Chapter 8 Forests and Tribes| Class 12 History Notes

There was something more to provincial India besides traditional agriculture. Aside from the profoundly developed regions in northern and north-western India, tremendous bulks of forests – dense forests (jangal) or scrubland (kharbandi). These forests existed all over eastern India, central India, northern India (counting the Terai on the Indo-Nepal line), Jharkhand, and in peninsular India down the Western Ghats and the Deccan level. However, it is somewhat difficult to set a gauge to how much India covered under forest in those times, yet an estimate can be made that is 40%.

Let us read this article to acknowledge ourselves about the forests and tribes that lived during this era.

Forests and Tribes

Let us explore more about the forests and the tribes below:

Beyond Settled Villages

Beyond sedentary agriculture, rural India encompassed vast expanses of forests, including dense forest (jangal) or scrubland (kharbandi), spanning eastern, central, northern, and peninsular regions. While quantifying the forest cover for this period is challenging, estimates based on contemporary sources suggest an average of around 40 percent.

In contemporary texts, inhabitants of these forests were referred to as jangli. However, being jangli didn’t imply a lack of civilization, as the term might imply today. Instead, it described people whose livelihood relied on gathering forest produce, hunting, and practicing shifting agriculture, typically aligned with seasonal patterns. For instance, the Bhils allocated different seasons for specific activities, such as collecting forest produce in spring, fishing in summer, cultivation during the monsoon, and hunting in autumn and winter. This lifestyle perpetuated mobility, which was a defining characteristic of forest-dwelling tribes.

From the perspective of the state, forests posed a challenge, serving as a refuge (mawas) for dissenters and troublemakers. Babur noted that jungles provided effective defense, enabling inhabitants to resist taxation and rebel against the authorities.

Inroads into Forests

The rural areas of India were not solely characterized by sedentary agriculture; vast forests, including dense jungles and scrublands, were prevalent across various regions such as eastern, central, northern, and peninsular India. Although estimating the exact forest cover is challenging, it’s believed to have averaged around 40 percent based on contemporary sources.

In contemporary texts, forest inhabitants were referred to as “jangli,” indicating their livelihood derived from gathering forest produce, hunting, and practicing shifting agriculture, often aligned with seasonal cycles. This lifestyle fostered mobility, a distinguishing trait of forest-dwelling tribes.

External forces penetrated the forests in diverse ways. For instance, the state’s need for elephants for its army led to levies, including the provision of elephants, imposed on forest communities. Forest clearance for agricultural settlements was also common, as exemplified in the Bengali poem “Chandimangala,” which describes the establishment of kingdoms through forest clearing and the influx of outsiders.

Commercial agriculture’s expansion influenced forest dwellers’ lives, as forest products like honey, beeswax, and gum lac were in high demand, some even becoming major export items. Trade between hill tribes and the plains involved barter exchanges, with goods like gold, honey, and musk transported from the mountains to the plains in exchange for items like cloths, salt, and ornaments.

Social changes also impacted forest dwellers, with tribal chiefs often evolving into zamindars or even kings, necessitating the formation of armies. Transition to monarchical systems began earlier but became more pronounced by the sixteenth century, marked by tribal kingdoms engaging in wars for dominance.

Cultural influences, including those of Sufi saints, gradually permeated forested areas, contributing to the slow acceptance of Islam among emerging agricultural communities in newly colonized regions.

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Chapter 8 Forests and Tribes- FAQs

What was the role of peasants and landed elites involved in agricultural production during the Mughal period in India?

Landed elites and peasants both participated in agricultural production and asserted claims to a portion of the harvest. As a result, they developed relationships characterized by rivalry, cooperation, and conflict. Rural society was the culmination of these agrarian interactions.

What was the role of peasants in the Delhi Sultanate?

There was no doubt that the peasants were nearly semi-serfs. They might own tools, animals, and seeds, just like serfs. If they had to pay for their earnings with cash, they were free to sell their produce. Barani identified the large peasants with huge landholdings as Khots and Muqaddams.

Who were called peasants?

Any individual who works the land as a small-scale landowner or as an agricultural laborer is referred to as a peasant. The word “peasant” was first used historically to describe small-scale farmers in Europe, but there have been peasant classes in many other historical and contemporary societies.

What are the tribes of India?

The tribes of India included: Gonds, Bhils (or Bheels), Santhal, Munda, Khasi, Garo, Angami, Bhutia, Chenchu, Kodaba, and the Great Andamanese Tribes.

Which Indian tribes were in the forest?

The Indian tribes that resided in the forests are:

• Dongria Kondh India.
• Hongana Manyawa Indonesia.
• Jarawa India.
• Jenu Kuruba India.
• Sentinelese India.
• Shompen India.
• Tiger Reserve tribes India.