Forestry in British and Post-British India: A Historical Analysis

Author(s): Ramachandra Guha

Source: Economic and Political Weekly , Nov. 5-12, 1983, Vol. 18, No. 45/46 (Nov. 5-12,
1983), pp. 1940-1947
Published by: Economic and Political Weekly

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 Forestry in British and Post-British india
A Historical Analysis
Rainachandra Guha

Thte current debate ont the draft Forest Act has necessitated ant examination of fo
in India. This airticle, whlile ancalysinig colonial and post-colko-nial forest policies, cioncentrates oni the
historical process whereby the traditionally-,held rights of the forest communities have beeni progres-
sively cUrtailed throzugh the development of forest policy, management and legislation.
While the social imnperatives behinid forest policy have differed in the two periods under review
bein7g the strategic initerests of British imperialism before 1947 and after that the nleeds of the mer-
canitile and inidutstrial bourgeoisie - the imnpact on forest dwvellers an1d their life-support systems has
been a uniforn onie. The post-colkild state has taken over anid further strengthened the organisinlg
principles of colonial forest adininistratioin - the assertion of state mnotiopoly right and excliusion tof
forest communuiities.
Sectiont 1 of the paper deals with forestry int British India anid Sectioni lI the post-colonlial situa-
tioni. Section III discusses the evoliution Lf forest legislatiano. In Section IV are set ouit the aiuthor's
conIclusions.
The paper is being published inJ' twiio parts. Sections I and 11 wvere publishied last week, ichile thle
last wtfo sections appear below.

HI of whose 84 sections it reproduces.139 power in the Act, and must be main-

The 1878 Act was the model for the tained in a new law; arrest without
Forest Legislation in India Forest Act of most other British colo- warrant is absolutely essential". 14 1
The proposed new Indian Forest nies, and its revision in 1927 involved The major lacunae of the Act, as
Act, which seeks to further extend only minor changes mostly concerned identified here, essentially related to
the already extensive po-wers enjoyed with the redrafting of certain the extent of control over forests ex-
by the bureaucracy and the police - clauses.'40 By analysing the 1878 Act, ercised by the state. The 1865 Act
to control the extraction and transit we will be in a position to understand provided for the protection of a forest
of forest produce, and to enable the why the new Act retains the govern- only after it had been selected and
acquisition and future mnanagement of ing principles of colonial forest legis- declared a government, forest. But,
the land which the government may lation. The results of the section-by- for effective control, it was argued,
wish to treat as "forest" - has evok- section comparison will bring to light the state should have the power to
ed widespread discussion and criti- what additional features characterise protect any forest in aniticipation of
cism. The opposition to the bill has the new bill, and the changed condi- its demarcation and management. The
been led by organisations representing tions that have brought about these definition of forest, in Section 2 of
adivasis and other forest dwellers, additions. the 1865 Act, as "land covered with
which managed to obtain copies of trees, brushwood and jungle" was
the bill and circulate it at a time BACKGROUND TO THE 1878 ACT sharply criticised as inhibiting the
when most senior forest officers and raising of approprate plantations on
The first Forest Act was enacted in
MPs were unaware of its existence.137 barren land by the state. It was ad-
1865 (shortly after the FD was form-
Though this opposition has led to the vised that any land whatsoever should
ed) mainly to facilitate the acquisition
temporary stalling of the bill, there be designated as forest, thereby com-
of such forest areas as could supply
are no indications that the government ing under the provisions of the Act.
timber to the railways. This Act,
intends to draft a new Act to take if the government so desired. Various
which merely sought to establish the
such criticism into account. On the other rules were also criticised as be-
claims of the state to the forest land
contrary, at the meeting of the Central ing inadequate. The Act provided
it needed, subject to the proviso that
Board of Forestry, held at New Delhi for a series of prohibitions but said
the existing rights not be abridged,
on August 7, 1982, the relevant pro- nothing about the principles of manag-
was soon found wanting.
visions of the new bill were sought ing the forest - there were no rules
to be introduced in the form of amend- A conference of forest officers held regarding fire protection, fencing, etc.
ments to the Indian Forest Act of in 1874 went into the defects of the It was fel that the regulations cover-
1 927.71n 1865 Act and the de'ails of a new ing the transit of forest produce were
In this section, we have tried to one. The task before them was to not comprehensive enough, both with
uniderstand the government's determi-
reverse a process which the British respect to the means of transit (road,
nation to go through with the bill, had themselves initiated, viz, treating water, or rail) and the agents of tran-
in whatever form, firstly by outlining the forests as worthless and by doing sit (merchants and owners of the pro-
!he rationale of the colonial bill it so, allowing the villagers to exercise duce). Further, the penalties prescrib-
seeks to emulate, and secondly by a rights of user unhindered. In fact, ed for forest offences were held to be
section-by-section comparison of the all the provisions of the 1865 Act, insufficient. Thus the "arbitrary" re-
draft Act with its predecessors. The except the one pertaining to arrest, striction of punishment to a fine was
basic structure of the proposed bill is were found to be defective. Section 8, a defect which could be removed if
provided by the 1878 Forest Act, 81 it was said "gives the one satisfactory imprisonment was made optional.

1940

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 ECONOMIC AND POLIMCAL WEEKLY - 5
Noveunber

However, ambiguity crual of any further rights.

