Here is a comprehensive guide to Chapter 9 from the “Swadesh Adhyayan” textbook, created to help you prepare thoroughly for your upcoming AHSEC Class 12 exams. This guide includes a summary, complete textual answers, and other important questions.
Chapter 9:
Environmental Movements and Changes in Assam
Summary Note
This chapter explores the history of environmental consciousness in India and focuses on the specific environmental changes and challenges faced by Assam.
Part 1: Environment in Pre-colonial Assam & British Policy
In ancient times, Assam was known as Pragjyotisha and Kamrupa. The Ahom administration had a system for managing natural resources, classifying land into types like Rupit (rice lands) and Habi (forests). Forest products like elephants, timber, and lac were important sources of revenue. The British colonial period marked a major shift. The British forest policy, formalized through acts like the Indian Forest Act of 1865 and the Forest Policy of 1894, was primarily driven by commercial interests. Forests were exploited for timber for railway sleepers and to expand tea estates. This led to the classification of forests into “reserved” and “protected” categories, curtailing the traditional rights of local communities.
Part 2: Environmental Changes in Assam after 1947
Post-independence, Assam has faced severe environmental degradation. The key issues are:
- Climate Change: The state is extremely vulnerable, with an observed increase in mean temperature and erratic rainfall.
- Natural Disasters: Assam is prone to devastating floods, river-bank erosion (especially by the Brahmaputra), earthquakes (major ones in 1897 and 1950), and landslides.
- Deforestation: The forest cover has dwindled due to population pressure and activities like jhum (shifting) cultivation, which now has a shorter, more destructive cycle.
- Open Cast Mining: Coal mining in areas like Margherita has rendered large farming areas unproductive and damaged the environment.
Part 3: Environmental Movements in India
The chapter highlights that environmental consciousness in India is not new, citing ancient traditions and texts like Kautilya’s Arthashastra. It then describes major modern environmental movements:
- Bishnoi Movement (c. 1700): A movement in Rajasthan led by Amrita Devi to protect trees, where 363 people sacrificed their lives.
- Chipko Movement (1973): A famous movement in Uttarakhand where women, led by figures like Sunderlal Bahuguna, hugged trees to prevent them from being felled by contractors.
- Appiko Movement (1983): Inspired by Chipko, this movement in Karnataka aimed at afforestation and conservation.
- Silent Valley Movement (1973): A successful movement in Kerala to protect the rich biodiversity of the Silent Valley from a proposed hydroelectric project.
- Narmada Bachao Andolan (1985): A major movement led by Medha Patkar against the building of large dams on the Narmada river.
The chapter concludes by mentioning the role of Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) in Assam, like Nature’s Beckon and Aranyak, in working for environmental protection.
Complete Textual Question and Answer
Here are the answers to the “EXERCISE” questions from pages 192-193 of the PDF.
1. a) What is the last phase of life observed by an Arya?
(This question appears to be out of context for this chapter and is not answered in the text.)
b) What was the earliest name of Assam?
Answer: The earliest name of Assam was Pragjyotish.
c) Where did the word forest come from?
Answer: The word ‘forest’ is derived from the Latin word ‘forist’, which means ‘out of doors’.
d) Who was the first director of Forest in India mentioned in Kautilya’s Arthashastra?
Answer: Kautilya’s Arthashastra mentions a separate Forest Department under a Kupyl dhak (Director of Forest Management).
e) When did the forest department establish in India?
Answer: The Imperial Forest Department was established in India in 1864.
f) Mention a name of the tax that was imposed by Britishers on forest resources.
Answer: The British imposed taxes like gorkhati on timber, bankur on reeds, and khasurry on grazing areas.
g) What were the three different types of trees planted in mass scale by the Britishers?
Answer: The three classes of trees planted in mass scale by the Britishers were Teak, Rubber, and Caoutchouc (Indian rubber).
h) When was the Kaziranga Wild Life Sanctuary established?
