Pastoralism in Africa

Summary

Africa, the second largest continent in the world with a history of colonialism is
home to many pastoral communities like Bedouins, Berbers, Maasai, Somali, Boran and
Turkana.

They live in semi-arid grasslands where agriculture is not possible and earn a
living through their livestock like cattle, camels, goats, sheep and donkeys by
selling their milk, meat, animal skin and wool.

The harsh effects of Colonialism changed the lives of African pastoralists

drastically. The Maasai tribe was victims of the colonial rule living on the
eastern Africa. One of the major changes was the loss of pastoral lands.

In the pre-colonial period the Maasai land stretched from north Kenya to northern
Tanzania but in 1885 was cut into half with an international boundary between
British Kenya and German Tanganyika. 60% of Maasai land was taken over for white
settlements pushing the Massai’s to an arid zone with uncertain rainfall and poor
pastures.

The British colonial government encouraged local peasant communities to expand

cultivation consuming the pasturelands of the Maasai. Large areas of grazing land
were converted into game reserves like the Maasai Mara and Samburu National Park in
Kenya and Serengeti Park in Tanzania.

Though an income source for the colonizers, it was a blow to the pastoralists as
they were not allowed to enter these reserves; nor hunt animals or graze their
herds in turn affecting their livelihood. The droughts of 1933 and 1934 caused
immense damage to the Massai’s losing half of their livestock.

The British colonists interfered in the traditional customs of the Maasai trying
controlling their society. The British appointed various chiefs from other sub
groups and placed restrictions on warfare and raiding.

The appointed chiefs became rich by trading in the towns and lending money to the
poor pastoralists at high interest rates. They worked in towns, building roads and
in construction, as charcoal burner or doing odd jobs. This also caused a huge
distinction between the rich and the poor pastoralists.
Introduction

In our daily life, we see poverty all around us. They could be landless labourers
in villages, people living in overcrowded jhuggis in cities, daily wage workers or
child workers in dhabas. According to facts, in India every fourth person is poor.

Two Typical Cases of Poverty

Poverty means hunger and lack of shelter, lack of clean water and sanitation
facilities, lack of a regular job at a minimum decent level. Poverty is considered
as one of the biggest challenges of independent India. India would be truly
independent only when the poorest of its people become free of human suffering.

Poverty as seen by social scientists

Social scientists look at poverty through a variety of indicators. Usually, the

indicators are used to relate to the levels of income and consumption. But, now
poverty is looked through other social indicators like illiteracy level, lack of
general resistance due to malnutrition, lack of access to healthcare, lack of job
opportunities, lack of access to safe drinking water, sanitation, etc.

Poverty Line

The poverty line is a method to measure poverty based on income or consumption

levels. Poverty line varies according to time and place. In India, the poverty line
is determined through a minimum level of food requirement, clothing, footwear, fuel
and light, educational and medical requirement, etc.. These physical quantities are
multiplied by their prices in rupees. In India poverty is calculated on the basis
of the desired calorie requirement. The accepted average calorie requirement in
India is 2400 calories per person per day in rural areas and 2100 calories per
person per day in urban areas. On the basis of these calculations, for the year
2011–12, the poverty line for a person was fixed at Rs 816 per month for rural
areas and Rs 1000 for urban areas. The Poverty Line is estimated periodically
(normally every five years) by conducting sample surveys carried out by the
National Sample Survey Organisation (NSSO).

Poverty Estimates

In India, there is a substantial decline in poverty ratios from about 45 per cent
in 1993-94 to 37.2 per cent in 2004–05. The proportion of people below the poverty
line further came down to about 22 per cent in 2011–12.

Vulnerable Groups

Social groups, vulnerable to poverty are Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe.
Similarly, among the economic groups, the most vulnerable groups are the rural
agricultural labour households and urban casual labour households. According to a
recent study, except scheduled tribe, all the other three groups (i.e. scheduled
castes, rural agricultural labourers and the urban casual labour households) have
seen a decline in poverty in the 1990s.

Inter-State Disparities

In India, the proportion of poor people is not the same in every state. Bihar and
Odisha continued to be the two poorest states with poverty ratios of 33.7 and 32.6
percent, respectively. Urban poverty is high in Odisha, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar and
Uttar Pradesh. Kerala, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat and West
Bengal saw a decline in poverty. Punjab and Haryana have traditionally succeeded in
reducing poverty with the help of high agricultural growth rates. Kerala has
focused more on human resource development. In West Bengal, land reform measures
have helped in reducing poverty. In Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu, public
distribution of food grains is responsible for the improvement.

