Class 9 History Chapter 1 Question Answers - India and the Contemporary World - 1

Q1: Give a brief assessment of the Gaddi shepherds of Himachal Pradesh.

Describe the cycle of seasonal movement of the Gaddi shepherds of Himachal Pradesh.
Ans:

• The Gaddi shepherds of Himachal Pradesh spent their winter in the low hills of Siwalik range, grazing their flocks in scrub forests. By April they moved north and spent the summer in Lahul and Spiti.
• When the snow melted and the high passes are clear, many of them moved on to higher mountain meadows. By September they began their return movement.
•  On the way they stopped once again in the villages of Lahul and Spiti, reaping their summer harvest and sowing their winter crop. Then they descended with their flock to their winter grazing ground on the Siwalik hills. Next April, once again, they began their march to the summer meadow.

Q2: What did the Dhangar shepherds do after they reached the Konkan?
Ans:

• Konkan was a flourishing agricultural tract with high rainfall and rich soil. When the Dhangar shepherds reached there, they were welcomed by Konkani peasants. After the Kharif harvest was cut the fields had to be fertilised and made ready for the rabi harvest. Dhangar flocks manured the fields and fed on the stubble.
• The Konkani peasants also gave supplies of rice which the shepherds took back to the plateau where grain was scarce. With the onset of the monsoon the Dhangars left the Konkan and the coastal areas with their flocks and returned to their settlements on the dry plateau because the sheep could not tolerate the wet monsoon conditions.

Q3: What are Gujjar mandaps? Mention some of their features.
Ans:

• Gujjar mandaps are actually huts in which the Gujjar cattle herders live. These mandaps are located on the high mountains in central Garhwal.
• They are made up of bamboo and grass and are at about 10,000 to 11,000 feet as buffaloes cannot climb any higher.
• The mandap is also a work place for the herders. Here the Gujjars make ghee for sale.

Q4: What do you know about the movement of the pastoralists living in the plateaus?
Ans:

• Unlike the mountain pastoralists, it was not the cold and the snow that defined the seasonal rhythms of the plateau pastoralists; rather it was the alternation of the monsoon and dry season.
• In the dry season they moved to the coastal tracts, and left when the rains came.
• Only buffaloes liked the swampy, wet conditions of the coastal areas during the monsoon months other herds had to be shifted to the dry plateau at this time.

Q5: Write about banjaras in short.
Ans:

• Banjaras were well known group of graziers. They were to be found in the villages of Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra.
• In search of good pasture land for their cattle, they moved over long distances, selling plough cattle and other goods to villagers in exchange for grain and fodder.

Q6: Give a brief description of the Raikas and their activities.

Describe the movement of the Raikas living in the deserts of Rajasthan.
Ans:

• Raikas lived in the deserts of Rajasthan. Since the rainfall in the region was poor and uncertain, harvests fluctuated on cultivated land every year. So the Raikas combined cultivation with pastoralism.
• During the monsoons, the Raikas of Barmer, Jaisalmer, Jodhpur and Bikaner stayed in their home villages, where pasture was available.
• By October, when these grazing grounds were dry and exhausted, they moved out in search of other pasture and water, and returned again during the next monsoon.

Q7: How do pastoralist communities in India continue to survive in spite of all odds?
Ans:

• In spite of all odds pastoralists not only continue to survive, in many regions their numbers have expanded over recent years.
• When pasturelands in one place was closed to them, they changed the direction of their movement and reduced the size of the herd.
• They also combined pastoral activity with other forms of income and adapted to the changes in the modern world. Many ecologists believe that pastoralism is ecologically the most viable form of life.

Q8: Name the pastoral communities that live in Africa. Mention different activities they are involved in for their livelihood.
Ans:

Over half of the world’s pastoral population lives in Africa. They include communities like Bedouins, Berbers, Maasai, Somali, Boran and Turkana. Most of them now live in the semi-arid grasslands or arid deserts where rainfed agriculture is difficult. They are involved in various pastoral activities for their livelihood

• They raise cattle, camels, goats, sheep and donkeys; and they sell milk, meat, animal skin and wool.
• Some also earn through trade and transport, others combine pastoral activity with agriculture.
• Still others do a variety of odd jobs to supplement their meagre and uncertain earnings from pastoralism.

Q9: What were the social changes that occurred in the Maasai pastoral community?
Ans:
The social changes in Maasai society occurred at two levels

• First, the traditional difference based on age, between the elders and warriors, was disturbed, though it did not break down entirely.
• Second, a new distinction between the wealthy and poor pastoralists developed. So we see that pastoral communities in different parts of the world are affected in a variety of different ways by changes in the modern world.

Q10: Describe how drought affects the life of pastoralists?

