“The battle between the hoe and plough was a long one”
(i)The Paharias had problems with the people living in the plains. They charged taxes from them, raided into their areas etc. Therefore, the Paharias were pushed back into the hills.
(ii)Santhals were settled on the peripheries of the Rajmahal hills by the British and the Paharias resisted it, they were forced to withdraw deeper into the hills.
(iii)The Paharias had refused to use plough & settled agriculture.
(iv)They were restricted from moving down to the lower hills and valleys.
(v)They were confined to dry interior and to the barren and rocky upper hills.
(vi)This severely affected their lives and impoverished them.
(vii)Shifting agriculture depended on the ability to move to newer and newer lands.
(viii)When forests were cleared for cultivation, the lives of hunters also got affected.
(ix)Their earlier life of mobility was also affected.