4. Tribals Dikus and the Vision of a Golden Age:
Que: Some were jhum cultivators
Ans: Some tribal people practised jhum cultivation, that is, shifting cultivation. This cultivation is done on small patches of land and the planters cut down the treetops to allow sunlight to reach the ground, and burnt the vegetation to clear it for cultivation. After the crop was ready and harvested they were shifted to another field. Shifting cultivators were found in the hilly and forested tracts of north-east and central India. These tribal people moved freely within the forests and that’s the reason they practised shifting cultivation.
Que: Some were hunters and gatherers?
Ans: Tribal groups in many regions survived on hunting animals and gathering forest produce. The Khonds were a community who survived on collective hunts and divide the meat amongst themselves. This community ate fruits and roots and used oil extracted from the seeds of the sal and mahua to cook food. Shrubs and herbs were used from forests for medicinal purposes.
These forest people exchanged goods with the things they needed in return for their valuable forest produce. When the forest produced shrank, tribal people had to wander out in search of work as labourers. Tribal groups were dependent on traders and moneylenders because they often needed money to buy and sell in order to be able to get the goods that were not produced within the locality. But, the interest charged on the loans was very high.
Que: Some herded animals
Ans: Herding and rearing was also an occupation for many tribal groups. They were pastoralists who moved with their herds of cattle or sheep according to the seasons.
Que: Some took to settled cultivation
Ans: Tribal groups, even before the nineteenth century, began settling down. The land for the Mundas of Chottanagpur belonged to the clan as a whole. All members of the clan were regarded as descendants of the original settlers, who had first cleared the land. British officials saw settled tribal groups as more civilised than hunter-gatherers or shifting cultivators.
Que: How Did Colonial Rule Affect Tribal Lives?
Ans: During British rule, the lives of tribal people changed.
Que: What happened to tribal chiefs?
Ans: Before the British arrived, the tribal chiefs were important people. They enjoyed economic power and had the right to administer and control their territories. But, their functions and powers changed under British rule. They lost their administrative powers and were forced to follow laws made by British officials in India.
Que: What happened to the shifting cultivators?
Ans: The British wanted tribal groups to settle down as it was easier to control and administer settled peasants. The British introduced land settlements to get regular revenue sources for the state. Land settlement means the British measured the land, defined the rights of each individual to that land, and fixed the revenue demand for the state. The British effort to settle jhum cultivators was not very successful. Facing widespread protests, the British had to ultimately allow them the right to carry on shifting cultivation in some parts of the forest.
Que: Forest laws and their impact
Ans: Tribal lives were directly affected by the changes in forest laws. Some forests were classified as Reserved Forests as they produced timber which the British wanted. The British people stopped the tribal people entering the forests but they faced a problem of getting laborers. So, the colonial officials came up with a solution. The colonial officials decided to give jhum cultivators small patches of land in the forests and allow them to cultivate. In return, those who lived in the villages had to provide labour to the Forest Department. Many tribal groups disobeyed the new rules, continued with practices that were declared illegal, and at times rose in open rebellion.
Que: The problem with trade
Ans: During the nineteenth century, traders and moneylenders started coming into the forest more often. They wanted to buy forest products, offered cash loans, and asked tribal groups to work for ages. In the eighteenth century, the demand for Indian silk was high in European markets. The silk market expanded so the East India Company encouraged silk production. The Santhals of Hazaribagh reared cocoons and the traders dealing in silk gave loans to the tribal people and collected the cocoons. The middlemen made huge profits.
Que: What is search for work?
Ans: From the late nineteenth century, tea plantations started coming up and mining became an important industry. Tribals were recruited in large numbers to work at the tea plantations of Assam and the coal mines of Jharkhand.
