Waste Land Rules

Uncultivated land was taken over by the colonial government and given to selected individuals. This rule was called Waste Land rules. It was brought into force during the mid-nineteenth century. Some of the individuals, who were given this land, by the government, were made headmen. This assured the colonial government their loyalty and support.

The wastelands that were taken over, were actually grazing tracts, used by the nomadic pastoralists. When this wasteland was brought under cultivation by the new owners, the pastoralists lost their grazing grounds and were put to a lot of hardship.

Forest Acts

The colonial government passed the Indian Forest Acts in 1865. This Act was amended in the year 1878. Under this amendment the forests were divided into 3 categories, – reserved, protected and village forests.

The reserved forests were usually forests which produced commercially valuable timber. The Forest Act ensured that the total wealth of these forests could be enjoyed by the colonists alone, as no one was allowed access to these forests.

Under this Act nomads were not allowed to graze their cattle in these forests. They had to get permit to graze their cattle in a few of these forests. If they overstayed their permit period they were fined or punished. This left the nomads with no pasture for their herds.

Criminal Tribes Act

The colonial government in India passed the Criminal Tribes Act in the year 1871. The Act earmarked communities of craftsmen, traders and pastoralists as Criminal Tribes. These communities were forced to live only in notified village settlements, when this Act came into force. They needed a permit to move out of this specified village. The village police also kept a continuous watch over them. The moving nomads disturbed the colonists. They wanted the natives in fixed places with fixed rights so that they could be easily controlled.

The Criminal Tribes Act was a great insult to the honest hardworking nomads. Their entire way of life was affected Grazing Tax Pastoralists had to pay taxes for the animals they grazed on the pastures. This was called the Grazing Tax.

The colonial government wanted to increase its revenue. Tax was imposed on land, on canal water, on salt, on trade goods, on animals and even on grazing. In the mid- nineteenth century, grazing tax was introduced in most pastoral tracts of India.

The pastoralists had to show a pass and pay tax to enter a grazing tract. He had to pay tax according to the number of cattle heads he had .This taxation was a terrible burden on the poor pastoralists.