Class 9 History Chapter 4: Forest Society and Colonialism

Deforestation and its Causes

Q: What is 'deforestation'?
- A: The large-scale disappearance or clearing of forests is referred to as deforestation.
Q: Why did the British heavily encourage the production of commercial crops like jute, sugar, wheat, and cotton in India?
- A: To meet the growing demand for food to feed Europe's urban population and to provide raw materials for British industries.
Q: Why did the disappearance of oak forests in England create a problem for the Royal Navy?
- A: It created a severe shortage of strong and durable timber, which was essential for building ships for the navy.
Q: Why were massive amounts of timber required for the expansion of railways in India from the 1850s?
- A: Wood was needed as fuel to run the steam locomotives and to make wooden sleepers to hold the railway tracks together.

Q: Who was invited by the British government to advise them on forest management in India?
- A: Dietrich Brandis, a German expert who became the first Inspector General of Forests in India.
Q: What was the 'scientific forestry' system introduced by the British?
- A: A system where natural forests with diverse species were cut down and replaced by a single type of tree planted in straight, organized rows (a plantation).
Q: In which year was the Indian Forest Service set up?
- A: It was set up in 1864.
Q: How did the 1878 amendment to the Forest Act classify Indian forests?
- A: It divided forests into three categories: reserved, protected, and village forests.
Q: What was the restriction placed on 'reserved' forests?
- A: These were the best forests, and villagers were completely banned from entering them or taking anything from them, even for their own use.
Q: What is 'shifting cultivation' (or swidden agriculture)?
- A: A traditional agricultural practice where parts of the forest are cut and burnt in rotation, seeds are sown in the ashes, and the land is left to recover its fertility after a few years.

Q: Where is Bastar located?
- A: It is located in the southernmost part of Chhattisgarh, bordering Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, and Maharashtra.
Q: What are 'forest villages'?
- A: Villages that were allowed to stay inside reserved forests on the strict condition that they provided free labor to the forest department for cutting and transporting trees.
Q: Who was a prominent leader of the 1910 forest rebellion in Bastar?
- A: Gunda Dhur, a tribal leader from the village of Nethanar.
Q: How did the Bastar rebellion of 1910 end?
- A: The British deployed troops, fired upon the camps of the Adivasis, and heavily repressed the rebellion, though it took them three months to regain control.

Q: Which European colonial power controlled Indonesia (including Java) and introduced forest management laws there?
- A: The Dutch.
Q: Who were the Kalangs of Java?
- A: A community of highly skilled forest cutters and shifting cultivators whose expertise was crucial for harvesting teak.
Q: What was the 'blandongdiensten' system introduced by the Dutch?
- A: A system that exempted certain villages from paying land rent if they provided free labor and buffaloes for cutting and transporting timber.
Q: Who led the movement in Java questioning the state's ownership of the forests?
- A: Surontiko Samin of Randublatung village, a teak forest village.

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