INTRODUCTION:

The socio-economic condition of this primitive section needs an indepth enquiry to find out their problems and to make an appropriate strategy for further development. Before depicting the problems of the tribes, the socio-economic background of these people are to be investigated. The present chapter is intended to present the brief outline of the life of the tribes in general and socio-economic background of the specific study area in particular.

The bhumij people belonged to the Mundari group of people., speaking munda language in their original homeland and Bengali in the other places particularly in the different districts of West Bengal.The bhumijs of manbhum believed that their original occupation was military service. Subsequently, agriculture was taken as the sole activity by all the tribes. A few were tribes engaged in petty trade and some immigrated to the tea districts of Assam. In Jharkhand and Bihar, the bhumij even today depend upon agriculture fishing, hunting and forest produces. Thus the bhumij who are mainly agriculturists also hunt and trap birds and animals in the jungles, and landless among them work as labourers. Various seasonally available forest products are a subsidiary source of income for them. Marginal income from wage labour, minor non-forest products and animal husbandry are the main source of livelihood for the rural bhumij. During the British colonial period large number of bhumij, oraons, munda and santals were forcefully uprooted from their homeland to the tea gardens of Assam and North Bengal to work as labourers. Another section of these tribes were brought in by the local zamindars to the mangrove forest region of Sundarban in south Bengal. These tribal people cleared the forests and built up embankments and were settled as agriculturists in the different islands of Sundarban. The Sundarban is intersected by a complex network of tidal waterways, mudflats and small islands of salt-tolerant mangrove forests, and presents an excellent scenario of ongoing ecological process wherein the people struggle for their existence under harsh natural conditions with poverty.

In this paper an attempt has been made to describe the various subsistence strategies which have been adopted by a group of bhumij villagers in a specific natural environment .A special attention is given to study the recent out of migration of the bhumijs from their residences for a temporary period under the present economic hardships faced by them. Here empirical information collected through direct field observation have been presented and analysed in the form of quantitative data. Qualities data collected through the case studies and unstructured interviews have also been described to support the quantitative material. Finally, an attempt has also been made to assess the scenario of subsistence strategies vis-a-vis the occupational diversity of the bhumij villagers in the context of the changing human-nature relationships in the Sundarban.

AREA AND THE PEOPLE: SUNDARBAN:

The Sundarban literally means beautiful forest in Bengali, is a huge archipelago situated between the vast Indian Ocean to the south and the fertile plain of Bengal to the north. Created by the confluence of the Ganges, Meghan and Brahmaputra rivers and their innumerable distributaries, the sundarbans constitute the southern end of both Bangladesh and West Bengal. It is largest delta in the world measuring about 10,000sq, kms. of mangrove forest spread over India (approx 4200sq.kms.of reserved forest)is also the largest mangrove forest in the World. Sundarban is a vast area covering 4262sq.kms.in India alone with a large portion in Bangladesh. About 2585sq.kms. of the Indian Sundarban forms the largest tiger reserve and national park in India. The river Hooghly marks the Western border of the Sundarban The channel, whichruns west along the Chittagong Hills, acts as the eastern border. On the Indian side, the Sundarban is located within the North and the south 24 parganas districts of West Bengal.

NAFARGANJ:

The island of nafarganj, shaped like a heart and is one of the south most in habited island of the West Bengal Sundarban.It is one of the last island to have been reclaimed and inhabited by people from other areas. Nafarganj is a village in Basanti Block in south 24 parganas district of West Bengal state, India. It belongs to presidency Division. It is located 62 km. towards south from district head quarters Alipur. The village total population is 3744 and number of houses are 849.Female population is 48.7%, village literacy rate is 78.2% and the female literacy rate is 36%.

POPULATION: NAFARGANJ 2011 CENSUS DETAILS.:

CENSUS PARAMETER:

There are five village under the Nafarganj Gram Panchayat.The village in which we have conducted our fild work is name by the bhumijs as koloni para and it located in the Nafarganj island of the south 24 parganas of West Bengal.

