Tribal Society

 Chapter Summary

Tribal lifestyles: Tribes practiced jhum (shifting) cultivation, hunting–gathering, herding, and settled farming. They lived communally and had deep ties to forests 

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Dikus (outsiders): This term refers to British officials, landlords, moneylenders, traders—who disrupted tribal society, bullied people into debt, and grabbed land 

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Colonial impact:

Land settlements and forest laws curtailed tribal access to forests and land.

Jhum cultivation was banned in many regions, forcing tribes into exploitative labor and migration 

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Tribal chiefs lost traditional authority; British conferred “land titles” but limited power 

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Resistance:

Tribals revolted against dikus—most notably the Santhal rebellion and movements around Birsa Munda 

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Birsa Munda:

Emerged as a leader who promised a “Golden Age”—restoration of tribal land, forest rights, dignity, and freedom from exploitation 

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✍️ Frequently Asked Textual Questions & Answers

1. Fill in the blanks

a) The British described the tribal people as wild and savage.

b) The method of sowing seeds in jhum cultivation is known as broadcasting (scattering).

c) The tribal chiefs got land titles under British rule in central India.

d) Tribals went to work in the tea gardens of Assam and the coal mines of Bihar 

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2. Very Short Answer Questions

Q: Who were the "dikus"?

A: “Dikus” were outsiders—like British officials, moneylenders, landlords, traders—who intruded into tribal lives and exploited them 

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Q: What problems did shifting cultivators face under British rule?

A:

Their jhum lands were restricted by forest laws.

Banned from traditional farming, they lost their livelihood.

Forced into low-paid labor or indebted to dikus.

3. Short Answer Questions

Q: How did colonial rule affect tribal chiefs?

A: Tribal chiefs lost their traditional roles as community leaders and administrators. The British granted them land titles, but real power was taken away and transferred to colonial authorities 

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Q: Why did tribals revolt against the dikus?

A:

They were exploited via high-interest loans.

Their land and forest rights were taken.

They were uprooted from traditional occupations.

Their customary authority and cultural practices were undermined 

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4. Long Answer Question

Q: Explain Birsa Munda’s “vision of a Golden Age.”

A: Birsa Munda gave tribal people hope by envisioning a time:

When they would have full rights to their ancestral land and forests.

When dikus would no longer exploit them.

When tribal chiefs would be restored as true community leaders.

When their cultural identity and self-governance would be revived. His movement inspired widespread tribal unity and resistance 

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5. True/False with Justification

Q: The method of sowing seeds in jhum cultivation is called ploughing.

A: False. It’s called broadcasting (scattering), not ploughing 

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Q: Tribal chiefs retained all their traditional power under British rule.

A: False. They were reduced to figureheads with formal rights, but lost real power and authority