What happened to the cattle when the Maasai were bound down to a fixed area?
Ans:

• Drought affects the life of pastoralists everywhere. When rains fail, pastures go dry. In such a situation, cattle are likely to starve unless they can be moved to areas where forage is available. But from the colonial period, the Maasai were bound down to a fixed area. They were not allowed to move in search of pastures.
• They were cut-off from the best grazing lands and forced to live within a semi-arid tract prove to frequent droughts. Since they could not shift their cattle to places where pastures were available, large numbers of Maasai cattle died of starvation and disease in these years of droughts. In just two years of severe drought, 1933 and 1934, over half the cattle in the Maasai Reserve died.

Q11: How did the poor pastoralists in Africa adapt themselves to tide over the bad times?
Ans:
The life of the poor pastoralists in Africa became miserable. They depended mainly on their livestock. Most often they did not have the resources to tide over bad times. In times of war and famine, they lost nearly everything. They had to go looking for work in the towns. Some earned a living as charcoal burners, others did odd jobs. There were a few lucky who could get more regular work in road or building construction.

Q12: Name all the pastoral communities in India. Also mention where they lived.
Ans:
There were seven pastoral communities living in India

• The Gujjar Bakarwals of Jammu and Kashmir.
• The Gaddi shepherds of Himachal Pradesh.
• The Gujjar cattle herders of Garhwal and Kumaon.
• The Dhangar pastoral community in the central plateau of Maharashtra.
• The Gollas, Kurumas and Kurubas in the dry central plateau of Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh.
• The Banjaras in the villages of Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and
• Maharashtra.
• The Raikas in the deserts of Rajasthan.

Q13: Describe the cycle of seasonal movement of the Gujjar Bakarwals of Jammu and Kashmir.
Ans:

• The Gujjar Bakarwals of Jammu and Kashmir were mountain pastoralists. So, the seasonal rhythms of their movement were defined by the cold and the snow of the mountains.
• They moved annually between their summer and winter grazing grounds. In winter, when the high mountains were covered with snow, they lived with their herds in the low hills of the Siwalik range. The dry scrub forests here provided pasture for their herds.
• By the end of April they began their northern march for their summer grazing grounds. They crossed the Pir Panjal passes and entered the valley of Kashmir.
• With the onset of summer, the snow melted and the mountainsides were lush green that provided rich nutritious forage for the animal herds.
• By the end of September, the Bakarwals were on the move again, this time on their downward journey, back to their winter base.

Q14: Who were Dhangars? Give a brief assessment of their movement.
Ans:

• Dhangars were an important pastoral community of Maharashtra. Most of them were shepherds, some were blanket weavers, and still others were buffalo herders. The Dhangar shepherds stayed in the central plateau of Maharashtra during the monsoon. This was a semi-arid region with low rainfall and poor soil.
• It was covered with thorny scrub. Only dry crops like bajra could be sown here. In the monsoon this tract became a vast grazing ground for the Dhangar flocks. By October the Dhangars harvested their bajra and moved to the Konkan.
• The Konkan was a flourishing agricultural tract with high rainfall and rich soil. Here the shepherds with the help of the Konkani peasants made the fields ready for the rabi harvest. They manured the fields and fed on the stubble. The Konkani peasants also gave supplies of rice which the shepherds took back to the plateau where grain was scarce.
• With the onset of the monsoon the Dhangars left the Konkan and the coastal areas with their flocks and returned to their settlements on the dry plateau because the sheep could not bear the wet monsoon conditions.

Q15: How did the laws enforced by the colonial government affect the lives of the pastoralists? (Imp)
Ans:

• The laws brought a lot of hardships to the pastoral communities in India. The colonial government took over their grazing lands and converted them into cultivated fields. As a result, the available area of pastureland declined.
• The reservation of forests added to their miseries.
• Now they could no longer freely pasture their cattle in the forests. As pasture lands disappeared under the plough, the existing animal stock had to feed on whatever grazing land remained. This led to continuous intensive grazing of these pastures as a result of which their quality declined over time.
• This created a further shortage of forage for animals and the deterioration of animal stock. Underfed cattle died in large numbers during scarcities and famines.
• In such a situation it was difficult to survive. So, many pastoralists adopted other means to earn their livelihood. Some became settled peasants cultivating lands, others took to more extensive trade. Those who were very poor, became labourers.

Q16: From the late nineteenth century, the colonial government began imposing various restrictions on the mobility of the Maasai and other pastoral groups of Africa. Describe how all these restrictions affected their lives.
Ans:

• The colonial government in Africa never liked the mobility of the pastoral groups. So, it imposed several restrictions on them:
• They were forced to live within the confines of special reserves. The boundaries of these reserves became the limits within which they could now move.
• They were not allowed to move out with their stock without special permits. And it was difficult to get permits without trouble and harassment. Those found guilty of disobeying the rules were severely punished.
• Pastoralists were not allowed to enter the markets in white areas. In many regions, they were prohibited from participating in any form of trade. White settlers and European colonists saw them as dangerous and savage.
• The new territorial boundaries and restrictions imposed on pastoralists suddenly changed their lives. This adversely affected both their pastoral and trading activities.
• Earlier they traded in various products along with rearing of animal herds but now under colonial rule they faced various restrictions.