near
Bhagnadih. The cry Hull Hull became widespread.109 The rebels looted bazaars put the
oppressive mahajans to task, and also murdered some of the mahajans around. According
to Hunter, the movement of the Santals primarily began in the form of national
procession heading to Calcutta to file a petition of demands before the higher authority of
the British government. But food scarcity on the way had driven the Santals to plunder
and the “precipitate outrage upon the inspector of police changed the whole character of
the expedition.”110 As the news of the movement spread thick and fast it also affected the
Santals of the Birbhum district. The Calcutta Review noted that: “Beerbhoom side of the
disturbed country was in greater disorder and for a longer time. By the 20th of July
Mighijanpore and Narainpore had been sacked....”*111*
In The story of an Indian upland, Bradley Birt captured the momentum of the revolt in
Birbhum when he recounted the execution of a zamindar in Narainpur about seven miles
northwest of Rampurhat. “Against them too, the Santals had many old scores and these
they paid in full. Seizing him in a house near the Barakar River, they chopped off his legs
at the knees, crying ‘four annas!’ meaning that a quarter of the debt had been thus paid.
Then cutting off his legs at the thighs, they cried, ‘eight annas!’ and his arms crying
‘twelve annas!’. Finally they cut off his head exclaiming triumphantly, ‘farakatti!’(full
quittance).”112
Finally, the revolt was put down by the British troops together with trained Indian
infantry by the end of 1855-56. The following songs of the rebellion may be quoted to
reveal the psychology of the Santals during the rebellion.113
109 Ibid., p. 29.
110 W.W. Hunter., op. cit, pp. 238 - 240.
111 “The Sontal Rebellion”, The Calcutta Review, Vol. 26, No. 51, March 1856, pp. 223 - 264.
112 F. Bradley Birt, The story ofan Indian Upland, London, Smith Elder, 1905, p. 198.
113 W.G. Archer, “Santal Rebellion Songs”, Man in India, Vol. 25, No. 4, 1945, p. 207.
95
Saheb rule is trouble full.
Shall we go or shall we stay?
Eating, drinking, clothing.
For everything we are troubled;
Shall we go or shall we stay
Kenaram Becharam
Longed for land in Pipaijuri
They bound the Litipara manjhi
And took them to the Sahib’s door.
Sido, why are you bathed in blood?
Kanhu, why do you cry Hul, Hul?
For our people we have bathed in blood,
For the trader thieves
Have robbed us of our land.
Socio-religious Consciousness giving way to Political Consciousness
It is quiet interesting to note that the tribal consciousness towards politics came in the
wake of the socio-religious reform movements of the 1870’s. Even when the Kherwar
movement was in its peak and acculturation with Hinduism was going on in full swing,
the Santals, as mentioned earlier, never deserted their political objective of establishing
an independent Santal Raj and always asserted in their demands not to pay rents and
allegiance to the British government. But the British policy of suppression had, at times,
forced the outward political expressions of the Santals to go underground, rendering it a
character of socio-religious reform movement. Olav Hodne thus says, once the violence
of 1880 had been suppressed, the movement ‘could exist only as a kind of underground
organization politically, while more openly it continued as a social-religious movement.
Nevertheless, the real political motives were never completely destroyed’.114 In 1891,
when another Census survey was round the comer, the Kherwars again unleashed
violence in western Midnapore, Singhbhum, Dhalbhum and Chottonagpur.
114 L.O. Hodne., Skrefsrud Missionay andSocial Reformer Among the Santals ofSantal Parganas, Oslo,
1966, pp. 267.
96
According to N. Datta-Mazumdar, during the first half of the twentieth century the
character of Santa! acculturation had been changing and the Kherwar movement was also
on its way to decline. “This change in the character of Santal reaction is marked by a shift
in the emphasis from the socio-religious to the political aspect, together with an
increasing reliance on the forces inherent in their own community and culture, rather than
on the adoption of alien socio-religious practices.”115 He attributes this growth of new
political consciousness among the Santals to the rising national movement of the period.
