Scheduled Tribes (Recognition of Forest Rights) Bill: A View from Anthropology and Call for Dialogue Author(s): Arnab Sen and Esther Lalhrietpui Source: Economic and Political Weekly, Vol. 41, No. 39 (Sep. 30 - Oct. 6, 2006), pp. 4205-4210 Published by: Economic and Political Weekly Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/4418763 Accessed: 07-01-2016 09:30 UTC

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This content downloaded from 203.199.211.197 on Thu, 07 Jan 2016 09:30:28 UTC All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions Scheduled Tribes (Recognitionof Forest Rights) Bill A View from Anthropologyand Call for Dialogue

The value of forests in the lives of local communitieshas been widely discussed in academic literature, yet forest use is a domain of contestation. The new Scheduled Tribes (Recognition of Forest Rights) Bill needs to be contextualised in the ground reality of conflicting interests and claims. First, the category of scheduled tribes is contested in social science discourse. Second, forest and tribal policy in is not adequatelysensitive to value systems of local communitiesand this creates considerable contestation between administrationand the local people. This paper revisits these contestations in the worldwide body of academic discourse. There has been fair consensus in the literature that value systems and customary institutions of local communities have well-developed mechanisms that regulate sustainable lifeways and conserve local ecosystems, though unquestioning acceptance of these may also lead to errors. What is required is for policy to effectively deliver benefits to people and conserve biological diversity, and it is anthropologists who can mediate a dialogic space between the people, their civil society institutions, networks of advocacy, public and local intellectuals, the academia, policy and governance.

ARNABSEN, ESTHERLALHRIETPUI

ocal communities have been geographically, ecologically Most forest dependent local communities in India are either and culturally linked to forest habitats, particularly in marginal settled cultivators or shifting cultivators who supple- tropical regions of the world. In India, there are several ment their nutritional sources with some hunting and gathering. local communities who depend on forest for primary or supple- A few communities depend almost exclusively on hunting and mentary nutrition, ethnomedical practices, energy and various gathering. Large tracts of forest are essential to their survival other life supporting needs. Their view of nature is based on trust strategies. Madhav Gadgil and RamachandraGuha (1992) posit ratherthan domination, a perception which Tim Ingold (2000) that shifting cultivation and hunting-gathering "with their low posits as common among hunter-gatherers. Communities have population densities, low per capita resource demands, cycles been affected by restrictions to forest access under protection of materials closed on limited spatial scales, and a number of laws. Most often these laws draw their validation from a western practices that promote sustainable resource use" usually have perception of nature very unlike the reciprocal relationship minimal ecological impact. perceived by these communities. Animals like hares, wild boars and some monitor lizards can The new Scheduled Tribes (Recognition of Forest Rights) be hunted, and various edible mushrooms and leaves gathered Bill needs to be contextualised in the cultural specificities of for their nutritional value. Besides foods, various products from forest dependent peoples, particularly "tribal" peoples, their the forest have been traditionallyused by forest dependentpeoples. indigenous. knowledge (IK) systems and the need to revive a For example, the Birhor and Kharia people in ,in areas supportive relationship between local communities and the studied by the first author, collect a certain species of creepers native biodiversity. for its fibre. Numerous ethnomedical studies have revealed that healers in forest dwelling communities extensively use medicinal Cultural Context of Forests herbs; a Birhor healer in Jharkhand personally revealed a rich pharmacopoeia to the first author. Forest dwelling communities The forest is like our mother, depend almost entirely, for their energy needs, from firewood We know how to live by suckling at its breast. collected from the forest. Other collectibles include bamboo for We know the name of shrub and every tree, herb, basket for and so on. The forests have We know its uses. making, grasses brooms, also been valuable for horticulture in areas of If we were made to live in a land without forests, purposes studied the second author. Then all this learning that we have cherished by Over the generations will become useless, In the present parlance of forest management in post-colonial And slowly, we will forget it all (Bawa Mahalia, a Bhil peasant India, most of these traditional products of the forest have been in a letter of protest against forced eviction for the Narmada named non-timberforest produce (NTFP). The implicit dichotomy project). is between what constitutes timber, which can be sold at high

