CLASS IX

HISTORY
UNIT II
CHAPTER 1 – FOREST SOCIETY AND COLONIALISM

SOLUTIONS

TEXTUAL QUESTIONS & ANSWERS

A. LONG ANSWER TYPE QUESTIONS

Q1. Describe the relationship between the forests and the livelihood.

Ans:- There is a close relationship between forests and livelihood. A large number of people
depend on forest for their way of life. They are forest dwellers, the tribes, the shifting
cultivators and food gatherers. Men, who live outside the forests, dwellers of villages, towns
and cities also depend on the forests and its produce. The forests provide the habitat for both
man and animal. The forests also gave shelter to the wildlife. There are fish in the lakes and
rivers of the forests. They provide us food, fruits, roots and timber for food, herb for medicine,
woods for yoke and plough for farmers, bamboo and creeper for making mat and basket, fuel,
wood for building houses and making furniture and fodder for domestic animals. Everything
is available in the forests and there exists a symbiotic relation between man and the forests.

Q2. What is shifting cultivation? Why is it called a wasteful form of agriculture?

Ans:- The shifting cultivation is the traditional method of cultivation practiced by the tribes living in
the mountain regions of Asia, Africa and South America. It is known by different names in
different parts of the world. In Manipur, it is called Pamlou. It is also known as ‘slash and
burn’ system of agriculture. It starts with clearance of portion of the forests by cutting down
the trees. Then they are burnt into ashes. The seeds or crops are sown in the fields. The harvest
is done in September or October. Now it has become a wasteful form of agriculture because
under this system, forests are destroyed, the fertility of soil has degenerated, the productivity
has decreased and it is no more profitable. Inspite of all these defects, this form of agriculture
is still practiced by a large number of tribes. Alternatives to the shifting cultivation have been
suggested and states have started the Jhum control programme for rehabilitation of the tribal
cultivators to prevent the deforestation and degeneration of soil.

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Q3. Discuss how the Forest Policy of colonial Indian affected the livelihood of the shifting
cultivators.

Ans:- The Forest Policy of colonial India hugely affected the livelihood of the shifting cultivators.
The forest dwellers wanted a mixed forest which could give all their needs but the forest
department planted trees to meet the industrial requirements. Continuation of the age old
practices like shifting cultivation, cutting of trees for their housing, grazing of their cattle,
collecting of forest products, hunting and fishing were declared illegal. As a result of these
forest laws, there was displacement of many tribal communities and it uprooted them from
their forest habitat and thereby, they became landless agricultural labourers, factory workers
and plantation workers. Really, the forest laws changed the life of the tribal communities.

Q4. What were the objectives of the British colonial forest policy in India?

Ans:- The objectives of the British Colonial Forest Policy in India were as follows:-

i) To plant commercial trees and trees of a particular species which were required for the
industries, ship building and railways.

ii) Enactment of appropriate wild life protection laws and environment conservation laws.

iii) To declare the practice of cutting trees for their housing, grazing of their cattle, collecting
forest products, hunting and fishing illegal.

iv) To stop the shifting cultivation which was destroyed the forests.

v) To give the sole right to the European companies to trade in forest products.

Q5. Why did the People of Bastar rise into a rebellion against the British in 1910?

Ans:- In 1905, the Colonial Government established a Reserved Forest in Kanker district and
stopped the shifting cultivation, hunting, fishing and collecting forest products. The tribal
people of Bastar were greatly disturbed as the government’s action alienated their lands and
forests. The dwellers of the forest villagers had to work without wages for the Forest
Department. Many villages were displaced without any notice and compensation. The people
suffered from the increasing rents and demands for free labour by the colonial officers. There
was famine in the area in 1900 and another in 1907-08. So, the leaders of the tribal people
discussed the crucial issues in their village courts, in bazaars and festivals. The Dhurwas of
Kanker took the initiative and revolted against the British in 1910.

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Q6. Discuss the Dutch colonial forest policy in Java.

Ans:- After conquering the whole territory of Java, the Dutch controlled the people and their
forests in the 19th century. The Dutch required the tree in the forests of Java for ship building
and making of railways. They passed forest laws and implemented them in Java. The forest
laws restricted the access of the villagers to the forests. They were not allowed shifting
cultivation and grazing of the cattle in the forests. Even trees could not be cut for making
boats and houses. The Dutch introduced a colonial forest service. Anybody violating the law
was punished. Thus, the Dutch state became the owner of the forests in Java.

Q7. What were the causes of the resistance movement of Samin against the Dutch?

Ans:- After the conquest of the whole Java, the Dutch passed the Forest laws and implemented
them in Java. The laws restricted the access of the villagers to the forests. They were not
allowed to cut trees. Shifting cultivation and grazing of cattle were not allowed. But the Dutch
cut the trees for ship building and railways. It brought distress to the tribal people. In 1890,
Surontiko Samin of the teak forest village of Randub Latung raised the resistance against
the Dutch Colonial Authorities. He questioned the Dutch State’s ownership of the forests of
Java. Because the Dutch colonial authority had not created the wind, water, earth and trees.
Samin spread the movement among the people of Java. By 1907, 3000 families became his
followers and they resisted the survey works of the forest officials.

