India is home to a mosaic of pastoralist traditions. About 46 of them have distinct pastoralist identities often identified by their vocational status or pattern of work. Many work as herders, travellers, blacksmiths, artisans, storytellers, and performers. A large population scattered in clusters of residential habitats represents these vocational groups. Many of the pastoral groups shape the pattern of seasonal migration known as transhumance, that is, representative of movements by nomadic and semi-nomadic peoples, and village-based herding. The restoration and sustainable management of delicate ecosystems depend heavily on different sheep and cattle herders- who are mobile with different pastoral socio-cultural identities.While the situation for nomads in India varies from village to village and state to state, the majority of nomadic communities are seeing a catastrophic collapse in their traditional ways of livelihood. Communities that lack documentation of a permanent residence are denied fundamental civil rights protected by the Constitution. The right to education, access to clean water, employment opportunities, voting rights, social security, and basic civic-fundamental rights are denied to them and their children. Traditional pastoral institutions are now more than ever in risk of being entirely displaced because of substantial political rifts, ideological conflicts, and bureaucratic red tape in areas like agriculture, population growth, herd dispossession, drought and identity related documents. The Bakarwal tribe, which maintains a migratory lifestyle and practices transhumance or seasonal migration with their cattle and family, is one such group and primarily the only “entirely” nomadic tribe in Jammu and Kashmir. Their economic ecosystem, pastoral in character, rests mostly on the cattle and activities associated with it as well as the year-round usage of grasslands and Margs (pastures). Our Centre for New Economics Studies’ Visual Storyboard team, O.P. Jindal Global University, attempted to speak with numerous members of the Bakarwal community over the past month as part of an ethnographic project. Cattle belonging to the Bakarwal community. Photo: Special arrangementThe majority of nomads claimed that although modernisation has little influence on their identity, these “labeled outsiders” are gradually moving away from living a fully nomadic lifestyle because of the multiple socio-economic and legal marginalisation they are subject to. This series of essays, aims to highlight the difficulties of geographical isolation, the subsequent separation of the Bakarwal community from the development process and the quickly shifting nomadic landscape. Additionally, our work, built on ethnographic field interviews with members of the community, explores the persistence of nomadism in the Bakarwal community despite the menaces of ‘neo-liberal’ policies and how the community has preserved pastoralism by implementing alternate methods of achieving financial independence alongside nomadism–a practice not supported by the state. Contemporary challenges of ‘transhumance’Nomadic pastoralists frequently rank among the rural people with lowest levels of education and agency, despite the fact that developing livestock is regarded as the most difficult and challenging endeavour in all of agriculture and natural resource development. Although it was a tactic used by individuals and groups to meet problems provided by historical circumstances, nomadism is not a social and political organisation or worldview but rather a social encounter of these historically posed challenges. Mohd Sadiq (58), a Bakarwal Nomad in the Rajouri district explains, “we are deeply concerned about our future prospects. Without any livestock, we lack the means to engage in business or trade, and our lack of education limits our employment opportunities. Our livestock used to be our primary source of sustenance, but since we no longer have them, it has created significant anxiety and uncertainty regarding the well-being of future generations.”These communities are highly dependent on climate change since their economy, which is pastoral in character, depends primarily on cattle and the usage of meadows all year long. Mohd Nazir (65) said, “The impacts of climate change have been particularly devastating, causing us to lose everything we once had. For instance, the timing of seasons has drastically altered, with snowfall occurring in the mountains and rain in the plains during what should be a full-fledged spring in Kashmir. Without adequate food for even three days, they (cattle) face the risk of perishing.” Primarily as a result of losing their cattle, Nazir and his family made the shift away from nomadism in 2014. Members of the Bakarwal community travelling with their cattle. Photo: Special arrangementWith fewer grazing fields accessible and little access to most forest regions, these nomadic herders are increasingly at odds with neighbouring populations. Due to adamant local opposition, it is becoming more and more difficult for them to relocate via conventional ways. “The closure of forests has had a profound impact, leaving us with limited options. During our journeys from Rajouri to Kashmir, we are now compelled to seek refuge in fields owned by local residents since the forests along the way have been closed off to us. Forest guards stationed at various checkpoints often demand payment before granting us passage,” said Munshi Khan (32), a lineage nomad of Bajran district. In the past, the Bakwarwals used to migrate freely and carry food for their animals when they travelled through ‘rasto’, a traditional route of migration on which each ‘kafila’ travels during seasonal migrations. The men and animals take these routes during spring and autumn migrations. The closure of traditional migratory routes has forced them to move on highways where they face increased risk to their lives and livestock from oncoming