Title 1. Forest Society and Colonialism.pdf ✅

1 CHAPTER CONTENTS  Deforestation in India  Economic and Social Conditions Leading to Deforestation  Plantations  Development of Forestry in India  Effects of Forestry on Villagers  Affect of Forest Policy on Cultivation  Emergence of New Opportunities and Benefits  Forest Community of India  Forest Policy of the Dutch in Indonesia. ➢ DEFORESTATION IN INDIA ➢ Deforestation is the elimination of trees on a large scale from a forest so much so that it causes damage to plant and animal life (flora and fauna) of that forest. With a change in or tampering with an area’s biodiversity, the protective and regenerative properties of land are lost. This leads to slow onset of disaster and triggers a chain of calamities. It is a major problem concerning environmentalists today. Its main cause has been the indiscriminate nature of tree felling with a view to satisfy immediate needs not being aware of the long term effects of their actions. There is a clear cut connection between deforestation and vulnerability to famine. Forests served as the buffer for peasant population, providing some sustenance in the event of crop failure. When forest land became cropland, this buffer vanished, and crop failure meant deadly famine. ➢ ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL CONDITIONS LEADING TO DEFORESTATION While the causes of deforestation can be many and varied like the spread of agriculture, unregulated timber harvesting and indiscriminate firewood collection, the Indian reality is quite different because of its colonial past. Due to its exploitative nature the process of cutting of trees become aggressive under British rule. The main reason for expansion of cultivation and increasing deforestation was :  The growing demand for raw material by the English industries especially in the 19th century. This raw material was supplied by Indian farmers who not only started placing more and more land under commercial crops like sugar, cotton, indigo and jute but also started reclaiming more forest land. FOREST SOCIETY AND COLONIALISM
 Another reason was the prevailing misconception about forests as being wasteland which was of no use. Therefore it should be cleared and used for growing crops thus its utility would be enhanced. Increasing building activity by the British both at home and in India also increased the demand for Indian timber causing greater logging. Usually, uncontrolled deforestation is a symptom of a society’s inability to get a grip on other fundamental development problems : agricultural stagnation, grossly unequal land tenure, rising unemployment, rapid population growth, and the incapacity to regulate private enterprise to protect the public interest. The colonial requirements of ship building and expanding railway network not only at home but in the colonies too led to further denuding of forests in India. In order to meet the demands of ever expanding Royal Navy of England and railway tracks to carry raw material to harbour more and more trees were being felled. ➢ PLANTATIONS Mainly tea, coffee and rubber plantations were grown during the colonial period. The choice of what is to be grown and what not was based on European preference and not according to the suitability of Indian conditions. The cultivation of large areas for one commercial crop was bad for the soil and affected foodgrain production of the area. But the worst effect of this was on the forests. Large forest areas were converted into plantations by claring them and then selling them off to Europeans. A few remarkable examples may be cited here, some of which are still functional. In 1850 there had been only large tea plantation in British India producing 2,00,000 pounds of tea annually, but by 1871 the number of tea estates was 295. As India got more tightly linked to British industrial needs and markets more plantations and plantation based industries in tea and coffee developed. The plantation area was also extended considerably in 1920 and the government aimed at afforestation of ravine lands. These plantations not only become a major source of revenue but also ‘a way of life’ for the Europeans. Even after independence the legacy they left became and asset for the indigenous trade. The extent of impact of plantations on Indian lifestyle and culture is not to be belittled. ➢ DEVELOPMENT OF FORESTRY IN INDIA The increasing British demand for wood and other forest products had to be fulfilled urgently. To meet this requirement the imperialist rulers of India devised a system by which it not only became easy but also legal to take away as much wood as possible from India. For this purpose they worked out a plan for streamlining the various activities linked with the forests and to conserve forest wealth which was under threat from the timber merchants and local inhabitants. By the end of the 19th century a small group of dedicated British and German forest officers recognized the value of the forests as indispensable assets. They were led by Sir Dietrich Brandis who also became the first Inspector General of Forests in India. An organization was set up in 1864 to look after all the above stated objectives and much more. This service is known as Indian forest services and is still functional. It took up the task of streamlining forestry in India which came to be known as ‘scientific forestry’. It involved planting of tree saplings along with cutting them down. This type of tree plantation involved a lot of planning and management. A lot of calculation went into the assessment of how many, what type and how much of the area was to be used for planting trees. There is a lot of dispute as to whether this type of forestry was at all scientific or not. Another major achievement of the new system created by the British imperialists was the imposition of legal framework over the forests so that its use and misuse both became difficult. While the former was not in good