about the "ab-
enquiring into such claims, the officer
solute proprietary In the second
right category of ofland the could, ifstate",
he regarded them as valid,
was the chief hurdle covered by the Act to- vzz,be
'protect-
overcome.
admit them in whole or in part, and
In many forests, ed" forests
itrightswas were recorded
deplored the
then extinguish the righ:s by paying
' unfortunute but but not toirrevocable
be settled. However, con- action
compensation, of their e.,Mr-
or transfer
government authorities trol w as firnny maintained inby outlin-
days past",
cise to another block of forest. In
had taken these areas wholly out of ing detailed provisions for the reser- each case, the limits and extent of
the category of state property. Even vation of particular tree species as and rights granted - e g, number of cattle
forests where the state had in theory when they became "valuable" (with to be grazed, or headloads of fuel
retained its "absolute" proprietorship, consequen- restrictions oIn the local allowed per family, were to be speci-
were "everywhere used by all classes utilisation of these trees), and for clos- fied. Rights, though inheritable, were
to get what they required". Indivi- ing the forest to grazing, etc, for a inalienabL.e, wvith the sale or barter of
duals got accustomed to graze cattle detiinite number of years. Retention the produce thus obtained ordinarily
and wood in whatever forest they of control was required, since in the being p)rohibited (see Sections 3 to 1S
wished, because - and this is impor- ' present state of matters" iL was im- of the 1878 Act). Shiftinig cultivation,
tant - " "nobody cared whcther he possible to know whetlher the rsserv- i all cases, was it 'privilegce" which
did or inot". ed forests already constituted would could be exercised at the mercy of the
While there was considerable debate prove to be "fully sufficient for the settlement officer, who, if he admifted
within the colonial bureaucracy itself, requiremenits of the country and of its exercise "wholly or in part", would
in the end it was decided to treat export trade", or whether "their area then specify the extent of forest on
the customary use of the forest by the may not have to be increased further". which it could be carried out."lo
Indian villager as based or "privilege" T his foresight proved to be justified, A "right" in colonial bourgeois-legal
and not on "right". Citing precedentsand the 14,000 square miles of state phraseology, referred to one that had
where Indian rulers had asserted theirforest in 1878 (when the Act was been explicitly recorded in earlier land
right of absolute ownership, e g, while passed) had increased to 56,000 squaresettlements. The forest settlement
demarcating hunting preserves, "legal" miles of reserved forest and 20,000 officer was, however, advised not to be
rights, it was concluded, could be said square miles of protected forests in hampered by this restrictive use of
to be held only where the British or 1890 - the correspondiing figures for the term. The settlement officer him-
earlier governments had explicitly re-1900 being 8,14,000 and 8,300 square self had a tremendous flexibility in
cognised rights, though of an undefin- miles, respectively.147 Given increaseddealing with claim-s -- it was a "plain
ed exteiit, and recorded them at landdemand for forest resources and the f act", the prime architect of the Act
settlemernts.142 The provisions of the relatively precious positionof the pro- ar gued, that the officer "has the dis-
new (1878) Act should, therefore, tected forests from the point of view ofcretion to decide whether uny right of
assert the absolute control and owner- the government, these were gradually user is to be admitted wholly or in
ship right of the state, while at the converted into reserved forests. The partC.'-' The job of government was
same time retaining enough flexibility law also provided for the consti- to secure the "best possible legal
to deal with the diverse socio-political tution of a third class of forests title" to the forest it sought to con-
circumstances in which different state viz, village forests. But as these lands trol. 1"1 The "best possible" Jegal
forests were to be managed. As the had first to be constituted as reserv- title would naturally vary with circum-
IGF put it, "the question ... remains ed forests, the procedure aroused sus- stances. Where the FD had already,
the same in all provinces, [of] how to picion among the villagers and this for a number of years, been managing
combine effective professional control dhapter remained a "dead letter".us certain tracts of forest, it would serve
with a close union of the forest and Finally, Chapter 5 provided guidelines no "useful object" in "insisting oni the
civil udministration".143 for the control of forests not under demarcationi of forest rights" - i e,
Brandls, with the aid of BI-I Baden- state ownership. Chapters 6 to 8 con- in forests whose control had already
Powell, set out to draft the new tained the rules regarding the extrac- beeii usurped by the state, it would
Act.'t' State or reserved forests tion and transit of forest produce and "only lead to emibarrassment if claims
were to be carefully chosen, in large Chapter 9 prescribed penalties for to for est rights were invited".152
and compact areas of "valuable" foresttr-anisgressions of the Act. At the other extreme from such
that could lend themselves for sustaini- cases of prior usurpation, weve si'ua-
ed exploitation. Such forest should, PROCEDURE OF FORLs r
tions where it w ould lbe "politic" to
in addition, be served by good com- SETTLEMENTS
extend greater concessions to the peo-
munications by land or water, that The 1878 Act envisaged a forest ple t han legal precedent would re-
could link them to neighbouring can- settlemnent whenever a reserved forest quire. The settlement officer was in-
tonments, cities, and railway stations was to be constituted. It outlined an formed that it was his "business" to
so as to turn these tracts "to good elaborate procedure for the settlement ascertain, apart from the rights to
account".145 In reserved forests, a of the respective rights, of "private which people were "legally entitled",
legal separation of rights was the persons" and government, in the land the "concessions which it is desirable
"practical" object. It was thought ad- being reserved (provisions retained in to extend to them in the future".
visable to safeguard the forests against toto by the new draft). The Forest While the officer's record must deal
any possible infringement by a perma- Settlement Officer appointed by the with "legally" established rights only,
nent settlement that either extinguish- State had to publish, in the local government would "decide later on
ed such rights or transferred them as language, a proclamation stating the what additional burdens in the shape
concessions elsewhere, or in exceptio- limits of the forests to be reserved, of non-established rights, or mere ter-
nal cases, allowed their limited exer- and asking for people to come forward minable concessions, it is desirable to
cisc2t$e There wa.s a1 bar to the ac- with claims of rights of user. After impose on th1e forests in the interests

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 November 5-12, 1983 ECONOMIC AND POLMCAL WEEKLY

