Discuss the rise of commercial forestry under the colonial governments.
Commercial forestry became important during the British rule. By the early nineteenth-century oak forests in England were disappearing. This created a problem of shortage of timber supply for the Navy.
How could English ships be built without a regular supply of strong and durable timber? How could imperial power be protected and maintained without ships?
Because of the factors have given above, before 1856 the commercial forestry was considered important in India. By the 1820s, search parties were sent to explore the forest resources of India.
These parties gave them green signal for commercial forestry in India. Within a decade trees were being felled on a massive scale and large quantities of timber were being exported from India.
The spread of railway from the 1850s created a new demand. In India, the colonial government felt that railways were essential for effective internal administration, for colonial trade, for the quick movement of imperial troops.
