Video | Rainwater harvesting by the “hill dwelling” Sauria Paharia community: Compensating loss of forest cover through agriculture – Jharkhand

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Published on Feb 7, 2017

In the hills of Jharkhand reside the ancient tribe called the Sauria Paharias (hill dwellers). This Scheduled Tribe, considered as one of the oldest dwellers of the Santhal Pragana division – a largely tribal-dominated area of the state. They largely keep away from mainstream population and depend on agriculture, which they produce by clearing small patches of forest during the monsoons. For the rest of the months, they sustain themselves by sourcing and selling forest produce like sal leaves, mahua flowers, kokum, honey etc in the local markets. But the loss of habitat due to shrinking forest cover due to external intervention and so-called ‘development’, the Sauria Paharia tribe’s population is on a steady, unfortunate decline. According to the 2001 census, the tribe’s population was 61,121 but it steadily declined to 46,222 over the next decade. One of the prime reasons for the decline had been the scarcity of water in the region – both for sustained agriculture and for consumption. […]

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The acquisition of farmers’ lands has already started [to construct a thermal power plant]. Who knows where they will be displaced to by this development. But rest assured that they will be found again when it is time to deliver grand speeches at ‘adivasi carnivals’.

Source: Jharkhand’s Adivasi experts on Rainwater Harvesting – YouTube
Address: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qx4QduFER20
Date Visited: Wed Nov 15 2017 19:16:41 GMT+0100 (CET)

tribal_carnival-toi-video-screenshot-web

Screenshots: National Tribal Carnival held in Delhi, The Times of India
URL: https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/videos/news/National-Tribal-Carnival-held-in-Delhi/videoshow/55271347.cms
Date accessed: 24 July 2018

Alienation of tribal land
[W]hile inaugurating the first ever tribal carnival in New Delhi, the Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi, stated that “natural resources in forests should not be exploited at the cost of tribals” and warned of stringent action against those who “snatch” their land and rights. […]
The 5th and 6th Schedule to the Constitution of India provide stringent provisions for the protection of land belonging to the tribal peoples. At the state level, there is furthermore a plethora of laws prohibiting the sale or transfer of tribal lands to non-tribals and restoration of alienated lands to the tribal landowners. However, these laws remain ineffective as none have been invoked and attempts are made to weaken these laws. | Read or download the full IWGIA 2017 report (PDF, 3,8 MB) >>

Source: The Indigenous World 2017 (Copenhagen, Denmark), pp. 384-7 published by the International Work Group for Indigenous Affairs (IWGIA), 2017 | Learn more: www.iwgia.org
URL: https://www.landcoalition.org/sites/default/files/documents/resources/0760_the_indigenous_orld_2017_eb.pdf
Date accessed: 24 July 2018

I am part of the Hasa Aur Bhasa Jagao Sangathan. We fight for our rights to Jal, Jangal and Jameen. My organisation is associated with the Adivasi Vikas Trust and with JOHAR in Dumka. My husband is a committee member in the Jharkhand Mines Area Co-ordination Committee. In 2013, our village came to be affected by a project led by the Jindal Company. There is a dam 65 kilometres away from my village, in another block. The company wanted to acquire land there to make the dam deeper and to acquire land in my block to set up a power…

Source: Jharkhand’s Adivasi experts on Rainwater Harvesting
Address: https://www.videovolunteers.org/jharkhands-adivasi-experts-on-rainwater-harvesting/
Date Visited: Wed Nov 15 2017 19:36:59 GMT+0100 (CET)

Badlao means Change. It is committed to bring about fundamental changes in the lives of the excluded people; Dalits, OBC, Minorities and Tribals and ensure economic freedom for a happier future. It strives to strengthen the capabilities of an individual and community capability is a type of freedom that enables one to choose a lifestyle he wants to live. Its involvement in the socio-economic transformation of the tribal people who were uprooted, marginalized and forced to live the life of poverty and destitution in the wake of the construction of Maithon dam is a testimony to its commitment.

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