Question

Briefly describe the effects of expansion of cultivation during colonial rule in india. Mention any three points.

Answer 1

The colonial government destroyed large areas of forests and cultivated tea, coffee and rubber for their own needs.There was a great demand for timber in order to build English ships and railways. So Dietrich Brandis from Germany framed rules that restricted the usage of forest resources.The Imperial Forest Research Institute which was set up in Dehradun in 1906 followed a system called ‘scientific forestry’ where lots of various species of trees were cut down but only one type of trees were replanted instead.The forests were divided into reserved forests, protected forests and village forests. Villagers could not take anything from the reserved forests which were the best one.Their everyday practices such as cutting wood, grazing their cattle, hunting and fishing became illegal.Forest guards would take bribes from people who steal wood from the forests and harass them by demanding free food