Mohit KAPOOR - Université Paris Nanterre

Mohit KAPOOR

PHYSICAL, SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC ANALYSIS OF THE LANDSCAPE

OF DARKOT AND SHARMOLI

(Uttarakhand, Himalayan India)

Thèse présentée et soutenue publiquement le

en vue de l’obtention du doctorat de

sous la direction de M. Frédéric LANDY (Université Paris Nanterre)

Rapporteur: Mme. Joëlle SMADJA

Rapporteur : M. Pierre DERIOZ

Membre du jury : M. Jean

Membre du jury : Mme. Evelyne GAUCHÉ

Directeur de thèse : M. Frédéric LANDY

Mohit KAPOOR

STORY OF TWO VILLAGES:


OF DARKOT AND SHARMOLI

(Uttarakhand, Himalayan India)

Thèse présentée et soutenue publiquement le 16/05/2018

en vue de l’obtention du doctorat de Géographie humaine, économique et régionale

l’Université Paris Nanterre


Jury :

Mme. Joëlle SMADJA

directrice de recherche au CNRS/CEH

M. Pierre DERIOZ Maître de Conférences HDR à l’Université

d’Avignon/Espace

M. Jean-Louis CHALÉARD Professeur émérite Université de Paris 1

Panthéon-Sorbonne, UMR PRODIG

Mme. Evelyne GAUCHÉ

maître de conférences à l’université

Rabelais de Tours/CITERES

M. Frédéric LANDY

professeur à l’Université de Paris

Nanterre/LAVUE/Institut Français de Pondichéry

1


16/05/2018

Géographie humaine, économique et régionalede


directrice de recherche au CNRS/CEH

Maître de Conférences HDR à l’Université

d’Avignon/Espace-Dev

Professeur émérite Université de Paris 1

Sorbonne, UMR PRODIG

maître de conférences à l’université François

Rabelais de Tours/CITERES

professeur à l’Université de Paris

Nanterre/LAVUE/Institut Français de Pondichéry

2

DECLARATION

I, Mohit Kapoor, hereby declare that this dissertation, entitled “Story of two villages – Physical, economic

and social analysis of the landscape of Darkot and Sharmoli”, is the outcome of my own study undertaken

under the guidance of Prof. Landy, University of Paris, Nanterre (France). This study has not formed the

basis for the award of any degree / diploma of this or any other institute previously. I have duly

acknowledged all the sources used by me in the preparation of this dissertation.

Mohit Kapoor

CERTIFICATE

This is to certify that the dissertation entitled “Story of two villages – Physical, economic and social

analysis of the landscape of Darkot and Sharmoli” is the record of original work done by Mohit Kapoor

under my guidance and supervision. The results of the research presented in this dissertation have not

previously formed the basis for the award of any degree / diploma of this or any other institute.

Prof. F. Landy

3

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

This study has been completed under the guidance of Prof. Frederic Landy. He provided overwhelming

support (monetary and moral) and motivation from the beginning till the completion of this study.

Without his guidance, this dissertation would not have been completed. I have always been a slow learner

but he always took time to listen to my concerns and answer my queries, and I can only hope that I have

been able to stand up to his expectations. He is the best mentor and guide that one can have to learn and

understand geography while recognizing to maintain the ‘space’ between academic knowledge and actual

reality to descry the truthness of the society and culture of a particular place.

I am thankful to so many people in my life who helped me during my doctoral work in numerous ways

but as the list may go on and fill infinite number of pages, here I would like to thank a few important

ones. I appreciate the efforts of Late Dr. R.S. Tolia, Late Dr. S.S. Pangti, Mr. Gokaran S. Pangti, Mr.

Laxman Pangti and Ms. Mallika Virdi in Munsiyari along with Dr. Raghubir Chand in Nainital, to supply

academic and general information about the Johar valley and Bhotias and to provide their valuable time

for hours of discussion. I am indebted to my village guides Mrs. Geeta Pangti and Mrs. Beena Nitwal who

were the real heroes behind the data collection as they spent their valuable time from their daily routine to

travel with me in the whole village and introduced me to the inhabitants of the villages. My gratitude to

Mr. Birendera Brijwal (Beeru Da) who allowed me to stay in his hotel for months in Munsiyari at the

cheapest rate possible and supported my travel by providing his vehicle (almost free of cost), and special

thanks to his wife who cooked food for me every night. They treated me as a family member rather than a

guest.

I would like to thank my mother whose support (in the last three years) has made it possible to complete

my Ph.D. and to my ‘God’ whose virtual presence made my life easy and better at every difficult step. I

am obliged to my uncle, Prof. V.K. Khanna, who gave his valuable time to review, check and correct my

grammar and language in the thesis.

Lastly, my special acknowledgment to Prof. Abdul Shaban (Deputy Director, TISS) for being a mentor

and guide in my life for the last eight years.

MOHIT KAPOOR

4

TABLE OF CONTENTS

CHAPTER No. SECTION / SUB-SECTION No.

NAME OF THE CHAPTER / SECTION

PAGE No.

1

INTRODUCTION

8 - 23

1.1 Area of Research 9

1.2 Aim and hypothesis of the

study

10

1.3 Objectives of the study 11

1.4 Research approach and

methodology

11

1.5 Brief Introduction about the

state of Uttarakhand,

division of Kumaon, and the

district Pitthoragarh

14

1.6 Organisation of the chapters 23

2

THE CORE - MUNSIYARI

24 - 54

3

TIMELINE AND

ECONOMIC HISTORY OF

THE RESEARCH AREA –

ANALYSIS OF CASTE

AND CLASS

55 - 84

3.1 Time line History of Johar

valley

56

3.2 Economic History of Johar

valley

64

3.2.1 Economy of Johar region till

the 1960s

65

3.2.2 The difficult decades of the

1960s-1970s

72

3.2.3 Successful economic

diversification after the

1980s

79

4

CHANGING

LANDSCAPES AND

CULTURE

85 - 128

5

4.1 Landscape of the villages of

Darkot and Sharmoli

87

4.1.1 Nomenclature 87

4.1.2 Area and population 88

4.1.3 Landscape of Darkot and

Sharmoli

92

4.1.4 Conclusion 127

5

COMPONENTS OF

LANDSCAPE AND THEIR

RELATION WITH

CULTURE

129 - 185

5.1 Analysis of private space –

House pattern in Darkot and

Sharmoli

129

5.1.1 Basic elements of an old–

design house and their

nomenclature

133

5.1.2 Description of size and use of

rooms of old-design house

134

5.1.3 History of construction and

material used in old-design

houses

135

5.1.4 Contemporary situation of

house (structure and

features) among old and

modern-design in Darkot

and Sharmoli

138

5.1.5 Conclusion 155

5.2 Analysis of public spaces –

temples and community

ground

159

6

LAND, AGRICULTURE

AND ANIMAL

HUSBANDRY –

CHANGING VALUES AND

186 - 225

6

USES

6.1 A Brief history of land

and agriculture in the

Bhotia

187

6.1.1 Land 187

6.1.2 Agriculture 188

6.2 Contemporary caste-based

statistics of land in Darkot

and Sharmoli

189

6.2.1 Land among Bhotias 192

6.2.2 Land among scheduled

castes

195

6.2.3 Land among Thakurs 197

6.3 Analysis of land use and

agriculture of the two

villages

199

6.3.1 Land use in Darkot by

various castes

200

6.3.2 Land use in Sharmoli by

various castes

203

6.4 Animal Husbandry in

contemporary times

219

7

ECONOMY OF TWO

VILLAGES – LOW

INCOME AND

UNSKILLED WORKERS

226 - 285

7.1 Economy of Darkot and

Sharmoli – Based on per-

capita

226

7.1.1 Trends in the occupational

structure

227

7.1.2 Statistical interpretation

of the occupational

231

7

structure of Darkot and

Sharmoli

7.2 Economy at the level of

family

277

8

SOCIETY, ECONOMY

AND CULTURE –

ANALYSIS OF HOME

STAYS, HANDICRAFTS

AND UNDERSTANDING

OUT-MIGRATION

286 - 323

8.1 Home stays and the situation

of women – A boon to an

oppressed class

286

8.2 Handicrafts – Carrying on

the tradition with low

income

304

8.3 Out-migration in Darkot

and Sharmoli

315

9 CONCLUSION 324 - 338

BIBLIOGRAPHY 349 - 340

GLOSSARY 341 - 343

8

CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION

Developing countries of Asia especially south Asia have a distinct characteristic of rurality, i.e. almost

70% of the population lives in rural area. Rurality also marks a social construct, reflecting a world of

social, moral and cultural values [Matless et al, 1994]. In India and everywhere else in the world, there is

a sharp contrast in the physical and human characteristics of rural and urban spaces. There are differences

with regard to land use, patterns of spatial organization, type of working class, occupations and market

conditions, environment, kind of technology, infrastructure, administration, and institutions etc. Besides

that, there is a huge difference between the life of a ‘country man’ and a ‘town man’, i.e. differences in

the culture of two spaces which is marked by factors such as religion, beliefs, social customs, caste,

identities, and many more. In the general Indian opinion, the culture of the town or city man is usually

believed to be more modern and liberal, i.e. less governed by religious beliefs and social customs, and to

have a more materialistic and scientific outlook. On the other hand, a village person in India is supposed

to be orthodox, more rigid in his religious beliefs and caste-based identities.

‘Story of two villages – physical, economic and social analysis of the landscape of Darkot and Sharmoli’

is the title of my thesis, in which I have tried to encompass the elements of the theories of ‘location

analysis’ and ‘diffusion of innovation’, which are widely used in the geography, especially economic

geography. The research is carried out in the Central Himalayan region of India. Two villages, i.e. Darkot

and Sharmoli are chosen which are situated in the Munsiyari Tehsil1 of Pitthoragarh district2 of

Uttarakhand state. The very first question that arises in the mind of a reader is what is location analysis

and diffusion of innovation process? The main idea behind the location theories is to explain the

importance of distance. The distance from a certain core centre, i.e. market, administrative centre etc., is

used to interpret the location of various kinds of activities such as agriculture, industry, housing etc. based

on different types of factors which include use of land, rent and cost analysis, production, supply, labour,

transport, technology and many more. Thus, distance (from the core) also plays an important role in

determining the existence of territory of a village, town, or city and helps us in understanding the process

of urbanization and market. In my thesis, I have investigated the importance of the distance and elevation

factor (from a rural core) in explaining the economic, social and cultural life of the two chosen villages.

On the other hand, diffusion of innovation process is based on an idea that most distant areas (away from

1 Administrative area (formed by conglomeration of villages)

2 Administrative area formed by conglomeration of Tehsils, sub-divisions.

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the core) innovate last and least, i.e. areas which are near to core are more developed and modern in terms

of economy, society and culture. In my thesis, I have tried to inspect whether a village which is situated

far away from the core is ‘less developed and less modernized’ than the nearest one or not.

The distance and height are one of the important factors for the exclusion of the developmental process.

The farther the area is from city center or if the area is located at a high altitude, there is less probability

that technological innovation and other modern amenities will reach the area. The situation is further

worsened by the presence of physical barriers such as high mountains and cold climate. As both of my

chosen villages are situated in the high Himalayas and are near the border, i.e. at the periphery, it is

interesting to note how the cultural elements of the inhabitants of the peripheral mountain villages change

with the time and with upcoming of modern services and economy, and vice versa, i.e. how modern

amenities impact the culture of the village people.

1.1 Area of research -

The two mountain villages, i.e. Darkot and Sharmoli, situated in the valley of Johar in Pitthoragarh

district of Kumaon division of Uttarakhand state have been chosen and are analysed physically, socially

and economically with reference to the “core”, the small town of Munsiyari. Sharmoli shares its boundary

with the core while Darkot is situated at a distance of 7 Km from Munsiyari and it takes almost 30

minutes to reach by car (from Munsiyari to Darkot) while driving through under–constructed road. Yet,

the altitude of Sharmoli (2,250m) is higher in comparison to the Darkot village (1,800m). Both the

villages (and in fact, the whole Johar valley) are inhabited by the tribal group known as Bhotias

(scheduled tribe), followed by other caste people which include scheduled castes, general caste (Thakur /

Rajput / warrior caste) and Brahmins (priest caste). Bhotias used to practice Tibetan trade along with

transhumance before and after the independence of India till the 1960s while the scheduled castes were

their immediate servants and Thakurs act as a kashtkars, i.e. tillers to the land of Bhotias. After the Indo-

China war of 1962, the trade stopped and there has been a substantial change in the life, economy,

society, and politics of the dominant and subordinate castes. The details about the core and research areas

along with their inhabitants will be explained in the first initial chapter of the thesis, but let me first

explain the reason for choosing these villages as an area of research. India is the land of villages.

There are more than 6, 40, 000 villages in India and 69% of the total 1.2 billion people live in the rural

area [Census of India, 2011]. These statistics were enough to validate the point once made by M.K.

Gandhi that ‘real India lives in the villages’. As I belong to the neighbouring mountainous state of

Himachal Pradesh (India) where 89.9% of the population lives in villages [Census of India, 2011] and

10

which is the least urbanized state of the country, my fascination towards understanding village and its

habitants (esp. hilly landscapes) is clearly decipherable. This is the very first reason for me choosing the

rural space as an area of research which leads me to the state of Uttrakhand where a project (named as

AQAPA) related to the environment, ecology, landscape, agriculture, tourism etc. had already been

undertaken by my guide and other French researchers. The other point is that village studies in India are

generally equated with the subjects of sociology and anthropology and little with geography. By means of

my thesis, I have tried to invoke the concept of Rurality and try to cover society, economy, environment,

and culture in the countryside in case of developing societies. Numerous distinctive scholars from

various academic fields across the whole world have carried out social investigation and provided a bulk

of information about the research area chosen by me, and their focus is on the whole Johar valley and

mostly about the dominant group i.e. Bhotias who inhabit the place. On the other hand, I have tried to

delimit my research area to the two villages and attempt to focus on all the social groups from Bhotias to

scheduled castes. Moreover, my focus will be on the village studies from the geographic point of view,

besides concentrating on the lifestyle of particular dominant social caste.

1.2 Aim and Hypothesis of the study -

The main aim of the thesis is to understand the relation between physical space, economy and society of

two villages (Darkot and Sharmoli) with reference to the core (Munsiyari) and to assess the impact of

culture3 over the space-society and vice versa.

The hypothesis of the study is – ‘The village Sharmoli, which is near to the core Munsiyari, is more

progressive and modern4 (less traditional) in terms of physical, economic and social space than the

Darkot, which is situated far away from the core’.

3 The sum of all learned behavior of people reflected in the way of life. Culture is a set of traits (norms and values,

technologies, apparel, diet, language, beliefs) and their means of transmission [Modern Dictionary of Geography,

2003]. 4 Modernisation in our context is synonymous with Development which is related to better quality of human life (economically, socially) and availability and accessibility of modern means such as technology, communications etc. along with change in orthodox beliefs (regard to religion, caste system) of the societies. Modernization is defined as transformation from a traditional, rural, agrarian society to a secular, industrial, urban society (https://www.britannica.com/topic/modernization). Modernization theory tries to explain the reason why some societies failed to develop and what cultural and economic conditions act as a barrier to the progress. Culture barriers seem to be internal to the society (beliefs,

religion, simple division of labour etc.) while economic barrier includes lack of infrastructure, capital, technology and political instability, etc. Rostow describes various stages in development such as pre and post take-off stages, drive to maturity and finally, age of mass consumption characterized by levels of investments in science, education,

11

1.3 Objectives of the study -

1. To understand the past economic and social structure of the society of the two villages and

compare it with that in contemporary times to find out the reason for the change.

2. To understand the process of emergence of the core and its impact on the two villages.

3. To understand the physical space of the two villages and try to depict the components that build

the landscape of the two villages along with the (cultural) factors that are responsible for it.

4. To understand the role, uses and utilization of land and agriculture in the life of the inhabitants

along with changing housing patterns in both the villages.

5. To analyse the current situation of various castes and class groups in the villages in terms of the

level of education, income and other occupational details, migration etc.

6. To understand the role of home-stays and handicrafts in the present economy and in the life of

women.

7. To understand the changing beliefs, values and practices of various caste groups in the villages.

8. Overall, to understand the contemporary society of the villages by analyzing the social, economic,

and physical patterns of the village and to access the level of development with regard to distance

from the core.

1.4 Research Approach and Methodology -

I have never considered myself as a geographer because of my little understanding of Physical geography

and especially because of lack of any degree courses in the concerned subject. I had a Bachelor’s degree

in engineering which has nothing to do with the social and human sciences. But, after joining the Tata

Institute of Social Sciences (TISS), Mumbai, in 2011 as a Master’s degree student in Development

Studies, I have developed a fair understanding of various social science subjects such as sociology,

economy, environment etc. I spent my two years of Master’s degree in learning various courses offered in

geography, particularly human geography such as urbanization, the political economy of space,

sustainable development and climate change, rural development etc. I also did my research work on

climate change which further helps me to understand the physical and human geography in a wider

perspective. Thus, though I am quite new to the subject with very little experience, last three years of my

Ph.D. project provide me dexterity to understand the subject and I have tried my best to become a ‘human

geographer’.

population control, etc. that led to the emergence of economic growth and production at western levels. Urbanization is one of the important elements of the process of modernization and development. [Siddhartha, 2003].

12

The field research has been carried out over the span of three years, i.e. 2015 – 2017 and three-four

months per year have generally been spent on field visits. I visited Munsiyari in February–June (mid)

2015, March–June 2016 and in November 2017. Thus, there have been alomost ten months of field

survey followed by a couple of 10–15 days short visits in between to correlate my collected data and

analyzed information. My first visit to Munsiyari (i.e. Feb–June, 2015) helped me to understand the

villages and people by means of informal discussions with the locals and hours of academic discourse

with the scholars like Late Dr. R.S. Tolia, Late Dr. S.S. Pangti, and Ms. Mallika Virdi. I also spend some

time in Nainital, the headquarter of Kumaon division (almost three weeks), and meet people from

Kumaon University and other fields of life such as NGO’s, environment, tourism, art, media etc. that

boost my further knowledge. My next visits were meant for collecting thesis-related data and I deal with

the villagers by means of questionnaire and group discussions. I usually spend 40–45 minutes per

household and sometimes less as the respondent gets frustrated and bored by my compulsion of putting

one question after the other (my questionnaire contains more than 50 questions).

The field study has been conducted by means of questionnaire and interviews at the individual and family

level within each village. I took the service of a local village woman, Ms. Beena Nitwal in Sharmoli and

Ms. Geeta Pangti in Darkot, both belonging to the Bhotia community, as a village guide who helps me to

establish my identity as a ‘researcher’ and testify my genuine desire of acquiring information for

academic purposes only. She had a job of introducing me to the villagers and I would take care of the rest

of the meeting time by making myself familiar to the respondents and asking them questions. The

knowledge of Hindi language and belonging to the ‘Pahari’ (mountain) community (because of my

association with Himachal Pradesh) make my work somewhat easy. The reasons behind choosing a

Bhotia woman as a village guide is that, as both the villages are dominated by Bhotias and women in

general know and talk with each and every household because of the close-knit village community, it

helps me to make my work little cinch. The Bhotia women, by virtue of her high caste, can enter anyone’s

house and can talk to everyone which might not be possible with the scheduled (lower) caste women. I

tried my best in order to keep myself neutral (without caste bias) during interviews by not allowing my

female village guide to interfere during questionnaire and interviews with the respondents, and on the

other hand, my village guide did her best not to come in between me and respondents during the time of

interview by making herself sit at a certain distance from the conversation and try to show herself busy by

engaging in knitting work. But I am sure; my affiliation with Bhotia women whom I think will be

depicted as a ‘guide of a village to a foreigner5 (me / outsider of the village) for collecting the village

5 Foreigner, here, referred to anyone who is from outside the village.

13

information’ might have created some bias in the mind of other caste people (who were once subordinated

to Bhotias) and thus may create a further bias in the information provided by them.

Around 173 families6 (Darkot: 39 Bhotias, 12 scheduled castes and 11 General castes families; Sharmoli:

69 Bhotias, 8 scheduled castes, 30 General castes and 4 Brahmin families) were interviewed over the span

of 3 years and raw data and information which has been collected from the respondents and written in a

notebook is analyzed and given meaningful shape by means of Microsoft Excel and few other research-

related softwares. The secondary data related to the villages has been collected from the local

administrative offices such as Tehsil, Block etc. (which to my surprise are little generous in giving away

data) and by means of websites, magazines and from various other print and media sources. My survey

contains a proportional representation of families of all castes based on their numbers in the village

(population data is provided in the upcoming chapters).

** As per records of the 2011 census, there are 97 households in Darkot and 260 in Sharmoli. (1971

census definition defines household as a group of persons who commonly live together and would take

their meals from a common kitchen unless the exigencies of work prevented any of them from doing so).

Note: many members of same family received separate ration cards7 (by showing separate kitchens of

parents, children) even though they are living at the same place and eating together, in order to avail of

several benefits. In my survey, I took family as a unit of measurement instead of household. A family

may have any number of dependent and independent members that are living together in a single house

surveyed (Thus, two –three household in the census data may come under one family in my survey).

Though I tried my best to cover each and every family in both the villages yet my survey is limited to 62

families in Darkot and 111 in Sharmoli.

There have been few hurdles in collecting data as well. The first is the financial one. As I did not receive

any financial assistance from the University and have not pursuing any job in the last two years and the

process of collecting data, staying and travelling requires a good amount of financial spending, I still tried

my best not to compromise on the quality and time required to be spent on the research. My guide tried to

help me a lot by various means such as by paying my annual fees, providing monetary assistance for data

collection from time to time from his own pocket and my mother made sure to take care of rest of thing

by spending more than half of her salary on my survival. The second hurdle is that I have to stay away

from the guide and the university. As I can only talk and meet my guide on ‘Skype’ and could not afford

6 The details about the each caste (Bhotias, scheduled castes, general castes) will be provided in details in the third chapter. The Bhotias and Thakur represent high-caste Hindus while scheduled castes were the lower castes. 7 Official document entitling the holder to a subsidized ration of food, fuel or other goods issued by Government of India on the basis of whether the family belongs to below and above poverty line (those who earn less than $1.90 per day)

14

to travel to the University every year, I think, I have missed the ‘sense of belonging’ to a student and

discussion group which is a common phenomenon if one stays in the university campus. I tried to

overcome this hurdle by visiting TISS, Mumbai, and meeting professors, doctoral students and my

previous guide (in Master’s degree) who were always ready to share their experience and knowledge.

1.5 Brief Introduction about the state of Uttarakhand, division of Kumaon, and the district

Pitthoragarh -

Before going ahead into the main chapters, let us have a brief introduction to the state of Uttarakhand,

Kumaon division and district of Pithhoragarh where our research villages are located. As shown in Picture

1.1: Map of India, Uttarakhand is situated in the Northern part of India at Latitude 28°43' N to 31°27' N

and Longitude 77°34' E to 81°02' E respectively [Govt. of U.K., 2013]. The state shares its border with the

state of Himachal Pradesh in the west, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh in the south, Nepal in the east while

Tibet (China) is in the north and north–east. It is known as the Dev-Bhoomi, i.e. abode of gods, because of

the presence of many important places Hindu pilgrimages such as Badrinath, Kedarnath etc. along with

the source of origin of the Ganges River. The Uttarakhand became a separate state in the year 2000 as it

has been carved out from the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh after a long demand of a separate hill state.

Earlier it was known as Uttaranchal but in 2007, the name was changed to Uttarakhand which means

‘northern country’.

Physiographically, Uttarakhand consists of high, middle and lesser Himalayas (i.e. central Himalayan

ranges) as well as the Gangetic plains along with many rivers and passes. There are many important

mountain ranges in Uttarakhand such as Nanda Devi (7, 816m), Satopanth (7, 075m), Panchachuli (6,

905m), etc. along with rivers such as the Ganga, the Yamuna, the Alaknanda, the Kali, the Gori etc. The

climate of Uttarakhand is warm during summer (April–June) while monsoon begins in the month of July

and stays till mid–September. The winter begins by October and offset by the March-end in high altitude

regions. The climate of areas situated in plains (Dehradun, Haridwar, Haldwani etc.) is classified as Hot -

Summer Mediterranean (Csa), while mountain areas such as Pitthoragarh, Karnaprayag etc. have Humid

sub-tropical climate (Cfa) as per Koppean classification (https://en.climate-data.org/region/763/). The

temperature may reach as high as 40° C in plains of Dehradun in summer while lowest temperature may

fall well beyond -10° C in the glacier regions in winter. The average annual rainfall in the state is around

1, 600mm [Govt. of U.K., 2013].

15

The Uttarakhand is divided into two administrative divisions – Garhwal (Western part of Uttarakhand)

and Kumaon (Eastern part). My research area, i.e. Munsiyari area (Pitthoragarh district) is situated in the

Kumaon division in the north–eastern part of Uttarakhand. Kumaon is one of the five geographical zones

of Himalayas and the name ‘Kumaon’ is derived from Kurmanchal which means land of Kurmavatar (the

tortoise incarnation of Lord Vishnu). At present, there are five districts in Kumaon which includes

Almora, Nainital, Bageshwar, Champavat, Uddham Singh Nagar and Pitthoragarh. The administrative

headquarter of Kumaon division is in Nainital, which is one of the important Himalayan tourist

destinations in India. The geographical area of Kumaon is 21, 034 sq. km. Pitthoragarh is the largest

district of Kumaon with an area of about 7, 000 sq. Km. while Champavat is the smallest one (1, 766 sq.

Km). There are 7, 259 villages in the Kumaon region in which 282 are un-inhabited while there are 166

forest villages of which 80 are un-inhabited. There are 9 census towns in Kumaon, 48 tehsils, 41

development blocks and 3, 483 gram sabhas. [Govt. of Kumaon, 2018]

Photo 1.1: Location of Utt

*Source: Obtained from the Google India photos

: Location of Uttarakhand state in the map of India


N

16


Kumaon is a hilly region which rises up to the height of above 7, 000m (except for Tarai

Doon belts). Kumaon is divided into four geographical parallel zones: Tarai

Himalaya, Greater Himalaya, and finally, Trans / Tethys Himalaya. A geographical faul

(Main Boundary Thrust), passes along the outer regions of the Shivalik and Lesser Himalaya, while MCT

(Main Central Thrust) passes in between the Greater and Tethys Himalaya (Photo 1.3). They are the most

fragile and sensitive areas and sep

[Shekhar and Anup, 1993]. The extreme south of Kumaon

wide which lies adjacent to northern Gangetic plains. Next to this is the Bhabhar belt w

broad. A little higher than the Bhabhar is the adjoining Doon region. The regions have settlements like

Rudrapur, Tanakpur, Haldwani, Pantnagar, Ramnagar etc., i.e. the towns situated in the plain region of

Kumaon. This part of Kumaon is hi

generally mark the end of the boundary

comparatively lower Shivalik mountains and have few settlements [

Photo 1.2: Map of Uttarakhand


rises up to the height of above 7, 000m (except for Tarai

Doon belts). Kumaon is divided into four geographical parallel zones: Tarai–Bhabhar

Himalaya, Greater Himalaya, and finally, Trans / Tethys Himalaya. A geographical faul



fragile and sensitive areas and separate two plates of earth’s surface – the Indian and Tibetan plate

]. The extreme south of Kumaon has the thickly forested Tarai belt, 10

wide which lies adjacent to northern Gangetic plains. Next to this is the Bhabhar belt w



Kumaon. This part of Kumaon is highly populated, industrialized and good for agriculture. These towns

boundary of railway access. After the Tarai–Bhabhar belt

comparatively lower Shivalik mountains and have few settlements [Shekhar and Anup, 1993

17

rises up to the height of above 7, 000m (except for Tarai–Bhabhar and

Bhabhar–Shivalik, Lesser

Himalaya, Greater Himalaya, and finally, Trans / Tethys Himalaya. A geographical fault zone i.e. MBT



the Indian and Tibetan plate

the thickly forested Tarai belt, 10–25 km.

wide which lies adjacent to northern Gangetic plains. Next to this is the Bhabhar belt which is 8–25 km



ghly populated, industrialized and good for agriculture. These towns

Bhabhar belt is the

Shekhar and Anup, 1993].

Photo 1.3: Himalayan Litho

*Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Himalayan_Litho

Photo 1.3: Himalayan Litho-tectonic zone

*Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Himalayan_Litho-tectonic_Zone.png

18

tectonic_Zone.png

Photo

*Source: Snapshot taken from [Shekhar and Anup, 1993

nature of book and it is difficult to scan)

Photo 1.4: Physiography of Kumaon

Shekhar and Anup, 1993]. (The photo is slightly tilted because of the hardcover

nature of book and it is difficult to scan)

19

ause of the hardcover

20

The lesser Himalaya is the most populated and is watered by rivers such as Kosi, Ramganga, Gomti etc.

and their banks are highly fertile. Major settlements include Pitthoragarh, Bageshwar, Gangolighat,

Almora, Nainital etc. The Greater Himalaya zone is one in which major portion is under permanent snow

cover. Most of the snow-fed rivers originates from this region of the glaciers such as Pindari, Milam,

Panchachuli etc and have mountain peaks like Nanda Devi, Nanda Kot, Panchaculi etc. On the one side

are rivers like the Kail, the Pindar, the Kafni, the Ramganga etc. while on other side are those like the

Gori and its tributaries. The last zone i.e. Trans Himalaya region has Malla Johar, Darma and Byans

valleys. This dry and arid region used to be inhabited by Shaukas (Bhotias). The villages situated in these

valleys are mostly deserted and ruined and are mainly inhabited by security personnel. It includes passes

like Lipulekh, Kungribingri, Belcha etc. These passes and the mountains connected to them form the

dividing line between the watersheds of the Ganga and the Karnali/ Sutlej. The Bugyals (alpine meadows)

are found in the region of convergence of Lesser and Greater Himalaya [Shekhar and Anup, 1993]. The

Kumaon has winter season from November to March, spring season from mid–March to April, the

summer season in May–June while monsoon season starts in July and is offset in September. Autumn

begins in late September and continues till early November. 70% of the rainfall occurs in monsoon season

while average annual rainfall varies from 90 cm to 250 cm. Lesser Himalaya receives snowfall in winter

while higher reaches get snow throughout the year. The average maximum temperature of the division is

around 32 degree Celsius while the average minimum is below 0 degree Celsius. [Shekhar and Anup,

1993]

Photo 1.5: Temperature and rainfall data of Munsiyari region (Precipitation data: 2009

*Source: Diagnostic agraire d'une petite région agricole de la vallée de Johar, Himalaya indien (Uttarakhand)

(Obtained from the thesis submitted by Ms. Marion LeBihan in University of Agro Paris Tech in 2015)

Photo 1.5: Temperature and rainfall data of Munsiyari region (Precipitation data: 2009

(Temperature data: 2000-2012)



21

Photo 1.5: Temperature and rainfall data of Munsiyari region (Precipitation data: 2009-2014)



22

Lastly, let us look at some of the basic statistics about the Kumaon and Pitthoragarh which are mentioned

in Table 1.1 below.

Table 1.1: Basic statistical indicators comparing Kumaon division with the Pitthoragarh district

INDICATORS KUMAON DIVISION DISTRICT PITHHORAGARH

Total area in sq. km. 21034 7090

Number Of Inhabited / Un-

inhabited villages 2015 -16

6866 / 280 1542 / 66

Total Population 2011 42, 28, 998 4, 83, 439

No. Of Males 2011 21, 38, 287 2, 39, 306

No. Of Females 2011 20, 90, 711 2, 44, 133

Sex Ratio 2011 978 1020

Percentage of Rural Population in

total population in %

70 83

Percentage of Scheduled caste /

Scheduled tribe population (in %)

19 / 3.5 24 / 4

Population density 200 68

Literacy rate (Total / male /

female) in %

78 / 87 / 70 92.75 / 72.29 / 82.25

Decadal growth rate in % (2001 –

11)

18 4.6

Avg. Number Of family members

in rural / urban area

5 / 5 4 / 4

Cultivable land in hectares (2014

-15)

343 40.30

Main crops Cereal, sugarcane, potato Cereal, Potato

Production of cereals / potato in

metric tonnes (2014 – 15)

1055 / 46.60 83.20 / 13.48

Percentage of agriculturalists and

agricultural labour in working

population (in %)

40 + 11 60+1.5

Average size of all holdings in

hectares

0.88 0.5

Percentage of small and marginal

holdings (in %)

90 98

Average Rainfall in mm (2015) 1283.60 1298.93

Nationalised / other (cooperative/

RRB) bank branches (2015 -16)

524 / 429 51 / 54

*Statistical handbook of Kumaon. One can look for complete statistical data about population, health,

education, power, agriculture etc. at - (http://kumaon.gov.in/pages/display/107-statistical-handbook-)

23

1.6 Organisation of the Chapters -

The chapters of my thesis are based on various themes defined by the analysis of physical, economic and

social spaces of the villages. The hypothesis is tested in the analysis of each chapter/theme and the

opinion about its ‘degree of truth’, i.e. whether the hypothesis is correct or not, is provided towards the

end of each chapter. The general conclusion is given in the last chapter of the thesis (Chapter 9), while a

brief idea about each chapter is provided below -

Chapter 2 deals with the introduction about the core Munsiyari and the process of its emergence.

Chapter 3 deals with the general time-line and economic history of the research area along with

introduction to the inhabitants and their caste-based society.

Chapter 4 provides a general analysis of the landscape of Darkot and Sharmoli along with its socio-

cultural analysis.

Chapter 5 deals with the public and private components of the landscape and analyses the changing

housing pattern of both the villages.

Chapter 6 deals with changing role and use of land as well as decreasing significance of primary activities

such as agriculture and animal husbandry.

Chapter 7 deals with the economy of Darkot and Sharmoli at the levels of per-capita (individual) and

family, while explaining the important indicators related to the type of occupations, income, working

population, its age and educational qualifications etc.

Chapter 8 deals with the analysis of society, economy and culture with regard to home stays, handicrafts

and throws light on the situation of women and migration in the researched villages.

24

CHAPTER 2

THE CORE - MUNSIYARI

This chapter of the thesis deals with the basic understanding of the chosen core area, which is the focal

point of the study and around which our hypothesis will be tested. The ‘Munsiyari’8 village is considered

as a core while the two other villages, i.e. Sharmoli and Darkot, are analysed with reference to this central

area and are examined physically, economically and socially in subsequent chapters. A brief idea about

Munsiyari and its location has already provided in the Introduction chapter of the thesis, and here, we will

focus on the process of emergence of the core. Munsiyari is located at height of around 2,250 m above

means sea level (amsl) and is situated at a distance of about 130 km. from the district headquarter of

Pitthoragarh, 300 km. from the main town centres such as Nainital (Headquarter of Kumaon division),

Haldwani and more than 600 km. from the state capital Dehradun and national capital New Delhi. Thus, it

is not inappropriate to say that our core area is itself situated at a periphery which is closer to the military

occupied international border (with China) than the nearby main town centres. The village Sharmoli is

located at the same height as Munsiyari i.e. 2,150-2,250 m amsl, and is situated adjacent to the core, i.e.

same boundary line separates the core from the village Sharmoli. On the other hand, Darkot is located at a

lower height, i.e. around 1,740–1,800 m amsl, at a distance of 7 km. from the core and it takes almost 30

minutes to reach by car through an under-construction motor able road.

Before going further, one must know that the core, Munsiyari, is not a city centre where high rise

buildings are situated or a big market area where billions of transactions and trade take place. It is neither

an industrial area nor an agricultural hub. It is also not a capital of any state from where whole

administration can be run. Munsiyari is a community development block9 and a Sub–division10 / Tehsil11

of Pitthoragarh district and is administered by a sub–divisional officer and a Tehsildar (junior level

administrative officer) as the top administrative officer. We can consider Munsiyari as akin to ‘CBD12’

where different types of services (market, business, public and consumer) are available. Munsiyari serves

the nearby villages whose range extends till the border of Tibet (China). The sphere of Munsiyari core

extends at least up to 70 km. in all directions, esp. towards north (Malla Johar) as motor able road ceases

8 In state records, Munsiyari is not a name of any village but is a combination of villages i.e. Tehsil. We will find in the latter half of the chapter that Munsiyari is an area whose boundaries are defined by local perception where different services are available. 9 combination of villages (usually, a centre from where various developmental works of the block take place) 10 Group of Tehsils 11 Group of revenue villages 12 Central Business District – The part of city where various types of services are easily attracted because of its accessibility. It is also the focal point of the region’s transportation network.

25

to exist and inhabitants and army personnel have to depend on Munsiyari for all their needs. But for the

high end services and goods (quality college education, high–end medical facilities, luxury goods e.g.

cars, etc.), people have to make their way to a nearby town centre such as Haldwani, Almora or to far

places like Delhi etc. One can also mark Munsiyari as an upward transitional area (in the view of

Friedmann’s Core–Periphery model) as it is the closest area (in Munsiyari block) to the nearby (so called)

urban nucleus of district headquarter and major towns / cities.

Before understanding Munsiyari, let us have a brief idea about Johar valley which is drained by Gori river

and is divided into two parts i.e. Malla (upper) Johar which is close to Tibetan border and Talla (lower)

Johar situated towards Indian side. The total area of Johar valley is around 887 sq. km. [Pangti, 2006]

which spreads to the whole block of Munsiyari and beyond it. Johar valley is inhabited by Bhotias13

(dominant caste group) who used to practice trade with the Tibetans near the present Indo–China border

and with Indian businessmen in the valleys and plains of India, and thus, lead a transhumant mode of life

throughout the year. The Malla Johar has 13 high mountain summer villages such as Milam, Tola, Bilju,

Martoli etc. where Bhotias stay during May–October and carry out trade with their Tibetan counterparts.

These villages are situated at high altitude ranging from 2,500 m–5,500 m amsl. The villages of Talla

Johar such as Tejam, Nachni, Thal etc. which are situated below 2,000 m amsl are used as a winter halt

(November–March) during the trade time and from here they commence their journey towards plains of

Uttarakhand and other parts of India. Besides these summer and winter locations, there are villages such

as Darkot, Jalath, Darati, Ghorpatta etc. (present Munsiyari tract) which are used as intermediate halts

during the upward and downward movement of people and animals during the trade. The detail about the

transhumant movement of Bhotias will be dealt with in next chapters, but let us at present focus on the

Munsiyari region (Tehsil / Block).

13 Will describe the caste and people in detail in the next chapter

Photo 2.1: Map of Munsiyari

*Source: District Census Handbook

.1: Map of Munsiyari Tehsil / District Pitthoragarh

*Source: District Census Handbook Pitthoragarh 2011

26

27

Photo 2.2: Trekking map of Munsiyari region (showing villages of Malla Johar)

Source: Photo provided by Late Dr. S.S. Pangti at Bhotia museum in Munsiyari

28

Munsiyari is situated in the central Himalayas of India and lies between 30° N and 80° E in the Trans–

Himalayan zone. Munsiyari Tehsil is bounded by Dharchula Tehsil on the east, Berinag and Didihat

Tehsils in the south, Chamoli district in the west, and shares international border with China (Tibet) in the

north (see Photo 2.1). Three main rivers of the Munsiyari Tehsil are the Gori, the Namik and the Ralam.

