Tharu Tribe of India: Tracing Contours of Livelihood, Employment and Financial Inclusion

Abstract

Tribes, due to their geographical distribution in inhospitable terrains such as forest and mountains, have historically led a life away from the mainstream where the modern development has taken place and have subsequently remained largely restricted to their primitive modes of production and sustenance. While their lives are in better consonance with Nature and have contributed to preservation of natural ecosystem, it has also restricted their access to health, education and employment facilities, as a result of which their voices have lingered on the periphery and it has manifested in the lack of adequate representation at the political level, policy making and decision power. While the modern state, and even before that, the colonial administration has claimed ownership on their natural habitat to extract resources, they have not been benefited proportionately, rather they have been displaced and disinherited in some instances, further pushing them into poverty and backwardness. This paper deals with the traditional livelihoods methods of Tharu Tribe of India, the changes thereto due to the interaction with and interference of the modern state and policies, various government efforts for their economic empowerment and financial inclusion, their impact, emerging scenarios, existing structural barriers, the tribe’s aspirations and the way forward. The paper adopts descriptive, and analytical approach and relies upon the government data, limited participant observation and interaction, books, research papers, and newspaper reports etc.