PASTORALISTS IN THE MODERN WORLD MCQ's & NCERT SOLUTIONS

FOR CLASS-9 HISTORY (CBSE BOARD)

PASTORALISTS IN THE MODERN WORLD 

Multiple Choice Questions (MCQs)

1. Nomadic tribes need to move from one place to another because of-

(a) seasonal changes

(b) their mobile nature

(c) their poor background 

(d) all of the above

2. Dhangars are an important pastoral community of which state?

(a) Himachal Pradesh

(b) Maharashtra

(c) Jammu and Kashmir

 (d) Rajasthan

3. The life of pastoralists greatly changed under colonial rule. What is/are this/ these change/changes?

(a) Their grazing grounds shrank. 

(b) Their movements were regulated.

(c) They had to pay increased revenue.

(d) All of the above

4. When was the Criminal Tribes Act

(a) In 1889

(c) In 1878

(b) In 1871

(d) In 1870

5. Why did the colonial government introduce the Grazing Tax in the mid- 19th century?

(a) To expand its revenue.

(b) To ban cattle herder from entering grazing tracts.

(c) Both (a) and (b).

(d) None of the above 

6. How many people in Africa are dependent on some form of pastoral activity for their livelihood?

(a) Less than 22 million 

(b) Over 22 million

(c) Over 12 million

(d) Less than 12 million

7. What percentage of the grazing lands did Maasai lose when European imperial powers divided Africa into different colonies?

(a) 50%

(c) 80%

(b) 49%

(d) 60%

8. When did European imperial powers divide Africa into different colonies?

(a) In 1805

(c) In 1885

(b) In 1882

(d) In 1815

9. Where is the Serengeti National Park located?

(b) Tanzania.  

(a) Kenya

(c) Sudan

(d) Zimbabwe

10. The word 'Maasai' is derived from the word 'Maa'. 'Maasai' means-

(a) My People

(b) Mother and People

(c) Their People

 (d) Tribal People 

11. Which of the following pastoral nomadsi s not found in the mountains?

(a) Gaddi shepherds

(b) Raikas

(c) Gujjar Bakarwals

(d) Bhotiyas

12. The settlement of Maru Raikas is known as

(a) Dhandi

(b) Mandi

(c) Mandap 

(d) Bugyal

13. Pushkar is a famous place in Rajasthan where is held every year.

(a) elephant fair        (b) cattle fair

(c) buffalo fair           (d) camel fair

14. The Maasai cattle herders live primarily in-

(a) East Africa        (c) South Africa

(b) West Africa.      (d) North Africa 

15. The Maasai Mara is a National Park in- (a) Tanzania

(c) Sudan

(b) Kenya

(d) South Africa

16. Wasteland Rules were enacted by the colonial officials in order to

(a) harass the pastoralists of India

(b) uplift the condition of the Indian pastoralists

(c) turn the uncultivated lands into cultivable lands

(d) turn cultivable lands into forests

NCERT SOLUTIONS 

Q. 1. Explain why nomadic tribes needed to move from one place to another. What are the advantages to the environment of this continuous movement?

Ans. Nomadic tribes need to move from one place to another for the following reasons:

(a) Nomadic tribes need to move from one place to another to save their animals from adverse climatic conditions.

(b) They also move regularly in search of new meadows or pastures.

(c) Some of the pastoral nomads move to combine a range of different activities cultivation, trade and herding to make their living.

The following are the advantages to the environment of this continuous movement:

(i) The variety of grasses that sprout provide rich nutritious forage for the animal herd.

(ii) The Banjaras play a very important role as moving traders. In search of good pasture land for their cattle, they move over long distances, sell plough, cattle and other goods to villagers in exchange for grain and fodder.

(iii) The nomadic tribes have to set up relationship with farmers on their way, so that the herd can graze in harvested fields and thus manure the soil.

(iv) Environmentalists and economists have increasingly come to recognize that pastoral nomadism is a form of life that is perfectly suited to many hilly and dry regions of the world.

Q. 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.

(i) Waste Land Rules 

(ii) Forest Acts

(iii) Criminal Tribes Act

(iv) Grazing Tax.

Ans. (i) Waste Land Rules :

(a) 1. To colonial officials, all uncultivated land appeared to be unproductive. It produced neither revenue nor agricultural produce. It was seen as a waste land that needed to be brought under cultivation.

2. From the mid-nineteenth century, Waste Land Rules were enacted in various parts of the country. By these rules uncultivated lands were taken over and given to selected individuals.

3. These individuals were granted various concessions and encouraged to settle their lives. Some of them were made headmen of villages in the newly cleared areas. In most areas the land taken over were actually grazing tracts used regularly by pastoralists.

(b) So, expansion of cultivation inevitably meant the decline of pastures and a problem for pastoralists.

(ii) Forest Act:

(a) 1. Through the Forest Act, the forests which produced commercially valuable timber like deodar or sal were declared “Reserved’.

2. No pastoralist was allowed access to these forests.

(b) The Forest Acts changed the lives of pastoralists:

1. They were prevented from entering forests that had earlier provided forage for their cattle.

2. Even in the areas they were allowed entry their movements were regulated.

3. They needed a permit for entry. 

4. The timing of their entry and departure specified and the number of days they could spend in the forest was limited.

(iii) Criminal Tribes Act: 

1. The Act came into existence because, the British officials were suspicious of nomadic people.

2. They distrusted mobile craftsmen and traders who hawked their goods in villages at pastoralists and changed their place of residence every season, moved in search of good pastures for their herds.

The Criminal Tribes Act changed the lives of the pastoralists in the following ways:

(i) They were stated to be criminal by nature and birth.

(ii) When this Act came into force, they were expected to live only in notified village settlements.

(iii) They were not allowed the movement without a permit.

3. The village police kept a continuous watch on them.

(iv) Grazing Tax: 

(a) To expand its revenue income the colonial government looked for every possible source of taxation. Therefore, tax was imposed on land on canal water, on salt, on trade goods and even on animals.

(b) Pastoralists had to pay tax on every animal they grazed on the pastures. In most pastoral tracts of India, grazing tax was introduced in the mid-nineteenth century. The tax per head of cattle went up quickly and the system of collection was made increasingly efficient.

(C)  In the decades between the 1850s and 1880s, the right to collect the tax was auctioned out to contractors. These contractors tried to extract as high a tax as they could to recover the money they had paid to the stage and earn as much profit as they could within the year.

(d)  By the 1880s the government began collecting taxes directly from the pastoralists. Each of them was given a pass. To enter a grazing tract, a cattle herder had to show the pass and pay the tax. The number of cattle heads he had and the amount of the tax he paid was entered on the pass.

Q. 3. Give reasons to explain why the Maasai Community lost their grazing lands.

Ans. Its reasons are as under:

 (i) European imperial powers scramble for territorial in Africa, slicing up the region into different colonies.

(ii) Maasai Land was cut into half with an international boundary between British Kenya and German Tanganyike. The best grazing lands were gradually taken over the white settlement and the Maasais were pushed into a small area in South Kenya and North Tanzania. Thus, they lost about 60% of their pre-colonial lands.

(iii) The colonial government in East Africa encourage the local peasants to expand their cultivation. As a result, there were the loss of grazing lands to the Maasai community.

Q. 4. There are many similarities in the way in which the modern world forced changed 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.

Ans. The changes which were similar for Indian pastoralists and the Maasai herders are: 

(i) Both the Indian pastoralists and Maasai herders were deprived of their grazing lands, which meant the decline of pastures and a problem for both.

(ii) Both the Indian pastoralists and the Maasai herders suffered when forests were declared reserved and they were not allowed access to these forests.