Test: Tribals Dikus & the Vision of a Golden Age - UPSC MCQ

The Baigas believed that they could only survive by using the resources from the forest. They thought the forest was where they belonged, and it provided everything they needed to live.

• Indian Forest Act was passed by British. It was passed in the year 1865.
• According to this act the right of Indian communities on forests were limited and authority was transferred to British government.
• The act of 1865 empowered the British government to declare any land covered with trees as a government forest and make rules to manage it.

- Tribal people often engage in odd jobs to earn money due to limited access to traditional employment.
- This earned money is crucial for purchasing goods they need.
- Such transactions reflect the integration of modern economic practices into traditional tribal lifestyles.
- Therefore, the statement "Some tribal people bought goods using the money they earned from odd jobs" is True.

Birsa's movement aimed to establish a Munda Raj under his leadership and remove missionaries, moneylenders, landlords, and the government. He wanted to drive out these groups and set up a kingdom where his followers could regain their lost rights and live freely.

Birsa belonged to Munda tribe in Jharkhand and he was therefore called Birsa Munda.

• When traders and moneylenders visited the forests more often during the nineteenth century, tribal groups began selling forest produce for cash.
• This means they exchanged things they found in the forest for money.

• Tribal people in the past prepared their fields for cultivation by cutting the treetops and burning the vegetation on the land.
• This helped them clear the land for cultivation and also fertilized the soil with the ash from the firing.
• It was an important traditional method they used to grow their crops.

• Birsa Munda was a young freedom fighter and a tribal leader, whose spirit of activism in the late nineteenth century, is remembered to be a strong mark of protest against British rule in India.
• He died in Ranchi Jail on 9 June 1900. Although the British claimed he died of cholera, he never showed symptoms of the disease.
• After his death the movement faded out. 

The British wanted the shifting cultivators to become peasant cultivators, which means settling down and working on the land regularly to produce crops.

This statement is not True.
Tribals who had depended on the forest for food  and fodder were forced to stay in the forest and hills by the British.

• Adivasi is the collective term for tribes of the Indian Subcontinent, who are considered indigenous to places within India wherein they live, either as foragers or as tribalistic sedentary communities.
• However, India does not recognise Tribe as Indigenous people.

• Tribal chiefs' lives changed under British rule as they had to follow laws made by British officials in India, lost some of their administrative power, and had to pay tribute to the British.
• They were no longer able to fully carry out their traditional roles and lost some authority they previously held.

• False means the statement is not correct.
• Some tribal people in India did practice shifting cultivation.
• Shifting cultivation is when farmers move from one place to another, letting the land they left behind take a break and regain its strength.
• This was common among tribal groups in hilly and forested areas in the north-east and central India.
• They would clear a small patch of forest, grow crops there until the soil became less fertile, then move to a new patch of land. This way, they could continue farming without ruining the land.

The British considered the Chhota Nagpur belt vital because:
- Rich minerals: The region contained valuable minerals.
- Dense forests: There were abundant teak and sal forests.
These resources were crucial for British industrial and economic interests, supporting their mining and timber needs. Exploiting these resources helped fuel the British economy and maintain their dominance in trade and industry during that period.

The Khonds used oil from seeds of sal and mahua to cook food. 
The correct answer is C: Oil from seeds of sal and mahua.
- Sal (Shorea robusta) and mahua (Madhuca longifolia) trees are native to India.
- Khonds, a tribal group in India, traditionally used oil extracted from these seeds for cooking.
- This oil provided essential fats and flavor to their cuisine, reflecting their sustainable and local cooking practices.
- Using locally sourced ingredients for cooking not only ensured their food's richness but also promoted self-sufficiency and environmental harmony within their community.

• The given statement is True. 
• Under British rule, the tribal chiefs lost a lot of their power. They had to listen to the laws made by British officers instead of making their own rules. This made it hard for them to do what they used to do before.
• The chiefs had to pay respect to the British and control their people according to British laws.

In 1895, a man named Birsa was seen roaming the forests and villages of Chottanagpur in Bihar. People said he had miraculous powers – he could cure all diseases and multiply grain. Birsa himself declared that God had appointed him to save his people from trouble, free them from the slavery of dikus (outsiders).

• The British colonisers passed the Criminal Tribes Act, labelling them, along with 198 other nomadic and forest groups, “criminal”.
• A stroke of the pen turned 14 million people into criminals in their own land.
• The Criminal Tribes Act 1871  was one of the many laws passed by the British colonial government that applied to Indians based on their religion and caste identification.

The statement "The silk growers in Hazaribagh were paid fairly for their cocoons" is False. Here's why:
- Silk growers in Hazaribagh were not paid fairly for their cocoons.
- This situation likely indicates exploitation or unfair compensation for their efforts.
- Lack of fair payment can lead to economic hardships for the growers and impact their livelihoods negatively.