taste and made life difficult for forest dwellers, the latter feat helped in a big way in forest protection. The Indian Forest Act was devised in 1865 and was subsequently amended in 1878 and 1927 to meet the changing needs of colonial demand. The main accomplishment of the Act of 1878 was to classify the forests into 3 groups according to their utility. These were, namely, reserved, protected and village forests. The position now is that not even a single tree could be felled without prior approval by the concerned authorities, whether in rural or urban areas. The main reason being ecological and environmental rather than the utility of forest products as in the case of rural or village societies. The Imperial Forest Research Institute was founded in 1906 at Dehradun. Its aim was to spread the notion of scientific forestry with a view to provide better communication between man and forest.  What are the features of scientific forestry : In scientific forestry, natural forests which had lots of different types of trees were cut down. In their place, one type of tree was planted in straight rows. This is called a plantation. Forest officials surveyed the forests, estimated the area under different types of trees, and made working plans for forest management. They planned how much of the plantation area to cut every year. The area cut was then to be replanted so that it was ready to be cut again in some years. ➢ EFFECTS OF FORESTRY ON VILLAGERS Since people live in different circumstances and have different needs so their expectations from the forests are also different. The changes in the system of forestry also affected them differently. 1. It brought about alternations in the vocations related to the forests like cultivation, hunting, logging, firewood gathering etc. The areas closely situated to the forests were the most affected. These included the nearby villages. 2. The areas closely situated to the forests were the most affected. These included the nearby villages, pastoral groups and the tribal areas. 3. The rural areas close to the forests were the main consumers of forest product. But with increase in the means of more efficient and quicker transports even the perishable forest products could find their way to the far off cities. 4. Forest yields like fruits and edible roots (tubers), tendu leaves, semur and mahua etc. for making different utility items like bidis, oil for cooking and lighting. herbs and wooden tools all can be had from the forests. These formed the mainstay of villages and settlements around them who literally subsisted on them. 5. The daily life of several groups of people mostly tribals was totally dependent on the forest produce. But with the enactment of laws protecting the forests, these people were the worst sufferers. 6. Now firewood collection, cattle grazing, hunting and other routine activities were declared illegal. This made the forest inhabitants thieves in their own land as they were bound to undertake activities which were perfectly natural for them. 7. It was common for policeman & forest guards to harass people by demanding bribes. ➢ AFFECT OF FOREST POLICY ON CULTIVATION The major type of cultivation practice used in forest areas of the world is known as slash and burn, shifting or swidden agriculture. It has been practiced by the forest societies of almost all the regions and climates of the world. 1. Under this system the plots to be burned are identified and all the plants and foliage in it are left to dry after cutting them down. The dry vegetation is then burnt after a month or so. Burning removes the vegetation and
releases nutrients which fertilise the soil. The most interesting aspect is that this plot of land is then used for cultivation for upto 5 years, after which. it is again left fellow for the purpose of regaining declined fertility or for forest to regrow. This method is also more effective when two or more crops that complement each other are grown. Slash and burn requires a low population density, as the recovery of forest may take decades. 2. On the other hand increase in population causes ecological problems and may lead to increased pressure on land. This method has been in use in different parts of the world from. Northern Europe to Southeast Asia and South America. But it has been replaced by other methods almost every where. It is still practiced in some isolated parts of Mexico, Colombia, India, Indo-china and Madagascar. Indonesia, Thailand, and the Philippines aim to identify alternatives to slash-and-burn by providing viable policy, institutional, and technological land use options that can improve local livelihoods and preserve the region’s remaining forests. 3. European foresters regarded this practice as harmful for the forests. They felt that land which was used for cultivation every few years could not grow trees for railway timber. When a forest was burnt, there was the added danger of the flames spreading and burning valuable timber. Shifting cultivation also made it harder for the government to calculate taxes. Therefore, the government decided to ban shifting cultivation. As a result, many communities were forcibly displaced from their homes in the forests. Some had to change occupations, while some resisted through large and small rebellions. ➢ HUNTING  Who could hunt ? Hunting was considered as their natural forest right by the forest communities. So it was naturally resented when laws were made that imposed a ban on the birthright of the foresters. Hunting also included fishing and a variety of indigenous contraptions, like the bamboo trap and rabbit trap were devised to facilitate the event which involved a lot of fanfare. Most of the forest communities like the Baiga, Maria, Munda of Central and East India were so dependent on forests that they were on the verge of starvation when the new forest rules came into practice. The large scale hunting of big forest animals was a more recent phenomenon of the colonial period. Even during the medieval period hunting was a royal pastime for the Mughals and other ruling dynasties. But hunting became almost an obsession in the British period so much so that some of the species like the tiger and leopard almost became extinct. It was later that the laws against large scale killing and poaching of animals from the forests were made.  The main reasons for this behaviour of the colonists were : ◆ They had the notion of the wild animals as being dangerous for human survival and not otherwise as was the belief of the tribals according to whom such animals were a part of nature. ◆ Attached to this were the notions of a civilized society versus a savage society. This belief was an extension of their motion of ‘white man’s burden’ which legitimized all the wrong doings of the British in the name of religion and charity. ◆ Hunting soon became a pastime and hobby with the Europeans who at times had nothing much to do except kill. ➢ EMERGENCE OF NEW OPPORTUNITIES AND BENEFITS