NCERT Solutions for Class 9 Social Science History Chapter 5 Pastoralists in the Modern World are prepared by expert teachers. These solutions contain answers to all questions provided in History (India and the Contemporary World – I) textbook. Students can also download the PDF of NCERT Solutions for Class 9 History Chapter 5 for free.
Class 9 History Pastoralists in the Modern World 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: Nomads are people who do not live in one place but move from one area to another to earn their living. These people involved in animal husbandry so they need to move in search of pastures for their animals. When pasture in one place over then they move to another for fresh pastures.
Environmentalists and economists have increasingly come to recognise that pastoral nomadism is a form of life that is perfectly suited to many hilly and dry regions of the world. These people also set up a relationship with farmers on the way, so that the herds could graze in harvested fields and manure 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:
- Waste Land rules
- Forest Acts
- Criminal Tribes Act
- Grazing Tax
Answer:
Waste Land rules: All grazing lands were considered wastelands by the colonial rulers as they brought no revenue to them. If this land could be transformed into cultivated farmland, it would result in an increase in land revenue and production of crops such as jute, cotton and wheat. This is why the Waste Land rules were formulated. However, they sounded the death knell for pastoralists because an increase in cultivated land meant an obvious decline in pastures, and a consequent loss of a means of livelihood for them.
Forests Acts: These were enacted to protect and preserve forests for timber which was of commercial importance. These acts changed the life of pastoralists. They were now prevented from entering many forests that had earlier provided valuable forage for their cattle. They were issued permits which monitored their entry and exit into forests. Theycould not stay in the forests as much as they liked because the permit specified the number of days and hours they could spend in the forests.
Criminal Tribes Act: The British government eyed nomadic people with suspicion and disregard on account of their continuous movement. They could not be tracked down or placed in one particular place, unlike rural people in villages who were easy to identify and control. Hence, the colonial power viewed nomadic tribes as a criminal. The Criminal Tribes Act was passed in 1871 and it further ruined the lives of the pastoralists who were now forced to live in notified settlements and were disallowed from moving out without a government permit.
Grazing Tax: It was imposed by the colonial government to expand its revenue income. Pastoralists had to pay a tax on every animal they grazed on the pastures. This right was now auctioned out to contractors. They extracted 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. Later the government itself started collecting taxes. This created problems for the pastoralists who were harassed by tax collectors. It also became an economic burden on them.
Question 3: Give reasons to explain why the Maasai community lost their grazing lands.
Answer: In the late nineteenth century, in what would be knowns as the ‘scramble for Africa’, European imperial powers slicing up the region into different colonies with little to no regard about the local sentiments. In 1885, the land of the Maasai, Maasailand, was cut into half with an international boundary between British Kenya and German Tanzania. As a result, the best grazing lands were reserved for white settlers with Maasai being pushed into a small area in southern Kenya and northern Tanzania.
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: 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. Here are two examples of changes which were similar for Indian pastoralists and the Maasai herders:
- All uncultivated land was seen as wasteland by colonial powers. It produced neither revenue nor agricultural produce. This land was brought under cultivation. In most areas the lands taken over were actually grazing tracts used regularly by pastoralists, so expansion of cultivation inevitably meant the decline of pastures and a problem both for Indian pastoralists and the Maasai.
- From the 19th century onwards, the colonial government started imposing restrictions on the pastoral communities. They were issued permits which allowed them to move out with their stock and it was difficult to get permits without trouble and harassment. Those found guilty of disobeying the rules were severely punished.