History
What are the similarities between colonial management of the forests in Bastar and in Java?
Answer
Following were the similarities between colonial management of the forests in Bastar and in Java:
- Both Bastar and Java were under European colonial rule during the relevant historical period. Bastar was administered by the British, while Java was a Dutch colony.
- Forest laws were enacted in both regions to regulate forest resources. These laws aimed to control access, utilization, and exploitation of forests.
- Villagers were debarred from freely collecting forest produce, hunting, and practicing shifting cultivation.
- In Bastar, forest villages were kept to help cut the trees. In Java, Kalangs were approached to cut trees.
- In Bastar, the people of the Dhurwas of the Kanger forest, took the initiative and rebelled against the British power along with the help of other tribes. In Java, when the Dutch began to gain control over the forests in the eighteenth century, they tried to make the Kalangs work under them. In 1770, the Kalangs resisted by attacking a Dutch fort at Joana, but the uprising was suppressed.
Related Questions
Write a dialogue between a colonial forester and an adivasi discussing the issue of hunting in the forest.
Discuss how the changes in forest management in the colonial period affected the following groups of people:
- Shifting cultivators
- Nomadic and pastoralist communities
- Firms trading in timber/forest produce
- Plantation owners
- Kings/British officials engaged in shikar (hunting)
Between 1880 and 1920, forest cover in the Indian subcontinent declined by 9.7 million hectares, from 108.6 million hectares to 98.9 million hectares. Discuss the role of the following factors in this decline:
- Railways
- Shipbuilding
- Agricultural expansion
- Commercial farming
- Tea/Coffee plantations
- Adivasis and other peasant users
Why are forests affected by wars?