Chapter 9

Environmental Movement in India and Environmental Changes in Assam

Exercise:

1. a) In ancient times, what was the period during which an Aryan spent his last years called?

Answer: 

b) What is the oldest name of Assam?

Answer: The ancient names of Assam were  Prakjyotish and Kamarup.

c) Where does the word forest come from?

The word forest is derived from the Latin word 'Forist '  This means that the term forest includes all types of inhabited and uninhabited land outside, usually at the edge of a rural area.

d) Who was the first forest officer in India mentioned in Kautilya's Arthashastra?

Answer: The first forest officer in India mentioned in Kautilya's Arthashastra was named   Kopadhyaksha

e) When was the Forest Department established in India?

Answer: The Forest Department was established in India in

f) Name a type of tax levied by the British on forest resources.

Answer: Garkhati (timber) is a tax levied by the British on forest resources  .

g) What were the three special trees planted by the British in Assam?

Answer: The three types of trees planted by the British in Assam are  (1) rubber, (2) Indian rubber tree and (3) teak.

h) When was the Kaziranga Reserve established?

 The Kaziranga Reserve   was established on 1 June 1908 during the British rule .

i) In which years did the major earthquake occur in Assam during the post-independence period?

Answer: Major earthquakes occurred in Assam in 1949, 1950 and 1988 during the post-independence period  . 

j) What is the name of the first book in Assam containing information about elephants?

The first book in Assam containing information on elephants is called  Hastividyarnava .

f) Name two forest officers who were employed during the Ahom rule.

Answer: There were two forest officers employed during the Ahom rule namely  Habial Barua and Kathbarua.

2. What was the king of Assam called Bhagadatta?

Answer: The king of Assam was called Bhagadatta  Shailalya (the inhabitant of the mountains).

3. What was the natural boundary of Assam described in the Kalika Purana?

The natural boundary of Assam described in the Kalika Purana is that  the Karatwa River is the oldest natural geographical boundary of Assam.

4. The What is the length of the Brahmaputra River?

The length of the Brahmaputra River is 2897  km .

5. What are the three main parts of the land of Assam?

Answer: There are three main divisions of land in Assam: 

(i) The first category covers hilly and mountainous areas.

(ii) The second category covers the plains and adjoining areas of the Brahmaputra Valley.

(iii) The third part of the land is called sedimentary.

6. Name two English writers who mentioned land management in Assam.

Answer: Two English writers who mentioned land management in Assam are Captain Wells and Francis Jenkins. 

7. How much land did the Ahoms keep tax-free for religious ceremonies? Who mentioned this information?

Answer:   7,75,468 pura land was kept tax-free by the Ahoms for religious purposes.

8.When and where was tea first grown in Assam?

Answer:   Tea was first produced in South Assam in 

9. The ancient natural divisions of Assam are -

a) one      b) two     c) three     d) four.

Answer: d) Four.

10. Who is the author of the book Silent spring?

a) Russell Carrson     b) Madhav Gedgil     c) Arundhati Roy     d) Medha Patekar

Answer: a) Russell Carrson.

11. What are the average maximum and minimum temperatures in summer and winter?

Answer:  The maximum temperature is 35.-37.8° C in summer and  drops to6.1-7.7 °in winter.

12. What are the two main objectives of the Indian Forest Act, 1865?

Answer: The main objectives of the Indian Forest Act, 1865 are:

 (a) Establishment of sole control of the State over forest resources.

(b) To assert the sovereign rights of the British Administration over the Indian forests.

13. To provide an account of the environment of Assam during the post-colonial period.

Answer:   Assam is a highly vulnerable state due to its geographical location, poor socio-economic environment, frequent changes in environment and climate. The climate and weather in the state as a whole also changes dramatically due to annual floods and occasional unexpected droughts. According to a report by the State Environmental Change Management Committee, the average annual temperature rise has increased to 0.590 Celsius (1951-2010 )  .

        The important causes of environmental change in Assam are increased intensity of production on agriculture, widespread industrialization and increasing use of energy. Rapid deforestation has threatened the once biodiversity-rich region of temperate, dry wetland forests and tropical green lowland forests. Climate change causes natural disasters.

14. What were the main reasons for the establishment of the Forest Department in India?

Answer:  During the colonial period, exploitation and destruction of forest resources was given more priority than conservation in India. Large amounts of natural resources were destroyed in the interest of development. Especially since 1855, when the massive installation and expansion of railway lines in India began, hundreds of hectares of timber were collected from vast forests in large quantities to collect the large quantities of timber slippers required. Forests were also destroyed for essential fuel. Especially during the colonial rule, the foreign administration took every measure to meet the demand for timber for transportation and housing. 

    For the above reasons, a separate Forest Department was established in India.

15. Write a note on the Forest Management Scheme introduced by the British Administration in Assam.

Answer:  Along with the process of agricultural expansion, there was a need for well-planned forest conservation policies to meet the increased economic interests of the British rule.

