Colonialism and conservation: Commercialisation of forests and decline of tribals in Madras Presidency, 1882–1947

Saravanan, Vijayalakshmi

doi:10.1016/j.jfe.2010.12.001

Cited by 7 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 17 publications

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“…It is perhaps not until the introduction of the 'Grow More Food' campaign in South India including South Canara between 1940-50 that new opportunities in agriculture arose (Kumar, 2005). Particularly as the practice of 'reserve forest' excluded local tribals from traditional settings, was reinforced in by the Madras Preservation of private Forest Act which resulted in increased non-tribal, that is, caste settlement of forest (see George and Chattopadhyay, 2001;Saravanan, 2011). Prior to this point as Kakada (1949:2) noted, agriculture was only practised close to the coast and the bottoms of innumerable valleys of rich alluvial soil, which wind among laterite hills and plateaus from the Ghats to the sea.…”

Section: Arguments From Silencementioning

confidence: 99%

An investigation into the age and origin of Suranga in the foothills of the Western Ghats of India

2015

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Date of Acceptance: 16/01/2015This paper presents the evidence for determining the age and origin of suranga irrigation found mainly in southern Karnataka and northern Kerala in the foothills of the Western Ghats of south India. It draws on on-going research that has attempted to use an interdisciplinary approach to date the system using Indian Archives, British and Portuguese colonial archives, etymology, oral testimony archaeology, phenology and palaeo dating techniques. The results from this study put the origins of the system at around 1900???1940 CE. These results are compared with the current academic discourse that supports the view that the system originates from ancient Persia and qanat technology, because of the long established trade links with Persia and the Arabian Peninsula in the Malabar region. We argue that a new ???origin discourse??? should be framed around these much more recent dates. The methodological constraints behind both theories are discussed throughout to enable the reader to appreciate the limitations of both arguments

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Section: Arguments From Silencementioning

confidence: 99%

An investigation into the age and origin of Suranga in the foothills of the Western Ghats of India

2015

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“…Even after the introduction of the reserve forest, particularly after the 1880s, the forest department had continued with it more systematically until the close of the colonial period. 11 However, illicit felling does not find mention in the government records. Most probably it would not have received the attention of the then administration, since the prices were very low the sandalwood processing industries were also almost non-existent in the country during that period.…”

Section: State Institutions and Atrocities On Tribalsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Subalterns v. state institutions: politicians, state, forest, law and atrocities on tribals in Tamil Nadu, 1990–2000

Saravanan

2011

The International Journal of Human Rights

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This article attempts to analyse the nexus between different departments of the state administration viz., forest, police and revenue, in the violation of the human rights of the tribal communities in the Dharmapuri district of Tamil Nadu in India during the last decade of the twentieth century (1990 -2000). Further, it also looks into the nexus between the forest department and politicians in extracting forest resources. On the one hand, the state has enacted several forest acts and rules besides imposing restrictions on the tribals and other forest-dwellers, whose livelihood is dependent upon the jungles, and, on the other hand, the functioning of the forest department has paved the way for the powerful politicians/contractors to plunder forest wealth. This, despite the emphasis on conservation and protection of the green cover, how the tribals' basic human rights were violated by different departments of the state administration and how they fabricated the incident in this process has been dealt with along with the judicial process in securing justice and is the focus of the paper. The role of the left parties and activists, who stood by the hapless tribals, has been brought out in perspective. The problemConservation as a state initiative commenced in the Indian sub-continent from the last quarter of the nineteenth century with the enactment of the Indian Forest Act 1878. In addition to the national-level effort, different state governments have also brought forth similar forest acts. With them, severe restrictions were imposed on the tribals and other forest-dwellers. Implementation of the provisions of these acts was vested with the three core departments of the state administration viz., forest, police and revenue departments. But they have failed miserably to arrest the rise in illicit smuggling, resulting in the decline of forest resources, especially timber and sandalwood in the different hills of Tamil Nadu. While the timber mafia flourished with the active connivance of these institutions of the state, the tribals faced harassment for the ongoing smuggling and illicit felling. Instead of acting within the bounds of law, the state institutions went overboard and digressed from their due responsibility.To protect the Scheduled Castes and Tribes, 'the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989' was enacted. The government servants were also brought under the Act for offences related to and negligence of duty. A public servant committing any offence under this section, 'shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which shall not be less than one year' (Section 3 -vii). Further, Section 4 says: 'Whoever, being a public servant but not being a member of a Scheduled Caste or a Scheduled Tribe, willfully neglects his duties required to be performed by him under this Act, shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which shall not be less than six months but which may extend to one year'. But the law enforcing agencies like forest, police and revenue department aut...

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“…It is to be noted that over 90% of tribal households in various hills of Madras presidency possessed modest land holdings, which became reserve forest with the implementation of Madras Forest Act 1882. (Saravanan 2017). Narayan undertakes the role of a counter historian through the representation of tribal alienation that happened due to the implementation of forest policies in India.…”

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confidence: 99%

Development-induced dispossession: Adivasi existence in the milieu of contemporary Indian texts in translation

Varughese,

Mukherjee

2024

Humanit Soc Sci Commun

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The paradigms of development around the globe involves mechanisms associated with its social purpose, which is more often than not dubious in nature! Natural resources form the fundamental aspect of any developmental activity. But in the process of accumulating these resources, the beneficiaries often rely on malignant mechanisms. The capitalist discourse has always been successful in manifesting their agendas of development as constructive and profitable for the entire humanity. Periodically, when the utility of development is foregrounded by dominant cultural forms, often the ramifications of progress remain uncritiqued. The developmental projects earmarked for the rural population remain unnoticed, for it serves the interest of the elite and the urban middle class. Many a time, the indigenous population, who inhabit the resource rich area are swayed away by the false propaganda for development, ultimately aggravating their existing deprivation. In the case of India, too, amidst all the development activities, the marginalized populace or the so-called Adivasis are the worst sufferers, because they have been encountering displacement for ages. The current study attempts to unveil the displacement of the tribal population (Adivasi) of India due to development projects, thereby offering a critical analysis of the social policies. The study employs select translated literary narratives to examine the development-induced dispossession of tribal population in the colonial, postcolonial and neo-liberal phase of Indian history, adopting the theoretical framework of new historicism.

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Colonialism and conservation: Commercialisation of forests and decline of tribals in Madras Presidency, 1882–1947

Cited by 7 publications

References 17 publications

An investigation into the age and origin of Suranga in the foothills of the Western Ghats of India

An investigation into the age and origin of Suranga in the foothills of the Western Ghats of India

Subalterns v. state institutions: politicians, state, forest, law and atrocities on tribals in Tamil Nadu, 1990–2000

Development-induced dispossession: Adivasi existence in the milieu of contemporary Indian texts in translation

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