Climate Notes

CLIMATE Notes

CLIMATE
Climate refers to the sum total of weather conditions and variations over a large area for a long period of time.
It is the sum total of weather conditions for larger area.
Eg: for a country:
WEATHER:
It refers to state of atmosphere over an area at any point of time.
It is the total of weather conditions for limited area.
Eg: for a city
The elements of weather and climate are temperature, atmospheric pressure, wind, humidity and precipitation.

INDIAN CLIMATE•
The climate of India is monsoon type.
•Monsoon is derived from ‘mausim’which means season and it refers to the seasonal reversal in the wind direction during a year.
•In Asia, this type of climate is found mainly in south and south-east.

DIFFERENCES IN INDIAN CLIMATE
In summer the temperature of Rajasthan is about 50’C but in Jammu & Kashmir it’s 20’c.
In winter at J&K the temperature is -45’C but in Thiruvanantapuram its 22’C.
While precipitation is in the form of snowfall in upper parts of Himalyas, it rains over the rest of country.
Most parts receive rainfall from June to July but some like Tamil Nadu receive it even in the season of October and November.

CLIMATIC CONTROLS
The major controls of climate are:
1.Latitude : Due to curvature the amount of solar energy received varies according to it.
2.Altitude: As we go higher there is a decrease in temperature of 16’
3.Pressure and Wind system: As per latitude and altitude temperature and rainfall also influences the climate.
4.Distance from sea: The sea exerts moderating influence on climate, regions near sea experiences moderate climate.
5.Ocean Currents: It leads continentality which means very hot during summers and very cold during winters.




FACTORS AFFECTING INDIAN CLIMATE
1.Latitude:
Tropic of cancer almost divides the country in two equal parts running from Rann of Kuchh to Mizoram.
The region lying in the south of tropic of cancer is tropical whereas the region in north is in sub tropical.
Therefore India receives both tropical as well as sub-tropical climate.

2.Altitude:
India has mountains in north with average height of 6000m and coast line of about 30m.
The Himalyas act as a barrier to enter winds in India from Centeral Asia.
That’s why it experiences mild winters as compare to Centeral Asia.

3.PRESSURE and WINDS
It is further devided in three parts.
•Pressure and surface winds
•Upper air circulation
•Western disturbances
Pressure and surface winds: India lies in the region of north-easterly winds which originate from northern hemispher and blow towards south but
deflected to right due to corollis force.These winds carry small silts that’s why don’t affect India’s rain.

4.Upper air circulation: Winds travel from a low pressure area to high pressure area. Air moves from indian ocean to south-east direction crossing equator and turns right towards indian subcountinent giving rain to it. The upper air circulation over warm oceans is called jet stream.

5.Western disturbances: During the time of winters in India cyclone formation takes place in ‘mediterranean sea’whose winds are very powerful that after crossing Pakistan, Afghanistan they finally reach jammu and kashmir leads to rainfall in winters there.

The unifying influence of the monsoon on the Indian subcontinent is quite perceptible.
The seasonal alteration of the wind systems and the associated weather conditions provide a rhythmic cycle of seasons.
 Even the uncertainties of rain and uneven distribution are very much typical of the monsoon.
The Indian landscape, its animal and plant life, the people, including their festivities, revolve around this phenomenon.
Year after year, people of India from north to south and from east to west, eagerly await the arrival of the monsoon.
These monsoon winds bind the whole country by providing water to set the agricultural activities in motion. The river valleys which carry this water also unite as a single river valley unit.

Early in the season, the windward side of the Western Ghats receives very heavy rainfall, more than 250cm.
The Deccan Plateau and parts of Madhya Pradesh also receive some amount of rain in spite of lying in the rain shadow area.
The maximum rainfall of this season is received in the north-eastern part of the country.
Rainfall in the Ganga valley decreases from the east to the west. Rajasthan and parts of Gujarat get scanty rainfall.
The breaks in the monsoon are related to the movement of the monsoon tough.
The trough and its axis keep on moving northward or southward. When the axis of the monsoon trough lies over the plains and widespread rain occur in the Himalayan Rivers.
Mawsynram in the southern ranges of the Khasi Hills receives the highest average rainfall in the world.
Ques. Why is monsoon known for its “uncertainties”?
While it causes heavy floods in one part, it may be responsible for droughts in the other.
It is often irregular in its arrival and its retreat. Hence, it sometimes disturbs the farming schedule of millions of farmers all over the country.


