Student Study's video: Chapter 4 - Part 2 - Class IX - Forest Society and Colonialism Forests and Rebellions

Rebellions in the Forests As a result of the Government’s excessive control over forests, many forest communities revolted against the Government. Revolt in Bastar  Bastar is located in the southern part of the present state of Chhattisgarh. Many tribal communities such as the Gonds, Dhurwas, Bhatras and Halbas lived in the region. These communities used forest produce for satisfying their basic needs.  When the forests were declared as reserved forests, many villages lying near the forests were displaced. Some villages were allowed to remain but in return they had to help the Government in transporting trees from one place to the other.  Many forest communities gathered to talk about the excesses of the Government. The Dhurwas took the initiative. Many people of the surrounding villages began to collect mango boughs, chillies and arrows to invite people to rebel against the Government. Gunda Dhur was an important leader of the rebellion.  In the rebellion that followed, bazaars were looted, police stations were burnt and seized grains were distributed.  The rebellion was suppressed by the British. They surrounded the camps of the tribals and the villagers and fired upon them. Those people who participated in the rebellion were either punished or killed. Many people fled into the deep forests. The British however were not able to capture Gunda Dhur.  What is sad to note is that even after Independence, the people of Bastar were kept out of the forests and the woods were used for industrial purposes. Forest Transformation in Java  Java is an island of Indonesia. It was a heavily forested region during the 1600s. There were many villages in the fertile plains in Java. The Kalangs of Java were a community which specialised in forest cutting and shifting cultivation.  When the Dutch colonised Java, they began to control the forests and subdued the Kalangs and made them work for them in the forests.  The Dutch enacted the forest laws in Java. The access of villagers into the forests was restricted. They could cut trees only for building houses or for making river boats. Villagers were not allowed to graze their cattle in young stands and could not transport wood without permission.  Forests in Java were however used by the Dutch for their own use. Forests were destroyed to build railway sleepers which were exported. This required labour.  The Dutch imposed rents in cultivated forests but exempted those who were willing to provide free services to the Government for cutting and transporting timber. This came to be known as the ‘blandongdiensten’ system. Later, instead of rent exemption, forest villagers were given small wages.  In the 1890s, Surontiko Samin of Randublatung village began to question the ownership of forests by the state. His ideas quickly spread to the other villages. Many Saminists refused to pay taxes to the Dutch.  During the Second World War, the Dutch burned saw mills and piles of teak wood so that these do not fall into the hands of the Japanese. When the Japanese occupied Java, they destroyed the forests by using timber for their own war needs.  Villagers were also forced to cut down the forests. This also led to the expansion of cultivation into the destroyed forest lands.