The valley drained by the Gori River is the major and central valley system and is known as ‘Johar

valley’. The Ralam valley is the eastern tributary of the Gori Ganga, while the Namik valley lies to the

south–west [Pangti, 2006]. The Gori Ganga valley has wide grassless slopes and terraces in the upper

section (Malla Johar), separated from the steeper forested slopes of the lower section (Talla Johar) by a

deep narrow gorge 35 km. long. The important mountain peaks of Munsiyari region are Panchachuli (6,

904m), Trishuli (6,893m), Hardeol (6,967m), Nanda Devi (7,820m), etc. while the main mountain passes

include Jayanti (5,467m), Trail (5,176m), Unta Dhura (5,377m), Kungri Bingri (5,123m) etc. Besides

these, there are various glaciers such as Milam, Poting, Shalang, Namik, Laspa, Suraj Kund, Sungalpa,

Panchachuli, Shipu etc. Malla Johar is also famous for its alpine pastures, i.e. Bugyals, and various herbs

and medicinal plants. The climate of Munsiyari region is warm and temperate. Rainfall mostly occurs in

the monsoon season following the short summer season. The winter season experiences light to heavy

snowfall depending upon the altitude of a village. Munsiyari has Cwb climate (Koppean-Geiger

classification). The average temperature is around 13.7°C while annual precipitation is about 1,400mm.

[Source: https://en.climate-data.org/location/175585/]. The interesting thing about Munsiyari Tehsil is

that there is not a single city or even a town in the block, but a conglomeration of over 200 villages.

**The basic statistics about Munsiyari block are provided in the reference below14.

14 The total area of Munsiyari is about 388 sq. km. or 38, 877 hectares and has a total rural population of about 46,

520. The Munsiyari block has about 223 villages and there are about 11, 282 households. Males form 49.2% of the

total population. 15% of the population belongs to scheduled tribe while 21.5% of the population belongs to

scheduled caste category. The decadal growth rate of Munsiyari is – 0.08, i.e. negative growth rate, which depicts

the decrease in population mainly because of the out–migration of inhabitants for jobs, education and other

purposes. The majority (more than 90%) of population is Hindu. The literacy rate of Munsiyari is around 75%, in

which literacy rate of males is 88.5% while literacy rate of females is 62.6%. Munsiyari block has population

density of about 18 persons per sq. km. More than 60% of the villages of Munsiyari (135 out of 223) are labelled as

small, i.e. villages having less than 200 inhabitants, while only 5 villages have more than 1000 population. The

working population is about 32% of the total population while 65% of the working population is engaged in

agriculture and related activities. [Revenue Record, 2011].

29

So far, we have mentioned Munsiyari as a region as it is not a particular village but a collection of

villages (i.e. block) in the revenue records of the Government. The first question that arises is which

village / villages formed the core of Munsiyari? The villages of Bunga and Ghorpatta (earlier together

known as Tiksain15) where the bus stand, administrative offices, hotels are positioned along with shops of

all kinds, i.e. market, schools and hospital are located are considered as a ‘Munsiyari’ (2,250 m) among

local peoples. Thus, Munsiyari has a physical identity whose boundaries are marked by the perception of

local people rather than the actual limits specified by the state authorities. It is interesting to note that two

villages, Bunga and Ghorpatta (Tiksain), are considered Munsiyari (among locals) as all the public

(various administrative offices, schools, and colleges), consumer (shops and market) and business (banks

and other financial institutions), leisure and tourism (hotels and restaurants) services are available here.

All other villages beyond Munsiyari (Tiksain) are generally called by their own names and are considered

out of the Munsiyari, e.g. Sharmoli (known for its home stays), Darkot (known for handicrafts) etc. Thus,

it is not erroneous to say that the identity of Tiksain (Bunga and Ghorpatta) village is absorbed within the

identity of Munsiyari.

Let us go into little details as to ‘why Tiksain, i.e. Munsiyari, forms a core area’. Munsiyari is famous

for its snow–covered mountain peak ‘Panchachuli’ (i.e. mountain with five peaks) which are covered

under snow for the whole year and present a picturesque view to the spectator. Many domestic and

foreign tourists visit the place to see the snow–covered mountains and to gaze at the beauty of nature and

the Himalayas. Besides that, there are many other sports activities such as trekking (to nearby places such

as Kalamuni and Khaliya top or up to far places such as Milam in Malla Johar), paragliding, skiing etc. in

nearby places whose base camp is located in the Munsiyari. That is why many hotels and home stays have

come up in the Munsiyari and its adjacent villages which cater to the lodging and the need of adventure

activities of the tourists. As Munsiyari is also famous for its handicrafts, many people come here to see

and buy the products made by local artisans. Thus, it is not wrong to say that Munsiyari is a core which is

marked by the function of tourism market. Besides that it is also has an element of administrative core, as

people from all villages (of Munsiyari block) have to come to Munsiyari for government related works or

in other words, the government discharge their executive functions for the whole block from Munsiyari.

Besides above mentioned features, Munsiyari has a general hospital, government departments such as

veterinary hospital, forest department, public works department etc. along with various private schools

which are meant to provide better education in comparison to the government aided schools. It also

performs a trade / mart function, as goods and services of all kinds, e.g. banking, post offices, and items

such as hardware goods, electrical goods, cement and other important items of daily use are easily and

15

The earlier name of villages of Bunga and Ghorpatta (both are Gram Sabha) is Tiksain. Thus, Tiksain is also an

unofficial name of the area that makes the present Munsiyari.

only available in the Munsiyari. To conclude, Munsiyari (Ti

location in the whole block which has a town/city like characteristics and performs all important functions

of market and administration. Rest of the villages are predominantly marked by houses of inhabitants (i

residential purpose only), while if we go beyond a certain distance (i.e. 15 km) towards Malla Johar, the

road, electric and telephone connectivity ceases to operate and most of the houses are abandoned (esp.

during winters).

Photo 2.3

only available in the Munsiyari. To conclude, Munsiyari (Tiksain) is chosen as a core as it is the only


of market and administration. Rest of the villages are predominantly marked by houses of inhabitants (i



Photo 2.3: Map of Munsiyari (core) -1

*Source: Google maps

30

ksain) is chosen as a core as it is the only


of market and administration. Rest of the villages are predominantly marked by houses of inhabitants (i.e.



Photo 2.4: Map of Munsiyari (core)

Photo 2.4: Map of Munsiyari (core) – 2


31

32

Photo 2.5: Trekking map of Munsiyari (core)

*Source: Map obtained from Tribal Heritage Museum, Munsiyari

33

Photo 2.6: Sketch of the Munsiyari (core area)

*Based on capacity of the writer to gaze the landscape and draw a map

34

The other question is ‘how the Munsiyari came into formation’ or ‘how the core area came into

existence’16 In the opinion of local scholars and the residents of Munsiyari, till the time of independence

of India, the term ‘Johar’ is more common in use to signify the area than the location Munsiyari. The

present area that depicts the place of Munsiyari, i.e. Tiksain, used to be an agricultural land and forested

area till the late 1950s. At the time of British rule, the main centre of Munsiyari was in the village of

Rathi which is located at distance of about 3–4 km. south and at a lower height from the present

Munsiyari. The tangible space that testifies to this argument is the presence of ‘Dak Bangla’ (Bungalow

as a rest house) and a private junior high school opened at the time of British rule. Britishers used to

control every activity of the area from the Dak Bungalow, i.e. it acted as a site of executive control17.

After the independence of India in 1947, government formed the five–year plan in every block

(comprising hundreds of villages) to carry out developmental work related to various fields such as

agriculture, construction, jobs, housing, food etc. In 1954, block office was opened in the Bunga area of

Munsiyari in a rented private home, and at the same time service of animal husbandry department was

also commenced from a location not very far from the block office. In 1954, these two departments bear a

significant importance to the people of Johar, esp. dominant Bhotias. By means of Block office,

inhabitants or more precisely community can carry out a variety of works esp. related to construction and

maintenance of non–motor able roads which are required for trade purposes. As Bhotias are transhumant

and used to have huge herds of animals such as sheep, goats and milch cattle such as cows, the

department of animal husbandry proves to be a boon to the locals which is used for crossbreeding,

immunization of animals etc. In the meanwhile, high school was also opened in the vicinity of these

departments. But, till 1954, there were no market, shops and hotels in and around Munsiyari.

In early 1960s, government demarcated the border area of the then state of Uttar Pradesh and carved out

new districts from the existing one in the name of border development. Pitthoragarh was carved out of the

Almora, and Munsiyari was made Tehsil (smallest administrative area) besides being a block. Tehsil

office was also started in present Munsiyari area in a rented private house. As the administrative officers

started to reside in Munsiyari, construction of road begins and motor able road reached Thal (70 km south

of Munsiyari) by 1960 and later on till Munsiyari by mid–1960s. Administrative officers after their arrival

and settlement in (present) Munsiyari, found the place better than village Rathi, because of its high

altitude and supremely because of better and quality view of snow-covered mountain peaks, i.e.

16 The analysis in this section does not hold any document or written validity but are based on the views of locals and scholars like Late Dr. S.S. Pangti, Late Dr. R.S. Tolia. 17 In my opinion, Munsiyari is not a permanent settlement of the British officials and they govern the area from the British Headquarter i.e. Almora. They stay in Dak Bungalow during their visit to the Munsiyari for a short period.

35

Panchachuli. Besides, at that time, there was lot of ‘free land’, i.e. most of the land in revenue record did

not have any private owner and thus belonged to the state.

In the early days of the opening of block and Tehsil office, a few shops which sell tea, daily food items

such as vegetables were opened to cater to the needs of officials and employees posted in the

administrative offices. As the trade got stopped after the Indo–China war of 1962 and dominant Bhotias

were forced to lead a settled and permanent life, a few rich traders sold their land and property in their

native (nearby) villages and shifted to present Munsiyari and opened shops and other enterprises in order

to survive. Many among them were Janpangi of Rathi village; Rawat, Pangti and Dharamsaktu of Jalath

and Darkot; and a few others big landlords from the nearby villages such as Dumar. Later on many other

departments such as hospital, forest department, telephone department, schools were opened. Hence the

present Munsiyari had become the important administrative and market centre for the whole Tehsil by the

late 1960s.

The tourism market which evolves as the mainstay of the economy of the Munsiyari in recent times was

established around the same time period of 1960s. Tourism as such was never an occupation of the

inhabitants of Johar. Before independence, very few foreigners (usually British and other officials) used

to come for adventurous activities such as mountaineering, visiting bugyals (meadows) and glaciers or for

periodic official visit to the area. But after 1960, with the establishment of administration and

construction of road, the volume of mountaineers and trekkers keeps on increasing. Zara hotel, the very

first hotel of Munsiyari, was constructed by a Muslim entrepreneur after purchasing land from the local

people. After seeing the successful operation of the hotel and tourism industry by the outsider, many local

people constructed their own lodges and hotels. ‘Wayfarer’ was the first hotel run by a local and later on

many followed the same path. When the Uttarakhand was created, the government started many tourism

schemes for the locals which provide subsidy for construction of hotel rooms and other tourism purposes,

e.g. Veer Chander Singh Gharwali scheme in which the government provide 35% subsidy for the hotel

construction. As a result, at present, there are more than thirty hotels and lodges alone in the vicinity area

(2-3 km. range) of Munsiyari. Later on, in 2005, home stays were started in the adjacent villages of

Munsiyari, i.e. Shankhdhura, Sharmoli and Nanasem, in order to provide the glimpse of village life and

view of natural beauty to the outsiders. This further led to the increase of foreign and national tourists esp.

those who want to spend some time away from the hectic city and town life. Increase in number of

tourists led to the development of the handicrafts related industry and other local products and, thus, also

boosts the secondary sectors of tourist based economy. Tourism further leads to the establishment of

strong infrastructure and institutions by augmenting the process of construction of roads, connectivity,

electricity, and finance such as emergence of banks. To conclude, the establishment of authority and

36

various administrative offices, and construction of road along with stoppage of trade that forced Bhotias

to look for secondary occupations resulted in the establishment of Munsiyari as a market and

administrative core. Availability of motor able roads and presence of snow-clad mountains along with

picturesque beauty of nature allow many tourists to visit the place and help the location to convert it into a

tourism market. On the entrance gate of the Munsiyari also has been inscribed ‘Himnagari’, i.e. land of

snow, and is surrounded by hotels on both the sides, which shows the touristic and adventurous

characteristics of the core. Yet, there is hardly any public transport available to and from Munsiyari as

only two buses ply to and from Pitthoragarh and Haldwani in the morning (from and to Munsiyari) while

majority of tourists have to depend upon taxis (many local taxi operators run their 10-seater maxi cabs to

places like Thal, Nainital, Haldwani, Almora etc.) or their own personal vehicles to reach the place; this

automatically increases the fare to reach the destination18. The element of lack of public transportation is

compensated by a number of private taxi operators, which in the opinion of locals is seen as a creation of

employment for the youths of Munsiyari, but in my view, it is based on the increased hidden cost (of

travel) that has to be borne by the tourists. This is the reason why local population of Munsiyari never

raise their voice about the lack of public transportation in the region. If one has to go beyond Munsiyari,

than he/she is totally dependent on the plight of local taxi operators. Around 4-5 jeeps (10-12 seater

vehicles) ply daily on a long route (around 300kms.) to Haldwani from Munsiyari and come back next

day, while there is a taxi at regular interval of at least 60 minutes if one has to go beyond Munsiyari in

either direction on a short distance route, i.e. to places like Darkot, Madkot (ahead of Munsiyari) or to

Thal, Nachni (before Munsiyari) etc. The transport facility is only available in the day time while there is

a complete absence of any medium of travel after the evening time. Thus, my opinion about the peripheral

nature of the core Munsiyari is also true, esp. with regard to availability of transport and time of travel.

Now, let us understand the settlement pattern of the core. Photo 2.3 – 2.6 provide a brief idea about the

Munsiyari and its settlement pattern. The very first element of the settlement geography is the theory

behind nomenclature of an area i.e. how Munsiyari got its name. There are various theories related to

the name which are based on mythology or are surmised by locals / scholars. According to Rig-Veda

(Hindu scripture), Manu Vavasvat (saint) and his followers on their way (by means of boat) to see God

Matasya reached Uttar Giri near the banks of Saraswati river, and tied their boat to the tree in a place

known as ‘Manoram Sarpnam’ (in order to keep the boat safe) which at present is known as Munsiyari. In

the opinion of a few, Munsiyari draws its name from the Hindi word ‘Manohari’ which means the one

that is pleasing / soothing to mind. As Munsiyari is bounded by snow–covered peaks and natural beauty

18 In the opinion of the locals and the tourists, and with regard to my personal experience, one-way fare (Munsiyari-Haldwani) in a public taxi is around Rs. 500 per person, while for an individual private taxi it may cost around Rs. 5,000-Rs. 8000 for a single journey.

37

from all sides that have tranquillity effect on the living beings, it might be possible that it got its name

from the word Manohari. This is also a reason why at present, Munsiyari is known as Himnagri i.e.

snowy area. [Smarika, 2014]. The entry to the Munsiyari is marked by an entrance gate (see Photo 2.7)

and outsiders are usually welcomed by the hotels and lodges that are situated on the left and right side of

the main road. The main centre of the Munsiyari is bus stand where hotels and Dhabas (a kind of

restaurants) along with administrative Tehsil and sub-division offices are situated. All the taxis and buses

to places like Thal, Haldwani, Pitthoragarh and Delhi etc. ply from this particular location. The road from

the bus stand that leads towards south direction (see Photo 2.6, south is on Left side) have an ITBP (Indo–

Tibet Border Police) camp, a helipad, along with a school and various hotels and lodges. The road beyond

bus stand (towards east direction) leads to block office, hospital, market, banks, schools etc. This whole

area is known as Tiksain or in present time as Munsiyari, the core. The old and new buildings of the area

can be identified by seeing the structure and shape of the architecture. Administrative buildings, i.e. block

office and Tehsil office (Photo 2.10 - 2.12), and veterinary hospital have stone / brick walls and slanting

tin roof and represent the old–style building structure (modified from the old wooden framework) while

all the hotels and market area are constructed with modern material (cement etc.) and shape (Photo 2.9

and 2.14). Majority of the buildings in the core area have been constructed in last 30-40 odd years and a

few have been renovated to modern structure in the last two decades after the presence of modern

construction material which is easily available after the accessibility of roads. The market and the

tourism sector of the core area are dominated by the Bhotia caste people. In my survey, 60% of the hotels

in and around Munsiyari (in a radius of 2 km.) belong to Bhotias while 70% of the shops in the market

area are owned by them [Benz, 2014]. Besides that, lion’s share of the home stay and handicraft work is

carried out by Bhotia women and thus, one can say that the economy of the core area is in the hands of

the dominant caste group.

38

Photo 2.7: Entrance gate of Munsiyari situated at a distance of 1 km. from the main centre

39

Photo 2.8: Munsiyari village

40

Photo 2.9A & B: Bus stand of Munsiyari

2.9 A

2.9 B

41

Photo 2.10: Block office Munsiyari

Photo 2.11: Sub divisional magistrate office in Munsiyari

42

Photo 2.12: Office of Tehsildar Munsiyari

Photo 2.13: View of Panchachuli mountain peaks from the Munsiyari

43

Photo 2.14 A & B: Munsiyari bazaar (market)

2.14 A

44

Photo 2.15: School in Munsiyari

2.14 B

45

Photo 2.16: Distance of Munsiyari from various places

As Bunga and Malla Ghorpatta form the core area, the population statistics about the core are provided in

the Table 2.1 below. The combined population of the core is around 3,300 and it is one of the most

populated regions within the whole block, which in turn is the basic characteristic of a core area i.e.

highly populated19. The scheduled caste and others (general caste) form the majority of population of

19 As only five villages of Munsiyari have population beyond 1000 as per 2011 census, it is clear from Table 2.1 that

the two villages which form the core are one among the very few to have more than 1,500 population.

46

core i.e. 70%, while the Bhotias (scheduled tribes) are 28% of the total population. The Bhotias form the

majority in the nearby villages, i.e. Sharmoli, Suring, Nanasem, etc20.

Table 2.1: Population census of the village Bunga and Malla Ghorpatta i.e. core Munsiyari

Name of

Village

Total

Populatio

n

SC

Pouplatio

n

ST

Populatio

n

OBC

Populatio

n

Others

Populatio

n

Male

Populatio

n

Female

Populatio

n

Total

household

s / SC

household

s / ST

household

s

Bunga 1566 697 455 78 377 804 762 427 / 141/ 119

Malla Ghorpatta

1726 517 462 16 740 974 752 420 / 47 / 78

Total (Core area)

3292 1214 917 94 1117 1778 1514 847 / 188 / 197

% age of Total

100 36.8 27.8 2.8 33.8 54 45.9

*Source: Village census 2011 obtained from local Block office, Munsiyari

** SC – Scheduled Caste, ST – Scheduled Tribe (Bhotias), OBC – Other Backward Castes

The land area within the core is utilised by means of commercial plots such as hotels and restaurants,

public plots such as administrative and other offices, residential plots and agricultural plots. About 60

hectare of land area makes the core (in which majority is owned by transitional holders). The details are

provided in Figure 2.1 to Figure 2.4.

20 As the core has come up in last four–five decades, so people of all castes i.e. Bhotias (who have land from the

very beginning), scheduled castes and Thakurs (who were the immediate servants of Bhotias and got their land after the land to tiller act.) were present in the newly constructed villages. But, if we look at population statistics of old Bhotia villages, i.e. villages which are more than 100 years old e.g. Darkot, Jalath etc., Bhotias are in majority in

comparison to other castes. This trend is explained once we compare Sharmoli and Darkot in the upcoming chapters.

The other reason is that many Bhotias (esp. rich class) migrated to other towns and cities for work and education, while people of other castes (who are economically and educationally weak) migrated to core area from nearby

villages in search of work.

Figure 2.1: The land record website of Uttarakhan

account (1 account may have several holders)’ of the Malla Ghorpatta village of Munsiyari as on

date Feb. 11, 20

(The data on website is still in mode of updating and do not provide information of all accounts)

The land record website of Uttarakhand showing ‘area wise (hectare)


date Feb. 11, 2018 (51 accounts = 258 holders)

*Source: devbhoomi.uk.gov.in/


47

d showing ‘area wise (hectare) – number of



Figure 2.2: The land record website of Uttarakhand showing ‘area wise

of account (1 account may have several holders

date Feb. 11, 2018

(The data on website is stil

The land record website of Uttarakhand showing ‘area wise (hectare)

1 account may have several holders)’ of the Bunga village of Munsiyari as on

date Feb. 11, 2018 (58 accounts = 682 holders)



48

(hectare) – number

village of Munsiyari as on

l in mode of updating and do not provide information of all accounts)

Figure 2.3: The land record website of Uttarakhand showing

Malla Ghorpatta village of Munsiyari as on date Feb. 11, 2018


The land record website of Uttarakhand showing type of land and its holders in

village of Munsiyari as on date Feb. 11, 2018 (51 accounts = 258 holders)



49

type of land and its holders in

(51 accounts = 258 holders)


Figure 2.4:The land record website of Uttarakhand showing

Bunga village of Munsiyari as on date


The land record website of Uttarakhand showing type of land and its holders in

village of Munsiyari as on date Feb. 11, 2018 (58 accounts = 682 holders)



50

type of land and its holders in

(58 accounts = 682 holders)


Before moving on to next chapters, let us have a preliminary idea about the

analysed with regard to the core, Munsiyari. As mentioned earlier, Darkot is at a distance of about 7km.

from the core while Sharmoli is situated adjacent to Munsiyari. The distance and location of the two

villages are shown in Photo 2.17-2.20.

Photo 2.17: Distance and location of Munsiyari and Darkot

Before moving on to next chapters, let us have a preliminary idea about the villages which are to be



2.20.

: Distance and location of Munsiyari and Darkot


51

villages which are to be



Photo 2.18: Distance and location of Munsiyari and Sharmoli

: Distance and location of Munsiyari and Sharmoli


52

PhotoPhoto 2.19: Google view of Sharmoli

* Source: Google maps

53

Photo 2.20: Google view of

: Google view of Darkot (shown by red boundary marks)


54

Darkot (shown by red boundary marks)

55

CHAPTER 3

TIMELINE AND ECONOMIC HISTORY OF THE RESEARCH AREA –ANALYSIS OF CASTE

AND CLASS

The present chapter of the thesis deals with the history of the space that is under consideration, i.e.

Munsiyari region or Johar valley. The chapter is divided into two parts and the first one is related to basic

understanding of general history of Johar valley and its inhabitants, while in the latter half of the chapter

we will look at the economic history of the valley. As mentioned by Srinivas ‘historic past of all the

castes21 may be related to the historical past of dominant caste’ [Madan, 2002], the history of Johar valley

also revolves around the historical past of the dominant Bhotias and their trade.

As our core (Munsiyari) and the selected villages (Darkot and Sharmoli) are situated in the Johar region,

the history of Johar also constitutes the history of our chosen space. The basic understanding of the

history of Johar valley will help us to comprehend the contemporary physical, social and economic space

of the core and the villages in the later chapters. The history of a place can be demonstrated by various

writers, i.e. locals or outsiders, and may vary as per the opinion and knowledge of the producer, i.e.

history writer. In this chapter, I have tried to give a glimpse of the history of Johar valley from various

prospective, by combining views of locals (dominant Bhotias), outsiders (other historians), and by

mentioning the events of mythology and reality. It is up to the readers to actually assess the definitiveness

of the events of course that defines the history. With regard to inhabitants, Johar is inhabited by Bhotias /

Shaukas22 who carried out trade with Tibet along with Thakurs23 (Rajput Kshatriyas) and scheduled

21 Caste is a form of social stratification characterized by endogamy, hereditary transmission of lifestyle which often includes an occupation, status in a hierarchy, and customary social interaction and exclusion. [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caste] Caste or Jati originates from the word ‘Jana’ which implies taking birth. Thus, caste is based on birth. Castes are very large in numbers and they also have sub-divisions called sub castes. [https://www.quora.com/What-is-the-difference-between-Jati-and-Varna] 22

The people of Johar are known as Shauka. The Britishers gave them the name of Bhotias because of their close

proximity with the region and people of erstwhile Tibet i.e. Bhot. They have the status of a Scheduled Tribe as per the Constitution of India. While the Constitution is silent about the criteria for specification of a community as a Scheduled Tribe, the words and the phrase ‘tribes or tribal communities or part of or groups within tribes or tribal communities” in Article 342 have to be understood in terms of their historical background of backwardness. Primitiveness, geographical isolation, shyness and social, educational and economic backwardness due to these reasons are the traits that distinguish Scheduled Tribe communities of our country from other communities [Source: http://www.indiantribalheritage.org/?p=21438] In our context ‘Bhotia’, ‘Shauka’ and ‘scheduled tribe (ST)’ represent the same meaning, i.e. Bhotias belonging to Johar valley. 23 In our text, the term ‘Thakur’, ‘Rajput’ and ‘General’ represents the same meaning. They represent the Kshatriya (warrior) caste which is a representation of high (caste) social status.

56

castes24 who (at the time of trade) were their immediate servants. The details about them will be provided

in the next half of the chapter. The Bhotias in Uttarakhand inhabit different valleys such as Johar valley,

Darma and Vyas valley (East of Johar), Niti and Mana valley (West of Johar) and thus, are known by

different names, e.g. Johari (Johar valley), Tolcha (Niti valley), Byans and Chaudans (Byas and Darma

valleys). The Bhotias of all these valleys are endogamous groups and differ from each other socially,

religiously and culturally. As our research deals with the Bhotias of Johar, i.e. Johari Bhotias, who were

amongst the richest merchants of trade area (with regard to Bhotias of different valleys), we will look into

the historical settings of Johari Bhotias as described by different scholars. Let us begin with the history of

Johar as mentioned by the local Bhotias scholars -

3.1 TIMELINE HISTORY OF JOHAR VALLEY

The history of Johar is divided into three important eras, i.e. from the period of Halduva–Pingluva till

present modern times. This viewpoint of history is mentioned by many scholars esp. local Bhotias of the

region and a few others from the state of Uttarakhand. The boundary between history and mythology is

not always very clear, as shown below.

Halduva–Pingluva Period25

– The very existence of the first society of Johar is traced from the story

related to two snakes who came to the mighty Himalayas. There is no authentic timeline but the period of

their existence lie till around 4th–5th century A.D26. Two snakes named Halduva and Pingluva lived in the

Johar. The territory of Halduva was till Mapa27 village, while Pingluva’s terrain was from village Mapa

to Laspa28 . Scholars have defined this era as a place inhabited by Halduva and Pingluva people

(belonging to the lineages of snakes). The people of Halduva–Pingluva had one important physical

characteristic, i.e. their whole body is hairy. There was an eagle (‘garud’ in Hindi), the step–brother of

snakes, who started to destroy the descendents of snakes and tried to finish their lineage (because of the

24 Lower caste people in India, i.e. scheduled castes, are also known as ‘Shilpkars’ which means craftsmen such as blacksmith, carpenter, mason, stone worker, agriculture labor, animal husbandry etc. (recognised by British Govt. in 1925). Atkinson describes them as of aboriginal, non-Aryan stock and servants of Khasia in the hilly regions of Kumaon [Himalayan Gazeteer, 1882]. In my writings, the terms ‘shilpkars’, ‘lower caste’ and ‘scheduled castes (SC)’ are used interchangeably. 25

The whole reference for this section is taken from the book written by non–professional historians but local Bhotia

scholars such as Dr. R.S. Tolia (ex-Administrator who has a PhD about British administration in Uttarakhand) and Dr. S.S. Pangti (ex-Teacher and PhD in explaining lineage of inhabitants of Johar). [Tolia, 2010] & [Pangti, 1991]. **Sadly, we lost both the scholars in 2016. 26

There is no authentic proof about the time period. In Hindi text, the time period is given as “chauthi shati Isvi” i.e.

4th century AD. [Tolia, 2010 pg. 184] 27

A village in upper Johar and is situated near Bilju and Martoli villages 28

A village in upper Johar, close to the village of Nahar Devi

57

rivalry between step–brothers) and as a result, their number started to decrease at a very fast pace. In the

further North at a place called Lapkhel, there was a saint called ‘Shakya Lama’ who resided in a cave and

carried out meditation. When the Lama came to know about the incident of killing snakes, he sent one of

his disciples to the village to kill the eagle. The disciple did his job and got settled in the village along

with the few remaining inhabitants. It is said that the inhabitants of Johar got their name ‘Shauka’ from

the name of Shakya Lama who protected their lineage by killing their prime enemy.

Besides it, there were a few other stories related to this era. Some of them are mentioned here–

1. Lama provides some kind of supernatural path guidance to his disciple on his journey towards

villages of Halduva–Pingluva (for killing the eagle) by originating in form of different types of

animals at various places. Thus, many places in Johar got their name from the type of animal that

provides information related to the path to the disciple on his journey to save the descendants of

snakes from an eagle e.g. Khingri (Dog), Untadhura (Camel), Samgong (Rabbit) etc.

2. In another incident, there is a description about the meeting of Lama’s disciple with an old lady in

the village called Samgong. The meeting gives an illustration about the agricultural produce of

the region, i.e. oova and phapahar (kind of wheat) and lack of availability of salt in Samgong

village.

3. On killing the eagle, the disciple kindled the fire at that particular place (in Johar) and took a

pledge that after meeting Lama he would return back to the same place to see if the fire was still

burnishing clear and that would be the propitious sign that he should stay at that place. On

reaching back to Lama’s place, he told Sakya Lama about everything including scarcity of salt.

Lama told him about the abundance of salt in Tibet. When the disciple returned back to the

former place he found that fire is still glowing brightly and, later he gathered people of Johar near

Milam and made the temple devoted to Sakya Lama. There is no sign of trade in that era but there

is a chance that need for salt from Tibet is a start of trade era after Halduva–Pingluva period.

As per book written by Dr.Tolia, the inhabitants of high Himalayas and Tibet (i.e. of mongoloid origin)

do not have dense hair on their face and body, and thus, the people of Halduva–Pingluva might have

come from outside the region. As per Dr. S.S. Pangti, in this era, the people lived in the same village

throughout the year and carried out agricultural activities. There was no contact with the Tibet in the

North and Kumaon in the south. [Tolia, 2010 & Pangti, 1991]. Besides Bhotias, there are other scholars

and writers who have worked on Johar valley under different subjects and themes, and provide a brief

idea about the history of the valley. The story of Halduva-Pingluva was also mentioned by the Vineeta

58

Hoon29 (non–Bhotia / Outsider) in her book ‘Living on the move’ which is based on the transhumant

movement of Bhotias [Hoon, 1996]. The narration of this story is also mentioned by Atkinson in

Himalayan Gazetteer of 1882. In the words of Hoon ‘there is only speculation about the origin of Bhotias

since they have no written history’ [Hoon, 1996]. Interestingly, Hoon did not mention the time period of

Halduva–Pingluva era but marked the beginning of the two kingdoms from ‘long before the present race

of men came into this world’ [Hoon, 1996].

Panjwari period –The period of Panjwari is around 7th–12th century A.D. In this period, the population of

Shauka people kept on increasing and they got divided into different tribes (Kabila in Hindi) [Pangti,

1991]. At first, there were five main tribes, i.e. Lamwal, Helamba, Rahalamwal, Burfal and Nikhurpa,

and hence the period is called ‘Panjwari’ (Panj = Five; Wari = Tribe). Besides them, two other tribes,

Ghonrappa and Titrappa, were lost and there is no mention of their assimilation into the other five tribes.

These five tribes have their dominance in the whole of Johar during the Chand dynasties rule (in

Kumaon), while Rahalamwal and Lamwal were more dominant than the other tribes. In this period, they

started to make contacts with the people of Munsiyari in the south and Tibet in the North. Tibetan people

used to bring gold, wool and salt till Rahalhm (in upper Johar) and take back food grains with them.

Panjwari people used to exchange salt with food in Munsiyari. Thus, this may be the period of beginning

of actual trade with Tibet but there is no mention of transhumant mode of life among Shaukas. In the view

of the local scholars, Helamaba clan rule the beginning of Panjwari era, while at the end Burfals were the

rulers. Burfal tribe lives in Burfu village, Lamwal tribe lives in Lamwan village while Rahalamwals were

from Ralam, all the villages belonging to upper Johar.

Evidence of trade in this period is exemplified (in various local texts) with the story of Sunpati Shauka

who was considered as the renowned trader of Johar in that era. His daughter got married to Malusahi,

who was the Prince of Katyuri. The love songs of Rajula (daughter of Sunpati Shauka) and Malusahi

were famous in Uttarakhand and are part of the culture and folk songs. It is believed that the period of

Sunpati Shauka lasted till 15th century.

Modern Period – This period begins after 15th century A.D. With the advent of Muslim (esp. Mughal)

rule in India, many Hindu Rajputs began to migrate to other places in order to protect themselves from the

aggression and to save their religion. One among them was Dham Singh Rawat who came (in around 16th

century) from Dharanagar (Rajasthan) and belonged to Kshatriya (warrior) caste. He came to Badrinath

(Hindu pilgrimage in Uttarakhand) and after that he commenced his journey till Gadhtok of Tibet. The

ruler of Western Tibet made him chief of his army after getting inspired from his personality and warrior

29 Non–Historian (Her work is on environment, ecology and sustainable development)

59

skills, where he defeated the aggressors from Ladakh. He started to live in Tibet from where he reached

Milam and found the place very attractive. The ruler of Western Tibet allowed him to stay in Milam while

the place was still dominated by Panjwari at that time. Dham Singh influenced many people from

Kumaon and Garhwal to come and settle here (Milam), resulting in the strained relationships with the

Panjwari peoples. There are many incidents of fight and killing among Milamwals30 and Burfals31. By the

middle of 17th century, the dominance of Milamwals (people of Milam) keeps on increasing while

Lamwals–Rahalamwals lose their predominance over the area. With the increasing population, the new

settlers got themselves located in the villages of upper Johar and thus emerged various sub-castes based

on the name of a village. With the efforts of Raja Rudra Chand, the marriage relationships flourished

between various sub–castes of Johar.

These three periods, i.e. from Halduva–Pingluva till present time, represent the brief, partly mythical,

history of the Johar. In these years, many rulers ruled over Johar in different eras for different durations.

Johar was always a kind of Free State (because of weak rule of the Chand dynasty, beginning from 7th

century A.D. till 1790) and for the first ten years of Gorkha rule in Kumaon (1790- 1801), but by 1801,

Johar came under the Gorkha Administration. They imposed heavy tax on the Shauka and ruled for next

12 years till the occupation of Johar by the British colonial government. The British understood the

importance of trade and of Bhotias (Shauka) in performing it and thus carried out many favourable

policies for its pace and development. In my opinion, after analysing the work of local scholars, the

period of British rule was benign and encouraging for the trade as well as for Shauka community.

According to Dr. S.S. Pangti, it was during the Chand rule that people of Johar started becoming

transhumant and began to make a temporary accommodation (and later permanent dwellings) in lower

altitude villages as per climatic season. Later on, they got land from Chand, Gorkha and Britishers and

became lords of the land in various villages.

Now, let us move away from the mythological point of view and look into the historical sequence of the

settlement of the Bhotias in the Johar valley. Kiratas (wild–men / non–Aryan tribe) were the first

inhabitants of the high Himalayas and have their mention in various religious texts and other literature

written by Greeks and the Chinese. The story of Sunpati Shauka mentioned above (in Panjwari era) marks

the arrival of Khasas (Aryans) as they represent them and were part of Aryan migration into India from

the north–west. The Shaukas gradually displaced or assimilated the Kiratas in the early centuries of the

Christian era. [Hoon, 1996]. The settlement of present Bhotias and related peoples in the high valley took

place in 5th / 6th century A.D. [Hoon, 1996]. In the medieval times, many Rajputs migrated to western

30Those who came and settled along with Dham Singh (and their descendents) in Milam are known as Milamwals 31 Panjwari are also known by the name Burfals, because they were in power in the last phase of Panjwari era.

60

foothills after the arrival of Muslim invaders between 10th–14th centuries AD. The Rajput unseated the

ruling Khasa lineage of hills and extended their control. It is possible that some of the Rajputs found their

way to Bhotia valleys. The Johar was under the control of Raja of Doti (King of Nepal) and in 1581, it

came under the possession of Rudra Chand, i.e. Chand dynasty. Under Chand dynasty, Johar remained

autonomous polities and their administration was control by the elders of the clan. In 1806, Gorkhas took

over Johar because of the weak state of affairs under the Chand ruler, and by 1815 the British Empire

establish their authority over Johar. Thus, the historical view of locals, i.e. Bhotias (esp. Dr.Pangti and Dr.

Tolia) and Vineeta Hoon is almost similar and taken from various old references which are mentioned in

the work of Atkinson, Badri Pandey, etc. in late 19th century.

At present, based on the above facts (esp. with regard to the story related to Dham Singh), Johari Bhotias

claim to be of Rajput origin (Warrior caste) belonging to Hindu religion and deny any kind of linkage

with Tibet. The physical appearances of Bhotias, i.e. their mongoloid characteristics make them appear

closer to the Tibetan stock32 [Prasad, 2016]. Some of the words in Bhotia dialect and a few places in the

Bhotia region were of Tibetan origin which also shows the proximity of Bhotias with the Tibet [Prasad,

2016]. But, Bhotias deny their Tibetan connection and claim that they are descendents of Rajput who

once lived in Tibet [Hoon, 1996]. Beside the story of Dham Singh, there is another view mentioned by

Tibetan scholars which shows that the Bhotias were descendents of Rajput kings who once lived in Tibet

and later on settled in high valleys. They give the example of Tsanpu Nyakhri, a Tibetan king who was

Surajbansi Kshatriya (Hindu Rajputs) by birth and migrated to Tibet around 250 BC. The analysis about

current religious practices of Bhotias and conflict of duality related to the religion (Hinduism / Buddhism)

of Bhotias will be dealt in later chapters.

The caste–system33 in Johar emerges during the end of Panjwari era when people from different areas

came and started to settle in and around Johar with the coming of Dham Singh Rawat in Milam. Many

people started to reside in the villages of Martoli, Bilju, Tola etc. (upper Johar). But there was lack of

unity among them and they were often involved in fight and altercation with each other. In the words of

S.S. Pangti “this was an era of Janshakti”, i.e. era of manpower, the power of a tribe was determined by

the numbers (of individuals). Hence, there was a race for assimilating more people into the tribe (even

32 Sherring and Weber share the same view about Tibetan origin of the Bhotias.

33 Caste system is connected with Hindu religion and philosophy. It is a type of social institution. Hindu society is

divided into four main varnas (groups of castes) – Brahmin, Kshatriyas, Vaishyas, Shudras on basis of division of labour and occupation. The first three varnas are high in status while the last one, Shudra is of lower status. Then there are Dalits (Scheduled castes) who are considered untouchables and are excluded from the four-fold varna system.

