Rebellion in the Forest

Rebellion in the Forest: - In many parts of India and across the world, forest communities rebelled against the changes that were being imposed on them. In India, Siddhu and Kanu of Santhal Paraganas, Birsa Munda of Chhotanagpur, Alluri Sitarama Raju of Andhra Pradesh who revolted against the new forest policy are still remembered today in many songs and stories.

The People of Bastar: Bastar is located in the Southernmost part of Chhattisgarh and borders of Andhra Pradesh, Odisha’ and Maharashtra. The central part of Bastar is on a plateau. To its North is the Chattisgarh plain is in and to its South is Godavari plain. The river Indrawati flow across Bastar East to West. A number of different communities like Maria and Muria Gonds, Dhurwas, Bhatras and Halbas, live in Bastar. The people of Bastar speak different languages, but share common customs and beliefs. The people believe that each village is given its land by Earth and they look after the natural resources of their village. Further they show respect to the spirits of river, forest and mountain. The local people look after all the natural resources within their boundary. If people from a particular village want to take some wood from another village they pay a small fee called devsari, dand or man in exchange. By appointing watchmen, villagers protect their forests also. Every year the headmen of villages in a pargana (cluster of villages) meet and discuss of important issues.

The Fears of the People: When the Colonial Government proposed to reserve two thirds of the forest in 1905 and stop shifting cultivation, hunting and collection of forest produce, the people of Bastar were very worried. Some villages were allowed to stay in the reserved forests. But there was condition that their people will work free for the Forest Department in cutting and transporting trees and protecting the forest from fires. Subsequently, these came to be known as Forest Villages. As a result, people of other villages were displaced without any notice or compensation. For long time villagers had been suffering from increased land rents and frequent demands for free labour and goods by colonial officials. Then came two terrible famines. One in 1899-1900 and another in 1907-1908 thus the forest products became the last choice for the people. People began to gather and discussed their issues. The initiative was taken by the Dhurwas of the Kanger forest, where reservation of forest first took place. Although, there was no single leader, but Gunda Dhur, from village Nethanar, became an important figure in the movement. In 1910 messages like mango boughs, ‘a lump of Earth’, ‘chillies and arrows’ ‘began circulating between villages as the messages to invite villagers to -rebel against the British.

The Rise of Revolt: - The people of Bastar organised themselves and revolted against the British. Bazaars were looted; the houses of officials and traders, schools and police stations were burnt and robbed. The grain was redistributed. They attacked the ones who were in some way associated with the colonial state and its oppressive laws, William Ward, a missionary who observed the events, wrote “From all directions came streaming into Jagdalpur, police, merchants, forests peons, school masters and immigrants”. The British sent troops to suppress the rebellion and it took three months for the British to regain control. They were never able to capture Gunda Dhur. After the revolt, work on reservation was temporarily suspended and the area to be reserved was reduced to roughly half of that planned before 1910. After independence, the same practice of keeping people out of the forests and reserving them for industrial use continued. In the 1970s, the World Bank proposed that 4600 hectares of natural sal forest should be replaced by tropical pine to provide pulp for the paper industry. But after the protests by local environmentalists the project was stopped.