Page 109 - Understanding NCERT Histroy 09th

11. What is meant by scientific forestry?
Ans. Scientific forestry seeks to ensure that the different types of trees in a forest are being cut
down and replaced by only type of tree planted in straight line.

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V. Short Answer Questions

1. What do you mean by the reserved forests?
Ans. The 1878 Act divided forests into three categories : reserved, protected and village forests.
The best forests were called ‘reserved forests’.
Villagers could not take anything from these forests, even for their own use. For house
building or fuel, they could take wood from protected or village forests.
2. Why did the people of Bastar revolt against the British?
Ans. l They revolted because the British Government tried to reserve the forests which
deprived the people fromtheir rights to collect forest products and to practise shifting
cultivation.
The people were suffering from increased land rents and frequent demands for free
labour and goods by colonial officials.
l People of Bastar cannot collect forest products, which affected their living.
l So, they revolted against the new forest law.
3. How did the spread of railways in India, create a new demand for timber?
Ans. The spread of railways from the 1850s created a new demand for timber. Railways were
essential for colonial trade and for the movement of the British army. Wood was required
as fuel, to run the steam locomotives, and to lay railway lines sleepers were essential to
hold the tracks together.
From the 1860s, the railway network expanded rapidly. There was tremendous increase in
the length of the railway tracks. With the increase in the railway tracks the need for timber
also increased. More and more trees were cut down. Contracts were given to the individuals
contractors to supply timber. These contractors recklessly cut down the trees.

4. What was the Blandongdiensten system?
Ans. The Dutch wanted timber from Java for ship-building and railways. In 1882, 280,000
sleepers were exported from Java . However, all this required labour to cut the trees, transport
the logs and prepare the sleepers. The Dutch first imposed rents on land being cultivated
in the forest and then exempted some villages from these rents if they worked collectively
to provide free labour and buffaloes for cutting and transporting timber. This was known
as the blandongdiensten system.
5. Why cultivation expanded rapidly in the colonial period? Explain.
Ans. Cultivation expanded rapidly in the colonial period because:
l The British encouraged the cultivation of commercial crops like jute, sugar, wheat and
cotton. These crops were great in demand in Europe.
l They tried to increase the yield of agricultural products.
l They tried to increase their revenue and enhance the income of the state.
6. When was the Forest Act passed in India? Why did it cause hardship for the villages across
the country?
Ans. The Forest Act was enacted in 1865 and was amended twice in 1878 and 1927.
l The Act divided the forests into three categories : reserved, protected and village forests.
The best forests were known as the reserved forests. Villagers were not allowed to take
anything from these forests, even for their own use.
H-92 History Class IX