Chapter-5 Pastoralists in the Modern World

Explanation:

For the following causes, nomadic tribes must relocate from one location to another:

a. They lack access to common fields where they could graze their cattle. They need pastures so that their animals can graze.

b. The dearth of pasture and water prevents them from settling down for an extended period of time.

c. During the winter, when the high mountains are covered in snow, they live in lower hills. Their herds have access to the dry scrub forests for grazing.

d. Nomads started ascending mountain slopes to summer grazing areas in the summer. The snow melts as summer draws near, turning the mountain fields green.

The environment of this constant movement has many benefits. The cyclical movement of the pastoralists gives natural vegetation enough time to recover. The vegetation, which isn't allowed to overgrow, is used by both people and animals in the foothills and upper tracks of mountains. The constant labour of the pastoralist fertilizes the fields and promotes pasture recovery. Land is kept from being overused for agriculture and other uses by livestock grazing on pastures.

Explanation:

1. Waste Land Rules

All grazing areas were regarded as wastelands by the colonial tyrants because they brought in no money. Jute, cotton, and wheat production would increase as well as land revenue if this land could be turned into arable farmland. The rules governing waste land were developed as a  result. They did, however, sound the death knell for pastoralists because an increase in cultivated land clearly meant a decline in pastures and a corresponding loss of an income source.

2. Forest Acts

In order to create commercially viable timber like deodar or sal, a number of forest acts were passed. Some forest tracts were designated as "Reserved," which prohibited pastoralists from entering these woods. Pastoralists had some customary grazing privileges in those areas designated as "Protected," but their freedom of movement was severely constrained.

The colonial authorities thought that grazing destroyed roots and reduced the fertility of the forests, so they passed these laws. The pastoralists were impacted in that their movements were constrained with set schedules to limit the amount of time they spent in the forests. It is fair to say that their lives were governed by the forest departments' permits.

3. Criminal Tribes Act 

Due to their continuous migration, the British authorities had a negative view of nomadic people. They were difficult to track down or confine to a specific area, in contrast to the rural residents of villages who were easy to recognize and control. As a consequence, nomadic tribes were viewed as criminals by colonial forces. The Criminal Tribes Act, which was created in 1871, further disrupted the lives of pastoralists by requiring them to reside in registered settlements and forbidding them from leaving without permission from the government.

4. Grazing Tax

The colonial government implemented a grazing tax in order to raise money. Each beast that grazed on the pastures was subject to a tax that the pastoralists had to pay. Then this privilege was put up for auction for the contractors. In order to recoup the money they had given to the government and maximize their profit, they imposed the highest tax rate imaginable. Later, the government started taking tax payments by itself. Because of this, tax officials harassed the pastoralists. The pastoralists started to feel the financial strain.

Explanation:

Half of the Maasai territory was divided by an international line that was drawn in 1885 between the two territories of British Kenya and German Tanganyika.

The Maasai tribes in south Kenya and north Tanzania were given arid, small areas while the richest pastures were reserved for European communities. The Maasai tribes lost about 60% of their livestock as a result of a two-year drought and a lack of appropriate grazing areas. Increased game reserve cultivation and selling made their issues worse. This community eventually lost all of its grazing areas as a result of the expanding authority of colonies and their detrimental effects on the Maasai's social life.

Explanation:

The following were the circumstances of Indian Pastoralists and Maasai herders in comparison: 

1. All uncultivated territory was considered wasteland by colonial powers. Neither money was made nor agricultural goods were produced. Agriculture was established on this territory. As a result, the spread of cultivation eventually led to the reduction of pastures, creating a problem for both Indian pastoralists and Maasai. In the majority of cases, the lands taken over were actually grazing tracts used by pastoralists on a regular basis.

2. In the nineteenth century, the colonial government started imposing restrictions on pastoral groups. They received permits that allowed them to leave with their goods, though it was challenging to get permits without being hassled. Those who were discovered to have violated the rules were punished severely