B. SHORT ANSWER TYPE QUESTIONS

Q1. What is a tribe?

Ans:- A tribe is a social group with a common origin, bound by kinship, speaking a common
language and dialects, living in a well-defined geographical region, organized into a well-knit
society and a common cultural pattern, with a primitive technology as the basis of their
subsistence level in livelihood and with religious belief.

Q2. What is Jhum cultivation?

Ans:- The shifting cultivation in the north east of India is called Jhum cultivation. It is the
traditional method of agriculture practiced by the tribes in the hilly regions of the north east
India. It is also known as ‘slash and burn’ system of agriculture. It starts with clearance of a
portion of the forest by cutting down the trees. Then, they are burnt into ashes. The seeds or
crops are sown in the fields. The harvest is done in September or October.

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Q3. What is commercial forestry?

Ans:- The proper system of administration and management of forest is called Commercial
Forestry. It was introduced in India by the British Colonial Government. Under this system,
forests are exploited for meeting the industrial need of Britain like ship building, railway track
and furniture. The government gave contract to the individuals to supply the trees to the
railways and shipping companies.

Q4. What is scientific forestry?

Ans:- Scientific Forestry is a system of cutting trees regulated by the Forest Department of the
government. In this system, the old trees are removed and the trees of particular species
needed by the government and the industries are planted in the rows.

Q5. How was the Bastar rebellion suppressed?

Ans:- The British sent troops to suppress the Bastar Rebellion. The troops marched into the
villages, flogged the tribal villagers and punished the rebels. People fled into the jungles and
about three months, there was conflict between the British troops and the rebels. The rebel
leader Gunda Dhur managed to escape from the British forces. The British suspended the
work of reservation of the forest and the size of the reserved forest was reduced to the half of
the originally planned area. The movement was suppressed but some results were achieved.

C. VERY SHORT ANSWER TYPE QUESTIONS.

Q1. Name the greatest game of the British colonial officials in India?

Ans:- Hunting of tiger was the greatest game of the British colonial officers in India.

Q2. Who was the first Inspector General of Forest in India?

Ans:- Dr. Dietrich Brandes was the first Inspector General of Forest in India.

Q3. When and where was the Imperial Forest Research Institute established by the British in
India?

Ans:- The British established the Imperial Forest Research Institute in 1906 at Dehradun.

Q4. Who are the Kalangs?

Ans:- The Kalangs, a tribal community, were the skilled wood cutters and shifting cultivators of
Java who revolted against the Dutch Forest policy in 1770.

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Q5. What was the legacy left behind by the resistance movement led by Samin in Java?

Ans:- The legacy left behind by the resistance movement of Samin in Java was “The Tribal
Ownership of the Forests.”

EXTRA QUESTIONS & ANSWERS

Q1. What were the main reasons for deforestation in India during the colonial period?

Ans:- According to the Colonial Government, the forests were unproductive. So, more forest areas
were cleared for the expansion of agriculture. They encouraged the plantation of cash
crops. Trees were cut in the forest of India for supplying timbers to the shipbuilding industries
in England. Trees were also cut down for the expansion of the railway lines.

Q2. Why did the colonial Indian Government establish the Department of Forest?

Ans:- The colonial Indian Government established the Department of Forest to have a better
administration and management of forests in India. They needed forests for shipbuilding
and railways. They were worried that the use of forests by local people and reckless cutting of
trees by forest contractors would destroy forests.

Q3. State the different names of shifting cultivation.

Ans:- Shifting cultivation is called Hading or Taungya in the South East Asia. It is called Milpa in
Central America and Tavy in Africa. In the North East India, it is called Jhum and in
Manipur, it is called Pamlou.

Q4. Write some of the common customs and beliefs of the Bastar people.

Ans:- The Bastar people revered the earth as the mother. They believed that each village was given
land by earth and the people in return looked after her and gave offerings to her during the
agricultural festivals. Each village had clear cut boundaries and they looked after the natural
resources of the village.

Q5. What were the achievements of the Bastar Rebellion?

Ans:- i) The British suspended the work of reservation of the forest.

ii) The size of the reserved forest was reduced to half of the original planned area.

Q6. Why does shifting cultivation require a large forest area?

Ans:- Shifting cultivation requires a large forest area for the cycling of agricultural fields.

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Q7. Who set up the ‘Indian Forest Service’ in India?

Ans:- Dr. Dietrich Brandes set up Indian Forest Service (IFS) in India.

Q8. Where are the best forests found in India?

Ans:- The best forests are found in India in Reserved Forests.

Q9. Where is Bastar located?

Ans:- Baster is located in the Southernmost part of Chhattisgarh.

Q10. Who were famous as the woodcutters of Java?

Ans:- Kalangs were famous as the woodcutters of Java.

Q11. Name three categories of forest under Scientific Forestry?

Ans:- The three categories of forest under Scientific Forestry are:

The Reserved Forest,

The Protected Forest, and

The Village Forest.

Q12. What is meant by Deforestation?

Ans:- Deforestation refers to the decrease in forest areas across the world for other uses such as
agriculture cropland, urbanization, mining activities etc.

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