| Summary, etc |
This paper mainly focuses on Santal women’s economic condition in the Birbhum stone quarry industry (1970-2010), which is part of the Chotanagpur plateau region. There are plenty of rock pits here which are the site for the stone quarry area with significant settlements of tribal Santla,s women work in the stone quarries, where they are mostly unorganized and also exploited in various ways, both on account of their class, gender and tribal status, and specifically also with regard to wage and conditions of work. The history of mining in Brigham goes, back to over 150 years when it was first started by the descendants of Maharaja Nandakumar who was the Divan in the colonial ear. The participations of Santal women in the economic field has been significant from the colonial period, with their livelihood being dependent on and mostly revolving around the land economy. Whereas land was the main economic asset for the Santals, the change the British brought in, given the East India company’s trading and commercial interests, made deep inroads into the regional economy. The land revenue system introduced by the colonial administration facilitated the development of a land market, along with vinous initiatives for the measurement of land holdings, payment of stiffer mints and revenues in cash, and an enlarged presence of non-tribal moneylenders etc. – Reproduced |
