Sunidhi

The forest department took control of the forests by introducing the Forest Act of 1865 and 1878. In the following ways, life of forest -dwellers changed after the Act:

(i) After this, some people benefitted from the new opportunities, they left their traditional occupations and started trading in forest products.

(ii) From the medieval period onwards adivasi communities were trading elephants and other goods like hides, horns, silk cocoons, ivory, bamboo, spices, fibres, grasses, gums, resins, etc.

(iii) The British Government took total control of the trade in forest products. They gave many large European trading firms the sole right to trade in the forest products of particular areas.

(iv) Grazing and hunting by local people were restricted. Many pastoralist and nomadic communities like the Korava, Karacha, Yerukula of Madras Presidency and Banjaras lost their livelihoods.

(v) Some tribals were branded as ‘criminal tribes’ and they lost their old occupations and were forced to work in factories, mines and plantation under government supervision and were offered a very low wage.

In this way, the lives of forest-dwellers were completely changed after the forest department took over control of the forests.