Witch Hunting in Adivasi Society(Special Reference to North Bengal)
Witch hunting in Adivasi Society
(Special Reference to North Bengal) Malay saha, research scholar,department of history North Bengal University
Adivasi is an umbrella term for a heterogeneous set of ethnic and tribal groups believed to be the aboriginal population of India. They comprise a substantial indigenous minority of the population of India. Adivasi societies are particularly present in the Indian states of Orissa, Madhya Pradesh, Chattisgarh, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal (Special reference of North Bengal), Mizoram and other north-eastern states, and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. Many smaller tribal groups are quite sensitive to ecological degradation caused by modernization. Both commercial forestry and intensive agriculture have proved destructive to the forests that had endured Sweden agriculture for many centuries. Adivasi populations suffer disproportionately from India’s modernization. Many depends on India’s forests for their livelihood, and they have suffered from both the destruction of these forests as well as state efforts to preserve the forests which often fail to account for the populations that live within them. They are increasingly becoming migrant laborers, a process which tears at the social fabric of their communities. The condition of the Adivasi populations varies quite considerably from one state to the next. National law gives states considerable power over defining who count as a “Scheduled Tribe” and who does not. As a result, the same group might be considered a scheduled tribe in one state, but not in the neighbouring state. In various parts of India Adivasis were incorporated into local states. In some cases they became the ruling families, in other the untouchable lower castes. Little is known about the relationship between
(Special Reference to North Bengal) Malay saha, research scholar,department of history North Bengal University
Adivasi is an umbrella term for a heterogeneous set of ethnic and tribal groups believed to be the aboriginal population of India. They comprise a substantial indigenous minority of the population of India. Adivasi societies are particularly present in the Indian states of Orissa, Madhya Pradesh, Chattisgarh, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal (Special reference of North Bengal), Mizoram and other north-eastern states, and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. Many smaller tribal groups are quite sensitive to ecological degradation caused by modernization. Both commercial forestry and intensive agriculture have proved destructive to the forests that had endured Sweden agriculture for many centuries. Adivasi populations suffer disproportionately from India’s modernization. Many depends on India’s forests for their livelihood, and they have suffered from both the destruction of these forests as well as state efforts to preserve the forests which often fail to account for the populations that live within them. They are increasingly becoming migrant laborers, a process which tears at the social fabric of their communities. The condition of the Adivasi populations varies quite considerably from one state to the next. National law gives states considerable power over defining who count as a “Scheduled Tribe” and who does not. As a result, the same group might be considered a scheduled tribe in one state, but not in the neighbouring state. In various parts of India Adivasis were incorporated into local states. In some cases they became the ruling families, in other the untouchable lower castes. Little is known about the relationship between