Fill in the blanks:
(a) The British described the tribal people as ________
(b) The method of sowing seeds in Jhum cultivation in India is known as _______.
(c) The tribal chiefs got ________ titles in central India under the British land settlement.
(d) Tribals went to work in the _______ of Assam and the _______ in Bihar.
(a) The British described the tribal people as savage, wild nomads and shifting cultivators.
Explanation: tribals were different from others, they were practising different kind of rituals, their lifestyle was different from common peoples. they were living in forest. that's why british called them savage and wild.
(b) The method of sowing seeds in Jhum cultivation in India is known as broadcasting or scattering
Explanation:in jhum cultivation seeds are sown by hand. famer scatters seeds in farmland by their hands.
(c) The tribal chiefs got land titles in central India under the British land settlement.
Explanation: under land settlement system in centrel india british gave tribal chiefs right land rights.
(d) Tribals went to work in the tea gardens of Assam and the coal mines in Bihar.
Explanation:in assam british planters started tree plantation and in Bihar large coal mines were operating under britishers tribals got oppurtinity to work at these places.
State whether true or false:
(a) Jhum cultivators plough the land and sow seeds.
(b) Cocoons were bought from the Santhals and sold by the traders at five times the purchase price.
(c) Birsa urged his followers to purify themselves, give up drinking liquor and stop believing in witchcraft and sorcery.
(d) The British wanted to preserve the tribal way of life.
(a) (false)
Jhum cultivation is also known as the slash or burn agriculture where farmers clear the land by cutting the trees & vegetation and burning them thereafter. Burnt soil contains potash which increases the nutrient content of the soil. In the end farmers sow the seeds in that land. no ploughing in that process.
(b) (True)
Hazaribagh was the area where Santhals reared cocoons. Traders bought those cocoons for ₨ 3 to ₨ 4 for a thousand cocoons and sold them on five times high prices in Burdwan or Gaya. The middlemen earned high profit where as the silk grower get very little.
(c) (True)
Birsa was born in a poor family and was influenced by the ideas of missionary school and Vaishnav preachers. So he started the movement to reform tribal society. He urged them to purify themselves, give up drinking liquor and stop believing in witchcraft and sorcery.
(d) (False)
The British never wanted to preserve the tribal way of life because they consider them as savages, wild nomads and shifting cultivators.
What problems did shifting cultivators face under British rule?
For administrative and economic reasons, the British government tried settling the jhum cultivators. However, settled plough cultivation did not prove to be helpful for them. They often suffered because their land did not produce good yields. Their life was directly connected to the forests so when the British government changed the forest law their life was badly affected.
The problems faced by shifting cultivators under British rule were:
(a) The British extended their control over forests and declared that forests were stated property.
(b) Some forests were classified as reserved forests for they produce timber which the British wanted.
(c) People were not allowed to move freely and practice jhum cultivation in these forests.
(d) They had to give up their traditional way of life.
(e) They had to practice settled plough cultivation which was not easy.
(f) They had to face the scarcity of water and dry soil. Their land was measured and the rights of each individual to that land were defined.
(g) The revenue demand of the state was fixed.
How did the powers of the tribal chiefs change under colonial rule?
Following were the changes in the powers of tribal chiefs under colonial rule:
(i) They were allowed to keep their land titles over a cluster of villages and rent out lands, but they lost much of their administrative power and were forced to follow laws made by British officials in India.
(ii) They also had to pay tribute to the British.
(iii) They had to discipline the tribal groups on behalf of the British.
(iv) They were unable to fulfill their traditional functions.
What accounts for the anger of Tribals against the dikus?
The forest law, introduced by the Britishers was the main reason of the anger of the tribals. The tribals wanted to drive out the dikus – missionaries, moneylenders, Hindu landlords and the government because they saw them as the cause of their misery. So, they disobeyed these new forest laws/rules, and continued with the practices that were declared illegal and at time rose in open rebellion.
Following facts accounts for their anger towards the dikus:
● The land practices of the British were destroying their traditional way of cultivating crops.
● Land lords and moneylenders were taking over their lands.
● Missionaries were criticizing their traditional culture.
What was Birsa’s vision of golden age? Why do you think such a vision appealed to the people of the region?
Birsa was deeply influenced by many of the ideas he came in touch within his growing-up years. The movement that he led aimed at reforming tribal society. He urged people to give up drinking liquor, clean their village, and stop believing in witchcraft and sorcery.
Birsa’s vision of a golden age was:
1) To free the Mundas from the oppression of Dikus.
2) To restore the ancestral rights of the community.
3) To see themselves as the descendants of the original settlers of the region, fighting for their land, reminding people of the need to win back their region.
I think such a vision appealed to the people of the region because they were very much eager to lead a free life. They got fed up of forest laws and the restriction which was imposed on them. This vision reminded them of a golden age in the past when Mundas lived a good life, constructed embayment, tapped natural spring, planted trees and orchards, practiced cultivations to earn their living. They could now again live a life of brother and relative.
Find out from your parents, friends or teacher, the names of some heroes of other tribal revolt of the 20th Century. Write their story in your own word.
Jatra Oraon:
(i) He was a tribal freedom fighter from the Chhotanagpur region is the present day state of Jharkhand. During his leadership Oraon movement against the British colonial rule during 1914-19.
(ii) He fought for Oraon Raj. He criticised liquor drinking and superstitious practices among Oraons. His religious movement gave way to a "no-rent payment" campaign. Jatra declared that his followers should stop ploughing the field of landlords and not work anymore as coolies or labourers for non-Oraons or for the government.
(iii) He also questioned the traditional leadership of the pahans and mahtos rthe village headmen. The basic idea behind this movement was that land was a gift of God and that no one had the right to interfere with the tribals right over land.
(iv) Jatra, along with his leading disciples was arrested in 1814. After his release, he abandoned the leadership of the movement. Later he came in contact with Gandhi and joined the Non-Cooperation Movement against the British.
Alluri Sitaram Raju-he was an Indian revolutionary involved in indian independence movement. the passing of madras forest act restricted tribals free movement and their traditional agricultural practises. That's why tribals in Alluri Sitarama Raju's leadership started Rampa rebellion in 1922-24. during this tribals raided police stations looted guns and ammunitions.Choose any tribal group living in India today. Find out about their customs and way of life and how their lives have changed in the last 50 years.
let us take Santhals and try to understand what has changed in last fifty years in their lives. Among the tribal groups the Santhals have well organized social structure.
Life of Santhals has changed a lot in the last fifty years. Primarily the tribal society was agrarian now it has changed to menial work.
their socio-economic and cultural life has changed a lot like-in last 50 years. The economy of the village has changed a lot they have shifted from jhum cultivation to menial work. Most of the men of the village are now working as daily wage labourers, rickshaw pullers, gardeners etc.
In the present time the social structure of Santhal families has changed a lot. They have left their age-old traditions and right now living like common peoples and leading a normal life.