HISTORY
CHAPTER-4 TRIBALS, DIKUS AND THE VISION OF A GOLDEN AGE
1. FILL IN THE BLANKS :
a) The British described the tribal people as wild and savage.
(b) The method of sowing seeds in jhum cultivation is known as broadcasting. (c)
The tribal chiefs got land titles in central India under the British land settlements. (d)
Tribals went to work in the tea plantations of Assam and the coal mines in Bihar. 2.
State whether true or false:
(a) Jhum cultivators plough the land and sow seeds. False
(b) Cocoons were bought from the Santhals and sold by the traders at five times the purchase
price.- – True
(c) Birsa urged his followers to purify themselves, give up drinking liquor and stop believing
in witchcraft and sorcery. TRUE
(d) The British wanted to preserve the tribal way of life.- FALSE
3. What problems did shifting cultivators face under British rule?
Answer.
British always had problems with shifting cultivators, as they were always moving for pasture
lands. The British wanted the shifting cultivators to become peasant cultivators. The British
thought it was easier to control and administer peasant cultivators than shifting cultivators. Hence,
shifting cultivators faced problems when the company planned the land revenue system.
4. How did the powers of tribal chiefs change under colonial rule?
Answer.
Under British rule, the functions and powers of the tribal chiefs changed considerably. They were
allowed to keep their land titles over a cluster of villages and rent outlands, but they lost much of
their administrative power and were forced to follow laws made by the British officials in India. They
also had to pay tribute to the British, and discipline the tribal groups on behalf of the British. They
lost the authority that they had earlier enjoyed among their people and were unable to fulfil their
traditional functions.
5. What accounts for the anger of the tribals against the dikus?
Answer.
Tribals were not happy with dikus who were considered as ‘outsiders’ by them. Tribals wanted to be
shifting cultivators and not be peasant cultivators. The dikus were settling in at the tribals’ lands,
wanting the latter to sell their lands or rent their lands at very high-interest rates. This made the
tribals unhappy. Also, the tribal chiefs lost their administrative powers under British rule. Later, the
tribals were evacuated from their lands, and they had to look for other livelihood options.
6. What was Birsa’s vision of a golden age? Why do you think such a vision appealed to
the people of the region?
Answer.
Birsa was deeply influenced by many of the ideas he came in touch with his growing up years. Aim
of his movement was to reform tribals society. He urged the Mundas to give up drinking liquor, clean
their villages, and stop believing in witchcraft and sorcery. Birsa also turned against missionaries
and Hindu landlords as he saw them as outside forces that were ruining the Munda way of life. He
Made them remember golden past of Mundas and urged his followers to recover it.
Such a vision appealed to the people of the region because they were very much eager to lead a
free life. They had got fed up with the colonial forest laws and the restrictions that were imposed on
them.
7. What were reserved forests? What are the features of reserved
forest? Answer.
Reserved forests were forests and other natural areas, which were under judicial protection of
the British Rule.
The features of reserved forest
a) In the forests people were not allowed to move freely and hunt animals.
b) They were not allowed to practice Jhum cultivation and collect forest products.
8. Mention the different tribal revolts that occurred during 19th and 20th century in different
parts of country.
Answer.
The following tribal revolts occurred during 19th and 20th century in different parts of country:
a) The Kols revolt in 1831-32
b) The Santhals revolt in 1855
c) The Bastar revolt in 1910
d) The Warli revolt in 1940
9. What was the significance of Birsa movement?
Answer.
It forced the colonial government to introduced laws so that the land of the tribals could not be
easily taken over by dikus. It showed once again that the tribals people had the capacity to protest
against injustice and express their anger against colonial rule. They did this in their own specific
way, inventing their own rituals and symbols of struggle.
