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Forest Society and Colonialism MCQs for Class 9 Exam

It covers all Important Questions with answers on Forest Society and Colonialism for the Class 9 exam. The questions are based on important topics. Details about the questions:
  • Topic: Forest Society and Colonialism
  • Type of Questions: MCQs with solutions
  • Number of Questions: 50
  • You can attempt them on EduRev to score high in Class 9 exam.

According to the 1878 Amendment of Forest Act, ‘Protected Village’ referred to which of the following?
  • a)
    A forest where entry was prohibited
  • b)
    A forest which was protected by the forest department
  • c)
    A forest where wild animals were protected by the state
  • d)
    A forest from which villagers could collect firewood, fodder, leaves, etc. for their use
Correct answer is option 'D'. Can you explain this answer?

Ananya Das answered
The 1878 Act divided forests into three categories: reserved, protected and village forests. The best forests were called 'reserved forests'. Villagers could not take anything from these forests, even for their own use. For house building or fuel, they could take wood from protected or village forests.

A forest in which people were allowed to stay on condition of free service was known as
  • a)
    protected forests
  • b)
    village forests
  • c)
    forest village
  • d)
    wild forest
Correct answer is option 'C'. Can you explain this answer?

Sahil Gupta answered
Understanding Forest Villages
Forest villages are specific areas within a forest where people are permitted to reside, but with certain conditions. The concept revolves around the sustainable management of forest resources while ensuring the livelihoods of local communities.
Key Features of Forest Villages:
- Conditional Residency: People can live in forest villages only if they provide free service to the forest. This could involve activities such as protecting the forest, participating in conservation efforts, or managing resources sustainably.
- Resource Management: The presence of human communities helps in the stewardship of forest resources. Residents often engage in practices that promote biodiversity and prevent over-exploitation.
- Community Involvement: Forest villages foster a sense of community responsibility towards the environment. Local inhabitants typically have a vested interest in maintaining the health of the forest, leading to collaborative efforts in conservation.
- Economic Benefits: While residents are required to provide service, they may also benefit from resources available in the forest. This includes access to timber, medicinal plants, and other forest products that can support their livelihoods.
- Legal Framework: The establishment of forest villages is often supported by legal frameworks that recognize the rights of local communities while ensuring the protection of forest ecosystems.
In contrast to other types of forests, such as protected forests or wild forests, forest villages specifically integrate human habitation with ecological stewardship, highlighting the balance between human needs and environmental conservation.

Which of the following species of trees were suited for building ships and railways? 
  • a)
    Sal and Semur
  • b)
    Teak and Mahogany
  • c)
    Rosewood and Sal
  • d)
    Teak and Sal
Correct answer is option 'D'. Can you explain this answer?

Indu Gupta answered
(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.

Which of the following is not a feature of shifting cultivation? 
  • a)
    Parts of the forest are cut and burnt in rotation
  • b)
    Seeds are sown in the ashes
  • c)
    Plots cleared are cultivated for a few years and then left follow
  • d)
    Single crop is grown on these plots
Correct answer is option 'D'. Can you explain this answer?

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.

What was not a factor in discouragement of shifting agriculture? 
  • a)
    Land so used could not grow timber
  • b)
    It made it harder for government to calculate taxes
  • c)
    Many local communities were displaced
  • d)
    There was danger of flames spreading
Correct answer is option 'C'. Can you explain this answer?

Mohit Rajpoot answered
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.

Which of the following trees were promoted for building ships or railways? 
  • a)
    Firs and Pines
  • b)
    Bushes and creepers
  • c)
    Teak and Sal
  • d)
    Shisham and Acacia
Correct answer is option 'C'. Can you explain this answer?

Let's Tute answered
(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.

Which of the following was the reason for forests disappearing near railway tracks ? 
  • a)
    Wood was used to make railway sleepers
  • b)
    'Scorched earth' policy of imperial troops
  • c)
    Indiscriminate exploitation by tribals
  • d)
    Indiscriminate cutting of trees by contractors
Correct answer is option 'D'. Can you explain this answer?

Gaurav Kumar answered
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.

Local name for Swidden Agriculture in India :
  • a)
    Milpa
  • b)
    Lading
  • c)
    Kumri
  • d)
    Chena
Correct answer is option 'C'. Can you explain this answer?

Khusboo gupta answered
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.

Which of the following is not associated with swidden agriculture?
  • a)
    Karacha
  • b)
    Jhum
  • c)
    Bewar
  • d)
    Penda
Correct answer is option 'A'. Can you explain this answer?

Arun Sharma answered
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.

Which of the following was true under colonial rule ? 
  • a)
    Forest people retained customary right of hunt
  • b)
    Scale of hunting decreased
  • c)
    Scale of hunting increased
  • d)
    Killing of large animals was discouraged
Correct answer is option 'C'. Can you explain this answer?

Arvi Choudhary answered
Yes it will be correct because in colonial period profile were not allowed to go inside the forest...then how they complete their melees without forest ...so for their survival and growth they kill animals .. ..

Colonial rulers considered forests as wilderness and unproductive because:
  • a)
    the forests are not fit for habitation
  • b)
    forests only have wild-grown trees
  • c)
    forests did not yield revenue to enhance the income of the state
  • d)
    forests are full of wild animals
Correct answer is option 'C'. Can you explain this answer?

Amit Sharma answered
The colonial rulers considered forests as unproductive because: They considered cultivated lands as sign of progress and not nature in its natural self. They thought that the use of forests by local people and the reckless felling of trees by traders would destroy forest.

Colonial rulers considered forests as unproductive because :
  • a)
    The forests were not fit for habitation
  • b)
    Forests had wild grown trees only
  • c)
    Forests did not yield revenue to enhance income of the state
  • d)
    Forests were full of wild animals
Correct answer is option 'C'. Can you explain this answer?

 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.
 

Forests were categorized by the Forest Act of ?
  • a)
    1865
  • b)
    1906
  • c)
    1927
  • d)
    1878
Correct answer is option 'D'. Can you explain this answer?

In 1878 forests were classified into 3 groups.
.........
1.Reserved forest =in this forest no one is allowed to inside it... because it is rich in minerals...
2.Protected forest=in this forest people were allowed to go inside forest but with the permission of british authority...they were allowed to go inside the forest due to collect firewood..

3.Village forest =at this place they were live...

Which of the following was not a feature of blandongdiensten system ? 
  • a)
    Rent exemption
  • b)
    Free labour and buffaloes for cutting forests
  • c)
    Right to cultivate forest land
  • d)
    Free labour for transportation
Correct answer is option 'C'. Can you explain this answer?

Ishaani mehta answered
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.

In England, Oak forests were used for ?
  • a)
    Building ships
  • b)
    Carpentry
  • c)
    Building railway tracks
  • d)
    Constructing houses
Correct answer is option 'A'. Can you explain this answer?

Amit Sharma answered
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.

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