JAC Board Class 9th Social Science Solutions History Chapter 5 Pastoralists in the Modern World
JAC Class 9th History Pastoralists in the Modern World InText Questions and Answers
Activity (Page No. 101)
Question 1.
Read Sources A and B. Write briefly about what they tell you about the nature of the work undertaken by men and women in pastoral households.
Answer:
The nature of the work undertaken by men and women in pastoral households are as follows:
- The men graze the cattle, and frequently stay for weeks in the woods tending their herds.
- The women go to the markets every morning with baskets on their heads with little earthen pots filled with milk, butter-milk and ghee, each of these pots containing the proportion required for a day’s meal.
Question 2.
Why do you think pastoral groups often live on the edges of forests?
Answer:
I think pastoral groups often live on the edges of forests because :
- They cultivate a little ground by living in small villages near the skirt of woods.
- They graze their cattle in the forests.
- They gather and use many forest products and sell them in towns.
Activity (Page No. 104)
Question 1.
Write a comment on the closure of the forests to grazing from the standpoint of:
1. A forester
2. a pastoralist
Answer:
1. A Forester:
It is the duty of a forester that he must protect and take care of the forests. He must not allow the pastoralists to graze their cattle in the forests.
2. A Pastoralist:
All pastoralists depends on the forests. They rear cattle which need grass to graze. By restriction on their entry in the forests, not only the lives of their cattle will suffer, but their own livelihood will also be adversely affected.
Activity (Page No. 105)
Question 1.
Imagine you are living in 1890s. You belong to a community of nomadic pastoralists and craftsmen. You learn that the Government has declared your community a Criminal Tribe.
1. Describe briefly what you would have felt and done.
2. Write a petition to the local collector explaining why the Act is unjust and how it will affect your life.
Answer:
(1) It is very natural that I felt bad because it is absolutely wrong to declare any tribe as criminal just because it is a nomadic community. In this condition, I appeal to the government to rethink on its decision.
(2) To,
The Collector,
Jaisalmer
Subject: About the declaration of Raika community as a criminal tribe.
Sir,
With due respect, I want to attract your attention towards the above mentioned subject. Your government has declared our Raika community as criminal under the Criminal Tribes Act of 1871. This act is unjust for us because our community is declared criminal without any reason, just on the basis of our nomadic life. As this act has been enforced on us, therefore, our community is forced to live in a notified village. We are not allowed to move without a permit. The village police keep continuous watch on us. This makes us feel like as we are really criminals. Thus, this act has adversely affected our lives and seized our freedom completely.
Therefore, kindly request the government to abolish this Act.
A Petitioner
Jagpat Raika
Jaisalmer
Activity (Page No. 116)
Question 1.
Imagine that it is 1950 and you are a 60-year old Raika herder living in post-independence India. You are telling your grand-daughter about the changes which have taken place in your lifestyle after independence. What would you say?
Answer:
After independence, our life has changed significanthy since now there is not enough pasture for our animals to graze on, and, we are forced to reduce the number of cattle in our herds. We have to change our grazing ground also, as we are not allowed to go to Indus and graze our camels on the banks of the river because it is now a part of Pakistan.
The political boundary between India and Pakistan prevents us from going there. Now we have found an alternative grazing ground in Haryana. In recent years, our cattle go there and graze on agricultural fields after the harvests are cut. The animals also fertilise the soil with manure from their excreta. Your father did not like a herder’s life and decided to become a farmer.
I think you will lead a much better life then that what your father led. I hope you will be serious about your studies and do well in your life. Your father tries to give you all the facilities which he did not get. You must respect his sacrifice and try to achieve something in your life.
Question 2.
Imagine that you have been asked by a famous magazine to write an article about the life and customs of the Maasai in pre-colonial Africa. Write the Article, giving it an interesting title.
Answer:
Life of the Maasai The title Maasai derives from the word Maa. Maa-sai means “My People” (‘Maa’ means ‘My’ and sai mean ‘people’ in their language). Maasai society is divided in to two parts Elders and Warriors. The Maasais are traditionally nomadic and pastoral people who depend on milk and meat for subsistence.
