EVENTS & ISSUES

New Delhi, 20 May 2009

Agenda For New Govt

DO A REALITY CHECK ON VAN GUJJARS

By Radhakrishna Rao

The much-talked about and widely discussed Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act 2006, which the UPA-led Government had described as a “progressive piece of legislation” was aimed at undoing the injustice meted out to the forest dwelling indigenous groups. It was used by the Congress in its campaign this Lok Sabha election. However, the ground reality is something else.

Reports from various parts of the country clearly highlight that the “so-called beneficiaries “of this Act are at the receiving end of the forest authorities, who are in no mood to give a practical shape to this law. Worse, in response to a barrage of writ petitions filed by various organizations challenging the constitutional validity of this act of the State, the Supreme Court has said that any distribution of “title deeds” by the State would be subject to its final order.

The callousness of the forest bureaucracy, steeped in the British colonial tradition, is clearly at full display at the Rajaji National Park (RNP) spread over more than 800-sq. km and across Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh. Here the Van Gujjar nomadic forest dwellers are being intimidated to move out of their forest homes of centuries to the claustrophobic resettlement colonies, near the famous pilgrim town of Hardwar. Incidentally, RNP, the notification for the creation of which was issued in 1983 by the then undivided Uttar Pradesh is yet to attain the status of a national park.

The Van Gujjar herdsmen residing in the forest stretches of RNP, which forms a part of the Shivalik eco system have come up against ”hurdles and barriers” with the forest authorities of Uttarakhand preventing their free movement across various eco zones lying in the lap of the Himalayas. Over the past couple of months, a number of Van Gujjar families with their herds of mountain buffaloes are stranded en route to their annual summer grounds in the upper Himalayan reaches.

In particular, they have been denied entry to the Gobind Pashu Vihar sanctuary in the Uttar Kashi district of Uttarakhand. In fact, the denial of entry to Van Gujjar nomads to the traditional highland pastures locally called “bugyals” has once again raised the issue of the harassment of an underprivileged nomadic indigenous group.

Dehra Dun-based Rural Litigation and Entitlement Kendra, which has made significant contributions to the drafting of the Forest Dwellers Act has stated in unequivocal terms that the forest bureaucracy of Uttarakhand is bent upon evicting Van Gujjars from their traditional  dwellings. It says: “In spite of the clear constitutional mandate under Article 19, which gives Right to Freedom of Movement, and the rights conferred under the Scheduled Tribes and Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act 2006, which entitles forest dwellers to access forests and its resources, the State forest authorities are harassing the Van Gujjars”.

Sadly, the intimidation of the “guileless and helpless Van Gujjars”, a minority group without any political clout is nothing short of the “serious infringement of their basic human rights”. Cut off from the mainstream and living in isolation of the thick evergreen forests, Van Gujjars are not sure as to what the future holds for them. The eco-friendly Gujjars who perceive the forests, in which they live as the veil that prevents them from being exposed to the evils of modern life, are ill-equipped to live outside of the forest environs.

A Van Gujjar out of a forest stretch is like a fish out of water. This community, which has a sound insight into the intricacies of the nature, can best be described as barefoot botanists since they know each plant and herb in and around their dwellings in great detail. Undoubtedly, the Van Gujjars are excellent silviculturists and over generations have built up a rich bank of knowledge about their environment. To walk through a forest stretch with a Van Gujjar guide is a veritable lesson in bio-diversity: each species of tree is known and their potential as fodder and medicine as well as the timing of its fall.

The compulsion for the annual migration of Van Gujjars from the forest stretches of Shivaliks in north-west India to the alpine grasslands of upper Himalayas is the herd of tough mountain buffaloes they rear and on which they depend for their survival. Nomadism is the very life-blood of the social life of this community, for whom a settled mode of life is unthinkable. The pastoralist Van Gujjars share an intricate relationship with their buffalo herds, which are considered as the extended family members. The cattle share their living space inside their semi-circular dwelling called dera, which is normally located deep inside the forests close to water sources.

Clearly, the traditional migratory pattern of Van Gujjars involving two distinct eco zones of Himalayas has been severely disturbed by the hurdles put by the forest authorities. As if these woes are not enough, Van Gujjars residing in the forest stretches of the Shivaliks find the going tough on account of the rapidly disappearing green cover. For their buffalo herds used to be fed on the nutritious leaves of certain trees lopped by Van Gujjars. Declining availability of the natural feed means dependence on concentrate cattle feed purchased from the market for a price. This implies a decreased return for the community from buffalo rearing.

For more than 1,000 Van Gujjar families rehabilitated in the resettlement colonies at Pathri and Gaindikatha, struggle for survival has become acute. To begin with, these resettlement colonies have no grasslands wherein their cattle can graze in a carefree manner. Moreover, the tough mountain buffaloes, which are stall fed in their new location, are not only falling ill frequently but also are yielding lesser milk. Thus, leaving both man and animal ill at ease in the new settlement colonies.

Though each of the nomadic families have been allotted two acres of farmland, the community has not been able to benefit from it. They lack expertise in farming. This has resulted in the land being leased out for contract farming for a ridiculously low compensation. Left with no option, many Van Gujjar adults have been forced to take up odd jobs to make both ends meet. The young have become a part of the mainstream society with their love for Hindi movies. All these “not so pleasant developments” have set in motion a process of “cultural atrophy” of the community which seems to have been resigned to its fate. Will the new government ensure the Forest Dwellers Act does justice? Or will the Van Gujjars continue to languish? –INFA

(Copyright, India News & Feature Alliance)