CBSE Class 9 History Chapter 4 ‘Forest Society and Colonialism’ Notes

Welcome to our online tutorial classes, where learning meets innovation! In this segment, we delve into the fascinating world of History with our meticulously crafted CBSE Class 9 History Chapter 4 notes on ‘Forest Society and Colonialism’. Through these notes, we aspire to spark your curiosity, enhance your comprehension, and equip you with knowledge that extends beyond the confines of the classroom.

Chapter 4 of CBSE Class 9 History, “Forest Society and Colonialism,” examines the impact of colonial rule on forest communities in India and Java. It discusses the imposition of forest laws, the rise of commercial forestry, various rebellions, and the shift towards community-involved forest conservation since the 1980s.

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CBSE Class 9 History Chapter 4 ‘Forest Society and Colonialism‘ Overview

Chapter 4 of CBSE Class 9 History, “Forest Society and Colonialism,” examines the impact of colonial rule on forest communities in India and Java. It details how the British and Dutch imposed forest laws, restricting traditional practices like shifting cultivation and hunting. The chapter highlights the rise of commercial forestry, the introduction of scientific forestry, and the conflicts that arose from these changes. It also covers various rebellions against colonial exploitation, such as the Bastar rebellion, and discusses post-independence forest policies. The chapter concludes with modern developments in forest management, emphasizing community involvement in conservation efforts.

With our expertly curated notes, you’ll be well-equipped to ace your CBSE Class 9 History exams and embark on a lifelong journey of discovery and learning.

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CBSE Class 9 History Chapter 4 ‘Forest Society and Colonialism’ Notes

Forest Products and Their Uses:

• Forests provide essential resources for daily life, such as:
• Paper (for books), wood (for desks, tables, doors, windows).
• Dyes (for clothes), spices (for food).
• Cellophane (for wrapping), tendu leaves (for making bidis).
• Gum, honey, coffee, tea, and rubber.
• Oil from sal seeds used in chocolates.
• Tannin used for leather production.
• Herbs and roots used for medicinal purposes.
• Bamboo, fuel wood, grass, charcoal, and packaging materials.
• Forests also provide fruits, flowers, animals, and birds.
• High biodiversity areas like the Amazon or Western Ghats can have up to 500 plant species in a single forest patch.

Deforestation:

• A major issue linked to the loss of forest diversity.
• Between 1700 and 1995, around 13.9 million sq km of forest, or 9.3% of the world’s total area, was cleared for:
• Industrial use, cultivation, pastures, and fuelwood.

Why Deforestation?

• Deforestation refers to the disappearance of forests.
• Though it has been occurring for centuries, under colonial rule, the process became more systematic and extensive.

Land to be Improved:

• In 1600, about one-sixth of India’s landmass was under cultivation, which has now increased to half.
• Population growth increased the demand for food, leading peasants to clear forests for cultivation.
• Under British colonial rule, cultivation expanded rapidly due to:

1. Encouragement of commercial crops: The British promoted crops like jute, sugar, wheat, and cotton to meet the demands of 19th-century Europe for foodgrains and raw materials for industries.
2. Forests viewed as unproductive: Colonial authorities considered forests to be wilderness that needed to be converted into agricultural land to generate revenue for the state.
3. From 1880 to 1920, the cultivated area increased by 6.7 million hectares.

• Expansion of cultivation is often seen as progress, but it requires clearing forests.

Colonial Expansion and Aboriginal Lands:

• The absence of cultivation did not mean land was uninhabited.
• Example: In Australia, when white settlers arrived, they declared the land as terra nullius (empty land). However, aboriginal people already had demarcated territories.
• The Ngarrindjeri people mapped their land according to the symbolic body of their ancestor, Ngurunderi, and their land consisted of five environments:
  • Saltwater, riverine areas, lakes, bush, and desert plains, each serving different socio-economic needs.

