Forest Society and Colonialism Class 9 Notes History Chapter 4

 Changes in Forest Societies under Colonialism

 Location of Bastar people
 Bastar Rebellion
 Forest Rebellion in Java
 World Wars and Deforestation.

Relationship Between Forest and Livelihoods

Forests give us a mixture of things to satisfy our different needs — fuel, fodder, leaves, trees suitable for
building ships or railways, trees that can provide hardwood.

Forest products like roots, fruits, tubers, herbs are used for medicinal purposes, wood for agricultural
implements like yokes, ploughs, etc.

Forests provide shelter to animals and birds. They also add moisture to the atmosphere.

Rainfall is trapped in forest lands.

Foresters and villagers had very different ideas of what a good forest should look like.

The forest department wanted trees which were suitable for building ships or railways.

They needed trees that could provide hardwood and were tall and straight. So particular species, like teak
and sal, were promoted and others were cut.

The new forest laws meant severe hardship for villagers across the country. After the Act (Forest Act), all
their everyday practices, cutting wood for their houses, grazing their cattle, collecting fruits and roots,
hunting and fishing became illegal.

People were now forced to steal wood from the forests, and if they were caught they were at the mercy of
the forest guards who would take bribes from them.

Women who collected fuelwood were especially worried. It was also common for police constables and
forest guards to harass people by demanding free food from them.

Deforestation: Deforestation is cutting down of trees indiscriminately in a forest area. Under colonial rule, it
became very systematic and extensive.

Why Deforestation?

As the population increased over the centuries and the demand for food went up, peasants extended the
boundaries of cultivation by clearing forests.

The British encouraged the production of commercial crops like jute, sugar, wheat, and cotton for their
industries as raw material.

The British thought that forests were unproductive land as they yielded no revenue nor agricultural produce.
Cultivation was viewed as a sign of progress.

Oak forests in England were disappearing. There was no timber supply for the shipbuilding industry. Forest
resources of India were used to make ships for the Royal Navy.
The spread of railways required two things: land to be cleared to lay railway tracks, wood as fuel for
locomotives and for railway line sleepers.

Large areas of natural forests were cleared for tea, coffee, and rubber plantations. Thus, the land was
given to planters at cheap rates.

Changes in Forest Societies Under Colonialism

Shifting Cultivators: Forest management had a great impact on shifting cultivators. In shifting cultivation
parts of the forest are cut and burnt in rotation. European foresters regarded this practice as harmful for the
forests. They felt that such land could not be used for growing trees for railway timber and was dangerous
while being burnt as it could start a forest fire. This type of cultivation also made difficult for the government
to calculate taxes.

Nomadic and Pastoralist Communities: Nomadic and pastoralist communities were also affected by
changes in forest management. Their traditional customary grazing rights were taken away and their entry
into the forests was restricted. Passes were issued to them which had details of their entry and exit into and
out of the forests. The days and hours they could spend in the forest were also restricted. This was in
contrast to the earlier system that allowed them unrestricted entry into forests.

Pastoralists had to lessen the number of cattle in their herds which reduced their income. Now they were
deprived of this additional income. Some pastoralists even had to change their lifestyle, leave pastoralism
and work in mines, plantations, factories. Some were branded as the ‘criminal tribes’.

Firms Trading in Timber/Forest Products: Firms trading in timber products were given the sole trading
rights to trade in the forest products of particular areas. They made huge profits and became richer. The
entire timber and forest trade passed on to them. They became powerful and began to cut down trees
indiscriminately.

Plantation Owners: Plantation owners found that more and more forest land could be cleared for
plantations. The British had made it very clear that their system of forestry would be scientific forestry, i.e.,
plantations. Plantation owners began to reap profits as the British government gave large areas of forest
land to European planters.

Kings/British Officials Engaged in Shikar: The Kings/British officials engaged in shikar found that now
the villagers were prohibited from entering the forests. They had the forest and wild animals to themselves.
Hunting animals became a big sport for them. Thus, hunting increased to such an extent that various
species became almost extinct.

Important Dates : 1600: Approximately one-sixth of India’s landmass was under cultivation. The population
of Java was 3.4 million.

1700-1995: 9.3% of the world’s total area was cleared for industrial uses, cultivation pastures and fuel
wood.

1770: Kalanga uprising which was suppressed.

1850: The spread of Indian Railways.

1864: The Indian Forest Service was set up.

1865: The Indian Forest Act was formulated.

1878: The Indian Forest Act was amended and divided forests into Reserved, Protected and Village
forests.