       The British administration during the colonial period imposed three main types of taxes on the forest resources of Assam. The taxes are 'garkhati' for timber, 'bankur' for ikra-khagri and 'khachuri' for pasture land.
       In 1859, the British Commissioner of Assam, Major Hopkinson, for the first time issued an order to the revenue officers posted in various districts to prepare a report on the vast unsurveyed forest areas spread over the British territory. It was necessary to formulate some planned policies for forest conservation in Assam. and applied the laws accordingly.
         The reserves were managed by the government on its own and the government issued some guidelines to the local administration for the protection of a small number of protected trees belonging to the free forests. The British government issued policy guidelines to plant three special trees to prevent massive deforestation. These are teak, rubber and Indian rubber trees.

16. State the main causes of climate change in Assam during the post-colonial period.

Answer:  The main causes of climate change in Assam during the post-colonial period are:

(a) Intensification of production on agriculture.
(b) Widespread entrepreneurship.
(c) Cumulative consumption of energy.
(d) Rapid deforestation .


17. Prepare an account of the environmental movement in India.

Answer:  The environmental movement in India is discussed below: 

(i) Vishnu Movement:- The Vishnu tribe, who traditionally worshiped nature, settled south of the Thar Desert in northern India. The movement was started in 1731 by an environmentalist named Sunbaji against the massive deforestation in their settlement.
(ii) Chipko Movement:- In 1972, conscious women of Gopeswar in Chamli district of Uttarakhand protected every tree by holding on to every tree to prevent massive forest destruction.
(iii) Epic Movement:- This green movement was started in 1983 by a prominent environmentalist named Panduraj Gede.
(iv) Silent Valley Movement:- In 1973, local people and environmentalists gathered together to launch a massive protest against the destruction of this biodiversity-rich evergreen forest area of Kerala by setting up a proposed hydropower project.
(v) Save the Jungle Movement:- In 1982, environmentalists and nature lovers of Singhbhum district of Jharkhand under the former Bengal Presidency started this protest movement against the wrong forest policy of the government.
(vi) Save Narmada Movement:- In 1985, environmentalists and nature lovers launched a joint movement against the construction of a large dam on the river Narmada in Gujarat, which posed a serious threat to nature.

18. What are the major plants available in Assam since ancient times?

The major plants available in Assam since ancient times are Shal, Khair, Shishu, Gamari, Sonaru, Cham, Bansom, Maj, Shimlu, Halk etc.

19. Write a brief:

a) Kaziranga National Park 

Kaziranga National Park was established during the British rule and now covers parts of Golaghat district and parts of Nagaon district .  It covers an area of 430 square kilometres. The Manas Sanctuary in West Assam is one of the 18 reserves in Assam. Manas is currently a UNESCO Heritage Site.

b) Majuli   

Answer:  Many medieval records divide Assam into three geographical regions. The Brahmaputra is bordered by the North Bank to the north, the South Bank to the south and Majuli in the middle. Majuli, the birthplace of Mahapurushas Srimanta Sankardeva and Madhavadevas, was a secluded, flooded and secluded place filled with various kinds of plants and animals since the beginning of creation. Dr. A.S. According to Damburudhar Nath, the Ahom kings established many satras in Majuli because of its serene environment and surroundings.

 c) Deforestation

Answer:  The once vast tropical green forest area of South Assam is shrinking due to environmental changes. In the past, the main cause of deforestation was considered to be 'jhum' cultivation and its gradual expansion. Shrinking forests had an adverse impact on the overall climate and environment of Assam. This has resulted in irregular rains, abnormally high temperatures and lack of monsoon winds, creating rain shadow areas and making many places wet and dry like deserts. The elephant population is also in danger due to the destruction of forests and mountains by smugglers and contractors for timber required for implementation of government development schemes.

        There is a lot of destruction of nature in South Assam since the colonial period in search of mineral resources. Open cast mining in the coal mining areas of South Assam has caused widespread damage to natural resources as well as wildlife. In the mountainous areas, the vast naturally occurring forests were destroyed and cleared by repeated burning. In the past, there was a long cyclical process for this cultivation, where the land was made suitable for 'Jhum' cultivation after a long break in each area.

20. Write a note on the forest officers of the Ahom era.

Answer:  During the Ahom dynasty, a special post called 'Hatibarua' was created to look after the elephants of the royal household. The officer who was employed to look after the various breeds of horses in the king's stable was called a 'horseman' 50 horses were kept under each such horseman. Large quantities of excellent quality wood were required for the construction of various types of houses including palaces. The Ahom Secretariat therefore appointed a special officer named 'Kathbarua' to look after this matter. An officer named Habial Barua was appointed to look after the forests and forest resources and to supervise the revenue to be derived from them.

21. Write a note on the activities of the organization working for the protection of nature in Assam.

Answer:  There are about two hundred non-governmental organizations working for a long time for environmental protection and awareness in Assam. According to the Center for Environment Education, NE (CEE-NE), there are 152 such organizations in Assam. The Kaziranga Wildlife Society is the first NGO in Assam to protect the environment. The first such organization was established in the sixth decade of the nineteenth century with the main objective of ensuring the safety of wildlife in the Kaziranga National Park and raising awareness for environmental protection. According to the World Wildlife Fund (WWE), there are 66 such NGOs operating in Assam. The most notable of these are:

Natures' Beckon, 1982
Center for Environment Education, North-East (CEE-NE),

Early Birds, 1992

Natures' Foster, 1995

Ed-En, 2000

Environ (2003).