NCERT 9th Class (CBSE) Social Science: Forest Society and Colonialism

Question: Describe the composition of Bastar.

Answer:

1. Baster is located in the southern most part of Chhattisgarh and border Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra.
2. The central part of Bastar is on a plateau.
3. The river Indravati winds across Bastar east to west.
4. A number of different communities live in Bastar such as Maria and Muria Cronds, Dhurwas, Bhatras and Halbas.
5. They speak different languages but share common aestoma and beliefs.

Question: Write about the social life of people of Bastar?

1. The life of Bastar people was affected by the declaration of forests as reserved areas in 1908, by the British.
2. Only government contractors were allowed to take forest timber for the construction of railways.
3. As a result there was a widespread tribal movement affecting more than half of the 84 parganas of Bastar.
4. The tribal wanted to reassert their traditional rights over the forests and natural resources of the region.
5. Other reasons included the humiliation of the tribal king by the British and disrespect for tribal traditions.
6. The tribal also felt that their culture was threatened by British education policy.
7. The movement was a continuation of previous protests in the region.
8. It was symbolical of tribal resistance to attempts to change their way of life.

Question: What is blandongdiensten system?

Answer: Dutch in Java, were first rented on the land being cultivated in the forest and then some villages were exempt from these rentals, if they were working collectively to provide free labor for cutting and transporting. It was known as the Blondondenstein system. Later it was replaced with small wages, but still the right to cultivate their land was restricted.

Question: Describe in brief the rebellion of Surontiko Samin.

Answer: The Samin’s challenge is an Indonesian social movement founded by Surontiko Samin in north-central Java, Indonesia in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Saminism rejected the capitalist views of the colonial Dutch, who predominately forced taxes upon the people of Indonesia, including the poor, and monopolized their free public forest lands particularly land which contains precious teak forests used for trade. Though the Samin people are similar to the Muslim faith, they do not practice many of the Islamic rituals such as fasting or praying. However they do focus on the spiritual aspect of religion as well as good values, such as modesty, honesty, and simplicity.

Because Surontiko Samin was illiterate, and also his followers and other Saminist leaders, there is no written first-hand accounts of the Saminist movement.