Question

How did the forest act 1865 affect the lives of foresters and villagers?

Answer 1

The 1878 Forest Act divided forests in India into three categories: reserved, protected and village forests. Foresters and villagers had very different ideas about a ‘good forest’.The following points show the effect of Forest Act on the lives of foresters and villagers(i) Villagers wanted forests with a mixture of species to satisfy different needs-fuel, fodder andleaves. Villagers could not take anything from ‘reserved’ forests. For house building or fuel, theycould take wood from protected or village forests. On the other hand forest department needed trees that could provide hard, tall and straight woods for commercial use. So, they encouraged to plant only Teak and Sal and other trees were cut.(ii) In forest areas people use forest products roots, leaves, fruits, tuber, etc. Almost everything is available in the forest for their livelihood.The Forest Act meant severe hardship for them.All their everyday practices cutting wood for their houses, grazing their cattle, collecting fruits and roots, hunting and fishing became illegal.(iii) Villagers were forced to steal wood and if they were caught, they were at the mercy of the forest-guards, who even claimed bribe from them.(iv) Women who collected fuel wood were scaredof the forest guards. It became common practice for police constables and forest guards to harassvillagers by demanding free food for themselves. Thus, it can be concluded that the forest act brought severe hardship for villagers across the country.

Answer 2

The forest act of 1878 divided forests into 3 types
Reserved forest protected forests and village forest
Reserved forest were of very high quality Timber and others were not allowed into it for grazing and any other works
There was entry into protected forest with some permission
Village forest were not about any special preference and others were like villages and others who wanted to Graze the cattle are allowed in to these forests