According to him, the impact of All-India national movement had led to give birth to
two-fold reaction among the Santals. On the one hand, it paved the way for the growth of
a general national consciousness among them and on the other it also fostered a sense of
specific nationalism within the different linguistics and cultural groups of the country. In
the Santal Parganas, where the Santals were numerically strong and lived in a compact
groups the new political consciousness had increasingly tempted them to campaign for a
separate territory, representation in the provincial cabinet of Bihar and maintenance of a
distinct identity. But in other areas, where they were living in isolated pockets in the
midst of caste groups, they were aligning themselves with the peasant unions to fight
against increasing rents, usury, and other kinds of extortion by landlords and
moneylenders.116
As the 20th century unfolded its pages, the tribal consciousness in India had started to
make its presence felt with the increasing assertion and crystallization of their ethnic
identity. So far this notion of ethnicity centered on their distinct moral and material
culture, to be practiced by the members of the community and was devoid of any sense of
territory or notion of constitutionalism. The resistance offered was primarily to resolve
crisis in agriculture as well as identity. Sense of territory or land had little to do with it,
as land was in abundance. But gradually concern for land and awareness for its resources
developed. The Mundas, Santals, Hos, Oraons and all other Jharkhandi tribes came to
believe that the land water and forest of their territory were their exclusive preserve since
they had cleared the jungles and had a role in shaping the territory. Thus “territory
115 N. Datta-Majumdar., op. cit., p. 62.
116 Ibid. ,p. 63.
97
becomes an existential geography”117 to them. This attitude was fostered further, with the
increase in the number of educated tribals in the ranks of potential agitators. Thus, began
a different genre of protest with the beginning of the 20th century, which was led and
manned by educated and urban Adivasis. “They raised the call for a separate tribal state
within the Indian nation to be.”118
Thus, the growth of Jharkhand movement since 1920’s signified growing political
consciousness of the Santals and their awareness for a distinct political and cultural
identity. It also reflected increasing preponderance of the educated and urban Adivasis in
the movement as the leadership was mostly drawn from the western educated tribal
intelligentsia of Bihar and Chhotonagpur region. These leaders, bom and brought up in a
missionary environment and western culture, differed significantly in terms of outlook
and attitudes from the ordinary Santals and were very much elitist in temperament. They
were more conscious and articulate about their distinct political and cultural recognition.
Chhotonagpur Unnati Samaj (1920) that carried the reins of the early Jharkhand
movement was, thus, predominantly urban in nature and relied on constitutional methods
for amelioration of the tribals. It involved in ideological conflict with the more radical
section of leadership who believed that the society must spread into villages and
mobilized the support of the agrarian tribal mass. Thus, a new faction breaking away
from the society came into being under the leadership of Theble Oraon. It was known as
the Kisan Sabha. Soon there followed a different organization known as Chhotonagpur
Catholic Sabha led by Boniface Lakra and Ignes Beck as a result of growing rivalry in the
leadership.119 The formation of Adivasi Mahasabha in May 1935 was a last bid to cany
forward the movement under one umbrella organization, so that the demand for statehood
would be strengthened in the midst of all-sweeping electoral success of the Indian
National Congress.
The Santals belonging to other regions including Bankura, Birbhum and Midnapore, must
have been watching very intently the state of affairs developing in Jharkhand. In 1921,
Bodding reported that the Kherwar movement still existed in the form of three different
1,7 Susana Devalle., Discourses ofEthnicity, Culture and Protest in Jharkhand, New Delhi, Sage
Publishers, 1992, p. 134.
118 Mathew, Areeparampil., op. cit, p. 235.
119 Ibid., p. 236.
98
Sapha Hor sects.120 By the time of the second Non-Cooperation movement, another
Santal messianic leader Bengam Majhi, appeared on the scene and he further led the
movement along lines of divinity and national politics of the time. Bengam’s call for
prohibition of mill woven cloth in particular, gained the attention and support of local
Congress leaders.121
It is reported that in the district of Midnapore one of the major grievances of the Santals
during 1921 was their increasing loss of land, which, they had brought trader the notice of
the British government. McAlpin Report122 amply testifies to the amount of land
alienation of the Santals in the districts of erstwhile Jungle Mahals including Midnapore.
