Question

Assertion [A]: The British planted trees like teak and pine, instead of trees like mango, mahua or neem trees.

Reason [R]: The British decided to plant trees which were beneficial for the timber trade and not the common people.

• A. [A] and [R] are true but [R] is not the correct justification for [A].
• B. [A] and [R] are false.
• C. [A] and [R] are true and [R] is the correct justification for [A].
• D. [A] is true but [R] is false.

Answer 1

The correct option is C [A] and [R] are true and [R] is the correct justification for [A].

• The trade of timber during the British colonial era grew, and this led to deforestation of forests on a large scale. The British were now concerned about the future supply of forest resources.
• To fix this, the British government decided to plant new trees to replace the forests which were being cut down. But they decided to plant trees which were beneficial for the timber trade and not the common people. Trees like teak and pine were planted instead of Mango, Mahua or Neem trees.
• This implies that the British government was only interested in profits and had no concern about the forest or the people who subsisted on these forests.