61

from outside). Later on, in around 16th century, when each tribe have sufficient number of people, the

Rajputs and others (new immigrants) coming to Johar were assigned lower category jobs and were not

included in the Shauka community. Thus, slowly and slowly, the society of Shaukas became a closed

society and the left out people were socially and economically exploited. By the 17th century, fourteen

villages of upper Johar have 22 sub-caste of Shauka community. Inhabitants of Lamwal started to live in

Martoli, Burfu etc. as their village was completely destroyed, while Rahalamwal shifted permanently to

Bui village. Their old villages were taken over by incoming migrants from Darma and Vyas. The physical

location of Rahalhm village and the different social and cultural characteristics of Darma people (those

who inhabited it) led to the break of social contact with Johar. Now, there are twelve villages of Johar

having twelve main castes (derived from village name) and many sub-castes.

Hinduisation (i.e. caste consciousness) of the Johar society, thus, also begins with the advent of Dham

Singh Rawat in the 15th century. Subsequently, his son settled in Pacchoo village and in the aftermath

others joined them from Garhwal and farther places like Nepal etc. Bhatt Brahmins settled at Martoli and

later in Dhapa. Both Rajputs and Brahmins integrated themselves into the Shauka group. With the time,

marriage relations were established among various groups settled in villages (as physical and

geographical hurdles make marriages difficult with people of other areas, and by the intervention of

Chand rulers who tried to solve inter-problems of villagers by the phenomenon of entering into social

relationship by means of marriage). The new settlers propagated Hindu religion and invited other castes

like Brahmin, shilpkars, etc. By the beginning of 18th century, Panjwari lost their significance with the

coming of these newcomers, and led to the complete Brahminization34 of the society. This process

resulted in the emergence of Hindu caste-based society (based on ‘Vedas’, the Hindu main scripture, in

which people are divided into high and low castes depending upon their work and with passage of time

the caste came to be linked with birth).

At present and esp. in our research, we consider Bhotias (Shaukas) as one caste group35 while scheduled

castes and Thakurs (General) were the other two castes. Thus, as per Hindu caste system, inhabitants

belonging to both Bhotia and Thakur communities were Rajput (Kshatriya / warrior caste) while

scheduled castes or shilpkars form the lowest strata in the caste system of Johar. One can say, Bhotias

(Panjwari and descendants of Dham Singh) were present before 15th century while other castes came by

the late 17th century. Thus, to conclude, in my research work, I will consider Bhotias as high–caste

34

Adopting Brahiminic way of life, i.e. to imitate high castes in every perspective 35 As per official records, Bhotias are scheduled tribes but here in my thesis, I will analyze them as a Rajput caste group (which characterize their social identity in the villages of Johar and establishes their dominance in the village’s social life). In my survey, every Bhotia family associate themselves with the Hindu religion and considered themselves as Hindu Rajputs (while their identity of scheduled tribe is less visible in social life of Munsiyari).

62

Hindus (though they are provided with the scheduled tribe status by the government) along with Thakurs

while scheduled castes have lower rank among the caste hierarchy. Let us understand the each present

caste separately and briefly –

BHOTIAS – As already mentioned, the present Bhotia / Shauka society of Johar includes descendants of

Panjwari, Dham Singh Rawat and all other migrants who came to settle in Johar after Dham Singh. They

are divided into various clans such as Rawat, Pangti, Dharamsaktu, Sayana, Tolia, Burfal etc. The

descendants of the eldest son of Dham Singh adopted the surname Rawat, while others (son/ family

members) adopted Pangti, Dharamsaktu, Sayana etc. The ancestor of Pangti was born in the 13th / 14th

generation of Dham Singh. With regard to other clans, Nikhurpa were the original inhabitants of Milam

while Nitwals were late settler Rajputs who came from Garhwal and carry out work of worshipping

village deities. Burha (functional post) is considered as the head of the village and is the eldest member of

the village (belonging to Rawat clan) while a knowledgeable person is given the name of ‘Sayana’ who

gives his judicious view on various village issues.

Thus, Bhotias are closed clans that include all caste groups such as Kshatriya, Brahmin etc. within and

perform tasks and jobs as per their role in the society. But the Shaukas are considered as Rajputs by the

local scholars as they all are migrants belonging to the warrior caste. On the other hand, Atkinson claims

that Shaukas have two castes – Rajput and Brahmin. With regard to trade, early settlers’ and the

descendents of Dham Singh esp. Rawat, Pangti, Dharamsaktu form the rich and important business class

while other Bhotias clans are less dominant.

THAKURS (GENERAL CASTE)–They might be the late Rajput settlers who came to Johar either

because of war, poverty or are discarded from their original clan (because of wrong doings). They used to

carry out agricultural activities in the fields of Bhotias and also act as their cook.

BRAHMIN - Earlier, in the Panjwari period, the religious ceremonies were performed by Lamas

(Buddhist). Later, in around the middle of 18th century, it is said that Konchyo Burha Milamwal of Milam

village brought a Brahmin (Dwivedi caste) to Munsiyari and made him a priest of four clans, i.e. Rawat,

Dharamsaktu, Sayana and Pangti. Later on, many Brahmins of caste Joshi, Lohani, Pant, Pandey etc.

become priests of other clans / castes within Bhotias. They have a separate identity as ‘Brahmin’ and are

not included in the Bhotias.

SHILPKARS - They also came into existence during the Chand rule and were assigned the role of a

servant of the Shaukas. They were considered untouchables and were practicing transhumant with their

63

Shauka patron. They form the group of scheduled castes in modern post–independence era. Their caste is

based on the type of work they perform –

Lohar – These are the shilpkars who make iron tools and implements. The Lohars in Johar are also the

ones who make gold and silver ornaments.

Dholi – Those who carry out tailoring work and are skilled in playing various musical instruments in

religious and other social functions.

Bhul – They also play musical instruments along with operating oil crushers and making combs for

women’s hair.

Bajela – They make pots, baskets, mattresses etc. which are used by Bhotias for storing food and other

purposes.

Audh – While the above mentioned four castes of shilpkars travel with their Bhotia patrons with regard to

trade, Audhs usually settle at one place and carry out construction activities (building and repairing

houses) and works of carpenter etc.

Besides them, there is another group known as ‘Mirasi’. They used to dance and sing songs during

religious, marriage ceremonies and in other important festivals.

The social and economic conditions of shilpkars were the worst among all castes and they hardly own any

land in the Bhotia villages. They used to live in small shanty huts while a shilpkar’s woman used to carry

out household cleaning activities in the residence of patron Shauka. As per Dr. S.S. Pangti, they did not

carry out agricultural activities and are completely dependent on Bhotias for food, clothing and living.

Thus, in trade era, shilpkars, irrespective of gender, work as servants to the patron Bhotias and the

survival of former is completely dependent upon the latter.

Thus, to conclude, till the Panjwari era, when the caste consciousness is negligible and the impact of

Hinduization is low, various clans of Shaukas perform functions of Rajput (ruler), Brahmin (priest) etc.

Later on with upcoming of outsiders and their increased population, there emerged the separation of

duties and work, and priests, servants, agriculturalists were introduced as an important part of Johar

society along with already present closed Bhotia society. This led to the complete Brahminization or

Hinduization of the Shaukas which kept on strengthening after the end of trade era.

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3.2 ECONOMIC HISTORY OF JOHAR VALLEY

After understanding the general timeline history of the Johar valley in the previous section, here we will

deal with the economic history of the region. The economy of a place influences the culture and lifestyle

of the society. ‘Economics’ is defined as the sum total of practices / activities developed by the

community to obtain means of livelihood [Prasad, 2016]. The economic situation of a particular region/

area can be of different types, i.e. predominantly dependent on agriculture, or industry, or service, or

combination of all with varying degree of contributions. But when one writes on the village economy and

that too of South Asia, it is assumed as in words of Madan in introduction on economy in her edited book

“The village in India”: “Most villages are agricultural and share an agrarian hierarchy corresponding to

the prevailing patterns of ownership and production relations” [Madan, 2002]. The land was always an

important asset and mainstay of the village economy. In general, in a traditional village in India,

economics is very much related to the social situation, i.e. caste. High or dominant caste holds the

majority of land while other subordinate castes find their livelihood around them or are dependent on the

dominant caste. One cannot simply deal with the economy of an Indian village without going into caste

considerations. The subordinate castes provide various kinds of services to the landlord castes by working

as agricultural labor, blacksmiths, tailors, barbers, servants in households, and priests etc. depending

further upon their social status and situation. Thus, the livelihood of a person and his earning capacity was

totally dependent on his caste in a traditional Indian village, esp. in cases where there is lack of migration.

Some occupations are predefined (based on caste) and it is very difficult to move out of the particular

profession. But, with the changing times, with enhanced education, with the advent of democratic

institutions in villages, a decline of primary activities, rise of service sector and open jobs to all,

migration, urbanization, change and introduction of new laws and acts etc. results in the changing social

and economic structure in the villages. There is a belief that caste-based economy is slowly diminishing

and patron-client relationship has lost his significance in the modern Indian village36.

In Johar valley, trade with Tibet was the main occupation of the dominant Bhotias and the actual modern

history of the valley revolves around it. The livelihood of all other subordinate castes (scheduled castes

and general caste) revolves around the trade while the role of land is merest in our case study37. It is

impossible to think of Bhotias without mentioning their trade history and transhumant life which,

unfortunately, lost its significance by late 1950s. After the stoppage of trade in 1962, the whole economic

36

Various authors write about diminishing class and caste structures in villages in modern times. E.g. ‘Emergence of

backward castes in South Telangana: Agrarian change and grass root politics’ by A.K. Vaddiraju, published in EPW 34(7): 425- 30, 13 February, 1999, etc. 37

The role of land become important in the mid 20th century and the brief idea about it is provided later in the

chapter.

65

situation of the valley changed and inhabitants of different castes occupy diversified occupations as per

their capability and capacity which are influenced by many political and social situations, resulting in the

breakage of traditional relations and the emergence of (so-called) modern economy and society. In this

section, we will have a brief idea about the “economy of Johar valley” in the different time periods from

the past till present times

3.2.1 Economy of Johar region till the 1960s

Johar is situated in the Greater and Middle Himalayas region at a height measuring from 1,500 m up to

around 6, 000m above mean sea level. The presence of mountain terrain, poor soil, steep slopes and cold

climate does not permit good productivity of agriculture. Thus, environmental conditions do not provide

desirable conditions for agriculture to become the dominant occupation of the people. But the

geographical location of area, i.e. being situated close to Tibet, provides an immense opportunity for the

inhabitants of this region to act as tradesmen between two regions of India and Tibet. Bhotias, being

acclimatized to the area, are multilingual; speaking Tibetan, Kumaoni, and Hindi provides them with the

best opportunity to acts as tradesmen. Thus, unlike other Indian villages, “trade” was the first most

important element of Johar economy practiced exclusively by Bhotias (as a dominant caste).

Trade - The dominant sector

Trade simply means the exchange of goods between two or more parties at the rate mutually agreed. The

trade by Bhotias is the oldest profession carried out for last many centuries and has its mention not only in

the texts of Britishers (e.g. Himalayan gazetteer of 1882) but also in numerous other ancient manuscripts

[Pangti, 1991]. Trade of Bhotias is one of the important factors that also dictates their social and cultural

life besides being the age old occupation. The trade of Bhotias is of two types, i.e. trade with the Tibetan

people, and trade with local ‘Pahari’38 people residing in the valleys (of Uttarakhand or Uttar Pradesh of

that time) and with people in other parts of (plains of) India (e.g. Punjab, Bombay etc.). Thus, they have

to travel in both the directions throughout the year, i.e. towards the high Himalayas to reach Tibet and

towards the valley and plains to reach Indian counterparts, to keep their economy running and growing.

They predominantly act as middlemen in trade between two regions rather than producers or exclusively

sellers or buyers. They trade Indian goods in Tibet and Tibetan goods in India. As a result of the constant

movement, they adopt the transhumant mode of life. As roads are unavailable and even till today there is

38Pahari refers to “mountain people” (of all castes)

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no motor able road to Milam, transportation is done by means of pack animals such as goats, sheep, mules

etc. Thus, these animals become a important part of Bhotia economic and social life and travel with them

everywhere they go and hence the emergence of transhumance39. They travel from one place to another

with few halts in between for rest and storing depot. This results in emergence of three-settlement

structure of Bhotias as mentioned by Prasad in his book ‘Bhotia tribes of India’ [Prasad, 2016]: Summer

settlements situated near Tibetan frontier which are known as original Bhotia villages (e.g. Milam, Burfu

etc) located at the height above 3,500m and are inhabited from July to September. Here, Bhotia women

along with children and cattle would be left before male members went to Tibet for the final trade. These

settlements act as store depot for export to Tibet for various Bhotia clans. Similarly, winter settlements

include Thal, Tejam etc. situated at a height of 1,500m which serve the same purpose of providing shelter

to Bhotia women and children during November–March when male Bhotia traders proceed their journey

towards plains. Besides this two settlement, there are also middle or intermediate settlements situated at a

height of around 2,000 – 3,000m and are inhabited only for a short period during the up-down movement

of Bhotias. Our research villages, i.e. Darkot and Sharmoli, along with Jalath, Dummer etc. come in this

type of settlement, collectively known as ‘Goriphat’ area, and today form the locality called ‘Munsiyari‘.

They are used as a rest places and store depots during the commencement of trade journey.

Trade was specifically a ‘male’ occupation and practiced exclusively by the Bhotia caste people, while

Non-Bhotias contributed indirectly to the trade, by means of working as servants, cattle-rearers or tillers

of their land in lower villages (whose produce are sold in the market). Various rulers esp. from Chand

dynasty and later Britishers established the monopoly of Bhotias over trade. In earlier times, Shah traders

of Almora tried to carry out Tibetan trade on seeing the profit accumulated to Bhotias. But ignorance of

language (Tibetan), lack of pack animals, and lack of endeavor to travel in cold high mountain ranges

resulted in the failure of doing business [Pangti, 1991]. As a result, Tibetan trade in Johar region was

solely occupied by Bhotias, and other castes lived as subordinate to them. Bhotias because of their trade

reached the dominant position.

The journey of Bhotias towards Tibet began around the month of June (with the onset of summer in the

upper Johar). The villagers belonging to same territory (i.e. village) marched together after an auspicious

day for the journey was fixed by a village astrologer. The caravan consisted of hundreds of goats and

sheep along with a few mules, jibus (yak) etc. They stayed in the highest settlement for few days where

39Transhumance is the seasonal or periodic movement of pastoralists and their livestock in search of grazing, usually between two areas having distinctly different climatic and ecological conditions. Both areas have generally permanent living accommodation. [Modern dictionary of Geography, 2003].

67

animals were sent to bugyals40 for pasture and after 10-20 days they again packed to move towards Tibet.

Trade was carried on in Tibet for one-two months and by the end of August, traders started to return to

their summer settlements. By September or sometime in October end, the summer villages are completely

left off. They then reach winter settlements where again after staying for a few days they make their

journey to Bhabhar41 and Terai

42 regions and even up to Delhi, Calcutta and Bombay till April [Prasad,

2016]. Thus, the location and presence of Bhotias at a particular space (Tibet / Plains of India) at a

particular time (June / September) depend on the climatic situation of inhospitable coldness and warm

temperature. Environmental and physical conditions of Johar valley have played an important role in

determining the extent and period of trade in Bhotia regions as they have to utilize both the summer and

winter time efficiently for economic benefits. Thus, “time is money” eventually becomes true in case of

Bhotias.

The trade with Tibet was carried out almost uninterrupted till the late 1950s, i.e. till the Chinese

aggression on India. Though a lot of political and foreign aggression had taken place in between, trade as

such had never affected. In 1670, Chand ruler Baj Bahadur captureed Taklakot fort with the help of a few

Bhotias. He helped to make trade more easy and affordable for Bhotias. The British got interested in these

regions after Moorecraft commented on fruitful Tibetan trade of Bhotias in around 1814. The Britishers

later make effort to free this region from Gorkha rule which was hampering the prosperity of trade (by

levying high rate of taxes). In 1815, G.W. Trail became the first Kumaon Commissioner and took various

measures to reduce taxes for Bhotias and made a constant effort for regional development, which resuled

in the advent of various market centers for Tibetan products, e.g. Bageshwar. Later, various treaties took

place between British India, Tibet, and China in 1904, 1913, 1914 (Shimla Agreement) etc. in which easy

access to Tibet and free and unhindered trade was the main point of discussion. As a result of it, the

demand for Indian goods such as clothes, utensils, grains increased in the Tibetan market while demand

for Tibetan wool escalated manifold in Indian and British mills. Bhotias took advantage of this situation

and accumulated huge profits [Pangti, 1991]. The Tibetan trade was carried on in terms of barter system.

After the acquisition of Tibet by China in 1951 the trade moved towards currency economy from the

traditional one. Johari Bhotias were free to do trade in all of western Tibet unlike Bhotias of other regions

(because of some military help made by Bhotia’s ancestors to Tibetans in the past by saving them from

robbers). They did not have to pay huge and number of different taxes like other Bhotia traders of

different regions [Pangti, 1991].

40Alpine pasture or meadows 41Region lying south of lower Himalayas and the Shivaliks 42Lowland region in the North-western India that lies south of outer foothills of the Himalayas and north of the Indo- Gangetic plains.

68

In the opinion of locals, one of the important features of trade was unlike today’s times, where

competition and uncertainty exists; it was based on mutual faith and friendship. Two individuals, one

from Bhotia and the other from the Tibetan side entered into the pact of doing trade exclusively with each

other every time and every year. In fact, trade partners are known as ‘Mitra’ meaning friends. Earlier the

social customs dictated economic transactions, e.g. ‘sulchyu-milchyu’ (Shairchyu–dulchyu) marks the

beginning of trade partnership by drinking salted tea or wine together in one bowl, followed by feasts.

Here, Bhotias irrespective of their Hindu caste status (as they consider themselves Rajputs, i.e. Warrior

caste) forgot purity-pollution rule and engaged in drinking and other activities with their Tibetan

counterparts. It seems that economic benefits can make one’s attitude towards social customs and rules a

little flexible. To give this friendship a formal legitimacy, a stone was split into two halves and kept by

each trading partner which when joined together proved their trading rights. This process is known as

‘Gamgiya’ [Pangti, 1991]. The rate of exchange and prices of different goods were indicated secretly

only between two partners with the help of signs made with fingers and concealed within overcoat

[Prasad, 2016]. Salt, wool, and grains were traded with Tibetans on the basis of established rules and

regulations; but other things like gold dust, animals etc. were traded either through money or in the form

of clothes, utensils, ornaments etc. after establishing their price value. Besides these, Bhotia traders had

certain undivided rights. They had the opportunity to trade with the family of the daughter of Tibetan

traders once she got married. Thus their sphere of influence kept on increasing. A Tibetan trader could not

trade with other Bhotias without taking permission from his Bhotia counterpart, while a Bhotia could sell

his trading rights (or Tibetan partner) to other Bhotias as well [Pangti, 1991]. Johari Bhotias only paid

one tax called ‘la-thal’ collected by the headman of Milam village and paid to the Tibetan agent in form

of gur (jaggery) or cash. In 1943, a British trade agent introduced the written ‘Gamgiya’ (to be registered

under a British trade agent) and all friendship and trading rules were notified on stamp paper [Pangti,

1991]. The Bhotias right to trade with the family of Tibetan counterpart’s daughter was also taken off. All

disputes were to be handled in the court of the British trade agent.

The trade route to Tibet for Johari Bhotias earlier passed through Ralam pass but it was abandoned

because it was a risky and hard journey. Later, Unta Dhura pass (5,300 m) became the choice of traders

which is accompanied by various intermediate halts situated at 10-22 miles from each other [Prasad,

2016]. Gyanima (44 km far from Indian border at a height of 4,950 m) was one of the biggest and

important trade marts of western Tibet besides many other depending on the distance to travel. The road

to Tibet opened usually in June when an officer called ‘Sarji’ nominated by Tibetan official ‘Jongpan’

came to Indian Territory and met the ‘Pradhan’ (chief) in Milam who is a person from respected and

dominant family, and shared information about diseases, cattle, trade etc and also exchanged gifts and

69

goods. They then break a stone and keep one part with themselves which is a representative of sarji’s

arrival in Milam. After sarji reached Tibet and provided information about Indian conditions to their

officials, trade got started [Pangti, 1991].

One of the most imported goods from Tibet is unrefined barad salt. Till the 18th century, it was the most

important traded item with people of Kumaon, Garhwal, and far-flung areas of Nepal in exchange for

food grains. But later, with improved roads and transportation during British time, sambhar43 salt from

plains become easily available and demand of Tibetan salt decreased. But sambhar salt was considered

inferior for humans’ as well as for animals’ health and as a result of this belief, the demand for Tibetan

salt again started to increase after 1913 [Pangti, 1991]. The second important item to be imported from

Tibet is known as ‘Suhaga’ (borax) used for melting gold and other chemical reactions. Another item of

import included Pashmina (kind of very fine wool) and wool. Pashmina is light (in weight) and warmer

and of far superior quality than the normal wool. Earlier the traders from Ladakh had the exclusive right

of purchasing Pashmina from Tibet. The Kashmiris make shawls and earn huge profit from it. After

seeing this, Moorecraft was of the view of having pashmina trade from Johar and other central Himalayan

regions. After his Tibet journey in 1812, and several years of labor in the form of meeting various

officials, finally in 1824, East India Company started to buy Pashmina from Shauka people. But due to

the very small amount of breeding of pashmina goat in this part of Tibet (from where Johari used to trade)

and huge demand of pashmina in Kumaon region, eventually, led to the decrease in trade of pashmina.

With regard to wool, it was only used for domestic purpose until first few years of the 19th century. With

the increased industrialization in India, the demand for white wool increased in mills of Kanpur, Ludhiana

etc. while that of black wool in Garhwal region. Johari traders opted more to sell black wool to Garhwali

people because of high profits [Pangti, 1991]. The rest of imported items included animals such as

sheep, goats, horses, jibus, mules, dogs etc. Sheep and goats were banned for trade by Tibetan govt. but

were traded secretly for meat purposes. Besides this, the skins of animals (wild dogs, coyote etc.) were

sold to traders of Amritsar, Delhi etc. Thus, these items, i.e. salt, borax, wool and pashmina along with

animals made the major part of import of Johari Bhotias till the mid–1900s. Besides these, small

quantities of ghee (kind of clear butter), tea, gold, clothes, gold dusts etc. were also imported [Pangti,

1991].

The main items of export of Bhotias to Tibet were cloth and grains. Till the 18th century major items of

export includes food items like Jau (Sorghum), Phaphar (Buck wheat), and Gur (Jaggerry) etc. while

‘sattu’ (fat hard cloth) is presented in Gompas. Johari Bhotias used to bring different types and varieties

of clothes from Calcutta, Assam, and Kashipur for sale in Tibet. With the advent of industrialization in

43Salt collected from sambhar lake in Rajasthan (also known as ‘Romaka Lavana’)

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Europe, goods of daily use were available easily and cheap which were collected by Bhotias from various

cities and traded in Tibet. The important one in this list was cotton clothes which were demanded heavily

in Tibet as well. Besides above-mentioned items soaps, matchsticks, sugar, tobacco, cigarettes, aluminum

utensils, almonds, cardamom etc. were also exported to Tibet.

Bhotias thus, act as middlemen in trade and in this process they earned the huge profits which made them

economically better off than other communities of the region. The Johari Bhotias formed the capitalist

class of the area and led a wealthy prosperous life in comparison to other Pahari dwellers. Though trade

faced many hurdles in form of environment, a natural disaster like an earthquake, aggression by various

rulers, ‘loot by dacoits’ and wars, trade as such never got stopped and Bhotias managed to maintain their

monopoly till the early 1960s. They adapted themselves according to the conditions (social and political)

that prevailed in various time periods and maintained their economic viability.

But every Bhotia is not a rich trader. There are classes of Bhotias depending upon the volume of trade

they do. During World War II when the availability of every kind of goods is scarce, Bhotias managed to

get some ‘quantity quota’ for purchasing clothes to sell in Tibet. But no trader was so rich that he can lift

all quotas of clothes from mills at one go. They formed an organization called “Johar Trade Association

(JTA)” (which also played a role earlier in getting quota demand met from Britishers) to get the quota

amount of clothes. Almost 90 big traders were members of JTA. But it started to displace small traders

who later in 1948 formed “Johar Seva Sangh” having 1400 families and known as an organization of poor

and lower class traders (among Bhotias). Later with the effort of a few people and with the aim of equal

distribution and equal profits, 50% of quota went to 90 families and other 50% goes to 1400 families

[Pangti, 1991]. This is the peculiar example of class segregation in the capitalist system of Johar which

also affects its social ties. The division of society into two halves, i.e. rich and poor, big and small

(traders), results in inner distress among the same ethnic group. As a result of it, even some poor Bhotias

(known as ‘Bharet Kunkiyas’) because of their economic backwardness, married outside the community

as they were not able to get spouses (esp. belonging to families of rich Bhotias). They became socially

out-cast and their status in society was degraded because of their economic situation. Thus, trade as an

economic identity always plays an important role from the past in determining the social status of a

person in a Bhotia society. There is no doubt that ‘pure and pollute’ in Johari Shaukas depends upon their

material strength.

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Animal Husbnadry - The integration of trade and pastoralism

The next important occupation of people of Johar was animal husbandry. This occupation also has its root

in Tibetan trade and also forms the basis of pastoralism. As roads were absent in almost whole of the

Johar valley, the main mode of transportation were animals. Hence pastoralism was conducted in view of

trade (goat and sheep as means of transport). Sheep and goat form the important position among various

categories of animals. One can understand the importance of these animals, as richness among Bhotias is

measured in terms of the number of sheep/ goats that one can afford. Sheep and goats are used mostly as a

pack animals and their flock is known as ‘Dhakar’. Local Johari sheep is known as ‘Urpata’, while the

one bought from Kullu and Kangra (in Himachal Pradesh) is known as Khanua and they have softer wool

than the Urpata sheep. The owner of the flock is known as ‘Dhakariya’ while the one who rears the flock

in the jungle is known as ‘Anwal’ [Pangti, 1991]. The goats are supposed to carry more weight than

sheep as they are considered fit and male goats are sterilized in their early age by castrating their testicles

to carry more load [Prasad, 2016]. As roads were improved with time, animals like cow, bull, horse, and

jibbu (crossbreed of yak and cow brought from Lahul-Spiti in Himachal Pradesh) were introduced in

Johar. Bull and jibbu were used as plough and pack animals while the cow is considered as holy used

only as milch cattle. Donkeys were supposed to be the animal of lower caste but later mule was also

introduced. Mules of Lhasa and Horses of west-Tibet are considered as superior [Pangti, 1991]. The

importance of these animals was even recognized by Britishers as they imposed more animal tax than

land tax on Bhotias [Pangti, 1991]. A rich Bhotia family used to have hundereds of goats and sheep, 10-

12 mules and jibus, 3-5 ponies [Prasad, 2016]. Though Bhotia owns the flock, they are reared by anwal'

who generally belongs to scheduled caste category.

Agriculture and wool works – Sedentary occupations

Unlike typical Indian villages of the plains, agriculture is the subsidiary occupation of people of Johar

valley. As the influence of trade increased, many Bhotias got land from various rulers like Chand,

Gorkha, and the Britishers from time to time as a gift. As Bhotias were busy in trade, they allocated land

in lower and intermediate settlements to different ‘kashtkars’ (peasant class, mostly Thakurs) and got

some part of harvest as a tax from them. With this harvest, they could increase the stock of exported food

grains without doing agriculture or paying money to someone. As original agriculturalists of this region

are poor, they are not able to pay tax to the government. Bhotias, because of their economic influence,

purchase land from them and make them sharecroppers. By the 19th century, the occupancy of more and

more land in lower and intermediate villages became the new commodity of amassing wealth among

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Bhotias. Main competitors in this new struggle were Rawat, Jangpangi, Pangti, and Martolia clans.

Purchase of land became the best way to invest profit obtained from trade and thus slowly and slowly, as

in other parts of India, ‘land’ becomes the important element of prestige and power in Johar valley as well

[Pangti, 1991]. In case of upper Johar settlement, agriculture was mainly done by scheduled castes

(shilpkars) servants of Bhotias [Prasad, 2016]. There was one agriculture season for three-four months

and main crops grown were potato, phaphar, sarson (mustard), peas (matar), masur lentil etc. Potatoes

were introduced around 150 years back in Johar. In lower and intermediate villages, wheat, barley,

potato, madua (finger millet), oogal (kind of millet), cheenakoni (kind of millet) etc. were grown in Rabi

and Kharif seasons [Pangti, 1991]. Mostly women spend the majority of their time in agricultural

activities but ploughing is mainly done by men or by the family together. Thus, agriculture is an

occupation which is done by other castes, i.e. Thakurs in lower and intermediate settlements, and

shilpkars in the upper settlements. Bhotias are just holders of a land, i.e. absentee landlord who does not

perform any agricultural activity.

The occupation of wool works solely belongs to the women and that is why it never became the main

earning occupation of Bhotia people. Women do all the work from spinning wool to weaving and knitting

clothes as men were busy in trade and their animals. As men passed their hereditary occupation of trade

to their next generation, women passed skills of wool work to the next female generation. The males used

to complement the wool occupation by selling handmade woolen crafts in the market. Woolwork is done

manually and with help of traditional implements like spindle whorl etc. Various measures were taken at

different time intervals for the improvement of quality and quantity of wool works. ‘Johar society’ was

established in 1913 for increasing the influence of wool work in the economy of Johar while various new

equipments like handlooms etc. were introduced. Weaving classes were started in Almora as a school

meant for teaching woolen work and handicrafts. Later, flying shuttle was introduced and changes

occured in the dimensions (length and breadth) of various woolen handicrafts (e.g. one-meter broad

Pankhi (small carpet) can be made which was not possible earlier). Main items of manufacturing include

men’s and women’s wear such as coat, sutan (payjama), cap, kamla, aadra etc. Besides it, thulma and

chutka (a type of blanket), dann (carpet), pankhi (small carpet) etc. were also manufactured which are

used for bedding and other purposes. The items made were also sold in various annual bazaars of Thal,

Jaulijibi etc. Drugget (galicha) was introduced in Johar in around 1920 and was manufactured on the

design of Tibetan art and contains natural colors [Pangti, 1991]. Handicrafts were usually made of the

wool available from Tibet. This occupation provides not only additional money to Bhotias but also has its

unique brand in the handicraft industry not only in Uttarakhand and India but in the world as well. Wool

73

works were carried out by women of all castes but were particularly confined to Bhotias and a little to

shilpkars.

Thus, to conclude, till the 1960s Bhotias main economy was dependent on trade. Animal husbandry was

subsidiary to it as animals not only provide transport facilities but are also used for food (meat, milk) and

cloth (wool). The Bhotias accumulated huge profits from their trade esp. in the 19th–20th century with

preferable and profitable trade-specific policies of Britishers along with their hard work. This jubilance of

trade continues till the1960s and in the same time, Bhotia also accumulated land in various villages. But,

agriculture as such was never an occupation of Bhotias. They were just absentee landlord who gave their

land for sharecropping to other caste people. They had developed a patron-client relationship in which

Thakurs were partially while shilpkars were fully dependent on patron Bhotias. Besides getting a share in

the harvest, Bhotias also gained some extra by providing items of daily use (jaggery, utensils, clothes etc.)

and money to Thakur kashtkars at high interest rates and taking back their loan in the form of more share

of the harvest. Shilpkars were totally dependent on Bhotias for their stay and food. Like any other part of

India, this patron-client relationship was also biased in favor of Bhotias, i.e. the dominant class [Pangti,

1991]. The richness among Bhotias is more defined ‘in kind’ and less in currency value, i.e. in terms of

volume of trade (the amount of goods traded). The strength of herds and later, the amount of land

determined the lavishness of Bhotias. The Bhotias earned huge profit by trading goods at a higher rate

than their cost price on both Tibetan and Indian sides. On the contrary, their expenditure was low, as

much of their basic needs of food, clothes were met locally, cheaply and easily.

Nothing much has been said about the economic conditions of ‘other caste’ people esp. Thakurs and

scheduled castes, but as per various writers and scholars, they were dependent on Bhotias for their

subsistence pattern of life. Thakurs occupy the profession of agriculturalist or more precisely share-

cropper, while shilpkars perform all types of work from menial to agricultural for Bhotias. They are not

paid as per their labor, esp. shilpkars who not only go with Bhotias to higher settlement as their servants

but also do agricultural work and rearing of animals for them. The lives of scheduled castes were

completely dependent on the mercy of Bhotias. Thakurs, on the other hand, mostly led a settled life at one

place and carried out agriculture and received a portion of produce as remuneration for their services.

Overall, the economic condition of both the subordinate castes was not so good, but the condition of

shilpkars was egregious. Thus, trade along with the feudal relationship of Bhotias and others were the

main characteristics of the economy of Johar till mid-twentieth century.

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Photo 3.1: Trade mart in Tibet

Source: Photo provided by Dr. Frederic Landy

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Photo 3.2: ‘Bhotia woman carrying handicraft activities’


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Photo: 3.3: Journey during trade


77

3.2.2 The difficult decades of the 1960s-1970s

As Bhotias were completely dependent on the trade for their sustenance and wellbeing (other occupations

being subsidiary), the cessation of trade in the early 1960s comes as a ‘shock’ to the Bhotia society. They

not only lost their sole earning source but the whole economic, social and political structure of the society

also changed. Let us discuss the impact of discontinuation of trade to Bhotias economy.

Trade with Tibet was completely stopped in 1962. The economic space of the border region was taken

over by the military, and the marts of trade became the new army control centers to keep an eye on the

enemy. Suddenly, the high altitude settlements, which were original settlements of Bhotias, lost their

significance for them. There was no purpose to live in the high altitude harsh cold weather if you were not

making any profit from it. Besides, there is little or no agriculture at that high altitude that could sustain a

population throughout the year. The worst affected by the stoppage of trade were Bhotias, followed by

their immediate servants, shilpkars, and finally Thakurs.

The agricultural land was the major entity that went into a change and brought about major social,

economic transformation in the society of Johar valley. The one option for Bhotias after the trade

vanished was to move to winter and intermediate settlements and carry out the agricultural activities. But

the zamindari abolition act of 1952 (land to tiller) which fully came into force by 1960s in the Kumaon

region made Bhotias lose their land to Thakur kashtkars. Thakurs, being the original tillers of land were

the main beneficiaries of the act. They got land in almost all the middle and lower villages while in the

upper settlements Bhotias and SCs being the only tillers retained their portions. Also, land ceiling act

(there is a limit to the amount of land that one can hold) prevented some Bhotias from retaining a huge

amount of land and thus forcibly distributing it to the needy ones. Thus, land is the main source of power

of that with time got shifted from Bhotias to Thakurs. This incident marks the beginning of breakage of

the traditional patron-client relationship in which Bhotias find themselves on the losing side. Overall to

conclude, Bhotia lost land in the winter and intermediate settlements where agricultural activities could be

carried out almost for whole of the year, while they were able to retain their land in the upper settlements

which remain under snow for half a year and agriculture is almost confined to one or two crops at the

most. Thus, Bhotias found themselves in a disadvantaged position and some of them became totally

landless. There started the constraint relationship between Bhotias and Thakurs [Prasad, 2016]. The

relation between shilpkars and Bhotias also loosened their ties as Bhotias no longer have the capacity to

sustain, support and keep the servants with them (as they do not need much labor to plough small land or

rear animals) with declining economy.

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As for livestock, with the end of the trade, ‘keeping of animals’ also lost its importance. The pastoralism

almost disappeared for the Bhotias and sedentary mode of life started to take its position. There was a

time when even educated youth wanted to become ‘dhakariya’ (one who keeps and rears animals) and

kept a large number of pack animals as a matter of prestige [Pangti, 1991]. The big size of herd now

became a burden instead of a sign of wealth. With the development of roads esp. rural roads in various

parts of the country after independence and increased transport facilities, the worth of pack animals

decreased. The emergence of van-panchayats44 in the villages of Uttarakhand along with the appropriation

of various kinds of forests by the state further led to decrease in availability of pastures for the animals. It

became difficult to manage and feed large herds of sheep and goats. They either sold their animals or

consumed them for mutton purposes [Prasad, 2016]. A few people have kept cattle for milk, and sheep

and goat for wool and mutton purposes. Though many programmes were run by government after 1954

(and in upcoming years) such as cross-breeding of sheep with foreign breeds for better wool and health,

establishment of various Cooperatives to provide cheap loan for buying animals, animal hospitals for free

check-up and cure of diseases, etc., yet low economic returns do not favour the occupation to thrive

[Pangti, 1991]. Also, the young generation has little interest in the rearing of animals, esp. after the

disappearance of the trade.

Thus, the decade of 1960 and 1970 proved to be a nightmare for the Bhotia society and can also be

termed as “two decades of trouble”. All the male-dominated occupations, i.e. trade and animal husbandry,

lost their value because of the prevailing external conditions of that time. Political situation between the

two countries (India and China) led to the loss of economic and social ties between the people of both the

sides. Bhotias who had lent money and goods to their Tibetan counterparts were never able to meet them

again and recover the same. This situation also definitely impacted the pride of Bhotia males who

suddenly had no work and little money to feed their families. Suddenly, their position, esp. of the rich

Bhotias (big traders) had changed from “Raja se rank” (from the King to a poor person). In the

meanwhile, internal political conditions of India made Bhotias lose their land. This made them feel like

“loser” from all sides.

In the mid-1960s when situation become so bad that even meeting basic expenses for many Bhotias

seemed to be a demanding task, they started moving towards “wool work” as a main economic

occupation. This was the occupation which never had a willingness and support of male Bhotias [Pangti,

1991], but suddenly it became the prime occupation and feeder and saver of Bhotia society. People were

able to settle at one place only because of it. This state of affairs again shows the adaptation of Bhotia

society to different conditions to maintain their economic situation somehow viably. During the trade,

44 The forest owned by the state and managed and governed by the village community for its local use.

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they kept their social status aside and indulged in eating, drinking and other activities with their Tibetan

partners for the sake of economic benefits, and after the1960s they adopted wool work which was meant

exclusively for women, thus changing the gender roles in the economy. The patriarch Bhotias took

“women’s occupation” and carried it out with hard work and zeal for their survival. Thus, the occupation

which hold the lowest position among subsidiary occupations became the mainstay for Bhotias’ economy

during middle decades of the 20th century at the time of distress. Though wool from Tibet was not

directly available, the wool through Nepal (from Tibet) was made available for the next few years to

make the Bhotias survive.

3.2.3 Successful economic diversification after the 1980s

The political situation that created the economic crisis of Johar in the 1960s also created a situation for

another political measure that proved to be a boon for Bhotia people. The Government of India, after

various resolutions and in concern with the demands of Bhotias, granted them the status of “Scheduled

tribes45” in 1967. With this, due to the national and State affirmative action policy, they enjoy a defined

reserved quota for admission in schools, higher educational institutions, scholarships and most

importantly in all categories of Government jobs. This event came as a lifeline to Bhotias whose tangible

results were visible during the 1980s when the majority of Bhotias were going for and getting govt. jobs.

