4.

Forest society and colonization ch-4

Things that Come from Forests

 
(i) The paper in the book you are reading.
(ii) Desks and tables, doors and windows.
(iii) The dyes that colour your clothes, spices in your food, the cellophane wrapper of
your toffee.
(iv) Tendu leaves in bidis, gum, honey, coffee, tea and rubber.
(v) The oil in chocolates which comes from the sal seeds, the tannin used to convert
skins and hides into leather.
(vi) Herbs and roots for medicinal purposes.
(vii) Forests also provide bamboo, wood for fuel, grass, charcoal, packaging, fruits and
flowers.
 
Deforestation
 
(i) As population increased, the demand for food went up. Peasants extended the
boundaries for cultivation, clearing forests and breaking new land.
(ii) In colonial India, the British encouraged the production of commercial crops like jute,
sugar, wheat and cotton for the growing urban population and as raw material for 
industries.
(iii) The British considered the forests unproductive and had to be brought under
cultivation to yield agricultural products and revenue.
(iv) Sleepers for building railway tracks created demand for wood, which led to
deforestation.
(v) Wood was needed as fuel to run railways.
(vi) When oak forests disappeared in England, it created. problem of timber supply for
building ships for the Royal Navy. So, to fulfill the demand, trees were felled in India on
a massive scale.
(vii) Large forest areas were also cleared to make way plantations of tea, coffee and
rubber.
(viii) Large areas were enclosed and cleared of forests and the planted with tea or
coffee.
 
The Rise of Commercial Forestry
 
(i) The British were worried that use of forests by forest people and reckless felling of
trees by traders would destroy forests. 
(ii) They invited Dietrich Brandis for advice and made him the first Inspector General of
Forests in India.
(iii) Brandis set up the Indian Forest Service in 1864 and helped formulate the Indian
Forest Act of 1865.
 
Scientific Forestry
 
It was introduced, in which natural forests which had different types of trees were cut
down and in their place one type of trees were planted in straight rows. This was called
a plantation. A fixed number of trees were cut and replanted so they could be cut after
some years.
 
(i) According to the Forest Act, forests were divided into three categories, reserved,
protected, and village forests.
(ii) Reserved Forests The best forests were called reserve forests.
(iii) Villagers could not take anything from these forests ever for their own use.
(iv) For house building or fuel they could take wood from protected or village forests.
 
How were the Lives of the People Affected
 
(i) The Forest Act meant extreme hardship for villagers and forest people across the
country.
(ii) The villagers were not allowed to cut wood for their houses or graze their cattle.
(iii) They were not allowed to collect fruits and roots or hunt animals. Fishing was not
allowed. All these activities were considered illegal.
(iv) They could not get fodder for their animals.
(v) The villagers were forced to steal and if caught, they were at the mercy of the forest
guards.
(vi) Women who collected fuel wood were harassed by the guards who demanded free
food from them.

How did Forest Rules affect Cultivation?

(i) Shifting cultivation or Swidden agricultures was banned by Europeans.

(ii) Europeans considered it harmful for the forests, because in it forests were cut and
burnt and valuable timber was lost.
(iii) Many communities were displaced from the forests.

Who could Hunt?

(i) The forest laws deprived the forest people of their customary rights to hunt deer,
partridges, etc.
(ii) In India, hunting of tigers and other animals had been part of the culture of the court
and nobility.
(iii) Under colonial rule the scale of hunting increased so much that various species
became nearly extinct.
(iv) The British saw large animals as signs of a wild, primitive and savage society. They
believed that by killing dangerous animals they would civilize India.
(v) They gave rewards for killing tigers, wolves, etc on the grounds that they posed a
threat to cultivators.
(vi) Over 80,000 tigers, 1,50,000 leopards and 2,00,000 wolves were killed for reward
during 1875-1925.
(vii) The Maharaja of Sarguja alone shot 1,157 tigers and 2,000 leopards.
(viii) George Yule killed 400 tigers.

New Trades, New Employment and New Services

(i) After the Forest Act was implemented a large number of forest people were
displaced.
(ii) Many communities left traditional occupations and started trading in forest products.
(iii) Many nomadic tribes like the Korava, Karacha etc lost their livelihoods and came to
be called criminal tribes and were forced to work in factories, mines and plantations
under government supervision.
(iv) The wages were low and conditions of work very bad. Also they could not return to
their villages easily.
Rebellion in the Forest

(i) Many communities of the Bastar region like the Maria and Maria Gonds, Dhurwas,
Bhatras, etc spoke different languages but had common cultures customs and beliefs.
(ii) The people of Bastar believed that each village was given land by the Earth and in
return they look after the Earth by making offerings at each agricultural festival, respect
the spirits of the rivers, the forests and the mountains, If  they wanted to take anything
from the forest of another village, they paid a small fee called devsari, dand or man in
exchange.
 
