Which of the following is NOT an office of the Santhal village council, as distinct from the union of villages above it?

Parganait, the head of a union of several villages

Paranik, the deputy headman of the village

Godet, the messenger who summons the villagers

Naeke, the village priest who leads worship

Which statement best distinguishes a jatiya (caste) panchayat from the tribal Parha, Pir or Pargana?

It alone decides its cases by consensus, which the tribal unions never do

It is headed by a Raja chosen by the villages from among themselves

It was created by the Company in 1855 to administer the Santal Parganas

The Company's Kolhan Government Estate (1837) for the Ho is best understood as which of the following?

Rule through the existing Mankis and Mundas as administration agents

An abolition of the Manki–Munda system in favour of zamindars from outside

Rule through the existing Mankis and Mundas as administration agents

A grant of the Kolhan to the Raja of Porahat as a hereditary estate

An extension of the Permanent Settlement to the Nagvanshi Raja

Which Munda tenure, based on the joint holding of land by the descendants of the clan that cleared the forest, was recognised by name in the Chotanagpur Tenancy Act, 1908?

Khuntkatti, the joint tenure of the clan that cleared the forest

Jagir, a hereditary grant of land and revenue from a ruler

Ryotwari, a direct settlement with cultivators

Khuntkatti, the joint tenure of the clan that cleared the forest

Zamindari, a right to collect revenue from the land

Which pairing of a supreme deity and a community is correct?

Marang Buru – Santhal people of the Santal Parganas

Dharmesh – Munda people of the Chotanagpur plateau

Marang Buru – Santhal people of the Santal Parganas

Singbonga – Oraon people of the Chotanagpur plateau

Dharmesh – Santhal people of the Santal Parganas

Which statement about the Sadans of Jharkhand is correct?

They are a primitive tribal group whose own language is Mundari

They are the Munda-family speakers of the plateau, with Santhali as the common speech

They are the Oraon hill clans of the plateau, who speak Kurukh as the common speech

The Jagannath temple at Ranchi, completed in 1691, is attributed to whom?

Maharaja Jagannath Shah Deo of Chotanagpur

Durjan Shah, the Nagvanshi chief held at Gwalior

Thakur Vishwanath Shahdeo, the leader of 1857

Early Jharkhand and Traditional Governance

This chapter opens the Jharkhand module for the Jharkhand Public Service Commission Combined Civil Services Examination. It answers the history block of General Studies-II (Jharkhand Specific Questions), heading A, ‘History of Jharkhand’: the Munda, Nagvanshi, Parha-panchayat, Manjhi-Pargana, Munda-Manki, Dhokalo-Sohor and caste (jatiya) panchayat ruling systems. It also answers the ‘Sadans of Jharkhand’ item of heading B, the religious and social identity of heading C, and the state part of Main Paper III, History: ‘Adi-dharma, i.e. the Sarna cult of the tribals of Jharkhand’ and ‘the concept of Sadan and the emergence of the Nagpuria language’. It teaches the pre-British political map, the Sarna faith, the village and its union of villages, each community's system side by side in a table, the Nagvanshi and Chero states, the Sadans and their speech, and how the Company turned custom into law.

1. The land and its political map before the British

Jharkhand means the land of forests (jhar, forest; khand, tract). The region is the eastern edge of the Chotanagpur plateau and its fringes, and before the British it had no single ruler. The Nagvanshi chiefs held Chotanagpur proper (the Ranchi, Lohardaga and Gumla country), the Chero kings held Palamu in the north-west, the chiefs of Porahat, Seraikela and Kharsawan held Singhbhum, the Ho villages of the Kolhan formed unions of their own, and the Paharia hill people lived in the Rajmahal hills beside what later became the Santhal Pargana. Over all of them lay a thin cover of Mughal suzerainty.