1890: Surontiko Samin started a movement against the state ownership of forests.

1899-1908: Terrible famines.

1910: Rebellion in the kingdom of Bastar.

1880-1920: India’s cultivated area rose by 6.7 million hectares. Terrible famines.

1946: The length of railway tracks laid by now was over 765,000 km.

1980: Introduction of scientific forestry and restriction imposed on the forest communities resulted in many
conflicts.

Location of Bastar and Believe of the People of Bastar

Bastar is located in the southernmost part of Chhattisgarh and borders Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, and
Maharashtra. The central part of Bastar is on a plateau.

A number of different communities live in Bastar such as Maria and Muria Gonds, Dhurwas, Bhatras and
Halbas. They speak different languages but share common customs and beliefs.

The people of Bastar believed that each village was given its land by the Earth, and in return, they had to
look after the earth by making some offerings at each agricultural festival. They show respect to the spirits
of the river, the forest and the mountain.

Since each village knows where its boundaries lie, the local people look after all the natural resources
within that boundary. If people from a village want to take some wood from the forests of another village,
they pay a small fee called devsari, Land or man in exchange.

Some villages also protect their forests by engaging watchmen and each household contributes some grain
to pay them. Every year there is one big hunt where the headmen of villages meet and discuss issues of
concern, including forests.

Causes for Bastar Rebellion

When the colonial government proposed to reserve two-thirds of the forest in 1905 and stop shifting
cultivation, hunting and collection of forest produce, the people of Bastar were very worried.

Some villages were allowed to stay on in the reserved forests on the condition that they worked free for the
forest department in cutting and transporting trees, and protecting the forest from fire. So, these came to be
known as Forest Villages.

People of other villages were displaced without any notice or compensation. Villagers had been suffering
from increased land rents and frequent demands for free labour and goods by colonial officials.

Then the terrible famines came in 1899-1900 and again in 1907-1908. Rebellion became inevitable.

Results of the Bastar Rebellion

In a major victory for the rebels, work on the reservation was temporarily suspended.
The area to be reserved was reduced to roughly half of that planned before 1910.

Causes for Forest Rebellion in Java

The Dutch wanted timber from Java to build ships. They banned the practice of shifting cultivation. The
Dutch enacted forest laws in Java, restricting villagers’ access to forests.

Now wood could only be cut for specified purposes like making riverboats or constructing houses, and only
from specific forests under close supervision.

Villagers were punished for grazing their cattle in young stands, transporting wood without a permit, or
traveling on forest roads with horse carts or cattle.

As in India, the need to manage forests for shipbuilding and railways led to the introduction of a forest
service by the Dutch in Java.

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 blandongdiensten system.

Forest Rebellion in Java or Saminist Movement in Java

In the 1890s, Surontiko Samin a teak forest villager began questioning state ownership of the forest. He
argued that the state had not created the wind, water, earth, and wood, so it could not own it. Soon a
widespread movement developed. Amongst those who helped to organize it was Samin’s sons-in-law. By
1907,3,000 families were following his ideas. Some of the Sam insists protested by lying down on their land
when the Dutch came to survey it, while others refused to pay taxes or fines or perform labour.

World Wars and Deforestation

The First World War and the Second World War had a major impact on forests. In India, working plans
were abandoned at this time, and the forest department cut trees freely to meet British war needs.

In Java, just before the Japanese occupied the region, the Dutch followed a ‘scorched earth’ policy,
destroying sawmills, and burning huge piles of giant teak logs so that they would not fall into Japanese
hands.

The Japanese then exploited the forests recklessly for their own war industries, forcing forest villagers to
cut down forests.

After the war, it was difficult for the Indonesian forest service to get this land back. As in India, people’s
need for agricultural land had brought them into conflict with the forest department’s desire to control the
land and exclude people from it.

Nazism and the Rise of Hitler The following topics hold significant importance.

 Formation of the Weimer Republic

 The rise of Hitler’s power
 The flow of Nazi around the world
 The Racial Ideology of Hitler and how it affected other countries
 How the years of Depression affected the German Economy.
Birth of the Weimer Republic
Germany fought the First World War (1914-1918) along with the Austrian empire and against the Allies
(England, France and Russia).

Germany initially made gains by occupying France and Belgium. However, the Allies won defeating
Germany and the Central Powers in 1918.

A National Assembly met at Weimer and established a democratic constitution with a federal structure. The
republic, however, was not received well by its own people largely because of the terms it was forced to
accept after Germany’s defeat at the end of the First World War. Many Germans held the new Weimer
Republic responsible for not only the defeat in the war but the disgrace at Versailles.

