Abstract Panel


Authors Information
SequenceTypeName TitleFirst NameLast NameDepartmentInstitute / Affiliation
1 Author Mrs. Nandita Kumari University Department of Anthropology Ranchi University, Ranchi
Abstract Information
TrackID
:
IUAES23_ABS_E2667
Abstract Theme
:
P123 - Tribal Livelihoods and Quest for Sustainability: An Empirical Discourse from Contemporary South Asian Societies
Abstract Title
:
A Shift from Shifting Cultivation to Settled Agriculture: An Anthropological Study of the Sauriya Paharia of Santhal Pargana
Short Abstract
:
Due to intervention of government policies, Sauriya Paharia of Santhal Pargana and their traditional shifting cultivation is in transition. As a result, they were failing to cope up with the new ecological settings as they were deeply attached with their age-old belief system and traditional ecology. This paper is an attempt to highlight the causes of the failure of government approach in resettlement of this community. This paper is based on field work.
Long Abstract
:

The Sauriya Paharia is the extremely marginalized community of Jharkhand. Jharkhand has thirty two schedule tribe communities out of which eight are identified as particularly vulnerable tribal groups (PVTGs) and Sauriya Paharia is also identified as PVTG because of their low literacy level, economic backwardness, use of pre-agricultural level of technology and diminishing population. They are also known as Maler or Hill Man and early settlers of the Rajmahal hills of the Santhal Pargana. They mostly depend on the hills and hilly forest slopes for their livelihoods and survival. Traditionally Pahariya used to practice shifting cultivation in hilly slopes and used to cultivate maize and barbatti as their staple food. Government viewed their traditional shifting cultivation as destructive practice and imposed ban on this destructive practice and due to this Sauriya Pahariya started facing a lot problem to cope up with the change and to get their livelihood. Government tried to resettle Maler into plain land with agricultural land to practice settled agriculture. In addition to that government has also implemented several other policies and schemes to resettle Maler in plain land. Malers were failing to cope up with the new ecological settings as they were deeply attached with their age-old belief system and traditional ecology. As a result, resettlement of Maler with settled agriculture failed to a great extent. It was found that change in ecology and economy will definitely bring subsequent changes in technology, social system and religious belief system as well. This paper is an attempt to highlight reason of backwardness and also the prime causes of the failure of government approach in resettlement of this community. This paper is based on field work.

Abstract Keywords
:
Shifting Cultivation, Livelihood, Technology, Sauriya Paharia