Sleepers on the Tracks

• By the early 19th century, oak forests in England were depleting.
• This led to a timber supply crisis for the Royal Navy, essential for building ships.
  • Without ships, maintaining imperial power was challenging.
• In the 1820s, search parties were sent to India to find forest resources.
  • Within a decade, large-scale deforestation occurred in India, and huge quantities of timber were exported to England.

Railways and Timber Demand:

• The expansion of railways from the 1850s created a new demand for timber:
  1. Wood was used as fuel for locomotives.
  2. Railway sleepers were required to hold the tracks together.
  • Each mile of railway track needed between 1,760 and 2,000 sleepers.
  • By 1890, 25,500 km of track had been laid in India.
  • By 1946, the length of railway tracks had increased to over 765,000 km.
• As the railway network expanded, more trees were felled.
  • In the Madras Presidency alone, 35,000 trees were cut annually for sleepers by the 1850s.
  • The government gave contracts to individuals to supply the timber, leading to indiscriminate tree cutting.
  • Forests near railway tracks began disappearing rapidly.

Colonial Justification for Land Use:

• Colonisers believed that uncultivated land had to be improved and used for productive purposes.
  • This idea justified the conquest and exploitation of indigenous lands.
• Example from Richard Harding (1896) on Central America:
  • Harding argued that land lying “unimproved” should be taken over by those who understood its value and could use it for economic gain.
  • He compared Central Americans to “semi-barbarians” who did not understand how to use the land effectively.
  • United Fruit Company was founded in 1899, which grew bananas on an industrial scale in Central America.
    • This company gained such power over the governments of these countries that they became known as Banana Republics.

Timber Demand for New Railway Lines (Sources):

• Indus Valley Railway (between Multan and Sukkur):
  • The construction of this 300-mile line required 600,000 sleepers, each measuring 3.5 cubic feet.
  • This equaled more than 2,000,000 cubic feet of timber.
  • Locomotives on this line would consume 219,000 maunds of wood annually.
  • Additional fuel was needed for brick-burning.
  • The timber would come from the Sind Forests, and the fuel from the tamarisk and Jhand forests in Sind and Punjab.
• Northern State Railway (between Lahore and Multan):
  • The construction of this line required 2,200,000 sleepers.

Plantations:

• Natural forests were cleared to establish tea, coffee, and rubber plantations.
• These plantations were created to meet Europe’s growing demand for these commodities.
• The colonial government took control of forests and provided large areas of land to European planters at cheap rates.
• These planters enclosed the land, cleared the forests, and planted tea or coffee in place of natural vegetation.

The Rise of Commercial Forestry

British Need for Forests:

• The British needed timber to build ships and railways.
• They were concerned that the use of forests by local people and reckless felling by traders would lead to the destruction of forests.

Role of Dietrich Brandis:

• The British invited Dietrich Brandis, a German expert, to manage the forests.
• Brandis became the first Inspector General of Forests in India.
• Brandis recognized the need for a proper forest management system and conservation practices.

Steps Taken by Brandis:

• Legal measures were needed to regulate forest use.
• Rules were formulated regarding the use of forest resources.
• Felling of trees and grazing were restricted to conserve forests for timber production.
• Those who cut trees illegally or violated rules were to be punished.

Establishment of Institutions:

• Brandis established the Indian Forest Service in 1864.
• The Indian Forest Act was introduced in 1865 to give legal sanction to forest management.
• The Imperial Forest Research Institute was set up in Dehradun in 1906.

Introduction of Scientific Forestry:

• Scientific forestry was introduced as a forest management system.
• In this system, natural forests with diverse species were cleared, and plantations with a single type of tree were planted in straight rows.
• Forest officials conducted surveys, estimated the area under various tree types, and created working plans for forest management.
• Plans dictated how much area of the plantation to cut annually and how to replant it to ensure future timber production.

Criticism of Scientific Forestry:

• Despite being termed “scientific,” many ecologists believe the system was not truly scientific.
• The system reduced biodiversity by promoting monoculture plantations and affecting the ecosystem.

