Why did the government reduce the proposed reserved area after the Bastar rebellion?

Correct answer: Due to pressure from rebellion and public discontent

The direct answer is A: pressure from the rebellion and public discontent. The proposed reserve would have restricted customary access, so resistance made the government reconsider its plan. Reasoning: the state proposed a large reserved area; local people feared loss of access and livelihood; rebellion showed that the policy was creating serious opposition; the government reduced the area to lessen conflict. Option A is correct. Option B is wrong because the issue was not an absence of trees. Option C is wrong because railway demand for timber was one reason for forest control, not a reason to reduce the reserve after the rebellion. Option D is wrong because British rule had not ended. The change was a limited response to pressure, not complete acceptance of local rights. Memory cue: rebellion produced a policy adjustment, not the end of colonial forest control.