Mughal contact was mostly tribute and occasional campaigns. In 1585 an expedition sent by Akbar made the Nagvanshi chief agree to pay revenue; in 1660 Daud Khan, the Mughal governor of Bihar, took the Palamu forts of the Cheros; and Man Singh made Rajmahal the capital of Bengal in 1595-96. The decisive change came with the East India Company: after Buxar (1764) it held the Diwani of Bengal, Bihar and Orissa (1765), attacked the Palamu forts in 1771-72, and from the 1770s treated the Nagvanshi Raja as a vassal and later as a zamindar. Chapter 2 follows from that change.

ℹ️ How the exam uses this block

The syllabus names seven systems: one Prelims question each for the first six and two for the caste panchayats. Each question asks some mix of the same four things: which community, which village-level offices, what the union of villages is called, and who heads it. The table in section 4 is built for exactly that.

2. Adi-dharma and Sarna: the faith beneath the polity

The syllabus names Adi-dharma, that is, the Sarna cult of the tribals of Jharkhand. It is a religion of place. Worship is offered at the village's sacred grove of sal trees, the Sarna sthal among the Munda and Oraon and the Jaher (jaherthan) among the Santhal, and is led by a village priest: the Pahan among the Munda and Oraon, the Naeke among the Santhal and the Deuri among the Ho. There is no scripture and no temple; the grove, the sun, the moon, the earth and the ancestors are its centres, and its festivals follow the farming year.

Supreme being, by community: Singbonga among the Munda and Ho, Dharmesh among the Oraon, Marang Buru among the Santhal.
Sarhul, the spring festival of the sal flower, and Karma, in the month of Bhadra, are kept by the Munda and Oraon among others; at Sarhul the Pahan leads worship at the Sarna sthal.
Two reform movements grew out of this faith: Birsa Munda's Birsait, which urged worship of one god, and the Tana Bhagat sect of the Oraon, which rejected spirit worship and sacrifice (Chapter 2).

The faith is also a live political question. The Census has recorded six major religions and places other faiths under ‘other religions and persuasions’ (the 2011 format). On 11 November 2020 the Jharkhand Legislative Assembly unanimously passed a resolution asking the Union government to include Sarna as a separate religion in the Census. The resolution is a request: the decision rests with the Union government.

⚠️ Sthal, code, sect

Keep three things apart. The Sarna sthal is the sacred grove, the Sarna code is the demand for a Census category, and Birsait and Tana Bhagat are reform sects, not other names for Sarna. A question that swaps any two of these has one wrong option built in.

3. The village and the union of villages

Every community system starts in a village founded by the clearers of the forest. Among the Munda this is the Khuntkatti village: the descendants of one clan (killi) that cleared the forest hold the land jointly as Khuntkattidars, and the Chotanagpur Tenancy Act, 1908 later recognised this Mundari tenure by name. The Oraon call the corresponding first-settler land Bhuinhari. In both, authority is split between a secular headman and a priest: the Pahan keeps the village's ritual order, while the headman (Munda, Mahto) deals with disputes and land and sits in the village council that meets at the Akhra, the open ground of the village.

Above the village stands a union of villages. Whatever its name (Parha, Pir, Pargana, Doklo), it does the same work: it hears what a village council cannot settle, rules on inter-village matters such as boundaries and marriage offences, and is the court of appeal by custom. Decisions are reached by discussion and consensus, and offices are held by custom, often by heredity. Wherever you meet a new name in a question, ask first: is it a village office or a union of villages?

🧠 Headman + priest

Remember the headman and priest in pairs. Munda: Munda + Pahan. Oraon and Kharia: Mahto + Pahan. Santhal: Manjhi + Naeke. Ho: Munda + Deuri. Only the Santhal priest is a Naeke and only the Ho priest is a Deuri; the Pahan is the priest of the other three.

4. Six community systems and the caste panchayat, side by side

The table gives one row per system in the order of the syllabus heading. Read it across (community, village offices, union and head) before reading it down. Titles and village counts differ somewhat between written accounts, so learn the pattern and the key titles rather than the exact numbers.