of the peop'le".'13 It is thus clear that and defensive security. In the absence specified by the state government, and
rights could be createl by government, of a culturally distinct buffer class (as that no other person(s) may perform
if the si'tuation so dmanded. Alter- the Hindu zamindars were to the tri- the above operations (S 7a). It can
natively, concessions (or "privileges"), bals), the state had to contend with be hypothesised that this clause can
which referred to the permission to relatively homogeneous and strong be advantageously used by influential
graze or collect produce where no re- village communities. In addition, Garh- traders to secure monopoly contracts.
cornised "righ-t" existed, could be al- wal and Kumaon later provided sub-
lowed as a mat:er of "grace". It was (ii) Mor-e sever e sanictions: The
stantial number of troops for the
to be made clear that these cotnces- punishments prescribed for different
British army. Nevertheless, the hill
sions, wherever granted, "were a grant forest offences have beeii greatly in-
lorests did provide the only source of
of kindness, not the yieldinig of weak- tensified. Both fines and period of
the [Link] anid durable coniferous tim-
n2ess".131 imprisonment for various violations of
bers, utilised in bulk by the railways
the law have been increased. Although
In sum, ;lc 18X78 Act provided for and during the world wars. As a re-
the inicrease in the fines may be ex-
a great deal ol flexibility in interpre- sult, a via media was reached, where-
pected in view of the decreased value
tatioIn, despite its apparently restric .iveby the state reserved compact blocks
of the rupee, the enhancement of the
and precise wording. As Badeni Powell oi rleocldar aind pine and ailowed the
iaxiwiiti iimprisonment is noteworthy
put it, if such interpre'ations were villagers relative freedom to utilise the
(See S 37, 83, 92, 110, etc). Protected
"intelligently donie, it is surprising produce of the remaining forests.
forests can now be declared reserved
often to find how much bet:er off we
for a period of 30 years (as compared
(i e, the colonial state - RG) are than OLD AND NEw ACTS COMPARED
to 20 yeUrs earlier) wAhile the time
tt [Link] or hopeless elatnination of
The reproduction, in the new draft given for claiming drift and stranded
existing sec:ions would at first sug-
getst"' 1t,.
bill, of all relevan. sections of the timber, etc, has been reduced (S 34(b),
1878 Act necessitated the aibove di- 87). The state machiniery has tighten-
The exercise of this flexibility gressioni on- the core principles of co- ed its hold in every instance. Here,
particularly with regard to the setile- lonial forest legislation and its appli- t oo, the operations of the Act are to
ment of "r-ights" led to an extra- caition. We now turn to the niew Act depend more on the discretionary
ordinary varizl ion betweeni regions in- anid its important departures from, and powers of the bureaucracy. Thus the
habited by forest dwellers whose cus- additions to, its predecessors. We power to compouiid offences "against
tomary use of the forest differed little shall inot be concerned with the strin- whom a reasonable suspicion" exists,
in the first instance. In the Himala- gent provisions of the bill itself andthough present in earlier Acts, limited
yas, for inistanice, villagers were grant-
its implications for the forest dwel-the sum acceptable as compensatioin to
ed certain rights even in ireserved lers,'7 but rather with the changingRs 50. The removal of the maximum
torests and liberal rights in protec'ed social alignments which have given limit (S 119) will obviously increase
forests - all free of cost. Tribals in rise to the bill itself. the possibilities of officials being brib-
Chhattisgarh, on the other hanid, were The new Act contains three freshed. Likewise, the earlier Acts provid-
granted concessions whereby they chapters, pertaining to the regulationi ed for maximum fines that could be
could obtain forest produce at subsidis-of tree planting in rural and urban levied when animals trespassed into
ed rates. In Santhal areas of Midna- areas, and special provisions regarding the forest - this too, has been re-
pore, there existed variations within sandalwood.1s8 Otherwise, all the moved (S 123). These attempts to
the district itself - while in some chapters of the earlier Acts have been further increase the powers of the
parts the tribals were allowed certain retained, though certain new sections forest and police bureaucracy -
quantities of specified produtce free ofhave been added. The salient features, powers that have been consistently
cost, in other areas even fallen leaves in- comparison, are detailed below. misused in the past - are -to be con-
had to be paid for.156 (i) Increased flexibility: The provi- strued as a response to the growing
IFt is likely that these variations sionls of the new draft allow for a conflicts between forest dwellers and
depenAded largely on the interactions flexibility even greater than that con- the state. As the National Commis-
between two factors - viZ, the socio- tained in the colonial Acts. Forest, sion of Agriculture, while recommend-
political situation and the importance nowhere defined in the Acts of 1878 ing a new all-India Act, had euphemi-
of the forests being reserved. In most and 1927, has now been defined as stically put it, 'Conditions in Inditt
tribal areas, the British had established "any land containing trees and shrubs, are such that there cannot but be a
an indigenous ruling class (where it pasture lands and any land whatso-relatively more (sic) emphasis on pre-
did not exist previously) to act as a ever" (Section 2 (3)), a relevant proviso ventive and punitive aspects and en-
buffer between them and the adivasis. in so far as much of the land current- lianceiment of penalties in any revi-
They could, therefore, exercise ade- ly under the Indian Forest Act ission of the forest law"1.59
quate control without having to devoid of vegetation. There is a new
grant concessions to the tribals. (iii) Growing influence of forest
provision to allow the computation of officer: There is a solitary exception
Occasionally, however, tribal unrest rights at any time after the settlement to the enhancement of penalties. This
- called "clamour or complaint" in (S 25) - when the state decides thatrefers to the punishment handed out
official language - would lead to a the forest has assumed so much im- to forest or police officers for wrong-
relatively more lenient policy. In the portance that the "irksome" burden of ful seizure - where even the maximum
Himalayas, considerations of control, rights needs to be dispensed with.
usually accorded prime importance, monetary fine has Inot been enhanced
Further, the Act gives the power to (S 109). In fact, the greater powers
were modified because of the absence appoint "any person, company, corpo- entrusted to the forest service, as com-
of a buffer class and the strategic ration, co-operative society or any pared to other wings of the bureau-
location near the Tibet border impor- other corporate body" to purchase,cracy, is a hallmark of the draft bill.
tant from the viewpoin-t of both trade tlransport, or sell anly forest produce
fn sev7eral cases, where civil officials
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 ECONOMIC AND POLITCAL WEEKLY November 5-12, 1983