Massais are the native people of eastern Africa. They raise cattle, camels, goats, sheep and donkeys and they sell milk, meat, animal skin and wool. Maasailand is stretched over a vast area from South Kenya to the Steppes of northern Tanzania. The elders belonging to the higher age group decide on the affairs of the community by meeting as a group and they also settle disputes.
The warriors are the younger group who are responsible for the protection of the tribe. They also organise cattle raids as and when required. Since cattle are their wealth, these raids assume importance as in this way they are able to assert their power over other pastoral groups. However, the warriors are subject to the authority of the elders.
Question 3.
Find out more about some of the pastoral communities marked in Fig-11 and 12
Answer:
Fig. 11. Pastoral Communities in India
1. Maldharis:
Maldharis are a tribal herdsman community in Gujarat of India. Originally nomads, they came to be known as Maldharis after settling in Junagarh district (mainly Gir Forest). The literal meaning of Maldhari is owner/keeper of animal stock. These semi-nomadic herders spend eight months of the year criss-crossing sparse pasturelands with their livestock including sheep, goats, cows, buffaloes and camels in a continual quest for fodder.
They are r stable as traditional dairy men of the region and they once supplied milk and cheese to the palaces of rajas. In different regions, the Maldharis belong to different castes. At present, they earn a living by obtaining milk from their cattle.
2. Monpas:
Monpas live in Arunachal Pradesh. They are also one of the 56 officially recognised ethnic groups in China. The Monpas are believed to be the only nomadic tribe in north-east India. They were totally dependent on animals like sheep, cows, yak, goats and horses and had no permanent settlement or attachment to a particular place. Almost all Monpas follow Tibetan Buddhism.
The traditional society of the Monpas was administered by a council which consists of six ministers, locally known as ‘Trukdri’. The Monpas practice shifting and permanent type of cultivation. Cattle, yak, cows, pigs, sheep and fowl are kept as domestic animals.
Fig. 12. Pastoral Communities in Africa
1. Zulu:
The Sulu, or also known as Amazulu are a Bantu ethnic group of southern Africa. The Sulus are the single-largest ethnic group in South Africa and were numbered about nine million in the late 20th century. The Zulu village is a great circle, made up of a spherical homestead, Umuzi, which is a cluster of beehive-shaped huts arranged around a cattle krall, isibaya. Main cultural dishes of the Zulus consist of cooked maize, mielies, phutu etc. Most Zulu people are Christians.
2. Bedouin:
The Bedouin or Bedu are a group of nomadic Arab people who have historically inhabited the desert regions in North Africa, The Arabian Peninsula, Iraq and the Levant. Livestock and herding, principally of goats, sheep and dromedary camels comprised the traditional livelihoods of Bedouins. These animals were used for meat, dairy products and wool.
Note: The students can search about more Indian and African pastoral communities mentioned in the map.
JAC Class 9th History Pastoralists in the Modern World Textbook Questions and Answers
Question 1.
Explain why nomadic tribes need to move from one place to another. What are the advantages to the environment of this continuous movement?
Answer:
The nomadic tribes have mobile habitats. Each of them owns a herd of cattle. They have to look after the subsistence of their cattle. As sufficient water and pasture land cannot be available in any area throughout the year, they need to move from one place to another. As long as the pastures are available in an area, they remain there, afterwards they move to new areas.
Environmental advantages from continued movement of Nomadic tribes: Environment gains a lot from this continuous movement. This movement allows pastures to recover. This prevents their overuse. Animals are a source of natural manure on the lands they settle, which helps in maintaining the fertility of the soil.
Question 2.