Global Poverty Scenario

In China and Southeast Asian countries, poverty declined substantially as a result

of rapid economic growth and massive investments in human resource development. In
Sub-Saharan Africa, poverty declined from 51 per cent in 2005 to 41 per cent in
2015. In Latin America, the ratio of poverty has declined from 10 per cent in 2005
to 4 per cent in 2015.

Causes of Poverty
There are various reasons for widespread poverty in India.

1. Under British control, India had a low level of economic development. New
policies of the colonial government ruined traditional handicrafts and discouraged
development of industries. like textiles. Low rate of growth and an increase in
population combined to make the growth rate of per capita income very low. With the
spread of irrigation and the Green revolution, many job opportunities were created
in the agriculture sector. However, these were not enough to absorb all the job
seekers.

2. Another feature of high poverty rates has been the huge income inequalities. One
of the major reasons for this is the unequal distribution of land and other
resources. In India, lack of land resources has been one of the major causes of
poverty in India, but proper implementation of policy could have improved the lives
of millions of rural poor.

3. Small farmers needed money to buy agricultural inputs like seeds, fertilizer,
pesticides, etc. So, they used to borrow money and were unable to repay the loan
because of poverty.

Anti-Poverty Measures
The current anti-poverty scheme is divided into two parts.

1 Promotion of economic growth

2 Targeted anti-poverty programmes

Since the eighties, India’s economic growth has been one of the fastest in the
world. There is a strong link between economic growth and poverty reduction. Some
of the schemes which are formulated to affect poverty directly or indirectly are:

1. Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, 2005 – It aimed to

provide 100 days of wage employment to every household to ensure livelihood
security in rural areas. It also aimed at sustainable development to address the
cause of drought, deforestation and soil erosion. One-third of the proposed jobs
have been reserved for women.

2. In 1993, Prime Minister Rozgar Yojana (PMRY) was started. The main aim of the
programme is to create self-employment opportunities for educated unemployed youth
in rural areas and small towns.

3. In 1995, Rural Employment Generation Programme (REGP) was launched. The aim of
the programme is to create self-employment opportunities in rural areas and small
towns.

4. In 1999, Swarnajayanti Gram Swarozgar Yojana (SGSY) was launched. The programme
aims at bringing the assisted poor families above the poverty line by organising
them into self-help groups, through a mix of bank credit and government subsidy.

5. In 2000, the Pradhan Mantri Gramodaya Yojana (PMGY) was launched. Under this
programme, additional central assistance is given to states for basic services such
as primary health, primary education, rural shelter, rural drinking water and rural
electrification.

The Challenges Ahead

In India, Poverty has certainly declined in India, but it still remains India’s
most compelling challenge. Poverty reduction is expected to make better progress in
the next ten to fifteen years. This can be achieved by higher economic growth,
increasing stress on universal free elementary education, declining population
growth, increasing empowerment of the women and the economically weaker sections of
society.
Drainage Class 9 Notes Social Science Geography Chapter 3
In the previous 3 years’ examinations, significant importance has been given to the
following topics from this chapter.

Drainage Patterns
Various River Basin System
Pollution of Rivers.
Drainage’ is a term signifying the river system of an area.

A drainage basin or river basin is an area w’hich is drained by a single river

system.

An upland that separates two drainage systems that are next to each other is called
a water divide.

On the basis of origin, there are two river systems of India — The Himalayan rivers
and the Peninsular rivers.

Himalayan rivers are rainfed and snowfed, so they have w?ater in them throughout
the year, i.e., they are perennial and thus navigable.

Himalayan rivers create meanders, oxbow lakes and other depositional features on
their course.

Peninsular rivers are seasonal; mostly depending on rainfall and thus non-
navigable.

Most of the rivers of peninsular India originate in the Western Ghats and flow’
towards the Bay of Bengal.

The Himalayan Rivers

A river along with its tributaries may be called a river system.

The major Himalayan rivers are the Indus, the Ganga, and the Brahmaputra.

The Indus River System

Rising near Lake Mansarovar in Tibet, the Indus enters India in the Ladakh district
of Jammu and Kashmir.

Rivers Satluj, Beas, Ravi, Chenab and Jhelum join Indus near Mithankot, Pakistan
and flow southwards to fall into the Arabian Sea, east of Karachi.

With a total length of 2,900 km, the Indus is one of the longest rivers of the
world.

The Ganga River System

The headwaters of the Ganga are called ‘Bhagirathi’.

Bhagirathi is fed by the Gangotri Glacier and joined by the Alaknanda at Devprayag.

Ganga meets the tributaries from the Himalayas such as Ghaghara, Gandak, Kosi and
the Yamuna.

A major river Yamuna, arising from Yamunotri Glader in the Himalayas, joins Ganga
at Allahabad.
Other tributaries — Chambal, Betwa and Son — come from Peninsular uplands to join
Ganga.