Forest Acts and Regulations:

• After the Indian Forest Act was passed in 1865, it was amended in 1878 and 1927.
• The 1878 Act divided forests into three categories:

1. Reserved forests – the best forests where villagers were not allowed to take anything, not even for personal use.
2. Protected forests – areas where limited forest resources could be used by villagers.
3. Village forests – meant for the use of local villagers, particularly for house building and fuel.

How were the Lives of People Affected?

Different perceptions of forests:

• Villagers: Needed forests with a mixture of species to meet their needs (fuel, fodder, leaves, etc.).
• Foresters: Wanted trees that were suitable for building ships and railways; they promoted teak and sal as they provided hard, tall, and straight wood.

Importance of forest products to villagers:

Villagers used roots, leaves, fruits, and tubers for food, medicines, and daily needs.

• Fruits and tubers were especially important during the monsoon before the harvest.
• Herbs were used as medicines, and wood was used to make agricultural implements like yokes and ploughs.
• Bamboo was used for fences, baskets, and umbrellas.
• A dried scooped-out gourd could be used as a portable water bottle.
• Leaves were stitched to make disposable plates and cups.
• Siadi creepers were used for making ropes, and the thorny bark of semur was used to grate vegetables.
• Mahua tree provided oil for cooking and lighting lamps.

Impact of the Forest Act:

• The Act made activities like cutting wood, grazing cattle, collecting fruits and roots, hunting, and fishing illegal.
• Villagers were forced to steal wood, which exposed them to bribery and harassment from forest guards.
• Women collecting fuelwood were especially vulnerable to harassment.
• It was common for police constables and forest guards to demand free food from villagers, adding to their hardships.

How did Forest Rules Affect Cultivation?

Shifting cultivation (swidden agriculture):

• A traditional practice in Asia, Africa, and South America, known locally by different names:
  • In India: Known as dhya, penda, bewar, nevad, jhum, podu, khandad, and kumri.
  • Other names: lading in Southeast Asia, milpa in Central America, chitemene or tavy in Africa, chena in Sri Lanka.

Shifting cultivation process:

• Forests were cut and burnt in rotation.
• Seeds were sown in the ashes after the first monsoon rains, and crops were harvested by October-November.
• The land was cultivated for 2 years and then left fallow for 12 to 18 years for the forest to regenerate.
• A mixture of crops was grown:
  • Millets in central India and Africa.
  • Manioc in Brazil.
  • Maize and beans in Latin America.

European foresters’ perspective:

• They regarded shifting cultivation as harmful to forests.
• They believed it prevented forests from growing valuable timber for railways.
• Fires used in cultivation could spread and damage important timber trees.
• It made it difficult for the government to calculate taxes on land.

Government’s response:

• The government decided to ban shifting cultivation.
• This led to the displacement of many communities from their homes in the forests.
• Some were forced to change occupations, while others resisted through rebellions.

Who could Hunt?

Impact of New Forest Laws on Hunting:

• Prior to the forest laws, forest dwellers depended on hunting deer, partridges, and small animals for survival.
• The forest laws prohibited these customary hunting practices.
• Those caught hunting were labeled poachers and were punished accordingly.

Hunting as a Sport:

• Despite these restrictions on locals, hunting big game became a sport for the colonial elite.
• Hunting tigers and other animals had already been part of the culture of Mughal courts and Indian nobility for centuries, as depicted in Mughal paintings.
• Under British rule, the scale of hunting expanded significantly, pushing many species to the verge of extinction.

British Attitudes toward Hunting:

• The British viewed large animals such as tigers, wolves, and other wildlife as symbols of a wild and savage society.
• They believed that killing these animals would help to “civilize” India.
• Rewards were offered for killing tigers, wolves, and leopards, as they were considered threats to cultivators.
• Between 1875 and 1925, over 80,000 tigers, 150,000 leopards, and 200,000 wolves were killed for rewards.

Tigers as Sporting Trophies:

• The killing of tigers evolved into a sporting activity.
• Notable hunters included the Maharaja of Sarguja, who shot 1,157 tigers and 2,000 leopards up to 1957, and the British administrator George Yule, who killed 400 tigers.

