Test: Forest Society & Colonialism - 1 - UPSC MCQ

Natural forests which had lots of different types of trees were cut down. In their place only one type of tree was planted in straight rows, called as plantation. This is known as scientific forestry.

The Indian Forest Service was set up in 1864 by Dietrich Brandis, who was appointed as the first Inspector General of forests in India by the British.

By the early 19th century oak forests in England were disappearing as most of the oak forestsin England were used for building ships. But a regular supply of strong and durable timber for English ships was needed for building ships for the Royal Navy of England as the imperial power should be protected and maintained ,this could only happen if there is vast quantities of timber available for building ships. Therefore By the 1820s search parties were sent to explore the forest resources of India. Within a decade, trees were beingfelled on a massive scale and vast quantities of timber were beingexported from India.

It depends whose utility one wants to take into consideration:

• If it is to do with the British government, then the reserved forests were of utility
• If it is to do with the farmers, then the village forests were of utility.

It is practised in many parts of Asia, Africa and South America. It has many local names like ladding in South-East Asia, Milpa in Central America, Chitemene or tavy in Africa, Chena in Sri Lanka. In India dhya, penda, bewar, nevad, jhum, podu, khandad and kumri are some of the local terms for swidden agriculture.

The Imperial Forest Research Institute was set up in Dehradun in 1906 on the suggestion of the german forest expert Dietrich Brandis who later became the Inspector General of Forests in India.

The Bastar Rebellion Of 1910

The 150 years history of protests and rebellion in Bastar culminated in the Bhumkal rebellion of 1910 meaning the great people’s upsurge. 
Several other policies of the state at that time proved extremely oppressive for the tribals of the region and became focal points of the Bhumkal rebellion. Extensive forest areas were declared reserved forests; resulting in the tribals feeling that their inalienable right over forests has been subverted. 

Government ban the shifting cultivation because they regared this practice as harmful for the forests. They felt that the land which was used for cultivation every few years could not grow trees for railway timber. When a forest was burnt, there was the added danger of the flames sprading and burning valuable timber. Shifting cultivation also made it harder for the government to calculate taxes. Therefore, the government decided to ban shifting cultivation. As a resutl, many communities were forcibly displaced from their homes in the forests. Some had to change occupations,while some resisted through large and small rebellions. 

 The colonial rulers considered forests as unproductive because:

1. They considered cultivated lands as sign of progress and not nature in its natural self.
2. Forests were considered to be wilderness which was of no use to humans. They preferred scientific forestry instead.
3. The colonials thought that this wilderness had to be brought under cultivation to yield agricultural products and revenue, and enhance the income of the state.
4. They thought that the use of forests by local people and the reckless felling of trees by traders would destroy forests.
5. The colonial rulers basically wanted to use the Indian lands/forests for the following needs;
   1. Commercial agricultural crops suited for European needs.
   2. Plantation crops.
   3. Needed forests in order to build ships and railways.

(i) Foresters and villagers had very different ideas of what a good forest should look like.Villagers wanted forests with a mixture of species to satisfy different needs — fuel, fodder, leaves. The forest department wanted trees which were suitable for building ships or railways.
(ii) They needed trees that could provide hard wood and were tall and straight. So particular species like teak and sal were promoted and others were cut. The new forest laws meant severe hardship for villagers across the country.

The Amazon have more than 500 different plant species because of the climatic condition & fertility of the soil.

A lot of this diversity is fast disappearing. Between 1700 and 1995, the period of industrialisation, 13.9 million sq km of forest or 9.3 per cent of the worldís total area was cleared for industrial uses, cultivation, pastures and fuelwood.

The colonial rulers considered forests as unproductive because:
1.They considered cultivated lands as sign of progress and not nature in its natural self.
2.Forests were considered to be wilderness which was of no use to humans. They preferred scientific forestry instead.
3.The colonials thought that this wilderness had to be brought under cultivation to yield agricultural products and revenue, and enhance the income of the state.

The spread of railways from the 1850’s created a new demand. 
Railways were essential for colonial trade and for the movement of imperial troops. To run locomotives. 
Wood was needed as fuel and to lay railway lines sleepers were essential to hold the tracks together. 
Each mile of railway track required between 1760 and 2000 sleepers. 

In India the railway network expanded rapidly from the 1860s. Due to following reasons forests started disappearing around railway tracks at that time
(i) By 1890 about 25,500 km of track had been laid and in 1946 the length of the tracks had increased to over 765,000 km.
(ii) As the railway tracks increased large number of trees were cut down.
(iii) The government gave out contracts to individuals to supply the required quantity of woods.
(iv) These contractors began to cut trees indiscriminately.

Large areas of natural forests were also cleared to make way for tea, coffee and rubber plantations to meet Europe's growing need for these commodities. 

(i)In scientific forestry, natural forests which had lots of different types of trees were cut down. 

