Question:
Why was the railway network spread by the British in India from 1850s onwards? Why was there a need for forest timber spread for railways?
Answer:
Wood was required as fuel to run locomotives and to lay railway lines. Sleepers were essential to hold the tracks together. From the 1860s, the railway network expanded rapidly. The length of the railway tracks increased tremendously. As railway tracks increased, the need of timber also increased. More and more trees were felled. Contracts were given to individuals to supply timber. These contractors cut down trees indiscriminately. Railway tracks were soon devoid of forests.
Forest Society and Colonialism
Q 1.
About how much percentage of the world's total forest area was cleared between 1700 and 1995?
Q 2.
During the colonial period, the British directly encouraged the production of which of these crops?
Q 3.
In which year the Indian Forest Service was set up?
Q 4.
Who were '
Kalangs' of Java?
Q 5.
Who were the colonial power in Indonesia?
Q 6.
Who wrote the book 'The Forests of India' in the year 1923?
Q 7.
Why was shifting cultivation banned by the Government in India?
Q 8.
What is deforestation?
Q 9.
What was Samin's Movement?
Q 10.
What was the system of '
blandongdiensten'?
Q 11.
In which year the Baster rebellion took place?
Q 12.
What is shifting agriculture? Why was it regarded as harmful by the British?
Q 13.
Describe scientific forestry.
Q 14.
Differentiate between the customary practice of hunting and hunting as a sport in India, after the Forest Acts were passed.
Q 15.
How was the colonial management of forests in Bastar similar to that of Java?
Q 16.
Why was the railway network spread by the British in India from 1850s onwards? Why was there a need for forest timber spread for railways?
Q 17.
The British believed that by killing dangerous animals, the British would civilise India. What did they do to encourage these killings?
Q 18.
Why did the people of Bastar rise in revolt against the British? Explain.
Q 19.
Describe four provisions of the Forest Act of 1878.
Q 20.
Why is deforestation considered harmful?
Q 21.
What did Dietrich Brandis suggest for the improvement of forests in India?
Q 22.
How did the American writer Richard Harding justify the conquest of Honduras in Central America?
Q 23.
Explain why did the Dutch adopt the 'scorched earth policy' during the war.
