 Lead the life of a
Sahib |
| Lagaan in
British India |
The Industrial Revolution of the 16th century in
Europe changed the way natural resources were used. Knowing how to transform resources
from one form to another and its easy transportation to distant places helped the process
of colonisation. Political victory over India (beginning 1757 with the Battle of Plassey)
gave British absolute hold over the social and ecological fabric of the Indian society.
In their desire to increase revenue they forced people to pay up large amounts of lagaan
to fill their coffers back home in their own country. Not content with this, they also
extracted another lagaan from the colonised land and people in the form of natural
wealth like forests and minerals. Large quantities of natural resources were taken away by
the colonialists to keep the engines of the European industrial revolution moving.
Forest, land and water previously controlled and used by local village communities
became property of landlords and the colonial state.
Forest
Indian teak facilitated the maritime expansion of the British empire. Ships built in the
dockyards of Surat and Malabar coast were sent to England. From 1853 onwards, large tracts
of forest were cut to provide sleepers for railways. The Imperial Forest Department formed
in 1864 totally stopped all access to the forest enjoyed by the village communities
earlier.
Water
The British in their desire to rule, administer and exploit, destroyed the traditional
water management systems built by the rural communities of India over centuries. Catchment
areas of tanks were settled to maximise government revenue. An irrigation department was
set up and large areas brought under canal irrigation to promote large scale irrigation of
export crops rather than local food production.
Land
Two systems of land tenure were introduced throughout India. In the Zamindari
System, land was controlled via the zamindars or landlords, while in the Ryotwari
System, individual peasants or ryots owned the land but had to pay a fixed amount
to the state. Under this settlement, all common property resources belonged to the state.
Industries
On one hand the British worked to kill the Indian industries that produced textile, gold,
iron and copper, etc., and on the other, they exposed Indians to an industrial economy and
consumerist society ensuring that the process of ecological change initiated would
continue.
1769 – Bengal. The manufacture of raw silk was encouraged and that of silk fabrics
was discouraged. Silk-winders were made to work within the East India Company premises and
prohibited from working outside and could be subject to strict penalties on doing so.
(Extracted from This Fissured land, An Ecological History of India by
Gadgil and Guha, published by Oxford University Press)
TOUCHASNAKE
Want to touch a snake, hold a turtle or see crocodiles feeding? Come to the Madras
Crocodile Bank (MCB). Set up as a major captive breeding, research and education centre
for conservation of all the three Indian crocodilian species, snakes and turtles, the MCB
attracts around 800-1000 visitors everyday! Visitors receive information and get their
queries answered in Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Hindi, and English.
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PHOTOGRAPHS: COURTESY MCB
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Everyday at around 12 noon, visitors get to
see a free feeding demonstration at Pen 16, an enclosure with over 400 marsh crocodiles
(NOT a sight to be missed !). Everyone has questions and the Education Officer, with other
staff, is always ready to convey the importance of reptiles in our ecosystem.
Apart from the regular visitors, every month,
over 30 school groups visit the MCB. They are guided around the MCB by the Education
Officer and later given an interactive talk about reptiles in general and crocodiles in
particular. Students can touch young crocodiles, which brings to their minds many doubts
and queries about crocodiles. All these queries are answered and aspects of the
crocodiles' life such as parental care are put forth, which further brings these generally
maligned reptiles closer to the students.
Since its inception in 1976, the Madras Crocodile
Bank has also maintained breeding groups of Indian turtles and tortoises. The Education
Officer pays particular attention to unusually interested visitors. These visitors are
guided around the facility, and the status, diet, reproductive biology, among other
information of different species of crocodiles, lizards, and snakes are brought to light.
So? Are you ready for your trip into reptilian
country?
For more information contact:
Nikhil Whitaker, Curator, and
P. Gowri Shankar, Education Officer
Madras Crocodile Bank / Centre for Herpetology,
P.O. Box 4, Mamallapuram,
Tamil Nadu 603 104 |
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A Down To
Earth Supplement