Ganga is joined by the Brahmaputra and flows through Bangladesh to reach the Bay of
Bengal.

The delta formed when the Ganga and the Brahmaputra flow into the Bay of Bengal is
known as the Sunderban Delta.

The length of the Ganga is over 2,500 km and it develops large meanders.

The Brahmaputra River System

Originating in Tibet, very close to the sources of Indus and Satluj, Brahmaputra
enters India in Arunachal Pradesh and flows to Assam, joined by many tributaries.

The tributaries that join the Brahmaputra are Dibang, Lohit, and Kenula.

The Brahmaputra has a braided channel in its entire length in Assam to form many
riverine islands.

Unlike other north Indian rivers, the Brahmaputra is marked by huge deposits of
silt on its bed, causing the riverbed to rise.

The Peninsular Rivers

The major rivers of the peninsula—Mahanadi, Godavari, Krishna, and Kaveri—flow

eastwards to drain into the Bay of Bengal.

The Thai and Narmada are the only rivers which flow west to make estuaries and
drain into the Arabian Sea.

The drainage basins of the peninsular rivers are comparatively small in size.

The Godavari Basin

The Godavari begins in Nasik district of Maharashtra. It is the largest peninsular

river.

Its large basin covers most parts of Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Orissa and Andhra
Pradesh.

The tributaries which join the Godavari include Purna, Wardha, Pranhita, Manjra,
Wainganga and Penganga.

Because of its length and the area, it covers, the Godavari is also known as the
Dakshin Ganga.

The Godavari drains into the Bay of Bengal.

The Mahanadi Basin

The Mahanadi, a 860 km long river, rises in Chhattisgarh to flow through Orissa to
reach the Bay of Bengal.

Principal tributaries of Mahanadi river are Sheonath, Jonk, Hasdeo, Mand, lb, Ong
and Tel.

Mahanadi river basin is shared by Maharashtra, Orissa, Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh.

Is is one of the major east flowing peninsular rivers draining into Bay of Bengal.

The Krishna Basin

The 1,400 km long Krishna river rises from a spring in the Mahadev range near
Mahabaleshwar and falls into the Bay of Bengal.

The tributaries of Krishna include Bhima, Musi, Ghatprabha, Koyana and Tungabhadra.
The Krishna basin is shared by Maharashtra, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh.

The Narmada Basin

Rising in the Amarkantak Plateau of Maikala Range, Narmada flows to create a gorge
in marble rocks of Madhya Pradesh.

Narmada flows towards the west in a rift valley formed due to faulting. •

Narmada river has 41 tributaries. The important ones are: Barna, Ganjal, Chhota
Tawa, Hiran, Janatara, Kolar, Orsang, Sher.

The Tapi Basin

Originating in Betul, Madhya Pradesh, the Tapi flows through a basin that covers
Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat and Maharashtra.

The main west flowing rivers are Sabarmati, Mahi, Bharatpuzha and Periyar.

The entire Tapi basin can be divided into three sub-basins: upper, middle and lower
and into two well- defined physical regions, viz, the hilly regions and the plains
or Tapi Basin.

The Kaveri Basin

Originating in the Brahmagiri range of the Western Ghats, the Kaveri reaches the
Bay of Bengal at Kaveripatnam, sharing its basin with Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Kerala
and Puducherry or Pondicherry.

The main soil types found in the basin are red and yellow soils.

Lakes

Most lakes are permanent while others contain water only during the rainy season.

Some lakes are the result of the glacial action and ice sheets and some may have
been formed by wind, river action and human activities.

A river meandering across a floodplain forms cut-offs that later develop into oxbow
lakes.

Glacial lakes are formed when glaciers dig out a basin which is later filled with
snowmelt.

Some lakes like Wular Lake in Jammu and Kashmir result from tectonic activity.

Apart from natural lakes, the damming of the rivers for the generation of hydel
power has also led to the formation of lakes.

Lakes help to regulate river water flow, prevent flooding, aid to develop hydel
power, moderate climate, maintain aquatic ecosystem, enhance natural beauty,
develop tourism and provide recreation.

Role of Rivers in the Economy

Rivers are a natural source of water. It forms the main backbone for agriculture.

Settlements on the river banks have developed into cities.

Rivers are used for irrigation, navigation, hydropower generation, all vital for
India, and agricultural economy.

River Pollution

Quality of river water is affected by the growing domestic, municipal, iftdustrial

and agricultural demand.

A heavy load of untreated sewage and industrial effluents are emptied into the
river affecting the river’s self-cleansing property.

Concern over rising pollution in our rivers led to the launching of various action
plans to clean the rivers like Narmada Bachao Movement.