Forest Society and Colonialism
Short Questions Answer
Q. What is deforestation?
Answer: The disappearance or clearing of forests is called deforestation.
Q. Who was the first Inspector General of Forests in India?
Answer: Dietrich Brandis was the first Inspector General of Forests in India.
Q. What was scientific forestry?
Answer: Scientific forestry was a system where natural forests were cut and replaced by one type of tree planted in straight rows.
Q. When was the Indian Forest Service set up?
Answer: The Indian Forest Service was set up in 1864.
Q. What are sleepers in railways?
Answer: Sleepers are wooden planks placed under railway tracks to hold them in position.
Q. What was the main cause of deforestation during colonial rule?
Answer: Expansion of cultivation, railway construction, and demand for timber caused deforestation.
Q. What are ‘forest villages’?
Answer: Villages where people were allowed to stay in reserved forests on the condition that they worked for the forest department.
Q. Who led the Bastar rebellion in 1910?
Answer: Gunda Dhur from village Nethanar was an important leader of the Bastar rebellion.
Q. What was the blandongdiensten system in Java?
Answer: It was a Dutch system where villagers were exempted from paying rent if they provided free labour and buffaloes for forest work.
Q. What was Samin’s belief about the forest?
Answer: Samin believed that no one could own the wind, water, earth, and wood since nature created them.
Long Questions Answer
Q. What were the main causes of deforestation in colonial India?
Answer: Deforestation increased due to the expansion of cultivation, demand for timber for shipbuilding and railways, and the establishment of tea, coffee, and rubber plantations. The British encouraged clearing forests to grow commercial crops like jute, wheat, and cotton to supply European industries.
Q. Explain the role of Dietrich Brandis in forest management.
Answer: Dietrich Brandis, a German expert, was appointed as the first Inspector General of Forests in India. He introduced scientific forestry, framed rules to control forest use, and established the Indian Forest Service in 1864. The Indian Forest Act of 1865 and later amendments classified forests into reserved, protected, and village forests.
Q. How did the Forest Acts affect the lives of villagers?
Answer: Villagers faced hardships as their daily activities like cutting wood, grazing cattle, collecting fruits, and hunting became illegal. They had to bribe forest guards for permission and often faced harassment. Their dependence on forest produce made life very difficult under the new rules.
Q. What was shifting cultivation and why did the British ban it?
Answer: Shifting cultivation was a traditional method where forest land was cleared and burnt to grow crops for a few years before being left fallow. The British banned it because they thought it destroyed forests, hindered timber growth, and made tax collection difficult. This displaced many forest communities.
Q. Describe the Bastar Rebellion of 1910.
Answer: The Bastar rebellion began when the colonial government reserved two-thirds of the forest and banned shifting cultivation, hunting, and forest collection. Led by Gunda Dhur and other leaders, the people attacked police stations, schools, and officials. The British suppressed the rebellion after three months but reduced the reserved area later.
Q. How were forests in Java controlled by the Dutch?
Answer: The Dutch imposed strict forest laws in Java, restricting villagers from grazing cattle or cutting wood without permission. They used the blandongdiensten system, where villagers provided free labour in exchange for rent exemptions. Later, small wages were paid, but their right to cultivate forest land was limited.
Q. What impact did the World Wars have on forests?
Answer: During both World Wars, the demand for timber increased for war industries. The British and Dutch cut trees recklessly, abandoned conservation plans, and even destroyed forests to prevent enemy access. This led to large-scale deforestation in India and Indonesia.
Q. How did colonial forest policies affect forest communities economically?
Answer: Forest communities lost their traditional livelihoods such as hunting, shifting cultivation, and trade in forest products. Some were forced into low-paid labour on plantations and in timber industries. Adivasis were exploited, earning meagre wages under harsh conditions.
Q. Compare forest management in India and Java under colonial rule.
Answer: Both India and Java saw strict forest laws under European powers. In India, the British introduced scientific forestry, while in Java, the Dutch used similar systems. In both places, local people were restricted from using forest resources and were forced to work for the colonial government.
Q. What changes occurred in forest management after the 1980s?
Answer: After the 1980s, conservation became more important than commercial exploitation. Governments recognised the role of local people in protecting forests. Many communities began managing their forests through local systems like sacred groves (sarnas, devarakadu, etc.), leading to better forest preservation.
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