were earlier empowered to act under accepted colonial norms of lawmak- tional practices of the rural popula-
the law, it is now forest officials who ing.162 tion that are chiefly responsible for
have to perform these duties (S 35, One writer has actually criticised this deniudation. According to the
118). Further, at the time of settle- present IGF, the "main cause" of our
the bill for being "inherently defective
ment itself, the settlement officer is because it is based on the wrong pre- present predicament vis-a-vis forests
obliged to "record and consider" any niise that the tribals are responsible and environment is our "excessive
representation or objection which the
for destruction of forests".163 It wouldhunman and cuttle population'"66 Ra-
[Link] forest officer may make with be more accurate, however, to say that pidly multiplying human and livestock
r espect to the rights being claimed the bill is based on the (correct) pre- populations are seen as having direct-
(S 7(2) ). New punitive provisions, mnise that the tribals compete with ly caused the ecological crisis in the
allowing forest officials to confiscate Himalayas.167 Other official documents
the mercantile and industrial bour-
the tools of anyone committing forest have been more blunt, arguing that
geoisie for the produce of the forests.
offence concerning specified commer- as villagers have "not contributed to
The above foiinulationsl' are unable
cially valuable, products, have been to perceive clearly that the bill re- the maintenance or regeneration of
inserted (S 102. to 106). Forest offi- forests", there is need to "reverse the
presents an intervention by the classes
cers have been empowered, for the
\vho have dictated forest policy since process' whereby they have been
first time, to inspect private forests 1947 - classes now threatened with granted rights to forest produce.168
and to conduct prosecution (S 125 The latter sentiments have been echo-
their own profiligate use of forest re-
and 126). The greater trust placed ed by industrial interests, for whom
sources - designed to further exclude
in the forest officer may be viewed as "a relatively small population of vil-
the forest dweller from utilisation of
part of a trend of the state increasing- the dwindling forest stock. The con- laaers and tribals living on the peri-
ly dispensing with the paraphernaliaof scious adoption and further strength- phery of forests plunder forests".169
paternalistic government and confront-
ening of the base provided by colo- The solutions offered by the official
ing the people directly. At least as
nial forest legislation - with its twin, circles to overcome what they per-
far as the administrator of forest
principles of state monopoly right and ceive as the main threat to forest-
matters is concerned, the civil officers
exclusion of forest communities - is cover have been in keeping with their
who epitomised the colonial "ma-baap
to be understood in this context, viz, prognosis. On the one hand, the
sarkar" have receded into the back-
that of allowing the continuance of compurative&y soft path of "educat-
g,round.
state forestry practices to service the ing" the villagers about the need to
Several other features need to be interests of the bourgeoisie.165 To preserve the forests for "posterity"
briefly commented upoIn. While an augment the production of industrial has been advocated. It is felt that by
offence in reserved or protected (ie, wood and MFP - and not to safe- charging a small sum for the removal
government) forests is defined as one guard the environment - remains the of forest produce by right-holders, a
which will "imperil the future yield of bills' prime aim: as the differing sense of responsibility will be incul-
the forest" (S 30(3) and 37(2) ), it is treatment of government and non- cated in them.170 This arrogantly
only in forests not being the property government forest shows. paternalistic uttitude has, of late, been
of government that activities which
imperil environmental protection may The assertion of state monopoly right superceded by a straightforward call
a'lso connotes the power to assign for increased repression. The draft
-be prohibited (S 42). (Surprisingly, this Act is the logical outcome of the atti-
that right. Although the state may
distinction has gone unremarked in tude current among the bureaucracy,
iiot exercise its right of ownership
discussions on the draft bill.) Although that v`l1agers represent "a threat to
there exist provisions for village directly, it can administratively direct
the progress of forest working by as- the forest staff" - a threat which
forests, these are not to be constitut- can be overcome only if a police pat-
ed out of reserved forests, which can signing that right to certain indivi-
duals or classes, notably forest con- rolling squad is provided for everv
be "better utilised" for "more produc- forest range. 171
tive use".160 Three kinds of forest tractors. One mnust also distinguish
produce have been explicitly mention- between policy statements and legis- The other explanation, which takes
ed for the first time (in addition to ]ative enactments. Since it is the issue with what may conveniently be
those mentioned previously), posses- latter which will actually be in ope- called the "pro-government" view,
sion of which, inside or outside a ration, analysis of their content will seeks to exonerate the forest dweller
forest, constitutes an offence (S 2(6)). bring to light the interests that inform
from having played any part in the
The extraction of these three - ma- government policy. degradation of forest cover. The pri-
*hua seeds, tendu (bidi) leaves, and vate contractor is held to be the prime
kuth - was together worth Rs 630 IV cause of deforestation, carried out
million in 1975-76. 161 Lastly, one Conclusion with the active aid and connivtence of
can cite the absence of internal checks the FD. The FD is, therefore, seen
The recent debate on forest policy
to bureaucratic malpractices. as being directly in league with the
has been conducted between two
mercantile interests. Further, the
sharply opposed camps, identifying
CHARACTOR OF FOREST LAW attitu-de of forest officials towards th,
themselves with the state and the
tribals being one of "callousness, in-
In certain qurrters, there exists a forest dwellers, respectively. The
diffence and neglect", the latter are
peculiar confusion regarding the true explanations offered for the by now
virtually at the mercy of the depart-
character of the new act. It is neither undeniable century-old history of de-
ment, "especially lower level function-
"misguided", as some have viewed it, forestation have, naturally, reflected
this polarisation.
aries"'.'2 The alleged "corruptibility"
nor are even its intentions to "pre-
:of these lower level functionaries is
serve" the forests on ecological The official view has been that it said to help the contractor, since "the
grounds. Neither has it unthinkingly is the growing numbers and the tradi- local forest guard can easily be bribed

1948

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 November 5-12, 1983 ECONOMIC AND POLITICAL WEEKLY