During October-November, the monsoon trough or the low pressure trough over the northern plains becomes weaker. This is gradually replaced by a high-pressure system.
The south-east monsoon winds weaken and start withdrawing gradually. By the beginning of the October, the monsoon withdraws from the Northern Plains.
The months of October-November form a period of transition from hot rainy season to dry winter conditions. The retreat of the monsoon is marked by clear skies and rise in temperature.
While day temperatures are high, nights are cool and pleasant.

Owing to the conditions of high temperature and humidity, the weather becomes rather oppressive during the day. This is known as “OCTOBER HEAT”.
The low-pressure conditions, over north-western India, get transferred to the Bay of Bengal by early November.
This shift is associated with the occurrence of cyclonic depressions, which originates over the Andaman Sea.
These cyclones generally cross the eastern coasts of India cause heavy and widesprad rain.
These tropical cyclones are often very destructive.
The thickly populated deltas of the Godavari, the Krishna and the Kaveri are frequently struck by cyclones, which cause great damage to life and property.
THE SEASONS
The monsoon type of climate is characterised by a distinct seasonal pattern.
The weather conditions greatly change from one season to the other. The coastal
areas do not experience much variation in temperature though there is variation
in rainfall pattern. Four main seasons can be identified in India- the cold weather
season, hot weather season, the advancing monsoon and the retreating monsoon
with some regional variations.

THE COLD WEATHER SEASON (WINTER)
1. The cold weather season begins from mid- November in northern India and stays
till February.
2. December and January are the coldest months in the northern part of India.
3. The temperature decreases from south to the north.
4. Days are warm and nights are cold.
5. Frost is common in the north and the higher slopes of Himalayas experience
snowfall.
6. The northeast trade winds blow from land to sea and hence, for most part of the
country, it is a dry season.
7. Some amount of rainfall occurs on the Tamil Nadu coast from these winds as,
here they blow from sea to land.
8. The weather is normally marked by clear sky, low temperatures and low humidity
and feeble variable winds.
9. A characteristic feature of the cold weather season over the northern plains is a
the inflow of cyclonic disturbances from the west and the northwest.
10.They cause the much- needed winter rains over the plains and snowfall in the
mountains.
11.Total amount of winter rainfall locally known as ‘mahawat’ is small; they are of . immense importance for the cultivation of ‘rabi’ crops.
12. The peninsular region does not have well- defined cold season.

THE HOT WEATHER SEASON (SUMMER)

1. From March to May, it is hot weather season in India.
2. The influence of shifting of the heat belt can be seen clearly from temperature
recordings taken during March- May at different latitudes.
3. In peninsular India, temperature remain lower due to the moderating influence of the
oceans.
4.The summer months experience rising temperature and falling air pressure in the
northern part of the country.
5. Towards the end of May, an elongated low pressure area develops in the region
extending from the Thar Desert in the northwest to Patna and Chotanagpur plateau
and southeast.
6. The striking feature of the hot weather season is the ‘loo’. These are strong, gusty, hot, dry winds blowing during the day over the north and northwestern India.
7. Dust storms are very common during the month of May in northern India. These
storms bring temporary relief as they lower the temperature and may bring light rain
and cool breeze.
8. In West Bengal, these storms are known as ‘Kaal Baisakhi’.
9. Towards the close of the summer season, pre- monsoon showers are common
especially, in Kerala and Karnataka.
DISTRIBUTION OF RAINFALL
There are three types of rainfall :- 
-Low rainfall (Less than 50 cm.)
- Average rainfall (Between 50 to 250 cm.)
- High rainfall (More than 250 cm.)

1. Parts of western coast and northern India receive over about 400 cm of rainfall
annually.
2. It is less than 60cm in western Rajasthan and adjoining parts of Gujarat, Haryana and
Punjab.
3. Rainfall is equally low in the interior of Deccan plateau, and east of the Sahyadris.
4. The rest of the country receives moderate rainfall. Snowfall is restricted to the Himalayan region.

