Development perspective from the ground: A study Gaddis

ISSN: 2319-5835

Development perspective from the ground: A study among the pastoral Gaddi tribe’ of Himachal Pradesh

Corresponding Author: Shivanshi Nehria, Department of Anthropology, Panjab University, Chandigarh. 160014
Email address- nehriashivanshi@gmail.com

KEYWORDS Gaddi tribe; Forest; Grazing; Tribal Sub-plan; Development policies

ABSTRACT
Background: Nomadic communities roam in their natural habitat and depend on forest resources for survival. In past years, many nomadic communities left the traditional way of life, adopted settled life, and worked as labourers. It happens due to government interventions and invasions of their land by outsiders. Gaddis is one of such nomadic tribes, predominantly found in the Chamba and Kangra districts of the state. They are a semi-pastoral and semi-agricultural tribe, assimilating under the Scheduled Tribe in 1950. They practice seasonal vertical movement between higher pasture and lower plain regions. They rear sheep and goats. Mountains are sacred to Gaddis and abode to deities. The present paper aims to uncover the various development schemes and policies developed by the Government for the betterment of pastoral Gaddis and also to understand the same from Gaddis’s perception.
Material and Methods: The data on the schemes running in Gaddis’s favour was collected from June 2021 to September 2021 from the Animal Husbandry Department, Wool Federation Department, and Forest Department. Pastoralists and their families were interviewed and asked about their knowledge of and acceptance of government policies.
Findings: The study concluded that the Government started various subsidies and programs for tribal families living in villages and grazers. However, during the investigation, most pastorals denied being provided with any help by the Government. The research paper focuses on the state Government’s initiatives for the welfare of the nomadic Gaddi Community of Himachal Pradesh and the community’s views on government schemes.

Shivanshi Nehria¹ and Abhik Ghosh¹

¹Department of Anthropology, Panjab University, Chandigarh. 160014

DOI-DS: 03.2024-16211435
DOI Link :: https://doi-ds.org/doilink/03.2024-16211435/FrontierAnthropology/2023/12/A5

Original Article

Manuscript Timeline
Submitted: August 16, 2023
Accepted: March 12, 2024
Published: March 19, 2024