Reserved Forests for Hunting:

• Initially, certain areas of forests were reserved exclusively for hunting by the colonial elite.
• It was only much later that environmentalists and conservators began to argue for the protection of these species, recognizing the need to preserve wildlife rather than destroy it.

Source C: Baigas’ Petition to the Government:

• Baigas, a forest community from Central India, were severely impacted after their shifting cultivation practices were banned.
• In 1892, they petitioned the government, highlighting their starvation and poverty due to the loss of their traditional livelihood.
• They lamented that while prisoners were provided food, they were left to starve despite having lived in the forests for generations.
• The Baigas expressed their plight, explaining that they had no food, clothing, or resources, apart from their axe, and were suffering greatly due to the government’s lack of support.

New Trades, New Employments, and New Services

Changes in Livelihoods after Forest Control:

• While many people lost traditional livelihoods due to forest department regulations, some gained new opportunities in trade.
• Communities transitioned from their traditional occupations to trading in forest products, which was not limited to India but occurred worldwide.

Global Example: The Mundurucu People:

• In the Brazilian Amazon, the Mundurucu people shifted from manioc cultivation to collecting latex from wild rubber trees due to the growing demand for rubber in the mid-19th century.
• Over time, they moved from living in villages to trading posts, becoming dependent on traders.

Trade in Forest Products in India:

• The trade in forest products, such as elephants, hides, horns, silk cocoons, ivory, bamboo, spices, fibres, gums, and resins, had a long history in India.
• Adivasi communities and nomadic groups like the Banjaras were involved in this trade during the medieval period.

Impact of British Regulation on Trade:

• With the arrival of the British, trade in forest products was regulated by the colonial government.
• European trading firms were granted monopolies over certain forest areas, with exclusive rights to trade in products like timber, resin, and other forest goods.
• Local people’s access to resources was restricted, with grazing and hunting limited or prohibited.

Impact on Pastoral and Nomadic Communities:

• Pastoralist and nomadic communities, like the Korava, Karacha, and Yerukula from the Madras Presidency, lost their livelihoods as they could no longer practice their traditional trades.
• Many were labeled as ‘criminal tribes’ and were forced into factory, mine, or plantation labor under government supervision.

Working Conditions on Plantations:

• While new employment opportunities arose, they did not necessarily lead to better conditions.
• In Assam, forest communities like the Santhals, Oraons, and Gonds were recruited to work in tea plantations.
• The working conditions were poor, with low wages and harsh environments.
• Returning home to their villages was often difficult due to isolation and lack of resources.

The Horrors of Rubber Extraction in Putumayo (Amazon Region)

Conditions in Rubber Plantations:

• Globally, the working conditions in plantations were often horrific, particularly in rubber extraction industries.
• In the Putumayo region of the Amazon, forced labor was imposed on the local Huitoto Indians by the Peruvian Rubber Company, which had both British and Peruvian interests.

Impact on Indigenous Population:

• Between 1900 and 1912, the extraction of 4,000 tons of rubber resulted in a massive decline in the local Indian population—a decrease of 30,000 people due to torture, disease, and forced labor.

Atrocities Described:

• An employee of the rubber company described a brutal massacre where the plantation manager slaughtered 150 Indians—men, women, and children—when they failed to meet his demands for rubber.
• Survivors were tortured and burned to death, reflecting the extreme violence and exploitation faced by indigenous communities under colonial plantation systems.

Rebellion in the Forest

Rebellions Against British Policies:

• Forest communities in India and around the world rebelled against the changes imposed by the colonial government.
• Prominent leaders of such rebellions include Siddhu and Kanu in the Santhal Parganas, Birsa Munda of Chhotanagpur, and Alluri Sitarama Raju of Andhra Pradesh.
• These figures are still remembered through songs and stories for their resistance to British exploitation of forest resources and their communities.

The People of Bastar (Bastar Rebellion – 1910)

One notable rebellion took place in the kingdom of Bastar in 1910, involving local communities who resisted British control over their forests.

