After the Battle of Plassey in 1757 CE, the control of Bengal passed to the British East India Company. A large chunk of the area inhabited by Santhals came under British rule. Soon the British began to clear the forests in order to grow cash crops such as jute, poppy and indigo. This was followed by the introduction of the famous ‘Permanent Settlement’ or the Zamindari system by Lord Cornwallis in 1793 CE. Under this 'settlement' it was agreed that landlords would have perpetual and hereditary rights over the land, so long as they paid a fixed revenue to the British Government.

To create this new breed of Zamindars, the British auctioned away large tracts of land belonging to the Santhals, to anyone who would guarantee them these fixed revenues. A lot of rich Indians based in cities bought zamindaris in these far off forests and pretty soon, started exploiting people there. With the introduction of the Zamindari system, the Santhals lost all rights to their land. They were reduced to hired labourers working in the fields for these new ‘landlords’. This also brought to an end, the old tribal systems and political structures that had continued here for generations. The Zamindar and his men were in control.

Another great blow to the Santhals was the introduction of currency. Santhals followed the barter system, but the Zamindars had to be paid in cash. This meant that they had to borrow money at very high interest rates from money lenders. The tweezers grip of money lenders and the loss of identity, created a deep sense of resentment among the Santhals.