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This content downloaded from 203.199.211.197 on Thu, 07 Jan 2016 09:30:28 UTC All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions prices in the market and is state property, and what is not timber, times led to violent resistance by local communities [cf Guha of less commercial value, and to which local communities can 1999; Saberwal and Rangarajan 2003a]. be allowed access. The latter are now marketed by a state Unfortunately the post-colonial state in India has largely con- supported marketing cooperative named TRIFED. Central India tinued the exclusion of local communities, and the supposed move accounts for the largest share in monetised market for NTFP. towards a more inclusive forest policy is yet to be actualised at Table 1 gives a list of some salient forest collectibles in central the groundlevel. Strictexclusion of people from protectedareas has India and their uses, including traditional uses and commercial often been mediated by a desire to protect species [cf Rangarajan uses in the newly monetised local economies. 2003], but the same policies have allowed the commercial According to Tim Ingold (2000) hunting and gathering com- extraction of timber in other areas. munities see nature as a continuum of which they themselves The 1952 forest policy classified forest into protected forests are a part; for example, some northern hunting communities for ecological balance, national forests for commercial use, village believe that the caribou willingly gives itself up to the hunter forests for community use and tree lands to improve the physical and if the hunter is disrespectful towards the prey he risks being condition of the country. It was in fact retrogressive as the earlier, unsuccessful in future hunts. Perceptions of a reciprocal rela- colonial policies left some space for subsistence use and did not tionshipwith natureare recorded in the manifesto of the Jharkhandis touch the private/CPR (common pool resource) forests. The only Organisation for Human Rights [JOHAR 2001], which says that the tribals of Jharkhandenjoy the bounties of the forest, leaving Table 1: Forest Produce in Central India space and utility for the other animals, and other animals of prey Plant Part Use for the predators; that the tribal allows the forest to grow and Collected regenerate itself. Similar perceptions are expressed by Bawa Sal (Shorea robusta) Seed Food Mahalia, quoted at the beginning of this article, published in Leaf Freshleaves used formaking traditional Voices 2001. cups for eating and drinking.Dried lea- Since hunting and gathering, as well as swiddening have ves are sold to middlemenfor manu- factureinto bowlsand remained ways of life for many forest dependent communities disposableplates, in there is cultural valuation of the forest: cups. India, persistent Mahua(Bassia latifolia) Seed Used to make oil, knownas kachada conservation and sustainable use are part of the norms governing in Jharkhand,traditionally used for the interface between the human and the non-human. lightinglamps. Also, cooked and eaten. Sacred groves, typical to Indian tradition, known by various Flower Used to distil liquorknown by various local names such as kadu local or regional names have been interpreted as an ancient irpi among the Kondh,and paurauamong the strategy for sustainable use of the forest. Sacred groves are Santhal. central to local belief systems and practices in many different Fruit Eaten raw or cooked. parts of India. Social scientists and ecologists have reported Amla(Pysilianthrius embelica) Fruit Medicinaluse conservation practices centred on sacred groves, such as in the Harra(Terminalia chabula) Fruit Medicinaluse Western Ghats and the Khasi Hills. Studies in Bahera(Terminalia ballarica) Fruit Medicinaluse landscape Palash (Butea frondosa) Seed Food ecology show that in pre-colonial days, there was greater diver- sity of landscapes, and sacred groves and shifting cultivation Vartak contributed to this diversity [cf Gadgil and 1976; Gadgil Table 2: Conservation of Species in Sacred and Chandran 1992; Gadgil and Guha 1992; J J Roy Burman Groves of the Western Ghats totemic social have contributed 2003]. Similarly, organisations Name of Species Location Location Approximate to protection of plants and animals [Kothari 1996]. There is Where Found Where Found Distance considerable consensus in the literature that local communities, in Sacred Endemically between whether or not, have ensured sustainable use of forest Grove Sacred Grove consciously and Endemic and Guha Kothari Guha Table 2 [Gadgil 1992; 1996; 1999,2003]. Habitat(Kms) lists some of the rare species of flora and fauna Gadgil and Liontailed Threatened Chandran (1992) have reported. macaque Katlekan, (monkey) Uttara Kannada Conflict with Policy Myristicaswamp Uttara South Kerala ?500 includingthe Kannada We have for centuries been living in a harmoniousenvironment. Myristicamagnifica palm We still possess some of these old values and traditions.We know and the Pirangadicksonitree, it is late, but we still think there is time to some of our a threatenedecosystem. salvage tree: Uttara Kerala ?400 After all, this earthis for us all. This earthdoes Gurjan good experiences. Dipterocarpusindicus Kannada not to we to her belong us, belong [JOHAR 2001]. A leguminousclimber: Kerala New species If you love tigers so much, why don't you shift all of them to Kunstleriakeralensis identified Hyderabadand declare the city a tiger reserve?(A Chenchuhunter- Blepharistemma Kerala Threatened of Nallamala Hills a reserve.) membranifolia gatherer displaced by tiger Buchananialanceolata Kerala Threatened There has been an enormous shift in perception since colonial Pterospermumreticulatum Kerala Threatened rule: the concept of forest protection to the exclusion of forest Syzygiumtravancorium South Kerala Threatened dwelling communities de-linked what was an ancient, Dhuptree: Canarium Uttara ?400 culturally strictum Kannada validated and implicitly acknowledged ecological link [cf Gadgil and Guha 1992; Saberwal and Rangarajan 2003a]. This has at Source: Gadgiland Chandran,1992.