Geographical Location:

• Bastar is located in the southernmost part of Chhattisgarh and shares borders with Andhra Pradesh, Orissa, and Maharashtra.
• The central region of Bastar is on a plateau, flanked by the Chhattisgarh plain to the north and the Godavari plain to the south.
• The Indrawati River flows across Bastar from east to west.

Diverse Communities of Bastar:

• Several communities reside in Bastar, including the Maria and Muria Gonds, Dhurwas, Bhatras, and Halbas.
• These communities speak different languages but share common customs and beliefs, particularly regarding the land and natural resources.

Cultural Beliefs and Practices:

• The people of Bastar believe that the Earth provides land to each village, and they, in turn, are responsible for taking care of the land.
• They offer rituals and sacrifices to the Earth during agricultural festivals, as well as showing respect to the spirits of rivers, forests, and mountains.
• Village Boundaries: Each village knows its territorial limits and looks after the natural resources within its boundaries.

Resource Sharing and Local Regulations:

• If a village needs wood from another village’s forest, they are required to pay a small fee known as devsari, dand, or man.
• Some villages protect their forests by employing watchmen, who are paid in grain contributions from each household.

Annual Hunt and Village Headmen Meetings:

• Every year, villages organize a big hunt, during which the headmen of villages from a pargana (a cluster of villages) gather to discuss important issues.
• These meetings often include discussions about forest management and resource sharing.

The Fears of the People

Colonial Forest Reservation Proposal (1905):

• The colonial government proposed reserving two-thirds of the forests in 1905.
• This reservation would stop shifting cultivation, hunting, and collection of forest produce by the local people.
• Villagers who remained in the reserved forests were forced to work for the forest department for free, including cutting and transporting trees and preventing forest fires.
• These villages became known as ‘forest villages’.
• Other villagers were displaced without notice or compensation.

Increased Hardships for Villagers:

• Villagers faced higher land rents and frequent demands for free labor and goods from colonial officials.
• Two severe famines struck the region in 1899-1900 and 1907-1908, worsening the situation.
• The forest reservation plans became the final tipping point for the villagers.

Discussions and Resistance:

• People began to discuss their concerns in village councils, bazaars, and at festivals.
• The Dhurwas of the Kanger forest (where reservation first began) initiated resistance.
• Gunda Dhur, from Nethanar village, is remembered as an important figure in the movement, although there was no single leader.

Rebellion Symbolism and Actions:

• In 1910, messages of rebellion were circulated between villages using mango boughs, lumps of earth, chillies, and arrows as symbols.
• Villagers contributed to rebellion expenses and targeted British institutions.
• They looted bazaars, burned and robbed officials’ houses, schools, and police stations, and redistributed grain.
• Those associated with the colonial state were the main targets of the rebellion.

British Response:

• The British sent troops to suppress the rebellion.
• Despite attempts by adivasi leaders to negotiate, the British used force by surrounding camps and opening fire on the rebels.
• They also punished participants through flogging and other means, forcing villagers to flee into the jungles.
• It took the British three months (February-May) to regain control of the area.

Outcome of the Rebellion:

• Gunda Dhur was never captured.
• The British temporarily suspended their reservation plans and reduced the area to be reserved by roughly half of what was originally planned.

Post-Independence Continuation of Forest Policies:

• Even after India’s Independence, the policy of forest reservation and exclusion of local people from forests continued.
• In the 1970s, the World Bank proposed replacing 4,600 hectares of natural sal forest with tropical pine for the paper industry.
• The project was stopped after protests from local environmentalists.

Rebellion and Resistance in Bastar

Source E: Bhondia’s Uprising (1910):

• Bhondia, a leader of the rebellion, gathered 400 men and performed ritual sacrifices (goats) to strengthen the community’s resolve.
• Their aim was to intercept the Dewan, an important colonial official returning from Bijapur.
• On February 10, the rebels started their campaign by:
  • Burning down the Marenga school, the police post, and other government buildings at Keslur.
  • A contingent also set fire to Karanji school and captured a head constable and four state reserve police constables.
• The captured officers were not seriously harmed, but their weapons were taken.
• Bhondia Majhi led a party of rebels to the Koer river to block an alternate route in case the Dewan diverted from the main road.
• The rest of the rebels, under Buddhu Majhi and Harchand Naik, blocked the main road at Dilmilli.

