Page 106 - Understanding NCERT Histroy 09th

2. COLONIAL RULE AND PASTORAL LIFE
l The life of Pastoralists’ changed completely under the British Colonial rule. The movements
of pastoralists were regulated, grazing grounds shrank, and the revenue was increased
which were supposed to be paid by them. It happened due to the following reasons:
Goyal Brothers Prakashan
1. Land revenue was one of the main sources of income for the colonial government.
So, they wanted to transform all grazing lands into the cultivable farms through which
they can increase their revenue collection.
2. Numerous Forest Acts were introduced in different parts of the country.
l According to this Act, forests which were producing commercially valuable timber like
deodar or salwere declared ‘Reserved forests’, and other forests were categorized as
‘Protected forests’, and ‘village forests’.
l These Forest Acts completely changed the lives of the pastoralists as they were prohibited
from entering many of the forests.
l British officials were suspicious about these nomadic people. The Criminal Tribes Act
was passed in 1871. According to this Act, many communities of craftsmen, traders and
pastoralists were considered as Criminal Tribes by the British officials.

Source C (Page no. 104)
H.S. Gibson, the Deputy Conservator of Forests, Darjeeling, wrote in 1913:
‘… forest which is used for grazing cannot be used for any other purpose and is unable to yield
timber and fuel, which are the main legitimate forest produce …’

Activity
(Page no. 104)
Q. Write a comment on the closure of the forests to grazing from the standpoint of:
 a forester
Ans. A Forester : The forester’s duty is to ensure the conservation of forests, it is good
that the forests have been restricted for grazing cattles. This way the proper growth
of the vegetation and trees will take place in the forests, and the forest wealth will be
maintained.
 a pastoralist
Ans. A Pastoralist : Earlier the animals were grazing in the forest area, where enough vegetation
was available. But with the restriction for grazing of the animals, they have to be taken
far away to find grass and vegetation for food. This has put us to a lot of inconvenience,
as managing our flock has become more difficult.

Source D (Page no. 105)
In the 1920s, a Royal Commission on Agriculture reported:
‘The extent of the area available for grazing has gone down tremendously with the extension
of area under cultivation because of increasing population, extension of irrigation facilities,
acquiring the pastures for Government purposes, for example, defence, industries and agricultural
experimental farms. [Now] breeders find it difficult to raise large herds. Thus their earnings
have gone down. The quality of their livestock has deteriorated, dietary standards have fallen
and indebtedness has increased.’
The Report of the Royal Commission of Agriculture in India, 1928.

History Class IX H-97