1. Explain any four causes of deforestation in India under the colonial rule.
(i) The British encouraged the production of commercial crops like jute, sugar. The demand for these crops increased in 19th century. For this they cleared forests.
(ii) The colonial government thought that forest was unproductive. They cleared forest for cultivation.
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(iii) They cleared forest for making railway sleepers and for fuel for locomotives.
(iv) They cleared forest for tea, coffee and rubber plantations.
2. How did the Forest Acts affect the lives of foresters and villagers?
(i) Villagers were not allowed to collect forest products.
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(ii) People were forced to steal wood from the forests.
(iii) Women suffered a lot.
(iv) Forest guards harassed people.
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3. Why the forests affected by wars? Give four reasons.
Forests were affected by the wars in the following ways:
(i) Due to the two world wars forest trees were cut freely to meet the war needs.
(ii) In Java the Dutch followed the scorched earth policy destroying saw mills and burning teak logs so that they would not fall into the Japanese hands.
(iii) After Japan occupied Indonesia it recklessly exploited the forests to meet the need of its war industries.
(iv) Many local villagers used war as an opportunity to expand cultivation in the forests.
4. Why the people of Bastar raised in revolt against the British? Explain.
(i) when the colonial government proposed to reserve two-thirds of the forest in 1905, and stop shifting cultivation hunting and collection of forest produce, the people of Bastar were very worried
(ii) Some villages were allowed to stay on in the reserved forests on the condition that they worked free for the forest department in cutting and transporting trees, protecting the forest from fires. Subsequently these came to be known as ‘forest villages.’ People of other villages were displaced without any notice or compensation.
(iii) Villagers had been suffering from increased land rents and frequent demands for free labour and goods by colonial officials.
(iv) The terrible famines, in 1899-1900 and again in 1907-1908. Reservations proved to be the last.
5. How did ‘forest-acts’ cause severe hardships for villagers across the country?
(i) After the Act all the practice of villagers such as, cutting wood, grazing cattle became illegal.
(ii) People were forced to steal wood from the forest.
(iii) Women were especially worried.
(iv) Police Constables and Forest Guards often harassed people by demanding free food from them.
6. How did the local people look after and protect the forests in Bastar region?
(i) Local people look after all the natural resources within their boundary.
(ii) If people from a village want to take some wood from the forest of another village they pay a small fee called devsari in exchange.
(iii) Protect forests by engaging watchmen.
(iv) Headman of villages meets and discusses issue of concern including forests.
7. When was the Imperial Forest Research Institute established? List any three causes of deforestation in India during the British rule.
The Imperial Forest Research Institute was established in 1906. Causes for deforestation in India during the British Rule were:
(ii) Increase in population led to the growth in demand for food and expansion of cultivation.
Increased demand for timber due to expansion of railways and shipbuilding purpose.
Large areas of forests were cleared for plantation purpose.
8. Explain any four ideas of Dietrich Brandis for the Management of forests in India
During the British period
Ideas of Dietrich Brandis for the management of forests in India during the British period are as follows:
(i) He felt that a proper system of managing forests had to be introduced.
(ii) The people had to be trained in the science of conservation.
(iii) Rules about the use of forest resources had to be framed.
(iv) Felling of trees and grazing had to be restricted.
(v) Forests to be preserved for timber production.
9. Write any four ways by which British regulated the life of the forest societies in India?
Lives of forest societies were affected
(i) Look of forest changed from mixed species forest to particular species like teak and sal forest were promoted.
(ii) Their everyday practices-cutting wood, grazing, collecting fruits, hunting etc. became illegal.
(iii) They were forced to steal wood, if caught punished or bribe forest guards.
(iv) Women collecting fuel wood were Worried and people harassed by constant demand of free food by forest guards.
10. Explain the term deforestation. Describe three causes of deforestation in India due to colonial rule.
Disappearance of forest is called deforestation.
(i) Increase of population led to demand for food grains.
(ii) Colonial government considered forests unproductive so wanted to expand agriculture so to increase yield and revenue.
(iii) Supply of timber for ships for Royal Navy.
(iv) For expansion of railways.
(v) For expansion of land under plantations.
11. How did commercial farming led to a decline in forest cover during colonial period?
(i) scientific forestry
(ii) Plantation
(iii)Role of Dietrich Brandis
(iv) Reserved forests.
12. “Forest Act affects the lives of foresters and villagers.” Justify the statement with suitable arguments
The forest Act created many problems for foresters and villagers:
(i) Their daily practices-cutting wood, hunting, fishing now became illegal.
(ii) People were forced to steal wood from the forest and if caught were at the mercy of forest guard.
(iii)Women who generally collected fuelwood were esp. vulnerable.
(iv) It was common for police constable and forest guards to harass people.
