FOREST CLEARANCE
The early British mistreatment of Indian forests reinforced the claim that the British race
was rapidly converting forests into deserts. By 1860 Britain became the world leader in deforestation, devastating its own
forests and forests in Ireland, South America, north east USA for farming, iron smelting and shipbuilding.
The motives behind the British drive to clear forests in India:
To increase revenue by extension of agriculture which was a prime and consistent source of revenue
To increase political control by increasing land under settled cultivation which was easier
to administer than forests and wastelands
To meet increase in demand for timber for shipbuilding which was accentuated by (a) the Anglo-French
naval rivalry (b) shortage of timber in Britain (c) Baltic timber supply stopped because of strategic isolation of Britain
during the revolutionary and Napoleanic wars between 1793 and 1815 and the neutrality of the Baltic countries during the blockade.
To meet increase in demand for timber for building dockyards, barracks, ordnance factories,
and later and most importantly railway construction.
To meet increase in demand for fuel for steamships, townships and later railways
To reduce the hideouts of disorderly social groups and revenue fugitives. Forests were the abode
for tribals who were considered to be primitive and prone to violence. And peasants from the settled cultivated areas who
were unable to bear the revenue demands of the state took refuge in the forests.
To honour the negative view of woodlands that the British carried into India from Britain. Forests
were considered by the British to have lapsed into a state of nature because of inadequate human care. The British believed
that forests were meant to be tamed by clearing them for cultivation.
Policies adopted by the British for clearance of forests:
Revenue demand was increased which forced cultivators to extend the land under cultivation by
clearing forests and wastelands and bringing those lands under cultivation. Sometimes it had the opposite effect when revenue
demands were too high - then cultivation was avoided by escapism.
Military campaigns were used to subdue belligerent forests users who resisted the clearance
of forests. The Paharia tribals of the Rajmahal hills were subdued by military action in 1772-78 and Santhals brought in because
they were good workers and generated more revenue.
A Baze Zamin Daftar (Wasteland Office) was created in Bengal to give priority to clearing wasteland
for cultivation.
Baze Zamin Regulations were instituted in 1788. The provisions included restriction of zamindars
from giving rent-free land grants - in normal times this was beneficial but in times of famine it had the opposite effect
of retarding agricultural recovery after famine conditions.