Oral Histories of Bastar’s Rebellion:

Podiyami Ganga of Kankapal recounts stories passed down from his father, Podiyami Tokeli:

• The British began seizing land, and the local Raja did not act.
• The people rallied in support of their land and fought back, but many staunch supporters of the Raja were killed, and the rest were severely punished (whipped).
• Podiyami Tokeli survived the attack, although he was severely beaten.
• The British tied rebels to horses and dragged them as punishment.
• People from several villages, including Gargideva, Michkola, and Dole, participated in the rebellion and went to Jagdalpur to resist the British.

Chendru, an elder from Nandrasa, adds:

• Key leaders on the people’s side included Mille Mudaal of Palem, Soyekal Dhurwa of Nandrasa, and Pandwa Majhi.
• People from every pargana (cluster of villages) camped at Alnar tarai, ready to face the British.
• The British paltan (army) quickly surrounded the rebels.
• Gunda Dhur, the symbolic leader of the rebellion, was believed to have flying powers and escaped.
• The people, armed with bows and arrows, faced difficulty fighting the British forces and hid in shrubs to escape.
• Some rebels survived and returned to their villages.

Key Themes and Insights:

• Organized Rebellion: The rebellion was well-planned, with rebel leaders like Bhondia Majhi and Gunda Dhur coordinating attacks on key government institutions and colonial officials.
• Tactical Resistance: Rebels burned schools, police stations, and government buildings, symbolizing their rejection of British authority.
• Defiance Against Colonialism: The local leaders and communities viewed the British as land usurpers, and their rebellion was an attempt to reclaim their rights and land.
• Brutal Suppression: Despite the fierce resistance, the British used military force to suppress the rebellion. They punished the rebels severely, both physically (whipping, dragging behind horses) and through intimidation tactics.
• Cultural Memory: The stories of heroism and suffering have been passed down through generations, highlighting the community’s pride in their resistance against British rule.
• Symbolic Leadership: Leaders like Gunda Dhur became folk heroes, and stories of his miraculous escapes, such as flying powers, are part of local legend, reflecting the admiration and reverence people had for these figures.

Forest Transformations in Java

Java and its Colonial History:

• Java, part of modern-day Indonesia, was once densely forested before becoming famous for rice cultivation.
• The Dutch were the colonial power in Indonesia and introduced similar forest control laws as the British did in India.
• The Dutch wanted timber from Java to build ships. Like India, timber was crucial for colonial infrastructure, particularly for ships and later railways.
• In 1600, the population of Java was around 3.4 million. While many villages existed in fertile plains, there were also communities in the mountains practicing shifting cultivation.

The Woodcutters of Java

Kalangs of Java:

• The Kalangs were a skilled community involved in forest cutting and shifting cultivation.
• In 1755, when the Mataram Kingdom in Java split, the 6,000 Kalang families were divided between the two new kingdoms because of their invaluable expertise in harvesting teak.
• The Kalangs were essential for the construction of palaces for the kings.
• When the Dutch began controlling forests in Java in the 18th century, they tried to make the Kalangs work under them.
• In 1770, the Kalangs resisted the Dutch by attacking a Dutch fort at Joana, but the rebellion was eventually suppressed.

Dutch Scientific Forestry

Introduction of Forest Laws:

• By the 19th century, as it became important for the Dutch to control territory as well as people, they introduced forest laws that restricted villagers’ access to forests.
• Wood could now only be cut for specified purposes like building river boats or houses, and only from specific forests under close supervision.
• Villagers were punished for grazing cattle in young forest stands, transporting wood without permits, or using forest roads with carts or cattle.

