Imperial Forest Department 1864
Also called: Forest Department · Topic: Colonial Economy: Land Revenue, Drain, Deindustrialisation · NCERT: Beyond NCERT
Meaning
The Forest Department was set up by the colonial government in 1864, with Dietrich Brandis as its head. Its main job was to manage India's forests so they supplied timber. The British needed large amounts of wood for railway sleepers (the wooden beams under railway tracks) and for building ships. To protect this timber, the department brought in new controls over forest land. Forest dwellers lost much of their freedom to graze animals, practise shifting cultivation and collect forest produce.
Example
After 1864, the department marked off valuable forests such as sal and teak forests as state reserves. Timber was cut from them for the fast-growing railway network. Villagers who entered these forests to collect wood or graze cattle could be punished as lawbreakers.
Don't confuse with
- Indian Forest Act 1878: the Forest Department was the office that ran the forests. The 1878 Act was a law that divided forests into reserved, protected and village forests.
Related concepts
- India's share of world GDP
- Commercialisation of agriculture
- Canal colonies
- Dietrich Brandis
- Indian Forest Act 1878