off with a bottle of country liquor".1-7 which we are concerned here. Assum- [Link]-in-conflicts between different
There, the way out of the present ing we reject the "pro-government" individuals in society. Consequently,
impasse is appropriate bureaucratic re- view for the reasons outlined above, the bureaucracy, as the executive wing
l'orm of the FD and the oontractor it is, nevertheless, historically false to of the state, is seen as a "universal
systemii it is sail( to perpetuate. Cov- point the issue as being one of "Forest class" endowed with -the impersonal
enment committees, too, have placed Department vs the forest dweller". characteristics required to harmonise
the blame squarely on the FD and Rather than protect the tribal from the particular and opposed interests of
urged it to concentrate more on "ex- insinuations originating in ruling class individual or groups of individuals.
tension" work and on building a more circles, one should seek to understand Any deviation from this ideal reality is
healthy relationship with the tribuls. One the history of deprivation whereby he explained away by failures of officials
report perceived that the primary res- has sometimes been forced to degrade to adequately accomplish the tasks
ponsibility for promoting FLCs rested the surroundings which he once lived they have been asked to perform.
on the FD. The Dhebar Committee in symbiosis with. State usurption
suggested a "new" approach, whereby led to a loss of control of the forest CLASSES AND FomsTRy POLcy:
the FD should consider it a duty to dweller over his habitat. And the A SumwARY
"develop" the tribals as well as the lack of interest that has at times been
forests. This new approach of the exhibited by forest communities in The important forest policy state-
department to the tribal, it was anti- preserving the vegetative cover on ments of 1894 and 1952 both
cipated, would remove "any real diffi- land which is no longer vested in legitimised state monopoly right ove
culty" in the relationship between the them, is rooted in this loss of com- forests in the "national interest'. The
forest dweller and the state.174 Lately, munity control. ideology of "national interest" has als
scholars have suggested corrective been used at the time of the reserva-
The alleged "corruptibility of lower
measures to enable the department, tion of specific tracts of forests, and
level functionaries" is a pemicious
which has been paying "scant atten- contain resentment occasioned by suc
fallacy propagated by the upper
tion" to the role of tree cover in soil acts of usurpation.182
classes. Where corruption is present
conservation, incorporate long-term The need to appear as the "patriar-
in the official machinery, it permeates
consequences of changes in the com- chal benefactor of all classes" is a
all levels.'77 The forest dweller does
position of forest cover.175 Changes normal functional requirement of all
perceive the forest guard as an op-
have to be made, therefore, "in the governments."m3 By accepting as
pressor - but then these perceptions
manner in which the forest department legitimate the rhetoric used by the
are typical of the manner in which
exploits the forest for conmercial governments of colonial and indepen-
purposes".176
conflicts between villagers and the
dent India, wvriters have ignored the
constituted authority of the state are
represented in popular consciousness. class interests behind the formation
IDEALISM AND LIMITS OF REFORM
The state anPears as an abstract and execution of forestry Dolicy in
India. Such conceptions analyse social
The entire thrust of our argument entity, while its functionaries become
policy as if it were divorced from the
in this paper works towards the refu- the targets of peasant and tribal
socio-political system in which it
tationi of Malthusian explanations of revolts. The situation of the actual
India's ecological crisis. It is interest- exploiter - state, eind the classes operates. The failures of state policies
ing that, while population increase is whom the state represents - is are then attributed to poor execution,
technical failures, and administrative
always mentioned by official sources as obscured in the minds of rural com-
weaknesses of the authority entrusted
the prime factor behind forest denu- rnunities, while the surrogate officials
with the tasks.184
dation, the usurpation of large tracts carrying out the task of exploitation
In this article, we have tried to
of forest by the state, and the con- are perceived as the exploiters.'78 Thus,
identify the social impertives that
comitant changes in the man-nature a Gond tribal's idea of heaven was
"miles and miles of forest and glade have determined the evolution of
relationship, are never brought to
without any forest guards."'179 forestrY poliev, management, and
light. The state is seen as having a
prior proprietary right in the forests
legislation in India. Through our
A call to the ED to change its ways analysis, these have been located as
inhabited by the communities covered begs the question of the structural
by our discussion - no matter if this having been the strategic interests of
changes required t6 ameliorate the lot British imperialism before 1947, and
right was acquired through conquest of the forest dweller. The historical
and legitimised since, in the last in- latterly, the needs of the mercantile
experience of Indian planning is ade- and industrial bourgeoisie. In both
stance, only through the use of force. quate reason to doubt the efficacy of periods, the impact of state policies on
Though here, as elsewhere, population
bureaucratic reform from "above" (in the communities deriving sustenance
increases have had their impact on
retrospect, the optimism expressed by from the exploitation of forests has
ecological process, Malthusian argu- t:he Dhebar Committee on the impact been a uniform one.
ments neglect both the historical pro-
of its suggested changes seems almost We have undertaken two further
cess by which the forest dwellers were
pathetic). Holding minor or major exercises. First, the ideas through
deprived of their natural resources, officials responsible for deforestation
and the alienation which resulted. which state forestry practices have been
plays into the hands of the ruling class expressed in official proclamations are,
More importantly, such explanations
whose representatives have been quick sought to be understood in termss of
obscure the antagonistic contradictions to make the FD a scapegoat.180
between the forest dwellers and the the social context from which they
Explanations which stress the "mis- emanate, and then compared with the
ruling classes in Indian society -
management" and "over-exploitation"
contradictions born out of competing actual operations of the policies them-
of the FD implicitly adhere to an selves. Thus the ideology of "national
claims to forest resources.
idealist view of the state as being interest" is seen to be at divergence
It is the second interpretation with
above, and mediating, in its role as with the workings of state forest policy
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ECONOMIC AND POLMCAL WEEKLY

