Why did Surontiko Samin challenge state ownership of forests?

Because he believed forests were linked with people's lives

Surontiko Samin opposed the colonial claim that the state could simply own and control forests. For village communities, forests were not empty land or only a source of timber for rulers. They supplied materials, food, fuel, and other necessities connected with everyday life. Forests were also related to customary rights and the community’s sense of livelihood and identity. Challenging state ownership therefore expressed resistance to the loss of local access and control.

Option A is correct because it connects forests with the lives of the people who depended on them. The other choices do not explain Samin’s movement: he was not seeking to become a sea king, he did not challenge ownership because he made railway engines, and he did not hate forests. His objection was to unjust control and the denial of community rights.

This is a Class 9 History question. Chapter: Forest Society and Colonialism. Topic: Forest Transformations in Java.