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

Q1: What were the main activities of the Khonds living in the forest of Orissa?
Ans: The Khonds were a community living in the forests of Orissa. They were basically hunters and gatherers. 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 oil 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: Enlist three features of tribal people.
Ans: Three features of tribal people were:

• Most tribes had customs and rituals that were very different from those laid down by Brahmans.
• These societies also did not have the sharp social divisions that were characteristic of caste societies.
• All those who belonged to the same tribe thought of themselves as sharing common ties of kinship.

Q3: What was the problem faced by the silk growers (Santhals) of Jharkhand during the nineteenth century?
Ans: Hazaribagh, in present-day Jharkhand, was an area where the Santhals reared cocoons. The traders dealing in silk sent in their agents who gave loans to the tribal people and collected the cocoons. The growers were paid Rs 3 to Rs 4 for a thousand cocoons. These were then exported to Burdwan or Gaya where they were sold at five times the price. The middlemen – so called because they arranged deals between the exporters and silk growers – made huge profits. The silk growers earned very little.

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, and sold the goods at high prices. Moneylenders gave loans with which the tribals met their cash needs, adding to what they earned. But the interest charged on the loans was usually very high. So for the tribals, market and commerce often meant debt and poverty. They therefore came to see the moneylender and trader as evil outsiders and the cause of their misery.

Q5: Elaborate upon the shifting cultivation method.
Ans: This was done on small patches of land, mostly in forests. The cultivators cut the treetops to allow sunlight to reach the ground, and burnt the vegetation on the land to clear it for cultivation. They spread the ash from the firing, which contained potash, to fertilise the soil. They used the axe to cut trees and the hoe to scratch the soil in order to prepare it for cultivation. They broadcast the seeds, that is, scattered the seeds on the field instead of ploughing the land and sowing the seeds. Once the crop was ready and harvested, they moved to another field. A field that had been cultivated once was left fallow for several years.

Q6: What was Birsa’s vision of a golden age? Why do you think such a vision appealed to the people of the region?
Ans: Birsa was deeply influenced by many of the ideas he came in touch with in his growing-up years. His movement was aimed at reforming tribal society. He urged the Mundas to give up drinking liquor, clean their village, and stop believing in witchcraft and sorcery. Birsa urged his followers to recover their glorious past. He talked of a golden age in the past – a satyug (the age of truth) – when Mundas lived a good life, constructed embankments, tapped natural springs, planted trees and orchards, practised cultivation to earn their living. They did not kill their brethren and relatives. They lived honestly. Birsa also wanted people to once again work on their land, settle down and cultivate their fields. Such a vision appealed to the people of the region because they got fed up with British forest laws and the restrictions that were imposed on them.

Q7: What problems did shifting cultivators face under British rule?
Ans: Problems faced by shifting cultivators under British rule

• For administrative and economic reason, the British wanted the jhum cultivators to settle down and become peasant cultivators. The British effort to settle jhum cultivators was not very successful. Settled plough cultivation is not easy in areas where water is scarce and the soil is dry. In fact, jhum cultivators who took to plough cultivation often suffered, since their fields did not produce good yields.
• The life of shifting cultivators was directly connected to the forest. So changes in forest laws had a considerable effect on their lives. The British extended their control over all forests and declared that forests were state property. In these forests people were not allowed to move freely, practise jhum cultivation, collect fruits, or hunt animals. Many were therefore forced to move to other areas in search of work and livelihood.

Q8: Mention the revolts by different tribal groups in the country against the British?
Ans: Through the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, tribal groups in different parts of the country rebelled against the changes in laws, the restrictions on their practices, the new taxes they had to pay, and the exploitation by traders and moneylenders. The Kols rebelled in 1831-32, Santhals rose in revolt in 1855, the Bastar Rebellion in central India broke out in 1910 and the Warli Revolt in Maharashtra in 1940. The movement that Birsa led was one such movement.

Q9: How did Birsa resume his movement after his release in 1897?
Ans: When Birsa was released in 1897 he began touring the villages to gather support. He used traditional symbols and language to rouse people, urging them to destroy “Ravana” (dikus and the Europeans) and establish a kingdom under his leadership. Birsa’s followers began targeting the symbols of diku 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.

Q10: How did the powers of tribal chiefs change under colonial rule?
Ans: Under British rule, the functions and powers of the tribal chiefs changed considerably.

• They were allowed to keep their land titles over a cluster of villages and rent out lands, but they lost much of their administrative power and were forced to follow laws made by British officials in India.
• They also had to pay tribute to the British, and discipline the tribal groups on behalf of the British.
• They lost the authority they had earlier enjoyed amongst their people, and were unable to fulfil their traditional functions.

Q11: What problem did the British face after they brought changes in forest laws? How did they solve the problem?
Ans: Once the British stopped the tribal people from living inside forests, they faced a problem. From where would the Forest Department get its labour to cut trees for railway sleepers and to transport logs? Colonial officials came up with a solution. They decided that they would give jhum cultivators small patches of land in the forests and allow them to cultivate these on the condition that those who lived in the villages would have to provide labour to the Forest Department and look after the forests. So in many regions the Forest Department established forest villages to ensure a regular supply of cheap labour.

Q12: Why was the British effort to settle jhum cultivators not very successful?
Ans: The British effort to settle jhum cultivators was not very successful because of the following reasons.

• Settled plough cultivation is not easy in areas where water is scarce and the soil is dry.
• In fact, jhum cultivators who took to plough cultivation often suffered, since their fields did not produce good yields.
• So the jhum cultivators in north-east India insisted on continuing with their traditional practice.
• Facing widespread protests, the British had to ultimately allow them the right to carry on shifting cultivation in some parts of the forest.

Q13: How did different tribal groups live?
Ans: Tribal people in different parts of India were involved in a variety of activities.

• Some of them practised jhum cultivation, that is, shifting cultivation. This was done on small patches of land, mostly in forests.
• In many regions tribal groups lived by hunting animals and gathering forest produce. They saw forests as essential for survival. The Khonds were such a community living in the forests of Orissa.
• Many tribal groups lived by herding and rearing animals. They were pastoralists who moved with their herds of cattle or sheep according to the seasons. When the grass in one place was exhausted, they moved to another area.
• Many from within the tribal groups had begun settling down, and cultivating their fields in one place year after year, instead of moving from place to place.