Because of the nature of monsoons, the annual rainfall is highly variable from year to year. Variability is high in the regions of low rainfall such as parts of Rajasthan, Gujarat and leeward (rain shadow area) side of the Western Ghats. While the areas of high rainfall are responsible to be affected by the floods and the areas of low rainfall are drought- prone.

SOME IMPORTANT TERMS

1. Frost- A state in freezing, frozen dew.
2. Loo- Strong, gusty, hot, dry winds blowing during the day over the north and
northwestern India.
3. Mango showers- Pre-monsoon showers in Kerala and Karnataka help in ripening of
mangoes earlier, known as monsoon showers.
4. Trough- large vacuum in between of the Himalayas and the peninsular plateau, the
plains.
5. Leeward- Rain shadow area.
Apara Sanwaria 

Constitutional Design Notes

CHAPTER 3

CONSTITUTIONAL DESIGN

Nelson Mandela

Nelson Mandela was tried for treason by the white South African government. He and seven other leaders were sentenced to life imprisonment in 1964 for daring to oppose theapartheid regime in his country. He spent the next 28 years in South Africa’s most dreaded prison, Robben Island.

Apartheid

1.      Apartheid was the name of a system of racial discrimination unique to South Africa where the white European minority discriminated the native black majority.

2.      The blacks were forbidden from living in white areas. They could work in white areas only if they had a permit.

3.      Trains, buses, taxis, hotels, hospitals, schools and colleges, libraries, cinema halls, theatres, beaches, swimming pools, public toilets, were all separate for the whites and blacks. This was called segregation.

4.      They could not even visit the churches where the whites worshipped.

5.      Blacks could not form associations or protest against the terrible treatment.

Struggle against the Apartheid

1.      Since 1950, the blacks, the coloured and Indians fought against the apartheid system. They launched protest marches and strikes.

2.      The African National Congress (ANC) was the umbrella organisation that led the struggle against the policies of segregation. This included many workers’ unions and the Communist Party.

3.      Many sensitive whites also joined the ANC to oppose apartheid and played a leading role in this struggle.

4.      Nelson Mandela was tried for treason by the white South African government. He and seven other leaders were sentenced to life imprisonment in 1964 for daring to oppose theapartheid regime in his country. He spent the next 28 years in South Africa’s most dreaded prison, Robben Island

5.      Several countries denounced apartheid as unjust and racist. But the white racist government continued to rule by detaining, torturing and killing thousands of black and coloured people.

End of Apartheid in South Africa

1.      As protests and struggles against apartheid had increased, the government realised that they could no longer keep the blacks under their rule through repression. Discriminatory laws were repealed. Ban on political parties and restrictions on the media were lifted.

2.      After 28 years of imprisonment, Nelson Mandela walked out of the jail as a free man. Finally, at the midnight of 26 April 1994, the new national flag of the Republic of South Africa was unfurled marking the newly born democracy in the world.

3.      The apartheid government came to an end, paving way for the formation of a multi-racial government. Mandela, became the first president of new South Africa

How did South Africans make a democratic constitution?

1.      After the emergence of the new democratic South Africa, black leaders appealed to fellow blacks to forgive the whites for the atrocities they had committed while in power.

2.      They build a new South Africa based on equality of all races, social justice and human rights.

3.      After two years of discussion and debate they came out with one of the finest constitutions the world has ever had. This constitution gave to its citizens the most extensive rights available in any country.

4.      The South African constitution inspires democrats all over the world. A state denounced by the entire world till recently as the most undemocratic one is now seen as a model of democracy.

WHY DO SOUTH AFRICANS NEED A CONSTITUTION?

1.      The black majority was keen to ensure that the democratic principle of majority rule was not compromised. They wanted substantial social and economic rights. The white minority was keen to protect its privileges and property.

2.      After long negotiations both parties agreed to a compromise. The whites agreed to the principle of majority rule and that of one person one vote. They also agreed to accept some basic rights for the poor and the workers.

3.      The blacks agreed that majority rule would not be absolute. They agreed that the majority would not take away the property of the white minority.

4.      The only way to build and maintain trust in such a situation is to write down some rules of the country that everyone would abide by. These rules also determine what the elected governments are empowered to do and what they cannot do.

