Class 8 Social-Science Chapter 4 HOTS Questions - Tribals, Dikus and the Vision of a Golden Age

Q1: What did the Khond community of Orrisa do to earn living?
Ans: The Khond community of Orissa lived by hunting and gathering forest produce. Forests were essential for them. They regularly went out on collective hunts and then divided the meat amongst themselves. They ate fruits and roots collected from the forest and cooked food with the out they extracted from the seeds of the sal and mahua. They used many forest shrubs and herbs for medicinal purposes, and sold forest produce in the local markets.

Q2: How did the British officials view settled tribal groups and those who moved about from place to place?
Ans: The British officials saw settled tribal groups such as the Gonds and Santhals as more civilised than hunter-gatherers or shifting cultivators. These tribal groups lived in the forests and kept on moving. They did not have a fixed home. The British considered them wild and savage and therefore they needed to be settled and civilised.

Q3: Why was the British effort to settle jhum cultivators not very successful?
Ans: 

• It is usually difficult to carry on settled plough cultivation in areas where water is scarce and the soil is dry.
• Jhum cultivators who took to plough cultivation often suffered since their fields did not prdfcluce good yields. Hence, the jhum cultivators in north-east India insisted on continuing with their traditional practice.
• The British faced widespread protests. Therefore, they allowed them to carry on shifting cultivation in some parts of the forest.

Q4: How did traders and moneylenders exploit the tribal people?
Ans: Tribal groups often needed to buy and sell in order to be able to get the goods that were not produced within the locality. This led to their dependence on traders and moneylenders. Traders came around with things for sale. They sold the goods at high prices. Moneylenders used to give loans with which the tribals met their cash needs, adding to what they earned. But the interest charged on the loans was very high. Thus, both traders and moneylenders always exploited the tribal people. It is therefore the tribals- saw them as evil outsiders and the cause of their misery. 

Q5: Describe land settlements introduced by the British. 
Ans: The British introduced land settlements to ensure a regular revenue source for the state. Under these settlements: 

• The British measured the land, defined the rights of each individual to that land, and fixed the revenue demand for the state. 
• Some peasants were declared landowners, others tenants. The tenants were to pay rent to the landowner who in turn paid revenue to the state.

Q6: How did Birsa resume his movement after his release in 1897?
Ans: Birsa was released in 1897. Now he began touring the villages to gather support. He used traditional symbols and language to rouse people, urging them to destroy dikus and the Europeans and establish a kingdom under his leadership. Birsa’s followers began targetting the symbols of dikus and European power. They attacked police stations and churches and raided the property of moneylenders and zamindars. They raised the white flag as a symbol of Birsa Raj. 

Q7: In what ways was the Birsa movement significant?
Ans: The Birsa movement was significant in two ways: 

• It forced the colonial government to introduce laws so that the land of the tribals could not easily be taken over by dikus. 
• It showed once again that the tribal people had the capacity to protest against injustice and express their anger against colonial rule. They did this in their own specific way, inventing their own rituals and symbols of struggle. 

Q8: What problem did the British face after they brought changes in forest laws? How did they solve this problem?
Ans: The British stopped the tribal people from living inside forests by introducing some changes in forest laws. This created a problem. They lost labour force because most of the jhum cultivators moved to other areas in search of work. Colonial officials solved the problem of labour's shortage by giving jhum cultivators small patches of land in the forests and allowing them to cultivate these on the condition that these who lived in villages would have to provide labour to the Forest Department and look after the forests. The Forest Department established forest villages in many regions to ensure a regular supply of cheap labour.

Q10: Give a detailed description of Birsa's life and work?
Ans: 

• Birsa was bom in the mid-1870s in a family of Mundas, a tribal group that lived in Chottanagpur. He grew up around the forests of Bohanda, grazing sheep, playing flute and dancing in the local akharas. 
• As an adolescent Birsa heard tales of the Munda uprisings of the past and saw sirdars (leaders) of the community urging the people to revolt. 
• Birsa took great interest in the sermons of missionaries because they inspired the Mundas to attain their lost rights. He also enjoyed the company of a prominent Vaishnav preacher. He wore the sacred thread and began to value the importance of purity and piety.
• He decided to reform tribal society. He urged the Mundas to give up all their bad practices like drinking liquor, etc. Here, it is worth-mentioning that Birsa also turned against missionaries and Hindu landlords. 
• He urged his followers to restore their glorious past. He talked of a golden age in the past—when Mundas lived a very good life. They did not kill their brethren and relatives. Birsa wanted to see these qualities again in the tribal society. 
• The British officials got terrified to visualise the political aims of Birsa Munda. As the movement spread, the government arrested him in 1895, convicted him on the charges of rioting. He was also jailed him for two years. 
• After Birsa was released in 1897, he began to tour the villages to gather support. He urged his supporters to destroy dikus and the Europeans. In 1900, he died of cholera and the movement faded out. But it proved significant in the long run.

Q11: How did different tribal groups live? Describe in brief.
Ans: Tribal people were involved in many different types of activities:

• Some tribal people practised jhum cultivation also known as shifting 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 soiir They used equipments like axe 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. 
• Some tribal groups were engaged in hunting animals and gathering forest produce, hence known as “hunter-gatherers’. They saw forests as essential for survival. The Khonds were such a community living in the forests of Orissa. They regularly went out on collective hunts and then divided the meat amongst themselves. They ate fruits and roots and cooked food with the oil they extracted from the seeds of the sal and mahua. They got rice and other grains in return for their valuable forest produce. Sometimes they did odd jobs in the villages like carrying loads, etc. 
• Some tribal groups lived by herding and rearing animals. They were pastoralists who moved with their herds of cattle or sheep according to the seasons. For examples, the Vicm Gujjars of Punjab hills, and the Labadis of Andhra Pradesh were cattle herders, the Gaddis of Kulu were shepherds and the Bakarwals of Kashmir reared goats. 
• Some tribal community took to settled cultivation. They cultivated 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.