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The colonial economy had a profound impact on India’s forest resources between the 18th and 20th centuries. The policies adopted by the British were primarily driven by economic motives, aiming to extract maximum revenue and raw materials for the industrial needs of Britain. Forests, which were earlier considered communal resources or sacred natural spaces in many Indian cultures, were transformed into economic assets under colonial rule. This shift drastically altered the ecological balance, traditional forest rights, and the overall socio-economic fabric of the forest-dwelling communities. The colonial state viewed forests as unproductive wastelands unless they were brought under cultivation or commercially exploited. With the expansion of the colonial economy, forests were increasingly commodified and subjected to bureaucratic control. One of the major turning points in the colonial forest policy came with the establishment of the Imperial Forest Department in 1864. The introduction of scientific forestry, inspired by German models, sought to systematically manage forests for timber production, especially for railway construction. This marked the beginning of large-scale deforestation and a shift away from the traditional, sustainable use of forest resources. The most significant impact on forests came from the demands of infrastructure development, especially railways. From the mid-19th century onwards, the expansion of the railway network required vast amounts of timber for railway sleepers. This led to the indiscriminate felling of trees, particularly teak, sal, and deodar. The Forest _____ _____ ___ ________ ______ ________ ________.
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