Discuss how the changes in forest management in the colonial period affected the following groups of people: (a) Shifting cultivators (b) Nomadic and pastoralist communities (c) Firms trading in timber/forest produce (d) Plantation owners (e) Kings/British officials engaged in a shikar.
Answers
Answer:
(a) Shifting Cultivators (i) European foresters regarded shifting cultivation as harmful for the forests. The government banned shifting cultivation.
(ii) Shifting cultivators were forcibly displaced from their homes in the forests.
(iii) Some had to change occupations, while some resisted through large and small rebellions. (b) Nomadic and Pastoralist Communities (i) The forest laws deprived people of their customary rights and meant severe hardship for the nomadic and pastoralist communities. They could not cut wood for their houses, could not graze their cattle or collect fruits and roots. Hunting and fishing became illegal. (ii) They were forced to steal wood. If they were caught, they were at the mercy of the forest guards and they would have to offer bribes to the guards. (iii) Many pastoralist and nomadic communities like the Korava, Karacha of the Madras Presidency lost their livelihoods.