Q.1-Who are pastoral nomads? Describe any four features of them?

Answer:
Pastoral nomads are people who do not live at one place but move from one area to another to earn their living. They
depend on livestock rearing, they move with their cattle and other animals. The four features of pastoral nomads are as
follows.
(a) Pastoral nomads had to adjust to seasonal changes and make best use of available pastures in different places. When
the pastureland was exhausted they moved to a different place where pastures are available.
(b) Cold and snow are not the only factors which defined their seasonal movement. In dry season they moved to coastal
areas and left when the rain came.
(c) They set up a relationship with farmers, so that the herds could graze in harvested fields and manure the soil.
(id) They combine a range of different occupations – cultivation, trade and herding to earn their living. For example, the
Gollas, Kurumas and Kurubas herded cattle, cultivated small patches of land and also engaged in a variety of petty trades.
Q.2-Explain the movement of the Gujjar Bakarwals of Jammu and Kashmir.
Answer: The Gujjar Bakarwals migrated to Jammu and Kashmir in the 19th century in search of pastures for their
animals.
Winter : When the high mountains were covered with snow and there was lack of pastures at the high altitude, they
moved to low hills of the Shiwalik. The dry scrub forests here provided pastures for their herds. By the end of April, they
began their northern march for their summer grazing grounds.
Summer : With the onset of summer, the snow melted and the mountain sides became lush green. By the end of
September, the Bakarwals started their backward journey.
Like this cold and snow are the factors responsible for the movement of the Gujjar Bakarwals.
Q.3-Describe the cycle of seasonal movement of the Gaddi shepherds of Himachal Pradesh.
Answer: i. They spent their winter in the low hills ; of the Shiwalik range, grazing their flocks in the scrub
forests.
ii. By April, they moved north, and spent the summer in Lahul and Spiti. When the snow melted and the high
passes were clear, many of them moved on to higher mountain meadows.
iii. By September, they began their return movement.
iv. On the way, they stopped once again in the villages of Lahul and Spiti, reaping their summer harvest, and
sowing their winter crop.
v. Then they descended with their flock to their winter grazing grounds, on the Shiwalik hills.
vi. Next April, once again, they began their march with their goats and sheep, to the summer meadows.
Q.4-Explain the annual cycle of seasonal movement of the Dhangars.
Answer:i. The Dhangars were an important pastoral community of Maharashtra.
ii.The Dhangar community used to stay in the semi-arid central plateau of Maharashtra during the monsoon.
iii. Due to low rainfall, only dry crops could be grown there. In the monsoon, this region became a vast grazing
ground for the Dhangar flocks.
iii. By October, the Dhangars harvested their dry crops. During this season, there was shortage of grazing
grounds so the Dhangars had to move towards the west.
Iv after the journey of a month they used to reach the Konkan. In this region, the locals used to welcome them
as the flocks of Dhangars provided manure to the field.
v. With the onset of the monsoon, the Dhangars, after collecting supplies of rice and other foodgrains, used to
leave the Konkan.
Q6- Under colonial rule, the life of pastoralists changed dramatically. Explain.
Or Explain the various laws introduced by the British and explain how these laws changed the lives of
the pastoralists.]
Answer:(a) Waste land Rules : Under this, uncultivated land was brought under cultivation.The basic aim was
to increase land revenue because by expanding cultivation Government could increase its revenue collection.
Impact on the lives of the pastora- lists :
 After the Act, the mobility of nomads was restricted.
 Under the Act the grazing land was given to big landlords. Due to this nomads’ grazing grounds
shrank.
 Due to shrinking grazing grounds, the agricultural stock of the nomads declined and their trade
and crafts were adversely affected.
(b) Forest Acts: Under the Forest Acts forest were classified into :
 Reserved Forests
 Protected Forests
 Village Forests
Impact on the lives of the pastora- lists :
  They were now prevented from entering many forests. So there was a reduction in their grazing
grounds.
 After the laws, their movements were regulated.
(c) Criminal Tribes Act: 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. Once this Act came into force, these communities were expected to live only in
notified village settlements. They were not allowed to move out without a permit. The village police kept a
continuous watch on them.
This restricted their grazing grounds. Their agricultural stock declined, and their trades and crafts were
adversely affected.
(d) Grazing Tax: The Grazing tax was imposed on the pastoralists. Pastoralists had to pay tax on every animal
they grazed on the pastures. In most pastoral tracts of India, grazing tax was introduced in the mid-nineteenth
century.
Impact on the lives of pastoralists:

