Question

2. How did the new forest laws affect the hunter and forest dwellers in 1927

Answer 1

The Forest Act of 1927 aimed at:

1. Consolidating and reserving the forest areas and the regions where there was significant wildlife.

2. To regulate the movement of forest produce and the duty leviable on it.

It defined the procedure for declaring an area to be a Protected Forest, Village Forest or Reserved Forest. It also defined what is a forest offence and the acts prohibited within a Reserved Forest.

The law had a negative impact on the lives of the forest dwellers. Many of them used to survive by hunting deer, partridges and other small animals. They were not allowed to do this anymore. They were punished for poaching.

Earlier they used to trade in goods like hides, silk cocoons, horns, ivory, spices, bamboo, fibres, gums, resins, and grasses. They were deprived of this trade. Large European trading firms were given the monopoly rights to trade in the forest products.

Answer 2

The British needed the Indian forests to make ships, railways, and for other commodities. They were worried that the Indian hunters were using all the forest reserves. So, they implemented new forest laws, called the Forest Act, 1927, which adversely affected the hunters, tribals, and the forest dwellers.

The new Forest Act prevented the hunters and forest dwellers to use the trees and forests for their everyday uses that included the fuel, leaves, fodder, grazing of cattle, cutting down wood for housing and fires, collecting roots and fruits etc. Hunting and fishing were banned and they became illegal.

So, the hunters and the tribals were forced to steal wood and other requirements from the forests. If they were caught by the forest officers, then they had to pay the officers bribes who would harass them.

These issues led to many rebellions in India against the British government.