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(1/15)
The other day I tweeted about the role of the mangrove forests in #Sunderbans as our first, natural line of defence in sapping the strength of #cyclones and #tsunamis. Although depleted, the forests did drain enough strength out of #CycloneAmphan.
(1/15)
The other day I tweeted about the role of the mangrove forests in #Sunderbans as our first, natural line of defence in sapping the strength of #cyclones and #tsunamis. Although depleted, the forests did drain enough strength out of #CycloneAmphan.
(2/15)
But this came with a massive human cost, in terms of the devastation of lives & livelihoods in the #Sunderbans delta. But how and when did these vulnerable communities get there? This thread will explore the answer, which lay in greedy #British #colonial policies.
But this came with a massive human cost, in terms of the devastation of lives & livelihoods in the #Sunderbans delta. But how and when did these vulnerable communities get there? This thread will explore the answer, which lay in greedy #British #colonial policies.
(3/15)
Although #Bengal's agrarian proliferation happened since the 13thC, and continued unhindered in the #Mughal period, the dense #MangroveForests in the #Sunderbans was always seen as a natural barrier and the limit of that agrarian expansion.
Although #Bengal's agrarian proliferation happened since the 13thC, and continued unhindered in the #Mughal period, the dense #MangroveForests in the #Sunderbans was always seen as a natural barrier and the limit of that agrarian expansion.
(4/15)
The medieval #Bengali religious poetry & #European travelogues all mention the impenetrability of the #mangrove forests in the #Sunderbans delta, and the impregnability gave it an aura of an enigma & fear in the cultural memory, which sustained through the 18thC.
The medieval #Bengali religious poetry & #European travelogues all mention the impenetrability of the #mangrove forests in the #Sunderbans delta, and the impregnability gave it an aura of an enigma & fear in the cultural memory, which sustained through the 18thC.
(5/15)
Things started changing as soon as the #EastIndiaCompany (EIC) got the right to collect taxes from the #Bengal province in 1765, after the Battle of #Buxar from the then #Mughal emperor Shah Alam II. This gave the #EIC an opportunity to maximise their profit.
Things started changing as soon as the #EastIndiaCompany (EIC) got the right to collect taxes from the #Bengal province in 1765, after the Battle of #Buxar from the then #Mughal emperor Shah Alam II. This gave the #EIC an opportunity to maximise their profit.
(6/15)
They could reinvest the revenue collected from #Bengal in their business, without having to bring in much in terms of capital investments from #England. The #EIC was first & foremost a business entity with obligations to their stockholders & balance sheets than Bengal.
They could reinvest the revenue collected from #Bengal in their business, without having to bring in much in terms of capital investments from #England. The #EIC was first & foremost a business entity with obligations to their stockholders & balance sheets than Bengal.
(7/15)
The #EIC soon figured out that #mangroves which did not yield any revenue for them could be systematically cut off and settled into agrarian villages. Bringing a large section of the forest under the plough enabled the EIC to increase their land revenue collection.
The #EIC soon figured out that #mangroves which did not yield any revenue for them could be systematically cut off and settled into agrarian villages. Bringing a large section of the forest under the plough enabled the EIC to increase their land revenue collection.
(8/15)
Thus the destruction of the #Sunderbans started. After Cornwallis' Permanent Settlement, the landlords, or anyone with enough capital were encouraged to buy rights of clearing sections of the #mangrove forest from the #EIC to settle them with agrarian villages.
Thus the destruction of the #Sunderbans started. After Cornwallis' Permanent Settlement, the landlords, or anyone with enough capital were encouraged to buy rights of clearing sections of the #mangrove forest from the #EIC to settle them with agrarian villages.
(9/15)
Since the terms of land leases in the #Sunderbans were easier, many #Calcutta businessmen, including British merchants so a lucrative opportunity. They used middlemen to purchase & clear forests, transported people from other parts of #Bengal to settle them there.
Since the terms of land leases in the #Sunderbans were easier, many #Calcutta businessmen, including British merchants so a lucrative opportunity. They used middlemen to purchase & clear forests, transported people from other parts of #Bengal to settle them there.
(10/15)
Gradually in the early 1800s, #Sunderbans started losing much of its forest cover. The #EIC revenue increased manifold, and it also created absentee landlords who had never ever visited the villages they settled, only operating through corrupt middlemen.
Gradually in the early 1800s, #Sunderbans started losing much of its forest cover. The #EIC revenue increased manifold, and it also created absentee landlords who had never ever visited the villages they settled, only operating through corrupt middlemen.
(11/15)
The poor farmers bore the brunt of this unplanned deforestation of the #Sunderbans. First, the saline soil was not very productive, so they were soon trapped by loan sharks to be able to pay their revenue to the absentee landlord. Then came constant fear of #cyclones.
The poor farmers bore the brunt of this unplanned deforestation of the #Sunderbans. First, the saline soil was not very productive, so they were soon trapped by loan sharks to be able to pay their revenue to the absentee landlord. Then came constant fear of #cyclones.
(12/15)
#Cyclones ravaged the #Sunderbans almost every year and swept away many newly settled villages. While the landlords got compensated & settled newer villages depleting more forest cover, everyone turned a blind eye to the sufferings of already devastated villages.
#Cyclones ravaged the #Sunderbans almost every year and swept away many newly settled villages. While the landlords got compensated & settled newer villages depleting more forest cover, everyone turned a blind eye to the sufferings of already devastated villages.
(13/15)
Soon, #Calcutta and other parts of #SouthBengal started bearing the brunt of this profit-oriented policy of #EIC's depletion of the #mangrove forests in the #Sunderbans. Almost every year #Cyclones started devastating Calcutta & further north increasing loss of lives.
Soon, #Calcutta and other parts of #SouthBengal started bearing the brunt of this profit-oriented policy of #EIC's depletion of the #mangrove forests in the #Sunderbans. Almost every year #Cyclones started devastating Calcutta & further north increasing loss of lives.
(14/15)
The #mangrove forests were not nearly dense and thick enough to neutralize the effects of these #SuperCyclones from ravaging inlands with destructive force. When #conservation policy was finally adopted in the late 19thC, it was already too late. The damage was done.
The #mangrove forests were not nearly dense and thick enough to neutralize the effects of these #SuperCyclones from ravaging inlands with destructive force. When #conservation policy was finally adopted in the late 19thC, it was already too late. The damage was done.
(15/15)
If there is one #British #Colonial policy that has the potential to spell doom over #Bengal in the foreseeable future, it is this, the depletion of the #Sunderbans. Hope #CycloneAmphan is a wake-up call for us to nurture & replenish the #mangrove forests & #SaveSunderbans
If there is one #British #Colonial policy that has the potential to spell doom over #Bengal in the foreseeable future, it is this, the depletion of the #Sunderbans. Hope #CycloneAmphan is a wake-up call for us to nurture & replenish the #mangrove forests & #SaveSunderbans
