Pastoralists in the Modern World Test - 1

Bhabar is a dry forested area below the foothills of Garhwal and Kumaon. To the east, in Garhwal and Kumaon, the Gujjar cattle herders came down to the dry forests of the bhabar in the winter, and went up to the high meadows – the bugyals – in summer.
Bugyal are the vast meadows in the high mountains.
A nomad is a member of a community without fixed habitation which regularly moves to and from the same areas. Such groups include hunter-gatherers, pastoral nomads, and tinkers or trader nomads.

Himachal Pradesh has a vast variety of tribal people living for 100 years. Out of those tribes Gaddi is the one that is world famous for its own identity. It has different culture, rituals, traditions.
Gujjars, Bakerwals tribes of Jammu and Kashmir were declared Scheduled Tribe (ST) in 1991. In the Indian Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir, the concentration of Gurjars is observed in all but largely found in Rajouri, Poonch, Reasi, Kishtwar district and, followed by, Anantnag, Udhampur and Doda districts. It is believed that Gurjars migrated to Jammu and Kashmir from Gujarat (via Rajasthan) and Hazara district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
The Dhangar is a herding caste of people found in Indian states such as Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh.
The Gollas are a Telugu-speaking pastoral community found in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. The Gollas are called Gawalis.

The Gollas lived in the plateaus of Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh. They were cattle herders.The Kurumas and Kurubas also lived in Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh. They reared sheep and goats and sold blankets. They used to live near the forest and cultivated on small patches of land. They were also engaged in petty trades.The alternation of the monsoon and dry seasons defined the seasonal rhythms of the movements of the Gollas. But, the Bhotiyas is a Himalayan tribe and thus, the alternation of the monsoon and dry seasons did not define the seasonal rhythms of their movements.

Raikas combined cultivation with pastoralism because
(i) They lived in the deserts of Rajasthan.
(ii) Over vast stretches of this region, no crop could be grown.
(iii) Every year harvests fluctuated on cultivated land.
As agriculture was not sufficient for their livelihood, the Raikas moved out in search of pastures for their cattles which included camels, sheep and goat.

The colonial government wanted to bring the grazing lands under cultivation so that they could get revenue and agriculture goods form this land. Wasteland rules state that the uncultivated lands were taken over and given to select individuals who were granted concessions and encouraged to settle these lands.

Under the various Forest Acts, the forests that produced commercially viable timber like deodar or sal were declared 'reserved'.
By the 1880s the government began collecting taxes directly from the pastoralists. Each of them was given a pass. To enter a grazing tract, a cattle herder had to show the pass and pay the tax. The number of cattle heads he had and the amount of tax he paid was entered on the pass.
In 1871, the colonial government in India passed the 'Criminal Tribes Act'. By this Act, many communities of craftsmen, traders and pastoralists were classified as Criminal Tribes. They were stated to be criminal by nature and birth.

Maldharis are a tribal herdsmen community in Gujarat, India. Originally nomads, they came to be known as Maldharis after settling in Junagadh district. "Maldhari" is an occupational term which refers to people from a variety of castes and communities. The literal meaning of Maldhari is keeper of the animal stock.

Before colonial times, Maasailand stretched over a vast area from north Kenya to the steppes of northern Tanzania. In the late nineteenth century, European imperial powers scrambled for territorial possessions in Africa, slicing up the region into different colonies. In 1885, Maasailand was cut into half with an international boundary between British Kenya and German Tanganyika. The Maasai pastoral tribes thought of farming as a crime against nature as cultivated land is no longer suitable for grazing.

From the late 19th century, the Colonial Government began imposing various restrictions on the mobility of the pastoralists. The Maasai and other groups, were forced to live within the confines of special reserves. They could only move within the boundaries of these reserves. In many regions, pastoralists were prohibited from participating in any form of trade. Settlers and European colonists saw pastoralists as dangerous and primitive. So, the pastoral community was not allowed to enter the markets in white areas.

This is the correct option as this statement is false. The Gujjars of Gharwal and Kumaon come down to bhabar in winters and go up to bugyals in summers.

In most pastoral tracts of India, grazing tax was introduced in the mid-nineteenth century. The tax per head of cattle went up rapidly and the system of collection was made increasingly efficient. In the decades between the 1850s and 1880s the right to collect the tax was auctioned out to contractors. These contractors tried to extract as high a tax as they could to recover the money they had paid to the state and earn as much profit as they could within the year. By the 1880s the government began collecting taxes directly from the pastoralists. Each of them was given a pass. To enter a grazing tract, a cattle herder had to show the pass and pay the tax.

The Maasai society was divided into two categories elders and Warriors. The elder formed the ruling group and used to meet in periodic councils to decide on the affairs of the community and settle disputes. The warrior consisted of younger people mainly responsible for the protection of the Tribe.

Raikas were found in the deserts of Rajasthan. One group of Raikas, known as Maru (desert) Raikas herded camels and another group reared sheep and goat.
The Raikas in south Rajasthan have been known as camel experts for centuries.

The Gujjar cattle herders live in Garhwal and Kumaon. During winter, they come down to the dry forests of the bhabar. During summer, they go up to the high meadows, the bugyals. Many of them migrated from Jammu to the hills of UP in the nineteenth century. The Gaddi shepherds live in Himachal Pradesh. They also spend winter in the low hills of the Shiwalik. By April, they move towards north to spend summers in Lahul and Spiti.

Dhangars were important pastoral community of Maharashtra. Their population was estimated to be 467,000 during the early twentieth century. Most of them were shepherds, but some were blanket weavers and some others were buffalo herders. They were welcomed by the Konkani peasants. The nomadic people were viewed with suspicion by the colonial rulers. The Criminal Tribes Act was passed in 1871. Many communities of craftsmen, traders and pastoralists were classified as Criminal Tribes under this Act. They were forced to live in notified villages only and the police officials kept a watch on them.