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This content downloaded from 203.199.211.197 on Thu, 07 Jan 2016 09:30:28 UTC All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions silver lining was a soft approach to conversion from shifting dependent on forests, particularlyin central India and the cultivation. westernHimalayas, would actually be rathermore in numberthan The 1988 forest policy was some improvement in that it admittedby administrativelists of tribes. conceived people's involvement and some protection for cus- We have to admitthat to correctthe inadequaciesof the list tomary access rights, though with some riders like linking the of scheduledtribes is an almostimpossible task, given the lack access rights to the carrying capacity of the forest. There was of politicalwill thatprevents effective governancein any issue also some conception of capacity building among forest com- relatedto tribesin Indiaand, what is more,the complex vested munities and regenerating forest through planned silviculture. interestslinked with "caste"and "tribe",and the politics sur- This is how the concept of joint forest management (JFM) came roundingsuch identities.This makeseven self-identificationas into being as a participatory model for managing forest. recommendedby the ILO ConventionConcerning Indigenous Planned silviculture and JFM sounded better on paper than they and TribalPeoples in IndependentCountries, No 169, Geneva have actually been at the ground level. Eucalyptus monocultured 1989, highly contentiousunless it can be generatedby a large forest has replaced precious native biodiversity in , consensuswithin and between communities. , Jharkhand,Orissa and . Quoting In fact,as faras targetingthe new policy is concerned,it would a Jhfmar song (a genre of folk music of Jharkhandand surround- makesense to actuallyidentify, at local levels, the stakeholders ing areas), P P Mahato (2001) has pointed out the reactions of in forest-basedlifeways and legislate beneficial measuresfor the people to the ill-conceived silviculture programme of euca- themand the forest ecosystems to whichthey belong. This process lyptus monoculturation.The ignorance and cultural insensitivity of identificationwould have to be contextualisedin local speci- of forest administrationis exposed in such actions as clear felling ficities.It wouldhave to necessarilytake into account the various an entire sacred grove in the Siddapur taluka, Uttara Kannada, culturalconstructions of the forest-humaninterface, and also the and converting it into an eucalyptus plantation, an event Gadgil structuresof power and agency at local levels to ensure that and Chandran (1992) have reported. Also, the per capita forest legislationspreads its benefitsevenly andadequately reaches the cover is far below acceptable levels. disadvantaged.A suggestioncould be that anthropologistsare In India, categories of protected areas include national parks, engaged for this task. reserved forests, JFM forests and biosphere reserves. In places, Thebill is silenton theissue of provingoccupancy of forestland community forest management (CFM), intended to be a more before 1980, the cut-off date for vesting land and recognising participatorymodel, is used instead of JFM. National parks have rights. Withoutcontesting the cut-off date, which by its very been exposed to ecodevelopment models, supposedly to build naturehas to be arbitraryby any academicstandard, we point capacity among local communities: the models include ecotourism out thatthis silenceclearly leaves unwelcomespace for manipu- and NTFP extraction. National parks typically have a core area lation by vested interests.Maharashtra has set a benchmarkof with megafauna and a fringe area which is administered like a bestpractice in recognising"tribal" land, based on morepractical JFM forest. Many of the national parks have human populations and crediblecriteria than "documentaryevidence", but the bill in their core areas. Protection practices vary from one state to shouldevolve a standardpractice mandatory for all states.Offers another, though there is some standardisation by the central of land by governmentcan be highly contentiousand we fail government. to understandwhy the bill neglects this key issue. Civil society Table 3 gives a summary of the status of forest in India and institutionscould catalyse consensus between peoples on land an assessment of the success (or rather, lack thereof) of the occupationwith the help of academiaand governanceand in- stringent forest policy in post-colonial India. formed by anthropologicalknowledge of the cultural link with forest. Mechanismsof land transfershould ideally target collectivities rather than individuals as Forest Rights Bill beneficiaries, given especially the communalnature of customarylandholding in of the forest areas. A Contextual Critique many Anothershortcoming of the bill is its insistenceon recognising In the context of the cultural and ecological links between the rights of people scheduled in a particulararea, which is forests and local communities, the new Scheduled Tribes (Re- typicallya statelevel list. This perpetuatesthe errors of linguistic cognition of Forest Rights) Bill still offers too little, too late. stateformation that has been criticisedin anthropologicllitera- In India, most "tribal"peoples are classed under the admini- ture [Geertz1973]. Moreover,what is ratherstrange. it ignores strative category of scheduled tribes: