Page 3 - Lessonnote_Structural Change

their cattle. The box carries a brief account of the impact of colonial

forest policy in North-East India.

Forest Policy in the Colonial Period in North-East India

(BOX 1.1)

➢ The advent of the railways in Bengal …marked an important turning
point, which saw the conversion of its forest policy in Assam (Assam
was then part of the Bengal province) from one of laissez faire into

one of active intervention.
➢ The demand for railway sleepers transformed the forests in Assam
(this included the entire present-day seven sister states) from an
unproductive wilderness into a lucrative source of revenue for the

colonial administration.
➢ Between 1861 and 1878, an area of approximately 269 square miles
had been constituted as reserved forests.

➢ By 1894, the area had gone up to 3,683 square miles. And, by the end
of the nineteenth century, the area of forests under the department
was 20,061 square miles (constituting 42.2 per cent of the total area

of the province), of which 3,609 square miles comprised reserved
forests.
➢ Significantly, large areas of these forests are located in the hill areas

occupied by tribal communities who for centuries depended upon and
lived in close harmony with nature.

• Colonialism also led to considerable movement of people.

• It led to movement of people from one part to another within

India. For instance people from present day Jharkhand moved to
Assam to work on the tea plantations.

• A newly emerging middle class particularly from the British

Presidency regions of Bengal and Madras moved as government
employees and professionals like doctors and lawyers moved to

different parts of the country.