Demand for Timber:

• The growing need for timber, especially for shipbuilding and railway sleepers, drove forest exploitation in Java.
• In 1882, 280,000 railway sleepers were exported from Java alone, requiring a significant amount of labor for cutting trees, transporting logs, and preparing the sleepers.

Blandongdiensten System:

• To ensure a steady supply of timber, the Dutch imposed rents on land being cultivated in forests.
• Some villages were exempted from these rents if they collectively provided free labor and buffaloes for cutting and transporting timber. This system was called blandongdiensten.
• Later, forest villagers were paid small wages instead of rent exemptions, but their right to cultivate forest land was restricted.

Dutch Perspectives on Forest Management:

• Dirk van Hogendorp, an official of the United East India Company, highlighted the economic value of Java’s forests for shipbuilding and trade.
• He marveled at the vast timber resources in Java, which he believed could supply enough material to build both warships and merchant ships.
• Hogendorp claimed that Java’s forests grew quickly, making them almost inexhaustible under proper management, a reflection of the colonial belief in the endless exploitation of natural resources.

Samin’s Challenge

Surontiko Samin:

• Around 1890, Surontiko Samin from Randublatung village, a teak forest area in Java, began to question the colonial state’s ownership of forests.
• He argued that the state did not create natural elements like wind, water, earth, or wood, so it had no right to claim ownership over them.

Saminist Movement:

• The movement grew under Samin’s leadership, with Samin’s sons-in-law helping organize it.
• By 1907, around 3,000 families were following Samin’s ideas.
• The Saminists protested in various ways:
  • Some lay down on their land to block Dutch surveyors from accessing it.
  • Others refused to pay taxes or fines and resisted performing forced labor.

War and Deforestation

Impact of World Wars on Forests:

• First World War (WWI) and Second World War (WWII) had significant impacts on forests due to military needs.
• In India, the British abandoned their forest management plans and began cutting trees extensively to meet war demands.

Scorched Earth Policy in Java:

• Before the Japanese occupation of Java during WWII, the Dutch implemented a “scorched earth” policy.
  • They destroyed sawmills and burned massive piles of teak logs to prevent the Japanese from utilizing them.

Japanese Exploitation of Forests:

• When the Japanese took over Java, they recklessly exploited the forests for their own war industries.
• Forest villagers were forced to cut down trees, and some took advantage of the situation to expand cultivation into forested areas.

Post-War Forest Management:

• After the wars, it became difficult for the Indonesian forest service to reclaim the land that had been converted for agriculture.
• As in India, people’s need for agricultural land created conflicts with the forest department’s goal to control and exclude people from the forests.

New Developments in Forestry

Shift in Forest Policies:

• Since the 1980s, governments in Asia and Africa have recognized that previous policies of scientific forestry and excluding local communities from forests led to many conflicts.
• The focus has shifted from simply collecting timber to forest conservation.

Involvement of Local Communities:

• Governments have acknowledged that involving forest communities is crucial for successful conservation efforts.
• In many regions of India, from Mizoram to Kerala, dense forests have survived due to local protection efforts. These communities have protected forests in sacred groves known as sarnas, devarakudu, kan, rai, etc.

Community-Based Forest Management:

• In some villages, communities have taken up the responsibility of patrolling their forests, with each household taking turns, rather than leaving the task solely to forest guards.
• Local forest communities and environmentalists are now exploring alternative models of forest management, focusing on sustainability and conservation rather than exploitation.

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1. Select Your Class: To get started, choose Class 9 from the drop-down menu on our website.
2. Choose Your Subject: Select “History” to access the relevant material.
3. Navigate to the Chapter: Locate and click on the chapter
4. Access Questions and Answers: You will find a list of questions related to this chapter. Click on any question to view its answer along with a detailed explanation.

Thank you for choosing Online Tutorial Classes as your trusted source for chapter-wise CBSE Class 9 History Chapter 4 ‘Forest Society and Colonialism’ Notes and solutions. Let’s embark on a journey of academic excellence together.