KOLONI PARA: A BHUMIJS TRIBAL VILLGAE UNDER HARSH ECONOMIC CONDITION.:

The village koloni Para is situated on the bank of a river and is close to the mangrove forest zone of sundarban in the Nafarganj Island. The topography of the village presents the typical scenario of the region. The river which the people called the Bidyadhori river encircled the village on the east and the south and flows between the forest and the village.The village has a high earthen embankment which protected the human habitation from the tidal waves of the river.The embankment formed a semilunar mud path around the village wchich also its main road.The embankment rises up to 10-12 feet with a width of 5-6 feet and was found to be in a bad condition.The villagers expressed their grievances against the local panchayat and the government for undertaking the repair of the embankment. Since the devastations caused by the Aila cyclone in 2009.This field observation conforms to the findings of Rajib Bera a inhabitant at sundarban.

The houses of the village are arranged in almost linear fashion below the embankment and the agricultural fields are situated on the western side of the village.It inhabited by Namasudra cast (classified as a scheduled cast named pod) is located on the north of the village along with a small marketplace named Nafarganj bajar.Koloni para is mostly inhabited by the bhumij group of tribe, who are enlisted under the scheduled tribe category of the government. According to the villagers the bhumij in sundarban were known as sardar since during the British period they were the leaders in clearing the forest and building the embankments. Sardar in Bengali language means the leader or captain of a team. The bhumij of this village spoke Bengali in their day-to- day conversation and we did not face any difficulty in communicating with them in Bengali language. Officially, the village koloni para is a settlement of the scheduled caste population, which come under the Birinchibari mouza (the government revenue collection unit) having in the Nafarganj Gram Panchyat of the south 24 parganas district of West Bengal.

The houses of the village present the poor economic condition of the inhabitants. Most of the houses were built of mud walls having roofs thatched with starw.On closer enquiry, we have found that most of the bhumij villagers did not own any agricultural land and many of them used to visit the nearby forest for the collection of crabs, fish, honey and some fuel wood .Most of the families who owned some agricultural land used to cultivate only one crop in a season which depended on rainwater .some of the landowning bhumij families were also found to lease out their land to the Namasudra neighbours on yearly contract basis. we have also found a number of villagers, particularly the men, who migrated from the village to work as non-agricultural as well as agricultural labourers in distant areas outside the village and again returned to their homes. In the next two section of the paper, we will first describe briefly the materials and method and then present some quantitative and qualitative data about the subsistence strategies adopted by the village for their survival.

MATERIALS AND METHODS:

Data collection – Types and sources.

The tools and techniques used for data collection have been discussed in the following paragraphs.

Primary sources: primary data is one, which is collected by the investigator for the purpose of a specific inquiry or study. Such data is original in character and generated by surveys conducted by the individuals. Following methods were followed for collection of primary data.

Observation:

In this study, the method of observation was quite useful especially in observing the life of the tribal people as they struggled the difficult terrain to complete their daily chores as well as various aspect of their economic and social life. Their occupational, educational and economic condition were understood by this method.

Interview method:

Interview is defined as an effective, informal, verbal or non-verbal conversation initiated for scientific purpose and focused on planned content area. It is useful where an individual is not educated enough to give any kind of written information. Moreover the interview dose not alienate the respondent form the researcher. Interview can consist of open –ended question as well as closed-ended questions. Interview sessions can capture the emotional upheavals and indifferences of the responds thus enabling the researcher to understand things in a holistic manner. In this study, the personal interviews were very useful and most of the respondents allowed themselves to be interview with ease. Open-ended and closed-ended question were employed during the interview sessions. Field visit were mode and interview sessions were conducted with the respondents in the village itself.

Focus group discussions:

Focus group discussions were conducted among a homogeneous group of the targeted people comprising 8 to 10 member per group. These are very useful in enriching our understanding to explore facts pertaining to the trends and behavioural patterns of the people and different problems in villages.

Fields notes:

Field notes of interviews and discussions with people, interesting experiences and situation relevant to the variable under investigation were recorded in diaries on the spot and also at the end of each day during the fieldwork.

Secondary data collection:

Secondary data is that which has been already collected by some other individual or agency. Secondary data can be obtained from journals, report, government publication etc. relevant information’s of the tribal population was obtained from the Block development office, panchayat office and various government office of the south 24 parganas district, South 24 parganas district census report was also used for collecting the secondary information.

