Class 9 : Social Science (In English) – Lesson 5. Pastoralists in the Modern World
EXPLANATION & SUMMARY
Pastoralists in Rajasthan India
📍 1. Who Are Pastoralists?
🐑 Pastoralists are communities that herd domesticated animals like sheep, goats, camels, and cattle.
🏞️ They move seasonally in search of pasture and water, practising nomadism or transhumance.
👥 Pastoralism sustains fragile ecosystems where farming is difficult.
📍 2. Pastoralism in India Before Colonial Rule
🌾 Major groups: Gujjars, Bakarwals, Gaddis in Jammu & Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh; Raikas in Rajasthan; Maldharis in Gujarat.
🐪 Movement pattern: Raikas moved between Thar Desert and Aravallis; Gaddis moved between low hills and high Himalayas.
🌳 Pastoralists coexisted with peasants—trading milk, wool, hides for grain and tools.
📍 3. Colonial Changes and Restrictions
📜 Forest Acts (1865, 1878, 1927) restricted grazing and timber collection.
🚫 Reserved forests banned entry without permits → loss of traditional grazing grounds.
💰 Grazing taxes introduced, burdening herders.
🐏 Criminal Tribes Act (1871) branded some pastoralists as “criminal tribes,” restricting movement.
🌾 Pastoral lands converted to agriculture or plantations → shrinking pastures.
⚔️ Famines (e.g., 1899–1900) worsened hardships.
📍 4. Responses of Indian Pastoralists
👥 Some reduced herds; others defied laws by grazing illegally.
🐐 Migrated to new areas or combined grazing with agriculture.
✊ Rebellions and protests erupted (e.g., Maasai-like protests in Africa had Indian parallels in Bastar).
📍 5. Pastoralism in Africa (Maasai)
🌍 Maasai of Kenya and Tanzania practised cattle nomadism.
🐂 Colonial land alienation: British and Germans carved Maasai lands into reserves.
🚫 Movement restricted; grazing taxes imposed.
📜 Maasai chiefs lost authority; elders were co-opted by colonial administrators.
🛣️ Pastoral paths disrupted by new railways and agriculture.
📍 6. Impact of Colonialism Worldwide
📢 Pastoralists across Asia and Africa faced similar pressures: land loss, taxation, criminalisation.
🚜 Cash-crop farming and plantations replaced grazing lands.
🐏 Wildlife reserves (e.g., Serengeti) banned grazing, displacing herders.
👥 Pastoralists adapted by joining wage labour markets, herding fewer animals, or shifting trades.
📍 7. Significance of Pastoralism Today
🌱 Pastoralism remains crucial for drylands and mountainous regions.
🐑 Supports biodiversity and traditional knowledge.
🌍 Modern policies focus on sustainable grazing and community rights (e.g., India’s Forest Rights Act, 2006).
📜 History of pastoralists warns against marginalising indigenous livelihoods.
📝 Summary (~200 words)
“Pastoralists in the Modern World” explores nomadic herding communities and their transformations under colonial rule. In India, groups like Gujjars, Bakarwals, Gaddis, Raikas, and Maldharis moved seasonally to sustain their herds. Colonial forest acts, grazing taxes, and land conversion reduced their pastures. Criminal Tribes Act restrictions and recurring famines deepened hardships. Many pastoralists resisted, migrated, or altered practices. In Africa, Maasai lands were seized by the British and Germans, forcing them into reserves, restricting movement, and imposing taxes.
Globally, colonialism disrupted pastoral economies to prioritise revenue, plantations, and conservation parks. Despite these challenges, pastoralism remains vital for fragile ecosystems, contributing to biodiversity and local economies. The chapter emphasises balancing development with pastoral communities’ rights.
⚡ Quick Recap (~100 words)
🐑 Pastoralists = herders moving seasonally for grazing.
🌾 Indian groups: Gujjars, Bakarwals, Gaddis, Raikas, Maldharis.
📜 Colonial policies: forest acts, grazing taxes, Criminal Tribes Act.
