How did the new forest laws affect the nomadic and pastoralist life?
Answers
Shifting Cultivators:. The colonial rulers
and shifting cultivation at it for difficult for the government to calculate
taxes. As a result a number of communities were forced to leave the forest some
had to join alternate occupations in the cities while some rose in rebellion
against Colony authority.
Ii) Nomadic and pastoralist communities:
The Nomadic and pastoralist Groups suffered
a lot . The British government declared some forests are reserved and protected.
This Limited their access to the forests. They could not graze their animals in
the forest or collect fruits, roots, fuel and Timber. For medicine they could
not collect medicinal plants. They had to give up hunting and fishing in the
forest areas as well.
iii) Firms trading in Timber/ forest
produce:
The British Colonial rule affected the
Timber Trade in many ways:
a) The British government enacted
loss for forest preservation. People were not allowed to cut trees and collect
Timber from the forests
b) People could not collect the
forest products like coconuts, bamboo, spices, Silk, gum ,e.t c
c) The British government gave the
right to only a few European trading firms to trade in the forest product of
particular areas.
iv) plantation owners:
Large areas of forests were cleared to make
way for tea, coffee and Rubber plantations.
Plantation agriculture came to India with
the British rule.The Owners of the plantations were mostly Europeans. These
European traders started making huge profits. The Indian traders and plantation
workers were left at the mercy of European plantation owners.
v)
Kings/ British officials engaged in Shikhar(
hunting):
Hunting was considered a way of enjoyment
by the Indian rulers. The King was recognised by the number of tigers or lions
killed by him. Even the British government encourage the Killing of animals
most of the British officials were found of hunting. Under the British rule the
scale of hunting increased to such an extent that various species became almost
extinct.
Only after many years past the
environmentalist question this uncontrol hunting and suggested the preservation
of the animal species.
Question :-
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.
Answer :-
(a) Shifting Cultivators
Shifting cultivation was a traditional agricultural practice in many parts of Asia, Africa, and South America. Parts of the forest are cut and burnt in rotation. After the first monsoon rains, seeds are sown in the ashes, and crops are cultivated. Cultivation is continued for a couple of years. Then the forest is allowed to grow in the area for 12 to 18 years. Then they are cut and burnt once more. This rotation is called Shifting cultivation.
The Colonial government banned Shifting cultivation, as European foresters felt that this would harm the forests and valuable timber would be lost. The Government also found it difficult to calculate taxes when Shifting cultivation was practiced.
The ban displaced many Shifting cultivators. Many of them had to change their occupation. A few Shifting cultivators agitated against the ban.
(b) Nomadic and Pastoralist Communities
Nomadic and pastoralist communities moved about in the mountains and deserts and in the plains and plateaus of India and Africa. The pastoralist communities formed an important part of the population in both countries during the Colonial era. When the Colonial government established control over the forests it affected the pastoralist communities in a big way.
The pastoralist communities always moved from place to place with their cattle. When forests were destroyed by the government to expand agriculture, the Nomads lost grazing fields for their cattle. This brought a lot of hardship to the pastoralist communities.
(c) Firms Trading in Timber/Forest Produce
Large expanses of forests were cut for timber and forest produce. The Colonial Government was worried about this reckless felling of trees. It passed the Indian Forest Act in 1865. This Act was amended in the year 1878. Under this amendment the forests were divided into 3 categories, – reserved, protected and village forests. Villagers and local firms trading in timber and forest produce could not take anything from the reserved or protected forests which had the best trees. This affected the traders immensely.
(d) Plantation Owners
Vast areas of forests were given to European Planters, at a very cheap rate by the Colonial government. Natural forests were cleared to cultivate tea coffee and rubber trees. There was a great demand for these commodities in Europe. These plantations were fenced off and others were not allowed inside.
(e) Kings/British Officials engaged in Shikar
Forest laws banned hunting of deer, partridges, and small animals. People who lived near the forests were deprived of their livelihood and food because of this ban. Contrary to this ban hunting of big animals like the tiger, leopard and wolves became a sport for the kings and the British. The British felt that by killing dangerous animals they could civilize India. The indiscriminate hunting by the British and the Kings almost made certain species of animals extinct.
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