5.      They agreed on some basic rules which will be supreme, that no government will be able to ignore these. This set of basic rules is called a constitution.

what do constitutions do in a Democracy?

1.      A Constitution generates a degree of trust and coordination that is necessary for different kind of people to live together.

2.      A Constitution specifies how the government will be constituted, who will have power to take which decisions.

3.      A Constitution lays down limits on the powers of the government and tells us what the rights of the citizens are.

4.      A Constitution expresses the aspirations of the people about creating a good society.

5.      All countries that have constitutions are not necessarily democratic. But all countries that are democratic will have constitutions.

PATH TO MAKING OF THE INDIAN CONSTITUTION

(OR)

(Factors contributed to the making of our Constitution)

1.      In 1928, Motilal Nehru and eight other Congress leaders drafted a constitution for India with the following features - universal adult franchise, right to freedom and equality and to protecting the rights of minorities

2.      In 1931, the resolution at the Karachi session of the Indian National Congress dwelt on how independent India’s constitution should look like with the following features - universal adult franchise, right to freedom and equality and to protecting the rights of minorities.

3.      The experience gained by Indians in the working of the legislative institutions of the colonial period proved to be very useful for the country in setting up its own institutions.

4.      Indian constitution adopted many institutional details and procedures from colonial laws like the Government of India Act 1935.

5.      Our leaders gained confidence to learn from other countries, but on our own terms. Many of our leaders were inspired by the ideals of French Revolution, the practice of parliamentary democracy in Britain, the Bill of Rights in the US and the socialist revolution in Russia.

India’s Constitution was drawn up under very difficult circumstances- How?

1.      At that time the people of India were emerging from the status of subjects to that of citizens.

2.      The country was born through a partition on the basis of religious differences. This was a traumatic experience for the people of India. At least ten lakh people were killed on both sides of the border in partition related violence.

3.      The British had left it to the rulers of the princely states to decide whether they wanted to merge with India or with Pakistan or remain independent. The merger of these princely states was a difficult and uncertain task.

Who were the makers of the Indian Constitution?

1.      The drafting of the document called the constitution was done by an assembly of elected representatives called the Constituent Assembly.

2.      Election to the Constituent Assembly was held in July 1946. The Constituent Assembly that wrote the Indian constitution had 299 members. Its first meeting was held in December 1946. The Constituent Assembly worked in a systematic, open and consensual manner.

3.      First some basic principles were decided and agreed upon. Then a Drafting Committee chaired by Dr. B.R. Ambedkar prepared a draft constitution for discussion.

4.      Several rounds of thorough discussion took place on the Draft Constitution, clause by clause. More than two thousand amendments were considered. The members deliberated for 114 days spread over three years.

5.      The Assembly adopted the Constitution on 26 November 1949 but it came into effect on January 26, 1950. To mark this day we celebrate January 26 as Republic Day every year.

Why should we accept the Constitution made by this Assembly more than fifty years ago?

1.      Over the last half a century, several groups have questioned some provisions of the Constitution. But no large social group or political party has ever questioned the legitimacy of the Constitution itself.

2.      The Constituent Assembly was elected mainly by the members of the existing Provincial Legislatures. This ensured a fair geographical share of members from all the regions of the country.

3.      The Assembly was dominated by the Indian National Congress, the party that led India’s freedom struggle. But the Congress itself included a variety of political groups and opinions.

4.      In social terms, the Assembly represented members from different language groups, castes, classes, religions and occupations.

5.      Finally, the manner in which the Constituent Assembly worked gives sanctity to the Constitution. The Constituent Assembly worked in a systematic, open and consensual manner. More than two thousand amendments were considered.

Constituent Assembly Debates

1.      Every document presented and every word spoken in the Constituent Assembly has been recorded and preserved. These are called ‘Constituent Assembly Debates’.

2.      When printed, these debates are 12 bulky volumes! These debates provide the rationale behind every provision of the Constitution.

3.      These are used to interpret the meaning of the Constitution.

GUIDING VALUES OF THE INDIAN CONSTITUTION

Understanding of the overall philosophy of our Constitution can be done in two ways.

1.       We can understand the overall philosophy of our Constitution by reading the views of some of our major leaders on our Constitution.

