Pastoralists in the Modern World
Short Questions Answer
Who are pastoral nomads?
Answer: People who move from one place to another in search of pasture for their animals are called pastoral nomads.
Where do the Gujjar Bakarwals of Jammu and Kashmir go during the summer season?
Answer: They move to the high mountain pastures of Kashmir during summer.
What were the Dhangars famous for?
Answer: The Dhangars were famous as shepherds, blanket weavers, and cultivators.
Where do the Raikas live?
Answer: The Raikas live in the deserts of Rajasthan.
What was the main occupation of the Maasai people?
Answer: Cattle herding was the main occupation of the Maasai people.
What was the Criminal Tribes Act?
Answer: It was an Act passed by the British in 1871 declaring many nomadic communities as criminal by birth.
What were ‘Waste Land Rules’?
Answer: These were colonial rules that allowed the government to take over uncultivated land and give it to individuals for cultivation.
Who were the two social groups in Maasai society?
Answer: The elders and the warriors.
What is transhumance?
Answer: The seasonal movement of people with their livestock between mountain pastures and lowlands is called transhumance.
Which colonial powers controlled the Maasai land?
Answer: The British controlled the southern part (Kenya) and the Germans controlled the northern part (Tanganyika).
Long Questions Answer
Describe the seasonal movement of the Gujjar Bakarwals of Jammu and Kashmir.
Answer: The Gujjar Bakarwals move between the plains and the mountains every year. In winter, they live in the low hills of the Siwalik range, where snow does not fall. In summer, they move to the high mountain pastures of Kashmir through the Pir Panjal passes. They return to the low hills by September, before snow blocks their route.
How did the Forest Acts affect the lives of Indian pastoralists?
Answer: The Forest Acts divided forests into Reserved and Protected areas. Grazing was banned in reserved forests and restricted in protected ones. Pastoralists needed permits to graze their cattle, limiting where and how long they could stay. This reduced grazing grounds and made life difficult for them.
What was the impact of colonial laws like the Waste Land Rules and Grazing Tax on pastoralists?
Answer: The Waste Land Rules took over uncultivated lands and reduced grazing areas. Grazing Tax imposed a fee for every animal grazing on government land. Both rules increased economic hardship and limited free movement of pastoralists.
Explain the life and movement of the Dhangars of Maharashtra.
Answer: The Dhangars lived in the central plateau during the monsoon, where they grew bajra. After harvest, they moved westward to Konkan, where they grazed their sheep on rice stubble. Their sheep manured the fields, and they returned to the plateau before the rains began.
Describe the occupation and migration pattern of the Raikas of Rajasthan.
Answer: The Raikas practiced both animal herding and cultivation. During monsoon, they stayed in their home villages and cultivated crops. After October, they moved in search of pasture and water, travelling long distances until the next monsoon brought them back home.
How did the colonial government view nomadic pastoralists in India?
Answer: The British viewed them as lawless, criminal, and difficult to control. They preferred settled cultivators for taxation and governance. As a result, they imposed laws that restricted nomadic movement and criminalised some communities under the Criminal Tribes Act.
How were the Maasai affected by the division of their land between the British and Germans?
Answer: The Maasai lost 60% of their land. The best grazing areas were taken for white settlements and game reserves like the Serengeti. They were pushed into dry, unproductive lands, which caused loss of livestock and poverty.
Explain how droughts affected the Maasai during colonial rule.
Answer: Colonial borders and restrictions stopped the Maasai from moving freely to better pastures. During droughts, their cattle starved due to lack of grass and water. For example, in 1933–34, half of their cattle died due to severe drought and restricted movement.
What changes took place in Maasai society under colonial rule?
Answer: The authority of elders and warriors declined. The British appointed chiefs who collected taxes and enforced laws. Wealthy chiefs and traders emerged, while poor herders lost cattle and were forced to work as labourers, creating social inequality.
How did pastoralists adapt to the changes brought by colonial rule?
Answer: Some pastoralists reduced their herd size, some found new grazing areas, and others combined agriculture and trading with herding. Wealthier groups bought land and settled down, while poorer ones became wage labourers or small farmers.
Leave a Reply