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

The Birsa Movement was significant in 2 ways:

1. It forced the colonial government to introduce laws so that the land of the tribals could not be easily taken over by the dikus.

2. It showed once again that the tribals had the capacity to protest against injustice and express their anger against the colonial rule.

Jhum (Shifting) cultivation is a primitive practice of cultivation in States of North Eastern Hill Region of India and people involved in such cultivation are called Jhumia. The practice involves clearing vegetative/forest cover on land/slopes of hills, drying and burning it before onset of monsoon and cropping on it thereafter. After harvest, this land is left fallow and vegetative regeneration is allowed on it till the plot becomes reusable for the same purpose in a cycle. Meanwhile, the process is repeated in a new plot designated for Jhum cultivation during next year. Initially, when the Jhum cycle was long and ranged from 20 to 30 years, the process worked well. However, with increase in human population and increasing pressure on land, Jhum cycle reduced progressively (5-6 years) causing problem of land degradation and threat to ecology of the region at large.

The jhum cultivators broadcast the seeds, that is, scattered the seeds on the field instead of ploughing the land and sowing the seeds. Once the crop was ready and harvested, they moved to another field.

Some tribal people practiced jhum cultivation also known as shifting cultivation. This was done on small cultivation. This was done on small patches of land, mostly in forests. The cultivators cleared off small patches of land. They then burnt the vegetation and spread the ash from the firing, which contained potash to fertilise the soil. They used equipment like axes and hoe for preparing the soil for cultivation. Then they scattered the seeds on the field. Once the crop was ready and harvested, they moved to another field. Shifting cultivators were found in the hilly and forested tracts of north – east and central India.

Fallow: Land that has undergone ploughing and harrowing and has been left unseeded for one or more growing seasons.

The correct option is D.
Tribal people in India are called adivasi. Adivasi is an umbrella term for a heterogeneous set of ethnic and tribal groups considered the aboriginal population of India. They have a permanent habitants. Forest is home for many Indian tribes. It provides them with the basic needs like food, water, shelter etc. Therefore, we need to preserve our forest for a good environment and for the people who totally depend on nature for their livelihood.
 

Tribals extracted oil from the seed of sal to cook.

The correct option is Option B.
Mahua flowers, fruits and leaves are edible and used as vegetables in India and other Southern Asian countries. The sweet, fleshy flowers are eaten fresh or dried, powdered and cooked with flour, used as a sweetener or fermented to make alcohol (Fern, 2014). The fleshy outer coat of the fruit is used as a vegetable.
 

The baigas of central India were reluctant to do work for others because the baigas saw themselves as people of the forest ,who could only live on the produced of the forest .It was below the dignity of a baiga to become a labourer

The Khonds were a community who lived in the forests of Orissa. They saw forests as essential for survival. They regularly went out on collective hunts and then divided the men amongst themselves. They ate fruits and roots collected from the forest and cooked food with the oil they extracted from seeds of the sal and mahua. They used many forest shrubs and herbs for medicinal purposes, and sold forest produce, and sold forest produce in the local markets. The local weavers and leather workers turned to the Khonds when they needed supplies of kudum and palash flowers to colour their clothes and leather.

The Van Gujjars are a transhumance tribe of pastoralists belonging to the Himalayas. Their livelihood and subsistence depends primarily on their cattle. During summer they walk upto and beyond 12,500 ft in the mountains and trek down at the onset of winter.

Agriculture, animal husbandry and trade are the main occupations of these tribes. Generally, Gaddi people used to go to the tough areas with their sheep and goats, called Dhan.

• Bakarwals of Kashmir: The Bakarwals are a nomadic tribe in Jammu and Kashmir known for their traditional way of life as livestock herders.


• What they rear: The Bakarwals rear a variety of livestock, including goats, sheep, and sometimes even horses.


• Primary livestock: While they may rear different types of animals, goats are the primary livestock reared by the Bakarwals.


• Importance of goats: Goats are well-suited to the mountainous terrain of Kashmir and provide the Bakarwals with milk, meat, and other essential products.


• Other livestock: Although goats are the main focus, Bakarwals may also rear cattle, bullocks, and horses for various purposes.

Therefore, the Bakarwals of Kashmir rear a variety of livestock, with goats being the primary focus of their herding activities.

The Van Gujjars of the Punjab hills and the Labadis of Andhra Pradesh were cattle herders, the Gaddis of Kulu were shepherds, and the Bakarwals of Kashmir reared goats.

Tribals took loans from the moneylenders to meet their cash requirements. But these moneylenders charged high interest rate on these loans leading to debt and poverty of the tribal. Thus, the tribals considered the moneylenders as the cause of their misery.