Discuss why the colonial government in India brought in the following laws. In each case, explain how the law changed the lives of pastoralists:
1. Waste Land Rules
2. Forest Acts
3. Criminal Tribes Act
4. Grazing Tax
1. Waste Land Rules:
The colonial government wanted to transform all grazing lands into cultivated farms to earn land revenue. Therefore, Waste Land Rules were enacted in various parts of the country. In most areas, regions taken over were actually grazing tracts used by pastoralists. So, expansion of cultivation inevitably meant the decline of pastures. ‘
2. Forest Acts:
By the mid-nineteenth century, various Forest Acts were enacted to categorise the forests. Through these Acts, some forests which produced commie ally valuable timber like deodar or sal were declared ‘Reserved’. No pastoral ts were allowed to access these forests. Other forests were classified as ‘Protected’. In these, some customary grazing rights were granted to the pastoralists, but their movements were severely restricted.
Pastoralists were now prohibited from obtaining valuable and nutritious fodder for their cattle. Even in the forest areas, were they were allowed entry, their movements were regulated. They needed a permit for entry. The number of days they could spend in the forest was limited.
Pastoralists were not allowed to remain in an area for a long time, even if forage was available, the grass was succulent and undergrowth in the forest was ample. They had to move regularly because the Forest Department permits that had been issued to them now ruled their lives. If they overstayed, they were liable to fines.
3. Criminal Tribes Act:
The colonial government wanted to rule over a settled population. It was easy to collect taxes form settled people. Secondly, settled people were seen as peaceable and law-abiding. Therefore, they passed the Criminal Tribes Act in 1871. By this Act, many communities of craftsmen, traders and pastoralists were classified as Criminal Tribes.
They were stated to be criminal by nature and birth. Once this Act came into force, these communities were expected to live only in notified village settlements. They were not allowed to move without a permit. The village police kept a continuous watch on them. This restricted their grazing grounds. Their agricultural stock declined and their trade and crafts were adversely affected.
4. Grazing Tax:
The colonial government looked for every possible source of taxation to enhance its revenue income. So, various grazing taxes were imposed on the pastoralists. They had to pay tax on every animal they grazed on the pastures. The tax per head of cattle went up rapidly and the system of collection was made increasingly efficient.
In the decades between 1850s and 1880s, the right to collect the tax was auctioned out to private contractors. These contractors tried to extract as high a tax as they could to recover the money they had paid to the state and earn as much profit as they could within the year. By the 1880s, the government began collecting taxes directly from the pastoralists. Each of them was given a pass.
The number of cattle he had and the amount of tax he paid was entered on the pass. As the tax had to be paid in cash, so pastoralists started selling their animals. The heavy burden of taxes had an adverse impact on their economic condition. Now, most of the pastoralists started taking loans from the moneylenders and were thus caught in debt trap.
Question 3.
Give reasons to explain why the Maasai community lost their grazing lands.
Answer:
Under colonial rule, the Maasais have faced the continuous loss of their grazing lands. The reasons behind this were as follows :
1. European imperial powers divided Africa into different colonies. In 1885, Maasai- land was cut into half with an international boundary between British Kenya and German Tanganyika. Subsequently, the best grazing lands were gradually taken over for white settlement and the Maasais were pushed into a small area in South Kenya and North Tanzania. The Maasais lost about 60 per cent of their pre-colonial lands. They were confined to an arid zone with uncertain rainfall and poor pastures.
2. From the late nineteenth century, the British colonial government in East Africa also encouraged local, peasants to expand cultivation. As cultivation expanded, pasturelands were turned into cultivated fields.
3. Large areas of grazing land were also turned into game reserves like the Maasai Mara and Samburu National Park in Kenya and Serengeti Park in Tanzania. Pastoralists were not allowed to enter these reserves; they could neither hunt animals nor graze their herds in these areas.
Question 4.
There are many similarities in the way in which the modern world forced changes in the lives of pastoral communities in India and East Africa. Write about any two examples of changes which were similar for Indian pastoralists and the Maasai herders.
Answer:
1. Both in India and Africa, the forests were reserved by the European rulers and the pastoralists were restricted to enter these forests. Mostly, these reserved forests were in the areas that had traditionally been grazing grounds for nomadic pastoralists in these two countries.
2. Both African and Indian Pastoralists were subjected to new taxes like the Grazing Tax. They had to secure special permits to graze their herds in certain areas. They were regarded with extreme suspicion by the colonial powers.