Answer: Kaziranga was formally declared as a game reserve on June 1, 1908. (It was proposed in 1905).
i) When did the great earthquakes occur in the Post Independent Assam ?
Answer: The two major earthquakes in post-independent Assam occurred in 1897 and 1950. (Note: The text has a slight contradiction here, as 1897 is pre-independence. The 1950 earthquake is the correct post-independence one mentioned).
j) Which is the oldest book published in Assam about Elephant?
Answer: The treatise on elephants, ‘Hastividyarnava’, written by Sukumar Barkaith under the patronage of Ahom king Siva Singha and his queen Ambika Devi, is a significant book on the subject.
k) Mention two names of forest officers employed at the time of Ahom kingdom.
Answer: Two forest officers employed during the Ahom kingdom were the Hati Barua (in charge of elephants) and the Kath Barua (who supervised the collection of good quality timbers).
2. What was the nickname of King Bhagadutta of Ancient Assam?
Answer: The Mahabharata calls King Bhagadatta Sailalya (dwelling among the mountains) and Parbata pati (Lord of Mountains).
3. What was the natural boundary of Assam depicted in Kalika Puran ?
Answer: The earliest mentioned geographical boundary of Assam recorded in Yogini Tantra and Kalika Puran is the River Karatoya.
4. What was the measurement of the Brahmaputra River?
Answer: The Brahmaputra river is described as a long alluvial plain, about 450 miles long and with an average width of 50 miles.
5. What are the three different divisions of Assam land?
Answer: The lands of Assam can be divided into three broad categories: 1) Mountain and hill ranges, 2) Hills lying in groups in the plains, and 3) The alluvial plains of the Brahmaputra.
6. Write two names of the British writer mentioned about land management system in Assam?
Answer: Two British officials who wrote about the land system are Captain Welsh and Francis Jenkins.
7. What amount of land was declared rent free in Assam? Who provided this information?
Answer: Moffat Mills’ Report of 1853 records that the total cultivated land alienated for religious and charitable purposes as revenue-free estates was estimated to be 7,75,468 puras.
8. When and where did the Tea cultivation begin in Assam?
Answer: Tea was discovered in upper Assam in 1823 A.D. and was first successfully produced in 1833 A.D.
9. How many ancient Geographical divisions existed in Assam?
Answer: (d) four. (Yogini Tantra divides early Assam into four parts: Ratnapitha, Kamapitha, Swarnapitha, and Saumarpitha).
10. Who is the author of the book ‘Silent Spring?’
Answer: (a) Rachel Carson
11. What is the average highest and the lowest temperature recorded in summer and winter?
Answer: The temperature in Assam is: Summer maximum at 95–100 °F (35–38 °C) and Winter minimum at 43–46 °F (6–8 °C).
12. What were the main aims of the Indian Forest Act, 1865 ?
Answer: The main aim of the Indian Forest Act, 1865, was to assert state monopoly over forest resources. It was designed to regulate the use of forests to meet the commercial requirements of the colonial government, particularly the demand for timber for railways.
13. Give a brief description on environment of Assam in Post Colonial period.
Answer: In the post-colonial period, the environment of Assam has faced severe degradation. The forest cover has decreased significantly. The state has become extremely vulnerable to climate change, leading to an increase in the frequency and severity of natural disasters like floods, droughts, and landslides. This environmental change has also led to the loss of biodiversity and has adversely affected the livelihood of thousands of people.
14. What were the main aims and objectives behind the establishment of the Indian Forest department?
Answer: The main aim behind the establishment of the Imperial Forest Department in 1864 was to establish state control over India’s forests. The objective was to manage these forests for commercial exploitation, primarily to secure a steady supply of timber for the expanding railway network and other colonial needs, thereby generating revenue for the state.