Seven systems of the History of Jharkhand block
System	Community	Region	Village level	Union of villages and its head	How disputes are settled
Munda system	Munda of the Chotanagpur plateau	Chotanagpur plateau	Munda, the headman; Pahan, the priest; Khuntkatti village of one clan	Village groups under a Manki; several groups form a Parha under a Parha Raja, whose Parha panchayat settles inter-village disputes	Village panchayat under the Munda; cases not settled there go to the Parha panchayat, which decides by consensus
Munda–Manki system	Ho of the Kolhan, Singhbhum	Kolhan region	Munda, hereditary headman; Deuri, priest	A pir, a group of villages (accounts give roughly 8 to 15), under a Manki; the Kolhan Government Estate (1837) was administered through Mankis and Mundas	The Munda hears village cases; cases he cannot settle go up to the Manki of the pir
Parha panchayat	Oraon	Chotanagpur plateau	Mahto, secular head; Pahan, priest; Pujar, assistant priest; Bhandari; Chowkidar; Akhra for the council, Dhumkuria for the youth	A Parha of about 12 to 30 villages; villages carry titles: Raja (its headman presides), Dewan, Panrey, Kotwar, and the rest Praja	Parha panchayat; cases decided by consensus, and the Pahan's role is religious
Manjhi–Pargana system	Santhal	Santal Parganas	Manjhi, headman; Paranik, deputy; Jog Manjhi, guardian of the youth; Godet, messenger; Naeke, priest	A pargana of several villages under the Parganait	The manjhi council hears village cases; the pargana council takes matters between villages
Dhokalo–Sohor system	Kharia of Gumla and Simdega	Gumla and Simdega	Mahto, main person of the village; Pahan, priest	The Dhokalo, an assembly (‘meeting’), settles disputes that cross villages or clans and has as its head the Sohor	Village cases that the village cannot settle go up to the Dhokalo, whose head is the Sohor
Nagvanshi system	Chotanagpur under the Nagvanshi Raja	Chotanagpur proper	Munda and Oraon village and Parha order continued under the Raja	A dynastic chieftaincy: Raja at the top, kinsmen and officers holding jagirs, tribute to the Mughals, later a zamindar under the Company	Parha panchayats continued under the Raja's overlordship
Jatiya panchayat	Non-tribal (Sadan) castes	Across the plateau	Caste headman, title varying by caste	A caste council of a village or group of villages: marriage, food and custom; penalty by fine, caste feast or outcasting	The caste council settles marriage and custom cases; penalties are fines, a caste feast or outcasting

⚠️ Where questions swap

Four easy swaps.
(1) Parha is the Oraon union (Munda accounts use the word too), pir is the Ho union under a Manki, pargana is the Santhal union.
(2) The Santhal messenger is the Godet, and the Ho priest is the Deuri, not the Naeke.
(3) The Dhokalo–Sohor system is Kharia, not Oraon or Munda.
(4) Munda–Manki is the Ho system of the Kolhan, not a Santhal one.

5. The Nagvanshi chieftaincy and the Cheros of Palamu

The Nagvanshi chieftaincy of Chotanagpur (Khokhra in Mughal records) traces itself to Phani Mukut Rai, the child of a Naga father who, in the legend, was raised by Madra Munda, the Munda chief of Sutiambe, and made king. Tradition places this in the first century CE; historians treat the early king-lists as legend, link the family's origin to the Munda, and see definite history only from about the 15th century. What the story preserves is a fact about structure: kingship here grew out of the Munda and Parha order and sat above it instead of replacing it.

Mughal period. In 1585 Akbar sent an expedition after the chief refused Mughal overlordship, and the chief agreed to pay revenue. Under Jahangir the governor of Bihar annexed the territory (about 1615) and the chief Durjan Shah (Durjan Sal) was held at Gwalior; in the well-known story he won release by judging the purity of diamonds, and returned as a tribute-payer with the title ‘Shah’. The years in the later king-lists differ between sources.
Company period. The Raja became a vassal of the Company from the 1770s; in the early 19th century the Company took direct control of the country and treated the Raja as a zamindar. The practice of giving villages to outside thikadars (contractors) to clear the Raja's debts displaced Mankis and is the background to the Kol rising of 1831 (Chapter 2).
Jagirs. Kinsmen and officers held jagirs, such as the Barkagarh estate; its Thakur, Vishwanath Shahdeo, led the rising of 1857 (Chapter 2). The chieftaincy ended with the abolition of zamindari after independence.
The Cheros of Palamu were the rival power in the north-west. Under a 17th-century Chero king, Medini Ray, Palamu grew strong enough to push into Chotanagpur; its forts, now in Latehar district, fell to Daud Khan in 1660.