a category neither compre- the fact thatlarge populations have been forcedto migrateover hensive. nor always sociologically valid. Andre Beteille (1974) the pastfew centuries:drafted as slave labourin the colony, and warns against the unquestioning use of scheduled tribes as a persistentlydisplaced by mining, dams, and land alienationin category in social science. Georg Pffeffer (1997), in his study the post-colonialstate. of the Kondhs of Eastern Ghats, points out the symbiotic rela- Distributionof forestlandsalso raisesanother pertinent issue: tionship sustained over generations between tribals and other to what extent the administrationcan ensure that the lands communities, which are classified as castes, and he contrasts this Table 3: Status of Forests in India relationship with other, less reciprocally supportive ones with Total land area "outsider"castes, in this case from the Because 328.7 millionhectares migrants plains. Agriculturalland 142.5 millionhectares (43.3 per cent) of its inadequacy, the category of scheduled tribes can lead to Recorded forest cover 76.5 millionhectares (23.2 per cent) errors in policy-planning and execution. The total population of Actualforest cover 63.34 millionhectares (19.27 per cent) scheduled tribes was 67.76 million in the 1991 Census. The Hari Per capita forest area 0.08 hectares Worldaverage per capita forest area 0.64 hectares Singh Committee of 1967 stated that 60 per cent of tribal people lived in forests and another 30 per cent close to forests. The people Source: P K Biswas 2006.

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This content downloaded from 203.199.211.197 on Thu, 07 Jan 2016 09:30:28 UTC All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions distributed would not be put to uses incompatible with conser- global and the local. We situate our recommendation for a vation of biological diversity. As Timothy K Choy (2005) points dialogic process involving local civil society in this range of out, though in an urban context, land reserved for "original" discourse. inhabitants in Hong Kong has been economically exploited in In the age of globalisation, the question of ensuring justice to the booming real estate market by the beneficiaries of the reser- local communities by restoring their access to the forest is vation. There is very real danger in the greed of people, especially something that has enormous implications, larger than just the people separatedfrom customary collectivities and atomised into issue at hand. Equally it is a very contentious issue when seen individuals. There is danger, too, in the state sanctioned marketing in the context of protecting biological diversity, and it involves machinery of the agricultural chemical industry. Forestlands many differentcollectivities and interestgroups. As AmitaBaviskar could very soon be put to intensive fertiliser and pesticide hungry (2003) points out: "Various social groups bring different agendas agriculture. We suggest that the only solution is to ensure that on board and conservation emerges as a contested terrain where, culturally validated institutional mechanisms like the "sacred not just nature as wildlife, but nature as the innate character of grove" be consciously revived. Anthropological knowledge could social being is staked and defended". be harnessed to this end. The state, academia and local civil The protection accorded to the forest to the exclusion of local society would have to collaborate to ensure this. At the same communities has been seen as a violation of human rights, while time these lands must be given to organic agriculture, even if conflict between the state machinery and the people is detrimental it needs to be subsidised by the government. to wildlife protection. The ethical implications of environmental Though the important start-up role given to the gram sabha protection and the responsibility of the human species to the rest seems democratic, power relations (including but not restricted of nature have been debated [Kothari 1996]. Equally, protection to bureaucraticdomination of the state governments) embedded has its ironies: local people have to move out of protected areas in these institutions can restrictthe reach of benefits. For example, so that the first world constituencies of protectionist lobbies can the first author has seen a Bengali village appropriate, with the be assured that some rarespecies has been preserved and evidence implicit supportof the gram panchayat and the block development is shown in a wildlife documentary on television. office, electric poles meant for a neighbouring Santhal village. Over the years, earlier as part of its socialist nation-building The exact institutional mechanisms best suited to participatory processes and later as a part of its neoliberal structural readjust- control of forest use and the extent of participation have been ments, post-colonial India has set a poor trackrecord in addressing debated and contested [cf Kothari 1996], but the lead role has the needs of forest dependent communities. of necessity to be that of local civil society. We feel local civil Both the socialist and capitalist/neoliberal phases in the history society, assisted by the state and academia, in a process mediated of post-colonial India have been marked by a separation of the by "anthropological" knowledge of cultural diversity and the human from nature validated by a western development para- local operations of