which has consistently discriminated prescience that "Thc India)] Forest growing monetisation of the eco-
Act (VII of 1878) is likely to nomy under British rule.
against the original inhabitants of
remain the basis of further forest 143 Memorandum by D Brandis, Ins-
forest areas.185 Secondly, the conti-
legislation in India" (GOI, "State- pector General of Forests, on
nuity between colonial and ' post- ment of Forest Conditions in several matters discussed at the
colonial forest policy, both with regard British India", London, 1920, forest conference, dated June 1,
to the ideology of legitimation and the p 12). The one major change in the 1874, GO No 19/656 to 692,
1927 Act was its reference to the Department of Revenue anid Com-
methods used, has not been treated as
rights of "individuals", and not merce, June 23, 1874 (Forest
ai temporary aberration. It has been "individuials or communities" as Research Institute library).
shown, on the contrary, how the had earlier been the case, thus 144 The following paragrapih is based
strategies evolved by colonial forest reinforcing the disintegrating on Brandis, "Memorandum on
effect colonial rule had on corn- Forest Legislation", quotes, uniless
management have been taken over by
taunities (Gf: Section I). otherwise specified, are from this
post-colonial forest policy and further 141 B H Baden-Powell, "On the De- source.
been modified and perfected. The in- fects of the Existino Forest Law 145 W H Reynolds, 'On the Demarca-
built flexibility provided for in forest (Act VII of 1865) and Propostls tion of Reserved Forests', in B H
management and law, and the princi-
for a New Forest Act", pp 3-30 Baden-Powell and J C Macdonell,
in B H Baden-Powe'l and J S Gam- ed, "Report on the Proceedings
ples of state monopoly and exclusion ble, op cG't. The following two of the Conference of Forest Offi-
of forest communities on which they paragraphs are based on this cers, Held at Lahore", January 2
are based, have been utilised by Indian source as are all quores unless and 3, 1872, Lahore, -1872, p 17.
otherwise cited. 146 "It is not necessary that reserved
forestry to serve the interests of
142 This was the position of Baden- forests should be free of rights,
dominant classes. though it is a great advanitage if
Powell, whose argument won the
The contradictions within the they are so" (GOI, "A Manual of
day. Brandis, one of the more
capitalist social system ensure that sensitive of colonial administra- Forest Law Compiled for the Use
exploitation of man is carried out tors, was aware of the injustice of Students at the Imperial Forest
simultaneously with exploitation of being caused. He pointed out College", Dehra Dun, 1906, p 21).
that instances where rulers had 147 Stebbing, II, 468ff. The extent
nature. Capitalist development in arbitrarily extinguished custom- of reserved forests was 99,400
India was artificially fostered by a ary rights of user of the surround- and 146,600 square miles in 1947
colonialism which also determined its ing population (eg. the case of and 1976-77, respectively. Pro-
the Amirs of Sindh, one often tected forest comprised land re-
future direction. Consequently, it
cited by Baden-Pcwell) could garding which the state was
continues to exhibit a distorted and bard\v be used as illustrations, undecided whether to retain as
retarded character. Under induced - "for these were cases of might forest or profitably relinquish for
as distinct from autonomous - forms versus right" (D Brandis, Memo- cultivation. Their later conver-
of capitalism, conflicts between classes randum on the Forest Legislation sion to reserved forests showed
Proposed. for British India. (Other the increasing importance of
are sharpened on the one hand, while than the Presidencies of Madras forests to the imperialists - a
on the other the avarice of the rich and Bombay), Simla, 1875, p 13). marked chiange from the skepti-
and the lack of viable alternatives for Even where native chiefs did de- cism with which the paying possi-
the poor lead to the continued erosion marcate hunting preserves, the bilities of forest land were treated
local population continued to in the pre-FD days.
of society's natural resource base.18'
collect fuel and graze cattle with- 148 B Ribbentrop, "Forestry in British
in India, therefore, it is only when the out any restrictions (idem. "The India", Calcutta, 1900, p 121.
aspirations of the poor are articulated Distribution of Forests in India". 149 The clause relating to ihum (Sec-
effectively enough to find appropriate Edinburgh, 1873, p 5). tion 9A) was inserted in the 1878
K P Kannan ('Forests for Induts- Act by an amendment passed in
political expression. can we expect a
try's Profit', EPW, June 5, 1982) 1890.
reversal of the inexorable process set accepts the colonial exposte facto 150 B H Baden-Powell, 'The Legal
in by colonial rule and which continues rationalisa-ion in suggesting that Position of "Forest Rights" ,, IF 21
to degrade oulr lund and water r e- the assertion of state right was
(1895): 226, Baden-Powell, by now
"probably an extension" of the in Oxford, remained the autho-
sources.
practice of earlier rules of speci-
ritative interpreter of the 1878
fying rights over particular trees
(Concluded) Act and the Procedure of Forest
and products (or forests). How-
Settlement. As officers turned to
ever, as we have argued, such
him to clarify any ambiguities in
Notes cases of state intervention were
ths regard, he contributed numer-
all too rare, and in any case did not
137 Sce especially, V Sonawne, K ous articles to the Indian Forester
materially affect the traditional
in the 1880s and 1890s.
Dhodhade and K Dhangde, 'The agrarian practices of forest tise.
Indian Forest Act, 1981, Shackling The continuity marked by the
151 Idem (then officikting IGF.), 'Forest
and . Adivasi', Business Standard, complete non-interference with
Settlements', in Smythies and
Dansey, op cit, p 1. -
September 15, 1981. (Also publish- these practices during the first
*ed as 'Forest: Stetism Not the 80-odd years of colonial rule. 152 Brandis, "Memorandum o.1 Forest
Answer', EPW, September 5, meant that in the changed si-ua- Legislation", pp 14-15, Section 34
1981); Sharad Kulkarni, 'Encroach- tion the state had 'o resort to of the 1878 Act allowed forests
ment on Forests', EPW, January 16, elaborate legal machinations in earlier demarcated and managed
1982. order to usurp a hither:o non- by the state to be treated as
138 Information supplied by Indian existent "property right". In that reserved forests withowt a fresh
Social Institute, New Delhi. sense, it was not market develop- settlement having to be under-
taken.
139 Of the riemaining three sections, ment which was the "motive fac-
two have been incorporated in a tor' behind the reservation of 153 "Instructions for Forest Settle-
sligitly different form, while one forests (as Kannan argues) but ment Officers in the North-Western
relates to the preamble and not the strategic needs of the colo- Provinces and Oudh", May 1897,
to the substantive oontent of nial state which the rate of forest File No 219, Department IV A,
the respective acts. lenudation imperilled. Market List No 2, UPRA.
140 Champion and Osmaston, op cit, development was cer-ainlv an im- 154 B H Baden-Powell, 'The Political
p 23. The colonial government portant by-product of this process Value of Forest Conservancy', IF
had commented with uincanny -inevitable in the wake of the 2 (1877), 292, "The mischief is