This paper is written on the basis of the data collected in these field works. In these field works we always gave priority to the privacy of the informants and took consent of the information while collecting data. we never shot any photograph without the permission of the villagers and were also conscious about showing honour and respect to the values and beliefs practiced by the bhumijs of the village.

HARSH SOCIO-ECONOMIC LIFE:

The subsistence strategies of the Bhumijs in this village was centred around natural resources, like land water and forest. Agriculture and collection of forest produce constituted the mainstay of the economy of the village. Following Gadgil and Guha the bhumijs of koloni para can be called a group of ecosystem people.

The subsistence strategies adopted by the bhumijs of the village show that forest product collection is the most important one. There were three kinds of subsistence activities under this category, (1) collection of crabs, prawns and fish from the river, estuaries and creeks, (2) collection of honey from the forest land and (3) collection of fuel wood. All these activities involved various kinds of risks and danger which might come from nature, wild animals and government laws and restrictions.

Case 1 Tiger attack and its aftermath

Name of the respondent: Bimala Mahato Date:20.05.1917

Age:33

Sex: Female

Place: Informants house at koloni para.

Name of the Tiger attacked victim: Swapan Mahato

Age: 42

Sex: Male

Swapan mahato was a victim of tiger attack while collecting honey from the forest. This pathetic incident changed his life forever. It occurred in 2007.According to his wife the total cost of his medical treatment was around Rs.1, 00000 and she had to mortgage her gold car ring and nose ring which she received from his parents in marriage. They had to lease out their 2 bigha of agricultural land and the villagers also raised some money for the treatment of her husband. After 3 months of treatment his condition was much better but due to the attack of tiger he lost his right eye and could not even talk. He has almost become speechless. That was the last time he went to the forest. At present he occasionally works as agricultural day labour in his neighbours land. The family NOW HAS TO PAY Rs.2, 20000 to get back their mortgaged land. He did not get help from the forest department since he entered the forest without any boat licence and insurance.

The products from the first two categories were sold in the market to earn cash while most of the fuel wood collected from the forest were found to be used for consumption at the household level .Under the category Agriculture we have included the activity of an individual who owned land as well as the agricultural activities of a landless individual .It was found that about 26.54% of the subsistence activities of the bhumij in koloni para village depended on agriculture and related activities .Although this subsistence activity did not involve the kind of risks as it was in case of forest product collection but it also had its difficulties, like uncertainty in water supply for an owner cultivator, the low wage for an agricultural labourer and lack of protection for the women and children at home of a migrant male labourer. The non-agricultural activities were found to occupy the third position among all the subsistence strategies while petty business and service sectors have not yet become important subsistence activities for the bhumijs of koloni para but interestingly, the contribution of women in earning livelihood for the family was found to be higher under the category petty business which mainly involved the sale of traditional rice-beer in the local market brewed at home. The women and men contributions are in equal proportion in the service sector which included the jobs of primary school Teacher. ICDS worker, tailor and temporary maid servants.

Fig: II Bar graph showing the subsistence strategies

The economic life of the bhumij in this village like the other tribal groups who were settled in sundarban began with the clearing of forests for agriculture. Our informants at koloni para also narrated the story of their first settlement in this village through the clearing of forests for cultivation by their ancestors. Agriculture was the main foundation of their economy and they still depended of the agricultural land caused by the Aila cyclone in 2009. An international NGO, the WWF (World Wide Fund for Nature) started their development work after the cyclone and related subsistence activities in order to reduce human animal conflict for sustainable development. Accordingly, the WWF personnel worked in the village to create alternative livelihood generation schemes cantering on agriculture and other related activities, like pisciculture. The importance of agriculture in koloni para is ubiquitous and therefore the nature of land ownership also requires a closer scrutiny. The villagers reported their landholdings in bigha which is the common local term used throughout Bengal. The data were converted to acres and the following table (Table 2) was computed to understand the nature of landholding pattern among the bhumijs of koloni para.