As mentioned earlier, in the 1960s–70s wool work was the main occupation of the Bhotias, but the

numbers of takers of this occupation also tended to became lower with the coming of reservations. Import

of wool from Nepal was reduced while the use of yarn from local mills in Panipat etc. was increased in

making carpets. But this yarn is costly and it could not prove much beneficial to the Johari people

[Pangti, 1991]. Though various measures were taken to improve the quality of wool work by providing

pashmina wool and Angora rabbit at a subsidised rate, cheap availability of manufacturing tools and

machinery, setting up of various ‘gramodyog’ and handicraft organizations yet lack of market always

create uncertainty about this occupation to become an economic mainstay. By the end of the1980s, only a

few people in selected villages were practicing wool work while many moves to other kinds of

occupations.

45Specific indigenous people (based on primitive traits, distinctive culture, geographical isolation, backwardness etc.) whose status is acknowledged to some formal degree by national legislation. For details read Article 342 of Constitution of India.

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Government Service – Neo-dominant occupation

One of the most important occupations of Bhotias which emerged during the last decades of 20th century

and which is still the popular one is to be a “Government servant”, i.e. to have a job in various

government organizations including Army. The community which considered government service inferior

and a symbol of slavery during trade times now takes it as an issue of prestige. This is another example of

compromising cultural values of Bhotias, where the economy can dictate a person to pursue things as per

prevailing conditions rather than rigid social thinking and rules. With the advent of reservation and

opening of schools and colleges in the Johar region, many young people were attracted towards education

and getting jobs in the government and the private sector. In the words of Dr. Pangti “money-order

civilization takes over the Johar valley” [Pangti, 1991]. This led to ‘migration of Bhotias’ outside Johar

to various towns and cities. It is generally said that “those who remain in various villages of Johar

(winter and intermediate) are either poor in learning in school or are economically poor from the

beginning (from trade-era)”. There are good numbers of civil servants and other white collar

personalities in the small community of Bhotias. A few people also got civilian awards like ‘PadmaShri’

for their dedicated service to the nation while there are more than 25 personalities who got President

Awards in various fields. There are significant numbers of people within the community who migrated

outside the country and established their name, while there are many who also hold Ph.D. degree [Pangti,

2010]. Thus, one can understand the impact of reservation and education on the new uplifted status of

Bhotias after the trade era. Now, these days, government jobs are considered to be the superior kind of

occupation (as in case of pan–India) and every youth wants to achieve that goal. It has emerged as the

only way to keep and strengthen pride, position, and power of Bhotias in the region after the trade had

been stopped. The other two castes, i.e. scheduled castes (who also have reservation) and Thakurs were

also engaged in the government services but their numbers are less in comparison to the Bhotias mainly

because of lack of education and money in case of the former and lack of reservation in case of the latter

(analysis made during survey of local people in Darkot and Sharmoli).

Travel and Tourism

Lofty mountains, snow-covered peaks, passes and rivers, variety of fauna and flora, trekking routes along

with various adventurous sports provide a set of perfect conditions for visiting this place esp. to get away

from the tiring city life. Munsiyari to Milam provides a magnificent, though difficult, trek route to nature

lovers along with halts at places such as Lilam, Bugdyar, Martoli etc. Many local people have erected

temporary sheds made of tin or thatched roof (as a kind of hotel) and provide food and other basic

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facilities (sleep and halt at night) to the passersby. Many local people are also engaged as guides and

porters who form a subsidiary element of the tourism industry. In Munsiyari, where the motor able road

ends, a number of national and international tourists come to see snow-covered peaks of ‘Panchchuli’

mountain along with enjoying the local tribal culture.

It is only after 1980 that tourism in this area begins to rise46. Trekkers come to see mountains like Nanda

Devi (7,816m, the second highest peak in India), Hardeol, Panchchuli (from Munsiyari) etc along with a

visit to Bugyals (alpine pastures) of Milam. The reason for this change is the emergence of the metalled

road and improved communication facilities (though still one has to take permission from the designated

government and military authority for trekking and one is not allowed to go beyond a particular point or

to take photographs). Munsiyari becomes the important hub and a halting place for many to start trekking.

With improved roads and availability of modern construction material by the beginning of the 1970s,

some new hotels and guest houses came up during the period. With upcoming of modern hotels, the

volume of visitors also increased as multifarious tourists from different parts of India esp. Bengal,

Maharashtra, Gujarat were visiting this place during April-June, September–November. Later in 2004,

‘home-stays’ were started in Munsiyari as a new form of village tourism in which stay, food along with a

glimpse of village life were the main attraction for tourists. People also constructed lodges and hotels in

the event of its occupancy by the ‘hydel project’ staff but it never happened [there was a proposal of a

hydro project to come up and occupy these resorts as a home for their staff (which happens for a few

months) but due to problems of environmental degradation and its opposition by local people, the project

was forced to move out]. Thus, by the start of 21st century, hotels along with tourism (in form of

trekking, travel agents etc.) have been the key occupation of the people of these areas. People of all

castes are engaged in tourism and travel works but the majority of hotels and home-stays (in and around

Munsiyari) are owned by Bhotias.

Tourism also helps a lot in the thriving of wool work industry as well. Tourists who visit these places also

like to make purchases of local items esp. wool work which is unique to this place. This helps many

people to carry and continue wool work occupation who once thought of giving it up. There are many

villages, e.g. Darkot, where handicraft is the main occupation of families.

46 Johar (Munsiyari) is not a big touristic place where millions of tourists visit every year. Though official data of

number of visitors are not available but in the opinion of hoteliers (15 hotels around Munsiyari) and home stay

respondents (10 families), 20,000 – 25,000 tourists visit the place while around 2, 000 people come for trekking and

adventurous sports per year.

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Business of herbs and other agricultural products

A lot of herbs grow in the Himalayas esp. above the height of 15,000 feet which provides not only health

benefits but holds a huge economic value as well. The upper Johar has many natural herbs such as kutki

(Picrorhizakurrooa), jimbu (Alliumstracheyi), timur (Gentholizmrlatus), atis (Aconitumheterophyllum),

laljhadi (Macrotodiabenthmai), bhojpatra (Betulautilis), brahmakamal (Saussureaobvallata),

kasturikamal (Delphinium brunonianum) etc. The commercial collection of herbs was absent till mid–20th

century. The Johari people used to collect these herbs but for self use [Pangti, 1991]. It was never a part

of the trade. But later, with the increased demand for these herbs in markets of Delhi and Bombay, the

herbs as a commodity entered the market economy. Earlier there was no administrative check on such

activities but with time, state check and other measures of quantity and quality controls were introduced

to check illegal and unscientific exploitation of herbs [Pangti, 1991]. Jimbu is the main herb crop which

is in the form of wild grass. Agriculturalisation of jimbu began around 1970s and it became the main herb

to be sold in the market around 1980s [Pangti, 1991]. The other main herb (actually a fungus) is

“yarsagombu” or “kira–jhari” or cordyceps which is used as an “energy giver” or for increasing sexual

power. It is a parasite of larva which comes onto earth after the snow starts to melt and one under goes a

lot of physical hard work (e.g. by continuously digging snow) to obtain it. The market price of kira- jhari

can be as huge as between Rs. 500,000 - Rs. 100,000 per kg. Many people across castes (Bhotias or SCs)

who are inhabitants of upper Johar go for collecting kira-jhari and sell them at a very high rate in the

national and international market.

Thus, collecting kira-jhari along with agriculturalization of various crops like jimbu etc. became one of

the important occupations of Johari people by mid-1980s. But, in my opinion, this occupation confined

mostly to the lower class people (small traders or shilpkars servants of trade era) esp. those who are less-

educated and could not avail the benefits of quota and jobs and thus are left in the village.

Other sedentary occupations

Shopkeeping is the other profession that is adopted by Bhotias and many other castes as their source of

income. As in the words of Prasad “Some rich Bhotias who were having capital and cash money got

settled at different places by opening shops of different commodities like cloth, food grains, stationeries

etc.” [Prasad, 2016]. Because Bhotias used to have long-term trade relations with the merchants of the

Terai region, the former were facilitated by the latter by providing them with articles of sale on credit and

part payment. Bhotias thus converted from nomad traders to the settled ones [Prasad, 2016].

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Working as a daily wage laborer in construction, agriculture and other activities is another important

occupation of the people of Johar region. In the intermediate villages of Johar, many inhabitants across all

castes, work as construction labor in Border Roads Organisation or GREF (General Reserve Engineer

Force) or with private contractors. They work as contractual workers and get a fixed salary or sometimes

on daily wages. They are mostly landless and do not have money to invest [Prasad, 2016]. They represent

the lower class of the workers (across all the different castes) with regard to various occupations.

Thus, to conclude, main occupations of the people of Johar valley after the 1980s are government service,

tourism and shopkeeping, labor and collecting herbs from the Himalayas, etc. Though no caste has as

such particular claim over certain kind of work (like Bhotias had over trade), still there is the dominance

of Bhotias in white collar works as compared to other castes. Travel and tourism have revived the

handicraft industry to a small extent but still it cannot provide a good source of income to all. The use and

keeping of animals have also changed from the past. They now mostly meet the domestic purposes rather

than being used for transport and wool.

The whole discussion of the economy of Johar can be summed in Table 3.1. Bhotias were traders till

1960s and pursued wool work as their main occupation along with numerous other subsidiary jobs during

the hard time of 1960s and 1970s. Later with reservation, government service becomes the prime choice

and occupation of Bhotias. Many got migrated and those who are left in the villages (due to lower

educational and economic status) pursue various jobs like tourism, hoteleering, agriculturalists (in upper

Johar), labor etc. In a similar way, Thakurs were sharecroppers till 1960s and later become landlords and

agriculturalists, which is still their main occupation. Scheduled castes adopted various kinds of jobs such

as tailoring, handicrafts, labor, etc. after their ties with patron Bhotias become weak.

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Table 3.1: List of the main occupation of different castes of Johar in different time periods

YEAR BHOTIAS THAKURS

(GENERAL)

SHILPKARS (SC)

Till 1960 Traders Share croppers in middle

and lower villages

Servants + Share croppers

in high altitude villages

1960 - 1970 Wool works Agriculturalists in middle

and lower villages

Various kinds of works

(tailors, laborers,

servants, agriculturists

etc.)

1970 - onwards Govt. service Agriculturalists in middle

and lower villages

Various kinds of works

(tailors, labors, servants,

etc.)

*Based on discussion with local people of Munsiyari and various scholars e.g. (Late) Dr. S.S. Pangti,

Laxman Pangti, (Late) Dr. R.S. Tolia etc.

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CHAPTER 4

CHANGING LANDSCAPES AND CULTURE

‘Landscape is like a book, written and rewritten by groups and individuals’ [Verma, 2009]: As mentioned

in the quote, the meaning of the landscape is unstable and depends on different interpretations. On the one

hand there are “writers” who produce and add meanings to the landscape, while on the other hand there

are ”readers” who read messages in the landscape [Verma, 2009]. Sometimes what is meant by the writer

is interpreted differently by the reader.

‘Landscape’ as a word was introduced in the 16th Century from the Dutch to describe a pictorial

representation of countryside [Verma, 2009]. The very notion of landscape at that time was mainly

concerned with the rural landscapes or a village or countryside. Later, this concept was introduced into

the European and other parts of the world during the advent of modern time with the emergence of the

movement of Renaissance, when man began to make progress in every field of life; and science and

technology along with rational thinking began to dominate man’s thoughts and behavior. Landscape came

into English language in the early 17th century as a designation of a ‘type of painting’ [Verma, 2009].

According to John Wylie, English dictionary defines landscape “that portion of land or scenery which the

eye can view at once”. He further adds that ‘portion of land’ means landscapes are real, and belong to an

external, objectively real world. They are not just figments of imagination. On the other hand, ‘scenery’

means something viewed by the eye. It means not just land itself but land as seen from a particular point

of view. It is not just a phenomenon but also our perception of it. It is not just seeing but also how we

look [Wylie, 2007]. Thus, definition of landscape itself provides dichotomy in its meaning. It is real as a

portion of land that we can gaze at and it is also at the same time, our imagination of the space.

The concept of landscape is approached in different ways by people belonging to different fields of study.

It is represented in drawing, photography, paintings, scenery, music, songs, story, and writings and in

many other uncountable different ways. For painters like Cézanne, the idea of landscape is where the

observer and the observed, self and landscape are intertwined. For historians like Raymond, landscape

implies separation and observation [Wylie,2007]. This duality in meaning of landscape is further

modified by scholars by asking question ‘landscape as a scene we are looking at or a world we are living

in’ or ‘do we observe or inhabit landscape?’ [Wylie, 2007]. Duality, thus, in various forms remains an

important part of the concept of landscape.

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With respect to geography, the term landscape came to be more widely used when the very concept of

Determinism47 lost its significance with the emergence of the Possibilist48 perspective that started with

Paul Vidal de la Blache and others. Landscape is divided by many geographers into two types: natural or

cultural. Natural landscapes are those which got their shapes through natural processes and there is no

intervention of human hand. However, such landscapes are very difficult to find as even the arctic is

modified by humans by means of climate change. As Carl Sauer says there is no natural landscape in the

world because mankind left its traces behind everywhere [Verma, 2009]. Cultural landscapes are those

which are built by human intervention. In it, the culture of inhabitants plays an important role in the

dynamic nature of changing landscapes. Cultural processes are primary while the natural process occupies

the second place [Verma, 2009]. Cultural landscape is always an important topic of investigation for the

geographers. Most of the earlier period of cultural landscape geography was dominated by geographers

like Sauer, Hoskins and Jackson who predominantly deal with rural landscapes while later studies were

focused mainly on the urban landscapes. Thus main topic for geographers is: “Cultural construction of

nature” [Wylie, 2007] and our main focus in this chapter will be on cultural landscapes or ‘rural

landscapes’ of two villages: Darkot and Sharmoli.

No established definition of “rural” does exist but it is defined as a place which is not urban. Rural is

always defined by exclusion. In many countries, the urban area is defined on the basis of population and

the services and facilities they provide. Rural areas are generally identified by the characteristics they

hold, e.g. few buildings and people, developed on basis of natural vegetation, less pollution, primary

activities’ dominance, low living standard, poor infrastructure and communication facilities etc. [Saxena,

2012]. Rurality is also seen as a social construct, reflecting a world of social, moral, cultural values. The

definition of a rural area is depicted by description of a village as concluded from the Census of India

which has represented various categories of village in terms of population size e.g. small village, medium,

large, big and very big, having population ranging between less than 500, 500- 999, 1000 – 1999, 2000-

4999 and more than 5000 respectively [Singh, 1994]. In my opinion, Landscapes (of the village) comprise

mainly man-made elements. Natural landscape of a village may consist of forests, rivers, and natural

pathways etc. but they are also touched by man as per his use and benefits. Cultural landscape (e.g.

houses, fields, etc.) is fashioned from natural landscape by a cultural group. Culture is the agent, natural

area is medium and cultural landscape is a result [Wylie, 2007]. In this chapter I try to provide a

47 The philosophical doctrine that people are largely conditioned by their environment which therefore determines their pattern of life [Modern Dictionary of Geography, 2003] 48 It is a concept that physical environment is passive and that man is active agent to chose between wide range of environmental possibilities [Modern Dictionary of Geography, 2003]

87

description of the landscape from the viewpoint of an ‘outsider’ (me) while gazing at, viewing and

understanding the landscape with the help of the villagers, respondents and my wisdom.

4.1 LANDSCAPE OF THE VILLAGES OF DARKOT AND SHARMOLI

Darkot and Sharmoli are two important villages of the Munsiyari Tehsil and are situated between the

altitudes of 1,700m–2,300m above the mean sea level. As this area is known as Johar valley, inhabited

predominantly by Bhotia or Shauka community, so this is also a ‘Johari/ Bhotia/ Shauka’ landscape. As

the Bhotias of this area are Hindu as well as Scheduled Tribe (status provided by the Govt. of India), this

landscape also presents the duality of caste Hindus and tribal culture. The main focus of this chapter will

be to explain how physical space changes over time and what processes cause these changes. In my

approach of the chapter, we will explain the landscape of Darkot and compare Sharmoli vis-à-vis Darkot.

The landscape has various components which include vegetation, fields, buildings, boundaries, forests,

circulation networks, streams etc., and even minute elements like foot bridges and road signs which may

have the image of culture of various groups or dominant group of the region and also contain an

acknowledgement of the environmental factors. These components inform not only about the present but

also provide logical explanation of the conditions which have existed in the past. It is said that rural

landscapes in most of the developing countries are governed primarily by taking into account the

constraints of environmental factors esp. in mountainous regions where slope, rainfall or sunshine,

presence of rugged terrain etc. can play a vital role in modification of landscape, but cultural factors such

as religion, beliefs, caste and other social factors also have a significant influence on the space.

4.1.1 Nomenclature -

The very first element of settlement geography is to explain the name of landscape/ settlement. Darkot is

one of the middle villages of Bhotias which is used for halting during their trade travel from Milam

(upper Johar) to lower plain areas and back. According to 1961 Census monograph republished in a local

magazine called ‘Smarika’:“the history of the (Darkot) village is lost in hoary past but its name can be

clearly explained” [Smarika, 2014]. Earlier it was called ‘Diarkot’ which could be a combination of two

words Diar (Deodar tree) and Kot (fortress). It was allegedly a fortress of deodar trees. In a second

etymology, it is defined as a place of dense forest which served as a grazing ground for animals. In this

forest, a tribe called Diyari lived, thus it is also a stronghold of Diyaris known as Dyarkot. Later it came

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to be known as Darkot [Smarika, 2014]. Yet, in discussion with many local scholars and residents, first

definition, i.e. land of deodar trees, seems to have more association with the name.

Darkot is different from other Bhotia villages esp. in upper Johar where all the main Bhotia villages have

their name derived from different clans, or vice versa, people residing in villages of upper Johar derive

their surname from them e.g. Milamwal, Rawat, Pangti, Dharamsaktu from Milam; Biljwal from Bilju,

Martolia from Martoli village etc. But Darkot, as a name suggests, does not signify belonging to

particular clan or caste. In my opinion, in the past, it might suggest that Bhotias may not have actual sense

of belonging to these middle villages in comparison to the feelings they used to have for villages of upper

Johar that directly relates land (as a source of power) to their name. Bhotias might have limited sense of

belonging to these villages as during trade times other subordinate castes occupy and use land (mainly for

living and agriculture) for most part of time in a year, in place of transhumant Bhotias (as absentee

landlords). But still, as they have economic and social power and are large in numbers as compared to

others, they have capacity to mould landscape as per their needs and culture with the help of subordinate

classes and thus make the landscape of these villages resemble the upper Johar valley, giving an imprint

of Bhotia culture to the land and hence Bhotia landscape. It was only after the end of trade in mid-1960

that Bhotia began to settle permanently in these middle and lower villages along with their subordinate

class of helpers. Thus, with settled life and later with land reforms system, a new ‘much strong’ concept

of territoriality actually marked a fresh beginning in the landscape of Darkot village.

On the other hand, the meaning of the name of village Sharmoli as such is not clear and there is ambiguity

in its definition when asked from various respondents and scholars.This is strange, since Sharmoli is more

recent (constructed) village in comparison to Darkot. . But, there is a probability that there might be a

couple of houses in a very ancient time in Sharmoli, and etymology might have been forgotten.

4.1.2 Area and population –

The total reported area of Darkot village as per Revenue records is around 98.4 hectares, while area under

forest is almost 64 hectares which is 68% of the total reported area. Agricultural land of the village is

around 19.5 hectares (20% of total reported area) which is not irrigated by any source. Except agriculture,

other land that is put into use comprises 0.5 hectares [Revenue record, 2011]. As per reference year 2009,

there are total 97 households in Darkot [Revenue record, 2011] while as per 2011 census there are total

437 inhabitants, with Scheduled Tribes (Bhotias) having population of 178 (41%), while scheduled castes

and generals have population of 107 (24%) and 152 (35%) respectively [Revenue record, 2011] (Table

4.1). On looking at the census data, Darkot gives an image of a typical Indian village having different

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castes, but at the same time there is absence of Hindu Brahmin and other backward classes. Thus, overall,

village Darkot comprises dominant caste Bhotias (though, Scheduled tribes) and high caste Thakurs

(General caste, also considered themselves as Rajput) and lower caste called Scheduled castes. To

conclude, the socio-religious landscape of Darkot is comprised of three cultural groups: Bhotia, General

and Scheduled castes. Each cultural group (caste) of Darkot landscape is further divided into many sub

groups. Though Bhotia comprise many distinct clans (Pangti, Dharamsaktu, Martolia, Janpangi, Biljwal,

Dhapwal etc.), Darkot is predominantly inhabited by Pangti and Dharamsaktu with minute presence of

Sayana, Tolia and other sub-castes of Bhotias. Thakur or General caste consists of Karki, Bhatt and Bisht

sub-castes, while scheduled castes form a separate group recognized by surname “Ram” at the end. All

these groups have combined influence on the landscape of Darkot village.

Table 4.1: Census data for Darkot

Caste Population of Darkot village

1961 2001 2011

Bhotias 454 (84%) 197 (58%) 178 (41%)

General 13 (2%) 47 (14%) 152 (35%)

Scheduled

castes

71 (13%) 96 (28%) 107 (24%)

Brahmin 7 (1%) - -

Total 543 (100%) 340 (100%) 437 (100%)

*Obtained from Smarika, 2014 and Revenue record 2001, 2011

(Census data for 1971, 1981 and 1991could not be found)

Darkot is among the oldest villages of Johar valley established during the era of Tibetan trade. Some of

the lines from the 1961 monograph are “Majority of households were settled here before five generations.

No households come from outside the state. Village also has one Brahmin family who comes from outside

the district. Village has nearly all the main castes, viz., Kshatriya, Brahmin and Vaishyas in the form of

Bhotias” [Smarika, 2014]. As per the 1961 monograph, entire population of the village is Hindu

dominated by Pangti and Dharamsaktu living with their Shilpkars in their specific portion [Smarika,

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2014]. At that time there were 103 households with population of 543, with Bhotias comprising 84% of

the total population. Scheduled castes comprised 13%, while General (Kshatriya) had only 2% stake in

the total population of a village [Smarika, 2014]. Thus, with respect to 1961 data, Darkot is clearly a

Bhotia village. The very first constructed landscape of Darkot has the cultural influence of Bhotia

dominance. Later on, population of Bhotias kept on decreasing census by census, while population of

other two groups increased substantially. By 2011, Bhotias have lost their population by more than 50%

while General population has increased more than 10-fold in comparison to 1961. There is slow increase

in the population of Shilpkars as compared to General caste people. The only Brahmin family is also

absent in the village [See Table 4.1]. 1961 monograph also says “The only Brahmin family was that of a

compounder employed in the hospital which has now shifted to another place” [Smarika, 2014]. Though

Bhotias make only 41% of the total population in 2011 census, yet in numbers, Bhotias still hold relative

majority as compared to all others castes. Thus, to conclude, while present landscape of Darkot might

have an influence of all the castes, the very first layer of cultural landscape is influenced by Bhotia culture

because of their number, economy, power and social dominance over others, which is still very visible in

the present landscape.

Sharmoli49, on the other hand, is the important and nearest village from the core Munsiyari and also

shares its boundary with the core and hence there is a continuity of the (so–called) urban-rural (periurban)

fringe. It is comprised of three hamlets: Sharmoli, Shankhdhura and Nanasem, out of which Sharmoli and

Shankhdhura are considered as separate villages by revenue department but under Sharmoli gram sabha,

while Nanasem is included in Sharmoli and does not have any official identity. In my survey, all three

hamlets are considered as one, i.e. Sharmoli (as they come under Sharmoli gram sabha). Sharmoli has a

reported area of 210 hectare (twice bigger than Darkot in terms of area) while 58 hectare (28%) of area is

under forest and almost 64 hectare (30%) of agricultural land which is non-irrigated [Revenue record,

2011]. As per 2009 status, there are 260 households in Sharmoli gram sabha (216 in Sharmoli and

Nanasem while 44 in Shankhdhura) [Revenue record, 2011]. The central part of village Sharmoli can be

reached within a range of 1,000-1,500m distance from Munsiyari. It is one of the biggest villages and is

situated at the height of 2,300–2,500 meter above mean sea level.

First difference between Sharmoli and Darkot is that the former is not as old as latter. Sharmoli is a young

village where construction started only in last 50 years when all the main offices of Tehsil, block, school,

49 In my survey, the term ‘Sharmoli’ means Sharmoli Gram Sabha, i.e. all the three villages under consideration (Sharmoli, Shankhdhura and Nanasem). In order to mention an individual village, the word ‘hamlet’ is added at end of the name of the village i.e. Shankhdhura hamlet means Shankhdhura village, Sharmoli hamlet means Sharmoli village and Nanasem hamlet means Nanasem village.

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and hospital etc. started to come up in places like Tiksain, Ghorpatta etc. (known as Munsiyari) in 1960s.

With these offices came a few shops and guest houses and slowly and slowly present market took its

shape. Sharmoli, being nearest to Munsiyari, started to be the main ‘choice of stay’ for people who are

willing to shift near the market, school and work of place. Although, many people have their lands in

Sharmoli since the time of trade and there are a few houses as well, but many started to construct houses

only in the last three decades.

Table 4.2: Census data for Sharmoli

Caste Population of Sharmoli in census

2001 2011

Bhotias 609 (76.3%) 633 (61.6%)

General 146 (18.3%) 321 (31.3%)

Scheduled

castes

43 (5.4%) 73 (7.1%)

Total 798 (100%) 1027 (100%)

*Obtained from Revenue record 2001-2011

Table 4.2 shows the census data for the village Sharmoli for the year 2001-2011. The overall population

of Sharmoli has increased at a rate of 29% in the last two decades and interestingly, it is close to the

Darkot which also grows at same rate in the decade of 2001-11.

In Sharmoli, population of Bhotias (in terms of numbers) is increasing (though at a very low rate) which

in case of Darkot, is decreasing sharply. While, like Darkot, population of general and scheduled castes in

Sharmoli is increasing at a sharp rate as can be seen in table 4.2. But, still population of Bhotias (in terms

of numbers) in Sharmoli is almost double of general castes and eight times of scheduled castes as per

census 2011. So, this village also presents a case of Bhotia landscape (with Bhotia as its main

population). Thus, Sharmoli is also a Bhotia territory as more than 60% of the population of the village is

Bhotias. Unlike Darkot, there is presence of Brahmins in Sharmoli like Pandey (Hindu Brahmin) along

with presence of Nitwal group (Bhotia Brahmin) while OBC’s (other backward classes) are also absent in

the village Sharmoli. Sharmoli is not a closed village as Darkot as a few from outside the state (Punjabis

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and South Indians) have their houses here that play an important role in the design of its landscape. Also,

Sharmoli is not dominated by a few clans of Bhotias as in Darkot but has a conspicuous presence of all

clans.

Before going further, there are few a questions that come into the mind of reader when he/ she reads about

the basic population statistics of the two villages. The very first question is: Why population of Bhotias

is decreasing in Darkot? The possible answer to the question is because of migration of Bhotias to

nearby villages (such as Sharmoli, Nanasem etc.) and to other towns and cities (many families in Darkot

are living permanently outside the district because of employment factor) leading to the decrease in

population of Bhotias in Darkot. The population of scheduled castes in both the villages has been

increasing slightly every year, mainly attributed to the natural increase of population and division of

family and a little to the migration from nearby villages. With regard to Thakurs, many families (from

nearby villages) have come up in Sharmoli in the last few years for employment and education purposes.

As decadal growth rates of both villages are same, does this means that our hypothesis is false? Does

distance play any role in attracting people near to core? As population of Darkot shows a decreasing trend

till 2001 and has increased only in the last decade, it is possible that with the strengthening of the core

(i.e. opening of new schools, colleges, more employment opportunities) the population of the peripheral

villages is also increasing as many who could not afford the high rents and cost of houses50 in Sharmoli

will have to settle in a place which is least far and easily affordable to the family. On the other hand,

population of Sharmoli is twice in comparison to the Darkot as per 2011 census, and there is no doubt that

Sharmoli and nearby villages are increasing rapidly in comparison to the far situated villages. The

situation about the growth of two villages will become clearer as we move to the upcoming chapters.

4.1.3 Landscape of Darkot and Sharmoli –

‘Village’ in India officially stands for area demarcated as ‘mauza’ meaning parcel of ground with definite

boundaries, for revenue purposes without clear and consistent regard for its population [Singh, 1994]. The

notion of ‘Indian village’ is a misnomer as no two villages are same [Madan, 2002] and thus each and

every village (i.e. landscape) has to be viewed differently, esp. when a village is a dwelling place of

‘diverse and unequal castes’ [Srinivas, 1987]. In my opinion, village encompasses all the man–made and

natural elements in a defined territory which can be considered as synonym to the landscape, though the

50 Rent of one room in Sharmoli is around Rs. 1,500–Rs. 2,000 per month while in Darkot it is as cheap as Rs. 500 per month [Based on survey] which can overcome the travelling cost (i.e. Rs.10 per person from Darkot to Sharmoli). As menial works such as labour work is also available nearby Darkot (in BRO/GREF), one did not need to travel to Sharmoli daily for finding hourly-wage work.

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later encompasses a very large area. A very important part of landscape or village is settlement.

Settlement is the ‘concrete expression’ of anthropogenic and later on technogenic adaptations of human

being [Singh, 1994]. Settlement in general is also a collection of houses and traditional rural houses which

expresses the distinctive social organization of its inhabitants [Grover and Singh, 2004]. Thus, whereas

village defines the entire territorial landscape, settlement is mainly concerned with the built-up area and in

this chapter we predominantly deal with the general landscape of both the villages while the important

components such as houses etc. will be dealt with in detail in the next chapter.

Darkot though situated in the lap of Himalayas, presents the case of compact type of settlements where

clusters of 10-15 houses are grouped together and are located in a particular geographic position. Each

cluster of houses is separated from other group by a very small distance. The houses are situated in

parallel and on both sides of a street giving settlement a shape of rectangular clusters in general. The 1961

monograph also describes village of Darkot as “The abadi (population) is in the centre of village, all

houses clustering close to each other in one compact area” [Smarika, 2014]. In my opinion, the shape of

the village Darkot at present is almost the same as in the past, as the number of households has only

decreased from 103 in 1961 to 97 in 2009. Most of the houses are constructed for almost more than 100

years and are still present today either in renovated or by adding new construction to the existing one.

There are very few new separate constructions and those too are confined to the Thakurs because of their

increasing heirs. In case of Bhotias, there are hardly any new separate constructions (though there are

renovated houses) but on the other hand, a few old constructed houses are left abandoned or are kept

completely empty because of migration of Bhotias to other towns, cities and nearby villages. Thus, one

can say that very few houses have come up in Darkot and that too at the margins of the village.

In terms of size (on the basis of population defined by census), it is a small village as population of

Darkot is less than 500 as per census of 2011. Thus from 1961 to 2011, the village has changed from

medium to small in terms of size as per definition of census, as its population has decreased from 543 to

437. As per latest revenue records, the area of village is 98.4 hectares while as per 1961 monograph it was

around 61 hectares (150.5 acres). [The change might be due to constant delimitation of boundaries of the

village by revenue department every few years by including a few hectares of adjoining forest, waste

land, settlement etc. which is a normal administrative process].Thus, the size of village in terms of area

has increased while in terms of population it has decreased. This is the first change, in form of size that

one can notice and prove empirically by official records with regard to Darkot.

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Fig. 4.1: Landscape of Darkot as based on survey

*Based on capacity of researcher to gaze the landscape and to draw it

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Before going further, let us understand the general landscape of Darkot village. Figure 4.1 represents the

current map of Darkot village made by me on the basis of survey of location of every household in the

village.

A few things should be kept in mind-

1. The map drawn is not up to scale or taken from any reference but drawn purely on the basis of

survey and my capacity to ‘gaze at the landscape’.

2. The map predominantly shows the inhabited or constructed part to show the cultural landscape

clearly, while in reality, the majority of the village area is under trees and forests. The village

boundary shown represents only the boundary of the constructed part and not the boundary of the

village.

3. The map may be correct/ incorrect as interpretation, inferences and imagination by different

researchers may vary according to his/ her knowledge. Effort has been done to locate the house of

various castes, temple and other features correctly, but it may not be accurate.

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PHOTOS OF THE LANDSCAPE OF DARKOT

4.1: Ambedkar gate in Darkot (name has been omitted when photo was clicked in late 2017)

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4.2: Shanty shops (belonging to scheduled castes) near Ambedkar gate in Darkot

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4.3: Bhotia shop near Ambedkar gate in Darkot

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4.4: Central main street (cemented) in Darkot

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4.5: Temple in Darkot

101

4.6: Community ground in Darkot

102

4.7: Dhara in Darkot

4.8 A & B: Abandoned houses in Darkot

4.8 A

103

4.9 A & B: Bhotia (Pangti / Dharamsaktu) houses in Darkot

4.8 B

4.9 A

104

4.10: Scheduled castes houses in Darkot (located at the top of slope)

4.9 B

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4.11: Street that leads to scheduled castes and Thakur houses in Darkot

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4.12: View of houses and fields of Thakur caste in Darkot

The very first glance at the figure 4.1 clearly shows the dominance of Bhotias as their houses are located

in the central part of the village (represented by small green-coloured rectangle) while the other two

castes, i.e. houses of scheduled castes (represented by small red-coloured rectangle) and Thakurs

(represented by small blue-coloured rectangle), are situated at the margins of the village. All the

important landmarks are shown by purple coloured boxes (of different shapes) and their names are

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mentioned alongside the boxes. The altitude51 of the top and bottom end of the village is mentioned (as

measured on the mobile phone by installed altimeter) and the index is provided in the right bottom side of

the figure for further clarification. As we reach Darkot from Munsiyari, the first thing you will see is the

entrance gate of the village (marked in Fig.4.1) with the name of Ambedkar embarked with words

“Ambedkar Gram Panchayat Darkot” written on it in Hindi52. The name of Ambedkar was present on the

gate from the mid 1990 era, when there was a Mayawati53 government i.e. Bahujan Samaj Party

(dominated by lower caste, i.e. scheduled caste) in Uttar Pradesh and all the scheduled caste / scheduled

tribe majority villages were recognized by the ‘Ambedkar gate’. Alongside the entrance gate there are a

few small shanty shops constructed of tin (mainly of scheduled castes shown by red colored hollow

boxes) while at 10m distance towards Munsiyari there are two cemented shops of Bhotias (shown by blue

colored hollow boxes); all of them selling groceries, vegetables and items of daily use to the two different

high and low castes living in the village54. Thus, first sign of spatial segmentation can be seen at the gate

without entering the village. Though the person whose name is there on the entrance gate, Ambedkar

himself was against the caste system and voiced strongly against its ill effects, still the entrance provides

the first sign of irony and reminds me of a typical old Indian village segregated on caste divisions. Thus,

the view of Ambedkar about the village as a ‘site of oppression’ (of the lower castes) seems to be true in

our context as well [Jodhka, 2012]. Besides it, one can find people playing cards and carom (these games

are inclusive to the culture of Munsiyari, esp. among lower class of high caste and among scheduled

castes) at the very entrance point of the village. Thakurs (General caste) also have their groceries shop at

the bottom of the village (as we move from top / or from west to east in Fig. 4.1 shown by green colored

hollow boxes) along the road when we reach the opposite pole of the Darkot village which caters to most

of the General and Bhotia castes. Thus, one can say that daily needs of each caste are fulfilled by the shop

belonging to people of the same caste (i.e. in general, Bhotias will buy groceries from Bhotia shop, and it

is true with respect to other castes as well). Shop is not only an economic space (where purchasing of

goods and exchange of money take place) but also a social space (identified by means of caste). Though,

there is only one main entrance gate on the road which signifies official entry to the village, one can enter

Darkot from various directions through different paths designated by inhabitants to reach their house by

the shortest possible distance from the main road. While travelling from top to bottom of the village on

foot from interconnected paths and lanes, one may cover a straight distance of almost 2 km. (almost 4 km.

51

The shown altitude in the context is only measured at a location where houses are situated while the actual range

of the altitude of the village may be different. 52 The writings on the gate had disappeared / had been erased when I clicked the photo during my last visit to Munsiyari in 2017 (In the opinion of the villagers the gate has to be painted newly with the same writings) 53

Mayawati – The then Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh 54

Shops shown on the opposite of Ambedkar gate belongs to the village of Jalath situated on the top (western side) of Darkot.

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if one traverses by road on car) while calculating the breadth of village is a difficult task. The village is

enclosed by main motorable road from the three sides (i.e. east, west and north) which marks its

territoriality while the south side comprises slope of mountain and the boundary with another village.

With regard to streets in the village, it is a cemented narrow rectangular straight path which curves

through oblique angles. The village has a central street consisting of long and broad stairs which passes

through the middle of the village (shown by brown-colored line) and is built up of cement and marked by

solar power street lights. Besides it, there are numerous small cemented streets originating from the main

street (shown by light black/grey color dotted lines) and connect all the houses of Bhotias. On the other

hand, the road to scheduled caste houses are marked by natural paths (light brown dotted lines), and to

reach Thakur houses, one has to climb down the hill through agricultural fields. Thus, the cemented

streets are conspicuously present in the north, west and eastern part while south has mostly natural soil

narrow path made by cutting of grass. As scheduled castes occupy the southern part of the village, their

social and economic conditions are exhibited by the disorganized and neglected street pattern. While

south-east part dominated by houses of Rajput caste also does not have any street pattern as they have

huge agricultural fields through which one can pass. The presence of fields along the houses shows that

they are the land owners and agriculturalist class of the village. This pattern clearly shows that the last

two communities (shilpkars and general category) are settled at the margins and hence a clear

segmentation of the castes which is a trait of a typical old Indian village in which the dominant caste

occupies the central position in the village while others (less high-castes) are situated around them and

Dalits55 are at the periphery. There are also abandoned / empty houses in the village (all belong to

Bhotias) mainly because of migration of the family to other towns / cities (shown by orange-colored

rectangular boxes).

The landscape of Darkot village is a result of three main spaces merged together at various locations:

public space, restricted space and private space. As we enter the main gate of the village and move

downwards through cemented stairs, first space you encounter is a religious one in form of temple of

goddess, which is the central and main location of the village. This is also the characteristic of a typical

Indian village where religion plays an important role in daily life of villagers and religious site in the form

of sacred tree or temple is at the centre point of settlement. The temple in general has space for ‘god of all

castes’ from Bhotia to shilpkars which might tempt one to think about the status of equality and

egalitarianism among all caste people in the village; but the reality is that there are three different temples

on the same compound, i.e. different location and different structure of temples of different castes at the

55

Scheduled castes are also known as Dalits i.e. belonging to lower caste.