power, can ensure sustainable forest use. digm. Saloni Suri (1996) points out that the western concept of Given that forest is closely linked to belief systems [Gadgil and protected areas as untouched by humans was largely based on Guha 1992; Gadgil and Chandran 1992; Kempf 1993; Kothari the "ignorance of the historical relationship between people and 1996] innovative use can be made of belief systems and ritual their habitatand the role people play in maintaining biodiversity", specialists. Gerrit Huizer (1999) says of the progressive role of an issue we have explored above. MadhavGadgil and Ramachandra "spiritual"values and institutions: "I have tried to come to grips Guha (1992) use "modes of resource use" as a more compre- with spirituality through active participation in the struggle for hensive model than "modes of production" and show that capi- survival and justice of those with whom I have worked". talist and socialist societies do not differ in their "scale and State governments have been arbitraryin handling distribution direction of natural resource flows, the technologies of resource of lands; for example, Gujarathas persistently refused to resettle exploitation, the patterns of energy use, the ideologies of human people displaced from Narmadavalley in social groupings of their nature interaction", and thus produce the same nature of eco- own choice, ignoring the stated policy of the Narmada Water logical impact. Using the Marxist concept of "alienation", Disputes Tribunal [Scudder 2005]. Settlement of forest land Ramachandra Guha (1999) argues that (western) conservation necessarily has to associate social groupings as chosen by the concepts "alienate humans from nature" by atomising the indi- beneficiaries themselves to allow effective mobilisation of local vidual, the state being more comfortable dealing with individuals civil society. than with collectivities. Unless this proposed largesse with forestland is mediated by In the present situation, the link between forest and peoples anthropologicalknowledge and methods of applied anthropology, is thus not just a contested ground within India, far less a theme it may not deliver justice to local communities and may lead to that touches the lives of only the beneficiaries of forest access further depletion of forest. legislation. The key issues here are: the survival of a shared wealth of biological and cultural diversity; a necessary rethinking of the People and Protected Areas link between human beings and the rest of nature in terms of cultural values; and also, an issue of conceptualising the relations Call for Dialogue between the global and the local. These issues are related to other seemingly insidious operations Important areas of concern in recent discourse in social sci- of power, now a part of neoliberal globalisation which in the ences, particularly in anthropology, have included: indigenous words of James Ferguson (1999) "... creates new inequalities institutions and (western) modernisation; indigenous knowledge even as it brings into being new commonalities and lines of and its relations of power with (western) scientific knowledge; communication ... creates new, up-to-date methods not only of the power of representation; dialogue between forms of know- connecting places but of bypassing and ignoring them". Post- ledge and forms of scholarship; and the relations between the colonial India, in its drives to modernisation has effectively

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This content downloaded from 203.199.211.197 on Thu, 07 Jan 2016 09:30:28 UTC All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions promoted the economies of some people at the expense of others. thoserepresenting them in advocacy,i e, the academicfraternity, It has over the years increasingly marginalised "tribes" as car- public intellectuals,local scholars,and the government. rying a low price tag in terms of the social costs of development. One formof dialoguevery importantto conservationpractice Their civil rights and the security of their homelands are dis- is the interactionof indigenousor local knowledgeswith western pensable for any and every objective that might serve "national" science. Roy Ellen (2006) suggests: "...the good news is that goals, typically goals of other peoples and homelands: whether the argumentsin favourof makinguse of indigenousenviron- these imply the isolation of protected areas, mining, building mentalknowledge (IEK) are now being incorporatedinto some dams, or whatever. This is why the hills and valleys of the upper of the best science, and the best developmentalpractice...by Narmada have to bear the costs for the plains of Gujarat.Almost leaving a space for local knowledge to respondto local pro- every history of post-colonial development tells a similar story. blems..."Culturally embedded IK systems shouldbe seen as a The history of forest legislation is very much a case in point. partof culturalheritage. By now we know that what is "indig- There is near consensus in academia on the important role of enous"or "traditional"is not also staticin time, an errorrepeat- local communities and the need for their proactive participation edly pointedout by anthropology.Shepard Krech (2005) says, in forest management. Normative suggestions from the academia "... tradition, a vexed concept, is mutable, open to external largely point to indigenous institutions. Vandana Shiva (1988, influence,and at times invented anew in succeedinggenerations". 