Question

In late eighteenth-century revenue records, the hill folks living around Rajmahal hills were known as:

• A. Manjhis
• B. Santhals
• C. Paharias
• D. Kaduyas

Hint:

Remember Rajmahal Hills with the Paharias when studying the Permanent Settlement and colonial expansion into forested and hilly regions.
Do not automatically select Santhals merely because both groups are associated with eastern India.
The question specifically asks about the hill people recorded around the Rajmahal Hills in the late eighteenth century.

Answer 1

The Correct Option is C

Concept:
The Rajmahal Hills region in eastern India was inhabited by communities who maintained distinctive social, economic, and political relationships with the surrounding plains.
Colonial revenue records used the term Paharias for the hill people living around the Rajmahal Hills.

Step 1: Locating the Rajmahal Hills:
The Rajmahal Hills are located in present-day Jharkhand and historically formed part of the eastern Indian frontier of agrarian expansion.
The hilly environment supported communities whose livelihoods and social organisation differed from those of settled cultivators in the plains.

Step 2: Identifying the Paharias:
The hill communities inhabiting this region were referred to as Paharias in colonial records.
The term itself is connected with the idea of people living in the hills.
They were known for maintaining a degree of independence from outside political authority and for resisting attempts to penetrate and control their territories.

Step 3: Distinguishing Them from the Other Options:
The Santhals were another important tribal community of eastern India, but their large-scale settlement in the Rajmahal region developed particularly during the nineteenth century.
Manjhis refers to a traditional leadership term in certain tribal communities rather than the specific community identified by the question.
Kaduyas does not correspond to the hill community referred to in the revenue records.

Step 4: Final Identification:
The historical term used for the hill people living around the Rajmahal Hills was Paharias.
Final Answer:
Therefore, the correct answer is (C) Paharias.