Table 2 Agricultural Landholding Pattern of Koloni Para

Size category of land in acres

Number of households

Mean household size

Landless

<0.5

0.5-1.0

1.0-1.5

1.5-2.0

2.0-2.5

2.5-3.0

TOTAL

35(35.35)

25(25.25)

24(24.24)

8(8.08)

5(5.05)

2(2.02)

99(99.99)

4.77

4.68

5.62

5.00

3.80

6.00

4.94

() Percentage out of the column total. [BIGHA=33 DECIMAL] [100 DECIMAL = 1 ACRE]

The table shows that there is a substantial number households in koloni para which do not own any land and the percentage of such households is 35.35. Another major chunk of the households (about 25.25%) own less than 0.5 acre of agricultural land. There are 24 households which owned land between 0.5-1.0 acres. Only 15.15% of the households owned 1-3 acres of land in koloni para and with this meagre landholding the majority of the families had to support 5 or more members. The overall scenario of landholding at koloni para revealed a grim picture. This is one of the major reasons behind searching for non-agricultural economic pursuits by the bhumijs of this village. The villagers reported that after the Aila which also hit the koloni para village badly damaged the fertility of the agricultural land. Demographers on Indian internal migration have also reported that temporary migration in rural India is mainly distress driven (keshri and Bhagat).

The next important fact about the subsistence strategies adopted by the bhumijs of this village was out –migration in search of livelihood. The fact first came to our notice when we collected the household census data. In a number of households it was reported by the respondents that some of the adult male members were not present since they had gone out to distant place (no female out-migrant was found) to earn money by working as agricultural and non-agricultural labourers. In course of our fieldwork we have met persons who had just returned from some distant place after staying for 2-3 months outside their homes. The reasons for such out-migration were mainly landlessness, lack of economic opportunities in and around the village and reluctance to undertake the risks involved in forest product collection. The table below shows the scenario of out-migration among koloni para males in terms of the nature of work and age composition. Here we have treated those persons as out-migrant who stayed at least one month or more out of his residence. In this context it may be mentioned that all-India level governmental demographic data on the scheduled tribes reported that overall internal migration rate has decreased over time.

Table 3 Age distribution of out-migrants vis-s-vis employment outside Koloni Para

Age group (years)

Agricultural labourer

Non-agricultural labourer

Total

15-19

20-24

25-29

30-34

35-39

40-44

45-49

50-54

55-59

60-64

65-69

(14.28)1[1.47]

(42.85)3[4.41]

(14.28)1[1.47]

(14.75)9[13.23]

(18.03)11 [16.17]

(9.83)6 [8.82]

(8.19)5 [7.35]

(21.31)13 [19.11]

(4.91)3 [4.41]

(3.27)2 [2.94]

(9.83)6 [8.82]

(6.55)4 [5.88]

(1.63)1 [1.47]

10(14.70)

14(20.58)

7(10.29)

6(8.82)

13(19.11)

3(4.41)

2(2.94)

6(8.82)

4(5.88)

1(1.47)

2(2.94)

Grand total

7[10.29]

61[89.71

68(99.96)

() Percentage out of column total. [] Percentage out of grand total

Form the table it is visible that the bulk of the migrant labourers worked as non-agricultural workers while only a small section of the migrant workers were found to be engaged as agricultural labourers. The age composition of the migrant labourers revealed that non-agricultural workers were found in all the age groups of the working population. Form the interviews with the migrants and the members of their family it was known that a variety of non-agricultural works were being done by them which included masonry, plumbing and mining labourer etc. The highest number of migrant labourers was found in 20-24 age group. The number of migrant workers form the village declined sharply after the age group 35-39 but they were found in all subsequent higher age groups and we found two more peaks in the distribution, one at the age group 35-39 and a lesser peak at the age group 50-54.The agricultural workers among the migrant labourers were not found in the age groups of 35-39,40-44,45-49,50-50,55-59 and 60-64.We have found three migrant workers from koloni para in the groups 60-64 and 65-69.We have already mentioned that one of the reasons of out –migration is landlessness of the bhumijs in the village.

Case 3 A Bhumij migrant labourer

Name of the Respondent: Asit Mahato Date 19.05.2017

Age:42

Sex: Male

Place: koloni para respondents house

No. of family members: 5

Alok mahato worked as a labour and travelled to Gujarat, Tripura and Assam. He did not travel every year but in the previous year he went to Assam. He has his own agricultural land in koloni para. They lived in Nafarganj for 10 generations. He recollected that his ancestor lived in Ranchi and they migrated to Sundarban several generations ago.

