Chapter 5 Forest Society And Colonialism

Question 1

What were the causes of deforestation?

Answer 1

1 increasing population

2 Greater demand of commercial crops

3 Britishers turned forest in agricultural land for their revenue

4 Britishers required timber for their ships

5 Spread of railways

Question 2

Who set up Indian forest act and when? And what is scientific forestry?

Answer 2

Dietrich Brandis, 1865 forest act.

Scientific forestry is a system of cutting trees in which old trees are cut and new ones planted.

Question 3

How did the villagers used forests?

Answer 3

1 fruits
2 medicine
3 wood ( for cooking food)
4 gourd as a water bottle
5 mahua tree - oil

Question 4

Why Britishers considered shifting cultivation harmful?

Answer 4

1 It was hard to grow timber on the land where shifting cultivation was performed.

2 risk of spreading fire

3 it made harder to calculate taxes for the government.

Question 5

Why people of bastar rebelled against the Britishers?

Answer 5

2/3 forest was converted into reserved forest, they could not do hunting etc.

High land rent

Demand of free goods from the Britishers

People were displaced.

They destroyed schools, offices and looted bazaars.

Question 6

Why or how, forests affected by wars?

Answer 6

The two world wars had major impact on the forests. In India more trees were cut to meet the war requirements of the British.

In java, just before the Japanese occupied the area the Dutch followed scorched earth policy. They destroyed sawmills, trees(teak) etc so that the japenese could not use it. Even then the Japanese continued the exploitation of the forest.

Question 7

What are the similarities between colonial management between bastar and java?

Answer 7

Both in bastar and java, the rights of the people were taken away and they were forced to work under their colonial masters.

There was large scale of deforestation, scientific forestry and rebellion took place in both places.

Question 8

When and why forests around railway tracks disappeared fast?

Answer 8

1 the spread of railways in 1850.
2 it demanded timber
3 railways were needed for spread of trade.
4 wood for sleepers were required for railway tracks.
5 government contracters began cutting trees indiscriminately.

Question 9

Oak in England was required for?

Tree planted in straight rows was called?

Answer 9

Shipbuilding.

Scientific forestry.