Santal or Santhal Community India – Traditions and Origin

Santhal is a community in India which is also called “Santal”. It is one of the largest tribal community of India.

What is the meaning of Santhali?

Santhali is made with two words, Santha means calm and ala means man. This means a man who is calm.

Origin of Santhal community?

The Santhals belong to nomadic community originally. They used to roam around and would live a nomadic life before they finally chose to settle in the Chotanagar plateau. Later they chose the Santhal Parganas of Bihar. And, finally they migrated to Odisha and West Bengal.

Literacy rate of Santhal community

Unlike other tribal communities Santhal community have higher levels of literacy.

Where can we find Santhal people in India?

Jharkhand, West Bengal and Odisha

Which occupation Santhal people do?

Santhal people normally chose occupations of paid agricultural labourers or are employed in coal mines.

Big Indian Famous Santhal celebrities

• Droupadi Murmu who was elected as the president of India in 2022.
• Another famous Santhal is “Hemant Soren” who is the Jharkhand chief minister
• Girish Chandra Murmu, was the first Lt. Governor of the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir.
• Biseswar Tudu is the current Union Jal Shakti Minister

Frequently Asked Questions

Q1: Is Santhali the largest tribe community of India?
Ans: Santhali is the third largest scheduled tribe community in India.

Q2: Which are the top two larges tribes of India?
Ans: Gonds and Bhils

Q3: Which community President of India “Droupadi Murmu” belong to?
Ans: The president of India, Droupadi Murmu belongs to the Santhal/Santal community.

Q4: What is the religion of Santhal people?
Ans: Most of people of Santhal community follow Hinduism while rest of them follow Sarna dharam and Christianity.