He worked as a labour in the oil-fields of Gujarat. For this reason, he could live at home for not more than 2-3 months in a year. He earned Rs.12000/ per months for 8 hours of works in a day. He only owns 0.33 acres of agricultural land in which he employed another village as agricultural labourer on a daily wage. The meagre amount of crop which is produced in his land is being consumed by the member of his family. He also worked in his own agricultural land. For the betterment of their livelihood Alok became a committed migrant labourer.

Case 4 Son turned migrant labourer after the death of his father by tiger attack.

Name of the respondent: Bimala mahato Date 16.05 2017

Age: 35 Sex: Female

No. of family members: 5

Place of interview: House of the respondent

Bimala narrated that her husband Nimai mahato was attacked by the tiger in the Bengali month Bhadra (August -September) last year, i.e. in 2015 at Kusumkhal i creek under the core area of the forest under the Sajnekhali beat office of the Sundarban forest .Nimai entered the forest for crab collection along with three member of his family. Around 4 p.m.a tiger attacked and took him away.He died on the spot and his body was not found .Bimala could not recollect the exact date of the attack. Their boat was a hired one by a lease of 25000/-for eigh months since they did not own any boat licence issued by forest department and they were already under debt with the boat owner. According to law for the entry into the permitted area of the reserve forest, a crab collecting party has to pay fee which entitles the forest product collector to get accidental benefit from life insurance in case of attacks by the tiger. But if one enters the prohibited core area of the forest then no life insurance benefit is payable to the family of the dead person. Ironically the villagers used to evade the orders of the forest department and entered the core areas since better catches of fish and crab are available in those areas. According to Bimala her husband and his fishing team like many others had exactly done this unlawful act for getting a good catch of fish and crab. So they could not claim any insurance money for the deadly accident which came upon their life.

After Nimai death Bimala began to work as an agricultural day labourer in a nearby village and used to earn Rs.250-Rs.300 per day and her son started to work as emigrant labour through a local contractor in some mines in the Gujarat state and has been earning Rs.7000 per month. Bimala son was 22 years old. Bimala told that they will never go to the forest again. Incidentally, Nimai had a permission letter from the authorities to catch fish and crab from the permitted areas of the forest and Bimala and her relative made several attempts to get some compensation for the death of nimai which proved to be futile.

Out- migration in this tribal village of sundarban was found to be one of the strategies of survival which undoubtedly was on the rise after the Aila disaster for obvious reasons. The economic dependence of the koloni para villagers revolved round agriculture and forest product collection. After Aila, almost all the agricultural land owned by the villagers became uncultivable and remained in that condition for three to four years and this has led the villagers to search for alternative sources of livelihood, and migration provided the answer. When we visited koloni para in 2017 it was found that cultivation in the Aila damaged agricultural land had already started but our informants reported lesser crop yield than in the pre-Aila period. The case studies collected from the families whose members were attacked by tigers showed that they had taken up migration as one of their subsistence strategies.

CONCLUSION:

As representation, this chapter attempts to summarize the descriptive subject matter of socio-economic condition of tribal bhumijs communities of koloni para sundarban south 24 parganas district and an analytical study of it. There were three kinds of subsistence activities under this category, viz.(1) collection of crabs, prawns and fishes from the river, estuaries and creeks,(2) collection of honey from the forest land and (3) collection of fuel wood .All these activities involved various kinds of risks and dangers which came from nature, wild animals and governmental laws and restrictions. The economic life of the bhumijs in this village, like the other tribal group who were settled in sundarban began with the clearing of forests for agriculture. The bhumijs of koloni para also narrated the story of their first settlement in this village through the clearing of forests for cultivation by their ancestors. Agriculture was the main foundation of their economy and they still depended on agriculture, although a substantial number households in koloni para did not own land. This is one of the major reasons behind the search for non-agricultural economic pursuits by the bhumijs of this village. The villagers reported that after the Aila which also hit the koloni para village badly damaged the fertility of the agricultural land. Last but not the least, is the emergence of temporary non-seasonal out-migration as a subsistence strategy adopted by the bhumijs of this village. After having specially identified as the primitive tribal groups by the Government of India on the basis of certain administrative criteria these sorted out tribal communities are promised offer all types of help and cooperation for mitigating their hazards and anxieties, consternation and tribulation in their life situation.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS:

