Grazing corridors

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Context: A large group of Dhangars recently marched to the office of the subdivisional officer in Khamgaon of Maharashtra’s Buldhana district, demanding a “grazing corridor” for their sheep and goats.

Details:

What is the Dhangar community?

• The Dhangars are a community of shepherds with populations in several states.

Distribution

• Besides Maharashtra, they live in Gujarat, Karnataka, and Andhra Pradesh, as well, and are known by other names such as Golla and Kuruba elsewhere.

Population

• The community is believed to be around 1 crore strong, which would make them about 9% of the state’s 2 crore population (2011 census).

Legal Status

• The Dhangars are on Maharashtra’s listof Vimukta Jati and Nomadic Tribes (VJNT), but have been demanding Scheduled Tribe (ST) status for decades.
• According to Dhangar leaders, the community is identified as “Dhangad” elsewhere in the country, and gets reservation as an ST.

Livelihood and culture

• Dhangars have herded their animals along specific routes since time immemorial.
• Around 40% of the Dhangar population is believed to be solely dependent on herding..
• In recent decades, however, as the forest department has started marking out protected forests, the movements of the community have come to be seen as encroachment on forest lands.
• The forest department has erected walls along the routes and we are looked at as encroachers.
• The community follows the rains, and are normally on the road for the better part of the year.
• “They take certain routes — in Vidarbha they travel from Buldhana to Amravati to Akola, while some go till Chandrapur. In Western Maharashtra they go till Konkan and come back.
• These routes are both the economic lifeline and a cultural heritage for the community.

Political Representation

• The community has a significant presence in Western Maharashtra and in pockets in Vidarbha, and is seen to have the potential to influence election results in four of the state’s 48 Lok Sabha seats, and about 30-35 of the 288 Assembly seats.

The Demand and Challenges

• The community’s demand for grazing rights is linked to its demand for ST status.
• But there is no development towards granting status due to opposition from the STs in Maharashtra who fear dilution of their quota benefits if they are shared among a larger population.

How the  ST status will help the community?

• The Forest Rights Act, 2006, allows traditional occupations including grazing, but it has helped only STs get access to grazing grounds.
• Dhangars, who come under the nomadic tribes category, have not benefited.

Grazing and forests under FRA 2006

• It grant the rights of nomadic or pastoralist communities, including grazing (both settled or transhumant) and traditional seasonal resource access, in all forests, including National Parks, Sanctuaries, and Tiger Reserves.
• Grazing rights are community rights of the habitation-level villages and are to be regulated by their Gram Sabhas.

 Pastoralists in the Modern India

Statistics

• India has around 13 million pastoralists, or cattle herders, who belong to 46 different groups.
• India holds 20% of the world's livestock population and approximately 77% of the animals are raised in pastoralist systems.
• Pastoralists contribute to the economy through livestock rearing and milk production.
• The livestock sector contributes 4% to the national GDP and 26% to the agricultural GDP.

Source

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nomads_of_India

https://www.downtoearth.org.in/environment/greener-pastures-how-indian-pastoralists-are-being-aided-to-return-to-their-traditional-livelihood-85231