The Tribal Communities of the _____________ India opposed and insisted continuing Jhum cultivation and the British had to accept it.
Answers
Answer:
Explanation:
In 1895, a man named Birsa was seen roaming the forests
and villages of Chottanagpur in Jharkhand. People said he
had miraculous powers – he could cure all diseases and
multiply grain. Birsa himself declared that God had
appointed him to save his people from trouble, free them
from the slavery of dikus (outsiders). Soon thousands began
following Birsa, believing that he was bhagwan (God) and
had come to solve all their problems.
Birsa was born in a family of Mundas – a tribal group that
lived in Chottanagpur. But his followers included other
tribals of the region – Santhals and Oraons. All of them in
different ways were unhappy with the changes they
were experiencing and the problems they were facing under
British rule. Their familiar ways of life
seemed to be disappearing, their livelihoods
were under threat, and their religion appeared
to be in danger.
What problems did Birsa set out to
resolve? Who were the outsiders being
referred to as dikus, and how did they enslave
the people of the region? What was happening
to the tribal people under the British? How
did their lives change? These are some of the
questions you will read about in this chapter.
You have read about tribal societies last
year. Most tribes had customs and rituals
that were very different from those laid
down by Brahmans. These societies also
did not have the sharp social divisions that
were characteristic of caste societies. All
those who belonged to the same tribe thought
of themselves as sharing common ties
of kinship. However, this did not mean
that there were no social and economic
differences within tribes.
Fig. 1 – Women of the
Dongria Kandha tribe in
Orissa wade through
the river on the way to
the market
2021-22
40 OUR PASTS – III
How Did Tribal Groups Live?
By the nineteenth century, tribal people in different
parts of India were involved in a variety of activities.
Some were jhum cultivators
Some of them practised jhum cultivation, that is, shifting
cultivation. This was done on small patches of land,
mostly in forests. The cultivators cut the treetops to
allow sunlight to reach the ground, and burnt the
vegetation on the land to clear it for cultivation. They
spread the ash from the firing, which contained potash,
to fertilise the soil. They used the axe to cut trees and
the hoe to scratch the soil in order to prepare it for
cultivation. They broadcast the seeds, that is, scattered
the seeds on the field instead of ploughing the land
and sowing the seeds. Once the crop was ready and
harvested, they moved to another field. A field that had
been cultivated once was left fallow for several years,