This research would not have been possible without the help, guidance and co-operation of many people. First, I would like to thank my supervisor Dr. Bimal Mondal to help me explore my academic and intellectual interests. He guided me throughout my work and helped me to build the concepts.I am especially thankfull to the WWF staff at Sundarban, particularly Nirmal Barkandaj, Pankaj Sarkar and Amal Maity, who not only encouraged us to undertake field work at koloni para but also provided all kinds of logistic and intellectual support during our stay in the field. I am extremely thankful to prosenjit Sardar for providing me materials relating to the field work period and helping to improve my research frame work. I am Although it is impossible to mention everyone who had directly or indirectly helped in the completion of the research. I would want to mention few names without whose help it would have been impossible to complete this research. Hence, I want to thank Pinaki Halder, Anay kanti Mondal, Timir Mondal, Rajib Bera and Yashoda Mahato for their help and support at times of great need.

REFERENCES:

1. Adventist Development and Relief Agency, India. (ADRA), 2011.Impactevolution of the post Aila Recovery Project in Sundarban, West Bengal,: Summary. (http://www,alnap.org/pool/files/impact-evalution-of-the post-aila recovery-project-insundarbans-west-bengal,-india.pdf) accessed on Dec 6,2017).

2. Das, A.K. and M.K. Raha 1963.The oraons of sundarban. calcutta: special series no-3. Bulletin of the cultural Research Institute, Tribal Welfare Department, Government of West Bengal.

3. Danda, AA, 2007.Surviving in the Sundarban: Threats and Responses.Doctoralb dissertation the Netherland, University of Twente.

4. Goverment of West Bengal 2009. Situation Report: Cyclone Aila (<http//reliefweb.int/sites/reliefweb.int/files/resources/E98F917AOBID492575A00087C2full Report.pdf>accessed on Dce 12, 2017)

5. Government of India 2013.Statistical profile of schedule Tribe in India, pp 53 63, New Delhi, Ministry of Tribal Affairs Statistics Division.

6. Heider, K.G. 1972 Enviornment, subsistence, and Society,1:207-226.

7. Joshi, Y.G. (1997) Tribal migration Rewat publication. JAIPUR &New Delhi.

8. Mondal, H.S. Mukherjee, A. Datta 2002. INDIA, an IIhustrated Atlas of Tribal World.

9. Mistry, A.2013.Migration and Sustainable Livelihoods: A Study form Sundarban Biosphere Reserve.Asia-pacific Journal of Social Sciences: V76-102.

10. Mukhopadhyay, A.2009.Cyclone Aila and the Sundarbans: An Enquiry into the Disaster and politics of Aid and Relief. Kolkata: Mohanirban Calcutta Research Group. (<http:/www.mcrg.ac.in>accessed on Dce 12.2017

11. Risley, H.H.1891.The Tribal and Caste of Bengal.Vol.2. Calcutta, Bengal Secretariat Press. Address for correspondence Jagannath Mahato Vill: Uttarayan Pally. P.O+P.S: Sonarpur kolkata 150. Email: mahatojagannath789@gmail.com

Received on 13.05.2019 Modified on 03.06.2019

Res. J. Humanities and Social Sciences. 2019; 10(3):798-804.

DOI: 10.5958/2321-5828.2019.00131.1

Subsistence activities	Forest product collection		Agriculture		Non agricultural activities		Service (permanent and temporary)		Petty Business		Total
Sex	M	F	M	F	M	F	M	F	M	F	226 (99.96)
	86 (38.05)	16 (7.07)	41 (16.14)	19 (8.40)	30 (13.27)	18 (7.96)	2 (0.88)	2 (0.88)	2 (0.88)	10 (4.42)
Total	102(45.13)		60 (26.54)		48 (21.23)		4 (1.76)		12(5.30)