Who was most harmed when pastures were converted into cultivation in colonial times?

Correct answer: Pastoral communities

Direct answer: Option B, pastoral communities. Pastoralists depend on grazing land to feed their animals. In the colonial period, many common pastures were taken over or converted into cultivated fields because authorities and landholders wanted more land under settled agriculture and more revenue. When pasture became farmland, pastoral communities lost access to grazing areas and had to travel farther, reduce herds, buy fodder or change their livelihood. This could also create conflict and increase costs. Option B is correct because pastoralists directly depended on those pastures. Option A is wrong because forest officers were officials involved in administration and were not the group whose livelihood depended on grazing land in this way. Option C is wrong because sea traders did not rely on inland pastures for their main occupation. Option D is wrong because palace builders were unrelated to pastoral grazing needs. The reasoning is: pasture converted to fields → grazing space decreases → livestock feeding becomes difficult → pastoral livelihood suffers. Memory cue: when common grazing land disappears, pastoralists bear the direct loss.