Section II LIVELIHOODS,

ECONOMIES AND
SOCIETIES
CHAPTER 4 Forest
Society and Colonialism
 What will we study

1. Deforestation and issues related to it

(reasons and impacts).
2. Commercial Forestry (Meaning, impact
process, etc.) and issues related to it.
3. Story of Bastar and Java (Indonesia) in
reference to colonialism.
 BEFORE WE STUDY
i. Forest: A are natural ecosystems having
trees of different species and vegetation
of different kinds and providing habitat to
different species of animals.
ii. Forest Society: People living in the forests
(TRIBAL)
[Link]: A country subjugating
another country politically, economically,
socially. Ex- British colonized India ,etc.
 WHY DEFORESTATION?-LAND Reasons for deforestation:
TO BE IMPROVED (i) Land to be improved
What is Deforestation (Industrial raw material,
The disappearance of forest is referred food grains for growing
as deforestation. OR reckless cutting population and considering
down of trees in a large scale is called is
forest as unproductive)
called deforestation.
It is not a new phenomenon but during (ii)Sleepers on the
colonial rule it became more systematic tracks( Railways, Royal
and extensive. British Navy)
(iii)Plantation (plantation
farming by European
planters)
LAND TO BE IMPROVED
 In 1600 1/6th of India’s land mass was  Colonial government considered forest
under cultivation , now that figure as unproductive as full of wilderness
gone up about half, because :  Land to be brought under cultivation:
increase in the demand of food, Between 1880-1920 cultivation areas
peasants extended boundaries of increased by 6.7 million hectares, so
cultivation. that they (British) could get extra
 During British period-Production of revenue.
commercial crops like Jute, sugar  Expansion of cultivation is seen as a
cane, wheat and cotton expanded sign of progress in this regard forest
(why?) was cleared which is turn gave many
 -industrial raw material other problems
 Growing urban population demanded
more food.
KEY FEATURES  What was commercial forestry?
• Demand for wood.  The British rulers had requirements
• Scientific forestry. of wood and some commercial
• Forest division. crops. They used the forest area for
• Ban on shifting cultivation. commercial crop cultivation, which
Indian forest act. increased the rate of deforestation.
 The colonial authorities commenced
business forestry in India, to keep
forests for timber production, to
limited grazing and the feeling of
bushes, to limit the usage of forests
and its merchandise through the
villagers.
 SHORT SUMMARY
How the lives of people affected? New Rules Made
• In forest areas people use forest • One of the major impacts of European
products roots, leaves, fruits, and tubers colonialism was the practice of shifting
foe many things. cultivation or Sweden agriculture.
• Herbs are used for medicine, wood for • In shifting cultivation, parts of forest are cut
agricultural implements like yokes and and burnt in rotation. Seeds are sown in the
plows, bamboo makes excellent fences, ashes after the first monsoon rains, and the
and is also used to make baskets and crop is harvested by October-November.
umbrellas. • In central India and Africa, it could be millets,
• After the Forest Act, all their everyday in Brazil manioc, and in other parts of Latin
America maize and beans. European foresters
practices- cutting wood for their houses,
regarded this practice as harmful to the
grazing their cattle, collecting fruits and forests.
roots, hunting and fishing-became illegal. • The government decided to ban shifting
• People were now forced to steal wood cultivation. As a result, many communities
from the forest, and if they were caught, were forcibly displaced from their homes in
they were at the mercy of the forest the forests.
guard who would take bribes for them
 Who Could Hunt? New Trade, Employment And
 In India, hunting tigers and other animals had Services
been part of the culture of the court and  Many communities left their traditional occupation
nobility for centuries. (s) and started trading in forest products.
 The British saw large animals as signs of a  In India, the trade in forest products was not new.
wild, primitive and savage society. We have records of Adivasi communities trading
They believed that by killing dangerous animals elephants and other goods like hides, horns, silk
the British would civilize India. cocoons , ivory, bamboo, spices, fibers, grasses,
 Over 80,000 tigers, 150,000 leopards, and gums, and nomadic communities like the
200,000 wolves were killed for reward in the Banjaras.
 The British government gave many large European
period 1875-1925.
 The Maharaja of Sarguja alone shot 1,157 trading firms the sole right to trade in the forest
tigers and 2,000 leopards up to [Link] products of particular areas. Grazing and hunting
by local people were restricted.
administrator, George Yule, killed 400 tigers.  In Assam, both man and women from forest
Initially, certain areas of forests were reserved
communities like Santhals and Oraons from
for hunting. Later environmentalists and
Jharkhand, and Gonds from Chattisgarh were
conservators began to argue that all these reruited to work on tea plantations. Their wages
species of animals needed to be protected, were low and the conditions of work were very
and not killed. bad.
Forest Transformations In suppressed.
Java Dutch enacted forest laws in Java,
Java in Indonesia is where the Dutch restricting villagers' access to forests.
Villagers were punished for grazing
started forest management. Like the
British, they wanted timber from Java cattle in young stands, transporting
to build ships. wood without a permit, or travelling on
The Kalangs of Java were a forest roads with horse carts or cattle.
