Tribes, Nomads And Settled Communities

(Solutions)

Let’s Recall

1. Match the following:

garh	khel
tanda	chaurasi
labourer	caravan
clan	Garha Katanga
Sib Singh	Ahom state
Durgawati	paik

Answer:

garh	chaurasi
tanda	caravan
labourer	paik
clan	khel
Sib Singh	Ahom state
Durgawati	Garh Katanga

2. Fill in the blanks:
(a) The new castes emerging within varnas were called ____________.

Answer: The new castes emerging with in varnas were called jatis.
(b) _____________ were historical works written by the Ahoms.

Answer: Buranjis were historical works written by the Ahoms.

(c) The ____________ mentions that Garha Katanga had 70,000 villages.

Answer: The Akbar Nama mentions that Garha Katanga had 70,000 villages.

(d) As tribal states became bigger and stronger, they gave land grants to _________ and ________.

Answer: As tribal states became bigger and stronger, they gave land grants to poets and scholars.
3. State whether true or false:
(a) Tribal societies had rich oral traditions.

Answer: True 
(b) There were no tribal communities in the north-western part of the subcontinent.

Answer: False
(c) The chaurasi in Gond states contained several cities.

Answer: False

(d) The Bhils lived in the north-eastern part of the subcontinent.

Answer: False.

4. What kinds of exchanges took place between nomadic pastoralists and settled agriculturists?
Answer: Nomadic pastoralists exchanged wool and ghee with settled agriculturists for grain, cloth, utensils and other products.

Let’s Understand

5. How was the administration of the Ahom state organised?
Answer: The Ahom state depended upon forced labourers called ‘Paiks’. Each village had to send a number of paiks by rotation and people from heavily populated areas were shifted to less populated places, to break up the Ahom clan. The Ahom administration was centralised. The army was engaged in building dams, irrigation systems and other public works and also introduced new methods of rice cultivation. The Ahom society was divided into clans or khels. A Khel often controlled several villages. The peasant was given land by his village community.

6. What changes took place in varna-based society?

Answer: Social changes took place in the varna-based society were:

1. Smaller castes or jatis emerged within varnas.
2. Many tribes were given the status of jatis.
3. Now Jatis became the basis for organising society.
4. Specialised artisans, smiths, carpenters and masons were also recognised as separate Jatis.

7. How did tribal societies change after being organised into a state?
Answer: Major changes in tribal societies after being organised into a state were:

1. Many tribes became part of the caste system.
2. Leading tribal families joined ruling classes.
3. Large majority of tribes joined the lower jatis of caste society.
4. Many dominant tribes of Punjab, Sindh and the North-West Frontier adopted Islam.
5. Some jatis became politically very powerful. 

Let’s Discuss

8. How were the Banjaras important for the economy?

Answer: Banjaras were important for the economy because of the following reasons:

1. They were the most important nomadic traders.
2. They were used to transport grain to the city markets.
3. They buy grain where it is cheaply available and carry it to places where it is dearer.
4. Sometimes they were hired by big merchants and trade for them.
5. They used to sold grain in towns and also transported for the Mughal army during military campaigns.

9. In what ways was the history of the Gonds different from that of the Ahoms? Were there any similarities?
Answer: 
Difference:

1. Gonds lived in a vast forested region called Gondwana while the Ahoms migrated to the Brahmaputra valley from present-day Myanmar.
2. Gonds practiced shifting cultivation while the Ahoms do not.
3. Gonds were completely annexed by Mughal empire while the Mughals direct control over the Ahoms could not last long.

Similarities:

1. Both have centralised administration.
2. Both were smaller tribe who grew, annexed neighbouring small societies and got power.
3. Both the societies were divided into clans or jatis.

Let's Do

10. Plot the location of the tribes mentioned in this chapter on a map. For any two, discuss whether their mode of livelihood was suited to the geography and the environment of the area where they lived.

Answer: The location of different tribes can be seen in the map given below

The Gonds: The Gonds lived in a vast forested region called Gondwana – or “country inhabited by Gonds”. They practised  shifting cultivation. 

The Ahoms: migrated to the Brahmaputra valley from present-day Myanmar in the thirteenth century. They created a new state by suppressing the older political system of the bhuiyans.

These tribes settled temporarily at the places which suited them as per their need and livelihood. Whenever they found the environment or their mode of living unfavourable, they migrated to other suitable places.

11. Find out about present-day government policies towards tribal populations and organise a discussion about these. 

Answer:  Policies about Tribal population

1. Overall upliftment.
2. Land rights.
3. Education.
4. Cultural and social upliftment.
5. Roads, water, industries.
6. Mainstreaming.
7. Enforcement of reservation in government jobs.

12. Find out more about present-day nomadic pastoral groups in the subcontinent. What animals do they keep? Which are the areas frequented by these groups?

Answer: Present-day nomadic pastoral groups in the sub-continent are: 

• Gaddi shepherds living in the western Himalayas, 
• Gujjar Bakarwals, living in Jammu & Kashmir, 
• Banjaras living in Rajasthan. 

These nomadic people keep sheep, goats, and camels. They frequently visit the Kumaon region of Uttarakhand, Jammu & Kashmir, and Rajasthan.