Page 95 - Understanding NCERT Histroy 09th

3. Between 1880 and 1920, forest cover in the Indian subcontinent declined by 9.7 million
hectares, from 108.6 million hectares to 98.9 million hectares. Discuss the role of the
following factors in this decline:
 Railways  Ship-buildings  Agricultural expansion
Goyal Brothers Prakashan
 Commercial farming  Tea/Coffee plantations  Adivasis and other peasant users
Ans. (i) Railways:
(a) Wood was required to run the steam locomotives.
(b) To hold the railway tracks together sleepers were essential.
The railway tracks spread throughout the country, a very large number of trees were
cut down. Forests a round the railway tracks started disappearing fast in comparison
to other areas.
(ii) Ship-buildings:
(a) Shortage of oak forests created problem for the ship building in England.
(b) Timber of oak tree was required for the Royal Navy, large wooden boats, ships, etc.
(c) From 1820s and 1830s to export large quantities of timber from India, trees from
the Indian forests were cut on a very large scale
(d) This led to rapid decline in the natural forest area in India.
(iii) Agricultural Expansion:
As the population increased over the centuries, demand for food also increased.
To meet the increased demand for food more land had to be cultivated.
If more land had to be cultivated, forests had to be cut and brought under the cultivation.
So, forests were cleared to expand the agricultural land and to meet the food
requirements.
(iv) Commercial Farming:
(a) Large areas of natural forests were also cleared for plantations or commercial
farming.
(b) To meet the British growing demand for the commodities, like - Jute, rubber,
indigo, tobacco etc. known as commercial crops were grown.
(c) The British government took over the forests, exported their product to Europe.
(v) Tea/Coffee Plantations:
In order to meet the growing demand for tea and coffee, colonial authorities sold
huge hectares of forest land to mostly European plantation firms. These firms then
cut down the forests to make way for tea and coffee plantations. As a result, many
acres of forest were lost.
(vi) Adivasis and Other Peasant Users:
Adivasis and other peasant communities practiced shifting cultivation. It involved
clearing the parts of forest area and burning the tree roots. Seeds were then sown into
the burnt patches , and after the monsoon season, they were harvested. When fertility
declined of that particular area, the same practice was repeated in a different parts of
the forest.
4. Why are forests affected by wars?
Ans. Forests are affected by wars and this often leads to deforestation. Too much of the forests
were being cut during the World Wars to meet the war needs. Forests are an important
resource but during the wars they were destroyed by their own country under the ‘a scorched
earth policy’. This prevents the enemy from using this resource. Many villagers used this
opportunity to expand cultivation in the forest.

H-86 History Class IX