15. Write a note on the forest management policy adopted by the Britishers.
Answer: The forest management policy adopted by the British was driven by commercial interests. Through the Forest Acts of 1865 and 1878, they asserted state monopoly over all wastelands, which included forests. They classified forests into ‘reserved’, ‘protected’, and ‘village’ forests, severely restricting the traditional rights of local communities. Their policy favored the growth of a few commercially viable species like teak and sal, while neglecting the overall ecological balance. This policy treated forests primarily as a source of revenue rather than a resource to meet the needs of the people.
16. Give the main reasons of climate changes in Post-Colonial Assam.
Answer: The main reasons for climate change in post-colonial Assam are agricultural intensification, industrialization, and rising energy use. A major factor is mass-scale deforestation, caused by the expansion of settlements due to population growth and the practice of jhum (shifting) cultivation with a shortened cycle. This loss of forest cover has led to erratic rainfall, rising temperatures, and increased soil erosion, contributing to the overall climate change in the state.
17. Write a descriptive note on the Environmental movements of India.
Answer: India has a rich history of environmental movements. The Bishnoi movement in the 18th century was an early example of sacrificing lives to protect trees. In the modern era, the Chipko Movement (1973) in Uttarakhand became famous globally, where women hugged trees to stop deforestation. This inspired the Appiko Movement (1983) in Karnataka. The Silent Valley Movement in Kerala successfully stopped a dam project to save a tropical evergreen forest. The Narmada Bachao Andolan (1985), led by Medha Patkar, is a long-standing movement against the construction of large dams on the Narmada river. These movements highlight a collective consciousness to protect nature from destructive development.
18. What are the main vegetations derived in the jungles of Ancient Assam.
Answer: The jungles of ancient Assam contained a wide variety of main vegetations. These included valuable timbers like Sal, Khoiar, Sisso, and Gamari. There were also oil-producing plants like Lal and Agaru. The forests were rich in citrus fruits, betel nut, and various types of bamboo and cane.
19. Write short note on the following:
(a) Kaziranga National Park: Kaziranga National Park, located in the Golaghat and Nagaon districts of Assam, is the oldest park in the state. It was first proposed as a reserve in 1905 by Lord Curzon and formally declared a game reserve in 1908 to protect the dwindling rhinoceros population. Today, it is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, famous for being the home of the great Indian one-horned rhinoceros.
(b) Majuli: Majuli is the largest river island in the world, situated in the Brahmaputra river. It was created due to a change in the course of the Dihing and Brahmaputra rivers. The island is highly vulnerable to floods and bank erosion, which causes its land area to shrink every year. It is the heart of the neo-Vaishnavite Sattriya culture in Assam.
(c) Deforestation: Deforestation is the large-scale clearing of forests. In Assam, vast stretches of forests, especially in the upper Brahmaputra valley, have dwindled gradually. The main causes are the expansion of settlements due to population growth and the practice of jhum (shifting) cultivation. The effects of deforestation are severe, including erratic rainfall, rising temperatures, heavy soil erosion, and flash floods, creating a vicious cycle of environmental degradation.
20. Write a note on different forest officials appointed in Assam.
Answer: During the Ahom kingdom, several officials were appointed to manage forest resources. The Hati Barua was in charge of about 125 elephants and managed all aspects of their care and capture. The Kath Barua supervised a guild (khel) responsible for the collection of good quality timbers for architectural and boat-building purposes. The Habiyal Barua was the overall in-charge of forests and forest revenues, managing products like elephants, ivory, lac, and timber.
21. Discuss about the various activities of different organisations of Assam on environmental protection.
Answer: There are nearly 200 Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) in Assam working on environmental protection. Kaziranga Wild Life Society is mentioned as the first such organization, dedicated to protecting the wild animals of Kaziranga National Park and spreading awareness. Other leading NGOs include Nature’s Beckon (established in 1982), the Centre for Environment Education, North-East (CEE-NE) (1984), and Aranyak Nature Club (1984). These organizations are actively involved in conservation efforts, raising awareness among the masses, and working to protect Assam’s rich but threatened environment.
