VULNERABLE BIRHOR TRIBE IN WEST BENGAL AND JHARKHAND : THE CHALLENGES

Abstract

Globalized Earth, we and our society, are feeling that indigenous and traditional socio-cultural terrain, settlement morphology and ecological identity of tribe are belonging at the door of abolition. Changes and modification are everywhere. The need and value of the tribal culture and identity are being increased to protect our environment even in geo-environmental field.  While some tribal communities have adopted a mainstream way of life, at the other end of the spectrum, there are certain Scheduled Tribes, 75 in number known as Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs), who are characterized by: pre-agriculture level of technology, stagnant or declining population, extremely low literacy and subsistence level of economy.¹ The committee, headed by Gobinda Chandra Naskar, had earlier expressed its apprehension about the decline of population of some of the Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Group (PTGs) (Earlier called Primitive Tribal Group), like Birhor in Jharkhand. ² This research will be mainly limelight on Demographic Dynamics, Settlement, Culture and Challenges for sustainability of particular tribal society and identity management of Birhor tribe of West Bengal and Jharkhand on the light of their present environmental conditions and adaptation to environments. Vulnerable tribal groups (PVTGs) who were forced to leave their traditional hunter-gatherer lifestyle and adapt to a modern way of life and the result is not good.¹³ government’s efforts to transform the once-nomadic tribe into a settled community were good, but after the houses were built, the authorities forgot the Birhors,³ accesses the MNREGA opportunity is minimum or zero in most cases, ⁴ food grain supplies to the Birhor villages under TPDS is not functional.⁵ For example, Tilra villagers were not getting pension and access to health facilities.⁶ Non-renewal of housing schemes have meant that the older generation has moved out into a make-shift house to make space for the younger generation in the pukka government-built house. Thus, older Birhor and his wife have moved out of their house to live in the decrepit house in the background. In winter the district administration provided blankets to the families but villagers asked what would a family of ten do with one quilt. More serious is the fact that the authorities have not renewed the house allotments, forcing the elderly to shift back to traditional houses to make space for the younger generation in the government-built houses.⁷ So need a new environmental fruitful policy of conservation for these 10,000 persons in world.