The Effects of the War – The war had a devastating impact on the entire continent both psychologically
and financially. From being a creditor, Europe became a debtor. The supporters of the Weimer Republic
were criticized and became easy targets of attack in the conservative nationalist circles. Soldiers came to
be placed above civilians. Aggressive war propaganda and national honour became important.

Political Radicalism and Economic Crisis – The birth of the Weimer Republic coincided with the uprising
of the Spartacist League on the pattern of the Bolshevik Revolution in Russia. The Spartacists founded the
Communist Party of Germany.

Political radicalization was heightened by the economic crisis of 1923. As Germany refused to pay the war
reparations, France occupied its leading industrial area, Ruhr. Germany

retaliated with printing paper currency recklessly. The value of the German mark collapsed. Prices of goods
soared. There was hyperinflation.

The Years of Depression

1924-1928 saw some stability, yet it was built on sand. In 1924, with the introduction of the Dawes Plan by
the Americans, Germany came out from the financial instability. Germany was totally dependent on short-
term loans, largely from the USA. This support was withdrawn with the crash in 1929 of the Wall Street
Exchange. The German economy was hit badly. The middle class and working population were filled with
the fear of proletarianization.

The Weimer Republic had some inherent defects:

1. Proportional Representation
2. Article 48 which gave the President the powers to impose emergency, suspend civil rights and rule by
decree.

Hitler’s Rise to Power

Hitler was born in Austria in 1889. He earned many medals for bravery in the First World War.

The German defeat horrified him. The Treaty of Versailles made him furious.

He joined the German Workers Party and renamed it National Socialist German Workers’ Party. This later
came to be known as the Nazi Party.

Nazism became a mass movement only during the Great Depression. The Nazi propaganda stirred hopes
of a better future. Hitler was a powerful and effective speaker. He promised the people a strong nation
where all would get employment.

The Destruction of Democracy: Hitler achieved the highest position in the cabinet of ministries on 30
January 1933. Hitler then set out to dismantle the structures of democratic rule.
The Fire Decree of 28 February 1933 suspended civic rights like freedom of speech, press, and assembly.
The Communists were hurriedly packed off to newly established concentration camps. All political parties
were banned. Special surveillance and security forces were created to control the people and rule with
impunity.

Reconstruction: Economist Hjalmar Schacht was given the responsibility of economic recovery. This was
to be done through a state-created economic programme.

Hitler pulled out of the League of Nations in 1933, reoccupied the Rhineland in 1936 and integrated Austria
and Germany in 1938 under the slogan: One people, One empire, One leader.

He then took Sudetenland from Czechoslovakia. Hitler had the unspoken support of England.

He did not stop here. He chose war as a way out of the Economic Crisis.

Resources were to be accumulated through the expansion of territory. In September 1940′ Germany
invaded Poland. This started a war with France and England. The USA resisted involvement in the war. But
when Japan extended its support to Hitler and bombarded Pearl Harbour, the USA entered the war. The
war ended in 1945 with Hitler’s defeat and the US bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in Japan.

The Nazi World Wide

According to Nazi ideology, there was no equality between people, but only racial hierarchy. The Nazis
quickly began to implement their dream of creating an exclusive racial community of pure Germans by
physically eliminating all those who were considered undesirable. They wanted a society of pure and
healthy Nordic Aryans. Jews, Gypsies, Blacks, Russian, Poles, even certain Germans, and abnormals were
considered undesirable.

The other aspect of Hitler’s ideology related to the geopolitical concept of Lebensraum, or living space.
Jews were the worst sufferers in Nazi Germany. Hitler believed in pseudoscientific theories of a race which
said that conversion was no solution to the Jewish problem. It had to be solved through their total
elimination.

From 1933-1938 – the Nazis terrorized, pauperized and segregated the Jews, compelling them to leave
the country.

The next phase, 1939-1945, aimed at concentrating them in certain areas and then killing them in gas
chambers in Poland.

The Racial Utopia

Genocide and war became two sides of the same coin. Occupied Poland was divided. Poles were forced to
leave their homes and properties behind to be occupied by the ethnic Germans brought in from occupied
Europe.

Youth in Nazi Germany

Hitler felt that a strong Nazi society could be established by teaching Nazi ideology to children.

All schools were given German teachers. Children were divided into two groups- desirable and undesirable.

