What does the difference between colonial waste land and local pasture show?

Correct answer: Power and community could give different meanings to the same land

Colonial officials often called land ‘waste land’ when it did not appear useful for cultivation or revenue. Local pastoral communities, however, depended on the same land as pasture for grazing, seasonal movement and livelihood. Thus, power and local users could assign different meanings to the same land. Option B is incorrect because pasture had an important social and economic use. Exam tip: contrast the colonial revenue view with the pastoralists’ livelihood view.