2.      Mahatma Gandhi-He had spelt out what he wanted the Constitution to do: An India in which there shall be no high class and low class of people, all communities shall live in perfect harmony, no room for untouchability or the curse of the intoxicating drinks and drugs and Women will enjoy the same rights as men.

3.      Dr. B.R. Ambedkar-who played a key role in the making of the Constitution but he often bitterly criticised Mahatma Gandhi and his vision. In his concluding speech to the Constituent Assembly he stated his anxiety very clearly. In politics we will have equality and in social and economic life we will have inequality.

4.      Jawaharlal Nehru- In his famous speech to the Constituent Assembly he stated that when the world sleeps, India will awake to life and freedom. Freedom and power bring responsibility. The service of India means the service of the millions who suffer. It means the ending of poverty and ignorance and disease and inequality of opportunity. The ambition of the greatest man of our generation has been to wipe every tear from every eye.

5.      We can understand the overall philosophy of our Constitution by reading the preambleto the Constitution. The Constitution begins with a short statement of its basic values. This is called the Preamble to the constitution. Preamble of the Indian Constitution guides all the articles of the Indian Constitution.

Key words of the Preamble

REPUBLIC- The head of the state, the president of India is an elected person and not a hereditary position.

JUSTICE- Citizens cannot be discriminated on the grounds of caste, religion and gender.

Government should work for the welfare of all, especially of the disadvantaged groups.

LIBERTY- There is no restrictions on the citizens in what they think, express their thoughts and follow up their thoughts in action.

EQUALITY- All is equal before the law. The government should ensure equal opportunity for all.

FRATERNITY- All of us should behave as if we are members of the same family. No one should treat a fellow citizen as inferior.

WE, THE PEOPLE OF INDIA- The constitution has been drawn up and enacted by the people through their representatives not handed over by a king or outside powers.

SOVEREIGN- People have supreme right to make decisions on internal as well as external matters. No external power can dictate the government of India.

SOCIALIST- Wealth is generated socially and should be shared equally by society. Government should reduce socio-economic inequalities.

SECULAR- Citizens have complete freedom to follow any religion. Government treats all religious beliefs and practices with equal respect.

DEMOCRATIC- A form of government where people enjoy equal political rights, elect their rulers and hold them accountable.

Institutional design

A constitution is not merely a statement of values and philosophy it is mainly about embodying these values into institutional arrangements such as Office of the Prime Minister, President, Judiciary etc. Much of the Constitutional rules are about these arrangements.

Constitutional amendments

Indian Constitution felt that it has to be in accordance with people’s aspirations and changes in society. Constitution makers made provisions to incorporate changes in the constitution from time to time. These changes are called constitutional amendments.

Apartheid: The official policy of racial separation and ill treatment of blacks followed by the government of South Africa between 1948 and 1989.

Clause: A distinct section of a document.

Constituent Assembly: An assembly of people’s representatives that writes a constitution for a country.

Constitution: Supreme law of a country, containing fundamental rules governing the politics and society in a country.

Constitutional amendment: A change in the constitution made by the supreme legislative body in a country.

Draft: A preliminary version of a legal document.

Philosophy: The most fundamental principles underlying one’s thought and actions.

Preamble: An introductory statement in a constitution which states the reasons and guiding values of the constitution.

Treason: The offence of attempting to overthrow the government of the state to which the offender owes allegiance.

Tryst: A meeting or meeting place that has been agreed upon.

Forest Society and Colonialism Notes

Forest Society and Colonialism

Deforestation

The disappearance of forests or destruction of forest by humans for various reasons is referred to as deforestation.

The causes of deforestation by the British in India

1.      The British directly encouragedthe production of commercial crops like jute, sugar, andcotton. The demand for these crops increased in nineteenth-century Europe where foodgrains were needed to feed the growing urbanpopulation and raw materials were required for industrialproduction.

2.      In the early nineteenth century, the British thought that forests were unproductive. Forests were consideredto be wilderness that had to be brought under cultivation so thatthe land could yield agricultural products and revenue, and enhancethe income of the British.

3.      By the early nineteenth century, oak forests in England were disappearing. This created a problem of timber supply for the Royal Navy.By the 1820s, search parties were sent to explore the forest resources of India. Within a decade, trees were being felled on a massive scale and vast quantities of timber were being exported from India.