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 November 5-12, 1983 ECONOMIC AN)- POLITICAL WEEKLY
is that when government rights is mainly responsible for deple- 179 As reported by Verrer Elwin in
are given up this way because of tion of our valuable forests". his "Leaves from the Jungle"
more clamour -or complaint, the 167 S M Ashish, "Agricultural Eco- London, 1936.
people never regard it as a gift nomy of the Kumaon Hills:
180 Thus Indira Gandhi has on occa-
or boon granted to them, but Threat of Ecological Disaster",
sion, attacked the FD for being
regard it as a practical triumph EPW, June 23, 1979.
in league with contractors (see
on their part against the inimical 168 NCA, op cit, p 25.
her address to the Central Board
power of the government" (ibid, 169 Baig, opcit, p 23. In articulating
of Forestry meeting on August
p 281). the views of industry, Baig has
25, 1980, reported in Changing
155 Idem, 'Memorandum on Forest brought out the conflicts between
Villages, Volume 2 (1980), No 3,
Settlements in India' (reprinted industrial interests and those of
and the speech given at the Cen-
from the Indian Forester), Cal- the forest dweller.
tenary of Forest Education, Dehra
cutta, 1892, p 11. The number of those who inhabit
Dun, December 1981). Forest con-
156 My information on Chhattisgarh the forest and are now forced to
tractors continue to be major
and Midnapore comes from Gopal fall back upon them for survival
sources of funds for her party,
Mukherjee and Swapan Dasgupta, is neither "small" in absolute or
however, while 32 years of Cong-
respectively. The variations with- relative terms. According to
ress rule has not made a dent in
in Midnapore district were con- Sheirma (op cit, pp 582-3), at 3east
the contractor system despite
nected to the different land tenure 36 million tribals (out of the 38
proclamations repeated at regular
systems - while certain areas million who dwell in forest areas)
intervals in plan and other gov-
were given over to managing are partially or wholly dependent
ernment documents.
agencies, others were administer- on forests for their livelihood.
ed under the zamindari s-ystem. This figure does not include the The hynocrisy inherent in the
157 These have been admirably dealt forest dwellers of the Himalayas. Prime Minis+er's public stand on
with by the writers cited in foot- 170 See NCA, op cit. pp 25, 36 etc; environmental issues (e g, in her
note 137. Sagreya, op cit, Preface and speeches in various international
158 While the new chapter for sandal- Passin. forums) can be illustrated by two
wood is related to its growing 171 M M Pant, 'Wood to Alleviate examples. The Prime Minister's
commercial value, the other two India's Energy Crisis', IF 107 visit to Palampur in Himachal
chapters are of subsidiary im- (1981): 799. Pradesh to campaign for her party
portance. In what follows, sec- 172 Cf: Gona Joshi. 'Forest Policy in the coming elections necessitat-
tion numbers in brackets refer to and Tribal Development: Prob- ed the clearing of a forest of 500
those in the new draft Act. lems of Implementation, Ecology pine trees in order to construct a
159 NCA, op cit, p 365. and Exploitation', Social Action, helipad to receive her. The cost
160 "We are not in favour of creation 31 (1981): 446-68. of this illegal felling was es*imat-
of village forests out of reserved 173 CSE, op cit, p 46. "The major ed at Rs 1 lakh. besides the total
forests, because the latter should case of defores+ation has been the exDenditure of Rs 8 lakh on the
better be utilised for productive private contractor svystem" (ibid). Prime Minister's visit to Palam-
use elsewhere in the economy" 174 GOT, 1967, pp 36 ff; GOI, 1961, our (Indian Express, May 14.
PT 134-6. 1982. and Sunday, issue of May
(ibid, p 368).
161 We have estimated this figure 175 M Gadgil and K L Malhotra, Re- 30.-June 5. 1982). Prior to the
from India's Forests, Dehra Dun, port of the Field Study Conduc+- same Assembly elections, the state
1980. ed on Behalf of the Committee government decided to award six
on Legislative Measures and Ad- deodar trees to families living in
162. Kalpana Sharma, 'Forests of the and around reserved forests. This
Night: Threat of a Misguided ministraive Machinery for En-
vironmental Protection, June. 1980. gesture was evidently intended to
Law', The Statesman, June 17, please bo4h villa7es (who coiild
1982; Prem Shankar Tha, 'The (from the authors), pp 11, 17.
176 T Bandopadhyay and V Shiva, sell the trees for Rs 1.000 each)
Proposed Forest Act: A Paradigm and the main political financiers,
of Misguided Legislation', Times 'Agricult"iral Economy of the Ku-
forest contractors, who could
of India, March 15, 1982. mion Hills', EPW, October 13,
earn a profit of up,o Rs 5,000 per
163 'Misguided Forest Bill, Hindustan 1979, p 1736, emphasis added.
tree by selling them in urban
Times, April 14, 1982. Note that Slharad KuIlkarni's recent article
mnrkets (The Statesman, May 19,
"misguided" is the operative word ('Towards a Social Forest Policy',
FPW, February 5. 1983) likewise
1982. Sunday, May 30, June 5,
here too. 1982). It is- difficujlt to believe
164 However, both Sonawne, etal, advance proposals to change
state forest policy that are un-
that the PM is unaware of this
and PUDR, (opcit) are excep- type of ecological vandalism.
tions. mindful of the structuiral con-
straints to the efficacy of reform. 181 This is, of course, the liberal view
165 The framers of the draft have
done their homework well. One
177 This writer was told bv district of poli'ics in which conflict, if it
officials in Garhwal that the unrest does exist, is not assumed to run
clause present in the 1878 Act
over forest matters wac caused by very deep - in any case, throuh
but not retained in 1927 has been
the corruptibility of low level an exercise in management and
reinserted - this pertains to the
officials. They were careful not compromise, "conflict resolution"
operation of offences under other
to incriminate high officials of the is always nossible through the
laws not being barred (S 121).
FD. The British too had tvpically "disinterested" intervention of the
Similarly, several sections incor-
exulained away forest-based agi- state (cf R Milliband, "Marxism
porated in the 1927 Act for the
tations on the specious grounds of and , Politics", Oxford, 1977).
first time have been retained -- onuression of the peonli. by "na- A critique of idealist views of the
these pertain to, for example,
tive" subordinate officials. Un- state which has enduring relev-
rules for the movement of forest
doubtedly, there are honest as ance is that conducted bv Marx
produce across national bound-
well as corrupt officials at all in achieving his own emancipa-
aries (see S 81, 113, 141 to 143). levels in the FD. But to attribute tion from the Algelian system of
In short, no section of the pre- people's movements to oppression "uncritical idealism". See, espe-
ceding two acts (except the cially, 'Critique of Hegel's Doc-
by officials is to mistake appear-
preamble) has been omitted, wfiile ance for reality. trine of the State', pp 57-198. in
over 50 new ones have been 178 The notion of a "just" government L Co'leti, ed, "'Karl WmIrx Early
added. internal to the Hindu tradition is Writings"', Harmondsworth, 1978.
166 Keynote address by N D Bach- another factor -which influences One of the important functions of
keti at the National Seminar cn popular. perceptions, and their the capitalist state is to mediate
Forests and Environment, Banga- transformations, in this re'prd, between the opposed inerests of
lore, December 2-4, 1981. At this Cf: Dharampal, "Civil Disobedi- particular fractions -of the ruling
seminar, the MIinister of Forests ence and Tradition",^ Wranasi. bloc itself. Thus the colonial
agreed that "population explosion 1971. state reserved India's forests at a

