During 1857-58, even as a multi-sided resistance broke out against the British, the Chhotanagpur region, peopled by a largely adivasi population, noted a sudden surge in "witch-hunting", a practice that the British had banned for its obvious barbarity. Did witch-hunts resume in that they symbolised an attack on the new laws and edicts issued by the "enemy"? Or were they a local response to the varied resistance that the British faced across north India? This article attempts some answers.
