On this page, you will find NCERT Class 9 History Chapter 5 Notes Pdf free download. CBSE Class 9 Social Science Notes History Chapter 5 SST Pastoralists in the Modern World will seemingly, help them to revise the important concepts in less time.
Pastoralists in the Modern World Class 9 Notes Social Science History Chapter 5
CBSE Class 9 History Chapter 5 Notes Understanding the Lesson
1. Pastoralism has been important in societies like India and Africa. Here we will read about the way colonialism impacted their lives, and how they have coped with the pressures of modern society. Pastoralism in India-Pastoralists are found in mountains, plateaus, plains and deserts of India. In the mountains of Jammu and Kashmir are found the Gujjar Bakarwals. They are great herders of goat and sheep.
2. The Gaddi shepherds are found in Himachal Pradesh. Further to the east, in Garhwal and Kumaon, the Gujjar cattle herders can be seen.
3. These pastoral communities moved annually between their summer and winter grazing grounds. They had to adjust to seasonal changes and make effective use of available pastures in different places. When the pasture was exhausted or unusable in one place they moved their herds and flock to new areas.
4. Dhangars were an important pastoral community of Maharashtra. They stayed in the central plateau of Maharashtra during the monsoon, grew bajra and moved west by October. After a march of about one month they reached the Konkan where they lived till the onset of monsoon. Afterwards, they left the Konkan and the coastal areas with their flocks and returned to the settlements on the dry plateau.
5. In Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh, the dry central plateau was inhabited by cattle, goat and sheepherders. The Gollas herded cattle. The Kurumas and Kurubas reared sheep and goats and sold woven blankets.
6. Banjaras were well-known group of graziers. They were to be found in the villages of Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra.
7. In the deserts of Rajasthan lived the Raikas. They combined cultivation with pastoralism. One group of Raikas-known as the Maru (desert) Raikas-herded camels and another group reared sheep and goat.
8. The life of pastoralists changed dramatically during the colonial rule. Their grazing grounds shrank, their movements were regulated, and the revenue they had to pay increased.
9. The colonial government enacted Forest Acts which prevented pastoralists from entering many forests that had earlier provided valuable forage for their cattle.
10. The British officials were suspicious of nomadic people. Since they kept on moving from one place to another, they were considered to be criminal. In 1871, the colonial government in India passed the Criminal Tribes Act to check their movement.
11. As pasturelands were turned into cultivated fields, the existing animal stock had to feed on whatever grazing land remained. This led to continuous intensive grazing of these pastures. As a result of this the quality of pastures declined. This in turn created a further shortage of forage for animals and the deterioration of animal stock.
12. Some pastoralists reduced the number of cattle in their herds, because there was dearth of enough pastures. Others discovered new pastures when movement to old grazing grounds became difficult. And thus, pastoralists continue to survive. In many regions their numbers have also expanded over recent decades.
13. Pastoralism in Africa-Over half the world’s pastoral population lives in Africa. Even today, over 22 million Africans depend on some form of pastoral activity for their livelihood. They include communities like Bedouins, Berbers, Maasai, Somali, Boran and Turkana.
14. Like pastoralists in India, the lives of African pastoralists have changed dramatically over the colonial and post-colonial periods. We can take example of one pastoral community-the Maasai-whose life changed when new laws and regulations were imposed on them by the colonial government.
15. The Maasai cattle herders live primarily in east Africa in Kenya and Tanzania. Before colonial times, Maasai land stretched over a vast area from north Kenya to the steppes of northern Tanzania. In the late nineteenth century, their best grazing lands were gradually taken over for white settlement and they were pushed into a small area in south Kenya and north Tanzania.
16. From the late nineteenth century, the British colonial government in east Africa also encouraged local peasant communities to expand cultivation. As a result, pasturelands were turned into cultivated fields. 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.
17. The loss of 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 deteriorated the quality of pastures.
18. Like the Maasai, other pastoral groups were also forced to live within the confines of special reserves. The boundaries of these reserves became the limits within which they could now move.
19. The new territorial boundaries and restrictions imposed on them suddenly changed the loves of pastoralists. This adversely affected their pastoral and trading activities.
20. Pastoral communities in different parts of the world are affected in a variety of different ways by changes in the modem world. New laws and new borders affect the patterns of their movement. Yet, they do adapt to new times. They change the paths of their annual movement and reduce their cattle number but at the same time also demand a right in the management of forests and water resources.
Pastoralists in the Modern World Class 9 CBSE Notes Important Terms
Nomads: People who do not live in one place but move from one area to another to earn their living.
Pastoralism: The branch of agriculture concerned with the raising of livestock. It is animal | husbandry: the care, tending and use of animals such as camels, goats, cattle, etc.
Kafila: When several households come together for a journey, it is known as
Bhabar: A dry forested area below the foothills of Garhwal and Kumaun.
Bugyal: Vast meadows in the high mountains.
Kharif: The autumn crop, usually harvested between September and October.
Rabi: The spring crop, usually harvested after March.
Stubble: Lower ends of grain stalks left in the ground after harvesting.
Customary rights: Rights that people are used to by custom and tradition.
Livestock: Cattle, goats and sheep.
Drought: A period of below-average precipitation in a given region, resulting in prolonged shortages in its water supply.
Forage: Plant material (mainly plant leaves and stems) eaten by grazing livestock.