Class 9 History Chapter 4 Question Answers - Forest Society and Colonialism

Q1: What is tannin used for?
Ans: Tannin is used to convert skins and hides into leather.

Q2: Mention the period of industrialisation.
Ans: The period of industrialisation falls between 1700 and 1995.

Q3: Mention various reasons that caused forest depletion between 1700 and 1995.
Ans: These reasons are—industrial uses, cultivation, pastures, and fuelwood.

Q4: What was the main feature of deforestation during the colonial period?
Ans: During the colonial period, deforestation was more systematic and extensive.

Q5: What did the colonial state think about forests?
Ans: The colonial state thought that forests were unproductive.

Q6: Why were Adivasis hired by the forest department?
Ans: They were hired to cut trees and make smooth planks which would serve as sleepers for the railways.

Q7: Give two features of poplar forests.
Ans: Poplar forests are good mainly for timber. They are not used for leaves, fruits, or other products. These trees grow in straight lines and all have uniform height.

Q8: Who was made the first Inspector General of Forests in India?
Ans: Dietrich Brandis, a German expert, was made the first Inspector General of Forests in India.

Q9: When and where was the Imperial Forest Research Institute set up in India?
Ans: The Imperial Forest Research Institute was set up at Dehradun in 1906.

Q10: What was done in scientific forestry?
Ans: In scientific forestry, natural forests which had lots of different types of trees were cut down, and in their place, one type of trees was planted in straight rows.

Q11: The 1878 Act divided forests into three categories. Name them.
Ans: Reserved, protected, and village forests.

Q12: How were ‘reserved forests’ treated?
Ans: ‘Reserved forests’ were treated as the best forests. Villagers could not take anything from these forests, even for their own use.

Q13: Who are the main collectors of tendu leaves?
Ans: Women, children, and old men are the main collectors of tendu leaves.

Q14: What is shifting cultivation?
Ans: In shifting cultivation, parts of the forest are cut and burnt in rotation. Seeds are sown in the ashes after the first monsoon rains, and the crop is harvested by October-November. When the fertility of the land is over, the same practice is repeated at another location.

Q15: What was Taungya cultivation?
Ans: Taungya cultivation was a system in which local farmers were allowed to cultivate temporarily within a plantation.

Q16: How did the British see large animals?
Ans: The British saw large animals as signs of a wild, primitive, and savage society. They believed that by killing dangerous animals, the British would civilise India.

Q17: What is the belief of the people of Bastar? Why do they make offerings at each agricultural festival?
Ans: The people of Bastar believe that each village was given its land by the Earth, and in return, they look after the earth by making some offerings at each agricultural festival.

Q18: Give two uses of Mahua.
Ans: Mahua flowers are used to make alcohol. The seeds are used to make oil.

Q19: What is shifting cultivation also known as?
Ans: Shifting cultivation is also known as swidden agriculture.

Q20: What is shifting cultivation called in Southeast Asia and in Central America?
Ans: In Southeast Asia, it is called lading, and in Central America, it is called Milpa.

Q21: In India, there are many local terms for shifting agriculture. Name some of them.
Ans: Dhya, penda, bewar, nevad, jhum, podu, khandad, and kumri.

Q22: Name the colonial power in Indonesia.
Ans: The Dutch are the colonial power in Indonesia.

Q23: Who were the Kalangs of Java?
Ans: They were a community of skilled forest cutters and shifting cultivators.

Q24: What was known as the blanding diensten system?
Ans: The Dutch first imposed rents on land being cultivated in the forest and then exempted some villages from these rents if they worked collectively to provide free labour and buffaloes for cutting and transporting timber. This was known as the blanding diensten system.

Q25: Name the islands where most of Indonesia’s forests are located.
Ans: Sumatra, Kalimantan, and West Irian.