Conquest and Control

The three characteristics of the industrial mode of resource use presented are important to a proper understanding of the ecological encounter between India and Britain. The most tangible outcome of colonialism is related to the colonizer’s global control of resources. The management and utilization of forest resources are vital in the ecological encounter between Britain and India. The Indian Forest Act of 1865 was authorized to facilitate the acquisition of those forest areas that were earmarked for railway supplies. The Indian Forest Act of 1878 was a comprehensive piece of legislation, which attempted to obliterate centuries of customary use by rural populations all over India. The strategic value of India’s forests was forcefully highlighted during the World Wars. The priorities of colonial forestry were essentially commercial in nature. Forest management was easily the most significant element in the state takeover of natural resources, which had earlier acted as a buffer for the peasant household.

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