⚠️ Two Jagannaths

Ranchi's Jagannath temple (1691) was built by Thakur Ani Nath Shahdeo of Barkagarh, not by the Nagvanshi Maharaja Jagannath Shah Deo, who ruled in the 19th century (about 1822 to 1869). The shared name is the trap.

6. Sadans, Nagpuri and the caste panchayat

Sadan is the name for the non-tribal, Indo-Aryan-speaking old inhabitants of the plateau: farming, herding and artisan castes who have lived beside the tribes for generations. In Nagpuri the word means settled people, those who live in houses, as against forest dwellers, and it was used on the Nagvanshi estate. Their common speech is Sadani (Sadri), whose literary name is Nagpuri, taken from Chotanagpur.

Nagpuri became the lingua franca of the Chotanagpur plateau, the speech in which Munda, Oraon and Sadan met in the market, the fair and the field. The other regional languages in the commission's Paper II list fall into families: Mundari, Ho, Santhali and Kharia are Munda (Austroasiatic) languages, Kurukh (Oraon) is Dravidian, and Khortha, Kurmali and Panchpargania are Indo-Aryan, like Nagpuri.

The syllabus pairs the Sadans with the jatiya (caste) panchayat. Each caste community has its own council, run by a headman whose title varies by caste, which regulates marriage, food-sharing and custom and punishes breaches by fine, a caste feast or outcasting. The difference from the tribal unions is the basis: the Parha, Pir and Pargana are built on villages and clans, while a caste panchayat is built on membership of one caste.

🎯 Why the two belong together

Adivasi and Sadan lived in the same villages, traded in the same markets and shared the Nagpuri speech. That common ground is why the statehood movement of Chapter 2 could present Jharkhand as a home of both, and why the commission pairs the two groups in one heading.

7. From custom to colonial law

The Company ruled this country by writing custom into regulation. In the Kolhan Government Estate (1837), set up for the Ho after the risings of the 1820s and 1830s, Captain Wilkinson's rules made the Manki and the Munda local agents of the administration, and the system outlived the British. In the Santal Parganas (1855) a separate non-regulation district was created. In the Chotanagpur Tenancy Act, 1908 the Mundari Khuntkatti tenure was recognised by name.

💡 Judge to agent

Think of a village headman first as the community's judge and later as a government's agent. The same man, the same title, but his answerability now ran upward to the Company, which changed what the office meant. The pattern recurs in the exam: a customary office is used, then codified, then argued over.

Key takeaways

The History of Jharkhand block names seven systems: learn each by community, village offices, union of villages and its head, and watch for swapped titles.
Munda–Manki is the Ho system of the Kolhan (pir under a Manki); Parha is the Oraon union; Manjhi–Pargana is Santhal; Dhokalo–Sohor is Kharia; jatiya panchayats serve the Sadan castes.
Adi-dharma is the Sarna faith of the sal grove: Singbonga (Munda, Ho), Dharmesh (Oraon), Marang Buru (Santhal); the Sarna code is a Census demand, voiced by the Assembly on 11 November 2020.
The Nagvanshi story begins with Phani Mukut Rai and Madra Munda of Sutiambe; real history shows Mughal pressure in 1585 and the Company's overlordship from the 1770s; Palamu belonged to the Cheros.
Sadans are the non-tribal Indo-Aryan-speaking old inhabitants; their common speech is Sadani (Sadri), literary name Nagpuri.
The Company codified custom: Kolhan Government Estate (1837), the Santal Parganas district (1855), Khuntkatti in the Chotanagpur Tenancy Act, 1908.

