Tribals, Dikus & the Vision of a Golden Age Summary Class 8 NCERT Summary Chapter 1

How Did Tribal Groups Live?

By the nineteenth century, tribal people in different parts of India were involved in a variety of activities.

Some were jhum cultivators

• Some practised jhum cultivation, which is a type of shifting cultivation done on small patches of land, mainly in forests.
• They cut down tree tops to let sunlight reach the ground and burnt vegetation to clear the land for farming.
• They spread the ash from the burnt plants, which had potash, to enrich the soil.
• Seeds were scattered on the field rather than ploughing the land.
• After harvesting from one field, they moved to another and left the previous one to rest for several years.
• These cultivators were mostly found in the hilly and forested areas of north-east and central India.
• They viewed forests as vital for their survival.

Some were hunters and gatherers

• In many areas, tribal groups survived by hunting animals and gathering forest products. The Khonds were one such community in the forests of Orissa.
• They often went on group hunts and shared the meat among themselves.
• They collected fruits and roots from the forest and cooked with oil extracted from sal and mahua seeds.
• They used various forest plants and herbs for medicine and sold forest products in local markets.
• At times, they exchanged goods to obtain necessary items.
• Some took on odd jobs in villages, like carrying loads or building roads, while others worked on farms.
• Tribal groups often needed to trade to get goods not produced locally, relying on traders and moneylenders.
• Traders sold goods at high prices, while moneylenders provided loans but often charged high interest.
• This led to debt and poverty for many tribals, causing them to see traders and moneylenders as outsiders who brought them hardship.

Some herded animals

• Many tribal groups survived by herding and raising animals. They were pastoralists who moved with their herds of cattle or sheep based on the seasons.
• When the grass in one area ran out, they would relocate to another.
• The Van Gujjars in the Punjab hills and the Labadis in Andhra Pradesh were cattle herders, while the Gaddis of Kulu were shepherds and the Bakarwals of Kashmir raised goats.

Some Took to Settled Cultivation

• Before the nineteenth century, many people from tribal groups started to settle and cultivate their fields in one spot each year, rather than moving around.
• They began using the plough and gradually gained rights over the land they occupied.
• In many instances, such as with the Mundas of Chottanagpur, the land was owned collectively by the clan. All clan members were seen as descendants of the first settlers who cleared the land, giving them rights to it.
• Often, certain individuals within the clan became more powerful than others; some became chiefs, while others remained followers. Powerful individuals frequently rented out their land instead of farming it themselves.
• British officials viewed settled tribal groups like the Gonds and Santhals as more civilised than hunter-gatherers or shifting cultivators. Those living in forests were seen as wild and in need of being settled and civilised.

How Did Colonial Rule Affect Tribal Lives?

What happened to tribal chiefs?

• Before the British arrived, tribal chiefs were significant figures. They held economic power and managed their territories, often having their own police and setting local land and forest rules.
• Under British rule, the role of tribal chiefs changed greatly. They retained land titles over several villages and could rent out lands, but they lost most of their administrative authority and had to follow laws imposed by British officials in India. They also had to maintain order among the tribal groups for the British.

What happened to the shifting cultivators?

• The British were uneasy with groups that were mobile and lacked a permanent home. They aimed to make tribal groups settle down as peasant farmers, as settled peasants were simpler to manage.
• To ensure a steady income for the state, the British introduced land settlements, which involved measuring land, defining individual rights to it, and setting revenue demands.
• Some peasants were designated as landowners, while others became tenants.
• The British attempts to settle jhum cultivators were largely unsuccessful. Those who switched to plough cultivation often faced poor yields.
• Due to widespread protests, the British eventually had to permit them to continue shifting cultivation in certain forest areas.
• Some forests were designated as Reserved Forests because they produced timber that the British required.

Forest laws and their impact

• The life of tribal groups was closely linked to the forest, so changes in forest laws greatly affected them.
• The British took control of the forests, declaring them as state property.
• Some forests were designated as Reserved Forests for timber production, which the British wanted.
• In these Reserved Forests, people were restricted from moving freely, practising jhum cultivation, gathering fruits, or hunting.
• This situation forced many jhum cultivators to find work elsewhere.
• Once the British prohibited tribal people from living in the forests, they faced a challenge: how to get workers for logging?
• Colonial officials suggested a solution: they offered jhum cultivators small plots of land in the forests, allowing them to farm in exchange for providing labour to the Forest Department.
• Many regions saw the establishment of forest villages to ensure a steady supply of cheap labour.
• Tribal groups resisted the colonial forest laws, breaking the new regulations and sometimes rebelling.
• Throughout the 19th and 20th centuries, tribal groups opposed changes in laws, restrictions on their practices, new taxes, and exploitation by traders and moneylenders.
• Examples include the revolt of Songram Sangma in 1906 in Assam and the forest satyagraha of the 1930s in the Central Provinces.

The problem with trade

• In the 19th century, tribal groups noticed an increase in traders and money-lenders in the forests, seeking to buy forest produce, offering cash loans, and hiring them for work.
• It took time for the tribal groups to grasp the implications of these changes.
• For instance, silk growers were affected by Indian traders who sent agents to provide loans and collect cocoons.
• These cocoons were exported to Gaya, where they sold for five times the price, leaving the middlemen with huge profits while the silk growers earned very little.

The search for work

• Tribal people seeking work far from home faced worsening conditions.
• From the late 19th century, tea plantations and mining became major industries.
• Many tribals were employed in large numbers at the tea plantations in Assam and coal mines in Jharkhand.
• They were recruited through contractors who paid them very low wages and often did not allow them to return home.

A Closer Look

• Throughout the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, various tribal groups across the country resisted changes in laws, restrictions on their customs, new taxes, and exploitation by traders and moneylenders.
• The Kols revolted in 1831-32.
• Santhals rebelled in 1855.
• The Bastar Rebellion in central India occurred in 1910.
• The Warli Revolt in Maharashtra took place in 1940.
• Birsa's movement was one such uprising.

Birsa Munda

• Birsa was born into a Munda family, a tribal group from Chottanagpur. The exact year of his birth is unknown.
• He was the son of a poor father and grew up in the Bohonda forests, tending sheep, playing the flute, and dancing in the local akhara.
• Birsa's followers included other local tribals, such as Santhals and Oraons.
• His movement sought to remove missionaries, moneylenders, Hindu landlords, and the government, establishing a Munda Raj with Birsa as the leader.
• He encouraged the Mundas to stop drinking alcohol, clean their villages, and abandon beliefs in witchcraft and sorcery.
• In 1895, Birsa called on his followers to restore their proud heritage when Mundas lived well, built embankments, accessed natural springs, planted trees, and farmed for a living.
• Birsa claimed that God had chosen him to rescue his people from suffering and liberate them from the control of dikus (outsiders).
• As the movement gained momentum, British officials responded.
  • They arrested Birsa in 1895, charged him with rioting, and imprisoned him for two years.
• After his release in 1897, Birsa began visiting villages to gather support.
• His followers attacked police stations, churches, and the property of moneylenders and zamindars.
• They raised a white flag to represent Birsa Raj.
• In 1900, Birsa died of cholera, and the movement gradually diminished.
• The significance of Birsa's movement includes:
  • It compelled the colonial government to enact laws preventing the easy seizure of tribal lands by dikus (outsiders, like moneylenders and traders).
  • It demonstrated that tribal people could resist injustice and voice their anger against colonial oppression.