The matter came to a head when records of land dispossession of the Santals in the
districts of Southwest Bengal came pouring in from all comers to the British
administrators of the region. But no concrete step was undertaken by the British
government to prevent land alienation of the Santals living in these districts or to extend
the legislations as existed in the Santal Parganas in southwest Bengal. The proposal of
Weston, the Collector of Midnapore to implement the 10(a) and 10(b) clauses of the
Chhotonagpur Tenancy Act in Midnapore to Walsh, the Commissioner, had fallen into
deaf ears. As a result the condition of the Santals of Midnapore did not improve much
and they remained aggrieved as ever. This adverse situation indirectly paved the way for
their participation in the on-going national movement of the 1920’s, When Gandhiji’s
call of Non-Cooperation movement reached Midnapore, they joined hands in it under the
leadership of Sailjananda Sen.123 In Midnapore, the Santals showed their defiance in
paying taxes to the government and indulged in wanton felling of trees in violation of
British forest laws. They came in conflict with the manager of the Midnapore Zamindary
Company and of the zamindars of other regions, including Silda. James Pady, the
additional District Commissioner, tried in vain, to bridge the differences between the two
120 P.O. Bodding., “The Kharwar Movement Among the Santals”, in Man in India. September, 1921, pp.
222-232.
121 Stephen Fuchs., Rebellious Prophets: A Study ofMessianic Movements in Indian Religions, Bombay,
Asia Publishing House, 1965, p. 57
122 McAlpin Report, op. cit., pp. 31 - 36.
123 Amal Kumar Das & Shankarananda Mukhopadhyay., (ed.,) Pashimbange Adibasi Andolan, Calcutta,
Cultural Research Institute, Backward Classes Welfare Department, Govt, of West Bengal, 1977, p.57.
99
parties while suggesting suspension of all anti-Santal activities by the members of the
Zamindary Company.124
The feud between the Santals and the zamindars in the district further extended over
Santals’ right to catch fishes in the ponds. The Santals, under the instigation of other
revolutionaries of the Non-Cooperation movement looted away fishes in the ponds of the
Midnapore zamindari Company.125 Besides, they also indulged in illegal cutting down of
trees in the jungles falling within the jurisdiction of the Midnapore Zamindari Company.
The Santals also clashed regularly with the police to set free other imprisoned rebels in
the district. It is reported that the Santals of Belpahari, in one such incident, even attacked
the vehicles of Police Super and Additional District Commissioner. However, the
movement subsided following considerable suppression carried out by the Special British
Forces deployed for the purpose in the district. The cost incurred in deploying special
police forces was however, collected by the British government from the Santals of
Belpahari as Pituni Kar, a sum that amounted to 59,302 taka, liana and 9 pai in total.126
Santals and the Quit India Movement
During the Quit India movement many Santal Sapha Hor were found taking prominent
part in the Nationalist movement. According to Stephen Fuchs, “Inspired by
revolutionaries from Bihar and Bengal they joined not only the demonstrators but
committed many acts of violence. They burned police stations and government houses,
and many liquor shops, destroyed bridges and roads, severed telegraph lines and
tampered with railway lines. For these acts of sabotage many Sapha Hor had to go to
jail.”127 Dhiren Baske, has also reported about similar incidents in Midnapore. In his
opinion, in Midnapore, during 1942 the Santals were led by their parent organization
known as Adivasi Mahasabha. Babulal Soren, a most famous Santal of Kaosol near
Garbetta was instrumental in preparing the revolutionary turf in Midnapore. He went on
spreading the message of swadeshi by campaigning in the villages, haats and fairs of
Goaltore, Salboni, Garbetta and gave a call to the Santals to participate in the Quit India
124 Ibid., p. 57.
125 Ibid., p. 57.
126 Ibid., p. 58.
127 S. Fuchs., op.cit, p. 58.
100
movement.128 He was also the one to ask the Midnapore Zamindary Company to stop
payment of taxes and also instigated the Santals to do the same. Lakshiram Hembrom,
another Santal leader led the rebels to bum down the liquor shops. The rebels in
Midnapore, burnt down such shops in large numbers. He also made arrangements to
provide cover to the Santal rebels from police raids. The names of Santal activists, who
figured prominently during this time, were Mansaram Mandi, Kalicharan Soren,
Surendranath Soren, Sripati Hansda, Nabin Soren, Dinabandhu Mandi, Kaliram
Hembrom and others.129
The news of Santal participation in the Quit India movement spread like a wild fire and
soon the Santals of Binpur, Silda, Tangra, Ramgarh, Garbeta and Salboni followed suit.
