Notes For All Chapters History Class 9 CBSE
Chapter 4: Forest Society and Colonialism
Introduction
- Forests give us paper, furniture, dyes, spices, medicines, rubber, honey, bamboo, fuelwood, fruits, and many other products.
- Forests are home to great biodiversity — e.g. 500 species in one patch in the Western Ghats.
- But during industrialisation (1700–1995), about 13.9 million sq. km of forests were cleared worldwide.
- Under British rule, deforestation in India became large and systematic.
1. Causes of Deforestation in India
1.1 Land to be Improved
- In 1600, only 1/6th of India’s land was cultivated. By 1940, it became nearly half.
- British encouraged cultivation of commercial crops like jute, sugar, cotton, and wheat for Europe.
- They believed forests were “waste” and that land must be cultivated to yield revenue.
- Between 1880–1920, cultivated area rose by 6.7 million hectares.
1.2 Sleepers on the Tracks
- England’s oak forests disappeared → needed timber for ships and later for railways.
- 1 mile of railway = 1,760–2,000 sleepers → each tree gives only 3–5 sleepers.
- By 1890, India had 25,500 km of railway tracks → massive cutting of trees.
- Forests near railway lines vanished quickly.
1.3 Plantations
- Large natural forests cleared for tea, coffee, and rubber plantations.
- British gave forest lands cheaply to European planters.
- Forests were cut, enclosed, and planted with one type of crop (monoculture).
2. The Rise of Commercial Forestry
2.1 Scientific Forestry
. To control reckless cutting, the British appointed Dietrich Brandis (German expert).
. He started Indian Forest Service (1864) and Forest Act (1865); later revised in 1878 & 1927.
. Forests were divided into:
- Reserved Forests: Most protected; no local use allowed.
- Protected Forests: Some use allowed.
- Village Forests: For local community use.
. “Scientific Forestry” = clear natural forests → plant one type of tree (teak/sal) in straight rows.
. Forests managed for timber, not for people.
2.2 Effect on People’s Lives
- Villagers used forest products for food, tools, ropes, baskets, fuel, oil (mahua), etc.
- After the Forest Act, these became illegal.
- People faced harassment, bribes, and punishment by forest guards.
- Women suffered most, as they collected firewood daily.
2.3 Impact on Cultivation (Shifting Agriculture Ban)
- Shifting cultivation (jhum, podu, bewar, etc.) — land cleared, burned, used for 2–3 years, then left fallow.
- British banned it — called it harmful to timber and risky for fires.
- Many shifting cultivators were displaced, starved, or rebelled.
2.4 Who Could Hunt?
. Earlier, locals hunted for food. Under the British, it became illegal.
. But British officials and kings hunted for sport.
. Between 1875–1925:
- 80,000 tigers,
- 150,000 leopards, and
- 200,000 wolves
were killed.
. Big-game hunting was considered a sign of civilisation.
2.5 New Trades and Jobs
- Some communities began trading in timber, gum, spices, hides, silk cocoons, bamboo, ivory, etc.
- But British gave trade rights to European firms only.
- Nomadic and tribal groups lost livelihoods and were labelled “criminal tribes.”
- Tribals were forced to work in plantations, mines, and factories under poor conditions.
- Example: Tea plantations in Assam — harsh conditions, low wages, no return home.
3. Rebellion in the Forest – The Bastar Rebellion (1910)
3.1 The People of Bastar
- Located in southern Chhattisgarh.
- Tribes: Maria and Muria Gonds, Dhurwas, Bhatras, Halbas.
- They worshipped the earth, river, and forest spirits.
- Villagers respected natural boundaries, shared resources, and paid fees (devsari, dand, man) to use other villages’ forests.
3.2 Reasons for Rebellion
- In 1905, British planned to reserve two-thirds of Bastar forests.
- They banned shifting cultivation, hunting, and forest produce collection.
- Some villagers had to work free for the forest department → “forest villages.”
- High land rent, unpaid labour, famines (1899–1900, 1907–08) worsened their misery.
- Gunda Dhur from Nethanar became a key leader.
- Messages for rebellion were sent using mango branches, chillies, and arrows.
- Rebels attacked government buildings, burnt schools, police stations, and looted grain.
3.3 British Reaction
- British sent troops and crushed the rebellion.
- Many villagers were killed, flogged, or fled to forests.
- However, British had to reduce the reserved area by half – a partial victory for rebels.
3.4 After Independence
- Forest reservation policies continued.
- In the 1970s, World Bank wanted to replace natural sal forests with pine for paper industry — stopped after environmental protests.
4. Forest Transformations in Java (Indonesia)
4.1 The Woodcutters of Java
- Kalangs – skilled forest cutters, essential for teak harvesting.
- When Dutch controlled Java, they tried to force Kalangs to work → Kalang revolt (1770) suppressed.
4.2 Dutch Scientific Forestry
- Dutch made laws like British — villagers needed permits for cutting wood, grazing, or using carts.
- Introduced blandongdiensten system – villagers gave free labour and buffaloes to transport timber in exchange for rent exemption.
- Later, paid small wages but lost right to cultivate.
4.3 Samin’s Challenge
- Around 1890, Surontiko Samin protested Dutch control of forests.
- Said: “State didn’t create wind, water, earth, or wood – it can’t own them.”
- By 1907, 3,000 families joined him.
- Protested by lying on land, refusing taxes and labour.
4.4 War and Deforestation
- During World Wars, both India and Java forests were cut freely for war needs.
- Dutch burnt sawmills and teak piles to prevent Japanese capture.
- Japanese later forced villagers to cut forests.
- After the war, villagers occupied land, creating conflict with the forest department.
4.5 New Developments in Forestry
- Since the 1980s, focus shifted from timber to conservation.
- Governments realised local people must be involved in forest protection.
- In India, sacred groves like sarnas, devarakadu, rai, kan are protected by communities.
- Joint forest management started — villagers patrol and protect forests.
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