Introduction

The Santal Parganas in Jharkhand (erstwhile south-eastern Bihar) was reorganised in 1981 into five districts, Dumka (which is the divisional headquarters), Deoghar, Godda, Sahebganj and Pakur. The Santal tribals constitute a large proportion of the population and are also spread across several adjacent districts of Bihar, Odisha, Madhya Pradesh and West Bengal. The Santal Parganas have three distinct tracts. About a third of the area consists of partially forested hills, running from north to south, and valleys with small villages and clearings for cultivation. Half is rolling country in the west and south-west, with long ridges, intervening depressions, rocks or scrub jungle. The third tract is the rice-cultivating plain between the Ganga and the hills. The area was once rich in forests of different types, which are now restricted to small pockets.

Dumka was connected to the rail network only in 2011, but the division has a fairly good system of roadways. Major towns are linked by buses; yet the bullock cart remains the main form of local transport, particularly for goods. As ordinary carts cannot negotiate the steep hills and boulders, people generally walk. Bicycles are gradually increasing but are exclusively used by men. Women have no option but to walk from their village, at least up to the roadside.

The population is mostly rural; three towns were recorded in 1901, rising to twelve in 1981. Many missionary societies run educational and medical institutions in the district. Mainstream society considers the Santals as labourers in agriculture and construction. For generations they have been employed to clear the land and work in the tea plantations of the north-east, as well as in agriculture and construction in eastern India. Literacy was low at 37.26 per cent for men and 14 per cent for women in the region in 1991. This is likely to be even lower for the Santals and Paharias despite the designated tribal schools. In 1993–94, there was great enthusiasm for the National Literacy Mission's adult literacy campaign. Women were also organised to form savings groups named Jaago Behena (Awaken Women) and Didi Bank (Elder Sister's Bank). However, the lack of adequate post-literacy and continuing education programmes have led to a rapid decline into illiteracy.