Between 1880 and 1920, forest cover in the Indian subcontinent declined by 9.7 million hectares, from 108.6 million hectares to 98.9 million hectares. Discuss the role of the following factors in this decline : (i) Railways (ii) Shipbuilding (iii) Agricultural expansion (iv) Commercial farming (v) Tea/Coffee plantations (vi) Adivasis and other peasant users.

(i) Railways played a vital role in the decline of the forest cover in

India. For laying railway tracks forest land had to be cleared. Apart from

clearing area for tracks, railway locomotives required timber for fuel and

sleepers. For all these needs forests had to be cut down. The British

government gave contracts to individuals to supply the required

quantity of timber. These individuals cut down trees indiscriminately.

(ii) By the end of 19th century, oak forests in England had almost

disappeared. This created a shortage of timber for the Royal Navy. If the

imperial power was to be protected and maintained, the building of

ships was the first priority. So, search parties were sent to explore the

forest resources of India. A large number of sleepers began to be

exported to England annually. This further led to the indiscriminate

cutting of trees year after year which caused deforestation on a massive scale.

(iii) Population was on the rise and the demand for food increased.

Peasants extended the boundaries of cultivation by clearing forests. This

gave them more land available for cultivation. In addition, there was

great demand for cash crops such as tea, cotton, jute, sugar, etc., which

were needed to feed the industries of England.

(iv) The British directly encouraged the production of commercial crops

like jute, sugar, wheat and cotton. The demand for these crops

increased in the 19th century in Europe, where food grains were needed

to feed the growing urban population and raw materials were required

for industrial production. Hence, large tracts of forest land were cleared

to make land available for commercial farming.

(v) The colonial state thought that forest land was unproductive. It did

not yield agricultural produce nor revenue. Large areas of natural forests

were hence cleared to make way for tea, coffee and rubber plantations

to meet Europe’s growing need for these commodities. The colonial

government took over the forests and gave vast areas to European

planters at cheap rates. The areas were enclosed and cleared of forests

and planted with tea or coffee.

(vi) The Adivasis and other peasant users, gather forest products and

graze their cattle. Their livelihood mainly came from forest

produce. This does not destroy the forests except sometimes in shifting

agriculture. In fact, now the new trends that promote forest

conservation tend to involve local villagers in conservation and

preservation. The adivasis and other peasant communities regard the

forests as their own and even engage watchmen to keep a vigil over their forests.