🚫 Land converted to farms/plantations → shrinking pastures.
🌍 Maasai in Africa faced similar land alienation and reserves.
✊ Responses: migration, defiance, rebellion, reduced herds.
🌱 Today: pastoralism still supports biodiversity and livelihoods.
⚠️ Lesson: include pastoral rights in modern land and conservation policies.
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QUESTIONS FROM TEXTBOOK
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:
🐪 Need for movement: Grazing grounds dry up or are overgrazed; water sources shift with seasons. Moving prevents starvation of animals.
🌱 Environmental advantage: Continuous movement allows pastures to regenerate naturally, preventing soil exhaustion, overgrazing, and desertification.
🌍 Ecosystem balance: Different areas share grazing pressure, maintaining biodiversity and fertile soil.
👥 Livelihood link: Nomads trade wool, milk, and hides across regions, creating economic and cultural exchange.
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
Answer:
📜 Reason: British wanted to increase revenue by converting “waste” grazing lands into taxable farmland or plantations.
🐑 Impact: Shrinking grazing lands forced pastoralists to travel farther or reduce herds, creating hardship.
➡ Forest Acts
Answer:
📜 Reason: To control timber extraction for railways and ships under “scientific forestry.”
🚫 Impact: Reserved/protected forests banned grazing and wood collection without permits—pastoralists lost traditional rights and had to pay fines or bribes.
➡ Criminal Tribes Act
Answer:
📜 Reason: Colonial fear of mobile groups as “lawless”; easier surveillance and taxation.
⚔️ Impact: Pastoral communities were branded “criminal,” their movement was restricted, and they faced harassment, arrests, and humiliation.
➡ Grazing Tax
Answer:
📜 Reason: Raise revenue from herders using pastures.
🐐 Impact: Increased financial burden, causing many to sell animals or migrate secretly to avoid officials.
Question 3:
Give reasons to explain why the Maasai community lost their grazing lands.
Answer:
🌍 Colonial partition: British in Kenya and Germans in Tanzania carved Maasai lands into reserves for settlers and cash-crop farms.
🚫 Land alienation: Best pastures taken for plantations and white settlements; Maasai pushed to arid, unproductive zones.
💰 Taxes and restrictions: Head taxes and movement controls forced Maasai to supply cheap labour.
🐂 Livelihood impact: Reduced cattle numbers, famine vulnerability, and erosion of traditional authority.
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:
📜 Land loss through colonial policies: In India, Waste Land Rules and Forest Acts reduced grazing grounds; in East Africa, Maasai reserves confined herders—both faced displacement.
💰 Taxation and economic pressure: Grazing tax in India and hut/head taxes in Africa forced herders into wage labour or smaller herds, undermining self-sufficient pastoral economies.
🌱 Outcome: Both groups experienced cultural disruption, impoverishment, and adaptation strategies like migration, rebellion, or taking up farming/labour work.
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OTHER IMPORTANT QUESTIONS FOR EXAMS
🌟 SECTION A — Multiple Choice Questions (1 mark each)
Question 1: Which pastoral group in Rajasthan herded camels and sheep?
(a) Maldharis
(b) Raikas
(c) Gujjars
(d) Bakarwals
Answer: (b) Raikas
Question 2: The Maasai are found mainly in:
(a) South Africa
(b) Kenya and Tanzania
(c) Egypt and Sudan
(d) Algeria and Morocco
Answer: (b) Kenya and Tanzania
Question 3: Grazing Tax was introduced by:
(a) Mughal emperors
(b) Dutch colonials
(c) British colonial government
(d) Local chiefs
Answer: (c) British colonial government
Question 4: Blandongdiensten in Java forced villagers to:
(a) Pay rent in cash
(b) Cut and transport timber for free
(c) Hunt tigers for bounty
(d) Convert to plantation labour
Answer: (b) Cut and transport timber for free
Question 5: Which act branded many Indian pastoralists as “criminal tribes”?
