CBSE Class 9 Answered

The life of the pastoralists changed under the colonial rule in the following ways:

1. The colonial masters were mainly interested in generating revenues from the colonies. They realized that this could be achieved by turning the pastoral lands into agricultural lands. This enhanced their revenues. Thu,s the turning of pastoral lands into cultivating lands resulted in the reduction of cattle.
2. Government passed many Forest Acts by which forests were declared as Reserved as they provided valuable timber. This posed the problems for the pastoralists.
3. Government in order to maximise revenues began to levy cattle taxes which proved to be a huge financial burden for the pastoralists.

Due to above reasons, pastoralists reduced the number of cattle or began to find new pastoral landsMany rich pastoralists settled down at one place and began to cultivate land. They left their nomadic life. Poor pastoralists were hit hard by the colonial policies and they lost their cattle. Nowhere to go, they began to work as daily wage labourers in the agricultural fields. Many pastoralists adjusted to the colonial rule. They reduced the number of cattle and also began to look for new sources of earning.