1992) and others have advocated indigenous knowledge This also meansthat a vast body of cumulativeoral knowledge, (IK) systems for an alternative approach to policy. B K Roy often updatedby generations,is open to use for human and Burman (1995) supports use of indigenous institutions for ecological welfare.Discussing the interfacebetween scientific managing the forest-community interface and Jeffrey McNeely conservationand local knowledge in the practiceof wildlife (1993) advocates innovative strategies based on indigenous social protectionin India,Saberwal and Rangarajan(2003 a) call for institutions. "seriousefforts to unpackand critically analyse the multiple At the same time we need not be celebratory or romantic in levels and layers of local knowledge". recommending local cultural values or indigenous institutions. Anotherform of dialogue that is called for is in the domain K K Misra (2005) cites the example of the Khamtis of Lohit of scholarlyactivity. Discussing what he calls "globalisationfrom valley, Arunachal Pradesh among whom "the power vested in below" as an emergent form of social organisation,Arjun the chiefs to manage village resources and to redistribute them Appadurai(2001) suggeststhat western academia should rethink has been improperly utilised in the advantage of the powerful the categoryof "research"and envision a dialogic space that few". Similarly, Gadgil and Chandran (1992) point out from accommodatesa greaterplurality of scholarlypractices including examples in the Western Ghats of Kerala and Karnatakathat "the the work of public intellectualsand the civil society. He asks: identification of the wild woodland spirits ... with the gods of "Can we retain the methodologicalrigour of modern social the Hindu pantheon" has encouraged the complete or partial sciencewhile restoringsome of the prestigeand energy of earlier felling of sacred groves by the local communities themselves, visionsof scholarshipin whichmoral and political concerns were in order to build temples. These are instances to show that central"?He furtherpoints out: "Thisvision of global collabo- indigenouscultures may sometimes positively sanction behaviours rativeteaching and learning about globalisation may not resolve harmful to the environment and to equitable resource use. the great antinomiesof power that characterisethe world, but However,contrary examples show us belief systems and lifeways it might help even the playing field". that leave intercultural and dialogic spaces, guard social equity In discussingpossible participatorymodels of protectedarea and protect biodiversity. For example, Marta Vanucci (1992) managementin India,Ashish Kothari (1996) exploresa dialogic reports that in the Sunderbans, the Ganga-Brahmaputra delta process and asks the critical questions:"How much relative mangroves, the sacred sites of 'bano bibi', the forest goddess, control will communitiesand officials have; what customary are veneratedby "Hindus, Muslims, mundas, santals and visitors" rightsand benefitswould be ensured;and what level of conser- alike. Likewise, Vandana Shiva (1992) points out how IK systems vation will local communitieshave to ensure in return"? maintained gender equity while planned modernisation has The currentacademic exploration of differentforms of dia- devalued women's knowledge in agricultural and pastoral com- logue, if carriedthrough in praxis,can createjust opportunities munities in India. In parts of Jharkhandand neighbouring areas, for the local to representits needs in the universeof discourse studied by the first author, sacred spaces are venerated by munda, thatcontains scholarship, science, conservation, and the political santhal, kharia, 'varna' Hindus and . These sacred spaces, and administrativemodels of development. even if with a temple structure, have intact groves rich in bio- In Indiathere is growingparticipation by civil society insti- logical diversity. These local sacred spaces and their associated tutionsin debatesconcerning environment. It is a positive sign belief systems are thus supportive to both biological and cultural for democracy in India, however tentative, that grassroots diversity. movementsin Kerala,Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, It is therefore necessary to interpret the local realities in Nagaland,Manipur and Uttaranchalare becomingincreasingly anthropological terms to evolve the best and most locally com- audible.Also, such collectivitiesas the All-IndiaConference of patible conservation practices that will protect and enhance Adivasi and Indigenous People (AICFAIP), Adivasi Socio- biological and cultural diversity. The key lies in identifying those Educational and Cultural Association (ASECA), or the modes of indigenous discourse that, to use the words of Jeffrey NagaPeoples Movement for Human Rights (NPMHR) are McNeely (1993) "support diversity as a value". mobilisingpeople and ideas, and makingtheir voices heardin What is called for is, in essence, an informed dialogue. To larger-than-localprocesses. Moreover, public intellectualslike protect biological and cultural diversity in India, we propose a GaneshBalachander, Jayanta Bandyopadhyay, Vandana Shiva, largerand more inclusive dialogue at a very basic level, between Medha Patkar and Arund;':ti Roy have contributed to local cultures and communities, their civil society institutions and globalconcern about issues of humanrights and environment.

