Case Study Based Questions: Tribals, Dikus & the Vision of a Golden Age | Social Studies (SST) Class 8 PDF Download

Case Study 1

In 1895, a man named Birsa was seen roaming the forests and villages of Chottanagpur in Jharkhand. 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). Soon thousands began following Birsa, believing that he was bhagwan (God) and had come to solve all their problems. Birsa was born in a family of Mundas – a tribal group that lived in Chottanagpur. But his followers included other tribals of the region – Santhals and Oraons. All of them in different ways were unhappy with the changes they were experiencing and the problems they were facing under British rule. Their familiar ways of life seemed to be disappearing, their livelihoods were under threat, and their religion appeared to be in danger.

Question and Answer: 1 Mark (Fill in the Blanks)

Q1: Birsa was born in a family of ___________
Ans: Birsa was born in a family of _Mundas._

Q2: In ______, a man named Birsa was seen roaming the forests and villages of Chottanagpur in Jharkhand.
Ans: In 1895, a man named Birsa was seen roaming the forests and villages of Chottanagpur in Jharkhand.

Question and Answer: 2 Mark 

Q1:Where did Birsa live in? And write about his followers.
Ans: Birsa lived in Chottanagpur. But his followers included other tribals of the region – Santhals and Oraons.

Q2: Why did people begin to follow Birsa?
Ans: 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. So that people began to follow Birsa.

Case Study 2

Some of them practiced jhum cultivation that is, shifting cultivation. This was done on small patches of land, mostly in forests. The cultivators cut the treetops to allow sunlight to reach the ground, and burnt the vegetation on the land to clear it for cultivation. They spread the ash from the firing, which contained potash, to fertilise the soil. They used the axe to cut trees and the hoe to scratch the soil in order to prepare it for cultivation. They 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. A field that had been cultivated once was left fallow for several years, Shifting cultivators were found in the hilly and forested tracts of north-east and central India. The lives of these tribal people depended on free movement within forests and on being able to use the land and forests for growing their crops. That is the only way they could practise shifting cultivation. Fallow – A field left uncultivated for a while so that the soil recovers fertility.

Sal – A tree.
Mahua – A flower that is eaten or used to make alcohol.
Dongria Kandha women in Orissa take home pandanus leaves from the forest to make plates.

Question and Answer: 1 Mark (Fill in the Blanks)

Q1: A flower that is eaten or used to make alcohol, is known as__________
Ans: A flower that is eaten or used to make alcohol, is known as _Mahua___

Q2: Dongria Kandha women in ________ take home pandanus leaves from the forest to make plates.
Ans: Dongria Kandha women in Orissa_ take home pandanus leaves from the forest to make plates.

Question and Answer: 2 Mark

Q1: Where shifting cultivation was done?
Ans: shifting cultivation was done on small patches of land, mostly in forests.

Q2: Where shifting cultivators were found in?
Ans: Shifting cultivators were found in the hilly and forested tracts of north-east and central India.

Case Study 3

Many tribal groups lived by herding and rearing animals. They were pastoralists who moved with their herds of cattle or sheep according to the seasons. When the grass in one place was exhausted, they moved to another area. 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. You will read more about them in your history book next year. Even before the nineteenth century, many from within the tribal groups had begun settling down, and cultivating their fields in one place year after year, instead of moving from place to place. They began to use the plough, and gradually got rights over the land they lived on. In many cases, like the Mundas of Chottanagpur, the land belonged to the clan as a whole. All members of the clan were regarded as descendants of the original settlers, who had first cleared the land. Therefore, all of them had rights on the land. Very often some people within the clan acquired more power than others, some became chiefs and others followers. Powerful men often rented out their land instead of cultivating it themselves. British officials saw settled tribal groups like the Gonds and Santhals as more civilised than huntergatherers or shifting cultivators. Those who lived in the forests were considered to be wild and savage: they needed to be settled and civilised.

Question and Answer: 1 Mark (Fill in the Blanks)

Q1: The Labadis of Andhra Pradesh were________
Ans: The Labadis of Andhra Pradesh were _cattle herders_

Q2: The Bakarwals of ________ reared goats.
Ans: The Bakarwals of_Kashmir_ reared goats.

Question and Answer: 2 Mark

Q1: What do you mean by the term ‘Bewar’?
Ans: A term used in Madhya Pradesh for shifting cultivation.

Q2: What powerful men often did with their land?
Ans: Powerful men often rented out their land instead of cultivating it themselves.