(a) Forest Act
(b) Criminal Tribes Act
(c) Waste Land Rules
(d) Grazing Act
Answer: (b) Criminal Tribes Act
Question 6: Raikas migrated between:
(a) Himalayas and Deccan Plateau
(b) Thar Desert and Aravalli Hills
(c) Satpura Hills and Eastern Ghats
(d) Nilgiris and Malabar Coast
Answer: (b) Thar Desert and Aravalli Hills
Question 7: A major consequence of Waste Land Rules was:
(a) Increase in forest area
(b) Conversion of grazing land to farms
(c) Free movement for pastoralists
(d) Decline in agriculture
Answer: (b) Conversion of grazing land to farms
Question 8: Which European powers controlled Maasai grazing lands?
(a) French and British
(b) British and Germans
(c) Portuguese and Dutch
(d) Belgians and British
Answer: (b) British and Germans
Question 9: Gaddis are pastoralists of:
(a) Gujarat
(b) Himachal Pradesh
(c) Tamil Nadu
(d) Rajasthan
Answer: (b) Himachal Pradesh
Question 10: What did pastoralists often trade with settled peasants?
(a) Wool, milk, hides
(b) Gold and silver
(c) Machinery
(d) Tea and coffee
Answer: (a) Wool, milk, hides
🌟 SECTION B — Very Short Answer (2 marks each)
Question 11: Why did the British view nomadic groups with suspicion?
Answer:
📜 Nomads’ mobility defied colonial control and taxation.
⚔️ Authorities feared rebellion or evasion of laws due to their independent movement.
Question 12: Mention two problems pastoralists faced after forest reservation.
Answer:
🌳 Loss of traditional grazing areas → shortage of pasture.
💰 Fines and bribes for permits increased financial hardship.
Question 13: Why did Raikas reduce their herds under colonial rule?
Answer:
🐪 Shrinking pastures from Waste Land Rules and Forest Acts.
📉 Grazing taxes made maintaining large herds unaffordable.
Question 14: State two environmental benefits of nomadic pastoralism.
Answer:
🌱 Prevents overgrazing by shifting pressure between areas.
🌍 Allows vegetation to regenerate, maintaining soil fertility.
🌟 SECTION C — Short Answer (3 marks each)
Question 15: Explain how the Forest Acts changed the lives of Indian pastoralists.
Answer:
📜 Restricted access to forests for grazing, fuelwood, and timber.
💰 Introduced permits, fines, and harassment for entry.
🐐 Forced herders to migrate farther or reduce herd sizes, destabilising livelihoods.
Question 16: What were the key features of the Criminal Tribes Act?
Answer:
📜 Certain communities labelled “criminal” by birth.
🚫 Restricted movement and imposed regular reporting to police.
⚔️ Stigmatised pastoral groups, eroding dignity and economic freedom.
Question 17: How did the Maasai respond to loss of grazing lands?
Answer:
🐂 Reduced cattle numbers and sought wage labour.
✊ Some resisted through protests or negotiations.
🌱 Adapted by diversifying occupations while preserving cultural identity.
🌟 SECTION D — Long Answer (5 marks each)
Question 18: Discuss the impact of colonial land policies on Indian pastoralists.
Answer:
📜 Waste Land Rules: Converted common pastures to farms → shrinking grazing areas.
🌳 Forest Acts: Banned grazing in reserved forests → fines and displacement.
💰 Grazing Taxes: Increased economic burden, forcing sale of livestock.
⚔️ Criminal Tribes Act: Restricted mobility and branded them criminals.
🐐 Overall impact: Economic decline, cultural disruption, and forced adaptation.
Question 19: Compare two similarities between Indian pastoralists and Maasai herders under colonial rule.
Answer:
📜 Land alienation: Waste Land Rules in India and Maasai reserves in Africa both displaced herders.
💰 Taxation pressures: Grazing tax in India and hut/head taxes in East Africa forced wage labour.
🌱 Both communities lost autonomy but adapted through migration, rebellion, or new livelihoods.
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