Grazing corridors

21st August, 2024 Geography

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.

Pastoral Group	State and Location	Ethnic Identity	Species
BakKarwal	Jammu and Kashmir	-	Mainly goats
Bharwad	Gujarat	Gujarati speaking Hindu group; Motabhai raise sheep and goat, Nanabhai are cattle breeders	Sheep, goats, and cattle
Bhotia	Uttarakhand, upper regions of Garhwal and Kumaon	Mainly Hindu, some Buddhist, speak Pahari	Sheep, goats, and cattle
Bhutia	North district of Sikkim	Buddhist, speaking Tibetan dialects	Sheep, goats, and cattle
Changpa	Jammu and Kashmir, mainly in Zanskar	Buddhist group, speaking Ladakhi	Yak
Charan	Gir forest region of Gujarat	Gujarati speaking Hindu group	Cattle
Dhangar	Maharashtra, Karnataka, and Madhya Pradesh	Hindu group, speaking Marathi	Sheep
Gaddis	Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir	Hindu group, speak Pahari	Sheep and goats
Gaddi Muslim	Bihar, Rajasthan, and Uttar Pradesh	Muslim group, speaking various dialects of Hindi	Cattle, mainly urban dairymen
Gaderia	Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, and Haryana	Hindu group, speaking dialects of Hindi	Sheep and goats
Gavli	Maharashtra, Goa, Karnataka, and Gujarat	Marathi, Konkani Dhangar Hindu sub-group, although some are Muslims	Cattle
Gayri	Southern Rajasthan (Mewar)	An endogamous Gaderia Hindu sub-group, speak Rajasthani	Sheep and cattle
Ghosi	Bihar, Rajasthan, and Uttar Pradesh	Muslim group	Cattle
Golla (Nandiwala)	Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra	Telugu speaking Hindu group	Cattle
Gujjar	Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, and Rajasthan	Muslim group in Jammu and Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh, speaking Gojri. Hindu in Rajasthan, speaking Rajasthani	Buffalo, also cattle generally
Jath	Kutch region of Gujarat	Kutchii speaking Muslim group	Cattle and occasionally camels
Kinnaura	Kinnaur District of Himachal Pradesh	Rajputs or Khasias and Brus, including both Buddhists and Hindu	Sheep and goats
Kuruba	Karnataka	Kannada speaking Hindu group	Sheep
Kuruma	Andhra Pradesh	Telugu speaking Hindu group	Sheep
Mer	Saurashtra region of Gujarat	Hindu group, Gujarati speaking	Camels, also some cattle
Monpa	Tawang and West Kameng districts of Arunachal Pradesh	Buddhist, speaking Tibetan dialects	Yak and cattle
Rath	Western Rajasthan (Ganganagar and Bikaner districts)	Muslim group, speaking dialects of Rajasthani	Cattle, mainly of the Rathi breed
Rebari/Raika	Rajasthan and Gujarat	Dialects of Rajasthani	Camel, cattle, and goats
Sindhi Sipahi/Sindhi Musalman	Marwar and Jaisalmer	Muslim group, speak Rajasthani	Mainly camels, also cattle and sheep
Toda	Nilgiri region of Tamil Nadu, Kerala, and Karnataka	Animist group, speak the Toda language	Cattle
Van Gujar	Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh	Gojri speaking Muslim group	Buffalo