Bengal district gazetteers: Santal Parganas

The preparation of district, provincial and Imperial gazetteers was part of a tradition set up by the Raj. British civilians in India undertook the preparation of these enormously useful projects under their supervision. District officers or Deputy Commissioners assisted in the collection of material and often wrote entire report themselves. These official records provide a wealth of material on all aspects of the regions covered be they districts or provinces. They also include detailed information about the inhabitants, their way of life, habits, customs, religious rites and rituals, festivals and indeed every thing concerning them.This reprint of a District Gazetteer deals with the picturesque region known as the Santal Parganas in Pre-Independencce India. Santal Parganas comprised the area bounded in the north by the districts of Bhagalpur and Purnea in present day Bihar; on the eastern side by Birbhum, Murshidabad and Malda; on the southern boundary by Burdwan and Manbhum; and in the west by Hazaribagh and Bhagalpur. A part of the Bengal Presidency, it derived its name from the colourful tribe the Santal who inhabited the area. This tribal community even today consists of one of the largest, most cohesive and resilient tribes in eastern India. They have certainly been the most written about in song and literature beginning from the days of the Raj. E.G. man in his Sonthalia and the Santhals describes them as ???an uncouth, truth-telling, savage tribe differing entirely from their immediate neighbours in their physique, habits and superstitions. ??? But he has also remarked on the faithful similarity of views on the ideas of race, religious ceremonies and customs, held by Santhals living as far apart as 300 miles.This timely reprint of a district gazetteer should be invaluable as a reference tool for researchers today.