Explained: Who are the Tharu tribals of the UP terai whose home and land the govt wants to open to tourists?
Context: The Uttar Pradesh government has recently embarked upon a scheme to take the unique culture of its ethnic Tharu tribe across the world.
- The intention is to put Tharu villages on the tourism map, and to create jobs and bring economic independence to the tribal population.
About tharus:
- The Tharus live in both India and Nepal.
- In the Indian terai, they live mostly in Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, and Bihar.
- The community belongs to the Terai lowlands, amid the Shivaliks or lower Himalayas.
- Most of them are forest dwellers, and some practice agriculture.
- The word tharu is believed to be derived from sthavir, meaning followers of Theravada Buddhism.
- Members of the tribe survive on wheat, corn and vegetables grown close to their homes.
- According to the 2011 census, the Scheduled Tribe population in Uttar Pradesh was more than 11 lakh; this number is estimated to have crossed 20 lakh now.
- They speak various dialects of Tharu, a language of the Indo-Aryan subgroup, and variants of Hindi, Urdu, and Awadhi. In central Nepal, they speak a variant of Bhojpuri, while in eastern Nepal, they speak a variant of Maithili.
- Tharus worship Lord Shiva as Mahadev, and call their supreme being “Narayan”, who they believe is the provider of sunshine, rain, and harvests.
- Tharu women have stronger property rights than is allowed to women in mainstream North Indian Hindu custom.
- Standard items on the Tharu plate are bagiya or dhikri.
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