Correct Option
The correct option is To settle the Santhals and encourage them to practice plough agriculture.
Explanation
The term "Damin-i-Koh" (meaning "skirts of the hills") refers to a large area of land in the Rajmahal Hills (modern-day Jharkhand) demarcated by the British East India Company in 1832. This policy was part of the British strategy to extend settled agriculture and maximize land revenue in tribal regions.
Statement-wise Analysis
- To create a forest reserve where no human activity was permitted.: Incorrect. The objective was not to create a forest reserve devoid of human activity. On the contrary, the British wanted to clear the forests and transform the region into a productive agricultural zone to generate revenue.
- To settle the Santhals and encourage them to practice plough agriculture.: Correct. The British failed to persuade the original inhabitants, the Paharias, to give up shifting cultivation and adopt settled plough agriculture. Consequently, the British invited the Santhals to settle in the foothills. The area demarcated as Damin-i-Koh was declared the land of the Santhals, provided they lived within it, practised plough agriculture, and became settled peasants.
- To provide a safe haven for the Paharias to continue shifting cultivation.: Incorrect. The demarcation was detrimental to the Paharias. As Santhals settled and cleared forests for plough cultivation, the Paharias-who relied on hoe cultivation and forest resources-were pushed deeper into the barren and rocky upper hills, severely impacting their livelihood.
- To establish a military cantonment to control the Rajmahal hills.: Incorrect. While the British sought political control over the Rajmahal Hills, Damin-i-Koh was primarily an agrarian and revenue settlement, not a military cantonment.
Key Takeaway
Damin-i-Koh was a demarcated land grant established in 1832 to settle the Santhals in the Rajmahal Hills, encouraging settled plough agriculture to replace the shifting cultivation of the Paharias and increase British revenue.