Class 8 History Chapter 1 Question Answers - Our Pasts III (Part - I)

Q1: Why British allowed Jhum cultivation in the reserved forests?
Ans: British allow them to cultivate land on the condition that those who lived in the villages would have to provide labour to the Forest Department and look after the forests.

Q2: What problems did Birsa set out to resolve?
Ans: Problems Birsa set out to resolve were:

• Their familiar ways of life seemed to be disappearing.
• Their livelihoods were under threat.
• Their religion appeared to be in danger.

Q3: State the five tribes found in India. Write the name of the Indian state where maximum tribes are found.
Ans: The Van Gujjars of the Punjab hills, the Labadis of Andhra Pradesh, the Gaddis of Kulu, the Bakarwals of Kashmir and Santhals of Hazaribagh, in present-day Jharkhand.

Q4: What accounts for the anger of the tribals against the dikus?
Ans: The following facts account for their anger against the dilkus.

• The land policies of the British were destroying their traditional land system.
• Hindu landlords and moneylenders were taking over their land.
• Missionaries were criticising their traditional culture.

Q5: How was the Birsa movement significant?
Ans: The movement was significant in at least two ways.

• it forced the colonial government to introduce laws so that the land of the tribals could not be easily 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.

Q6: Who was Birsa Munda?
Ans: Birsa was born in the mid-1870s. The son of a poor father, he grew up around the forests of Bohonda, grazing sheep, playing the flute, and dancing in the local akhara.

Q7: Which tribal group was reluctant to work for others and why?
Ans: Baigas of central India – were reluctant to do work for others. The Baigas saw themselves as people of the forest, who could only live on the produce of the forest. It was below the dignity of a Baiga to become a labourer.

Q8: Why did the British want tribal groups to settle down and become peasant cultivators?
Ans: British wanted tribal groups to settle down and become peasant cultivators because settled peasants were easier to control and administer than people who were always on the move.

Q9: How did British officials see settled tribal groups and those who lived in the forest?
Ans: British officials saw settled tribal groups like the Gonds and Santhals as more civilised than hunter gatherers or shifting cultivators. Those who lived in the forests were considered to be wild and savage: they needed to be settled and civilised.

Q10: Mention different types of activities where tribal people were involved?
Ans: Tribal people in different parts of India were involved in a variety of activities.

• Some were jhum cultivators.
• Some were hunters and gatherers.
• Some herded animals.
• Some took to settled cultivation.