Forest Society and Colonialism (Practise Sheet)

Forest Society and Colonialism
Practise Sheet

1. Which of the following is not associated with swidden agriculture?
Karacha

2. Forests consisting of which types of trees were preferred by the Forest Department?
Forests having trees suitable for building ships and railways.

3. In South-East Asia shifting agriculture is known as___.
Lading

4.Java is famous for____.
Rice Production

5.What is deforestation?
The disappearance of forests is referred to as deforestation.

6.Name any two local communities of Bastar.
Maria Gonds, Muria Gonds, Dhurwas, Bhatras and Halbas. 

7. What is ‘Scientific Forestry’?
A system of cutting trees controlled by the forest department, in which old trees are cut and new ones are planted.

8. Who was the leader of the Forest Revolt in Bastar?
Gunda Dhur was the leader of the Forest Revolt in Bastar.

9.Explain the ‘Blandongdiensten system’.

• It was introduced by the Dutch in Indonesia who imposed rent on the lands which were cultivated in the forests. 
• They also exempted certain villages from these rents if they worked collectively to provide free labour and buffaloes for cutting and transporting timber. 

10.  Explain why the Dutch adopted the ‘scorched earth policy’ during the war.

• The First World War and Second World War had a major impact on forests. 
• In India, working places were abandoned and trees were cut freely to meet British demand for war needs. 
• In Java, just before the Japanese occupied the region, the Dutch followed the ‘scorched earth policy’ destroying saw mills, burning huge piles of giant teak logs so that they could not fall into Japanese hands.

11. What are some of the beliefs regarding nature of the communities of Bastar?

• The people believe that each village was given its level by the Earth and thus they look after the Earth by making some offerings at each agricultural festival. 
• Respect is also shown to the spirits of the river, the forest and the mountain and natural resources were looked after by the local people. 
• If people from a village want to take some wood from the forests of another village, they pay a small fine called Devsari, Dand or Man.

12. How did the Forest Acts affect the lives of the foresters and villagers?

• Various restrictions-The Forest Act meant severe hardship for villagers across the country. After the Act, all their everyday practices like cutting wood for their houses, grazing their cattle, collecting fruits and roots, hunting and fishing became illegal. People were now forced to steal wood from the forests, and if they were caught, they were at the mercy of the forest guards who would take bribes from them. 
• Impact on cultivators- European foresters regarded this practice as harmful for the forests. They felt that land which was used for cultivation every few years could not grow trees for railway timber. When a forest was burnt, there was the added danger of the flames spreading and burning valuable timber. 
• Displacement of people- To protect the forests, the Europeans started displacing villagers without any notice or compensation. 
• Various taxes- the Europeans started imposing heavy taxes on the forest people. 
• Loss of livelihood- the Europeans started giving large European trading firms, the sole right to trade in the forest. Grazing and hunting by local people were restricted. In the process many pastoralists and nomadic communities lost their livelihood.

13. What is shifting cultivation? Why was it regarded as harmful by the British?

• Shifting agriculture or swidden agriculture is a traditional agricultural practice in many parts of Asia, Africa and South America. 
• In shifting cultivation, parts of a forest are cut and burnt in rotation, seeds are sown in ashes after the first monsoon rains and the crop is harvested by October-November. 
• Such plots are cultivated for a couple of years and then left fallow for 12 to 18 years for the forest to grow back. 
• It was regarded as harmful by the British for the forests. They felt that land which was used for cultivation every few years could not grow trees for railway timber. 
• When the forest was burnt there was the danger of the flames spreading and burning valuable timber.

14.Why did the people of Bastar rise in revolt against the British? Explain.

• In 1905, the colonial government imposed laws to reserve twothirds of the forests, stop shifting cultivation, hunting and collection of forest produce. People of many villages were displaced without any notice or compensation. 
• For long, villagers had been suffering from increased land rents and frequent demands for free labour and goods by colonial officials. 
• The terrible famines in 1899–1900 and again in 1907–1908 made the life of people miserable. They blamed the colonial rule for their sorry plight. 
• The initiative of rebellion was taken by the Dhurwas of the Kanger forest, where reservation first took place. Gunda Dhur was an important leader of the rebellion.

15. Explain any five causes of deforestation in India under the colonial rule.

• Increase in population- as the population increased over the centuries and the demand for food went up, peasants extended the boundaries of cultivation, clearing forests and breaking new land. 
• Commercialisation of Agriculture- the British directly encouraged the production of commercial crops like jute, sugar, wheat and cotton. The demand for these crops increased in nineteenth-century Europe where foodgrains were needed to feed the growing urban population and raw materials were required for industrial production. 
• Unproductive forests- In the early 19th century, the colonial state thought that forests were unproductive. They were considered to be wilderness that had to be brought under cultivation so that the land could yield agricultural products and revenue and enhance the income of the state. So between 1980 and 1920 cultivated area rose by 6.7 million hectares. 
• Exporting timber to England- By the early 19th century, oak forests in England were disappearing. This created a problem of timber supply for the Royal Navy. By the 1820s, search parties were sent to explore the forest resources of India. Within a decade, trees were being felled on a massive scale and vast quantities of timber were being exported from India. 
• Introduction of Railways-The spread of railways from the 1850s created a new demand. Railways were essential for colonial trade and for the movement of imperial troops. To run locomotives, wood was needed as fuel, and to lay railway lines sleepers were essential to hold the tracks together. Each mile of railway track required between 1,760 and 2,000 sleepers. 
• Tea/Coffee plantations-Large areas of natural forests were also cleared to make way for tea, coffee and rubber plantations to meet Europe’s growing need for these commodities. The colonial government took over the forests, and gave vast areas to European planters at cheap rates. These areas were enclosed and cleared of forests, and planted with tea or coffee. (any five points).

16.‘The First World War and the Second World had a major impact on forests.’ Explain the statement with five facts.

• In India, working plans were abandoned at this time, and the forest department cut trees freely to meet British war needs. 
• In Java, just before the Japanese occupied the region, the Dutch followed a scorched earth policy, destroying sawmills and burning huge piles of giant teak logs so that they would not fall into Japanese hands. 
• The Japanese then exploited the forests recklessly for their own war industries, forcing forest villagers to cut down forests. 
• Many villagers used this opportunity to expand cultivation in the forest. 
• After the war, it was difficult for the Indonesian forest service to get this land back. As in India, people’s need for agricultural land has brought them into conflict with the forest department’s desire to control the land and exclude people from it.