NCERT 8th Class (CBSE) Social Science: Tribal Communities

Question: Mention different types of activities of the tribal people.

Answer:

1. Some practiced Jhum cultivation
2. Some were hunter-gatherers
3. Some herded animals
4. Some took to settled cultivation

Question: Why did the British want tribal groups to settle down and become peasant cultivators?

Answer: It was because settled peasants were easier to control and administer than people who were always on the move.

Question: Why did the British introduce land settlements?

Answer: They did so in order to get a regular revenue source for the state.

Question: Why were some forests classified as Reserved Forests?

Answer: These forests produced timber which the British wanted.

Question: What problem did the British face after they stopped the tribal people from living inside forests?

Answer: They faced the problem of shortage of labour.

Question: Why did the Forest Department establish forest villages?

Answer: It did so in order to ensure a regular supply of cheap labour.

Question: How did the tribal groups view the market and the traders?

Answer: They viewed them as their main enemies.

Question: Who was Birsa?

Answer: Birsa belonged to a family of Mundas, a tribal group that lived in Chottanagpur.

Question: What did people say about him?

Answer: People said that he had miraculous powers. He could cure all diseases and multiply grain.

Question: What problems did Birsa set out to resolve?

Answer:

1. The familiar ways of tribal seemed to be disappearing
2. Their livelihoods were under threat
3. The religion appeared to be in danger. Birsa set out to resolve these problems

Question: Who were the outsiders being referred to as dikus?

Answer: Traders, moneylenders, missionaries, Hindu landlords and the British were the outsiders being referred to as dikus.

Question: On what charges was Birsa convicted?

Answer: Birsa was convicted on the charges of rioting.

Question: When did Birsa die and how?

Answer: He died of cholera in 1900.

Question: When and where was the forest satyagraha staged?

Answer: The forest satyagraha occurred in 1930s in the Central Provinces.