 As the tax had to be paid in cash so pastoralists started selling their animals.
 The heavy burden of taxes had an adverse impact on their economic status. Now most of the
pastoralists started taking loans from the money lenders.
Q8- How did Hie pastoralists cope with the changes brought by the colonial rule ? Explain.
Answer:

 Reduction in the number of cattle: When the grazing lands were taken over and converted into
fields, this forced many nomads to reduce the member of cattle in their herds.
 New pastures : Defining of boundaries forced many nomads to search for new pastures. For
example, after the partition of India in 1947, the camel and sheep herding Raikas, for instance,
could no longer move into Sindh and graze their camels on the banks of the Indus, as they had
done earlier. The new political boundaries between India and Pakistan stopped their movement.
So they had to find new places to go. In recent years, they have been migrating to Haryana where
sheep can graze on agricultural fields after the harvests are cut. This is the time that the fields
need manure that the animals provide.
 New occupations : Over the years, some richer pastoralists began buying land and settling down,
giving up their nomadic life. Some became settled peasants cultivating land others took to more
extensive trading. Many poor pastoralists, on the other , hand, borrowed money from
moneylenders to survive. At times, they lost their cattle and sheep and became labourers, working
on fields or in small towns
Q.9-How did the new territorial boundaries and restrictions suddenly change the lives of pastoralists in
Africa ? Explain any five points.
Answer.

 Closing the borders : In the late nineteenth century, the Europeanimperial 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.
Subsequently, the best grazing lands were gradually taken over for the White settlement and the
Maasai were pushed into a small area in South Kenya and North Tanzania. The Maasai lost about
60 per cent of their pre-colonial lands. They were confined to an arid zone with uncertain rainfall,
and poor pastures.
 Expansion of Cultivation : From the late nineteenth century, the British colonial government in
East Africa also encouraged local peasant communities to expand cultivation. As cultivation
expanded, pasturelands were turned into cultivated fields. In pre-colonial times, the Maasai
pastoralists had dominated their agricultural neighbours, both economically and politically. By the
end of colonial rule, the situation had reversed.
 Setting up of reserves: Large areas of grazing land were also turned into game reserves like the
Maasai Mara and Samburu National Park in Kenya and Serengeti Park in Tanzania. Pastoralists
were not allowed to enter these reserves; they could neither hunt animals nor graze their herds in
these areas. Very often, these reserves were in areas that had traditionally been regular grazing
 grounds for the Maasai herds. The Serengeti National Park, for instance, was created over 14,760
km. of the Maasai grazing land.
 Deterioration of the quality of pastures : The loss pf the finest grazing lands and water resources
created pressure on the small area of land that the Maasai were confined within. Continuous
grazing within a small area inevitably meant a deterioration of the qualify of pastures. Fodder was
always in short supply. Feeding the cattle became a persistent problem.
 Droughts and death of animals : Since lots of restrictions were imposed on the movement of
pastoralists, so they could not move to places where pastures were available. Due to this, there
was shortage of fodder. A large number of Maasai cattle died of starvation and disease.
Q.10 The Pastoral groups had sustained by a careful consideration of a host of factors”. Explain these factors.
Answer: Climatic Factor: They had to judge the climatic conditions of the regions where they wanted to move.
They had to judge how long the herds could stay in one area, and where they could find water and pasture.
Timing: They needed to calculate the timing of their movements, and ensure that they could move through
different territories.
Relationships : They had to set up a relationship with farmers so that the herds could graze in harvested fields,
and manure the soil.

Q.11-“Maasai the Pastoralist of Africa were discriminated by the White people.” Explain.
Answer: Pastoralists were also not allowed to enter the markets in white areas. In many regions, they were prohibited
from participating in any form of trade. White settlers and European colonists saw pastoralists as dangerous and savage
people with whom all contact had to be minimised. Cutting off all links was, however, never really possible, because
white colonists had to depend on black labour to bore mines and, build roads and towns.