NCERT Solutions Class 9 Social Science (India and the Contemporary World – I)
The NCERT Solutions in English Language for Class 9 Social Science (India and the Contemporary World – I) Chapter – 4 (Forest Society and Colonialism) has been provided here to help the students in solving the questions from this exercise.
Chapter – 4 (Forest Society and Colonialism)
Questions
1. Discuss how the changes in forest management in the colonial period affected the following groups of people:
(i) Shifting cultivators
(ii) Nomadic and pastoralist communities
(iii) Firms trading in timber/forest produce
(iv) Plantation owners
(v) Kings/British officials engaged in hunting.
Answer –
(i) Shifting cultivators : Colonial rulers decided to ban shifting cultivation as it made harder for the government to calculate taxes. As a result, a number of communities, who used to do shifting cultivation, were forcibly displaced from their homes in the forests. Some had to change occupations, while some resisted through large and small rebellions.
(ii) Nomadic and pastoralist communities : Nomadic and pastoralist communities like the Korava, Karacha and Yerukula from the Madras Presidency lost their livelihoods. They were designated as ‘criminal tribes’ by the British authorities and were forced to work in factories, mines and plantations under government supervision.
(iii) Firms trading in timber/forest products : The British gave European timber trading firms the sole right to trade in forest products in particular areas. Grazing and hunting by the local population were restricted by law.
(iv) Plantation owners : Vast tracts of natural forests were cleared to make way for tea, coffee and rubber plantations in order to fulfil the demand for these commodities in Europe. Plantation owners, who were overwhelmingly European, were given land at a cheap rate. They were enclosed and cleared of forests and plated with tea or coffee.
(v) Kings/ British officials engaged in hunting : This group was a happy lot because the British government viewed large animals as symbols of a wild, savage and primitive society. Consequently, hunting tigers, wolves and the like was encouraged. Around 80,000 tigers, 150,000 leopards and 200,000 wolves were hunted down for reward during 1875-1925.
2. What are the similarities between colonial management of the forests in Bastar and in Java?
Answer – The similarities between colonial management of the forests in Bastar and Java were :
- Forest laws were enacted in Java and Bastar.
- These laws restricted villagers’ access to forests.
- Timber could be cut from only specified forests and under close supervision.
- Villagers were punished for entering forests and collecting forest products without a permit.
- Permits were issued to the villagers for entry into forests and collection of forest products.
- Both had a forest service.
- Both followed a system of forestry which was known as scientific forestry.
- In both places, Forest Acts meant severe hardship for villagers. Their everyday practices — cutting wood for their houses, grazing their cattle, collecting fruits and roots, hunting and fishing became illegal.
- Constables and forests guards began to harass people.
3. Between 1880 and 1920 forests cover in the Indian subcontinent declined by 9.7 million hectares, from 108.6 million hectares to 98.9 million hectares. Discuss the role of the following factors in this decline:
(i) Railways
(ii) Shipbuilding
(iii) Agricultural expansion
(iv) Commercial farming
(v) Tea/Coffee plantations
(vi) Adivasis and other peasant users.
Answer –
(i) Railways : These were a necessary mode of transport for colonial trade and movement of troops. To run the locomotives, wood was needed as fuel and also for railway sleepers. As railways spread throughout India, a huge number of trees were felled. In the Madras Presidency itself, 35,000 trees were cut annually for sleepers, in the 1850s.
(ii) Ship Building : By the early nineteenth century, oak forests in England were disappearing. This created a problem of timber supply to the Royal Navy. Hence, search parties were sent to explore the forest resources of India. Within a decade, trees were being felled on a massive scale and vast quantities of timber were being exported from India.
(iii) Agricultural Expansion : In order to expand production of cash crops, whole forests were felled to make way for cultivation of crops that brought in revenue. Commercial agriculture fast replaced shifting agriculture.
(iv) Commercial Farming of Trees : This was a direct corollary of agricultural expansion. In commercial forestry, a particular type of tree was grown for trade pruposes. Older forests which had a wide variety of trees were no longer considered of use. These were cut down and replaced with “managed” forests.
(v) Tea/Coffee Plantation : In order to meet the growing demand for tea and coffee, colonial authorities sold huge hectares of forest land to mostly European plantation firms. These firms then cut down the forests to make way for tea and coffee plantations. As a result, many acres of forest were lost.
(vi) Adivasis and Other Peasant Users : As mentioned in the previous note, when they were forced to leave their forest homes, the forests became victim to trade avarice. Industry did not worship the earth or its resources like the adivasis had done.
4. Why are forests affected by wars?
Answer – Forests are affected by wars on account of a variety of reasons. During the World Wars, Britain was ruthless in cutting down forests in India for war needs. To avoid Japan the profits from the forest industry, the Dutch destroyed saw mills and teak logs in Java. This blind destruction and cutting down of forests to fulfill national war requirements affects forests as they get depleted rapidly and are slow to grow back.
