Colonial rule and agrarian transition in Singhbhum

The Hos of Singhbhum in the pre-British past had been dependent both on the forest and on cultivation, which had ensured them a minimum livelihood. Under colonial rule their access to nature gradually diminished through the twin governmental policies of expansion of the agrarian frontier and restriction of the forests to the indigenous population, leading to the sedentarization of the adivasis and further contributing towards agrarian expansion in India. This did not, however, benefit the Hos. Instead, agrarian crisis in the region forced them to leave their lands and seek their fortunes elsewhere.