(ii)In their place, one type of tree was planted in straight rows. This is called a plantation. 

(iii)Forest officials surveyed the forests, estimated the area under different types of trees, and made working plans for forest management.

(iv)They planned how much of the plantation area to cut every year. 

(v)The area cut was then to be replanted so that it was ready to be cut again in some years.

 Classification of forests on the basis of Act of 1878:
(i) Reserved forests: The best forests were called Reserved forests. Villagers could not take anything from these forests.
(ii) Protected forests: They were also protected by the villagers but they could collect wood from the Protected forests.(iii) Village forests: They were located near the villages and could be exploited by the villagers but not for commercial purposes. 

Shifting cultivation

Shifting cultivation is an agricultural system in which a person uses a piece of land, only to abandon or alter the initial use a short time later.

This system often involves clearing of a piece of land followed by several years of wood harvesting or farming until the soil loses fertility.

Once the land becomes inadequate for crop production, it is left to be reclaimed by natural vegetation, or sometimes converted to a different long term cyclical farming practice.

This system of agriculture is often practised at the level of an individual or family, but sometimes may involve an entire village.

(i) Foresters and villagers had very different ideas of what a good forest should look like.Villagers wanted forests with a mixture of species to satisfy different needs — fuel, fodder, leaves. The forest department wanted trees which were suitable for building ships or railways.
(ii) They needed trees that could provide hard wood and were tall and straight. So particular species like teak and sal were promoted and others were cut. The new forest laws meant severe hardship for villagers across the country.

It is practised in many parts of Asia, Africa and South America. It has many local names like ladding in South-East Asia, Milpa in Central America, Chitemene or tavy in Africa, Chena in Sri Lanka. In India dhya, penda, bewar, nevad, jhum, podu, khandad and kumri are some of the local terms for swidden agriculture.

Swidden agriculture or shifting cultivation is a traditional agricultural practice where cultivators used to cut certain parts of the forest in rotation. Than they burn the trees and sow seeds in ashes after the monsoon rains.

It is practised in many parts of Asia, Africa and South America. It has many local names like ladding in South-East Asia, Milpa in Central America, Chitemene or tavy in Africa, Chena in Sri Lanka. In India dhya, penda, bewar, nevad, jhum, podu, khandad and kumri are some of the local terms for swidden agriculture.

Shifting cultivation is the type of cultivation in which the farmers cut trees and clear the land for cultivation.They also burn the uprooted trees and mix their ashes in the soil so as to fertile the soil. After cultivation and harvesting they move on to other land and repeat the same process. The European foresters banned it because in this process, there are also chances of hazards like forest fires, loss of fertility and for stability in the state they wanted to control these nomadic tribes.

In India hunting of tigers and other wild animals became a game or source of entertainment for the kings and nobles. But under British rule the scale of hunting increased to such an extent that various species became almost extinct.
The reasons behind this condition are (i) The British saw large animals as signs of a wild, primitive and savage society.
(ii) They believed that by killing dangerous animals the British would civilise India.
(iii) They gave rewards for the killing of tigers, wolves and other large animals on the grounds that they posed a threat to cultivators.
(iv) Over 80,000 tigers, 150,000 leopards and 200,000 wolves were killed for reward in the period
1875-1925.
(v) Certain areas of forests were reserved for hunting.

Alluri Sitaram Raju was the tribal leader from andhra pradesh rebelled against the british and is still remembered in folk songs and stories.

(a) A number of different communities live in Bastar and speak different languages but share some common customs and beliefs. These are
(i) The people believe that each village was given its level by the Earth and thus *hey look after the Earth by making some offerings at each agricultural festival.
(ii) Respect is, shown to the spirits of the river, the forest and the mountain and natural resources were looked after by the local people.
(iii) If people from a village want to take some wood from the forests of another village, they pay a small fee called Devsari, Dand or Man in exchange.
(b) From the above passage we learnt that environment safety is very important for us. This passage also shown the mutual relation between villagers and the nature.

1. This included rents being imposed by the Dutch, on the land being cultivated in the forest.
2. Some villages were then exempted from the rents on the condition of working collectively to provide free labour for cutting and transporting timber, which came to be known as the blandongdiensten system.
3. Though it was replaced later with small wages, but still the right to cultivate their land was restricted.

Since 1980's government policies in Asia and Africa have undergone a sea change.

(i) Instead of scientific forestry and the policy of keeping forest communities away from forests, conservation of forests and not collection of wood has become the most important goal.

(ii) To meet its goal the government must involve people who live near the forests.

(iii) Governments instead of being in a conflict situation or ousting the local people e.g., tribals, have realised cooperation of the local people and their participation in policies and actions are an essential ingredient for success in conservation and development of forests.

In many cases, across India, from Mizoram to Kerala, dense forests have survived only because villages protected them in sacred groves known as sarnas, devarakudu, kan, rai, etc.