Question

Name two pastoralist communities of Madras presidency

Answer 1

During the British colonial period, the Madras Presidency included the current day Tamil Nadu, and a few districts of Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Orissa, and Kerala.

Pastoralism is the agricultural branch which deals with the raising of livestock. Pastoralists are the farmers who take care of sheep and cattle.

The examples of the nomadic and pastoralist communities that were under the Madras Presidency were the Korava, the Karacha, and the Yerukula communities.

Due to the changes made by the British government in forest management laws and rules, many such pastoralist communities and nomadic communities lost their livelihood and they were even called as "Criminal tribes".

Answer 2

Korava, Karacha and Yerukala were the pastoral communities of the Madras Presidency.

These pastoral communities depended on the forests for their livelihood. They lost their means of livelihood when the British Government adopted the policy of reservation of forest areas. They were forced to reorganize their lives and work within the new systems. They had to work in mines, factories and plantations. Some communities were known as criminal tribes.