Practice questions (17)

Attempt each one before opening the answer. Every explanation names the tempting wrong option as well as the right one, because that is where marks are lost.

Which community's traditional governance system is called the Dhokalo–Sohor system?
1. Oraon
2. Santhal
3. Kharia
4. Ho
Show answer
Answer: C — Kharia
Dhokalo–Sohor is the Kharia system: the Dhokalo is the community assembly and the Sohor is its head. The other communities have different systems: the Oraon union is the Parha, the Santhal system is Manjhi–Pargana and the Ho system is Munda–Manki, so the Oraon option is the most tempting wrong answer only because Parha is the better-known union.
In the traditional Munda–Manki system of the Ho of the Kolhan, who heads the pir, the union of villages?
1. The Manki
2. The Munda
3. The Parganait
4. The Pahan
Show answer
Answer: A — The Manki
In this system the Munda is the village headman and the Manki heads the pir, a group of villages, and takes up what the Munda cannot settle. The Munda is therefore the head of one village, not of the pir; the Parganait heads a Santhal pargana, and the Pahan is a priest.
Match the traditional systems (P to S) with their communities (i to iv).
P. Parha panchayat
Q. Manjhi–Pargana
R. Dhokalo–Sohor
S. Munda–Manki
i. Kharia
ii. Ho
iii. Oraon
iv. Santhal
1. P-iii, Q-iv, R-ii, S-i
2. P-iii, Q-iv, R-i, S-ii
3. P-iv, Q-iii, R-i, S-ii
4. P-iii, Q-i, R-iv, S-ii
Show answer
Answer: B — P-iii, Q-iv, R-i, S-ii
Parha belongs to the Oraon (iii), Manjhi–Pargana to the Santhal (iv), Dhokalo–Sohor to the Kharia (i) and Munda–Manki to the Ho (ii). The pairing that swaps Dhokalo–Sohor with Munda–Manki fails because the Ho, not the Kharia, use the Manki, and the one that swaps Parha with Manjhi–Pargana fails because the Parha is Oraon.
Consider the following statements about village-level offices.
P. Among the Oraon the Pahan is the village priest and the Mahto the secular headman.
Q. Among the Santhal the Naeke is the village priest.
R. Among the Ho the Munda is the village priest.
S. Among the Santhal the Jog Manjhi is the village priest.
Which statements are correct?
1. P and R only
2. Q and S only
3. P, Q and S only
4. P and Q only
Show answer
Answer: D — P and Q only
P and Q are correct. R is wrong because the Ho priest is the Deuri, while the Munda is the village headman. S is wrong because the Jog Manjhi looks after the conduct of the village youth; the Santhal priest is the Naeke.
A traditional union of villages decides matters by consensus. Its villages carry titles such as Raja, Dewan, Panrey and Kotwar, and the headman of the Raja village presides at its meetings. Which community's system is this, and what is the usual title of a village's secular head in it?
1. Santhal, Manjhi
2. Ho, Munda
3. Oraon, Mahto
4. Kharia, Sohor
Show answer
Answer: C — Oraon, Mahto
Titled villages (Raja, Dewan, Panrey, Kotwar, Praja) are the mark of the Oraon Parha, and the village's secular head is the Mahto beside the Pahan, the priest. The Manjhi and the Munda are headmen of other communities, and the Sohor is the head of the Kharia assembly, not of a village.
Which of the following is NOT an office of the Santhal village council, as distinct from the union of villages above it?
1. Parganait, the head of a union of several villages
2. Paranik, the deputy headman of the village
3. Godet, the messenger who summons the villagers
4. Naeke, the village priest who leads worship
Show answer
Answer: A — Parganait, the head of a union of several villages
The Parganait heads a pargana, a union of several villages. The Paranik (deputy headman), the Godet (messenger) and the Naeke (priest) are all offices inside the village council, so none of them fits the question.
