SECTION II
LIVELIHOODS, ECONOMIES AND SOCIETIES
In Section II we will shift our focus to the study of livelihoods and economies. We
LIVELIHOODS, ECONOMIES AND SOCIETIES
will look at how the lives of forest dwellers and pastoralists changed in the modern
world and how they played a part in shaping these changes.
All too often in looking at the emergence of the modern world, we only focus on
factories and cities, on the industrial and agricultural sectors which supply the market.
But we forget that there are other economies outside these sectors, other people too
who matter to the nation. To modern eyes, the lives of pastoralists and forest dwellers,
the shifting cultivators and food gatherers often seem to be stuck in the past. It is as
if their lives are not important when we study the emergence of the contemporary
world. The chapters in Section II will suggest that we need to know about their
lives, see how they organise their world and operate their economies. These
communities are very much part of the modern world we live in today. They are
not simply survivors from a bygone era.
Chapter IV will take you into the forest and tell you about the variety of ways the
Forest Society and Colonialism
forests were used by communities living within them. It will show how in the
nineteenth century the growth of industries and urban centres, ships and railways,
created a new demand on the forests for timber and other forest products. New
demands led to new rules of forest use, new ways of organising the forest. You will
see how colonial control was established over the forests, how forest areas were
mapped, trees were classified, and plantations were developed. All these developments
affected the lives of those local communities who used forest resources. They were
forced to operate within new systems and reorganise their lives. But they also rebelled
against the rules and persuaded the state to change its policies. The chapter will give
you an idea of the history of such developments in India and Indonesia.
2024-25 75
, Chapter V will track the movements of the pastoralists in the mountains and deserts,
in the plains and plateaus of India and Africa. Pastoral communities in both these
areas form an important segment of the population. Yet we rarely study their lives.
Their histories do not enter the pages of textbooks. Chapter V will show how their
lives were affected by the controls established over the forest, the expansion of agri-
culture, and the decline of grazing fields. It will tell you about the patterns of their
movements, their relationships to other communities, and the way they adjust to
changing situations.
We cannot understand the making of the contemporary world unless we begin to see
the changes in the lives of diverse communities and people. We also cannot understand
the problems of modernisation unless we look at its impact on the environment.
India and the Contemporary World
76 2024-25
, Forest Society and
Chapter IV
Colonialism
Take a quick look around your school and home and identify all
the things that come from forests: the paper in the book you are
reading, desks and tables, doors and windows, the dyes that colour
your clothes, spices in your food, the cellophane wrapper of your
toffee, tendu leaf in bidis, gum, honey, coffee, tea and rubber. Do
not miss out the oil in chocolates, which comes from sal seeds, the
tannin used to convert skins and hides into leather, or the herbs
and roots used for medicinal purposes. Forests also provide bamboo,
wood for fuel, grass, charcoal, packaging, fruits, flowers, animals,
birds and many other things. In the Amazon forests or in the
Western Ghats, it is possible to find as many as 500 different plant
species in one forest patch.
A lot of this diversity is fast disappearing. Between 1700 and 1995,
the period of industrialisation, 13.9 million sq km of forest or 9.3
per cent of the world’s total area was cleared for industrial uses,
cultivation, pastures and fuelwood.
Society
ForestForest and Colonialism
Society and Colonialism
Fig.1 – A sal forest in Chhattisgarh.
Look at the different heights of the trees and plants in this
picture, and the variety of species. This is a dense forest,
so very little sunlight falls on the forest floor.
2024-25 77
LIVELIHOODS, ECONOMIES AND SOCIETIES
In Section II we will shift our focus to the study of livelihoods and economies. We
LIVELIHOODS, ECONOMIES AND SOCIETIES
will look at how the lives of forest dwellers and pastoralists changed in the modern
world and how they played a part in shaping these changes.
All too often in looking at the emergence of the modern world, we only focus on
factories and cities, on the industrial and agricultural sectors which supply the market.
But we forget that there are other economies outside these sectors, other people too
who matter to the nation. To modern eyes, the lives of pastoralists and forest dwellers,
the shifting cultivators and food gatherers often seem to be stuck in the past. It is as
if their lives are not important when we study the emergence of the contemporary
world. The chapters in Section II will suggest that we need to know about their
lives, see how they organise their world and operate their economies. These
communities are very much part of the modern world we live in today. They are
not simply survivors from a bygone era.
Chapter IV will take you into the forest and tell you about the variety of ways the
Forest Society and Colonialism
forests were used by communities living within them. It will show how in the
nineteenth century the growth of industries and urban centres, ships and railways,
created a new demand on the forests for timber and other forest products. New
demands led to new rules of forest use, new ways of organising the forest. You will
see how colonial control was established over the forests, how forest areas were
mapped, trees were classified, and plantations were developed. All these developments
affected the lives of those local communities who used forest resources. They were
forced to operate within new systems and reorganise their lives. But they also rebelled
against the rules and persuaded the state to change its policies. The chapter will give
you an idea of the history of such developments in India and Indonesia.
2024-25 75
, Chapter V will track the movements of the pastoralists in the mountains and deserts,
in the plains and plateaus of India and Africa. Pastoral communities in both these
areas form an important segment of the population. Yet we rarely study their lives.
Their histories do not enter the pages of textbooks. Chapter V will show how their
lives were affected by the controls established over the forest, the expansion of agri-
culture, and the decline of grazing fields. It will tell you about the patterns of their
movements, their relationships to other communities, and the way they adjust to
changing situations.
We cannot understand the making of the contemporary world unless we begin to see
the changes in the lives of diverse communities and people. We also cannot understand
the problems of modernisation unless we look at its impact on the environment.
India and the Contemporary World
76 2024-25
, Forest Society and
Chapter IV
Colonialism
Take a quick look around your school and home and identify all
the things that come from forests: the paper in the book you are
reading, desks and tables, doors and windows, the dyes that colour
your clothes, spices in your food, the cellophane wrapper of your
toffee, tendu leaf in bidis, gum, honey, coffee, tea and rubber. Do
not miss out the oil in chocolates, which comes from sal seeds, the
tannin used to convert skins and hides into leather, or the herbs
and roots used for medicinal purposes. Forests also provide bamboo,
wood for fuel, grass, charcoal, packaging, fruits, flowers, animals,
birds and many other things. In the Amazon forests or in the
Western Ghats, it is possible to find as many as 500 different plant
species in one forest patch.
A lot of this diversity is fast disappearing. Between 1700 and 1995,
the period of industrialisation, 13.9 million sq km of forest or 9.3
per cent of the world’s total area was cleared for industrial uses,
cultivation, pastures and fuelwood.
Society
ForestForest and Colonialism
Society and Colonialism
Fig.1 – A sal forest in Chhattisgarh.
Look at the different heights of the trees and plants in this
picture, and the variety of species. This is a dense forest,
so very little sunlight falls on the forest floor.
2024-25 77