196

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 time- when -their destructi'on steim- that .the "public benefit is a eu- have completed secondary education.
ed imminent as individual entre- phemism for the commercial in- The results obtained on the educa-
preneurs went in search for quick terests" (PUDR, op cit, p 5). In a
profits. Today,- despite repeated forthcoming [Link], we have ana- tional attainments of families by in-
requests by the influen ial sections lysed. the class character of fores- come quintile would thus depend on
of the paper industry to be allow- try science. . The use of the term the age composition of the family
ed to raise forests, the government "Science" connotes a neutrality even if all children in all families
is unwilling to allot them the re- inapplicable to forest science
quired lan1d, for much the same whose class bias is imprin-ted in ultimately obtain at least a first degree.
reason. its very laniguage. What conclusions could one possibly
182 For example. Nelson. op cit. Ap- 186 Baden-Powell had, per-haps un- draw about the relationsHip between
pendix; Mobbs. op cit, p 10 ff. consciously, pointed to 'his cru- educational attainnments and income
183 D Fernbach, ed. "Karl Marx; Sur- cial difference between organic
veys from Exile". llarmiiondsworth, (Europe) anid induced (India) level without any information about
1973. p 17. The quoted phrase forms of capitalism. Thus, in the age composition of the families
was niscd by NMarx to describe Europe. "iii a more advanced stute studied?
the 'Eighteenth Brumeire" of of social life and occupation it It is true that no hypothesis has
Louis Boniaparte. has become more and more eisv
184 See V George and J Wilding, to alter an occupationi that could been put forward (to my limited
"Ideology and Social Welfare", not be continued if a forest right knowledge in this area) about the
London, 1976. was' taken awav" ("Meinorandum". existence of any systematic differences
185 It has been correctl- observed p 5). in the age composition of families in
relation to income levels. However, it
does seem possible that family in-
DISCUSSION comes might rise with the age of the
I

head of the family, particularly in

urban areas. Even if no such relation-
* Distribution of Education among ship holds, it is obvious that diffe-
rences in the age composition of the
Income Groups families in different income groups in
the particular sample would neces-
Hannan Ezekiel sarily distort the results. To that ex-
tent, the conclusions drawn would be-
I HAVE a number of conceptual and as first degree and above. However, come undependable.
methodological problems with the the lowest educational category, Pe or In passinig, two possible ways of
study, "Distribution of Education elementary, is not open-ended at the dealing with the problem could be
among Income Groups: An Empirical bottom, being defined as eight years mentioned. One way would be to take
Analysis" by Ajit K Dasgupta and of schooling. What about those with only persons of age 21 and above.
Jandhyala B G Tilak (Ecotnomic and less than eight years of schooling, in- The sLmple would then include only
Political WNeekly, August 13). cluding those with no schooling at all? those, who, starting at age 5, could
First, the study does not provide This information - would have been have completed 16 years of education
information about family size. It is extremelv useful in its own right and and thus obtained a degree. The
believed that family size decreases as would perhaps have also shown some educational attainments of this group
income level rises (whatever may be pattern across income quintiles on would show the relationship under
the causal rela!ionship between the which comment could justifiably have study unaffected by age composition.
tw-o). In the absence of family size been made. If this information had One might even then wish to exclude
data, iN is not possible to judge whe- been provided, it would also have those above say 40 or 45 years on
ther or niot the results presented for enabled anyone to total the numbers the ground that their education took
mean educational rates (Table 1) and across the rows of Table I to obtain place primarily before independence
enrolment rates (Table 2) in relation the average family size for each in- or only shortly thereafter. The other
to income levels are distorl ed by come quintile. Though anyone could possibility would be to consider only
sy-stematic or random differences in have done this, it would of course those who had (i) ob ained their first
family size. have still remained a failing of the degree, (ii) dropped out (stopped
Second, the study does not provide study not to have provided family studying) before that or (iii) never
information about the proportions of size data. The study should have started studying whatever their age.
family members in each income drawn its own conclusions separately Fifth, the study does not provide
quintile falling into each educational about the implications of family size any information about the sex com-
category but merely about the abso- for its results (my first point) and position of the families studied. Edu-
lute numbers. What conclusions canl presented the results in te rms of pro- cational attainments continue to
be drawn about the implications of portions of the family in each income differ markedly by sex, particularly i
income for educational level when the quintile falling into each educational the higher age groups, say above age
numbers in each eduAcational category category (my second point). 13. Fewer females than males are
are not strictly comparable by income Fourth, the study does not provide therefore likely to have anything more
quintiles because the same numbers iniformation about age composition. than an elementary education at' all
may represent different propor'ions of Educational attainments are constrain- income levels, though this statement
th2 family? ed by age. A nine year old child is probably more true for lower than
Third, the study does not provide could not have completed the 10-12 higher income levels. Obviously, diffe-
information about all educational years of education required for it to rences in the sex composition of -the
categorieis. In discussing educational he classified in the secondary or Pe families at dlifferent income -levels in
levels (Table 1) the highest educational educational category. On the assump- the sample would affect the results
cutegory. Ph or higher edutcation, is tion that education begins at age 5, and tend to make them unreliable
open-ended at the top, being defined even a 14 year old child could not apart from affecting their significance.

1947

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