Which statement best distinguishes a jatiya (caste) panchayat from the tribal Parha, Pir or Pargana?
1. It alone decides its cases by consensus, which the tribal unions never do
2. It is headed by a Raja chosen by the villages from among themselves
3. It was created by the Company in 1855 to administer the Santal Parganas
4. It rests on caste membership
Show answer
Answer: D — It rests on caste membership
A caste panchayat regulates marriage, food and custom within one caste, so its basis is caste membership; the tribal unions rest on villages and clans. Consensus is common to the tribal unions as well, the Raja title belongs to the Parha villages, and the 1855 Act created a district, not caste councils.
The Company's Kolhan Government Estate (1837) for the Ho is best understood as which of the following?
1. An abolition of the Manki–Munda system in favour of zamindars from outside
2. Rule through the existing Mankis and Mundas as administration agents
3. A grant of the Kolhan to the Raja of Porahat as a hereditary estate
4. An extension of the Permanent Settlement to the Nagvanshi Raja
Show answer
Answer: B — Rule through the existing Mankis and Mundas as administration agents
The estate kept the Ho system and ruled through it: Wilkinson's rules made Mankis and Mundas agents of the administration. It was not an abolition, since the Ho had resisted outside control, and it was a government estate, not a grant to the Raja of Porahat, whose claims the Ho had resisted.
Which Munda tenure, based on the joint holding of land by the descendants of the clan that cleared the forest, was recognised by name in the Chotanagpur Tenancy Act, 1908?
1. Jagir, a hereditary grant of land and revenue from a ruler
2. Ryotwari, a direct settlement with cultivators
3. Khuntkatti, the joint tenure of the clan that cleared the forest
4. Zamindari, a right to collect revenue from the land
Show answer
Answer: C — Khuntkatti, the joint tenure of the clan that cleared the forest
Khuntkatti is the Munda tenure of the clan that first cleared the forest, and the Act names the Mundari Khuntkattidar. Jagir and zamindari are grants and revenue-collecting rights held from a ruler or the state, and ryotwari is a settlement with the cultivator, introduced elsewhere.
Consider the following statements about the Nagvanshi chieftaincy of Chotanagpur.
P. Tradition says its founder Phani Mukut Rai was raised by Madra Munda, the Munda chief of Sutiambe.
Q. In 1585 an expedition sent by Akbar made the Nagvanshi chief agree to pay revenue.
R. The Jagannath temple at Ranchi (1691) was built by the Nagvanshi Maharaja Jagannath Shah Deo.
S. The chieftaincy was an elected office of the Parha, not a hereditary one.
Which statements are correct?
1. Q and R only
2. P, Q and S only
3. R and S only
4. P and Q only
Show answer
Answer: D — P and Q only
P and Q are correct. R is the classic swap: the Ranchi temple was built in 1691 by Thakur Ani Nath Shahdeo of Barkagarh, while Maharaja Jagannath Shah Deo ruled in the 19th century. S is wrong because the Nagvanshi chieftaincy was dynastic and passed within a family.
Arrange the following events in chronological order.
P. The Kolhan Government Estate is created for the Ho.
Q. Daud Khan takes the Palamu forts of the Cheros.
R. An expedition sent by Akbar makes the Nagvanshi chief agree to pay revenue.
S. The Company obtains the Diwani of Bengal, Bihar and Orissa.
1. R, Q, S, P
2. Q, R, S, P
3. R, S, Q, P
4. R, Q, P, S
Show answer
Answer: A — R, Q, S, P
The order is Akbar's expedition (1585), Daud Khan at Palamu (1660), the Diwani (1765) and the Kolhan Government Estate (1837). Placing the Diwani before Daud Khan confuses the Mughal-era Palamu campaign with the Company era; placing the Kolhan Estate before the Diwani reverses the Company's own steps.