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same space56. The Scheduled castes’ temple is shorter in height and occupies less space than the main

temple and there is prohibition of lower caste people to enter the main temple area which further

strengthened the caste consciousness of villagers and their faith in strict Hindu convention. Alongside, on

the left of entry gate of temple, is a small community ground known as “Kalakendra” (art centre) where

all sort of social, cultural and religious activities and functions take place. This place is famous for

‘Ramlila’ (play depicting story of Lord Rama and his victory over Ravana) which is organised during

Dusshera festival in the month of October where young and old, male and female villagers show their

acting skills and religious faith. All other cultural festivals, community or village feasts also take place

here. These two (temple and community ground) are the main social or public space in the entire village

where all communities, male, female and children can come, interact and perform activities while

observing the rules of caste hierarchy and maintaining social sanctity. Another things to notice, is the

presence of big gates to mark the entry of all important structures, whether village, temple or community

ground which certainly depicts the importance of these places to the villagers and defines separation of

spaces (entry gate to Darkot marks separation of village space from the whole Tehsil of Munsiyari while

gates of temple and ground mark the separation of social/ religious space from the private one within

Darkot). The next important social space is ‘Dhara’ or natural water stream which is predominantly

feminine in nature where mostly women or young girls come to take water for drinking and for other

purposes in their storage utensils, or wash clothes, or even take bath with clothes on their body during the

mid-day time. Dhara holds a very significant position in the village, as during the trade era, forest and

water (in the form of Dhara) constitute important criteria for the establishment of the settlement. Dhara

has also been converted to a religious space by the villagers or in other words the public space have given

a sense of religiosity by putting a photo of god / goddess over it near the outlet. In the opinion of the

villagers this will help to keep water pure and safe and protect it from getting soiled by means of littering,

toilet, spitting etc and force the inhabitants to use water wisely. On looking at Fig. 4.1, one can deduce

that the houses of all Bhotia families are situated in and around the natural water stream. This space is

also determined by caste hierarchy and structure, as scheduled castes women are allowed to use water

only after the water is consumed by high caste women, i.e. Bhotias. The space is further restricted to the

women going through menstruation period as they are not allowed to collect the water directly from the

outlet (they can collect water that is drained out). These social spaces, esp. temple, provide an important

meeting point for all the villagers where all the meetings and discussions and decisions of the village take

place. Also these public/ social spaces provide an example of both territorial public spaces (as mostly

these spaces are used by inhabitants of Darkot village who feel pride and sense of belonging to the temple

and community ground) and also restricted spaces (as different castes have fixed location in a space and

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The details about temple and religion will be dealt with in the upcoming chapters.

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cannot move freely). The private space of the village is defined by houses (details will be provided in the

next chapter) while the village of Darkot has real boundaries (marked by street and houses) as well as

imaginary boundaries (marked by caste) which can be further depicted from our analysis in the next

paragraph.

The whole constructed landscape, as shown in figure 4.1, is divided into five parts. Part I is situated along

the north and western side of village and on the adjacent side to temple and is inhabited mostly by

Bhotias, particularly Dharamsaktu and a few Scheduled castes’ houses who were supposed to be attached

to them from time of trade. Part II is situated below and along ‘community ground’ and ‘Dhara’, and is

inhabited by Pangti sub-caste of Bhotias. These two parts of the landscape are situated along the finest of

the slope at the centre of the mountain on which the village is standing. These are the best places to

construct houses and live where slope is gentle and is also close to temple. Another reason is that these

two parts are close to ‘Dhara’, from where water can be fetched easily and brought to the home at the

shortest distance possible. Besides these reasons, these areas are also close to the road and anyone who

wants to buy handloom stuff (as Darkot is famous for handloom products) from the village can easily

reach these two parts within 10 minutes from the main gate.

Part III is to the south of the village where slope is on the higher side and land is steep so that it can be

considered as the poorest of all the sites in the village. It is inhabited in majority by scheduled castes and

rare households of Bhotias (e.g. Tolia) who are not usually considered as the real ‘citizen’ (or are outside

settlers who settled after purchasing land) of the village dominated by Pangtis and Dharamsaktus. Part IV

is situated on the eastern side of the village which is also the lower end of village and is inhabited in

majority by Bhotias and a few scheduled castes and Thakur houses. The last Part V is on the east and

south- east side of the village which can be reached by either crossing the mountain slope from top or by

encircling through main road and reach the other pole of the village. This area is close to the road and is

inhabited by Thakurs (general caste) and a few scheduled castes houses. This part is the only part of the

village where Bhotias are almost absent. As there is a saying about Indian village that ‘Hindu lives in a

village while untouchable lives in a ghetto’, the location of scheduled castes in the village of Darkot

might prove this point. In recent times (in the last two years) a new motorable road is being constructed in

the village (still under-construction) which will pass through the centre and divide the village into two

halves.

The presence of Dharamsaktu clan (in Part I) above Pangti (in Part II), though both occupy the central and

the best part of the village, can be attributed to the fact that Dharamsaktu come higher in hierarchy with

respect to Pangti in the Bhotia caste (as per respondents and local scholars). In the opinion of the local

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people, Rawat clan occupies the tip of the hierarchy and is considered as elder brother followed by

Dharamsaktu, Pangti and others. In the same way as social hierarchy, when it comes to living in a

settlement, Rawats occupy the top part (as they form majority in Jalath village situated directly above

Darkot or in the west) followed by Dharamsaktus and Pangtis situated below Rawats in the Darkot

village. Also presence of Bhotias on the finest slope in the village shows their control and dominance in

the village landscape from the past as they have occupied these areas for last many decades. Singh and

Khan while explaining the village of plains have mentioned the phrase of Lewandowski “Indian villages

are microcosms of Hindu society” whose hierarchical divisions are reflected in the hierarchically

differentiated segments of occupied village space [Grover and Singh, 2004]. According to Hindu cosmic

schema, western part of the settlement is considered to be the highest social order (because King of gods

‘Varuna’ is the deity of this quarter) and from it, social space is believed to slope down towards east. This

also represents the location of ruler of the area. The west is ideally occupied by dominant castes. The

north is associated with ‘Kuvera’ (god of wealth) and provides fittest location for habitations of the

wealthy [Grover and Singh, 2004]. In our case of Darkot, presence of Bhotias in northern and western

quarters might explain the influence of Hinduism on their choice of location as they have always

considered themselves of royal descent (Rajput) and are wealthy because of flourished trade and are also

the dominant landlords before the era of reform settlement. Besides all these, the important point is that

the dominant group (Bhotias) is situated at higher elevation than others which corresponds to their social

status.

Continuing in the context of previous discussion, presence of shilpkars in the south of Darkot is not only

attributed to physical aspect of steep slope and poor land but also to Hindu cosmology where southern

sector is supposed to be god of death Yama, and contains houses of chandalas (name given to

untouchables) [Grover and Singh, 2004]. The southern half is always considered as inauspicious as it is

governed by god of death and decay [Grover and Singh, 2004]. Also if you gaze at the landscape of

Darkot, there are very few houses of high castes that actually face towards south. The eastern side belongs

to ‘Indra’ (King of heaven and god of war) where military commanders should reside, while south–east

belongs to Agni (god of fire; usually inhabited by blacksmiths) [Grover and Singh, 2004]. As these parts

are inhabited by Bhotias while south-east belongs particularly to Thakurs, one could relate the spatial

pattern with the Hindu cosmology. As Thakurs considered themselves Rajput (Warriors), their presence

somehow in the eastern part is justified. In conclusion, one cannot say that landscape of Darkot is fully

governed by either cultural or natural phenomenon but there is definitely the mixed role of slope,

closeness to natural water stream, nearness to main locations like temple and community ground, caste

and religious influence in the form of Hindu cosmology etc. Besides this, Van panchayat of Darkot (180

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Hectares) is situated along north–western part of the village and extends beyond the Jalath village. It was

also given the name of a god in order to protect it from the destruction of forests and cutting of trees.

Continuing with the same conventions of analyzing landscape, Fig.4.2 (A, B, C and D) represents the

general landscape of Sharmoli village. Van Panchayat is located in the left and right upper portion of the

village, i.e. in north and south direction, agricultural (cultivable) land is in the middle of Shankhdhura

hamlet and in south direction in Sharmoli hamlet (in the portion above the road) while the houses and

home stays are located in every direction. As Sharmoli is a big village consisting of more than 200

households, it is difficult to draw a map in one page57 and hence four maps are drawn. Figure 4.2 A

represents the general idea about Sharmoli and the location of its various hamlets. The main road passes

through the middle of the village and the Sharmoli hamlet is located adjacent to the Munsiyari core

(above the main road) while Shankhdhura hamlet is situated on the further right of Sharmoli hamlet, i.e.

towards Darkot. Nanasem hamlet is situated to the bottom side of main road and shares its boundary with

the main market. In my opinion, the extension of Sharmoli from the core is about 3 km. horizontally and

about 5 km. vertically (3km. on the top side and 2km. on the lower side as measured from the central

main road) The landscape drawn is a result of travelling to all ends of a village and surveying the location

of each family (house). Let us first understand the landscape of Shankhdhura hamlet as shown in Figure

4.2 B.

57

I have to draw map in A4 size sheet as my scanner does not allow me to scan more than the permissible size of A4.

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Figure 4.2 A: General Idea about the location of Sharmoli village

*Based on capacity of researcher to gaze at the landscape and draw it

North

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Figure 4.2 B: Landscape of Shankhdhura hamlet as based on survey


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Shankhdhura hamlet (of Sharmoli village) is situated alongside Sharmoli at an average altitude of around

2,170m amsl. It is a small hamlet with a population of less than 200 (as per Census 2011) and is

dominated by Thakur caste (represented by small blue-coloured rectangle). The houses of Thakur caste

are present in the western and north–eastern part of the village while the houses of Bhotias (represented

by small green-coloured rectangle) are present in south–west and south–east part of the village. The

scheduled castes and Brahmin community are absent in the village while there are a few home stays run

by Bhotia families. The cemented street (represented by brown-colored line) runs along the boundary of

every house. The village does not seem to be impacted by the influence of Hindu cosmology as such (as

in case of Darkot) and all houses generally rests on the gentle slope. There is a temple at the top of a hill

known as ‘Chalo Devi’ temple which can be reached by means of a natural path (light brown-colored

lines). There is presence of ‘Dhara’ in the village along with a water stream (nallah) which is running

top–down in the village that establishes a natural boundary of separation between Sharmoli hamlet and

Shankhdhura hamlet. Besides these, there are agricultural fields in the middle of the village belonging to

both Bhotias and Thakurs while there is a barren (non-cultivated) land along with few trees (private

property) in the north–western part of the village till the temple. The Chalo Devi temple signals the

beginning of van panchayat (47 hectares) of Shankhdhura hamlet which extends further upwards (i.e. in

west direction). Before comparing Darkot and Sharmoli, let us understand the landscape pattern of

Sharmoli hamlet as well.

Figure 4.2 C represents the settlement pattern of the Sharmoli hamlet. This is the map of the half of the

village situated above the main road. The new under-construction motorable road that divides the upper

portion of the Sharmoli hamlet is shown by the brown-colored line. The important landmarks of the

hamlet are shown by purple boxes (with name) while the cemented streets are shown by light grey

colored lines (looks like light blue color in the map) while the rest of the things could be understood from

the index. The actual altitude of Sharmoli can be varying till more than 2,400m where van panchayat (10

hectares) is situated on the north and south side of the village. There is dominance of Bhotias as their

houses (represented by small green-colored rectangular boxes) are spread in every location while a few

houses of Thakurs (blue-colored boxes), shilpkars (orange-colored boxes) and Brahmins (yellow-colored

boxes) along with home stays (red-colored elongated boxes) are also present. Unlike Shankhdhura, the

houses in Sharmoli are situated closer to each other while agricultural fields are located in the south–east

direction (though small fields are situated alongside every household). A few inhabitants belonging to

outside the community (i.e. from outside the state) are also residing in the Sharmoli hamlet while the top

end of the hamlet is (i.e. west part) identified by Mesar Kund, i.e. water pond, along with the ground.

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Figure 4.2 C: Landscape of Sharmoli hamlet (above the main road) as based on survey


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Figure 4.2 D: Landscape of Sharmoli hamlet (below the main road) as based on survey


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PHOTOS OF THE LANDSCAPE OF SHARMOLI

4.13: View of Sharmoli

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4.14: Scheduled Caste house in Sharmoli

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4.15: Mesar Kund in Sharmoli

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4.16: Street pattern in Sharmoli

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4.17: Munsiyari–Darkot road

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4.18: Handicraft mart in Sharmoli

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4.19: Home stay in Sharmoli

4.20: Dhara in Sharmoli

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Similarly, the lower portion of Sharmoli hamlet (i.e. below the main road and comprising Nanasem

hamlet) also has Bhotia dominance as can be seen in Figure 4.2 D. The motorable road (shown by brown

colored line) passes through the middle of Nanasem hamlet whose one end meets the main market area

(i.e. Munsiyari) while the other end meets the main road (that leads towards Darkot).

The very first point of difference in Sharmoli (comprising of all three hamlets) and Darkot is the absence

of main entrance gate or single official point of entry to the village. This probably shows the difference

between the ancientness (and tradition) of Darkot and the recent immigration-based Sharmoli which is

growing continuously at a rapid rate. One can enter the village with numerous entry points marked by

cemented paths alongside main road that make their presence felt at various locations in all the directions.

This is the particular characteristic of extension of core area which keeps growing in all directions and

there is no fixed entry point and hence, an example of scattered settlement. The pattern of the village as

such is semi–compact, as sometime one can find a group of two-three houses along with fields, while at

certain locations there are clusters of 8–10 houses. The cemented narrow streets can be found everywhere

traversing each and every house around the village. In terms of size, the village comes under large

category (more than 1000 population) and is increasing at a rapid rate to become the most populated

village of Munsiyari Tehsil.

The houses of scheduled castes and Brahmins are generally found in groups of two–three houses at a

particular location which represents the extension of same family into different heirs (who construct

separate houses nearby). If distance to Munsyari can be linked to a social rank then Bhotias seem to enjoy

the benefits of being situated at the nearest distance to the core. Thus, there may be a horizontal hierarchy

in which Bhotias are nearest in enjoying benefits of being situated adjacent to the core in comparison to

others.

“Dhara” (natural water streams) are also present across the whole landscape of Sharmoli. Sometimes they

are flowing naturally from the mountains while in a few places they are controlled and managed by means

of constructing stone or cement walls and pipes and giving religious significance to space by putting idols

or photos of a god over it. Though Darkot has one centrally located ‘Dhara’, Sharmoli have three-four

natural water streams located at various places and used by people esp. women for drinking, bathing and

other purposes.

Various reasons for lack of a particular social pattern in Sharmoli is because the village came into picture

only after independence, mostly at the end of the trade era when people were forced to move towards

education, modernization and settled life while Darkot was established somewhere in the 18th century.

Earlier the whole land of Sharmoli was under agriculture and belongs to Bhotias, but in 1960s with

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coming of land reforms different families of different castes got land at different locations as per the rule

of the Govt. So, they get dispersed at different locations (and further their heirs at different locations after

separation). Only after that time, construction activity in Sharmoli began at a brisk pace and reached its

peak by 1980s and people usually construct house at the best slope available to them. While in case of

Darkot, almost all houses were present before the land reforms and thus not much dispersion. Thus, no

fixed location of particular caste (and clan) in a village space is one of the main characteristics of post-

independence or modern villages. But at the same time, one can find a cluster of houses of same caste

people who are in minority at the same location in a multi-caste village, e.g. in Sharmoli, one can find a

cluster of houses of Brahmin families or shilpkar families at a particular specific location while Bhotias

and Thakurs are dispersed everywhere. Various castes among Bhotias, e.g. Nitwal, Rawat, Tolia,

Martolia, Pangti, Nikhurpa etc. are present in almost all locations while Rana, Bisht, Kauranga, Routela

etc. are main Thakur castes. Pandey is the only Hindu Brahmin available while scheduled castes are

recognised by their ‘Ram’ or‘Arya’ surname. Though all castes make their presence felt in the village,

still as per a few respondents, the land of Sharmoli originally belonged to ‘Tolia’ caste, though their

number is less as compared to others. Their view is corroborated by the presence of ‘Raga (type of tree)

temple’ in Sharmoli hamlet which is the main god of Tolia caste. In the similar way, Nanasem hamlet is

supposed to be belonging to ‘Nikhurpa’ castes who are also fewer in number as compared to others. Thus,

original land holders have either lost their land to reforms or have shifted to some other place by selling

their part. The present land of Sharmoli is a multi- caste in which Bhotias and Thakurs (as main

communities) play the important role in shaping landscape.

Sharmoli also has a few temples in all the directions but they do not hold much central position (socially)

as in case of Darkot. Raga temple is situated in the upper western position of Sharmoli hamlet while Ulka

devi temple is situated in Nanasem hamlet and Chalo Devi temple in Shankhdhura hamlet, with a few

other small temples spread over the whole area. There is also one scheduled caste temple devoted to Lord

Hanuman and goddess located in the Sharmoli hamlet. On the other hand, main social space of

socialization or community festivals is situated in the top western part in the form of ground close to the

pond known as ‘Mesar kund’ which holds both religious and social characteristics. The mesar kund and

its water are considered holy among the villagers but this place represents more of a cultural site than a

religious one. Many cultural festivals which are unique to this village (e.g. flora and fauna conservation

festival, environment education fairs, local cuisine and sports fair etc.) take place here along with

religious functions. This space also represents an open space to all where anyone irrespective of caste can

come and participate in functions unlike Darkot, where space in temple is distinctively divided. Thus, one

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can conclude that there is secularization of the village public space in Sharmoli. The details about the

religion and religious spaces will be dealt with in upcoming chapters.

The unique difference between the Sharmoli and Darkot is the presence of hotels and home stays in

Sharmoli along with handicraft market centers such as ‘Mati Sangathan’ and ‘Saras Bazar’ which cater to

the needs of tourists and shoppers who are looking for handmade woolen products. Though Darkot is

famous for handicrafts yet one cannot find a single shop selling any handloom products (except there are

a few Bhotia women who sell handicrafts from their houses). As Darkot is far from Munsiyari and one

has to travel through under–construction road (full of dust and stones), the women of Darkot have to keep

their products in various market centers in Munsiyari. Thus, Sharmoli because of its nearness to the core

and view of Panchachuli (whose view is bleak from Darkot) has come up as a tourist destination hub and

a suitable space for constructing hotels and home stays. Another important feature of landscape of

Sharmoli and particularly Nanasem is the presence of Bhotia heritage museum which contains

information about artefacts of the old Bhotia culture. Being situated near Munsiyari, it is one of the

important visiting spot for tourists. The museum is residing in a house which is in architecture of old

Bhotia style and was formerly run by a retired History Professor of Bhotia origin. Thus, tourists also play

an important role in modifying the landscape of Sharmoli.

4.1.4 Conclusion –

After analyzing the general physical landscape of Darkot and Sharmoli, one can say that Sharmoli

exhibits characteristics like those of an urban area, esp. with regard to population and its characteristics,

settlement pattern, location of castes, influence of religion and other social factors etc. The landscape of

both the villages is dominated by Bhotias, yet Darkot because of its age old history displays traditional

and orthodox characteristics (e.g. temple at the centre location, spatial division of castes, etc.) while

Sharmoli seems to be liberal (at least in comparison with Darkot) as it came into existence in the last five

decades. The presence of home stays and hotels in Sharmoli along with the existence of handloom marts

and nearness to the market area, mark its location as an extension of the core and hence establish the

preliminary truthness of our hypothesis.

The culture also plays an important role in constructing the landscape of both the villages. While Darkot

is categorized by caste, religion and beliefs of the high caste dominant group (Bhotias) along with natural

aspects of slope and height, Sharmoli is characterized by the need of the dominant group to settle in and

around the core. The detailed analysis of components of the landscape and inhabitants in the next

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upcoming chapters will help us to establish the identity (orthodox or modern) of the two villages in a fair

way.

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CHAPTER 5

COMPONENTS OF LANDSCAPE AND THEIR RELATION WITH CULTURE

After analyzing the general landscape of the villages of Darkot and Sharmoli in the previous chapter, here

we will deal with the important elements of the landscape that make up the settlement such as houses,

temples etc., and try to find out the relation between society, culture and tangible spaces. As mentioned in

the previous chapter, humans as well as gods reside in the landscape and thus both have influence on the

physical and social space of the villages. Let us start our discussion by inquiring into the housing pattern

of both the villages.

5.1 ANALYSIS OF PRIVATE SPACE - HOUSE PATTERNS IN DARKOT AND SHARMOLI

House is one of the foremost and important elements of the cultural landscape. House is defined by the

census in 1961 as “a structure or part of structure, inhabited or vacant, or a dwelling, shop cum dwelling

or a place of business, workshop, school etc. with a separate entrance” [Singh, 1994]. It emphasized the

entrance as an important part of definition. The ‘philosophy of Ghar’ (house) is that (as mentioned by

Jaymala Diddee) ‘Man attaches himself to a piece of land, called his own and hence the necessity to

construct a house’ [Grover and Singh, 2014]. In other words, house is an important symbol of belonging

of a person to a land. It is a method of stabilizing himself on his territory, forging a permanent connection

with it through the house [Grover and Singh, 2014]. Dwelling is defined by Marh as house types which

are not made very carefully by architects and engineers [Grover and Singh, 2014]. These are designed and

constructed by local people (or family members) mainly with the help of locally available materials.

Sometime, they are also known as folk houses or traditional houses as they reflect vernacular architecture

which is neither monumental nor ornamental. These dwellings are determined by physical factors like

climate, site, and materials and by socio–cultural factors like religion, beliefs etc. Thus, the main

difference between a modern house and dwellings is in designing, construction, use of materials,

employment of type of labour and experts etc. Darkot and Sharmoli also have two types of houses: old–

design houses and modern–design houses.

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Photo 5.1: Old–design house

Photo 5.2 A & B: Old-design House (Renovated by painting of walls) in Darkot (Two Photos)

A

Figure 5.1: Front drawing (view) of old

5.1: Front drawing (view) of old–design house

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B

Figure 5.2: Internal and side portion of old

Photos 5.1 and 5.2 along with Figure

traditional (old-design) house. This

are present in almost all the high altitude

same structure type to middle villages

a history of more than two centuries.

design is associated with Bhotia culture.

castes may be – 1. Trying to copy

people are subordinate to Bhotias,

Bhotias moved to other places; 3.

constructed by keeping cold climate

labour for construction etc.

The house drawn in Fig. 5.1 is a typical

eight rooms (four above and four

windows (on the first floor) and two

Figure 5.2: Internal and side portion of old-design house

Figure 5.1 represent the image and diagram of the

This structure particularly belongs to Bhotia culture, as

altitude villages of Johar valley inhabited by Bhotias.

villages to mark their territoriality in the region. Thus, thes

centuries. These structure types are also adopted by other castes,

culture. The reason behind adoption of similar house structures

copy the influential and powerful (Bhotia) class in lifestyle;

Bhotias, they have occupied their houses in the last few decades

Climatic / physical factors force people to have

climate in mind; 4. Easy availability of know-how, design,

typical Bhotia style house having two floors (double storey)

below), one main entrance which leads to the first

two doors on ground floor for separate entry to each room.

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the front view of a

as these house types

Bhotias. They carry the

these structures have

castes, but originally

structures by other

lifestyle; 2. As these

decades as several

structures that are

design, materials and

storey) consisting of

first floor, two front

room. As mentioned

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earlier, each floor is further divided into four rooms, two in the front and two in the back (shown in Fig.

5.2). The extra portion of house as shown in Fig. 5.1 is constructed by a few people having big families or

who are richer than others, thus adding more rooms to the houses.

5.1.1 Basic elements of an old–design house and their nomenclature -

The ground floor is known as ‘goth’ while first floor is known as ‘pan’ in the local language. The front

rooms are known as ‘sakh / bhoni’ while rear side rooms are known as ‘bhitarkhan’. The windows on the

first floor are called ‘tipari’ [Fig. 5.1] and it can be single, double or triple part window (ekdari, dwidari

or tidari-tipari) depending upon the width, e.g. a window shown in Photo 5.2 B is of double width

(dwidari-tipari). The windows are made up of wood and carving is done on their frame to make them

look attractive. Tiparis are open for whole time of the day whether summer or winter to let in sunlight.

These windows also provide the overall view of outside to the inhabitants of the house. The other small

window (in the extra portion) is used for purpose of ventilation and is known as ‘jaul’ [Fig. 5.1]. The

main entrance of the house is known as ‘kholi’ and it leads straight to the first floor with the help of stairs

consisting of 4-5 steps as seen in Photo 5.2 B. These stairs can be of wood in earlier times and now of

cement as it is easily available in modern days. Kholi can be of any number depending upon the size of

the house. Kholi consists of wooden doors having double panes which open towards inside of the house.

The frames of doors are also carved while presence of image of lord Ganesha on the top is a common and

conspicuous feature of the kholi (also seen in Photo 5.2 B). Each of two separate entrances on the ground

floor is known as ‘del’ (Fig. 5.1) and it is also made of wood having double panes which open towards

inside of the house. The roof of the house is known as ‘pakho’ and usually made of slate. It has a steep

angular slope on both side for easy downward flow of rain and snow and minimum friction to blowing

wind. The back portion of the house is usually covered wholly by bricks / stones, while side portion has a

small window for ventilation in the middle top location [Fig 5.2] to avoid strong winter cold wave

entering the house. The direction and position of the house is such that the front facing position gets most

of sunlight without coming into direction of wind. Thus, structure of old-design houses has an impact of

physical factors. A group of these old-design houses joined together is known as ‘bhakhali’. Thus,

bhakhali is the term used for cluster of houses. These all describe the basic structure along with elements

and nomenclature of the old–design type or Bhotia house.

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5.1.2 Description of size and use of rooms of old-design house -

In terms of the size, area occupied by a house and the exact height and width of the rooms are not known

accurately, but each common small old–design type house occupies an area between 0.5-1 nali58. The

height of the rooms is generally around 5 feet, mainly because of cold as small rooms are easy to keep

warm. The width of the front rooms is less then the rear-side rooms mainly because of reason of their

utilization, as front-side rooms are only used for living while back side rooms are used for storing items

like food, clothes, etc. The shapes of all the rooms are rectangular in nature. As mentioned earlier, the

structure of houses is almost same for different castes, but difference lies in the utilization of rooms. In

case of Bhotias, front room of a ground floor (particularly on left side of Fig. 5.1) is used as a kitchen

while the rear one (if it exists) is used as a space for keeping food materials of daily use. While the right

side of the ground floor is exclusively used for handloom purposes by keeping the machine and raw

materials for making various handicrafts. The front side of the first floor is used for living (i.e. two rooms

with windows on the front side to the left and right of kholi) and for attending to guests, while the rear one

is used for storing items (salt, cereals, wool, etc.) and sometime for religious purposes by constructing a

small house temple. The non-Bhotias use ground floor for keeping cattle and goats while front rooms of

the first floor are used for living and as kitchen while rear rooms are used for storing various items like

food etc. Thus, the first floor is used for living by all the castes while the difference arises in the location

of the kitchen and animals. This is a common view about usage of rooms among most of the respondents

while use of room can be changed as per necessity and choice of an individual.

Table 5.1: Use of rooms of an old-design house by various castes in the earlier times

Caste Ground floor First floor

BHOTIA Kitchen,

Handloom

Living, Store

OTHERS Animals Kitchen, Living and Store

*As per the respondents’ view

** The reason for non–handloom in ground floor room of non–Bhotia houses: Handloom is particularly identified

with Bhotias and not to Thakurs who carry out agricultural activities (even today almost every Bhotia household has

s handloom pit which is absent in case of Thakurs.

58Nali is a unit of area measurement used commonly by local people of Johar and Kumaon. 1 nali = 0.02 hectares

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** The reason for presence of animals in non-Bhotia household’s ground floor: Many Thakurs have a few animals

with them and generally keep cattle for milk and other purposes in the lower room, while Bhotias have huge flocks

of sheep and goats which are usually kept outside houses in a shed in care of servants and spend most of their time

in forest for fodder.

5.1.3 History of construction and material used in old-design houses -

We have mentioned earlier that Darkot is a village which have been established around 18th century,

based on the views of locals who describe the average age of their present old–design living house to be

around 150–200 years old. As per discussion with local people esp. old age inhabitants of Darkot, there

may have been a single floor shanty house with one–two rooms used for all purposes, except bathroom

before 14th century A.D. It was only in the 14th and 15th centuries that single storey houses came into

picture. Construction material mostly used is mud for walls and ground, wood and thatched for roof. Poor

people across all castes used to have a single storey house known as ‘bhikur’ which had 2-3 rooms for

kitchen, living and storage purposes. The evidence of double storey old-design building mainly dates

from 17th–18th centuries as many houses in upper Johar and Darkot are from that period. It was during the

period of Gorkhas (1790–1815) that Vijay Singh, ‘pradahan’ (chief of villages of upper Johar) appointed

by them, brought carpenter from Rajasthan to Johar to construct double storey houses and do wooden

carving on windows and doors. Thus, architecture of old-design house can be attributed to Gorkhas but in

the opinion of few59, such design was present even during the Chand rule (11th century A.D.–1790) when

carpenters were brought from Almora to build houses. (It may be possible that present structure design

was initiated by Chand rulers and continued by Gorkhas after making certain modifications). The wood

generally used is available locally from Deodar, Surai, Tarcusbacatta trees etc, which is not easily

infected and rusted, while carving on them is done in geometry form (lines etc.) and contains paintings of

flowers, leaves etc. which give them a unique look. The stone walls used are usually held by mud plaster

which is also used for levelling the ground. The roof is made up of slates, while the poor use ‘shalam

grass’ which is very strong, tense and does not easily get destroyed in winds and snow. Later on, with

coming up of modern roads and availability of new and modern construction materials, rock walls with

cement plaster are used and also slate sloping roof is replaced by flat cement summit to avoid leakage

from rain water and reduce yearly repairing and maintenance cost. People also paint their cement plaster

walls to make the house appear beautiful and unique from others.

59

Dr. Sher Singh Pangti, Professor (Retd.) and Bhotia scholar, Munsiyari

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In the end, one can conclude that the structure of old-design house is influenced by physical factors such

as wind, cold and also their need of storage of large volume of goods and food items in closed big rooms

(esp. during time of trade). Different castes use the house as per their role in the caste and economic

structure. At present, locals hardly construct any old-design houses because of absence of raw materials

(wood etc.), lack of skilled workers and designers, heavy cost of construction and maintenance and more

importantly, desire to move in to modern houses which have come up as a symbol of prestige and status.

Photo 5.3: Modern-design House

Photo 5.3 gives a picture of a modern–design type of house which has a contrast difference in comparison

to the old-design one. Here the construction starts from single storey and goes up to two–three floors

depending upon the economic status of the inhabitant, irrespective of castes and are usually made by paid

labor under a contractor. Thus, the role of local materials (esp. wood, because forest conservation and

strict van panchayat rules make wood a rare and expensive commodity to be bought) and family members

(emigration and education make family labor less available) has decreased as with regard to old–design

houses. In conclusion, this structure does not belong to any particular caste but to modern design and

materials. This also represents the common type of houses present in small towns across India. These

kind of houses had their advent in the last two–three decades with the availability of motorable road from

137

Munsiyari to other important towns of Uttarakhand and coming up of modern construction materials to

the village with further improved rural transportation.

The material used generally is brick walls or stone (granite) having plaster of cement, sand and gravel

with the finishing touch of paints and distemper. The floors are also cemented and sometimes tiled or

covered with marble or PVC (poly-vinyl chloride) carpeting. The roof is often flat and cemented or is in

the form of aluminium painted sheets. The use of slate is almost invisible in these types of houses. The

main entrance of wooden doors (in case of old–design houses) is replaced by strong and trusted steel and

iron grills or aluminium doors, and in case of windows, wood is replaced by aluminium; though some

modern houses still have wooden doors and windows. The carvings are very few or are almost absent,

while the main gate always has some kind of religious sign or name of house/ house owner or year of

construction [Photo 5.3]. The common feature in most modern and old-design houses is absence of

bathroom in the interior of house. The difference is that there is no specific design of modern house (w.r.t.

old–design houses) and thus no specific purpose of rooms. Any room can be used as living room, drawing

room and kitchen or store depending upon location, ventilation and choice of owner. While the old-design

house is somehow influenced by physical factors (esp. cold climate, wind and need of sunshine, use of

wood), modern houses as such have little impact of it because of strong modern construction material and

availability of modern equipment like heater, fans, use of LPG gas stove etc. The modern-design houses

usually have 4-5 rooms for all family members but most of the time, the owner construct only 1-2

separate rooms or attached with old-design house to give it a modern touch. Thus in my survey, even

presence of one or two modern cement rooms is considered as presence of modern-design houses.

Thus to conclude, the modern-design house is not predominantly governed by physical factors or need of

storage of large volume of goods or keeping big herds of animals (as in times of trade), but owed its

emergence to diffusion of innovation and adoption of modern materials and techniques by rural people

with improving connectivity. As modern style houses are easy to construct and low-cost to maintain with

much improved quality of materials and do not need family members’ endeavour and time, and also give

an urban look to the outsiders which provides a feeling of high status and prestige to the villagers, it has

become very popular among locals. People prefer to construct a modern house in whatever small amount

of land available to them when they separate from their joint family, or purchase land at a place near to

school or work and market.

138

5.1.4 Contemporary situation of house (structure and features) among old and modern-design in

Darkot and Sharmoli –

Types of houses -

As mentioned in the previous section, the present house structure in Darkot village has two types, old-

design and modern–design houses. The architecture and shape of old-design house is maintained by most

of the inhabitants with regular maintenance and renovation but there may be change in certain elements,

e.g. slanting slate roof of most of the houses has been changed to flat cement roof, stone walls give way to

bricks etc. The modern–design houses as such are few which exist separately but mostly are attached with

the old existing structure or sometime just a combination of one–two newly constructed cement rooms. In

my survey, I consider design of house as an important element and divide inhabitants having old-design

house (even with modification), modern–design house (only newly constructed cement rooms) or

combination of both. Only those houses are considered that are still used by people, while the abandoned

ones are left out. The reason for choosing design as an important aspect is to relate it with changing

cultures. While there are some people (esp. old and middle generation male Bhotias in Darkot) who feel

prestige in their old–design houses and consider it as a matter of safeguarding their ‘traditional old age

culture’, on the other hand there are others who feel dignity and status in their new modern–design

houses.

Figure 5.3 provides information about the various types of houses of Bhotias in Darkot village covered

under the survey. Out of 39 Bhotia families, 16 (46%) have the combination of both old-design and

modern - design houses, while 12 (34%) have exclusively old-design houses. There are only 7 (20%)

families which have modern type of house. Those who have only modern house have either abandoned

old structure or completely replaced it with the new one.

139

Figure 5.3: Types of houses among Bhotias in Darkot

*Based on survey of 62 families (39 Bhotias) in Darkot

With regard to particular Bhotia clans, majority of Pangti and Dharamsaktu families (14 families out of

26, i.e. around 55%) are using both old-design and modern houses while there are only 4 families of both

sub-castes (out of 26) that are exclusively using modern houses. Among ‘other Bhotias60’ e.g. Sayana and

Janpangi are using traditional houses in combination with modern structures; while Tolia and Martolia are

the two families that exclusively have modern houses who came to reside there in the recent times (they

got land from their maternal side or purchased from their relatives). Many of the Bhotia families, esp.

Pangti and Dharamsaktu, have left their houses and moved to other towns, cities, e.g. some have migrated

to Haldwani (town in Uttarakhand) and parts of Uttar Pradesh for job, while a few other families move to

Munsiyari for business purposes. Their homes are largely kept vacant as they visit it during the time of

festivals or religious ceremonies. There are 3-4 families who were absent at the time of survey, while at

some houses there are only one or two old people living alone as the whole of their family has migrated to

other places.

Scheduled castes also have majority of old-design houses (42%) as they have also been living there for

the last many decades with their Bhotia patrons (Fig. 5.4). Eight families out of twelve surveyed are

somehow using old-design house, while those with new modern–design structures are the ones that have

been separated from their families and have constructed the new home nearby to balance the increasing

family members.

60

‘Other Bhotias’: In my survey, and in case of Darkot, all other clans of Bhotias except Pangti and Dharamsaktu are taken/ considered as ‘other Bhotias’. E.g. Sayana, Tolia etc.

34%

20%

46%

0%

Types of houses among Bhotias in Darkot

OLD DESIGN HOUSE

MODERN DESIGN HOUSE

COMBINATION OF BOTH

140

Figure 5.4: Types of houses among scheduled castes in Darkot

*Based on survey of 62 families (12 SC) in Darkot

Figure 5.5: Types of houses among Thakurs in Darkot

*Based on survey of 62 families (11 Thakurs) in Darkot

Thakurs (Generals) provide the exception who hardly have any combination of both houses. Majority of

them have new construction which shows that they all have been separated from the one main family that

has old house with them, e.g. Karki (clan of Thakur) families has only one old-design house and three

modern–design houses which shows their descent from the same family. Census of 1961 also mentions

about one Karki family and two Bhat families [Smarika, 2014]. In my survey, two Bhat families have

old–design house type while their descendants have three modern–design type houses. The rest are two

families Bhandarey and Bisht, out of which the Bishts are tenant, who live in old houses of their relatives

who have moved to modern homes nearby.

42%

33%

25%

Types of houses among scheduled castes in Darkot

OLD DESIGN HOUSE

MODERN DESIGN HOUSE

COMBINATION OF BOTH

45%

55%

0%

Types of Houses among Thakurs in Darkot

OLD DESIGN HOUSE

MODERN DESIGN HOUSE

COMBINATION OF BOTH

141

Figure 5.6: Types of houses among Bhotias in Sharmoli

*Based on survey of 111 families (69 Bhotias) in Sharmoli

Figure 5.7: Types of houses among scheduled castes in Sharmoli

*Based on survey of 111 families (8 SC) in Sharmoli

Figure 5.8: Types of houses among Thakurs in Sharmoli

*Based on survey of 111 families (30 Thakur) in Sharmoli

16%

65%

19%

Types of houses among Bhotias in Sharmoli

OLD DESIGN HOUSE

MODERN DESIGN HOUSE

COMBINATION OF BOTH

14%

57%

29%

Types of houses among Scheduled castes in Sharmoli

OLD DESIGN HOUSE

MODERN DESIGN HOUSE

COMBINATION OF BOTH

14%

79%

7%

Types of houses among Thakurs in Sharmoli

OLD DESIGN HOUSE

MODERN DESIGN HOUSE

COMBINATION OF BOTH

142

Majority of Bhotias families in Sharmoli, i.e. 65% (45 families out of 69), have modern–design houses.

16% have old–design houses while only 19 % have combination of both. With respect to two other castes,

similar percentages i.e. 14% of scheduled castes (only one respondent family out of 8) and Thakurs (4

respondent families out of 30) have old-design houses. 57% of the scheduled castes (4 out of 8 families)

while almost 80% of the Thakurs (23 families out of 30) have modern–design houses. The rest among

both have combination of houses. In case of Brahmins, one family has old–design house while the other

three have modern–design houses. Apart from all these, there is one Thakur family and one scheduled

caste family who have respective shanty houses in poor condition with mud walls and thatch roof.

Overall, with regard to Sharmoli, houses of only 34 families (out of 111) i.e. around 30% have some old–

design structures (old–design house + combination house) while the remaining have exclusively modern

design. On the other hand, Darkot has 41 families (60%) who have old-design houses (old–design house

+ combination house) while only 17 families have exclusive modern–design houses. Thus, there is a clear

indication that Sharmoli is a newly constructed village but this fact will become clearer when we analyze

the age of modern–design houses in the upcoming section. It also shows adoption pattern of the

inhabitants of both the villages. The inhabitants of Sharmoli are looking for modern design and materials

for constructing new houses while inhabitants of Darkot are diverting to modern design whenever they

renovate their existing old structure.

