IAS Gyan

Daily News Analysis

PAHARI KORWAS

12th September, 2024 Geography

Pahari Korwas

Disclaimer: Copyright infringement not intended.

Context:

54 settlements of Pahadi Korwa community, a particularly vulnerable tribal group (PVTG), will be connected through roads in north Chhattisgarh under the Prime Minister JANMAN scheme.

Details

Read about PM JANMAN Scheme: https://www.iasgyan.in/daily-current-affairs/pm-janman

Read about PVTGs: https://www.iasgyan.in/daily-current-affairs/particularly-vulnerable-tribal-groups-pvtgs-6 

Category

Details

Tribal Group

Pahari Korwas are classified as Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Group (PVTG) by the Government of India.

Region

  • They live mainly on the border between Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand.
  • A small number of Korwa are also found in the Mirzapur district of Uttar Pradesh.

Language

  • Mother tongue: Korwa language (also called Ernga or Singli),
  • Korwa people call their language “Bhashi” (local language).
  • Belongs to the Munda branch of the Austroasiatic language family
  • Second languages: Sadri, Chhattisgarhi.

Livelihood

  • Small-scale farming, fishing, hunting, and foraging forest produce
  • The Korwas mainly practice a form of subsistence agriculture called jhoonga kheti. This method of farming involves trimming the forest to support a lentil crop.

Family Structure and Unique ritual

  • Nuclear family structure.
  • When a family member dies in the house, it is abandoned, and the family migrates to build a new home elsewhere.

Justice System

Korwa tribe has its own panchayat; justice is administered to lawbreakers in a group meeting, according to societal conventions.

Religion

  • Significant gods: Sigri Dev, Gauria Dev, Mahadev (Lord Shiva), Parvati.
  • Supreme god of the community: Khudia Rani

Challenges they face in recent times

  • Their remote location hinders their access to government schemes and benefits, and as a result Pahari Korwas perform very low on health and education parameters.
  • Economically as well, a majority of the Pahari Korwa households fall below the poverty line.

Source:

https://voicescount.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/34/2020/10/Pahari_Korwa.pdf

https://www.trijharkhand.in/en/korwa

PRACTICE QUESTION

Q. Consider the following states:

  1. Chhattisgarh
  2. Jharkhand
  3. Uttar Pradesh

Pahari Korwas tribes are found in how many of the above states?

A. Only one

B. Only two

C. All three

D. None

Answer: C

Explanation:

They live mainly on the border between Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand. A small number of Korwa are also found in the Mirzapur district of Uttar Pradesh.