For administrative and economic reasons, the British government tried
settling the jhum or shifting cultivators. However, settled plough
cultivation did not prove to be helpful to these jhum cultivators. They
often suffered because their fields did not produce good yields. The new
forest laws also affected the lives of the shifting cultivators. Shifting or
jhumcultivation is usually done on small patches of forest land. Under
the forest laws, the British extended their control over all forests and
declared that forests were state property. Thus, the jhum cultivators were
prevented from practising jhum cultivation freely. Many were forced to
move to other areas in search of work and livelihood.