According to Nagvanshi tradition, the founder Phani Mukut Rai was raised by which Munda chief of Sutiambe?
1. Buddhu Bhagat
2. Madra Munda
3. Jhindrai Manki
4. Birsa Munda
Show answer
Answer: B — Madra Munda
The legend names Madra Munda of Sutiambe, which is why the Nagvanshi origin is linked to the Munda. Buddhu Bhagat and Jhindrai Manki were leaders of the Kol rising of 1831 and Birsa Munda led the Ulgulan, all in the 19th century.
Match the people or chiefdoms (P to S) with their areas (i to iv) before the Company's rule.
P. Nagvanshi chiefs
Q. Chero kings
R. Paharia hill people
S. Ho unions of villages
i. Palamu
ii. Rajmahal hills
iii. Chotanagpur proper
iv. Kolhan
1. P-i, Q-iii, R-ii, S-iv
2. P-iii, Q-i, R-iv, S-ii
3. P-iii, Q-i, R-ii, S-iv
4. P-iii, Q-ii, R-i, S-iv
Show answer
Answer: C — P-iii, Q-i, R-ii, S-iv
The Nagvanshis held Chotanagpur proper (iii), the Cheros held Palamu (i), the Paharia lived in the Rajmahal hills (ii) and the Ho unions lay in the Kolhan (iv). The pairing that gives Palamu to the Nagvanshis is wrong, because Palamu was a Chero kingdom with its own forts.
Which pairing of a supreme deity and a community is correct?
1. Dharmesh – Munda people of the Chotanagpur plateau
2. Marang Buru – Santhal people of the Santal Parganas
3. Singbonga – Oraon people of the Chotanagpur plateau
4. Dharmesh – Santhal people of the Santal Parganas
Show answer
Answer: B — Marang Buru – Santhal people of the Santal Parganas
Marang Buru is the supreme being of the Santhal. Dharmesh is the Oraon supreme deity, not a Munda or Santhal one, and Singbonga is the deity of the Munda and Ho, which makes the Singbonga–Oraon pairing wrong.
Consider the following statements.
P. On 11 November 2020 the Jharkhand Legislative Assembly unanimously passed a resolution asking the Union government to include Sarna as a separate religion in the Census.
Q. The resolution itself made Sarna a recognised Census religion in Jharkhand.
R. The Sarna sthal is the sacred grove of sal trees where the village priest leads worship.
S. Tana Bhagat is another name for the Sarna faith.
Which statements are correct?
1. P and R only
2. P, Q and R only
3. Q and S only
4. R and S only
Show answer
Answer: A — P and R only
P and R are correct. Q is wrong because the resolution is only a request, and the decision on Census categories rests with the Union government. S is wrong because Tana Bhagat is a reform sect of the Oraon, not another name for Sarna.
Which statement about the Sadans of Jharkhand is correct?
1. They are a primitive tribal group whose own language is Mundari
2. They are the Munda-family speakers of the plateau, with Santhali as the common speech
3. They are the Oraon hill clans of the plateau, who speak Kurukh as the common speech
4. They are non-tribal, Indo-Aryan-speaking old inhabitants of the plateau
Show answer
Answer: D — They are non-tribal, Indo-Aryan-speaking old inhabitants of the plateau
Sadans are the non-tribal, Indo-Aryan-speaking old inhabitants of the plateau, and Sadani, literary name Nagpuri, is their common speech. Mundari and Santhali belong to the Munda family and Kurukh to the Dravidian family, so those three options describe tribal communities or languages.
The Jagannath temple at Ranchi, completed in 1691, is attributed to whom?
1. Thakur Ani Nath Shahdeo of Barkagarh
2. Maharaja Jagannath Shah Deo of Chotanagpur
3. Durjan Shah, the Nagvanshi chief held at Gwalior
4. Thakur Vishwanath Shahdeo, the leader of 1857
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Answer: A — Thakur Ani Nath Shahdeo of Barkagarh
The temple is attributed to Thakur Ani Nath Shahdeo of the Barkagarh estate. Maharaja Jagannath Shah Deo shares the name but ruled in the 19th century, Durjan Shah belongs to the early 17th century, and Vishwanath Shahdeo led the rising of 1857, long after 1691.