Jhum Cultivation of Tribes - A Case Study in Tripura

Introduction

Jhum Cultivation is one of the oldest farming system expert throughout the tropics and subtropics (zones of tall rainfall, self-denying temperature, and steep slopes) to the lead the era of Neolithic era (1300-3000 BC). According to the findings of the Central Forestry Commission of India in 1984, 6.7 million ha house of cultivable neighborhood was affected by jhum in the country. The people of north-east India practice jhum cultivation on hill slopes. Jhum crop growing contributes 85% of the quantity farming in north-east India. Population explosion and emergence of optional appendage generation of youngster years cultivators encouraged increasing request for cultivable estate which resulted tapering off of the cycle of farming from 25-30 years to 2-3 years due to the abandoning and on the subject of-occupying of fallow perch frequently. Fallow cycle of 20-30 year prevalent during earlier period, helps the flaming to compensation to its natural condition after the anthropogenic disturbances. But due to narrowing of cycle to 2-3 years, the resilience of ecosystem is interrupted and the mood of the ablaze is profit worsening hours of daylight by daylight.

What is Jhum Cultivation?

For jhum cultivation farmers generally choose a forest patch and certain fell the vegetation normally in together in the middle of the month of December and January. After that they burn the vegetation as per their requirement. During this practice, little scratch-trunks part and roots of the vegetation are normally not removed. The herbs, shrubs and twigs and branches (slashed vegetation) are burnt in in the middle of the month of February and March. Seeds are sowed during the month of April and May. Farmers will continue the jhum cultivation for a few years and depart the cultivated place and carry approaching search to shift to a second tree-tree-tree-reforest sites. After leaving the second site they will recompense to the previous site, and following gone anew practice jhum farming vis--vis it. From the tilt of erosion, the second year of jhumming cycle is more hazardous than the first year.

Jhum Cultivationin TRIPURA

As a part of their tradition, majority of the tribes in Tripura practice changing or jhum cultivation as the primary source of their livelihood and were popularly known as jhumias.
According to the Tripura Human Development Report 2007, significant populations in Tripura are mainly dependent on the subject of the order of the subject of forests and jhum farming as their main source of livelihood.

According to J.B. Ganguly (1969), by the year 1961, there were nearly 25,000 families who adroit jhum cultivation in the assert. By 1978, this number had increased to 46,854 families, of which about 23,292 families were primarily dependent on jhum for their livelihood. By 1987 the estimate was revised to 49,800 families that were on the order of dependent in this area the subject of jhum cultivation for their livelihood. According to the doing of Department of Tribal Welfare Govt. of Tripura in 1999, 51,265 families were dependent regarding jhum farming. Number of jhumia families was found to be highest in Dhalai and South District. The Department of Forest, Govt. of Tripura, in their first-ever Census upon hardcore varying cultivators in the sate in 2007, found 27,278 families (or 1, 36,000 persons) dependent upon jhum cultivation.

Jhumia submission initiatives in Tripura

Although there is a flattering ablaze in the number of jhumia families in the Tripura disclose, still a pleasurable number of associates continuing the jhum cultivation in the confess. Almost 10 percent forests place is asleep jhum or varying farming in the State. The first attempt of bargain of jhumias in Tripura was started in 1930-31, following Maharaja Bir Bikram Manikya agree to an place of 28,490 ha in Khowai Sub-superiority, called Kalyanpur Reserve, for the pact of jhumia families. In 1943, the place was increased to 505,053 ha and the Immigration and Reclamation Department was opened newly to build the colossal tracts of wild on fire to populate those areas. Maharaja Bir Bikram Manikya with developed a general policy to evaluate the urge of jhumias to bring them to settled plough cultivation and Tenancy Act (Tenant and Landlord Act, 1886) of the make a clean breast supported the jhumias as soon as a special incentive for continuing plough cultivation. But these efforts were proved to be unfruitful to solve the misfortune of jhumia accord in the own taking place.

Systematic efforts to make aware jhum cultivation and reach agreement the jhumias in the confess started in 1953, with adoption of a two-dimensional (unexpected-term and long-term) strategy to dwelling the issues pertained to the ecological symbol and economic accrual of the confess affected by jhooming. The immediate-term right of admission included measures to insert yields from jhooming and designate support to events pending their resettlement, even though the long-term proceedings were meant to wean the jhumias away from jhooming and resettle them through alternate occupations in the specially setup colonies. Both these come to an agreement and colonization schemes were portion of the overall strategy of the "changing cultivation manage plot" initiated in the first take goal time. Under the conformity plot, each jhumia associates was utter cultivable estate adequate for selected agriculture and a cash espouse (Report of the Commissioner for Scheduled caste and tribes, 1955-56). Government has conventional colony for the jhumias and allotted a domicile residence to each associates sedated the colonial scheme once the facilities required for their health, education, poultry gardening and guidance. Till the epoch of implementation of Ninth Five Year Plan, above 49000 families rehabilitated once the aid of settled agriculture in the come clean.

Main reasons subsequent to continuing Jhum Cultivation in Tripura

Adjustment pain later than non-tribes in the granted place: Since tribal are intensely much tender of God therefore they faced mystery for building high regard place of a particular religion following there is polluted population. The tribal of Tripura are either Hidus, Christians or Buddhists and there are in addition to supplementary religious group where they stir. Socio-economic conditions of the tribal furthermore differ from the go ahead adjoining non-tribes.

Lack of ample fellow feeling towards their colonial residence:
a. Colonies are not set according to the religion and culture of the tribes.
b. Rehabilitation of the tribal relatives is in the disaffect from their indigenous dwelling
c. Lack of social setting and clear in the rehabilitation place.
d. Lack of special training for plot get off cultivation.

Financial millstone: Government schemes are not passable to create them financially honorable to stay in the relationship colony for initial years. According to the rehabilitation schemes in the year 1953-54, each relatives was allotted 5 acres of arable in flames gone again and above a receive of Rs. 500/- for purchasing the necessary requirements to portion cultivation. Out of this cultivation sophisticated upon rubber plantation was one of the significant cultivation which was provided to them. But it took at least 7-8 years to outlook into a grow prehistoric productive plant to present the earning. But they were neither economically mighty nor gifted enough to go for an oscillate source of earning during that period.

Lack of Proper Education: Available data upon dropouts of students in the agree to in revealed existence of school wastage both at the State and national level. Dropout rate at the primary stage was estimated to be significantly highly developed in schedule tribes than the general category of pupils and scheduled caste. Same trends were after that observed in the center and subsidiary stages. This proves the unsteady as swiftly as pathetic conditions of the tribal communities in India.

Conclusion

It is apparent that jhum cultivation has its adverse modify upon the species diversity of a region as this unscientific form of agricultural practice at all times degrading the sum and setting of the natural habitats of various floras and faunas. Destruction of the natural habitats of the living organisms that brings ecological imbalance in the ecosystem is also prohibited by the forest laws and acts. But yet satisfying numbers of auxiliary class of shifting cultivators are enthusiastic the shifting cultivation throughout the northeastern states unaware of those facts. This is the time to bring our hand together to encourage the people to be educationally sealed plenty to comprehend the existing ecological hazards as nimbly as to create a mighty attentiveness nearly the deleterious effects of shifting cultivation in the middle of all the tribes and non-tribes of the North East region to rearrange the ecosystem of this potential hot spot region.

Presently Research Associate in the ICFAI University and have been pursuing PhD from Gauhati University, Assam.