SUMMARY
The Santhals (also known as Adivasis, Hor, Santals or Sangtals) are the largest tribal ethnic group (scheduled tribe) in India, with a population estimated at approximately 9.5-10 million people. Most Santhals live in North-Eastern India, mainly in Assam, Jharkhand and West Bengal. The Santhals are one of the aboriginal peoples of India, having a distinct language (that linguists put in the same family with Vietnamese) and a tribe- and clan- based culture, very distinct from most mainstream Indian cultures. However, the Santhals are a very diverse people – some being Hindus or Christian, while yet other being followers of traditional tribal religions. Most Hindu Santhals are part of the lower casts.
A special case exists with the Santhals of Assam – most of them being brought from West Bengal and Bihar by tea plantation owners as workers in the late 1800s. As migrants (‘tea people’), they were negatively seen by the Assamese and Bodos inhabitants of Assam, leading to various forms of tensions throughout the 20th century. These tensions intensified in the 1980s when, inspired by the success of other ethnic groups in India, the Santhals became more militant in order to obtain more rights and recognition. However, a similar strategy of militancy was adopted by other Assamese groups inhabiting the same territory, notably the Bodos. As such both groups turned against each other, each claiming their right to the same land,the Santhals by virtue of their numbers, the Bodos by virtue of their history. By the mid-late 1990s, the Santhals were confronted by a significant spread in communal violence, multiple clashes occurring between them and the Bodo people.
The escalation of violence was significant - in total, by early 2000, over 200 000 Santhals and Bodos were in internally displaced persons (IDP) relief camps. The situation of the Assam Santhals, despite the reduction in levels of violence, still remains dire, as, twelve years after the peak of violence, over 45 000 Santhals and Bodos were still housed, in poor conditions, in these ‘relief camps’.
The Santhal (Adivasi) have been involved in the non-state category of UCDP organised violence.
