Gujjar Bakarwals

Pastoralism has been important in societies like India and Africa for years. Pastoralism is a way of keeping animals such as cattle, sheep that involves moving from one place to another to find water and food. Nomads are people who do not live in one place, but move from one area to another to earn their living. In many parts of India we can see nomadic pastoralists which move with their herds of goats and sheep , or camels and cattle.

Movement of Pastoral Nomads in Mountains: Mainly pastoral communities are found in mountaineous regions. There are some reason Nomadic tribes need to move from one place to another:

Advantages to the Environment of their Continuos Movement :

GUJJAR BAKARWALS OF JAMMU AND KASHMIR : The Gujjar Bakarwals of Jammu and Kashmir belong to the nomadic people who in search of pastures for their animals (goat and sheep) go on migrating from one place to another

Gaddi Shepards

Gaddi Shepherds: Gaddi shepherd is a pastoral community of Himachal Pradesh. They had a similar cycle of seasonal movements like Gujjar Bakarwals of Jammu and Kashmir.

Movement of Gaddi Shepherds: During winter, Gaddi Shepherds grazed their flocks in scrub forests of the low hills of Siwalik range. By April, they moved North and spent the summer in Lahul and Spiti.

Bhotiyas Sherpas and Kinnauris

Bhotiyas, Sherpas and Kinnauris:

Movement of Pastoral Nomads on the Plateaus, Plains and Deserts: The pastoral communities are also found in the plateaus, plains and deserts of India

Dhangars

Dhangars:

The Gollas Kurumas and Kurubas

The Goltas, Kurumas and Kurubas: The Gollas, Kurumas and Kurubas are the important pastoral communities of the dry central plateau of Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh. The Gollas herded cattle. The Kurumas and Kurubas reared sheep and goats and sold woven blankets. They lived near the forests, cultivated small patches of land, engaged in a variety of small trades and took care of their herds. The movement of these pastoralists, depended monsoon and dry season.

In the dry season, they moved to the coastal tracts and left when the rains came. Only buffaloes liked the swampy, wet conditions of the coastal areas during the monsoon months. Other herds had to be shifted to the dry plateau at that time.

Banjara Tribes

Banjara Tribes: They were an important group of graziers, which were found in the villages of Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra. In search of good pasture land for their cattle, they moved over long distances. They sold their plough cattle and other goods to villagers in exchange of grain and fodder.

Raikas

Raikas: They lived in the deserts of Rajasthan. Before 1947, they used to migrate to Sindh and grazed their animals on the banks of the Indus. But after partition, when Sindh became a part of Pakistan, this activity was restricted. Now, they started migrating to Haryana where sheep can graze on agricultural fields after the harvest. The rainfall in the region was less and uncertain. So, they combined cultivation with Pastoralism. During the monsoon, the Raikas of Barmer, Jaisalmer Jodhpur and Bikaner stayed in their home villages, where pasture was available. By October, when those grazing grounds were exhausted, they moved out in search of new pastures. They returned in their home villages during the next monsoon.

Maru Raikas: One group of Raikas was known as Maru Raikas who reside in the Thar Desert near Jaisalmer, Rajasthan. Their settlement is called a dhandi. They herded camels and another group reared sheep and goat. Maru Raikas know the history of their community from genealogist. The genealogist is the one, who recounts the history of tribes. Such oral traditions give pastoral groups their own sense of identity.

Camel Fairs: The camel fairs are held at different places of Rajasthan such as Pushkar, Balotra, etc. Camel herders come to the fair to sell and buy camels. The Maru Raikas also display their expertise in training their camels. Horses from Gujarat are also brought for sale at this fair.

Factors That Contributed of Movement of Pastoralists

Factors that Contributed of Movement of Pastoralists: The life of pastoral groups is not easy. It was sustained by a careful consideration of a host of factors are as follows:

Colonial Rule and Pastoral Life: The Colonial Government made different laws from time to time which severely affected the lives of the pastoralists. Their grazing grounds shrank, their movements were regulated, they had to pay high revenue, their agricultural stock declined and their trades and crafts were also affected adversely. The colonial power believed that all grazing lands were wastelands because they were unproductive. These lands did not produce revenue or agricultural products. From the mid - 19th century, Wasteland Rules were enacted in various parts of our country.

 The colonial rulers put so many hurdles in the way of the pastoralists. As such the pastroralists had to adopt new method to survive:

So the adopting the above methods , the pastoralists have survived to this day. According to many scientist and ecologists in the dry and mountain regions pastrolism is still ecologically the most viable from of life.

Wasteland Rule and Forest Act

Wasteland Rules and Forest Acts: The government granted selected individuals various concessions and encouraged to settle them in these areas.

EFFECTS OF WASTELANDS RULES:

All grazing lands were considered as wastelands by the colonial rulers as they brought no revenue to the government. So the government passed wastelands rules as a result of which all the uncultivated lands (including grazing lands) were taken over and handed over to select individuals. As a result of which the pastures vanished like anything within no times which created a lot of problems for the pastrolists.

Criminal Tribes Act

The Criminal Tribes Act was one of the many laws passed by the British colonial government that applied to Indians based on their religion and caste identification. The Criminal Tribes Act and its provisions used the term Tribes, which included castes within their scope.

Criminal Tribes Act: British officials were very suspicious of nomadic people. They wanted to rule over a settled population which could be easily identified and controlled. In 1871, the British Government in India passed the Criminal Tribes Act. By this act, many communities of craftsmen, traders and pastoralists were classified as Criminal Tribes.

EFFECTS OF CRIMINAL TRIBES ACT :

Imposing of Grazing Tax

Imposition of Grazing Tax: In the mid—19th century, Grazing Tax was introduced by British Government in most pastoral lands of India. In order to increase income, the government imposed tax even on animal.