In Midnapore, the situation was already tensed following refusal of their demands by the
District Magistrate. The Santals of Midnapore, seething with discontent were, in fact
waiting for an opportunity and the call for participating in the movement of 1942
provided them the spark to burst into a violent demonstration. There were reports that
mass violence, pillaging and torching of shops in the markets of Binpur, Silda, Parihati,
Jambam, Dahijun were led by Fagu Murmu that had resulted in putting the entire area
of western Midnapore into flames. These were areas with large stretches of dense forests,
which provided natural cover to the rebels from being nabbed by the British force. Also
there took place several meetings in the hats and bazaars and in other places in
Midnapore district attended by several thousand Santals. Padma lochhan Mandi, a Santal
teacher of Bhimpur High School deserves a special mention in this context since he
pledged to sacrifice his life for the cause of the ongoing freedom movement in one such
meeting organized in a weekly hat in Bhimpur. Bhimpur happened to be the nerve
centre of rebel activities during 1942.
Bankura too represented a scene of violence, sabotages and anarchy during the movement
of 1942. Starting with non-payment of taxes, down to snapping the communication links
and setting the liquor shops into flames, in all these activities the participation of the
Santals was rampant. But they did not abide by all the dictates of the Pradesh Congress
128 Dhiren Baske., Gana Andolene Saontal Samaj, Calcutta, Maitreyi Prakasani, 1996, pp. 20 - 25.
Ibid., p. 22.
130 Ibid., p. 23.
131 Ibid., p.24.
101
Committee sent to them in respect of programmes to be followed during the
movement. Particularly, they were against launching mass movement for it meant
cessation of work throughout the day. In Kanchanpur, Kadamghat and Belbani under
Bankura police station, Santal rebels were reported to have set fire three liquor shops.133
Reports of similar rebel activities in Khatra are found in abundance in the documents
pertaining to the Government of West Bengal on Quit India Movement. According to
Dhiren Baske, the Santal insurgents took special care in destroying the liquor shops
because they knew that multiplication of these shops had lured them more and more to
liquor addiction that had led to their economic impoverishment and moral
degeneration.134
The participation of Santal students in the movement of 1942 in Bankura was also
widespread. The students of Bankura Christian College seemed to have played a leading
role in this movement. An account of Amiyo Kisku then a student of Christian College of
Bankura testifies to students’ involvement in the Quit India movement. Dhiren Baske, the
famous writer in Santali has stated in his book Gana Andolam Saontal Samaj that from
Amiyo Kisku he had come to know how disturbance began in Bankura Christian College
following sending of sankha (a kind of bangles made of ivory), sindoor (vermillion) and
alta ( red coloured liquid usually applied at feet by Hindu women) by the students of
Midnapore college to the students of Bankura Christian College. It appealed to the
conscience of the students so much that they immediately leaped into the movement.135
According to Dhiren Baske, Amiyo Kisku had to pay a heavy price for joining the
movement. Had he not enrolled himself in the rebels’ rank he could have easily achieved
a job under the British government.136 Sacrifices on the part of Santal students, such as
this, was no less important in making the revolution (1942) a success.
Nevertheless, it is necessary to mention here that the Santals of Southwest Bengal did not
flare up whole-heartedly in the movement of 1942. They were lacking in overall display
of rebellious activities in comparison with their counterparts in Bihar and Chhotonagpur.
132 Ibid., p.25.
133 Ibid., pp. 22 - 28.
134 Ibid., pp. 22 - 28.
135 Ibid., p. 20.
136 Ibid., p. 20.
102
The tribals in Bihar and Chhotonagpur had the advantage of working in close association
with the leaders of Forward Block and the National Congress. These political
organizations of all India level had their local centres in the district of the Santal Parganas
and a great number of its leaders were drawn from these areas. As a result, the Santals
residing there enjoyed the facility of remaining in touch with the programmes and course
of action to be followed during the movement. Moreover, Santal villages in Bihar and
Chhotonagpur also had the advantage of remaining in close proximity with the towns. I"Xl
But the Santal villages of Bengal did not enjoy any of these facilities.
