Question

how did the forest act of 1927 affected the lives of people

Answer 1

The Indian Forest Act was enacted by the British Government in 1865 as amended in 1878 and finally in 1927. India declared itself democratic in 1947, till such time India was ruled by the British and the tribal people of India were mostly neglected and disregarded.

The illiterate, innocent tribes were absolutely unaware regarding the forest laws and their implications relating to the forest. The forest was their own abode, wherein they enjoyed age-old rights generation-wise. But the Forest Act restricted their longstanding right over it. Ignorant of the law, as they were, movements were restricted for them within the forest unknown to them; their sustenance of livelihood faced an unwanted storm, and was in jeopardy. The Act prohibited their socio-economic, socio-cultural and socio-religious life. They were in utter dismay. The dismal situation was continuing till the Indian independence. In 1947, India declared itself as a Democratic, Socialist, Republic. The strength of democracy in a country relies on its people; the tribes are an inseparable and integral part of it.

Prior to the British regime, the Indian forest was an all-round treasure for the then Kings, zamindars, Rajas and rulers. They enjoyed the forest, extracted from it, at the same time maintained and protected it in a proper fashion and manner. In 1760, the East India Company took charge of India, as British India. The forest was ruled by the then feudal power, law and legal approaches were managed by them over the forest. Gradually the British realised the immense potentiality of the Indian flora and fauna, contained in every nook and corner. They started extraction from it, comprehending their inadequate knowledge in comparison to local competitors regarding the forest. Uninterrupted commercial benefit necessitated them to form a legal bound over the Indian forest.

Answer 2

The Indian Forest Act, 1927 was largely based on previous Indian Forest Acts implemented under the British. The most famous one was the Indian Forest Act of 1878. Both the 1878 act and the 1927 act sought to consolidate and reserve the areas having forest cover, or significant wildlife, to regulate movement and transit of forest produce, and duty leviable on timber and other forest produce. It also defines the procedure to be followed for declaring an area to be a Reserved Forest, a Protected Forest or a Village Forest. It defines what is a forest offence, what are the acts prohibited inside a Reserved Forest, and penalties leviable on violation of the provisions of the Act.
The Indian Forests Act of 1865 extended the British colonialism in India and claimed over forests in India.[1] The 1865 act was a precursor to the Forest Act of 1878, which truncated the centuries-old traditional use by communities of their forests and secured the colonial governments control over the forestry.[2] The act of 1865 empowered the British government to declare any land covered with trees as a government forest and make rules to manage it.The government mainly used the woods for railway sleepers manufacture.This law also made teak wood a government property.