Rooms in various types of houses -

The rooms in the house are generally divided among different members and heirs as the family grows. In

case of Darkot Figure 5.9 shows the average number of rooms61 (as mentioned by respondent with regard

to his particular family) that each family has in old–design and modern–design houses. A person can use

these rooms for any purpose from living, drawing to kitchen depending upon his choice. In case of

Bhotias, each family has an average of at least 5 rooms in the old-design house and average of around 3

rooms in case of modern-design house. Average numbers of people62 in each Bhotia family currently

61

The room is generally defined as the structure which is closed from three sides and has a door or open passage on

the fourth side to enter or leave a room. Average number of rooms per family of a particular caste in various types of houses are calculated by dividing the total number of rooms in traditional or modern house by the number of families who have traditional or modern house (of that particular caste).

62

Average number of family member currently living in the house: Only those family members are taken into

account who are living presently in the village and occupy the rooms while migrant members are not considered. Average number of family members of a particular caste is calculated by adding total number of members of that

particular caste and dividing by the number of families surveyed of that particular caste.

143

living in their occupied rooms are around four which is surely very low as compared to the past when big

families used to live together. With regard to various Bhotia clans, Pangti and Dharamsaktu have almost 6

rooms per family in the old style house while they only have two and a half to three rooms in case of

modern construction. Each ‘other Bhotias’ family has minimum of four rooms in their old-design house

and three in modern ones.

In case of scheduled castes, average number of rooms each family had in old-design house is two, while

those who have modern structure occupy two and a half rooms at the most. They have the least number of

rooms available to them per family amongst all the castes. Besides, they have to accommodate at least 5

family members (which is higher among all castes) in their occupied rooms. Thus, they have to

accommodate more people in less space indicating their economic as well as social situation at the

present.

With regard to various Thakur clans, Bhat and Karki have on an average of 4 rooms in old-design house

and at most 5 rooms in modern structure. But the average number of family members living here, in case

of Bhat (3.6) is less as compared to Karki (5), making them in slightly better position than the latter. The

tenants have only one or one and a half room at their disposal and their number is around 2-3 members

per family, but they have to survive in old-design houses which are not in very good condition or have

been left by original owner just for the sake of his mark on his land property. Overall, Thakurs have 3

rooms per family in old–design houses while more than 4 rooms in modern design houses.

The reason for less number of modern rooms among Bhotias is because of their decreasing population and

migration of young generation to other places. On the other hand, increasing modern–design rooms

among Thakur is because of separation of new generation from their parents at a same place (Darkot

village) and lack of migration among them. Majority of Thakurs (of present generation) are still living in

Darkot. [Details about migration will be discussed in separate chapters].

144

Figure 5.9: Average number of rooms in old-design and modern–design houses among all castes in

Darkot

*Based on survey of 62 families in Darkot

Figure 5.10: Average number of rooms in old-design and modern–design houses among all castes in

Sharmoli

*Based on survey of 111 families in Sharmoli

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

BHOTIAS Scheduled Castes

Thakurs

Av

era

ge

no

. o

f ro

om

s

Caste

Average number of rooms in various types of houses among

all castes in Darkot

OLD DESIGN HOUSE

MODERN DESIGN HOUSE

0

1

2

3

4

5


Thakurs

Av

era

ge

no

. o

f ro

om

s

Castes

Average no. of room in various types of houses among all

castes in Sharmoli

OLD DESIGN HOUSE

MODERN DESIGN HOUSE

145

In Sharmoli and in case of Bhotias, average number of rooms per family in old–design house is around

4.2 which is almost the same as in case of Thakurs (Fig. 5.10). With regard to modern–design house,

Bhotias have around 4.2 rooms per family while Thakurs have 4.3 rooms per family. Thus, Bhotias and

Thakurs have almost similar number of rooms per family with regard to both old-design and modern–

design houses. But average number of person per family in case of Bhotias are 5.9 while in case of

Thakurs there are 5.2 persons per family. Hence, Bhotia houses seem to be poorer than Thakur in terms of

number of rooms per family member. There is one Nitwal family who has 14 rooms in their new house.

Scheduled castes, as in Darkot are again marginalised in terms of space. They have an average of 1.6

rooms per family in old–design house while 2.5 rooms in modern–design house. There is an average of 7

family members per family in case of shilpkars. Brahmins also have an average of 2 rooms in modern

house but their population is around 5 people per family. There is one family of Mehta clan (Thakur) and

one scheduled caste family who live in their separate shanty houses having an average of 2 rooms and

almost 7 family members.

Thus, to conclude overall, in case of Sharmoli, Bhotias and Thakurs have almost an average of 4 rooms in

their modern–design houses while Shilpkars have only two rooms, while Darkot also presents a similar

case where scheduled castes are the most marginalized of all in terms of number of rooms. This also

shows the economic capability of dominant castes in comparison of others. [Details about income and

economic well being of each caste will be dealt with in the economy section].

Age of various types of houses -

As already mentioned in previous sections, with regard to the age of the old–design houses, the

unanimous response for a question about the age of old-design houses (when it is constructed) in Darkot

is “more than 100 years” or “for last 4-5 generations”. The definition of time in terms of generations is

common phenomenon in villages and it also emphasizes the relation and belonging of a person to

particular land from time immemorial. Figure 5.11 shows the average number of years of emergence of

modern-design house63 in Darkot village (Only response of those respondents who manage to answer the

question are recorded).

63

Average age of modern–design house: Average age of modern–design house (of a particular caste) is calculated

by adding age, calculated from the year of construction, of all modern–design houses and divided by number of

respondents who respond to question of age (of that particular caste)

146

Figure 5.11: Average number of years of construction of modern–design house among various

castes in Darkot

*Based on survey of 62 families done in DarkotA

Figure 5.12: Number of modern–design houses constructed under various average–age range (<10,

10-20, >20 years) among various castes in Darkot

*Based on survey of 62 families done in Darkot

0

5

10

15


Thakurs

No

. o

f y

ea

rs

Caste

Average no. Of years of construction of modern - design

house in Darkot

Average no. Of years of construction of modern -design house

0

2

4

6

8

10

<10 years 10-20 years >20 years

No

. o

f h

ou

es

No. of years

No. of modern - design houses among various castes

constructed in given range of years in Darkot

BHOTIAS

Scheduled Castes

Thakurs

147

In case of Darkot, the average age of modern–design house in case of Bhotias is 12.8 years, while in

terms of particular clans, Pangtis seem to be the first one to have a modern–design house among Bhotias

as their average age of constructing modern–design house is 14 years and they also have maximum

number of houses (3) which are more than 20 years old. Majority of the new construction have taken

place in the last 20 years as shown in Fig. 5.12, while for ‘other Bhotias’ besides two modern houses of

more than 20 years, bulk of construction has taken place in the last one decade.

The scheduled castes were the latest entry in constructing modern houses, as average age of their modern

house is 10.6 years which is lower as compared to other castes. This might again show the late economic

growth of Scheduled castes and also the late adoption of modern socio-cultural changes. Majority of

modern houses of Shilpkars have come up in the last 10-15 years. In case of various Thakur clans, Karkis

were the earliest group to construct modern–design house as they first started to live in modern houses

about two decades ago. The average age of construction of present modern–design house among all

Thakur respondents is around 12.2 years.

As per Thakur respondents, the major reason for constructing modern–design houses is the separation of

family into different heirs and need of new place in the last 10 - 15 years. Many Bhotias besides providing

the reason of increasing heirs also state that migrants (young generation) who live outside Darkot want to

have modern facilities when they come to their native village and hence construct a modern house (or few

modern–design rooms) while scheduled castes attribute lack of money and increasing family (and their

responsibilities) for the delay in adopting modern houses. We can also say that the recent date of

construction of modern–design houses for shilpkars is due to poverty, while the late date for some more

advanced communities is due to no need of space because of increasing heirs (even if they migrate).

Thus to conclude, Darkot has two types of house, one being almost more than 100 years old while the

modern one has come up in the last twenty odd years. Also, many people (esp. among Bhotias) have

started renovating their old-design houses in the last 20-30 years and it is a process which is still going

on. The Bhotias (esp. previous generation) feel pride in keeping and maintaining their old house and still

use it optimally, while most of the Thakurs have moved exclusively to the new modern houses making

them slowly and slowly detached from the past. Thus, one can conclude that the ‘notion of heritage (old–

design structure)’ is mainly shared by Bhotias. Scheduled castes also feel construction of a modern house

easy and better for future living than repairing the old one which demands a lot of labor and money for

preservation (and proves costlier than constructing a new one). This is also the evidence that old-design

structure belongs particularly to Bhotias and other castes do not show much endeavor in preserving the

148

old design of house. But, as many new–generation Bhotias are also shifting to modern–design houses, it is

difficult to say that there is a strong ‘notion of heritage’ among Bhotias.

The 1961 monograph makes a statement about the absence of roads in Darkot (in around 1960s) as one

can only have access to it by bridle paths [Smarika, 2014]. It is (generally) only after 1980s that with the

coming up of road and vehicles, cement and other materials arrive and first change in landscape in form

of modern-design houses came into being. Thus, important change in landscape of Darkot is the

emergence of modern house type and as it is generally said, ‘as rural societies progress, rural house

begins to lose its folk character’ [Grover and Singh, 2004], this might be the beginning of socio-cultural

change. As explained by Mehar Singh in one of his article [Grover and Singh, 2004], change in building

materials is a result of economic change and change of architecture is a result of economic and socio-

cultural change, both these changes seem to be evident in case of Darkot. Changing house structure of

subordinate castes shows no more dependence on patron-client and feudal relationships of the past and

more economic independence, while adoption of the same by the dominant class shows change in their

social and cultural attitude. Thus in future, if this process is carried out at the same rate, more and more

people will incline towards modern structure and Darkot may lose its folk character of houses. As

population of Bhotias is on the decline, there is a fear of loss of imprint of characteristics of ethnicity on

landscape.

To conclude, more than 80% of the modern-design houses (across all castes) of Darkot have come up in

the last two decades. People of all castes and economic incomes have constructed modern–design houses

(even one–two rooms) while a few well–off inhabitants (esp. retired pensioners or those whose children

are in jobs) generally have more rooms and more facilities (e.g. of modern equipments like fridge, etc.) at

their disposal. One Martolia family constructed a modern–design house after getting land from their

maternal side about 15 years ago, while one Tolia family constructed the modern–design house after

getting land (from relatives) in the last 3 years. One Rawat family claims to have purchased 8 nali of land

and an old–design house from Pangti about 15 years back and renovated it (by keeping the old–design) .

Majority of scheduled castes construct a modern–design house after demolishing the old one (usually old

shanty houses) while two families claim to have purchased land from other scheduled caste landlord in

the village around 15 years back. Thakurs claim to have been original inhabitants of Darkot while only

one Karki family claims to have bought additional land from Pangti for construction of a shop in around

year 2000. Thus, there are very few immigrants in the village of Darkot.

149

Figure 5.13: Average number of years of construction of modern–design house among various

castes in Sharmoli

*Based on survey of 111 families done in Sharmoli

Figure 5.14: No. of modern–design houses constructed under various average – age range (<10, 10-

20, >20 years) among various castes in Sharmoli

*Based on survey of 111 families done in Sharmoli

0

5

10

15

20

BHOTIAS Thakurs Scheduled castes

Brahmin

No

. o

f y

ea

rs

Caste

Average no. Of years of construction of modern - design

house in Sharmoli

Average no. Of years of construction of modern -design house

0

5

10

15

20

25

BHOTIAS Thakurs Scheduled castes

Brahmin

No

. o

f h

ou

ses

Castes

No. of modern design houses constructed by various castes in

given range of years in Sharmoli

<10 years

10-20 years

>20 years

150

Figure 5.13 presents the data about the average years of construction of modern type structure in

Sharmoli. The average age of modern-design house among Bhotias is around 16 years while with regard

to other castes it is 10.2 years for Thakurs, 12.3 years for shilpkars and 7.7 years for Brahmin families

respectively. (Only the response of those respondents who managed to answer the question is recorded).

Here, in this part, we will like to discuss the Sharmoli and Shankhdhura hamlets separately to make the

situation look clearer and comprehensive. With regard to hamlets, the average age of modern–design

houses among Bhotias and Thakurs in Shankhdhura hamlet (30 families) is 12.3 years and 7.8 years

respectively while in case of Sharmoli hamlet (81 families) it is almost 20 years (Bhotias) and 13 years

(Thakurs) for the two castes (there is no SC and Brahmin in Shankhdhura hamlet). This might show that

Shankhdhura hamlet is further extension of Sharmoli hamlet in a direction farther from the core and there

is a chance that after Sharmoli hamlet is filled with construction activities, the inhabitants started to move

farther right towards Shankhdhura hamlet. There is another possibility that earlier there are very few

houses in Shankhdhura hamlet and later on with increasing population of Sharmoli hamlet, many have

started to look towards Shankhdhura hamlet as a new residing hub. There are some families who claim to

have old houses and structures built around 35-40 years back that have been demolished or renovated into

the modern ones. Thus, the second scenario seems to be more appropriate. To further strengthen this

argument, ten Bhotia families out of twelve were supposed to have had land for the last many decades and

have been living in Shankhdhura hamlet for at least 40 years. Similarly, thirteen Thakur families call

themselves original inhabitants of the Shankhdhura hamlet. Only five Thakur families claim to have come

from outside the village and settled here in the last one decade. In Sharmoli hamlet (81 families) majority

of modern-design houses of Bhotias have been present for more than two decades. Similarly, among

Thakurs and SCs a large number of their present modern–design houses came up in the last 10-20 years.

Brahmins were the latest to adopt new design as their structures are just 7.7 years old. Here also, as many

as 40 Bhotia families (out of 57) belonged originally to Sharmoli hamlet while 16 families are supposed

to have either purchased land or got it from their maternal side. Those Bhotias (17 families) who have

old–design structure, the average age of their new construction (or modification from the old one) is 32.2

years in which six houses are either 30 or less years old while the remaining majority of eleven houses are

beyond 30 years. In case of Thakurs, only five families (out of 12) originally belonged to Sharmoli hamlet

while the remaining seven have either purchased land or got it from maternal side. Although average age

of SCs modern–design houses is 12.3 years, yet all of them have claimed to have been settled in village

from time immemorial. Earlier, they had shanty houses which have been converted to one–two room

modern houses. In case of Brahmins, only two families are old inhabitants while the remaining two have

come to settle in the last 5–7 years. Thus, there are fair numbers of families who have immigrated to

151

Sharmoli (including both hamlets) in the last few decades. Almost everyone is from nearby villages or

from upper Johar who came to settle for education of their child or to find new opportunities in the

emerging ‘town’ of Munsiyari. Besides, there are two–three families of outsiders (from outside the state)

who came to settle in Sharmoli in around last 25–30 years.

Majority of modern–design houses i.e. 65% have come up in Sharmoli (including both the hamlets) in the

last two decades but people have been present mostly from the last 40 years or more, but not like Darkot

where each inhabitant has had almost 5 generations living there before him. In terms of generations,

Sharmoli is only two generations old. As per respondents, their first construction of house comes around

1965-1970 mostly at the time of land reforms and stopping of trade. Even those who have old-design

houses, they claim to have constructed it around last 40–45 years. Thus, while Darkot is a village

established before stopping of trade and land reforms, Sharmoli only came into existence after the period

of 1965. That is why we can see more modern–design houses (even they are 30–40 years old). In my

opinion (on analyzing survey) only 20-25 Bhotias families and 7-10 Thakur families along with 1-2

families of SCs were first to settle around mid-1960s in Sharmoli gram sabha. Later on with

establishment of many offices and market and coming up of road till Munsiyari, many who have land here

came to settle around 1980’s from nearby villages. Later in 1990s onwards many people purchased land

or got from their relatives and the process of settlement continues till today.

To conclude, if we look at table 5.2, the old–design houses in Darkot are around a century old, while in

case of Sharmoli they are almost 50 years old. Thus, the old design is supposed to be popular even after

the stopping of trade. This means, many Bhotias constructed their first houses in old design in Sharmoli in

around 1960s. This might be an indication that Bhotias, inspite losing trade, economy and land wanted to

maintain their status quo by means of their cultural imprint (in our case, old–design houses) on the

landscape. On the other hand, modern-design houses have become popular only in last one–two decade in

both the villages after the availability of road, modern materials and labour (which is provided by

unemployed and low educated population of Johar and later on by outsiders particularly from Nepal).

152

Table 5.2: Average age of old–design and modern–design houses in village of Darkot and Sharmoli

(across all castes)

VILLAGE Average number of years for construction

of

Old – design houses Modern – design

houses

Darkot >100 years 11.5 years

Sharmoli 45- 45 years 11.5 years

*Based on survey of 62 families in Darkot and 111 families in Sharmoli

Other important features of houses -

Use of Space inside house: Room is the first important feature of the interior of house. As it has already

been explained in detail in the previous section, I will only touch upon the very use of it in today’s time.

Bhotia continue to use the old-design house in the same way as in the past. The ground floor is used for

kitchen and handicrafts while the floor above is used for living purposes. Sometimes the handloom is

placed adjacent to an old house in a shed covered with tin or cement roof. In certain cases, those who

have combination of both old and new design, mostly old people and young bachelors live in old-design

houses while couple families live in the modern house. Those who only have one–two newly constructed

modern style rooms, they use it for drawing cum guests’ room and sometimes as a modern kitchen. The

other castes, who used to keep cattle on the ground floor while kitchen and living were on the first floor,

have changed their use of space to Bhotias’ style as well. They also have kitchen as well as living (in

certain cases) at the ground floor while the first floor is exclusively kept as a living room. Those who

have cattle, they keep it in a separate shed or sometimes in a right side room of the ground floor (if the

herds of cattle are few). The rear rooms are still used for storage (food, handloom stuff etc.) while in most

old-design houses the two rooms on right side of top floor are merged into one to form a bigger living and

drawing room.

Thus, the very first change of space inside the house is in welcoming guests. Earlier they were welcomed

on the first floor through ‘kholi’ but now mostly in a modern style room across all castes. Bhotias’ use of

space is almost the same as in the past, while others have shifted their kitchen from top to bottom as the

number of cattle has decreased with people. The inside of a house is mostly a private/ family space,

except guest room and kitchen where people from outside are allowed to sit and eat food, based on caste

consciousness. Higher caste people generally do not go inside the SCs’ house nor eat or drink anything

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from them, while in a similar way SCs do not enter houses of upper caste people. In my opinion, the old-

design houses across all castes are gender neutral (in current times) as there is no such specific room

where women can’t enter [except in the house temple (where god is kept inside house) where they are not

supposed to enter during menstruation period].

Kitchen: Kitchen is generally of two types and occupies two different spaces. One is inside the house

where cooking is done and food items are kept (mostly ion the ground floor of old-design houses and

sometime in a modern room) while the other is outside (in the courtyard) in a shed made of thatch roof or

wood meant for making cattle food and for warming large containers of water for bathing, washing

clothes etc. This division of kitchen is a phenomenon of modern era. Mostly LPG (Liquefied petroleum

gas) in cylinders is used inside house kitchen while wood is used for the outside one. Earlier when wood

is used in both the kitchens, it is supposed that carbon (black sticky layer deposited on the wood) which is

deposited from the ash and smoke of wooden ‘chullah’ make the wood of house strong and prevent it

from decaying. But, as with coming of LPG (smoke free) and with improved cooking conditions (as

working in smoke is a health hazard for women), and need to keep house beautiful and smoke free, the

kitchen which uses wood is separated out from the main one (in majority of houses) and the LPG

occupies the position of primary cooking fuel inside the house. Still, there are families who prefer wood

in both inside (to cook personal food) and outside (to cook cattle’s food) kitchen as LPG is costly or they

don’t have ‘ration card64

’ to buy LPG cylinders.

Toilet/ Bathroom: The toilet/ bathroom is the only room which is marked by exclusion and is present

outside the main house building at a certain distance from it. Even most of the modern houses do not have

attached bathroom and toilet. There is separation between toilet and bathroom as they are not same as in

most urban houses in India. The toilet has the sole purpose of attending to nature’s call while bathroom

serves the twin purpose of bathing and washing clothes. As per respondents, toilet and bathroom came

into existence only in 1980’s with the coming of modern materials and tap pipeline. Earlier people use to

go to the river or fields for defecation. The toilet is marked by simple three sided wall structure (usually

made of bricks or sometime only tin) with door in the front usually made of tin/ aluminium along with tin

roof. No house has as such modern toilets with tiles, geysers; hot/cold water taps etc. All houses are

marked by Indian style toilet with hardly any facility of auto-flush. There is only a tap along with mug as

an accessory present in the toilet. In a similar way, bathroom is only marked by presence of tap, bucket

and soap. The walls and ground of the bathroom is sometimes cemented from inside. The wash-basin for

64

A card issued by Panchayat (in case of a village) that contains record of all family members and their economic status (i.e. below poverty or above poverty) and provides food items at subsidized rates. It is an important document to avail various kinds of services esp. LPG gas cylinder.

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hand wash and for brushing teeth is located outside on the wall between toilet and bathroom or sometime

at a separate location. Thus, presence of toilet and its structure only shows the requirement (as many

Govt. schemes are forcing people to build it for stopping open defecation) rather than need of the present.

One can still find a lot of people (both male and female) taking bath in the open in their courtyard or at

natural water stream. As per my survey only three families out of 62 in Darkot did not have toilets, and

two are from Scheduled castes and one is from Bhotias. They are still going out in the open or have built a

pit behind their house for toilet purposes. There are ten families in Sharmoli (out of 111 families) who did

not construct any toilet/ bathroom. Five Thakur families, three scheduled castes families and two Bhotia

families are without washroom in their houses. Among them, very few have new constructions while

others have old-design houses and give financial reasons for non-construction of toilets, as living rooms

and kitchen are their first construction priority in case they build modern–design houses. Sharmoli also

has modern bathrooms (western class) esp. in various home stays, as they cater to foreign tourists.

Furniture and assets: As per the 1961 monograph with regard to Darkot, “no modern furniture is used in

this village but those who can afford use mats and carpets. There are only two–three houses in the whole

of village who have got one or two cots” [Smarika, 2014]. Along with that various utensils of iron, copper

and wood are used for cooking, eating and storing purposes, e.g. thali, parat, tawa etc. While some of the

older utensils are still in use in many houses most of them have been replaced by modern ones. The

conspicuous change is with regard to furniture. Now, every household has at least one cot, chair and mats

for sitting and television as basic possessions irrespective of caste and earnings. Many can afford table,

guest’s chair, sofas and a few wall hanging scenery paintings to enhance the beauty of their drawing

rooms. Sill fans, washing machine, fridge and other luxury items are almost absent in majority of houses

in Darkot but people have all basic furniture. The case of basic furniture (cots, utensils etc.) is the same

for Sharmoli; besides there are many families who own fridge, washing machine, water filter etc. (esp.

retired pensioners and home stays owners) and also have cars and motorbikes which are almost absent in

case of Darkot. Thus, Sharmoli seems to be more equipped in terms of modern equipments than Darkot

which may be attributed to financial means or urbanization of culture, esp. among the local elite (who are

financially better-off than others).

Courtyard: Courtyard is one of the important features of all houses in Darkot and Sharmoli and is mostly

located in the front side of house and is a product of age old culture, as courtyard is a compensation for

lack of ventilation and sunlight (because of small height of rooms) in the old-design houses of the region.

It is generally rectangular in shape of varied sizes covered with grass or soil having small pebbles. Many

houses esp. modern–design houses also have cemented courtyard (though small in comparison to old-

design houses). The bathroom and toilet are situated at one end of the courtyard while the other end might

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have an open wood-based (fuel) kitchen or a way to other’s house. The boundary of courtyard is marked

by a small pavement or wall (having height less than one foot) made up of bricks / stones and cement, and

is used for sitting purposes in the sun, esp. by women. It is the most important social space in the house.

Every conversation and meeting of neighbors and outsiders, irrespective of gender takes place here. One

can always find a person sitting in the courtyard, e.g. young or old woman doing knitting or an old man

sitting alone in the chair.

Boundary: The boundary marks the territoriality of a house. The walled boundary as such is not present

that encompass the whole house and its area, but the boundaries of a house often coincide with boundary

of courtyard from one side or in some cases by fields, while the back of the house generally marks the

beginning of territoriality. The entrance gate is almost absent, while in case of those who have it, it is

made up of stone walls a few meters high with wooden blocks placed on it as a substitute for gate.

Besides that, the boundary also provides (imaginary) separation of private space from the social space

marked by caste, as people of lower caste could not enter the houses belonging to high caste inhabitants.

BRO (Border Roads Organisation) also plays a significant role in determining the landscape of Sharmoli

and Darkot, esp. those houses which are situated near the road. As main road that passes through the

middle of a village (in case of Sharmoli) or circumscribes the village (as in case of Darkot) is getting

broader, many houses along the roads have to be removed or break down from their location. Many

people have lost their houses or rooms in this process, but they are compensated for the same. Though

there is no family in Darkot (yet) who lost their house to BRO but there are five–six families in Sharmoli

who have lost their property and mostly have constructed new rooms at the same place (by moving

behind the actual location or in land available to them at the same place) while very few have purchased

new land (in Sharmoli) to construct another house. All the new houses under construction after

dismantling by BRO have modern–design structure.

5.1.5 Conclusion -

The landscapes of both the villages have characteristics that are similar to each other, and are different as

well in certain features. The landscape described in our chapter is predominantly based on ‘capacity to

see’ on the side of ‘reader’ (i.e. interpreter (me)) by means of analysing information provided by creator/

writer of landscape (i.e. respondents of both the villages). It may be possible that I have interpreted views

and opinions on landscape (i.e. village) that is totally different from ‘how the inhabitants (of Darkot and

Sharmoli) look at their landscape’. At the end of the section related to houses and after analyzing the

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details, one can conclude that both Darkot and Sharmoli at present can be considered as Bhotia villages,

esp. in terms of numbers of inhabitants of particular castes, as Bhotias are more in number in comparison

with others. Both villages have cultural imprint of the dominant caste (Bhotias) on physical landscape by

means of their old-design houses that particularly belong to Bhotia caste and culture. But, with advent of

modern means and materials in the last two decades, this culture imprint (i.e. old-design houses) is

diminishing and is being replaced by new houses which represent characteristics of urbanisation and

cultural change. The process is more rapid in Sharmoli than in Darkot. Though it seems that the landscape

of both the villages will change in future, esp. with regard to type of houses and there is a very good

chance that Bhotias may lose their imprint on the landscape and hence their dominance with the

culturalization (modernization / westernization) of space.

ADDITIONAL PHOTOGRAPHS

Photo 5.4: Clockwise (from top left) – Old-design house rooms used as religious room, store room

(food items and others), drawing room and living room on first floor

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Photo 5.5: Clockwise (from top left) - Ground floor in old-design house used as store for

keeping wood or handloom, kitchen; bathroom outside the house

Photo 5.6: Modern–design room (cement) used as guest room with modern furniture

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Photo 5.7: Dismantled houses in Sharmoli for road-broadening purposes

Photo 5.8: Newly constructed modern-design house in Sharmoli (after earlier one was destroyed by

road widening process)

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5.2 ANALYSIS OF PUBLIC / SOCIAL SPACES - TEMPLES AND COMMUNITY GROUND

In the last section, we analysed the housing pattern of the two villages, i.e. private space, but in this

section, we will deal with the public but restricted spaces of the villages such as Temples and community

ground which are determined by caste and religion, while home-stays will be dealt in a later chapter of the

thesis.

The religious faiths of Joharis are always a contested issue as different scholars provide different views

about the Bhotias. In the opinion of a few (e.g. Sherring) Bhotias might have had Buddhist influence in

the past because of their closeness with Tibet. The other valleys of the region such as Darma valley have

Bhotias who are Buddhists and their social and cultural life is different from the Johari Bhotias. The

religion of Johari Bhotias has undergone various changes as per the change in era, ruler and the socio-

economic situation. The coming of Dham Singh and the influence of trade played an important role in

determining the present religious situation of Johar. There might have been influence of Buddhism in the

Johar in the early periods (Panjwari era) but the Shauka being considered as Buddhists is an abstruse

subject. In the opinion of Dr.Tolia, the ancient Joharis consider Tibetan Lamas as their priests and used to

call them to their homes during religious functions. As per Dr. S.S. Pangti, there might be an influence of

Tibetan culture on Panjwaris who were rehabilitated by Sakya Lama and there is likelihood that a few

Tibetan people got assimilated into Panjwaris as well. Till 17th century, there were people in Johar whose

names were of Tibetan origin, while many stones and name of houses have Tibetan mantras engraved on

them. In the view of Sherring, a British Commissioner, Bhotias left Tibet in around 650 A.D., thus,

linking the origin of Bhotias from Tibet (Bod) and hence, Buddhism.

With the advent of Dham Singh and neo-Joharis in Johar and with the decline of Panjwari clout,

Hinduism esp. Brahmanism (influence of high caste Hindus) began to mark its presence in the Johar. The

neo–Joharis, i.e. migrant Hindu Rajputs brought with themselves the new culture and religious beliefs

with the introduction of Brahmins and scheduled castes. In my opinion, the Joharis were never deeply

Hinduised in the trade era as they had a close contact with their Tibetan counterparts and used to ‘dine

and wine’ with them. But, the process of Hinduisation became prominent after the stoppage of trade,

when contact with Tibetan mitras was lost and nearness with the Hindus of Kumaon and Garhwal

increased. This is also a general process in India known as ‘Sanskritization’ (and Hinduization) of many

communities. The Brahmins also played an important role in introducing the new culture as many

festivals (core Hindu festivals like Ashtami, Durgapooja etc.) and social customs (e.g. wearing sacred

thread) were introduced by them among Bhotias and others. Later on, when the British rule was

established in India, many English organisations tried to spread the influence of Christianity by opening

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schools, churches and by means of social services. A few people in Johar, e.g. Padre Uttam Singh,

adopted Christianity and brought about many educational reforms in the society. Similarly, Babu Ram

Singh and a few others got inspired by the Arya Samaj65 and tried to bring a end to some social evils such

as caste system while promoting nationalism by means of swadeshi goods (local made products).

Bhotias’ religious beliefs also have some imprint of tribal culture. In the words of Dr. S.S. Pangti:

“Shaukas of Johar were worshippers of nature from the past”. They used to worship local gods such as

Hardeol (for protection of animals), Dhurma (for protection from snow), Thatyal (for agricultural

produce) etc. while sacrificing animal was a common practice. Even in present times, though Bhotias

consider themselves Hindu and worship Hindu gods and celebrate their festivals, e.g. Dusshera, Diwali

etc., the influence of local gods and their commemoration has not decreased. Various clans among

Bhotias have their separate local gods, e.g. Nikhurpas have Hardeol (mountain peak) while Tolias have

Raga (a kind of tree) as their chief diety. Thus, there is no doubt, Bhotias have religious beliefs which are

admixture of Hinduism and animism (which is a common trend in the Himalayas among all communities)

while the influence of Buddhism and other religions has vanished with time. At present time, when many

Joharis are migrating to towns and cities for education and jobs, it may be a possibility in future that

influence of Hinduism may even increase (as they come in contact with Hindus of plains of India) or

religion may lose its importance or be strongly reshaped (as in contact with modern/ western ideology of

cities). But as long as one is staying in the villages of Johar, inhabitants are dealing with the duality of

preserving their local culture / beliefs as well as adopting modern Hindu faiths.

Let us have some brief understanding of the contemporary religious spaces of the Darkot and Sharmoli

villages. We will start with the tangible element that gesticulates about the religiosity of space, i.e.

temples. Both the villages have temples situated within the boundaries of the respective villages and as

these temples belong to Hindu gods/ goddesses, there is a clear indication of the dominant religion in both

the villages. During my survey, I have not found presence of any other religion’s edifice, i.e. church,

mosques, Buddhist temples etc. As mentioned earlier in the previous chapter, the temple in Darkot plays

an important part in the physical and social space of the village and its life while in case of Sharmoli,

there is no such particular established shrine

The temple in Darkot is an important physical structure situated near the main entrance of the village and

is the first and foremost building in the village. It plays an important part in the life of people of all castes

as all the religious, social, cultural and political interactions and commemoration take place here. In my

opinion, this is the only temple in the village and hosts gods/ goddesses of all castes (Bhotias, Thakurs

65

Hindu Reform Movement that promotes values and practices based on the belief in the infallible authority of Vedas. They believe in one God and reject worshipping of idols. It was founded in 1875.

161

and Scheduled castes) at one particular place; besides, inhabitants have their gods in the small temple

constructed with in the house. Thus, it appears to provide an image of ‘religious harmony’ and ‘social

equality’ (esp. absence of caste discrimination) within the village. Among my informants, people of all

castes, esp. Bhotias, feel pride in the existence and construction of the temple and in their opinion, there is

no such structure anywhere else in Johar that depicts qualities of ‘mutual co-existence’ (among lower and

upper castes). Let us understand some physical and social aspects of the temple that depicts the religious

and cultural values of the people of Darkot village.

Photo 5.9: Temple at the village Darkot

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The temple is dedicated to the Goddess Bhagwati. Though the temple has existed for many decades the

newly constructed building came into existence in the year 2014. Earlier, there was a small temple with

the idol of the goddess. The story behind the temple is that a newly married woman came from the village

Niti to Darkot along with the stone wrapped in a piece of cloth which was the symbol of her deity. She

left the stone in the path thinking that her husband’s family will laugh at her for bringing a piece of

masonry. Later that night, the woman got a dream wherein the goddess appeared and said to her ‘that she

had left her (the goddess) alone’. The woman told about her dream to the husband and later when they

reached that particular place (where she had left the stone), the stone had turned into an idol of the

goddess. Hence, the temple was created at that place.

The new construction has special type of granite which was brought from outside the state (esp.

Rajasthan) and the total cost of construction was beyond Rs. 1 crore, i.e. 10 million Rupees. The whole

cost was borne by the villagers of Darkot and the contribution of ‘outsiders’, i.e. who once belonged to

Darkot but had migrated and were working outside the village in various high–paid jobs, is huge. Also,

the contributions of Bhotias is mani-fold than the other caste people. As per records of temple donation

published in the form of a book, 90% of the donations came from Bhotias while other castes contributed

the rest (mainly because of their small number). The bringing of stone from Rajasthan might show the

intentions of Bhotias to establish and confirm the idea of their cultural connection with the Rajputs of

Rajasthan, i.e. descendants of Dham Singh Rawat. The large contributions from the migrants, esp.

Bhotias, show their desire for the establishment and continuity of control and dominance over the space

by means of establishing and strengthening the religiosity of space. As most of the outsider migrants who

contributed financially for the construction of the temple are highly educated, this shows that religion has

not been weakened by the high educational status or by living in the town and cities. In fact, they play an

important role in strengthening the religious beliefs by means of preserving culture.

The temples of all the castes, i.e. high caste (Bhotias) and lower castes (SCs) are constructed adjacent to

each other as seen in Picture 5.9. The rightmost temples belongs to the high caste while the left one (i.e.

first from left) belongs to the lower caste. The new gates are constructed (see Picture 5.10) in the ‘pagoda

style’ architecture depicting the element of Himalayan culture in the structure.

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Photo 5.10 A and B: Temple gates of Darkot

A

B

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The first glance at the photos of the temple (Photo 5.9) gives a preliminary assumption of ‘social equality’

but a close look into the structure will provide an accurate narrative of the socio-religious aspects of the

society. The height of the temple belonging to the high–caste Bhotias is more as in comparison to the

temple of lower caste people. The height of the temple is an evidence of the prevailing hierarchical

structure in the village society of Darkot and symbolises the Indian caste structure. The other stark

difference between the two temples is the presence of small statues of lion in front of high caste–temple

(Photo 5.11), which is also considered as a ‘vahan’ (carrier / vehicle) of the goddess while there is no

such figure in front of the scheduled castes temple.

Photo 5.11: High caste temple (top) and low caste temple (below) in Darkot

Similarly, the high caste temple has idol of the lion at the top of temple while there is a face of a human

on the top of scheduled caste temple. Lion is generally associated with the goddess but also depicts power

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(clout of the goddess) as it personifies the power of dominant caste (Bhotias) as well. On the other hand

the face of a human may represent the ‘servant’ as in the opinion of the villagers ‘the god of lower caste is

considered to be subordinate of the goddess’. Besides this, there is a flag on the top of temple whose

‘colour’ also represents the difference between high and lower caste. The temples of high caste people

have saffron or yellow flags which also connote symbols of Hinduism and purity, while the scheduled

caste temple has a black–coloured flag. The difference can also be seen in the colour of the idol of the

goddess and the god of the two castes (Photo 5.12). Besides this analysis, the priests of the two temples

are different as can be seen in Photo 5.13. The priest of Bhotia temple (who is from Bhotia community)

does not serve in the SC temple while the same is applied for the SC priest (who is from the SC

community) as he cannot enter the temple of the goddess.

Photo 5.12: Goddess of high caste temple (left) and the god of low caste temple (right)

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Photo 5.13: Priest of SC temple (left) and of High caste temple (right)

Thus, to conclude, though the temple, in the opinion of the habitants of Darkot (esp. Bhotias and a few

scheduled castes as well) represents the place of equality and casteless space, actually its physical

structure represents the social inequality along with discrimination. There is a clear segregation of space

for both the communities within a designated religious place as there is a restriction for SC from entering

a high-caste religious space, and a prohibition for high–caste (as per Hindu social customs and caste

consciousness) from entering the region occupied by shilpkars. In my opinion, high caste people

(Bhotias) tries to maintain their dominance firstly by constructing a new temple and secondly, by creating

an illusion of equality among subordinate castes by allowing them to have a small portion within their

vital social space. But, at the same time they maintain a conspicuous distinctness in order to separate their

religious space from the others’.

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Photo 5.14: Chalo-Devi Temple in Sharmoli

Photo 5.15: Ulka-Devi temple in Sharmoli

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Photo 5.16: Scheduled caste temple in Sharmoli

Photo 5.17: Raga temple in Sharmoli

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In case of Sharmoli, there are four temples, three of which belong to the Bhotias and other high-caste

people. The temples are constructed with the modern construction material (like modern-design houses)

such as bricks, cement, and the walls are painted (usually in yellow or saffron colour). There is no lavish

construction and design (use of high quality granite, pagoda-style design) of the temples as in case of

Darkot, which shows the less inclination of the inhabitants of Sharmoli to a particular religious site. In my

survey, none of the villagers associate themselves with the temple (when asked about the physical

structure of the village that holds significance for them) as opposite to Darkot where Bhotias feel pride in

the temple. Interestingly, the scheduled caste temple has grown in stature, both physically and socially, in

the last two years. Earlier (till the survey of 2016), the SC temple was operated in a small room within a

house, but a separate temple was constructed in 2017 adjacent to the room, thus separating the religious

space from the private one. The reason for the growing stature of the SC temple is the spiritual and mystic

power of the priest (belonging to SC category) to communicate with the god (everywhere in the

Himalayas esp. in villages, there is a belief that god speaks to the villagers through the medium of the

priest and people can ask their queries directly to the god). Many people from Sharmoli and outside the

village (of all castes) come to visit the temple (usually on Thursday of every week). Thus, religious

spaces sometime also help in curtailing the caste-consciousness / hierarchical (caste-based) system of the

society as people of all castes visit the temple for finding a solution of their dubiety. The faith in the god

(i.e. in the priest that he would provide a right answer) and the desire to find answers to their problems

(social, economic etc.) can also make people free of their purity-pollution rule. A few inhabitants of the

Sharmoli are suspicious and do not believe in such practices while in the opinion of a few others ‘many

people are benefitted by the predictions of the priest (from within and out of the village)’. The temple in

Darkot is the epicentre of all kinds of social and cultural activities while there is no such state of affairs in

Sharmoli. It might suggest that residents of Sharmoli, who are situated near to the core Munsiyari, may

not have much endearment for ‘religion’. But, the reason may be different, as ‘inhabited Sharmoli’ came

into existence in the last four–five decades with people of all castes and clans and hence there is no

presence of any old temple (which has a centuries old history). In India most of religion is practised inside

homes and the emerging importance of the SC temple is the evidence that the faith in religion is equally

important for the villagers of Sharmoli (but with a little secularization).