The Fear of the People
 

(i) The Forest Act proposed to reserve two-thirds of the forests in 1905.
(ii) Shifting cultivation was to be banned.
(iii) Hunting and collection of forest produce by villagers was to be stopped.
(iv) Forest people were allowed to stay on in the reserved forests on the condition they
would do free labour for the colonial-officials and help the forest department in cutting
and transporting trees and protecting the forest from fire.
(v) Reservation of two third forests led to dissatisfaction and discontent among the
people.
(vi) The Dhurvas of Kanger forest under Gunda Dhur started a movement against
the colonial government where reservation first took place.
(vii) The villagers rebelled and looted the houses of officials and traders, schools and
police stations were burnt and the grain was redistributed.
 
Suppression of the Rebellion 

(i) The British sent troops to suppress the rebellion.

(ii) The British surrounded the camps and fired upon the be rebels.
(iii) The British flogged and punished those people who had taken part in the rebellion.
(iv) People deserted the villages and fled into the jungles.
 
Forest Transformations in Java
 
(i) Java in the Dutch East Indies was once upon a time covered with forests.
(ii) It was ruled by the Dutch.
(iii) They started forest management and like the British they wanted timber from Java.
(iv) The Kalangs of Java were a community of skilled forest cutters and shifting
cultivators.
(v) When the Dutch began to control the forests in the 18th century, they tried to make
the Kalangs work under them. The Kalangs resisted but were suppressed.
 
Dutch Scientific Forestry
 
(i) In the nineteenth century, the Dutch enacted forest laws in Java restricting villagers’
access to forests.
(ii) Now wood could be cut only for specified purposes like making river boats or
constructing houses from specific forests under close supervision.
(iii) Villagers were punished for grazing cattle in new forests, for transporting wood
without a permit, or travelling on forest roads with horse carts or cattle.
Demand for Wood

(i) As in India, the Dutch also needed wood for construction of railway tracks and for
ship building. 
(ii) The Dutch imposed rents on land being cultivated in the forest.
(iii) Some villages were exempted from these rents if they worked collectively to provide
free labour and buffaloes for cutting and transporting timber. This was known as
blandongoliensten system. Later, instead of rent exemption, forest villagers were given
small wages, but their right to cultivation forest land was restricted.
 

Samin’s Challenge

(i) Around 1890, Surontiko Samin of Randublatung village, began questioning the state
ownership of the forests.
(ii) He argued that the state had not created the wind, Earth and wood, so it could not
own it.
(iii) ISoon a widespread movement developed. Saminists protested by lying down on
their lands when the Dutch came to survey it, while others refused to pay taxes or fines
or perform labour.

War and Deforestation

(i) The First World War and the Second World War had a major impact on forests.
(ii) In India, the forest department cut trees freely to meet British war needs.
(iii) In Java, just before the Japanese occupation of this region, the Dutch followed
Scorched Earth Policy i.e., destroying sawmills and burning huge piles of giant teak logs
so that they would not fall into Japanese hands.
(iv) The Japanese then recklessly exploited the forests for their needs, forcing villagers
to cut the trees.
(v) Many villagers expanded cultivation in the forests.
(vi) There was great destruction of forests.

New Developments in Forestry

(i) Since the 1980’s the governments across Asia and Africa began to see that scientific
forestry and keeping the forest people away from forests had resulted in many conflicts.
(ii) Conservation of forests rather than collecting timber has now become a more
important goal.
(iii) The government realised that for conservation of forests the people living near the
forests must be involved.
(iv) In many cases in India from Mizoram to Kerela, dense forests have survived only
because these people protected them in the form of sacred groves known as sarnas,
kan,rai etc.
(v) Some villagers patrol the forests themselves by taking turns.
(vi) Local forest communities and environmentalists thinking of new and different forms
of forest management.

