Changing Village Authority in an Adivasi Hinterland: State, Community and Contingencies of Rule in Singhbhum, 1830–1897

In 1893 in Singhbhum, located in south-eastern Chotanagpur plateau (present day Jharkhand), the British, preparing to initiate a new survey and settlement operation in the region, were vexed with a dilemma. There was widespread unrest in the adjoining regions and colonial officials were anxious about possible opposition of the ‘turbulent’ adivasis to these ‘intrusive’ surveys. Amidst the general anxieties, the colonial officials were concerned about the ramifications of a very drastic change they were planning to introduce. This was the proposal to bring the uplands of the undulating terrain of Singhbhum, locally known as gora lands, under a rent scheme. The gora lands, because of their location on the upland of the plateau, were the relatively (compared to the low lands) less fertile regions owing to their low moisture retention capacity. Despite this, they were important reserve sites in the agrarian economy of the local tribes, who used it to cultivate certain coarser varieties of crops, through forms of shifting cultivation; as well as grazing grounds for their herds of cows and goats.