Forest laws and their impact


 
 
Concept Explanation
 

Forest laws and their impact

Forest laws and their impact: The profitable exploitation of peasants made the British greedier. Their next target was the tribals of India , who lived in deep forests and led a life of self -sufficiency. their traditional economy was built around forest . they firmly believed that the forest belonged to them and they belonged to the forests.

The British extended their control over all forest and declared that forest were state property. The British tried to establish a centralized system of administration over tribal areas, a system which took away the freedom of the adivasis.   Some forests were classified as reserved forests for they produced timber which the British. In these forests people were not allowed to move freely, practice jhum cultivation, collect fruits, or hunt animals. But once the British stopped the tribal people from living inside forests, they faced a problem. Colonial officials came up with a solution. They decided that they would give jhum cultivators small patches of land in the forest and allow them to cultivate these on the conditions that those who lived in the villages would have to provide labor to the forest department and look after the forests.

Tribal revolt against forest laws made by Britishers:

The commercialization of agriculture and exploitation of forest wealth made many tribals homeless and jobless. The unjust policies of the British resulted in rebellion by tribals in different parts of India. hence there are some of the examples:

  • Revolt by Khasis , who lived in the khasi hills of north-west Assam , took place in 1829.The construction of a road through their land united many khasi cheifs against the english under leadership of Bar Manik and Tirut Singh.But the British suppressed their rebellion brutally.
  • The Kukas of hilly regions of Manipur and Tripura kept on attacking the British territories from 1829.But were forced to surrender in 1850.
  • The khonds of khondmals (near orissa) revolted against the British in 1846 due to to the fear of being annexed . But they could not stand before the might of Britishers.
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