Answer:
(a) Waste Land Rules (i) The British wanted to transform all grazing lands into cultivated farms and thus increase its land revenue. Also at the same time more agricultural produce like jute, cotton and wheat would be available which was urgently needed in England. Colonial officials believed that all uncultivated land was 'waste land' that needed to be brought under cultivation. Therefore, Waste Land Rules were passed in the mid-nineteenth century. (ii) Under these Rules, uncultivated land was taken over and given to selective individuals. These individuals were given various concessions and encouraged to settle these lands. Some of them were made village headmen. In most areas the land taken over was actually the land used by the pastoralists which meant a decline in pastures. (b) Forest Acts (i) (a) Due to the Forest Acts, forests which produced commercially valuable timber like deodar or sale were declared 'Reserved'. No pastoralists was allowed access to these forests. (b) Other forests were classified as 'Protected'. In these forests, some customary grazing rights of pastoralists were granted but their movements were severely restricted. (ii) The Forest Acts, changed the lives of the pastoralists. They were prevented from entering many forests that had earlier provided valuable forage for their cattle. In the areas they were allowed to enter, their movements were regulated. For entry, a permit was needed. The timing of their entry and departure was specified and the number of days they could spend in the forest were fixed. The permit specified the periods in which they could be legally within a forest. Overstaying would lead to imposition of fines. (c) Criminal Tribes Act (i) The British officials were suspicious of nomadic people. They wanted the rural people to live in villages, in fixed places with fixed rights on particular fields. They felt that such a population would be easy to identify and control. Nomadic people were considered to be criminal. Therefore in 1871, the Criminal Tribes Act was passed. (ii) By this act, many communities of traders, craftsmen and pastoralists were stated to be criminal by nature and birth. These communities were expected to live only in notified village settlements. They were not allowed to move without a permit. The village police kept a close watch on them. (d) Grazing Act (i) In order to increase its revenue, the British introduced the Grazing Act. Pastoralists had to pay a tax on every animal they grazed in the pastures. (ii) In course of time, the collection system was made very efficient. The right to collect taxes was auctioned out to contractors who tried to extract a tax as high as possible in order to earn a profit. By the 1880's the government began to collect taxes directly from the pastoralists. Each of them was given a pass. To enter a grazing area, the pass had to be shown and the tax paid.
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