Chapter 4 Tribals, Dikus and the Vision of a Golden Age
Very Short Answer Questions (VSAQs):
1. Why did the British introduce land settlements?
Answer
They did so in order to get a regular revenue source for the state.
2. What was Indian silk known for?
Answer
Indian silk was known for its fine quality.
3. Why did the British want tribal groups to settle down and become peasant
cultivators?
Answer
Because settled peasants were easier to control and administer than people
who were always on the move.
4. What was the political aim of the Birsa movement?
Answer
The political aim of the Birsa movement was to drive out missionaries,
money-lenders, Hindu landlords and the government and set up a Munda Raj
Birsa at its head.
5. Why were some forests classified as Reserved Forests?
Answer
These forests produced timber which the British wanted.
6. What problem did the British face after they stopped the tribal people from
living inside forests?
Answer
They faced the problem of shortage of labour.
7. Why did the Forest Department establish forest villages?
Answer
In order to ensure a regular supply of cheap labour.
8. Who were the outsiders being referred to as dikus?
Answer
Traders, moneylenders, missionaries, Hindu landlords and the British were the
outsiders being referred to as dikus.
9. Who was Birsa Munda?
Answer
Birsa Munda belonged to a family of Mundas, a tribal group that lived in
Chottanagpur.
10. When did Birsa Munda die and how?
Answer
Birsa Munda died of cholera in 1900.
11. When and where was the forest satyagraha staged?
Answer
The forest satyagraha occurred in 1930s in the Central Provinces.
12. On what charges was Birsa convicted?
Answer
Birsa was convicted on the charges of rioting.
Chapter 4 Tribals, Dikus and the Vision of a Golden Age
Short Answer Questions (SAQs):
1. What did the Khond community of Orrisa do to earn living?
Answer
The Khond community of Orissa lived by hunting and gathering forest
produce. Forests were essential for them. 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 out 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.
2. How did the British officials view settled tribal groups and those who moved
about from place to place?
Answer
The British officials saw settled tribal groups such as the Gonds and Santhals
as more civilised than hunter-gatherers or shifting cultivators. These tribal
groups lived in the forests and kept on moving. They did not have a fixed
home. The British considered them wild and savage and therefore they
needed to be settled and civilised.
3. Why was the British effort to settle jhum cultivators not very successful?
Answer
• It is usually difficult to carry on settled plough cultivation in areas where
water is scarce and the soil is dry.
• Jhum cultivators who took to plough cultivation often suffered since their
fields did not prdfcluce good yields. Hence, the jhum cultivators in north-east
India insisted on continuing with their traditional practice.
• The British faced widespread protests. Therefore, they allowed them to carry
on shifting cultivation in some parts of the forest.
4. How did traders and moneylenders exploit the tribal people?
Answer
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. They
sold the goods at high prices.
Moneylenders used to give loans with which the tribals met their cash needs,
adding to what they earned. But the interest charged on the loans was very
high. Thus, both traders and moneylenders always exploited the tribal people.
It is therefore the tribals- saw them as evil outsiders and the cause of their
misery.
5. Describe land settlements introduced by the British.
Answer
The British introduced land settlements to ensure a regular revenue source for
the state. Under these settlements:
• The British measured the land, defined the rights of each individual to that
land, and fixed the revenue demand for the state.
• Some peasants were declared landowners, others tenants. The tenants
were to pay rent to the landowner who in turn paid revenue to the state.
6. How did Birsa resume his movement after his release in 1897?
Answer
Birsa was released in 1897. Now he began touring the villages to gather
support. He used traditional symbols and language to rouse people, urging
them to destroy dikus and the Europeans and establish a kingdom under his
leadership. Birsa’s followers began targetting the symbols of dikus 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.
7. In what ways was the Birsa movement significant?
Answer
The Birsa movement was significant in two ways:
• It forced the colonial government to introduce laws so that the land of the
tribals could not easily be 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. They did this in
their own specific way, inventing their own rituals and symbols of struggle.
8. What problem did the British face after they brought changes in forest
laws? How did they solve this problem?
Answer
The British stopped the tribal people from living inside forests by introducing
some changes in forest laws. This created a problem. They lost labour force
because most of the jhum cultivators moved to other areas in search of work.
Colonial officials solved the problem of labour's shortage by giving jhum
cultivators small patches of land in the forests and allowing them to cultivate
these on the condition that these who lived in villages would have to provide
labour to the Forest Department and look after the forests. The Forest
Department established forest villages in many regions to ensure a regular
supply of cheap labour.
Chapter 4 Tribals, Dikus and the Vision of a Golden Age
Long Answer Questions (LAQs):
1. Give a detailed description of Birsa's life and work?
Answer
• Birsa was bom in the mid-1870s in a family of Mundas, a tribal group that
lived in Chottanagpur. He grew up around the forests of Bohanda, grazing
sheep, playing flute and dancing in the local akharas. • As an adolescent Birsa
heard tales of the Munda uprisings of the past and saw sirdars (leaders) of the
community urging the people to revolt.
• Birsa took great interest in the sermons of missionaries because they
inspired the Mundas to attain their lost rights. He also enjoyed the company of
a prominent Vaishnav preacher. He wore the sacred thread and began to
value the importance of purity and piety.
• He decided to reform tribal society. He urged the Mundas to give up all their
bad practices like drinking liquor, etc. Here, it is worth-mentioning that Birsa
also turned against missionaries and Hindu landlords.
• He urged his followers to restore their glorious past. He talked of a golden
age in the past—when Mundas lived a very good life. They did not kill their
brethren and relatives. Birsa wanted to see these qualities again in the tribal
society.
• The British officials got terrified to visualise the political aims of Birsa Munda.
As the movement spread, the government arrested him in 1895, convicted
him on the charges of rioting. He was also jailed him for two years.
• After Birsa was released in 1897, he began to tour the villages to gather
support. He urged his supporters to destroy dikus and the Europeans. In
1900, he died of cholera and the movement faded out. But it proved significant
in the long run.
2. How did different tribal groups live? Describe in brief.
Answer
Tribal people were involved in many different types of activities:
• Some tribal people practised jhum cultivation also known as shifting
cultivation. This was done on small patches of land, mostly in forests. The
cultivators cleared off small patches of land. They then burnt the vegetation
and spread the ash from the firing, which contained potash to fertilise the soiir
They used equipments like axe and hoe for preparing the soil for cultivation.
Then they scattered the seeds on the field. Once the crop was ready, and
harvested, they moved to another field. Shifting cultivators were found in the
hilly and forested tracts of north-east and central India.
• Some tribal groups were engaged in hunting animals and gathering forest
produce, hence known as “hunter-gatherers’. They saw forests as essential
for survival. The Khonds were such a community living in the forests of
Orissa. They regularly went out on collective hunts and then divided the meat
amongst themselves. They ate fruits and roots and cooked food with the oil
they extracted from the seeds of the sal and mahua. They got rice and other
grains in return for their valuable forest produce. Sometimes they did odd jobs
in the villages like carrying loads, etc.
• Some tribal groups lived by herding and rearing animals. They were
pastoralists who moved with their herds of cattle or sheep according to the
seasons. For examples, the Vicm Gujjars of Punjab hills, and the Labadis of
Andhra Pradesh were cattle herders, the Gaddis of Kulu were shepherds and
the Bakarwals of Kashmir reared goats.
• Some tribal community took to settled cultivation. They cultivated their fields
in one place year after year, instead of moving from place to place. They
began to use the plough and gradually got rights over the land they lived on.