RBSE Class 9 Social Science Notes History Chapter 5 Pastoralists in the Modern World

These comprehensive RBSE Class 9 Social Science Notes History Chapter 5 Pastoralists in the Modern World will give a brief overview of all the concepts.

RBSE Class 9 Social Science Notes History Chapter 5 Pastoralists in the Modern World

→ Pastoral Nomads and Their Movements
Pastoral Nomads are people who do not live in one place but move from one area to another to earn their living.

1. In the Mountains:

• Even today the Gujjar Bakarwals of Jammu and Kashmir are great herders of goat and sheep. They moved annually between their summer and winter grazing grounds.
• In a different area of the mountains, the Gaddi shepherds of Himachal Pradesh had a similar cycle of seasonal movement. They keep flocks of sheep and goats and the buffaloes. These people live in the skirts of the forests, and maintain their existence by the sale of the milk, ghee, and other produce of their herds.
• Kumaon and the Gujjar shepherds are found. They came down to bhabar in the winter, and went up to the bugyals in summer.
• People of the Bhotiyas, Sherpas and Kinnauris communities of the Himalayas are similar shepherds.

2. On the Plateaus, Plains and Deserts:

• They were also found in the plateaus, plains and deserts.
• Shepherds of the plateau region are Dhangars, Gollas, Kurumas, Kurubas etc.
• Barbaras were yet another well-known group of graziers.
• In the deserts of Rajasthan lived the Raikas.

→ Colonial Rule and Pastoral Life:
Under colonial rule, the life of pastoralists changed dramatically. The reasons were-

• Waste Land Rules were enacted in various parts of the country. By these Rules uncultivated lands were taken over and given to select individuals. The lands taken over were actually grazing tracts used regularly by pastoralists. So expansion of cultivation inevitably meant the decline of pastures and a problem for pastoralists.
• Various Forest Acts were also being enacted in the different provinces. No pastoralist was allowed access to these forests who had earlier provided valuable forage for their cattle.
• British officials were suspicious of nomadic people. By the Criminal Tribes Act many communities of pastoralists were classified as Criminal Tribes.
• Increase in rent and grazing tax imposed. Pastoralists had to pay tax on every animal they grazed on the pastures.

1. How Did these Changes Affect the Lives of Pastoralists?

• Due to these measures the available area of pastureland declined.
• This led to continuous intensive grazing of these pastures.
• Grazing lands came to be continuously used and the quality of patures declined. This in turn created a further shortage of forage for animals and the deterioration of animal stock.

2. How Did the Pastoralists Cope with these Changes?

• Some reduced the number of cattle in their herds.
• Others discovered new pastures.
• Some richer pastoralists began buying land and took to more extensive trading.
• Some became labourers, working on fields or in small towns.

→ Pastoralism in Africa:

• In Africa over half the world’s pastoral population lives. They include communities like Bedouins, Berbers, Maasai, Somali, Boran and Turkana. Most of them live in the semi-arid grasslands or arid deserts and raise cattle, camels, goats, sheep and donkeys. Some earn through trade and transport, others combine pastoral activity with agriculture.
• The lives of African pastoralists have changed dramatically over the colonial and post-colonial periods. It took away their land and restricted their movement etc.

1. Where have the Grazing Lands Gone?

• The Maasais of Africa have faced the continuous loss of their grazing lands.
• The best grazing lands were gradually taken over for white settlement by the government. The Maasai lost about 60 per cent of their pre-colonial lands.
• In east Africa as cultivation expanded, pasturelands were turned into cultivated fields.
• Large areas of grazing land were also turned into game reserves.
• Pastoral communities elsewhere in Africa faced similar problems.
• Continuous grazing within a small area inevitably meant a deterioration of the quality of pastures. Fodder was always in short supply. Feeding the cattle became a persistent problem.

2. The Borders are Closed-

• In the colonial period like the Maasai, other pastoral groups were also forced to live within the confines of special reserves. The boundaries of these reserves became the limits within which they could now move.
• Pastoralists were also not allowed to enter the markets in white areas.
• Territorial boundaries and restrictions adversely affected both their pastoral and trading activities.

3. When Pastures Dry-

• Any year when rains fail and pastures are dry, cattle are likely to starve unless . they can be moved to areas where forage is available.
• In the colonial period, the Maasai were bound down to a fixed area. They were cut off from the best grazing lands. Large numbers of Maasai cattle died of starvation and disease in these years of drought. It led to a steady decline of the animal stock of the pastoralists.

4. Not All were Equally Affected-

• In Maasailand, not all pastoralists were equally affected by the changes in the colonial period.
• The British appointed chiefs of different sub-groups of Maasai, who were made responsible for the affairs of the tribe.
• Various restrictions were imposed on raiding and warfare and the traditional authority of both elders and warriors was adversely affected.
• The chiefs appointed by the government often accumulated wealth over time. They could buy animals, goods and land. Many of them began living in towns, and involved in trade. They had both pastoral and non-pastoral income.
• The poor pastoralists who depended only on their livestock did not have the resources to tide over bad times. Some eked out a living as charcoal burners and regular work in road or building construction.
• A new distinction between the wealthy and poor pastoralists developed.

Conclusion:
Yet, pastoralists do adapt to new times

• They change the paths of their annual movement.
• Reduce their cattle numbers.
• Press for rights to enter new areas.
• Exert political pressure on the government for relief.
• They continue to fight for their rights.