The use 'blandongdiensten' system
community of skilled forest cutters and
shifting cultivators. for extracting free labour from
 When the Dutch began to gain control villagers. They exempted some villages
over the forests in the eighteenth from these rents if they
century, they tried to make the Kalangs worked collectively.
work under them. In 1770, the Kalangs
resisted by attacking a Dutch fort at
Joana, but the uprising was
 Samin's Challen ge War and Deforestation
Around 1890, Surontiko Samin The First World War and the Second
of Randublatung village, a teak World War had a major impact on
forest village, began questioning forests.
state ownership of the forest. In India, working plans were
Soon a widespread movement abandoned at this time, and the
developed. Amongst those who forest department cut trees freely to
helped organise it were Samin's meet British war needs.
sons-in-law. The Japanese after occupying
Some of the Saminists protested by Indonesia exploited their forests
lying down on their land when the recklessly for their
Dutch came to survey it, while own war industries.
others refused to pay taxes or fines
or perform labour.
 New Developments in them in sacred groves known
as sarnas,
Forestry devarakudu, kan, rai, etc.
 Conservation of forests rather
than collecting timber has
become a more important
goal.
 The government has
recognised that in order to
meet this goal, the people who
live near the forests must be
involved.
 In many cases, across India,
from Mizoram to Kerala, dense
forests have survived only
because villages protected
REBELLION IN THE FOREST (reasons, impacts, etc.)
 REBELLION IN THE FOREST
In many parts of India and across because of suppression, injustice
the world. Forest communities and atrocities over them and most
rebelled against the changes that important reasons for rebellion was
were being imposed on them. interference in their forest, culture
• These rebellions were led by and life. One such rebellion took
different leaders in different parts of place in the kingsom of Bastar in
the country. 1910.
• Siddu and Kanu in Santhal
paragana (Jharkhand) • Birsa
Munda of Chotanagpur plateau.
• Allurisitaram Raju of
Andhrapradesh. They all rebelled
 BASTAR IN 2000
GEOGRAPHICAL STRUCTURE OF BASTAR
Located in southernmost part of Chhattisgarh
(its borders Andhra Pradesh, Orissa and
Maharashtra).
 Central part is plateau, Chattisgarh plain
lies in its north and its south lies
Godavariplain.
 River Indravati flows across east to west
of Bastar.
 Forest communities rebelled against the
changes that were imposed on them.
 PEOPLE OF BASTAR
 Communities such as Maria and Muria  In annual hunt( gathering) the village
Gonds, Dhurwas, Bhatras and Halbas live in headmen of villages in the paragana( cluster
Bastar, they speak different languages but of villages) meet and discuss issues of
share common customs and beliefs. concern, including forests
 They worship earth because they believe
village was given its land by earth.
 Looks after earth by making offerings at each
agricultural festival.
 Show respect to the spirit of the rivers, forest
and mountains.
 Each village uses natural resources in their
village boundary. In case they use the
resources from other boundary they used to
pay a small fee called Devasari, Dand or Man
in exchange.
 Engaging watch man to protect the forest.
THE FEAR OF THE PEOPLE displaced without any notice of
What were the reasons of the compensation.
rebellion in Bastar? • People were already not happy due
• Colonial government proposed to to increased land rent,demand of free
reserve two-third of forest in 1905. labour and food by colonial officers.
• Banned shifting cultivation, hunting People of Bastar were worried.
and collection of forest produce.
• Only some villagers were allowed to
stay on in the reserved forest. (Why?)
• So that the forest department get
people for work such as cutting and
transporting trees, protecting forest
form fire.
• People of other villages were
 HOW DID REBELLION START?
 Discussion over the issues at public places
(changes brought by the Colonial Govt).
The initiative was taken by Dhurvas of Kanger
forest where reservation first took place.
 The rebellion was led by Gundadhur from
Village Netahanar.
 In 1910, Mango boughs, a lump of earth,
chilies and arrows began circulating between
villages to rebel against the British.
 Every village contributed something to the
rebellion expenses.
Finally there was an out break. Bazars were
looted, houses of officials and traders,
robbed and grains redistributed police
stations were burnt.
WHAT WAS THE RESPONSE OF THE BRITISH?
 British sent troops to suppress the rebellion.
 Surrounded their camps and fired upon them.
 Punishing all those who participated in rebellion.
 Most villages were deserted as people fled into
the jungle.
 within 3 months(Feb-May) the British regain
control.
 Was the rebellion a failure?
 No. Rebellion was a victory for the relbels
because,
 i) British did not manage to capture Gunda Dhur
(the leader).
 ii) The reservation was temporarily suspended
and area to be reserved was reduced roughly half
 AFTER THE REBELLION
• The struggle of the people does not end there.
• The practice of keeping people out of the forests and reserving
them for industrial use continued after independence also.
(How?).
• In 1970a proposal of World Bank, was that, 4,600 hectares of
natural sal forest should be replaced by tropical pine to obtain
pulp for paper industry.
• Against this proposal local environmentalists protested and the
project was stopped.
Similar story of struggle can be seen in Indonesia also.
THANK YOU.
PRESENTED BY
SALONI
YAMINI
KHYATI
SHRUTI (CLASS 9TH D)