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This content downloaded from 203.199.211.197 on Thu, 07 Jan 2016 09:30:28 UTC All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions Unfortunatelyhowever, inherentimbalances of power have ensured and Possible'? in Ashish Kothari, Neena Singh and Saloni Suri (eds), Conservation in that there is no real equal platform for dialogue. This is where People and Protected Areas: Towards Participatory academia can and should itself to make a difference. India, Sage, New Delhi. engage Elizabeth 'In Search of a Home: in or Near In this context we call for of mediated Kempf, (1993): People Living processes dialogue by ProtectedAreas' in Indigenous Peoples and ProtectedAreas, Earthscan anthropology, with its tradition of scholarship on the local, its Books, London. high-resolution microlevel methodologies, and its body of knowl- Krech, Shepard (2005): 'Reflections on Conservation, Sustainability,and edge produced in partnershipwith local communities. To effec- Environmentalism in Indigenous North America', American tively contributeto "globalisation from below", anthropology has Anthropologist, 107 (1). to fine-tune its method, innovatively develop its toolkit and give Mahalia, Bawa (2001): 'Appeal to Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh' in another to its research to increase the stakes Voices, AICFAIP, New Delhi. yet thought strategies, P P Trees' in New Delhi. held local in the These will Mahato, (2001): 'Eucalyptus Voices, AICFAIP, by partners knowledge produced. (1993): andProtected Areas: Partners in Prosperity' enable to and mediate forms of discourse McNeely, Jeffrey 'People anthropology generate in Indigenous Peoples and Protected Areas, EarthscanBooks, London. in and through which the local civil society and their networks Misra,K K (2005): 'TraditionalPolitical Institutions and Community Resource of advocacy can betternegotiate local interests with largerpowers, Managementof the Khamtiin ArunachalPradesh' in RanjanaRay (ed), whether the nation-state or capital. BE Adapting to Changing Environment,University of Calcutta, Kolkata. Pffeffer, Georg (1997): 'The Scheduled Tribes of Middle India as a Unit: Problems of Internaland External in Georg Pffeffer and Email: [email protected] Comparison' Dipak K Behera (eds), ContemporarySociety: Tribal Studies, Vol 1, Concept, New Delhi. [We our warmest to EPW's referee for the wonderful express regards sug- Rangarajan,Mahesh (2003): 'The Politics of Ecology: The Debateon Wildlife that have added value to the gestions greatly paper.] andPeople in India, 1970-95' in VasantSaberwal and Mahesh Rangarajan (eds), Battles over Nature: Science and the Politics of Conservation, References PermanentBlack, New Delhi. Roy, BurmanB K (1992): 'Homage to Earth' in Geeti Sen (ed), Indigenous Appadurai, Arjun (2001): 'Grassroots Globalisation and the Research Vision, Sage, New Delhi. Imagination'in Arjun Appadurai(ed), Globalisation, Duke University -(1995): 'TribalDevelopment in WorldSystem Perspective' in AmarKumar Press, Durham. Singh and M K Jabbi (eds), Tribalsin India: Development,Deprivation, Baviskar,Amita (2003): 'States,Communities and Conservation: The Practice Discontent, Har Anand Publications, New Delhi. of Ecodevelopment in the Great Himalayan National Park' in Vasant Roy, BurmanJ J (2003): Sacred Groves among Communities:The Mahadeo Saberwaland MaheshRangarajan (e4), Battles over Nature:Science and Kolis and the Kunbis of the Western Ghats, Mittal, New Delhi. the Politics of