vehicles. Nazir said, “Assistance in the transportation of our livestock from Rajouri to Kashmir and back is essential. Despite the government’s claims of offering transport facilities, we have found that when we approach the concerned officials, they do not provide us with any means of transportation as promised.” Additionally, social engagement between the Bakarwals and other groups has decreased as a result of the “imposed” transit. Bakarwals had no restrictions on movement prior to this legislation but they are now required to rent private vehicles in order to migrate.The lack of migration lands and the dependency on government also leaves room for discrimination and exploitation by state officials. Mohd Fayaz while talking about the struggles faced by them, said, “We constantly find ourselves being overlooked and ignored, and this mistreatment persists even when we travel back to Rajouri. It is during our migration that we encounter harassment from traffic police. Our livestock is often stolen.”Dwindling lives and livelihoodsThe inclination away from nomadism has left the members of this community in a state of dispossession. With the existing vulnerability of their communal identity and a rapid shift from their inherited lifestyles, these members find themselves open to exploitation and reinstatement of marginalisation. In the past, every family would have a large number of livestock, and every family member was connected in this line of work and lifestyle. They were, however, compelled to cut back on the number of livestock and switch to other occupations as a result of the paucity of pastures.“Our transition away from nomadism was primarily influenced by the loss of our livestock in 2014. Unfortunately, due to our impoverished circumstances, we were unable to afford purchasing goats and sheep again. The persistent inflation further exacerbated our financial struggles, making it difficult to meet our daily needs. As a result, we have resorted to migrating from one place to another in search of daily wage jobs,” said Nasir.Due to their lack of education, individuals in the community resort to performing labour-intensive, daily wage tasks in order to augment their income. The transhumant families attempt to obtain revenue from supplemental jobs that are accessible to them close to their winter or summer pastures due to lack of sufficient flocks or agricultural land.Men from the Bakarwal community. Photo: Special arrangementThe Bakarwals have been reduced to inexpensive sources of labour for forest produce collection, construction labour, shepherding contracts, agricultural labourers, seasonal tour guides, and other sporadic activities.“Initially, our primary source of income relied on rearing goats and sheep. However, with the development of tourism, it has become the major economic activity in our area”, said Parvez Mir. This departure from their natural habitat coupled with the modernisation of the vicinity has uprooted numerous traditional practices and indigenous knowledge systems. The knowledge and use of herbal medicines passed down from their ancestors has decreased, and today’s Bakarwals tend to choose modern medicine over traditional treatments.Other than the lack of awareness and diminishing knowledge systems, there are multiple factors affecting these embedded practices. “Forest officials and the police are now prohibiting us from extracting these medicinal plants from the forests. At various checkpoints, we are subjected to inspections, and any herbal medicines we manage to extract are confiscated from us,” said Fayaz while demanding a bioscopic intervention in this regard. The existing policy framework governing the usage of indigenous medicines provides for a partial ban on the procurement of medicinal plants as well as their commercialisation. Mushtaq Hussain said, “Firstly, it is essential for the government to lift the ban on the extraction of medicinal plants. By revoking the ban, we would have the opportunity to sell medicinal plants ourselves. Additionally, there should be a well-defined policy framework in place to promote and support our indigenous knowledge systems.”There are multiple facets of threats prevalent against the development and growth of the Bakarwal community. The current government policy is devoid of any measures that would ensure the continuation and maintenance of the long-standing indigenous nomadic practices. Since society as a whole tends to be governed by settled colonies, it does not understand or tolerate their independent ways. The government has introduced a number of programs aimed at boosting employment, accessibility, and community empowerment, but there is still room for improvement in terms of their actual execution and rarely do they result in any measurable advantages. This disparity between the launch and actual implementation of initiatives echoes the lack of will or understanding to preserve nomadism. Our second part to the series discusses the lack of state intervention, recognition, and existing policy gaps that have further perpetuated continuous invisibilisation and marginalisation of the Bakarwal community from the mainstream socio-cultural, economic, and political landscape.This is the first article of a two-part series on the Bakarwal community. Read part two here.Deepanshu Mohan is Professor of Economics and Director, Centre for New Economics Studies (CNES), Jindal School of Liberal Arts and Humanities, O.P. Jindal Global University. Ishwaq Ahmad Wani is a Doctoral Student and a Research Analyst with the Visual Storyboards, CNES. Tavleen Kaur is a Senior Research Assistant and the Team Lead, Visual Storyboards, CNES. Hima Trisha is a Senior Research Assistant and the Co-Team Lead, Visual Storyboards, CNES. This series of field studies is produced and anchored by the Centre for New Economics Studies (CNES) Visual Storyboard Team, Jindal School of Liberal Arts and Humanities, O.P. Jindal Global University.
