ABSTRACT
The chapter describes how Santal communities were described during the 1790s, when they were first noticed by surveyors and local East India Company (EIC) officers. At that time, Santals were on the move from the southern parts of Bengal towards the Damin-i-Koh, which would become the core of the rebellion in 1855–1856. One reason for this population movement was the EIC’s 1793 reform in the way land rent was collected, which compelled the zamindars to increase their incomes by bringing virgin land under the plough. This development and its effects are presented along with the Santal steps towards the north. Besides the specific movement towards the Damin-i-Koh, their settlement in nearby areas in the decades leading up to the rebellion is recorded. These settlements seem to have reached some distance to the west of the Damin-i-Koh and up to the river Ganges to the east; some Santals even crossed the Ganges. Others chose not to migrate and remained in the south.