The other important structure that establishes caste-consciousness in Darkot is the community ground. It

has a ground covered with grass while the stage is located in the centre. The ground also has sitting

arrangement in the form of stairs running parallel to each other (Photo 5.18 B). During an event, extra

plastic chairs are placed (on the ground) so the people can sit easily and enjoy the functions and plays,

while food is cooked and served alongside the stage.

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Photo 5.18 A and B: Community ground and its gate in Darkot

A

B

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Photo 5.19: Painting drawn on the wall of stage in community ground in Darkot

The presence of an entrance gate to the community ground marks its importance in the life of the

community of Darkot (like that of the temple or the main entry gate of the village that separates the

public, private, restricted and non-restricted spaces). The painting (Photo 5.19) drawn on the wall of the

stage depicts a scene of Ramayana (Hindu scripture). The picture of jungle (forest) with animals shows

the period of vanvas (exile in forest) of Lord Ram and Goddess Sita. Thus, this ground is particularly

related to the festivals of Dusshera and Diwali (associated with Lord Rama) and strengthened the Hindu

beliefs of Bhotias (esp. high-caste) along with establishing their close proximity with the Hindu religion

in the old Bhotia village. Bhotias in Darkot have really tried hard to establish their identity as Hindus by

means of modifying physical spaces (esp. public spaces) as per their requirement and need. This site also

presents the location of discrimination, as scheduled castes are sidelined and pushed to the periphery

within the space of the community ground. During the time of Ramlila (play depicting the story of

Ramayana), only Bhotias play the leading roles of Lord Ram, Sita and other important characters (e.g.

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Lord Hanuman) while scheduled castes do not participate (or very few among them for minor roles) in the

event. The scheduled castes provide their service by cleaning the ground and washing plates, utensils (for

the feast) etc. during a function. In the opinion of shilpkars, they used to sit on the stairs while Bhotias

used to sit on chairs near the stage during functions or plays, thus creating a horizontal hierarchy (with

regard to distance from the stage / better view) that depicts the social status.

Besides temples and community grounds, there are other public spaces which are less categorized by the

caste-based inequalities and unfairness. The caste-based segregation of space is visible in those places

which are under the control of the community (dominated by high-castes) and managed by the rules and

regulations of religion. On the other hand, there are schools, public distribution shops, panchayat ghar

(village council) where the role of caste is weak and which are governed by state-based authorities. But,

in the opinion of the villagers, these are also the spaces where one can easily find the concept of caste.

Most of the students (more than 70% in opinion of the villagers of Darkot) in the government school in

Darkot belong to scheduled castes category while high-caste Bhotias and Thakurs send their children to

private and missionary schools near Darkot. The public distribution system also has different types of

cards whereby the poor (usually shilpkars and a few Bhotia families) can easily be separated from the

non-poor (usually high-caste). Thus, it is impossible to think of villages of India without mentioning the

caste as it is rightly said: ‘India is caste, caste is India’. Many physical spaces and their elements such as

buildings, houses, grounds, gates, streets, water streams etc. show the ingredient of caste and culture (in

whatever quantity) in their construction. There are still some places like home-stays, hotels etc. which are

less caste-rigid and will be analysed in detail in later chapters. On the other hand, Sharmoli has a

community ground adjacent to the Mesar Kund which is known more for the cultural activities rather than

religious functions and does not have any established structure (like a stage). Further comparison of the

cultural values of the inhabitants of both the villages as shown by the public and religious spaces of

Darkot and Sharmoli is provided below.

Photo 5.20 provides images of a religious function, i.e. Bhagwat katha (story of lord Krishna and Arjuna)

in the village of Darkot. The function was organised in April 2016 to mark the completion of a newly

constructed temple. The speaker (sitting on a stage) had been brought from the plains of Uttarakhand for

this special occasion while people of all castes and predominantly outsider Bhotias (who live in other

cities/ towns) attended the function. Strict religious procedures are followed in the function as one can see

in photos that there is separate sitting arrangement for women (mahila) and men (purush) The heads of

women are covered with the dupatta (a kind of scarf) while men wear white colored topi (cap). One can

find a separation in the sitting space as it is occupied mainly by Bhotias and a few Thakurs while very few

of shilpkars are either sitting at the back within the shamiyana (tent) or are sitting outside of it. After the

173

function, a feast is organised in the community ground where people of all castes have food (served by

high caste people) but they sit at different places. Thus, there is a clear indication of caste segregation in

Darkot village. Thus, Darkot is clearly a village having all important functions and occasions persuaded

by the religious beliefs.

Photos 5.20: Bhagwat Katha (A kind of Religious function) in Darkot

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On the other hand, the main function organised in Sharmoli is shown in Photos 5.21. The function is

organised in the ground of Mesar Kund area situated at the top of the village. The function is based on the

theme of environment, flora, fauna, women collectives, handicrafts etc. Posters and exhibitions related to

protection of environment, e.g. saving trees from fires, knowledge of various types of animals and birds,

booklets depicting forest rules along with stories of functioning of home stays and women collectives can

be seen everywhere around the organising ground. The ‘Mati sangathan’ organises the function with the

help of villagers (esp. those who belong to Sharmoli) while everyone from any village, town, city or

country can enjoy and take part in the social affair. Thus cultural space of Sharmoli is more open than the

Darkot (where predominantly inhabitants of Darkot take part in the religious festivals while very few

from outside of the village are present). The function of Sharmoli also begins by performing pooja

(worshipping) at Mesar kund, thus providing a religious character to the gathering. But religious character

of the festival is overcome by the other activities which super abound the main events of the function.

Various happenings in the form of marathon race, dance competition, essay writings and games like ‘tug

of war’ etc. take place, which is followed by the prize distribution. The caste consciousness in the event

is least visible as everyone from any caste is mixing freely and enjoying the event, which is absent in case

of Darkot. The reasons for this may be many but in my opinion, the secular character of the organising

authority, i.e. Ms. Mallika (she herself is an outsider), head of Mati sangathan, and her social and

economic dominance automatically (will be discussed in later chapters) force the villagers to unite in a

friendly way. At the end of an event a feast is organised. Thus, space of Sharmoli seems to be more

secular and open than Darkot.

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Photos 5.21: Photos of cultural festival of Sharmoli

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After analysing the two different cultural events in the villages of Sharmoli and Darkot, one can say that

inhabitants of Sharmoli seem to be more secular than the villagers of Darkot. But one cannot correlate the

secular character of the village with the values of an individual esp. in case of religion (there is no main

temple in Sharmoli, but religion plays an important role inside the house). The faith in religion and local

customs are equally important for the villagers of Sharmoli along with other Hindu sacraments and rites.

Photo 5.22 provides an example of the importance of religion in Sharmoli as a person is seen taking

treatment for a disease from an ‘ojha’ (sorcerer).

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Photos 5.22: Inhabitant seeking help of a local sorcerer for a medical treatment in Sharmoli

In the end, we can deduce that though religion plays an important part in the life of inhabitants of Darkot

and Sharmoli, yet it is more visible and strong in public and social life of Darkot while Sharmoli seems to

be a little liberal and secular (at least in the social/public spaces). Thus, Sharmoli which is near to the core

is exhibiting modern cultural traits with regard to its public spaces by organising contemporary festivals

and by participation of everyone from locals to foreigners. The argument is further strengthened by the

presence of home stays (where everyone is welcome) in Sharmoli village (will be analysed later). Besides

that, choice of modern-design houses over the old-design house by people (may be because of economic

reason) and use of new materials, tools, etc. shows the change in behaviour of people to imitate town-like

life, at least in design and shape of house, and it is prevalent among many families in Sharmoli (marked

by more in-migration). Hence, we can say that with regard to distance from the core, Sharmoli, which is

near, is more modern in cultural values (at least in the public domain) and prove the truthness of our

hypothesis.

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CHAPTER 6

LAND, AGRICULTURE AND ANIMAL HUSBANDRY – CHANGING VALUES AND USES

‘Land’ is not only the foremost component of space (physical) and a symbol of asset, but also embodies

the characteristics of social, economic and political power and relations. Generally, in a village society of

South Asia and in particular in the Indian context, a person or caste having a greater amount of land is

considered socially, economically and politically powerful. This is true across all the villages and

societies of India, esp. in the plains, fertile agricultural regions. The powerful caste (who owns more land

than others) behaves as a patron while all other castes act as clients.

One of the important binding forces of the patron–client relationship is ‘agriculture’ or more precisely, the

old agricultural systems such as Jajmani system in the Hindi–speaking parts of India. In these types of

relationships, emphasis is on landownership [Karanth, 1987]. The landlord is the ‘Jajman’ and all other

castes in a village were dependent on him in various forms such as provider of labour, tools and other

agricultural needs and requirements. Other non–agricultural castes such as barber, washerman etc. were

also dependent on their patron caste as they got fixed quantity of agricultural produce for their services.

Thus, land and agriculture are one of the important determinants of village life, society and culture.

Though it seems to be the story of the past in the contemporary capitalist and modern world, it still holds

true for the large number of villages in India, esp. north India. Land is the most important object of

acquisition in most cases. It is a ‘universal desire’ which is not confined to a particular caste or religion

[Srinivas, 1976].

In the previous chapters we talked about the general physical landscape and its components, i.e. analysis

of settlement of Darkot and Sharmoli. In this chapter we will focus on land and agriculture while brief

information about the animal husbandry is provided in the last part of the chapter. In our research area of

Sharmoli and Darkot villages, i.e. mid- Johar valley, the patron–client relationship is primarily defined by

trade which in later period was influenced by land and agricultural activities. Bhotias were the absentee–

landlords and their lands were cultivated by Thakur peasants (kashtkars), esp. in middle and lower Bhotia

regions. Scheduled castes (shilpkars) were the other service class who provided various types of services

to Bhotias by acting as their servants, taking care of their animals etc. In this chapter, we will examine the

quantitative and qualitative aspects of land and agriculture and their relationships with various castes in

the past and the present in Darkot and Sharmoli villages.

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6.1 A BRIEF HISTORY OF LAND AND AGRICULTURE IN THE BHOTIA

SOCIETY

6.1.1 LAND -

The value attached to the land and agriculture is totally different in mountainous regions of Himalayas in

comparison with fertile plains. Agriculture was the subsidiary occupation of Bhotias. Rugged mountain

terrain, cold weather, snow in winter, terraced fields, poor soil devoid of irrigation, large distance from

the market due to unavailability of road were the main reasons for poor agricultural situation of Johar

valley. As Bhotias were busy in trade, they allocated land located in lower and intermediate settlements to

different ‘kashtkars’ (peasant class, mostly Thakurs) and got some part of the harvest as a tax from them.

By the 19th century, the occupancy of more and more land in lower and intermediate villages became the

new competition among Bhotias. In case of upper Johar settlement, agriculture was mainly done by

Scheduled caste (shilpkar) servants of Bhotias [Prasad, 2016]. Thus, Bhotias acted as absentee–landlords

while all the agricultural activities were carried out by Thakurs in lower and intermediate settlements

while by shilpkars in the upper settlement. Thus patron-client relationship defined by trade got stronger

with the emergence of land as an important acquisitive asset in the 19th century. Thakurs and shilpkars

were directly dependent on Bhotias for majority of their needs such as food (as a part of their share),

clothes, utensils etc. Besides getting a share in the harvest, Bhotias also gained some extra by providing

money to ‘kashtkars’ at high interest rates and taking back their loan in form of more share of harvest.

Like any other part of India, this patron-client relationship was also biased in favor of Bhotias i.e. the

dominant class.

In the mid of 20th century, the agricultural land was the major entity that went into a change and brought

about major socio-economic transformation in the society of Johar valley. The trade was disrupted by

Sino- Indian tension of late 1950s and finally stopped in early 1960s. The one option for Bhotias after the

trade vanished was to move to winter and intermediate settlements and carry out the agricultural

activities. But the zamindari abolition act of 1952 (land to tiller) which fully came into force by 1960s in

the Kumaon region made Bhotias lose their land to Thakur kashtkars. Thakurs, being the original and

only tillers of land (throughout the year) were the main beneficiaries of the act. They got land in almost

all the middle and lower villages while in the upper settlements Bhotias somehow managed to retain their

land (by showing that they are the actual cultivators of land). In the opinion of scheduled castes

respondents, as trade has been stopped, there was no interest of the shilpkars to stay in upper Johar (in

cold climate) where agriculture is confined to one season and very few crops and hence they did not make

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their claim to the land. In the opinion of Bhotias, shilpkars also got the amount of land that they were

cultivating in upper Johar, as majority of agriculture in upper Johar is carried out by Bhotia women.

Thus, land being the main source of power of that time got shifted from Bhotias to Thakurs in the middle

and lower villages. This incident marks the beginning of breaking up of the traditional patron–client

relationship among various castes. To conclude, Thakurs become the new landlords of the region as they

gained much access to the land of Bhotias while Bhotias were pushed to second position – in terms of

land ownership if not in terms of economic power - with very minimal assets available at their disposal.

6.1.2 AGRICULTURE -

The local zamindars, i.e. Bhotias, never took much pain in improving the agricultural activities of the

region. They were only confined to collecting their share of produce and thus behaved like agents of the

colonial state whose only purpose was to collect tax of the produce. On the other hand, Thakurs were

hardly able to achieve their subsistence food limit as they paid good amount of harvest as a tax. They

were always somehow dependent on Bhotias for their minimum survival. After transfer of land from

Bhotias to Thakurs, they (Thakurs) continued to work as agriculturalists for a long period of time, even

till present. Thus, Thakurs were the original agriculturalists of the region who continue to carry their old

age profession while both Bhotias and shilpkars started looking for other professions after loss of land

and relationship respectively. Sowing, harvesting, etc. was mainly carried out by women while hard

physical jobs like ploughing are mainly done by male members of the family. The agriculture, like in the

past, is still very less mechanized and people generally make use of animals and old tools for agricultural

activities. Irrigation is hardly available in the region. Presently, both Thakurs and Bhotias distribute the

available land among their heirs and thus both have very less agricultural land at their disposal.

Main crops grown in the Johar valley were jau (sorghum), madua (finger millet), aloo (potato), oogal

(kind of millet), chaulai (amaranth, plant based food), cheena-koni (kind of millet), wheat and paddy etc.

With regard to upper Johar, there was one agriculture season of three-four months and main crops grown

were potato, buck wheat (phaphar), mustard (sarson), peas (matar), masur lentil etc. In lower and

intermediate villages, wheat, barley, potato, madua, ugal, cheena-kauni etc. were grown in Rabi (winter)

and Kharif (summer–monsoon) season [Pangti, 1991]. Potato was introduced around 150 years back in

Johar during the British era.

In 1960, roads were first introduced to the intermediate villages of Johar (i.e. Munsiyari) and the first

change in the local crops was noticed. Potatoes become the main crop of Munsiyari region. As cereals

189

were easily available in the plains of India and the advent of ration shops make their availability more

smoothly to the inhabitants, the inhabitants move towards the crops whose demand is more in the plains

and which can fetch a good amount of money. Potato was sown in April/May and harvested in around

November. Because of construction of roads and emergence of transportation facilities, the demand of

potatoes as ‘seed potato’ was rising in the plain areas of Uttar Pradesh and fetching a good price. This

process continued till 1990. In post–liberalization era, i.e. after 1991, cold storage was established in

towns and cities of Uttar Pradesh which led to the decline in demand of seed potato. The potatoes were

soon replaced by the red kidney beans (rajmah) cash crop which fetches good amount to the

agriculturalists of Johar. The other important crops of upper Johar include cordyseps, black cumin etc.

which are sold at a mammoth price in the national and international market. At present the Rabi crop of

the Johar area is sorghum (jau) while potato, red kidney beans and madua (ginger millet) are the main

Kharif crops.

[**Analysis is based on the discussion with local scholars and laymen of the Sharmoli, Darkot and other

villages in Munsiyari region].

6.2 CONTEMPORARY CASTE-BASED STATISTICS OF LAND IN DARKOT AND

SHARMOLI

After having a brief knowledge about the land and agriculture of the past in Johar valley, we now move to

analyze the current scenario in two intermediate villages of Johar, i.e. Darkot and Sharmoli, with regard to

land. Darkot being one of the oldest settled intermediate villages of Johar, its land and agricultural past is

the same as mentioned in the previous section. Sharmoli, on the other hand, was constructed and started to

populate after 1960s when seasonal migration of Bhotias come to halt and they began to settle in their

available land. Many people from other castes also bought land or came to settle in Sharmoli as it

emerged as one of the important settlement near the core Munsiyari. Without going into much detail,

which is already dealt with in the previous chapter, we will mainly focus on the land scenario of the two

villages at present.

Land in our current context is analyzed in terms of physical space where mainly agricultural activities

take place (though it can be used for many other activities). As mentioned in previous section, land

becomes the important component of Bhotias prestige by the 20th century. Darkot was considered as an

elite village “punjipatiyon ka gaon” (village of big traders / capitalists) because many traders of

190

influential Pangti and Dharamsaktu clans lived here. The leveled and low slope lands were the real

treasure to hold at that time. After the land settlement of 1960s, lands from Bhotias were transferred to

Thakurs. Table 6.1 provides an idea about the total amount of land hold by each caste in the village of

Darkot at present. Though, land data is provided in nali and hectares (as a unit of measurement), our

discussion in chapter will be based on ‘nali’ as a unit of measurement.

Table 6.1: Amount of land held by each caste (in nali) in Darkot

Caste / sub caste Total Amount of land

held by each caste (in

nali)

Total Amount of land


Hectares)

Pangti’s 33.5

Other Bhotias 81.5

Dharamsaktu’s 12

Bhotias 127 2.5

Thakurs 227 4.5

Scheduled castes 26 0.5

Total land 380 7.5

*Based on survey of 62 families done in Darkot (1 nali = 0.02 hectares)

Table 6.2: Amount of land held by each caste (in nali) in Sharmoli

Caste Total Amount of land


nali)

Total Amount of land


hectares)

Bhotias 566 11.3

Thakurs 145.5 2.9

Scheduled castes 13.5 0.3

Brahmins 6 0.1

Total land 731 14.6

*Based on Survey of 111families in Sharmoli

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As per table 6.1, if we consider the whole ‘private / individual based’ occupied portion of Darkot village

to be 380 nali, then Thakurs enjoy the largest share of the pie, i.e. 227 nali, occupying almost 60% of the

land in Darkot. This clearly shows the successful implementation of Zamindari abolition act and transfer

of land to the tillers in the village. Bhotias, on the other hand, have only 127 nali at their disposal, i.e.

33%. Interestingly, two main clans of the village, Pangti and Dharamsaktu have only 45.5 nali of land at

their disposal, while scheduled castes are the last with only 26 nali of land. The reason for small amount

of land among Pangti and Dharamsaktu clans (despite being more in numbers) is because of division

among large number of heirs within clan and in some cases, the sale of land to ‘other Bhotia66’ caste

people and their permanent migration and settlement in other towns and cities.

In case of Sharmoli, Bhotias occupy 566 nali of land (77%) while Thakurs have only 145.5 nali (20%) in

their name. Scheduled caste families have 13.6 nali while four Brahmin families have 6 nali of land at

their disposal (Table 6.2). As both these villages are Bhotia dominated, the land in Sharmoli still has large

share with Bhotias, as this village mainly came into picture in the post–land reforms era. The few original

inhabitants of Sharmoli who include both Bhotias and Thakurs sold land to other people (of all castes)

once Munsiyari came up as a new hub of market, economy and administrative core. There are very few

families (Thakur/SC) in Sharmoli who claim to have owned land by means of abolition of zamindari

system.

Thus, by preliminary investigation one can argue that in terms of amount of land, Darkot is dominated by

Thakurs while Sharmoli is dominated by Bhotias, though both being Bhotia dominated villages in terms

of numbers of persons and families.

A few important points/ assumptions used in this chapter –

** The reason for using “Nali” as a unit of measurement of land is because of its prevalence and common

use by local people of Johar. Generally, one nali represents 0.02 hectare [Benz, 2015]. Many scholars

such as Andreas Benz (Benz, 2015) and, Jishnu Das (2000) use nali as unit of measurement to convey

their information and results instead of acre/ hectare and other standard uses. The reason of using it is to

give more importance and make sense with local culture and symbols. Qualitatively, inhabitants of Johar

are able to relate themselves to the land when it is quantified in terms of nali. (The measurement in

hectares is also provided in the tables for the readers for more clarification)

66

‘Other Bhotias’: In my survey, and in case of Darkot, all clans of Bhotias except Pangti and Dharamsaktu are considered as ‘other Bhotias’. E.g. Sayana, Tolia etc.

192

**In my survey, the reply to the question of amount of land by respondent is “based on his/ her

knowledge and perception”. In most cases the name of the current landholder is not on the revenue

records, as he got land either through hereditary process, purchasing, or, got gift from maternal side or

after “bandobast” (settlement). But they know the amount of land that belongs to them (each family) and

my responds are purely based on the “answers of people” and not on revenue records.

** The amount of land in the survey depicts the owned land located in Darkot / Sharmoli respectively;

while the land in other villages or outside area is not included (e.g. Bhotias have land in Johar as well).

6.2.1 LAND AMONG BHOTIAS -

Let us now begin the detailed statistical analysis of land in the two villages –

Figure 6.1: Amount of land among Bhotias in Darkot (in nali)

*Based on survey of 62 families (39 Bhotias families) done in Darkot

Out of 39 Bhotia families surveyed in Darkot with regard to amount of land, 36 were able to provide the

answer to the question. As per figure 6.1, majority of Bhotias have land between 1-2 nali. 19 families out

of 36, i.e. more than 50%, have an average of 1.5 nali at their disposal. Three Pangti families (out of 15

respondents) have land less than 1 nali (i.e. in “muthi”: a smaller unit of measurement of land, 16 muthi

= 1 nali), while only one Pangti respondent family has land of around 10 nali. In case of Dharamsaktu,

maximum amount of land that an individual family has is about 3 nali and that too for only one

respondent family. Eight Dharamsaktu families out of nine have land between 0-2 nali. Thus, the

economic wealth of both the main clans, i.e. Pangti and Dharamsaktu, in terms of land is almost same.

The case of ‘other Bhotias’ is an interesting one. Out of 12 families surveyed, three families have more

than 5 nali land, in which one Janpangi family has around 50 nali of land. The average amount of land

02468

10

<1 nali 1- 2 nali 2- 5 nali >5 nali

Total Land

No

. o

f fa

mil

ies

Land among Bhotias in Darkot (in nali)

Pangti

Dharamsaktu

Other Bhotias

193

among ‘other Bhotias’ is 3 nali (excluding one entity of 50 nali) which is more than the average amount

of land of two main clans (= around 1.5–2 nali). Two ‘Sayana’ families have 6 nali and 5 nali of land

respectively, while one Rawat family has 8 nali of land. Sayana and Janpangi were the original

inhabitants of the village (living for many generations) while Rawat family purchased land from Pangti in

around the year 2000. Those who have got land from maternal side, e.g. Martolia family, or have

purchased here, i.e. Tolia family, have an average of around 1 nali of land.

It is very difficult to analyze the exact number of people who sold or purchased land. With regard to my

survey and by keeping in mind the views of respondents, very few Bhotia families have either sold or

purchased land in Darkot. Only one Rawat family seems to have purchased a piece of land while a few

others got land from their maternal side. Even those who migrated outside still have some land in the

village. There are two Pangti families who have house and land here but live in Haldwani and Lucknow

respectively. The small size of Bhotias’ land is mainly due to hereditary divisions. After the settlement

process of 1960s, there has been a division of land among 3rd generation in 2016. That is why, though

Bhotia joint family as a whole might have more than 5–6 nali of land but current separated nuclear

families surveyed have an average of around 2.3 nali of land (excluding a value of 50 nali that may create

an error in an overall average, while four entries of 10, 6, 8 and 5 nali were included which increases the

average to 2.3, which otherwise stuck around to value of less than 1.5 nali). Overall, the average land

with Bhotias is around 2 nali in Darkot. (Those who still have more than 5 nali of land are mainly due to

lesser number of heirs in the family; or an old person living in the house has not done any formal division

of land among his migrated sons). To conclude, average land among Bhotias is around 2.2 nali per family

in Darkot.

194

Figure 6.2: Amount of land (in nali) among Bhotias in Sharmoli

*Based on Survey of 111 families (69 Bhotias) in Sharmoli

The Bhotias in Figure 6.2, i.e. in case of Sharmoli, are not represented on sub-caste basis as almost all

caste of Bhotias i.e. Rawat, Nikhurpa. Pangti, Tolia, Martolia, Blijwal etc. were present in good numbers,

unlike Darkot which is dominated by three main sub- castes of Bhotias.

As per Figure 6.2, majority of Bhotias have land between 1-2 nali (i.e. 32 families in numbers which

comprises about 47% of respondent families). Sixteen families have land between 2-5 nali, while almost a

similar number have more than 5 nali of land. Only five households have less than 1 nali of land at their

disposal. Thus, more than 70% of the households among Bhotias have land between 1-5 nali, or to

express it in a more precise term ‘almost 55% of the Bhotia respondents have land between 0- 2 nali’.

Among the big landlords, one Rawat family claims to have 150 nali of land, while three Tolia families

and one Nikhurpa family have 25, 40, 80 and 60 nali respectively. The rest with ‘>5 nali’ land category

are those having maximum amount of land between 5-15 nali. One Nitwal family is living as a tenant and

does not own any land.

The average amount of land with each Bhotia family in Sharmoli is around 8.4 nali. But, if we do not take

into account the amount of land held by five big landlord families mentioned above (i.e. value of 150, 25,

40, 80 and 60), the average amount of land among Bhotias comes down to 3.4 nali per household. The

total land among 5 big landlord Bhotia families in Sharmoli is around 355 nali which is still greater than

the combined land of remaining 63 families, i.e. 211 nali. Thus, these 5 families represent 63% of the

total land hold by Bhotias in Sharmoli (among respondents). The reason of dominance of these families

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

<1 nali 1-2 nali 2-5 nali >5 nali

No

. o

f B

ho

tia

fa

mil

ies

Amount of Land in nali

Amount of land in nali among Bhotia families in Sharmoli

No. Of Bhotia families

195

is that they have been living here for the last many generations and did not sell much of their land to

others or there has been no division within family among young heirs. The Rawat family who have 150

nali of land have many shareholders from the last two-three generations who are living in other towns and

cities. But, as land is managed by the only (respondent) Rawat family who live in the village, they

consider themselves as the owners of whole property. Majority of families who have land between 1- 5

nali, either are those who purchased it when they came from other villages to get settled in Sharmoli or

were the inhabitants / owners who sold it to others. Thus to conclude, average amount of land among

Bhotias in Sharmoli is 3.4 nali per family.

6.2.2 LAND AMONG SCHEDULED CASTES -

Figure 6.3 represents the amount of land among shilpkars or scheduled castes’ families (12) of Darkot.

The average amount of land per family with scheduled castes is around 2.5 nali which is slightly better in

comparison with the Bhotias. Four families (out of 12) have around 4 nali of land while five families have

less than one nali. No families among scheduled castes have more than 4 nali of land. If we take average

land per family by including all respondents of Bhotias and shilpkars, SCs are in perfect competition with

the Bhotias in Darkot. They are almost equal with regard to the asset of available physical space per

family. But in terms of individual land, none of the scheduled castes families have more than 5 nali of

land as in case of Bhotias. In the opinion of the dominant caste (Bhotias), none of the scheduled caste

families own any land in the Darkot as they are settled on the land given by Bhotias. Many scheduled

caste families have moved to Naya Basti, a village near Sharmoli, because of the lack and poor quality

(slope) of land in Darkot. Thus, the land that shilpkars hold in Darkot is actually a kabza (possession)

land, i.e. land belongs to them because of their stay at the particular location for the last many decades.

Thus, in the opinion of Bhotias, scheduled castes are the landless class of the village (as there is no

mention of their names in the land records department of state).

Similarly, in case of Sharmoli (Figure 6.4), seven scheduled castes families out of eight have land

between 1–2 nali. Out of these seven families, five have one nali of land while the rest have 1.5 and 2 nali

respectively. Only one household has 5 nali of land. Average land per family among shilpkars in Sharmoli

is around 1.7 nali which is almost half of the land per family owned by Bhotias. Thus, in case of

Sharmoli, shilpkars are way behind the Bhotias in terms of occupying land assets.

Hence, on comparing the amount of land among shilpkars in Darkot and Sharmoli, it might prove the fact

that when it comes to settling at a new place by purchasing a piece of land, scheduled castes have very

196

little space (i.e. around 1 nali) at their economic and social disposal, while in Darkot where they have

been living since the time of trade (and did not have to purchase land) they made their right to whatever

land had been made available to them from the beginning by the Bhotia patrons.

Figure 6.3: Amount of land among Scheduled castes in Darkot (in nali)

*Based on survey of 62 families (12 SC’s) done in Darkot

Figure 6.4: Amount of land (in nali) among Scheduled castes in Sharmoli

*Based on Survey of 111 families (8 SCs) in Sharmoli

0123456

<1 nali 1- 2 nali 2- 5 nali >5 nali

Total Land

No

. o

f fa

mil

ies

Amount of land among SC's in Darkot (in Nali)

SC

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8


No

. o

f fa

mil

ies

Amount of land in nali

Amount of land (in nali) among Scheduled castes in

Sharmoli

197

6.2.3 LAND AMONG THAKURS -

Figure 6.5: Amount of land among Thakurs in Darkot (in nali)

*Based on survey of 62 families (11 Thakur families) done in Darkot

Figure 6.5 represents the unique contrasts in comparison with the previous figures about the amount of

land among Bhotias and scheduled castes. The intervals chosen themselves show that Thakurs are the

owner of highest quantity of land in Darkot. Seven families out of nine respondents have equal to or more

than 20 nali of land. Earlier a Bhat joint family used to have 60 nali of land which has been divided

among three heirs getting 20 nali each. Two other separate Bhat families also have 20 and 60 nali land

respectively. Thus, the Bhat family having 60 nali of land is the biggest landlord of Darkot in present time

as per my survey (there might be no formal division of land among heirs yet). There is one Thakur family

comprising only one old man (Bisht) who does not own any land while one Bhandarey family lives as a

tenant. The four Karki families have land ranging between 15-30 nali. One Karki family has 15 nali of

land while the rest of the three families have more than 20 nali.

Thus, highest amount of land among Bhotias and SCs is almost 10 times lower than the minimum

quantity of land among Thakurs. The average land per family among Thakurs is 20 nali (excluding one

entry of 60 nali which increases an average to around 25 nali) in comparison to around 2 nali for Bhotias

and SCs. Thakurs were the prime beneficiaries of the land to the tiller act of 1952 and the “amount of land

they hold” also proves that act has been implemented perfectly in the region. One Karki family (besides

having land of around 20 nali which he got in the form of legal heir) claimed to have purchased 1 nali

land from a Pangti family to construct the house which is situated near the road in the bottom end of the

village. All Thakurs claimed to have got land from their ancestors who in turn got it after settlement in

0

2

4

6

8

<10 nali 10- 20 nali 20-30 nali >30 nali

Total Land

No

. o

f fa

mil

ies

Amount of land among Thakurs in Darkot (in nali)

Thakur

198

1960s. This also shows that Bhotias might have lost more than tenfold of quantity of land available to

them today.

Figure 6.6: Amount of land (in nali) among Thakurs in Sharmoli

*Based on Survey of 111 families (30 Thakurs) in Sharmoli

Figure 6.6 represents the amount of land among Thakurs in Sharmoli. (In this figure, we have used the

same interval as in earlier figures of representation of amount of land). As per figure 6.6, twelve families

of Thakurs have land between 1–2 nali, while nine families have land between 2-5 nali at their disposal.

Eight families have more than 5 nali of land whereas only one family has land less than 1 nali. Thus, like

Bhotias of Sharmoli, majority of Thakurs have land between 1-2 nali. Only one old lady, who has been

abandoned by her sons and is living alone (belonging to Rana clan), has 0.5 nali of land; while one Bisht

and one Mehta family have 20 and 25 nali of land respectively which make them the biggest landlords

among Thakurs in the village. Besides these two big landlords, every one among Thakurs has land

(maximum) up to 10 nali. Average land per family among Thakurs is 4.85 nali per family, but if we

exclude two big landlords (i.e. value of 20 and 25 nali respectively), the average amount of land among

Thakurs come to around 3.6 nali per household which is in the same line as in the case of Bhotias. Thus,

Bhotias and Thakurs are almost equal in terms of land assets when it comes to Sharmoli.

Brahmins were present only in Sharmoli and in terms of amount of land, all the four families of Brahmins

come under the range of 1-2 nali; two families have one nali of land, while the remaining two families

have two nali of land respectively. Average land per family among Brahmins is 1.5 nali.

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14


No

. o

f T

ha

ku

r fa

mil

ies

Amount of land in nali

Amount of land in nali among Thakurs in Sharmoli

199

Table 6.3: Average amount of land (in nali) per family among various castes in Darkot and

Sharmoli

CASTE AVERAGE LAND PER FAMILY (in nali)

DARKOT SHARMOLI

BHOTIAS 2.2^ 3.4^^^

THAKUR 20^^ 3.5^^^^

SCHEDULED CASTES 2.5 1.7

*Based on survey of 62 families in Darkot and 111 families in Sharmoli

^ excluding one entry of largest landlord (50 nali)

^^ excluding one entry of largest landlord (60 nali)

^^^ excluding entries of 5 big landlords (150, 25, 40, 80, 60 nali)

^^^^ excluding entries of 2 big landlords (20 and 25 nali)

To summarize statistically: In Darkot, after excluding the few big landlords, Thakurs (general caste) were

the biggest land owners with average land per family being 20 nali, while shilpkars were second,

followed by the Bhotias. Thus, Bhotias being highest in number in Darkot have lowest amount of land per

family. They are the most marginalized in terms of the land asset. While in Sharmoli, Thakurs and

Bhotias (after excluding the few big landlords) are in neck and neck competition with each other in terms

of average land per family, the scheduled castes are the most marginalized of all.

6.3 ANALYSIS OF LAND USE AND AGRICULTURE OF THE TWO VILLAGES

In current scenario and with regard to the above analysis, if land is still an important means of economy

and power in the village of Darkot, then Thakurs must be the patron class. But in my opinion, this is not

the case. The very first reason is the lack of agricultural activities in the village. Second, most of the

present inhabitants of village are engaged in secondary activities (which will be discussed in the economy

section). Let us understand the use of land in the village of Darkot.

200

6.3.1 LAND USE IN DARKOT BY VARIOUS CASTES -

Figure 6.7: Average agricultural and fallow land per family among Bhotias in Darkot (in nali)

*Based on survey of 62 families (39 Bhotias) done in Darkot

Figure 6.7 provides the use of land by different clans among Bhotias. It is clear from the figure that on an

average, proportion of fallow67 land is more in comparison to the agricultural68 land among total land of

each Bhotia family. More than 50% of average total land in case of Dharamsaktus and other Bhotias is

kept fallow. Four of Pangti families put whole available land to agriculture (their total average land is less

than 2 nali) while there is only one Pangti family who does not practice agriculture (having land around

0.5 nali). Among the rest, the amount of fallow land is more than their agricultural use. Average amount

of land put into agriculture by each Pangti family is around 0.9 nali whereas fallow land has an average of

1.4 nali per Pangti family. There is also one family who have leased out 1.5 nali land on share cropping

basis to Thakurs (25% of the produce goes to the owner, while 75% goes to the tiller, and no other

monetary transaction is involved).

Similarly, in case of Dharamsaktus and ‘other Bhotias’, none of the family put whole of their available

land into agricultural activities. Rather the difference between fallow and agricultural land is quite

substantial. In case of Dharamsaktu, average agricultural land is just 0.3 nali whereas average fallow land

accounts for one nali per family. There are three Dharamsaktu families who do not perform any kind of

agricultural activities (having total land of 0.5, 1 and 1 nali respectively). In a similar way, three ‘other

Bhotias’ families also do not perform agricultural activities (two families having total land of 0.5 nali

67 Land that has been kept idle for more than one year. 68 ‘Agricultural land’ in our case is ‘Cultivable land’. Both the terms are used interchangeably.

0

1

2

3

Pangti Dharamsaktu Other Bhotias

Lan

d (

in n

ali

)

Caste

Average agricultural and fallowland (in nali) per family among Bhotias in

Darkot

Avg. Agriculture land (in nali)

Avg. Fallow land (in nali)

201

while one family has 5 nali land). One Sayana has family put 4 nali out of 5 nali in agriculture, thus

utilizing it maximally; while the biggest Bhotia landlord of Darkot, i.e. Janpangi family has kept 49 nali

of fallow land despite having 50 nali of total available land, thus showing no interest in agriculture.

Overall, ‘other Bhotias’ keep on average of 2 nali per family fallow land, while utilize only 0.8 nali (on an

average per family) for agricultural purposes.

To conclude, among Bhotias (including all clans), average cultivated land per family is around 0.7 nali

while average fallow land is around 1.5 nali (in total average of around 2.2 nali per family). The main

crops grown by Bhotias include vegetables (flowers, beans, chillies etc.) while very few families claim to

grow red kidney beans, madua, wheat etc. All of the Bhotia families claim to have self consumption of

agricultural produce. There is no market sale of any kind with regard to agriculture in Darkot.

Figure 6.8 shows the average agricultural (cultivated) and fallow land among shilpkars in Darkot village.

The average agricultural land among SCs is meager 0.3 nali per family while average fallow land is

around 1.8 nali per family. Thus average amount of cultivable land is 6 times less than the fallow land.

This even represents worse case of land use than Bhotias who have almost similar amount of land as SCs

(around 2 nali). Five families (out of 12) do not engage themselves in any kind of agricultural work (some

among them have 4 nali of land) while the remaining others put very small amount of land into use. They

also grow vegetables for self consumption purposes.

