Question

Discuss the forest laws introduced by the British and their effect on the tribal society.

Answer 1

Instructions:
The answer to this question can be given by explaining about the forest laws made by the British together with explaining about the reserved forests and forest villages.

Solution:
The British set their eyes on the resourceful forests and made several laws. It impacted the life of the tribal people as they were directly connected to the forests.
The forests which produced useful timbers for the British were declared as reserve forests. These timbers were mostly used to make sleepers for laying the railway tracks.
No traditional activities, such as hunting-gathering or shifting cultivation were allowed in such forests. Thus, many of the tribals had to leave in search of work and livelihood.
But the British faced another problem. Since the tribals were not allowed inside the forests, the British were unable to get labour to cut trees or carry the wooden logs from one place to another.
Thus the forest officials decided to give small patches of land to the tribals to carry on jhum cultivation. In lieu of this, the tribals served as labourers to the Forest department. Thus several forest villages were established by the forest Departments to ensure a regular supply of cheap labour.
Several tribal groups declared the forest laws as illegal and rose to open rebellion.
The revolt of Songram Sangma of 1906 took place in Assam. The forest satyagraha of the 1930s in the Central Provinces was another such revolt.