4.      The spread of railways from the 1850s created a new demand. Railways were essential for colonial trade and for the movement of imperial troops. To run locomotives, wood was needed as fuel, andto lay railway lines sleepers were essential to hold the tracks together.Each mile of railway track required around 2,000 sleepers. By 1890, about 25,500 km of track had been laid. In 1946, the length of the tracks had increased to over 765,000 km.As the railway tracks spread through India, a larger and larger number of trees were felled. As early as the 1850s, in the Madras Presidency alone, 35,000 trees were being cut annually for sleepers. The government gave out contracts to individuals to supply the required quantities. These contractors began cutting trees indiscriminately. Forests around the railway tracks fast started disappearing.

5.      Large areas of natural forests were also cleared to make way fortea, coffee and rubber plantations to meet Europe’s growing needfor these commodities. The colonial government took over theforests, and gave vast areas to European planters at cheap rates.

Dietrich Brandis’s advice for commercial forest:

The British invited a German forest expert, Dietrich Brandis, for advice, and made him the first InspectorGeneral of Forests in India.

1.      Brandis realized that a proper system had to be introduced to manage the forests and people had to be trained in the science of conservation.

2.      Rules about the use of forest resources had to be framed. This system would need legal sanction.

3.      Felling of trees and grazing had to berestricted so that forests could be preserved for timber production.Anybody who cut trees without following the system had to be legally punished.

4.      Brandis set up the Indian Forest Service in 1864

5.       He helped to formulate the Indian Forest Act of 1865.

6.      He set up the Imperial Forest Research Institute at Dehradun in 1906.

7.      After the Forest Act was enacted in 1865, it was amended twice,once in 1878 and then in 1927. The 1878 Act divided forests intothree categories: reserved, protected and village forests. The bestforests were called reserved forests. Villagers could not take anythingfrom these forests.

Scientific Forestry

In scientific forestry –forests with mixed trees are cleared and one kind of trees are planted at straight rows to cultivate timber for railway and ship building

Forest management

A system of cuttingtrees controlled by the forest department,in which old trees are cut and new onesplanted in straight lines for British railway and Navy.

How didforest acts affect the Lives of Forest People?

1.      Foresters wanted forests with a mixture of species to satisfy different needs such as fuel, food, fodder, leaves. The forest departmenton the other hand wanted trees which were suitable for buildingships or railways. So the British did not allow the foresters to collect them.

2.      After the Forest Act, all their everyday practices cutting wood for theirhouses, grazing their cattle, collecting fruits and roots, hunting and fishing became illegal. People were now forced to steal woodfrom the forests, and if they were caught, they were severely punished.

3.      One of the major impacts of European colonialism was on the practiceof shifting cultivation or swidden agriculture. In shifting cultivation, parts of the forest are cut and burnt in rotation.Seeds are sown in the ashes after the first monsoon rains, and the crop isharvested by October-November. (European foresters regarded this practice as harmful for the forests.They felt that land which was used for cultivation every few years could not grow trees for railway timber. When a forest was burnt, there was the added danger of the flames spreading and burning valuable timber.Shifting cultivation also made it harder for the government to calculate taxes. Therefore, the government decided to ban shifting cultivation.)

4.      The new forest laws changed the lives of forest dwellers in yet anotherway. Before the forest laws, many people who lived in or near forestshad survived by hunting deer, partridges and a variety of smallanimals. This customary practice was prohibited by the forest laws.Those who were caught hunting were now punished for poaching.

5.      Adivasi communities were trading elephants and other goods like hides, horns, silk cocoons, ivory, bamboo, spices, fibres, grasses, gums and resins etc. With the coming of the British, trade was regulated and the government gave monopoly rights to large European trading firms to trade in the forestproducts.

Location of Bastar and believes of the People of Bastar

1.      Bastar is located in the southernmost part of Chhattisgarh andborders Andhra Pradesh, Orissa and Maharashtra. The central partof Bastar is on a plateau.

2.      A number of differentcommunities live in Bastar such as Maria and MuriaGonds, Dhurwas,Bhatras and Halbas. They speak different languages but sharecommon customs and beliefs.