Despite all these limitations, it is undeniable that the Santal participation in die movement
of 1942 was spontaneous. This is further evident in their songs and ballads composed
around this time by several Santal poets and writers. One such song published in
Pachhim Bangla in the year 1973 written by an anonymous poet refers to the resolve of a
Santal mother to send her sons to fight the Britishers during 1942. It reflects a passionate
cry of a mother who wished to see the end of all sufferings and coming of good old days
through a struggle modeled along the struggle of the great Santal Hul led by Sidu-Kanhu.
It is being held that the Indian tribals’ potential to fight against British colonialism had
never been properly explored by the nationalist leaders nor were their contributions ever
received an adequate attention from scholars of Indian history. According to Subodh
Ghosh,138 the typical attitude of the caste people to play down the Adivasi contribution to
the freedom movement has caused many facts of Santal participation in the Quit India
movement to remain under suppression. He says that in many places like Bolpur and
Balurghat the Santals were the main participants in the Quit India movement and it was
they who had mostly sacrificed their lives. But nowhere in Bolpur or in other places of
Bangladesh there had ever been any attempt to commemorate Santal revolutionaries of
Indian freedom movement even in the post-Independence era.139 Dhiren Baske has
recorded one such important event that had been missed out by historians in their
depiction of the activities of militant nationalists. He states that there was a place called
Chendapathar located in the interior part of the district of Midnapore. This place situated
137 Ibid., p. 22.
138 Subodh Ghosh., Bharater Adivasi, Kolkata, National Book Agency, 2000, p. 44.
139 Ibid., p. 48.
103
in an elevated portion of the mountains and covered with wide jungles was relatively
isolated from the mainstream activities of the people. The militant nationalists had chosen
this place due to its natural fortifications all around for practicing the art of binding and
throwing bombs. Damen Hembrom, a Santal of Bhalukbindha village had helped the
famous revolutionary Kshudiram Bose to bind bombs in his attempt to kill magistrate
Kingsford in 1908. On 11th August 1908 Kshudiram Bose was hanged and British police
lynched Damen Hembrom to death. Dhiren Baske laments that, while the part played by
Kshudiram Bose in Indian Freedom Movement finds a place in history books, there was
no reference to the service and sacrifice laid down by Damen Hembrom for the same
cause. 140
Thus, it can be said that the Santals remained very much in the thick of politics all
throughout the colonial rule. Though their struggles were mostly directed to solve their
immediate grievances like security against illegal eviction, reduction in the amount of
taxes, protection for customary rights over forests and relief from the debt net of the
mahajans and moneylenders, they also fought for independence as well. It is important to
note in this context that Santals’ struggle for independence is synonymous to their
struggle for land and rights over forests. They did not conceive independence to be
achieved only by throwing off the foreign yoke (British rule) from their land as they
considered the indigenous ‘dekos’ no less foreigners than the former.141 In fact they could
not see any difference between the British colonial rulers and the indigenous dekos as far
as exploitation was concerned. They were subjected to the exploitation of the indigenous
‘dekos’ (zamindars, mahajans and moneylenders) as much as that of the British
colonialists. Thus, their struggle was directed against both ofthem. This particular feature
is evident in their participation in the national movement as well. In the national
movements such as Non-Cooperation or Quit India movement the Santals’ rage was also
directed against their immediate exploiters like zamindars and liquor shop-owners who
were stationed in their locality. But their sense of nationalism was also prominent. In the
Gandhiji-led movements the Santals joined enthusiastically as was evident from their
large-scale participation in the Non-Cooperation and Quit India movements. In fact the
140 Dhiren Baske., op. cit, pp. 20 - 21.
141 Amal Kumar Das & Shankarananda Mukhopadhyay., (ed.,) op. cit., p. 27.
104
on-going Indian national movement appealed to them as much as it did to others.
Participation in this movement also proves their concern for the nation and commitment
to national interests. In the final analysis, however, it would not be an exaggeration to say
that the Santals had their own legacy of movements to undo the British rule right from the
start.
105
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