13. Give two similarities between the colonial management of the forest in Bastar and in Java and Explain.
(i) Forests were owned by the state and the villager’s access to the forests was restricted.
(ii) Colonial govt, placed restrictions on hunting etc. in both countries.
(iii)The need to manage forests for ship-building and railways led to the introduction of a forest service in Java as well.
14. How the changes in forest management in the colonial period affected the following group of people:
(A) Shifting cultivation.
(B) Nomadic and Pastoralist communities.
(A) Shifting cultivation:
Due to the government’s lean on shifting cultivation many communities were forcibly displaced from their homes in the forests. Some had to change occupations while others rebelled against the government.
(B) Nomadic and pastoralist communities:
Many pastoralist and nomadic communities like the Korav, Karacha and Yerukula of the Madras Presidency lost their means of livelihood. Some of them began to be called ‘criminal tribes and were forced to work in factories, mines and plantations under government supervision.
15. Who was appointed as the first Inspector General of Forests in India? Explain any four reforms introduced by him.
1. Dietrich Brandis
2. Reforms brought by him:
(i) People had to be trained in the science of conservation.
(ii) Rules about the use of forest resources had to be framed.
(iii) Felling of trees and grazing had to be restricted so that the forests could be preserved for timber production.
(iv) He set up the Indian Forest Service in 1864 and helped to formulate the Indian Forest Act of 1869.
(v) The Imperial Forest Research Institute was set up at Dehradun in 1906.
16. Explain how did the First World War and the Second World War have a major impact on forests?
(i) In India the forest department cut trees freely to meet British war needs.
(ii) In Java, before the Japanese occupied the region, the Dutch followed a scorched earth policy, destroying saw mills and burning huge piles of joint teak logs so that they would not fall into Japanese hands.
(iii)The Japanese exploited the forest for their own war industries.
(iv) Forests were destroyed during war by attack.
17. Describe how the changes in forest management affect different group of the people in the colonial period?
Effect of the changes in the colonial period:
(i) Effect on Nomadic and Pastoralist community-limitations and regulations on their movement
(ii) Effect on Shifting cultivators-they were banned for moving, clearing forests or shift cultivation.
(iii) Affect on firms trading timber and forest produce-Ruined their work by banning cutting of trees.
(iv) Effect on Plantation Owners-were gained since they were Europeans only.
18. Summarize the role of any four factors that led to the decline of the forest cover
In the Indian subcontinent during colonial period
Four factors that led to the decline of the forest cover in the Indian subcontinent:
(i) Railways:
It required wooden sleepers for its tracks and as fuel
(ii) Shipbuilding:
Lead to reckless cutting of trees.
(iii) Agricultural expansion:
To convert land into fields to grow many commercial crops.
(iv) Plantations:
Forests were cut to raise plantations for they were productive source of income.
19. Describe four provisions of the forest act of 1878.
The provision of the forest act of 1878:
The forests in India were divided into three categories
(i) Reserved forests
(ii) Protected forest.
(iii) Village forest.
20. Explain any four causes of deforestation in India during the British rule.
(i) Railways:
To establish a railway network wood was needed for fuel and sleepers to hold the railway tracks together.
(ii) Shipbuilding:
Oak forest in England had disappeared. This created a shortage of timber of the Royal Navy. Thus trees were cut on a massive scale and were exported from India.
(iii) Agricultural expansion:
British encouraged the production of commercial crops like jute, sugar etc. Foodgrains were needed to feed the growing urban population and raw- materials were needed for industrial purposes.
(iv ) Plantations:
Large areas of forest were cleared to establish tea, coffee and rubber plantations to meet Europe’s need for these commodities.
21. “A growing population in England was responsible for deforestation in India.” Justify the statement.
(i) as population increased over the centuries, food grains were needed to feed the growing urban population and raw material was required for industrial production.
(ii) Export market for wheat was growing leading to rising prices.
(iii) Fast transportation of wheat due to spreading railways.
(iv) Colonial government thought that forest was unproductive.
(v) To be brought under cultivation so that the land could yield agricultural products and revenue and enhance the income of the state.
22. Explain shifting agriculture? Why did the British consider is as a harmful practice?
Swidden or shifting agriculture: Shifting cultivation is a traditional agricultural practice followed in many parts of Asia, Africa and South America.
(i) In shifting cultivation, parts of the forest are cut and burnt in rotation. Seeds are sown in the ashes after the first monsoon rains and harvested by October-November.
(ii) Plots are cultivated for a couple of years and then left fallow for 12 to 18 years for the forest to grow back. A mixture of crops is grown on these plots.
(iii) Shifting cultivation also made it harder for the government to calculate the taxes. Therefore, the government decided to ban shifting cultivation.