Textbooks were rewritten, functions of sports in schools was to nurture the spirit of violence and
aggression. Ten-year-olds had to enter Jungvolk. At 14, all boys joined ‘Hitler Youth’, they joined the
Labour Service at 18.

The Nazi Cult of Motherhood – Women were told to be good mothers and rear pure-blooded Aryan
children. They were encouraged to produce many children.
The Art of Propaganda – The Nazi regime used language and media with care and often to great effect.
They used films, pictures, radio, posters, etc., to spread hatred for Jews.

Crimes Against Humanity – People saw the world through Nazi eyes and spoke the Nazi language. At
times even the Jews began to believe in the Nazi stereotypes about them.

Knowledge about the Holocaust – It was only after the war ended that people came to know about what
had happened. The Jews wanted the world to know about the atrocities and sufferings they had endured
during the Nazi killing operations. They just wanted to live, even if it was for a few hours, to tell the world
about the Holocaust.

Socialism in Europe and the Russian Revolution

special emphasis has been laid upon the following topics from this chapter and thereby students should
pay attention on them.

 Progress of Russian Revolution

 The First World War and the Russian Revolution
 Events and Effects of February and October Revolution of Russia
 Social changes that were taken place in Russia.

The Age of Social Change

The French Revolution opened up the possibility of creating a dramatic change in the way in which society
was structured. Not everyone in Europe, however, wanted a complete transformation. Some were
‘conservatives’, while others were ‘liberals’ or ‘radicals’.

Liberals: Wanted a nation which tolerated all religions. They argued for an elected parliamentary
government, subject to laws interpreted by a well-trained judiciary that was independent of rulers and
officials. They were not Democrats.

Radicals: Wanted a nation in which government was based on the majority of a country’s population. They
disliked the concentration of property in the hands of a few, not the existence of private property.

Conservatives: They resisted change. After the revolution, they started accepting change provided it was
slow and had links and respected the past.

Industries and Social Change: This was the time of economic and social change. Men, women, and
children were pushed into factories for low wages. Liberals and Radicals who were factory owners felt that
workers’ efforts must be encouraged.

Socialism in Europe: Socialists were against private property. They had different visions of the future.
Some believed in cooperatives, some demanded that governments must encourage cooperatives.

Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels added that industrial society meant capitalist society which was not
profitable for everyone. Marx believed that a socialist society would free workers from capitalism. This
would be a communist society in which collective ownership of land and factories would be promoted.

Socialism Given Support: Workers in Germany and England began forming associations to fight for better
living conditions. They set up funds for members in distress, reduction of working hours and right to vote.

The Russian Revolution

In 1914, Tzar Nicholas II ruled the Russian empire.

Economy and Society: Most of the Russian population were agriculturalist. Industries were being set up
which were mostly private property of the industrialists. Workers were divided into groups but they did unite
to strike work when they were dissatisfied. Peasants had no respect for nobility, unlike the French peasant.
Russian peasants were the only peasant community which pooled their land and their commune divided
the land according to the needs of individual families.

Socialism in Russia: All the political parties were illegal in Russia before 1914.
The Russian Socialist Democratic Labour Party was formed in 1900. It struggled to give peasants their
rights over land that belonged to nobles. As land was divided among peasants periodically, it was felt that
peasants and not workers would be the main source of the revolution. But Lenin did not agree with this as
he felt that peasants were not one social group. The party was divided into Bolsheviks and Mensheviks.

The 1905 Revolution: Russia was an autocracy. The Tzar was not subject to the Parliament.
Liberals wanted to end this state of affairs. They worked towards demanding a constitution during the
Revolution of 1905.

Bloody Sunday: Prices of essential goods rose so quickly by 1904 that the real wages declined by 20%.
During this time, four members of the Putilov Iron Works were dismissed. The action was called for. Over
110,000 workers in St. Petersburg went on strike demanding a reduction in working hours and an increase
in wages. This procession was attacked by the police and Cossacks.

Over 100 workers were killed. Strikes took place as a reaction. People demanded a Constituent Assembly.
The Tzar allowed the creation of an elected Consultative Parliament or Duma. The Tzar dismissed the first
Duma within 75 days and announced the election of a second Duma.

The First World War and the Russian Empire: In 1914, the Russian Army was the largest army in the world.
The war was initially very popular but later the support grew thin. Anti-German sentiments ran high.
Russian armies lost badly in Germany and Austria. There were 7 million casualties and 3 million refugees
in Russia.

