What was the main result of keeping pastoralists away from forests under colonial rule?

Correct answer: Their livelihood weakened

Direct answer: Option A is correct. Forests supplied pasture, water, fuel and other useful resources. If colonial authorities kept pastoralists away from forests, herders lost access to important parts of the system that supported their animals and families. The reasoning is: forests were a major resource; exclusion reduced grazing and resource access; reduced access increased costs and made herd maintenance harder; therefore the pastoral livelihood weakened. Option A expresses this overall result. Option B is wrong because losing access would not increase income without effort; it would usually create hardship. Option C is impossible because animals are living beings and cannot become immortal. Option D is wrong because exclusion from forests did not automatically end taxes; in several colonial systems taxes could remain or even add to the burden. The question asks about livelihood, meaning the way people earn and sustain life. Memory cue: forest exclusion means resource loss, and resource loss weakens livelihood.