Conservation, PermanentBlack, New Delhi. Saberwal, Vasant and Mahesh Rangarajan(2003a): Introduction;in Battles Beteille, Andre(1974): 'Tribeand Peasantry'in Six Essays on Contemporary over Nature:Science and the Politics of Conservation.Permanent Black. Sociology, Oxford University Press, Delhi. New Delhi. Biswas, P K (2006): 'TraditionalKnowledge of Tribals for Conservationof Scudder, Thayer (2005): The Future of Large Dams, Earthscan Books, Forest Resources for SustainableLivelihoods', presentedat seminar on London. The Relevance of Indigenous Knowledge and Wisdom in Contemporary Shiva, Vandana(1988): StayingAlive:Women, Ecology and Survivalin India, Tribal Society, University of Hyderabad,February 27 and 28. Kali for Women, New Delhi. Chatterjee,Partha (1993): TheNation and its Fragments:Colonial and Post- - (1992): 'Women's Indigenous Knowledge' in Geeti Sen (ed), Indigenous Colonial Histories, Princeton University Press, Princeton. Vision, Sage, New Delhi. Choy, Timothy K (2005): 'ArticulatedKnowledges: EnvironmentalForms Suri, Saloni (1996): 'People's Involvementin ProtectedAreas: Experiences after Universality's Demise', American Anthropologist, 107 (1). from Abroadand Lessons for India' in Ashish Kothari,Neena Singh and Ellen, Roy (2006): 'The Relevance of IEK Yesterday,Today andTomorrow', Saloni Suri (eds), People and Protected Areas: Towards Participatory keynote addressat seminaron The Relevance of Indigenous Knowledge Conservation in India, Sage, New Delhi. and Wisdom in ContemporaryTribal Society, University of Hyderabad, February27 and 28. Ferguson.James (1999): Expectations of Modernity:Myths and Meanings For the Attention of Subscribers and of UrbanLife on the ZambianCopperfield, University of CaliforniaPress, Berkeley. Subscription Agencies Outside India Gadgil,Madhav and M D SubashChandran (1992): 'SacredGroves' in Geeti Sen (ed), Indigenous Vision, Sage, New Delhi. It has come to our notice that a large number of Madhav and RamachandraGuha (1992): This Fissured Land: An Gadgil, subscriptions to the EPW from outside the Ecological History of India, Oxford University Press, New Delhi. country Gadgil, Madhavand V D Vartak(1976): 'Sacred Groves of WesternGhats together with the subscription payments sent to in India', Economic Botany, 30 (152). supposed subscription agents in Indiahave not been Geertz,Clifford(1973): The Interpretation of Cultures,Basic Books,New York. forwarded to us. Ramachandra The Woods: Guha, (1999): Unquiet Ecological Change and We wish to out to subscribers and PeasantResistance in the Himalayas,Oxford University Press, New Delhi. point subscrip- Huizer, Gerrit(1999): 'People's Spirit of Resistance in Latin America' in tion agencies outside India that all foreign subscrip- Gerrit Huizer (ed), Food for Thought, ETC/COMPAS. Nijmegen. tions, together withthe appropriateremittances, must Ingold,Tim (2000): ThePerceptions ofthe Environment,Essays in Livelihood, be forwarded to us and not to unauthorised third and London. Dwelling Skill, Routeledge, in India. JharkhandisOrganisation for Human Rights (JOHAR) (2001): 'Manifesto' parties in Voices, AICFAIP, New Delhi. We take no responsibilitywhatsoever in respect of Keesing, Roger M (1990): 'Development Planning, An Anthropologist's subscriptions not registered with us. Perspective' in H M Mathur(ed), Human Dimension of Development, Concept, New Delhi. MANAGER Kothari,Ashish (1996): 'Is Joint Managementof ProtectedAreas Desirable

4210 Economicand Political Weekly September30, 2006

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