The war also affected the industry. There was a shortage of labour, railway lines were shut down and small
workshops were closed down. There was a shortage of grain, agricultural production slumped and thus,
there were crises in the food supply.

The February Revolution in Petrograd

Events

 In the winter of 1917, Petrograd was grim. There was a food shortage in the workers’ quarters.
 22 February: a lockout took place at a factory. Workers of 50 other factories joined in sympathy.
Women also led and participated in the strikes. This came to be called the International Women’s
Day.
 The government imposed curfew as the quarters of the fashionable area and official buildings were
surrounded by workers.
 On the 24th and 25th, the government called out the cavalry and police to keep an eye on them.
 On 25th February, the government suspended the Duma and politicians spoke against this measure.
The people were out with force once again.
 On 27th, the Police Headquarters were ransacked. People raised slogans and were out in the streets.
 Cavalry was called out again but they refused to fire on the demonstrators.
 An officer was shot at the barracks of a regiment and other regiments mutinied, voting to join the
striking workers. They gathered in the evening to form a Soviet or council. This was the Petrograd
Soviet.
 On 28th, a delegation went to meet the Tzar. The Military commanders advised him to abdicate.
 The Tzar abdicated on 2nd March.
 A Provincial Government was formed by the Soviet and Duma leaders to run the country.
 The people involved were the parliamentarians, workers, women workers, soldiers, and military
commanders.
Effects

 Restrictions on public meetings and associations were removed.

 Soviets like the Petrograd Soviet were set up everywhere.
 In individual areas, factory committees were formed which began questioning the way industrialists
ran their factories.
Soldiers’ committees were formed in the army.
 The Provisional Government saw its power declining and Bolshevik influence grow. It decided to take
stern measures against the spreading discontent.
 It resisted attempts by workers to run factories and arrested leaders.
 Peasants and the Socialist Revolutionary leaders pressed for a redistribution of land. Land
committees were formed and the peasants seized land between July and September 1917.

October Revolution

 16th October 1917 – Lenin persuaded the Petrograd Soviet and the Bolshevik Party to agree to a
socialist seizure of power. A Military Revolutionary Committee was appointed by the Soviet to
organize seizure.
 The uprising began on 24th October. Prime Minister Kerenskii left the city to summon troops.
 Early morning military men loyal to the government seized the buildings of two Bolshevik newspapers.
Pro-government troops were sent to take over telephone and telegraph offices and protect the Winter
Palace.
 In response, the Military Revolutionary Committee ordered to seize government offices and arrest the
ministers.
 The Aurora’ ship shelled the Winter Palace. Other ships took over strategic points.
 By night, the city had been taken over and the ministers had surrendered.
 All Russian Congress of Soviets in Petrograd approved the Bolshevik action.
 Heavy fighting took place in Moscow and by December, the Bolsheviks controlled the Moscow –
Petrograd area.
 The people involved were Lenin, the Bolsheviks, troops (pro-government).

Effects

 The Bolsheviks were totally opposed to private property.

 Most industry and banks were nationalized in November 1917.
 The land was declared social property and peasants were allowed to seize the land of the nobility.
 Use of old titles of the aristocracy was banned.
 New uniforms were designed for the army and officials.
 In November 1917, the Bolsheviks conducted the election but failed to gain the majority support.
 Russia became a one-party state.
 Trade unions were kept under party control.
 A process of centralized planning was introduced. This led to economic growth.
 Industrial production increased.
 An extended schooling system developed.
 The collectivization of farms started.

The Civil War – When the Bolsheviks ordered land redistribution, the Russian army began to break up.
Non-Bolshevik socialists, liberals, and supporters of autocracy condemned the Bolshevik uprising. They
were supported by French, American, British and Japanese troops. All of them fought a war with the
Bolsheviks.

Making a Socialist Society – The Bolsheviks kept industries and banks nationalized during the Civil War.
A process of centralized planning was introduced. Rapid construction and industrialization started. An
extended schooling system developed.
Stalin and Collective Farming – Stalin believed that rich peasants and traders stocked supplies to create
a shortage of grains. Hence, collectivization was the need of the hour. This system would also help to
modernize farms. Those farmers who resisted collectivization were punished, deported or exiled.

Global Influence
By the 1950s, it was recognized in the country and outside that everything was not in keeping with the
ideals of the Russian revolution. Though, its industries and agriculture had developed and or were being
fed, the essential freedom to its citizens was being denied. However, it was recognized that social ideals
still enjoyed respect among the Russians. But in each country, the ideas of socialism were rethought in a
variety of different ways.