Question

How did the forest Act affect the life of the villagers across the country?

Answer 1

(i) The enactment of the Forest Act gave way to a very difficult life for the villages. All their routine practices such as cutting wood for their houses, grazing their cattle, collecting fruits and roots, hunting and fishing became illegal.
(ii) People were now forced to steal wood from the forests and if they were caught, they were at the mercy of the forest guards who would take bribes from them.
(iii) Women who collected fuelwood were especially worried. Police constables are forest guards used to harass people by demanding free food from them.