Ncert questions

Q.1 Discuss how the changes in forest management in the colonial period affected the following groups of
people:

1. Shifting cultivators
2. Nomadic and pastoralist communities
3. Firms trading in timber/forest produce
4. Plantation owners
5. Kings/British officials engaged in shikar (hunting)

Solution:

(I) Shifting cultivators: European colonists regarded shifting cultivation as harmful to the existence of forests. Also, it
stood in the way of commercial timber forestry. There was always the chance of fires spreading out of control and burning
down all the precious timber. Thus, keeping these factors in mind, the colonial government banned shifting cultivation.
Many of these cultivators lost their livelihood in the process, and most were also displaced from their homes in the forest.

(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: The forest laws deprived forest dwellers of their means of livelihood.
Before the enactment of these laws, the forest dwellers practised hunting as a means to sustain themselves. After their
enactment, they were forbidden from hunting. Hunting instead became a sport where kings and British officials equally
hunted big game in huge numbers, bringing some of them to the very brink of extinction.

Q.2 What are the similarities between colonial management of the forests in Bastar and in Java?

Solution: The forest management of Bastar in India was under the control of the British, while in Java, it was under Dutch
management

(I) Just like the British, the Dutch required timber to make sleepers for railway tracks.

(II) The British and Dutch colonial authorities enacted their own version of the forest laws that gave them total control over
the forests and deprived the customary rights of the forest dwellers.

(III) Both the Dutch and the British put a ban on shifting cultivation on the grounds that they were dangerous to the
existence of forests.

(IV) The villagers of Bastar were allowed to stay in the forests on the condition that they provide free labour to the forest
department. While in Java, the Dutch exempted those villages from paying taxes when they provided free labour to the
forest department.

Q.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:

1. Railways
2. Shipbuilding
3. Agricultural expansion
4. Commercial farming
5. Tea/Coffee plantations
6. Adivasis and other peasants users

Solution:

a) Railways:

Railways were an important asset that was essential in maintaining trade through the transport of goods and the
domination of the colonies through the transport of troops. Wood was needed to lay the sleepers for railway tracks. The
sleepers are what held the tracks from breaking apart. For one kilometre of railway track, anywhere between 1760 and
2000 sleepers were required. Thus, vast tracts of forest were cut down to provide the materials for the railways.

(b) Ship Building

Before the coming of the industrial revolution, the ships of the early 19th century were made of wood. Britain maintained
its colonial possessions through the Royal Navy with its huge number of naval fleets. But in order to maintain them, vast
tracts of oak forests in England were cut down.
This caused a logistical problem for the Royal Navy as a regular supply of timber was required to build new ships and
maintain the old ones. It was easily remedied by cutting down forests of its colonies. Huge acres of forests disappeared as
a result, with some areas seeing almost complete deforestation.

(c) Agricultural Expansion

As the population rose, so did the demand for food. Forestlands were cleared in order to make way for new agricultural
tracts. The colonial authorities believed that they could produce more food if they cleared the forests. In addition, forests
were considered unproductive, to begin with, so they had little qualms about cutting them down in huge numbers.
Agricultural land rose by 6.7 million hectares between 1880 and 1920. It can be safely said that agricultural expansions
contributed the most towards deforestation.

(d) Commercial Farming of Trees

Forests are diverse not just in fauna but also flora. So when they were cleared to make way for commercial farming, many
species of trees were lost in the process, as commercial farming only uses one specific type of tree in commercial
farming, depending on the type of plantation.

(e) 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.

(f) Adivasis and Other Peasant Users: Adivasis and other peasant communities practised shifting cultivation. It involved
cutting down parts of forest area and burning the tree roots. Seeds were then sown into the burnt patch, and come the
monsoon season, they were harvested. When fertility declined in that particular area, the same practice was repeated in a
different location. So, along with losing some of the forest tracts, there were fewer chances of the trees growing back due
to loss in soil fertility

Q.4 Why are forests affected by wars?

Solution: Forests are affected by wars as they are valuable strategic resources. Battlefield assets like towers, guard
posts, and army camps are made of wood as they can be easily maintained and can be easily pulled down should the
need to shift these assets arise. More so, the scorched earth policy is enacted should it become apparent that forests will
fall under enemy hands.

This is done with regard to area and resource denial. Such was the case with the Dutch when the Japanese invaded their
colony in Indonesia during World War II. The Dutch burned huge acres of forests in order to prevent them from falling into
Japanese hands.

When they did, however, the Japanese set about recklessly exploiting the timber forests to fulfil their own war demands.
This practice would severely impact the local ecology in a negative way for decades to come.