Somri belongs to a tribal community in a hilly district. Her grandparents gathered fuel, fruit and medicinal plants from dense woods around the village and farmed fields that the whole village held together. Today the woods have thinned to a few patches. When records were drawn up, plots were registered in the names of individual owners, and many households had no papers for fields they had used for generations. In recent years traders, contractors and labourers from other states have settled in growing numbers in the district, and Somri's community feels its way of life is under pressure.
When did the systematic exploitation of forests, of the kind that thinned the woods around Somri's village, begin?
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 1
The correct answer is Option (1) → In British times, with the trend continuing after independence
Option (1) In British times, with the trend continuing after independence — Correct. Systematic exploitation of forests began in British times. The trend continued after independence, which is why woods like those around Somri's village have thinned.
Option (2) In the Nehruvian era, with the building of large dams and mines — Incorrect. The Nehruvian era brought large dams, factories and mines, which cost tribals their land. Forests had already been exploited systematically since British times, well before that era.
Option (3) After independence, with the coming of private property in land — Incorrect. Private property in land is a separate blow, seen in the fields registered to individual owners. It hurt tribals because their community-based collective ownership was put at a disadvantage.
Option (4) In the 1970s, with the heavy in-migration of non-tribals — Incorrect. Heavy in-migration of non-tribals is another separate pressure linked to development. It explains the traders, contractors and labourers now settling in the district.
NCERT (2026-27): “Tribe – The Career of a Concept … |