3.      The people of Bastar believe that eachvillage was given its land by the Earth, and in return, they look afterthe earth by making some offerings at each agricultural festival. They show respect to the spirits of the river, the forest and the mountain.

4.      Since each village knows where itsboundaries lie, the local people look after all the natural resourceswithin that boundary. If people from a village want to take somewood from the forests of another village, they pay a small fee calleddevsari,dandor man in exchange.

5.      Some villages also protect their forestsby engaging watchmen and each household contributes some grainto pay them. Every year there is one big hunt where the headmen ofvillages meet and discuss issues ofconcern, including forests.

Causes for Bastar rebellion

1.      When the colonial government proposed to reserve two-thirds ofthe forest in 1905, and stop shifting cultivation, hunting and collectionof forest produce, the people of Bastar were very worried.

2.      Somevillages were allowed to stay on in the reserved forests on the conditionthat they worked free for the forest department in cutting andtransporting trees, and protecting the forest from fire. So these came to be known as forest villages.

3.      People of other villageswere displaced without any notice or compensation. Villagers had been suffering from increased land rents and frequentdemands for free labour and goods by colonial officials.

4.      Then the terrible famines came, in 1899-1900 and again in 1907-1908. Rebellion became inevitable.

How was the Bastar Rebellion organized?

1.      People began to gather and discuss these issues in their village councils,in bazaars and at festivals or wherever the headmen and priests ofseveral villages were assembled.

2.      The initiative was taken by theDhurwas of the Kanger forest, where reservation first took place. Leader of the rebellion was GundaDhur, from village Nethanar. They prepare weapons like mango boughs, a lump of earth, chillies andarrows, which began circulating between villages.

3.      These were actuallymessages inviting villagers to rebel against the British. Every villagecontributed something to the rebellion expenses.

4.      Bazaars were looted,the houses of officials and traders, schools and police stations wereburnt and robbed, and grain redistributed. Most of those who wereattacked were in some way associated with the colonial state and itsoppressive laws.

5.      It took threemonths (February - May) for the British to regain control. However,they never managed to capture GundaDhur.

Results of the Bastar Rebellion

1.      In a major victoryfor the rebels, work on reservation was temporarily suspended.

2.      The area to be reserved was reduced to roughly half of thatplanned before 1910.

Causes for forest Rebellion in Java

1.      The Dutch wanted timber from Java tobuild ships. They banned the Practice of shifting cultivation.The Dutch enacted forest laws in Java, restricting villagers’ access to forests.

2.      Nowwood could only be cut for specified purposeslike making river boats or constructing houses,and only from specific forests under closesupervision.

3.      Villagers were punished forgrazing cattle in young stands, transportingwood without a permit, or travelling on forestroads with horse carts or cattle.

4.      As in India, the need to manage forests forshipbuilding and railways led to theintroduction of a forest service by the Dutch in Java.

5.      The Dutchfirst imposed rents on land being cultivated in the forest and thenexempted some villages from these rents if they worked collectivelyto provide free labour and buffaloes for cutting and transportingtimber. This was known as the blandongdienstensystem.

.

Forest Rebellion in Java or Saminist Movement in Java

1.      In 1890s, SurontikoSamin a teak forestvillager began questioning state ownership of the forest. He argued thatthe state had not created the wind, water, earth and wood, so it could notown it.

2.       Soon a widespread movement developed. Amongst those whohelped organise it were Samin.s sons-in-law.

3.      By 1907, 3,000 familieswere following his ideas. Some of the Saminists protested by lying downon their land when the Dutch came to survey it, while others refused topay taxes or fines or perform labour.

World Wars and Deforestation

1.      The First World War and the Second World War had a major impacton forests. In India, working plans were abandoned at this time, andthe forest department cut trees freely to meet British war needs.

2.       InJava, just before the Japanese occupied the region, the Dutch followedascorched earth policy, destroying sawmills, and burning hugepiles of giant teak logs so that they would not fall into Japanesehands.

3.      The Japanese then exploited the forests recklessly for theirown war industries, forcing forest villagers to cut down forests.

4.      After the war, it was difficult for the Indonesian forest serviceto get this land back. As in India, people’s need for agricultural landhas brought them into conflict with the forest department’s desireto control the land and exclude people from it.