Figure 6.8: Average agricultural and fallow land per family among Scheduled castesin Darkot (in

nali)

*Based on survey of 62 families (12 SC’s) done in Darkot

0

1

2

Avg. Agriculture land (in nali) Avg. Fallow land (in nali)

Lan

d (

Na

li)

Average agricultural and fallow land (in nali) per family among SC in Darkot

SC

202

Figure 6.9: Average agricultural and fallow land per family among Thakurs (General castes)in

Darkot (in nali)

*Based on survey of 62 families (11 Thakur families) done in Darkot

General castes (Thakurs) who have the highest amount of land at their disposal also use it minimally for

agricultural purposes. Average cultivable land per family is around 5 nali while average fallow land is

four times of it. One Karki family does not perform any agricultural activities while one Thakur family

(Bhandarey) is a tenant and a other Bisht family has only one old person who does not have any land (as

mentioned earlier as well). Thus, only 25% of the total available land is put into agriculture by Thakur

families. One Bhat family who has 60 nali of land uses only 10 nali for agricultural purposes. They also

grow vegetables like French beans, lahsun (garlic), brinjals, tomatoes, soyabean, chillies etc., pulses like

red kidney beans, and cereal crops like wheat, jau etc. Only one Bhat family (having 10 nali agricultural

land out of 20 nali) claimed to sell the produce (and that too a small amount) in the market. The rest; keep

the produce for self consumption only. Though Thakurs do no not sell any agricultural produce, yet they

sell grass available in their fallow land that helps them to fetch some additional money from land.

Thus, in conclusion, agriculture seems to be the subsistence activity for all castes. There is not at all any

kind of commercialization of agriculture in Darkot. Thus, there is hardly any kind of monetary income

from the agriculture. One of the most important reasons for low amount of land put into agriculture is the

“impact of outside forces” in the form of presence of animals like monkeys, wild pigs etc. which not only

destroys the crops, but also hampers villagers time and investment in agriculture. The inability of the

villagers to kill them, because of the law that prohibits killing of these animals, has left them with no

viable option to stop the menace and secure the agriculture. Thus, any investment in agriculture has to be

done carefully. This is the foremost reason for low agricultural use of land for all castes and esp.

scheduled castes who cannot afford to lose any kind of investment (esp. in agriculture). Thus, villagers

only do (a kind of) subsistence agriculture while any big investment in terms of land, seeds, and fertilizers

0

10

20

30

Avg. Agriculture land (in nali) Avg. fallow land (in nali)

Lan

d (

in N

ali

)Average agricultural and fallow land (in nali) among Thakurs in Darkot

Thakur

203

is avoided. There are other reasons also like far-off location from the market and lack of better road

facilities, and inability to compete with the farmers of plains (as they have facilities of roads,

connectivity, better soil and irrigation etc. and hence better produce that can fetch good amount in the

market), upcoming of PDS which allow inhabitants to have access to food products at much cheaper rate,

lack of manpower due to migration, etc. As per my survey, majority of the villagers depends on Public

distribution systems (PDS) and local market in Darkot and Munsiyari for most of their daily food

consumption needs and requirements. Every household is purchasing something (in the form of wheat,

rice, milk, pulses etc.) from the market to satisfy their hunger needs. The villagers also exchange food

crops and vegetables among themselves (mostly through exchange of items / barter system) but not in a

‘commercial way’.

6.3.2 LAND USE IN SHARMOLI BY VARIOUS CASTES -

The very first difference between Sharmoli and Darkot is in terms of ‘pressure on land’. Though Sharmoli

is big in terms of area in comparison to Darkot yet it also holds threefold population. Presence of more

family members in Sharmoli and less area available per family member across all castes proves the fact

(see Table 6.4). In terms of average amount of land per family member, Bhotia stands at 0.7 nali per

family member (0.6 nali in Darkot) while Thakurs have 0.6 nali per family member (5 nali in Darkot).

Shilpkars and Brahmins have meager 0.2 nali per family member which is less in comparison to Darkot

where shilpkars have at least 0.5 nali land per family member.

Table 6.4: Average land in nali per family member of various castes in Sharmoli and Darkot

Caste Average land in nali per family

Darkot Sharmoli

Bhotias 0.6 0.7

Thakurs 5.0 0.6

Scheduled castes 0.5 0.2

Brahmin --- 0.3

*Based on survey of 62 families in Darkot and 111 families in Sharmoli (excluding big landlords)

Calculated by means of ‘average total land divided by average number of members per family of that

particular caste in a village’

204

(Bhotias have 5.1 members per family, Thakurs have 5.9 members per family, scheduled castes have 7.2

members per family while Brahmins have 4.8 members per family as per my survey in Sharmoli) (The

scheduled caste family consists of an average number of 5.3 members per family, while Bhotia and

Thakur family includes an average number of 4 members per family based on survey in Darkot).

Let us now understand the use of land by Bhotias in Sharmoli by examining the average amount of land

used for agriculture or kept fallow. The figure 6.10 shows the data for 63 families while five big landlords

are discussed separately and have not been included in the data analysis as they can bring a huge

distortion in the overall general analysis. As per figure 6.10, average cultivable land among Bhotias

(excluding 5 families) in Sharmoli is around 1.5 nali per family whereas 1.7 nali of land per family is kept

fallow. Thus, the average fallow land is more than the average agricultural land. About eight families do

not perform any kind of agricultural activities as they have around one (or less) nali at their disposal.

With regard to five big landlord families, average agricultural and fallow land is 14.8 nali and 56.2 nali

respectively. A Rawat family having 150 nali of land uses only 20 nali for agriculture while one Tolia and

one Nikhurpa family use only 2 nali of land for agriculture out of 25 and 60 nali respectively. Only one

Tolia family maximizes the use of land by putting 30 nali out of available 40 nali into agriculture.

Thus, overall, majority of land among Bhotias is kept fallow which is a common feature across all sub-

castes and classes (big or small landlord). Only a few among those who have very small land, i.e. 0-1.5

nali, usually devote it completely to agriculture. This is the category, i.e. 0-1.5 nali, which either uses

their land completely for agriculture or do not use it at all.

Besides it, there are a few families whose land or portion of whose land has been taken up by BRO

(Border Roads Organisation) for purpose of road widening. Houses or land of all these families are

situated near the road. In my survey, four families are supposed to be affected by the road construction

activities. Average land lost by these families is around 2 nali. One Sumtyal and one Nitwal family will

lose whole of their land, i.e. 1 nali and 1.5 nali land respectively, while the remaining two Nitwal families

will lose portion of their land. Highest amount of land lost by a family is 6 nali belonging to Nitwal clan.

205

Figure 6.10: Average amount of agricultural and fallow land (in nali) per family among Bhotias in

Sharmoli (excluding 5 big landlords)

*Based on Survey of 111 families (69 Bhotias) in Sharmoli in April- June 2016

Average cultivable land per family among Thakurs (excluding two big landlords having 20 and 25 nali of

land respectively) is 1.9 nali, which is larger than the average fallow land, i.e. 1.6 nali (Fig.6.11). As

agriculture is the age old occupation of Thakurs and they are the ‘ex-kashtkars’ of the region, majority of

families practice agriculture in whatever small amount of land is available to them. Three families, i.e.

belonging to Kauranga, Mehra and Chiral clans do not practice any field activities as they have very small

land at their disposal, i.e. around 1 nali. Two big landlords utilize only 5 nali (out of 20 nali) and 1 nali

(out of 25 nali) of their available land while the rest is kept fallow. Thus, if we include them in the

analysis, the average agricultural land of Thakurs (2.0 nali) becomes less than the average fallow land

(2.8 nali) making the situation totally opposite. Seven families completely devote their land for

agricultural purposes. Five of them have land between 0–2 nali while the remaining two have 3 nali and 8

nali respectively. Only one Rana family claimed to have lost their 0.5 nali land to BRO for road widening.

1.4

1.5

1.6

1.7

1.8

Avg. Agricultural land Avg. Fallow land

Av

era

ge

am

ou

nt

of

lan

d i

n

na

li

Type of land

Average agricultural and fallow land (in nali) among Bhotias in

Sharmoli

Bhotias

206

Figure 6.11: Average amount of agricultural and fallow land (in nali) per family among Thakurs in

Sharmoli (excluding 2 big landlords)

*Based on Survey of 111 families (30 Thakurs) in Sharmoli in April- June 2016

Average agricultural land per scheduled castes family (Figure 6.12) is around 0.5 nali whereas almost

double of it is kept fallow, i.e. around 1.2 nali. Almost every family, except one, put some of their land

for agricultural purposes. The biggest landlord among shilpkars (having 5 nali of land) put only 0.5 nali

for agricultural activities while 4.5 nali is kept fallow. None of the households have lost their land to road

widening activities.

Figure 6.12: Average amount of agricultural and fallow land (in nali) per family among scheduled

castes in Sharmoli

*Based on Survey of 111families (8 SCs) in Sharmoli in April- June 2016

1.4

1.6

1.8

2

Agricultural land fallow land

Av

era

ge

Am

ou

nt

of

lan

d i

n

na

li

Type of land

Average agricultural and fallow land (in nali) among thaurs in

Sharmoli

00.5

11.5

Agricultural land Fallow land

Am

ou

nt

of

lan

d i

n n

ali

Type of land

Average agricultural and fallow land in nali among Scheduled

castes households in Sharmoli

Series1

207

In case of Brahmins, average land among them is 1.5 nali in which 1 nali is used for agricultural purposes

while 0.5 nali is kept fallow. The more is the land among Brahmins, the more is put into agricultural

activities, e.g. households having 2 nali of land put 1.5 nali in agriculture, while households having 1 nali

of land put 0.5 nali in primary activities. No households have lost their land to BRO.

Thus, inhabitants of both Darkot and Sharmoli keeps majority of land fallow instead of doing agriculture.

None of the family across all castes completely devotes their land to agricultural purposes (Table 6.5 and

Table 6.6). So, there is hardly any difference between two villages when it comes to nurturing the fields.

Table 6.5: Average amount of land utilization in ‘nali’ by various castes in the village of Darkot

Castes Average Total land Average agricultural

use of land

Average fallow land

Bhotias 2.2 0.7 1.5

Scheduled castes 2.5 0.5 2.0

Thakurs (Generals) 25.0 5.0 20.0

*Based on survey of 62 families done in Darkot (excluding big landlord of Bhotia caste)

Table 6.6: Average amount of land utilization in ‘nali’ by various castes in the village of Sharmoli

Castes Average Total land Average agricultural

use of land

Average fallow land

Bhotias 3.4 1.5 1.7

Scheduled castes 1.7 0.5 1.2

Thakur (Generals) 3.5 1.9 1.6

Brahmins 1.5 1 0.5

*Based on survey of 111 families done in Sharmoli (excluding big landlords of Thakur and Bhotia caste)

The main difference between the two villages is in term of agricultural crops. While potato is the main

crop of Sharmoli followed by red kidney beans, jau (millet) and other vegetables; Darkot mostly has

208

vegetables which includes chilies, garlic, radish, spinach, coriander etc. Potato is grown in less quantity in

Darkot because of the climate (in the opinion of respondents) as Sharmoli gets snow which helps in the

growth of potato. Some Thakur families in Darkot grow red kidney beans, wheat and oogal. People of

Sharmoli also grow peas, pumpkin, mustard, masur (lentil pulse), garlic, coriander, onion and in some

rare cases sugarcane and banana.

There is just one Thakur family in Darkot who claims to sell some wheat and jau, while three Thakur

families in Sharmoli sell rajmah (red kidney beans) and potatoes in market. Similarly, only five Bhotia

families from Sharmoli sell rajmah and potatoes, while there is no seller of produce in market among

Bhotias from Darkot. No scheduled castes families in both the villages sell any agricultural produce in the

market. Those who sell produce in the market claim to earn very less amount (because of low

productivity). Two Thakur families of Sharmoli earn between Rs. 5, 000 – Rs. 7, 000 per year after

selling about two quintals of potatoes and around half quintal of red kidney beans. Three Bhotia families

claim to earn about Rs. 2,000–Rs. 4,000 per year after selling potato and red kidney beans while the rest

of the seller families did not say much about their earning from agricultural produce.

Thus, to conclude, land is not the major source of income to the people of Darkot and Sharmoli and

agriculture is only the secondary and subsistence activity.

Before making conclusion, let us first talk about the big landlords of Darkot and Sharmoli. Thakurs were

the main landlords of Darkot, while Bhotias were the leading land holders in Sharmoli. As mentioned

earlier, both these castes occupy more than 60% of land in their respective villages. Both villages have a

few families who are the major landlords of the village. Darkot has one Thakur family having 60 nali of

land and one Bhotia ‘Janpangi’ family has 50 nali of land. Similarly, Sharmoli has one Rawat family (150

nali), three Tolia families having 80, 40 and 25 nali of land and one Nikhurpa family having 60 nali of

land. There are two Thakur families in Sharmoli having 20 and 25 nali of land respectively. If agriculture

were the main occupation and majority depended up on it, than Thakur family in Darkot and Rawat

family among others will be patron in their respective villages.

Janpangi family in Darkot cultivates meager 0.5 nali out of available 50 nali, and work in trekking and

contractor job as their major occupation. In the words of a young Janpangi male member “kheti karenge

to bhukhe marenge” (if we do agriculture, we will die of hunger). Similarly, a young Thakur male of

Darkot works as a driver while wife cultivate fields in around 10 nali of land. In his opinion “only 30%

agriculture is left in the village. One can earn up to Rs. 50,000 in six months while working as a laborer

(or any other profession), whereas agriculture provide only half of the money (by giving same physical

labor)”. Both these families did not claim to sell anything in the market.

209

Rawat family of Sharmoli (150 nali) has home stay as their main occupation, followed by agricultural and

grass sale and milk selling as their secondary occupations. They only devote 15 nali out of 150 nali to

agriculture. They claim to earn five times less in agriculture and other activities in comparison to income

from home stays. But they have established some reputation in the village. The head of Rawat family was

at one time sarpanch of the village panchayat as he and his wife regularly participate in all social and

cultural activities of the village and help others in time of need by providing them money and moral

support. Tolia family having 25 nali of land uses only 2 nali for agriculture and the rest is kept fallow.

Their main occupation is also home stays. Another Tolia family having 40 nali of land cultivates 30 nali

but did not claim to sell any produce. Their main source of income is pension money and their son is in

the Army who lives separately. Similarly, the third Tolia family having 80 nali of land cultivates 20 nali

by means of employing agricultural laborers. Their main source of income is pension and home stay

business. They also did not sell any produce in the market. Their son is also in a government job. In last,

Nikhurpa family having 60 nali of land cultivates only 2 nali. The main male head works in a local

museum. They claim to earn some money (around Rs. 3,000 per year) from agricultural activities by

selling potatoes and red kidney beans.

Thus, agriculture does not seem to be an important binding force among various castes in the villages. In

my opinion and as per survey, there is no patron (in terms of land relations) in both the villages. The very

first reason for this is the absence of agriculture as a main occupation which is the prerequisite

requirement for a patron-client relationship to exist. None of the families, even among big landlords,

claims to carry on agriculture as their main occupation. Secondly, there is hardly any presence of class of

permanent agricultural labor (except in two-three cases where they employ one or two people temporarily

as laborers in fields) in both the villages. [There is a presence of landlord but there is absence of labor

class in both the villages because of lack of agricultural activities]. Most of the agricultural activities are

carried out by the family itself and esp. by female family members. There are very few families (one or

two) who carry out cultivation through means of sharecropping in the fields of others. As most of the

inhabitants of both the villages across all castes are engaged in secondary occupations (we will find out in

economy chapter) and are daily or monthly wage earners, there is hardly any dependency (economic) on

one another for basic needs and survival. Though people help each other in time of need, they are not

totally dependent on others for their economic survival.

The inhabitants of both the villages also did not want to invest in agriculture because of their poor income

and earnings, poor soil quality, complete dependence on nature for agriculture, and most importantly,

presence of wild animals like monkeys, pigs which not only destroys crops but also harm investment of

farmers. Thus, unlike any other village in the plains of India, land and authority are delinked here. But

210

there is definitely a relation between status and land as explained in case of Rawat family in Sharmoli.

Another important point that comes out of the above discussion is that everyone who owns good amount

of land has adopted home stays as the prime business. They have invested in tourism industry instead of

agriculture to augment their income and hence status in the village. All the big landlords mentioned

above, esp. Bhotias, are either retired from government service or carry out business activities in the form

of home stays. In conversation with the male head of Rawat family, he is more interested in investment in

tourism in future by constructing more home stays and guest houses than in agriculture activities. [We

will not go into deep discussion as much of the portion related to home stays and social and economic

status will be dealt within the next chapters].

The next thing to note is the changing importance of the kind and type of land. In the trade era of Johar,

importance was given to forest land because of grazing of pack animals and supply of wood for cooking

and other purposes. As each Bhotia family used to have hundreds of pack animals, the large amount of

land was devoted to forests so that grass and leaves for animals and wood to cook food for large number

of family members were easily available. Later on, agriculture land along with forests also occupied the

important spot as Bhotia earned good amount of produce to sell in Tibet without doing any kind of hard

work in the field themselves. In present time, the importance of land depends on its nearness to the basic

amenities, esp. school, hospitals and market. That is why Sharmoli (which is near to Munsiyari) is getting

populated densely year and year on while Darkot is being depopulated for the last few decades. The

farther one move from Munsiyari, the value of land decreases. Thus, earlier the value of land depended up

on the benefits it provided (by means of food, fodder and wood) but now the value is in monetary terms

and depends up on its nearness to the main village centre, i.e. Munsiyari. Marketization of land has

already begun in nearby villages of Munsiyari. As per villagers, there is a provision that land of tribals

(Scheduled tribes i.e. Bhotias) cannot be bought by non-tribals but it is happening in many parts of Johar

valley, esp. near Munsiyari. The cost of one nali land in and around Sharmoli is about Rs. 60, 000 – Rs.

70, 000 while the same is Rs. 30,000–Rs. 40,000 in case of Darkot (as per discussion with the villagers

and local scholars). There are a few people who claim to have purchased land for more than Rs. 100,000

for one nali in Sharmoli. The cost of land is more in case it is near to road or is situated on gentle slope,

while its price comes down as we climb high towards hill farther away from the road or with steep slope.

The distance of road from the house is an important aspect in Darkot as many households sell handicrafts

and, local crops and herbs, thus its location with regard to road plays an important role in attracting

tourists. But this is not only the case, as many tourists want to live in middle of a village, away from the

road and town activities, thus (sometime) making the interior of village more profitable with regard to

home stays activities. To conclude, in today’s world, the importance and value of land (in view of

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habitants of both the villages) is in terms of its location in relation to the main town, esp. in case of

Sharmoli where every villager wants to remain close to the market, economic and administrative core of

Munsiyari. Thus, in terms of value and money, Sharmoli is more important than Darkot. Land is

converted to a real estate resource and is less productive in terms of agriculture.

Agriculture may not be the important activity in Darkot and Sharmoli, but collecting and growing certain

kinds of herbs still holds value in upper Johar where many Bhotias and scheduled castes people migrate in

order to collect them. Many Johari people migrate to collect codyseps (kira–jhari), a natural herb in the

snowy Himalayas which fetches thousands of rupees per gram in the national and international market.

Many Bhotias who still migrate to upper Johar grows various kinds of herbs like kala jeera (black cumin)

and jimbu (species of allium), timur (Sichuan pepper) etc. and sell them in local and national markets.

Thus, there are many inhabitants of Darkot and Sharmoli who do not perform any agricultural activities in

their village but move to upper Johar for doing agricultural activities of growing herbs and crops like

potatoes, phaphar (buck wheat) etc. Agriculture in both the villages of Darkot and Sharmoli is neither

subsistence (which satisfies need of a family) nor commercial. It is just carried out to meet the small

requirements (in the form of vegetables) of a family and that too confined for a few seasons only.

The metaphor of ‘elite village’ used for Darkot has shifted to Sharmoli as many people and current

prospective migrants want to settle in and around Sharmoli rather than Darkot. Possession of land in

Sharmoli is a matter of prestige and status for many people while in case of Darkot land is slowly losing

its charm. It is generally said among villagers that “only the poor and less educated people live in villages

of Johar (in our case Darkot and Sharmoli; while rich and educated migrate to towns and cities),a little

well-off among those poor move to Sharmoli while the poor remain in Darkot”. There are very few

families who migrate from far–off upper Johar villages to Darkot and its nearby villages (Jalath etc.)

while majority is settled or are living as a tenant in around Sharmoli, Shankhdhura, Nanasem, etc.

Sharmoli has an advantage (of being near to core) where one can convert their land for tourism and other

purposes (home stays etc.), while there are no home stays in Darkot despite its carrying a legacy and

architecture of traditional (old–design) houses of Bhotias (because of its distance from Munsiyari and bad

road conditions). Tourists only visit this place for purchasing handicrafts products. Thus, Sharmoli is

really gaining more importance than Darkot in present times. But, as per respondents, ‘possession of land’

is still an asset which can be utilized prudently once the problem of wild animals finds a solution and

proper water/ irrigation facilities are maintained. People will only invest more when the fear of losing

crops will be less. Till then, doing agriculture is only supposed to be ‘increase of liability’ among the

villagers. The only advantage of having more land in Darkot and Sharmoli is that one can sell it in a need

of an hour.

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In the end one can say that land so far does not seem to be a valuable asset to the inhabitants of both the

villages in terms of agricultural activities as it does not yield any economic profit and behaves more of as

a ‘non–performing asset’. But, in terms of secondary activities, like tourism and others, land esp. in case

of Sharmoli becomes leverage to anyone to hold economic influence in the village (as seen in case of

Rawat family). Thus, in modern times in both the villages, one can become patron by utilizing land in

profit-generating secondary activities rather than agriculture. So far, one family (who has come from

outside state and also own more than 15 nali of land) who started and runs home stays in the village of

Sharmoli can be considered as a ‘patron’, as large portion of the income of many big landlords (who run

home stays) depends upon it without undergoing under much physical endurance. Does this mean that

outsider family irrespective of their caste can become a patron of a village? Yes, it is possible in an

economy which is not defined by caste–based occupations69. Knowledge and ideas (as employed by the

outsider family to start various women’s cooperatives, handloom shops, home stays etc. to augment

income of villagers) can be a modern tool to capture power and status in a new world.

Thus, we can conclude that in Sharmoli almost 50% of the available total land with inhabitants is used for

cultivation (excluding big landlords) while in case of Darkot, only 21% of the land is under cultivation (as

big landlord’s class of Thakur caste has kept their land fallow). Thus, ratio of cultivated to fallow land is

1:1 in case of Sharmoli while it is almost 1:3 in case of Darkot. The official record of area-wise accounts

(each account may have several numbers of holders) is provided in Fig. 6.13. It also shows that

maximum number of accounts have ‘less than 0.5 hectares’ of land in all the villages.

The changing use and increased value of land and its diversion into commercial activities (rather than

agriculture) in Sharmoli have all been possible because of its nearness to the Munsiyari, and hence, the

core plays an important role in determining the land use pattern of the nearby places.

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Caste based occupations are those where occupation is predefined to each caste (on basis of birth) e.g. prayer in temple is done only by Brahmin, scavenging is to be done only by scheduled castes.

Figure 6.13 A, B & C: Graphs showing area

Darkot, Sha


: Graphs showing area-wise (hectare) accounts of land in the villages of

Darkot, Sharmoli and Shankhdhura (0fficial records)

A. Darkot



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wise (hectare) accounts of land in the villages of



B. Sharmoli



214



C. Shankhdhura



215


216

Photos 6.1: Agricultural fields in Sharmoli

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Photos 6.2: Agricultural fields in Darkot

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Photo 6.3: Presence of monkeys in Darkot

6.4 ANIMAL HUSBANDRY IN CONTEMPORARY TIMES

Animal husbandry is the oldest subsidiary occupation among inhabitants of Johar and was in practice

since the trade era. Bhotias used to keep a large number of sheep, goats, mules, and jibus etc. which were

used as pack animals during trade journey to and from Tibet. The number of animals or herds provided

the estimate about the richness of Bhotias. The larger was the herd, the richer was the person. But, later

with stoppage of trade, the value of pack animals, esp. sheep and goats, decreased and their numbers kept

on decreasing with time. In present times, the little amount of physical space available to people and lack

of summer migration, have resulted in shrinkage of the occupation of animal husbandry. With respect to

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other castes, Thakurs and shilpkars used to rear cattle, i.e. cows and buffaloes, in small numbers, mainly

for milk and plough purposes. Also, less cultivated area and meager agriculture practiced by inhabitants

of Johar valley has further resulted in the decrease of draught animals and cattle population.

Table 6.7: Number of various types of animals in Darkot and Sharmoli as per the year 2012

VILLAGE TYPES OF ANIMALS

Sheep Goats Cows Buffaloes Horses Mules Donkeys Dogs

DARKOT 341 7 58 9 4 6 - 23

SHARMOLI - - 138 4 - 3 - 22

*Based on the 19th village animal statistics 2012 by the office of the veterinary medical officer, Munsiyari.

Table 6.7 provides the latest information (as per 2012 Govt. survey) about the various types of animals in

Darkot and Sharmoli. Sheep form a majority among animals in Darkot, i.e. around 340 in number, but

still their total figure is way less in comparison to the past when one household used to have that many

sheep in a herd. Now, there are 300 odd sheep in the whole village of Darkot. Besides sheep, there are 58

cows and minute presence of other animals like horses, mules etc. On the other hand, cows form the

majority of animals in Sharmoli, i.e. 138 in number while sheep and goats are absent in the village. Thus,

it might be an indication that there are hardly any people in Sharmoli (Bhotias) who practice summer

migration with sheep and goats, while a few of them who go to Johar carry loads on horses and mules.

The dog is the common animal and can be found in every household of both the villages. This also might

be an indication that Sharmoli got settled life after the end of the trade era when inhabitants almost lost /

sold their flock, while the recent migrants to the village do not have space and money to keep flocks of

sheep and goats. On the other hand, many households keep one–two cows and buffaloes for milk

purposes.

Now, let us look at the animal data as per my survey in 2016. Table 6.8 provides the survey data for

animals in Darkot. There are 54 sheep in the village of Darkot, of which 50 are with Bhotias while the rest

are with Thakurs which is far less than the official number of 340 in the year 2012. The possible reason

for this as explained by one Bhotia respondent is that people who are living in Darkot and have sheep,

give their herd to others in nearby villages on the way to upper Johar for rearing and mutton purposes.

Those people rear sheep on behalf of owners and pay some fixed amount of money at a regular time

period. The lack of fodder and restrictions of van panchayat in Darkot led to this scenario. Thus, people of

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Darkot keep less number of sheep in their herd in Darkot. The numbers of goats is 14 and are mainly

owned by Bhotias and Thakurs. Bhotias also own eight horses, one donkey, and oxen which are absent in

other castes. Horses and donkeys are used as pack animals by a few Bhotias to carry a load of army and

tourists to Johar, while oxen are given for rental purpose for ploughing fields.

Table 6.8: Number of various types of animals in Darkot

CASTE TYPES OF ANIMALS

Cow Calf Buffalo Oxen Sheep Goats Horse Donkey Mule Rabbit Hen

BHOTIAS 8 4 0 1 50 10 8 1 0 99 17

SC 3 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 22 110

THAKURS 14 3 5 0 4 4 0 0 3 2 57

*Based on survey of 62 families of Darkot (39 Bhotias, 12 SC, 11 Thakurs)

Cattle, i.e. cow (and her calf) and buffalo are the common animals of all caste groups. They are used as

milch animals and their milk is sold in the nearby villages or dairy, esp. by Thakurs as they hold the

maximum stock of cattle, i.e. 14 cows and five buffaloes. In my survey, there are 34 cows within the

village of Darkot in which nine are calves. Bhotias owns 12 cows and calves while shilpkars have three

cows and two calves. Only five Bhotia families and three shilpkar families own cattle in comparison with

Thakurs, where every family has at least two cows or buffaloes because of the large space available to

them in the form of agricultural land which is kept idle and grass is easily available to the cattle. Some of

the Thakur families also sell milk to the dairy or directly to the villagers.

There are around 120 odd Angora rabbits among Bhotias and shilpkars which are reared for the purpose

of wool. This clearly shows the importance of handicrafts among the Bhotias and scheduled castes in

Darkot. Besides rabbit, hen or chick is provided by the government on the subsidized rate to the villagers

of ST and SC communities, i.e. Bhotias and scheduled castes. Many Bhotias further sell or give their

extra ‘brood of hens’ to shilpkars and Thakurs. SC community has around 110 hens or chicks with them.

Around 16 families, i.e. 13 Bhotia, two SC and one Thakur, do not have any kind of animal with them. In

their opinion, lack of space and money are the main reasons for not rearing any kind of animals while

there are families where there are very few members (husband–wife) or in some cases, old person is

living alone and could not afford to practice animal husbandry.

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Thus, to conclude, in the present scenario and in terms of castes, the rabbit is the main animal of Bhotias

while cattle are important to Thakurs, which are also related to their past occupations of handicrafts and

agriculture respectively. Scheduled castes have the least number of animals with them (excluding hens)

mainly because of lack of economic viability to keep, maintain and sustain large animals like sheep, cattle

horses etc.

Table 6.9: Number of various types of animals in Sharmoli

CASTE TYPES OF ANIMALS

Cows Calf Buffaloes Oxen Sheep Goats Horse Donkey Mule Rabbit Hen

BHOTIAS 49 18 0 4 0 118 3 0 3 5 128

SC 8 3 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 9

THAKURS 29 8 8 3 40 41 0 0 0 0 18

BRAHMIN 4 0 0 0 0 60 0 0 0 0 0

*Based on survey of 111 families of Sharmoli (69 Bhotias, 8 SC, 30 Thakurs, 4 Brahmin)

In case of Sharmoli (Table 6.9), there are 119 cows and calves along with eight buffaloes, i.e. milch cattle

among various caste groups, which is close to the number of cows and buffaloes in Sharmoli in 2012, i.e.

138 and 4 respectively. Bhotias have the maximum number of cows, i.e. 49, followed by Thakurs (29)

and scheduled castes (8). Buffalo is only reared by Thakurs esp. for milk purposes, while oxen are used

by both Bhotias and Thakurs for agriculture related activities. Interestingly, there is one Thakur family

who claims to have 40 sheep while there are around 220 goats in the village who did not find their

mention in 2012 survey. One Nitwal family has around 80 goats while one Thakur and one Brahmin

family have 30 and 60 goats respectively. Though these families do not have any sheep or goats with

them within the village of Sharmoli, as these are the case where sheep and goats are outsourced to the

‘outsider’ in some other village who rears them on the behalf of the owner. The person who receives the

herd (in known number e.g. say 100 sheep) as an outsourced commodity, rears and breeds the flock and

sells meat and wool to others and return the herd (in the same number i.e. 100) to the owner with the

certain fixed amount. The actual owner either takes the herd from the ‘other person’ during season time

(summer) and uses them as a pack animal and returns them back to the rental person with the end of the

season, or keeps it with the outsourced person on a fixed (half yearly or annual) rental. Two Martolia

families have horses while one Dharamsaktu family has three mules. They use them as pack animals

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either for carrying construction materials within nearby villages or food and other items during summer

migration to upper Johar. There are just five rabbits with one Tolia family while hens or chicks are

common among Bhotias as they are provided free of cost (or at a very subsidized rate) by the veterinary

department.

Thus, cattle are the main animals (cows, oxen and buffaloes) among all castes in Sharmoli. Few

inhabitants have sheep and goats but these animals are not present within the village as they have been

outsourced to others in different villages. This also shows the lack of grass and fodder with in the village

and restrictions and impositions of van–panchayat on the rearing of animals. About 35 families do not

own any kind of animals which include 22 Bhotias, nine Thakur, and four scheduled caste families. They

gave the reason of lack of space and poor income to feed animals for not keeping them. Besides, many of

those who are in government services (even one member) or are retired pensioners did not own any

animal.

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PHOTOS 6.4: Photos of animals in the villages of Sharmoli (above) and Darkot (below)

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PHOTO 6.5: Sheep / Goats (as pack animals) in the village of Bogdyar (Upper Johar)

PHOTO 6.6: Sheep / Goats during their winter sojourn in Munsiyari

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CHAPTER 7

ECONOMY OF TWO VILLAGES – LOW INCOME AND UNSKILLED WORKERS

The introduction about the economy of the Johar valley has already been provided in Chapter 3 where we

have mentioned about the trade as well as provided a glimpse of the present economic structure of the

valley. In this chapter, we will understand the occupational structure of the villagers of Darkot and

Sharmoli (middle villages of Bhotias in Johar valley) and try to find the similarity and difference between

the past and present scenarios. The first part of the chapter deals with the economy at the individual level

(per-capita) while the second part provides the economic analysis at the level of family.

7.1 ECONOMY OF DARKOT AND SHARMOLI (Based on per-capita / individual)

The primary focus of this section will be on quantitative analysis and summarization of the economic data

(of the population) collected during a survey of the villages Darkot and Sharmoli. The type of work and

employment in which inhabitants are engaged along with their age and earnings define the economic and

social wellbeing of that region. The analysis of the above mentioned economic parameters helps us to

understand the occupational structure of both the villages under consideration. A few things are to be kept

in mind before going ahead: This section mainly deals with the economic situation of the people who

are currently living in Darkot and Sharmoli and does not consider those who belong to the respective

villages but live outside of it. We will deal with each caste, i.e. Bhotia, scheduled castes and general,

separately and at the same time try to keep the distinction alive between male and female working class

population within each caste. The analysis represents the situation of the selected villages, i.e. Darkot and

Sharmoli, and should not be inferred as the overall situation of Bhotia society or Johar valley. The rules

and procedures that are followed in analyzing the survey data are mentioned along with explanations in

each sub-section. In our chapter the term work/occupations, worker/ earner is used interchangeably.

We will start this section by providing the summarization of the results and analysis of the trends in the

economy of the villages (at individual level), while the latter part provides the statistical analysis of

various parameters. One can look into details about the types of occupations, age and education of

workers along with qualifications based on caste and gender in the second half of the section.

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7.1.1 Trends in the occupational structure –

The inhabitants of both the villages (males and females) are engaged in multiple occupations. Some of the

occupations produce monetary earnings while others are non-monetary in reward. Generally, a woman is

engaged in non-monetary occupations such as taking care of household activities (cooking, washing, etc.).

Earning population of the village is not age-specific, as inhabitants of all ages (workers to pensioners) are

contributing in the economy of both the villages.

The earning population of both the villages falls under the category of ‘middle-age earning group’ as

average age of earners in both the villages is beyond 40 years. This clearly shows the presence of large

number of pensioners in the villages along with the migration of young (educated) people to outside the

village in the absence of quality job market.

In Darkot retired pensioners (30% of total male Bhotia population surveyed) form the bulk of earners

among Bhotia males, while manual labour is the leading occupation of shilpkars (45% of the male

scheduled caste population surveyed). Thakurs are mostly (47% of male Thakur population surveyed)

engaged in business and private occupations. Also, there is lack of labour class in Darkot among Bhotias

and Thakurs, esp. because of the social stigma (in view of a few respondents) and they prefer to do other

works instead of engaging themselves in wage-labour activities. The reason for this may be that as large

numbers of male scheduled castes are engaged in manual labour activities in Darkot, they did not want to

be associated with the same group/ class of work within the village. This also shows that scheduled castes

are the lowest in the hierarchy of occupations in the village of Darkot.

The case is opposite for Sharmoli, where labour work is the main occupation of Bhotias, shilpkars and

second important earning profession of Thakurs, as in words of many “it is the best way to earn money on

daily basis and is a fixed source of income”. Does this mean that Sharmoli is less caste and class

conscious and driven more by the need of earning money for the survival of family? This may be the

reason but Sharmoli is inhabited by people who came to settle here from far off villages in recent times

and they did not have any other work (and option) besides being engaged as manual labour and other

quick income-generating occupations. On the other hand, there has been hardly any in-migration into

Darkot in the last decades and those who are left, carry on the same old professions from generation to

generation. They are more reluctant to carry out menial jobs because of their caste consciousness and

reputation within the small populated village.

Overall, manual labour and other private occupations are the principle activities of the inhabitants of

Darkot and Sharmoli, while engagement of scheduled castes in menial work is larger in comparison to the

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other two castes. There are very few who are in government jobs (within each village) (less than 15% of

males in both the villages) and thus our hypothesis that Bhotias are engaged in state and central services

as their prime occupation is not true in the vicinity of the village territory. Also, agriculture is not the

prime occupation, esp. of male Thakurs (details provided in the previous chapter) and this results in the

‘lack of agricultural class’ in both the villages.

Handicraft is the main occupation among women of Bhotias and shilpkars, esp. in case of Darkot. Though

they are not able to earn a huge income out of it yet they carry it on as a symbol of cultural heritage and

preservation. In Darkot among Bhotias, handicraft is carried out as a family occupation, as both husband

and wife are engaged in it, while in Sharmoli only women are engaged in handloom activities. Does this

mean that notion of cultural heritage (in the form of handicrafts) does not hold value among males of

Sharmoli? Does the notion of preserving culture change with the space? In my opinion, in case of Darkot,

all those families who carry out handicrafts have been practicing it for generations as a kind of business

and have their name established in it (there are a few Bhotia families in Darkot whose products are

popular in the market and sangathans) while in Sharmoli, many young recently settled males are looking

for quick and easy money for survival while handicraft is practiced by women as a part of their daily

routine activities governed by their age old culture. In case of Thakurs, women are mostly engaged in

primary activities, i.e. agriculture, in Darkot. As there is hardly any income from the agriculture and it

fulfils only a small amount of family consumption needs (because of presence of wild animals who

destroy crops), males are not particularly interested in it.

Large numbers of young male inhabitants (up to 35 years of age) in both the villages are engaged in self–

employment activities like labour, private jobs and business etc. This shows the lack of employment

opportunities in the village as well as low educational qualifications of the working class. ‘Going to

Johar’ is still one of the main activity of a few inhabitants among all castes in both the villages. They

carry on agricultural, hotel activities in their respective villages of upper Johar and also devote their time

in finding cordyceps. Sometime the whole family or single male member migrates to upper Johar for 3-5

months from May–September to earn his seasonal income which helps in taking care of his family for a

whole year.

Brahmins continue their age old profession of acting as a priest and perform religious activities but their

caste consciousness is not as rigid as it is supposed to be in case of Brahmins of the plains of India. There

is one Brahmin who goes to Johar and sells meat, which is certainly not the activity one can imagine

among the priest class in other parts of India (esp. in the Hindu heart-land of Indian plains). Thus, caste

sometimes becomes secondary when it comes to economy and survival.

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One of the important occupations that has emerged in the villages in the last one decade is the evolution

of home stays. One can earn around Rs. 10,000 per month (as a family) in the business. But as it requires

investment, only a few rich families are involved in it. Among Bhotias, home stays are run as a family

business but in case of Thakurs, mostly females are engaged in it while males do not associate themselves

with the occupation. The possible reason for it is that many males from Thakur caste are engaged in other

secondary occupations unlike Bhotia males who are completely devoted to one activity, i.e. home stays,

e.g. there is one Thakur family in which the husband works in the nearby town Bageshwar while the wife

runs home stays in Sharmoli. Another reason may be the gender consciousness among Thakurs (the

warrior class), as they did not want to involve themselves in the so called women–driven occupation (as

cooking food, cleaning home stays etc. are done by women) and give others the impression that they are

surviving on the income of their female partner. The details about home stays will be discussed in later

chapters.

Average income of male Bhotias in Darkot village is around Rs. 9,700 per month (average of income of

all occupations), i.e. Rs. 320 per day (around $4.75 at current value of 1$=Rs.68). If we leave out those

who are engaged in government service, the average income per Bhotia male is around Rs. 6,855 per

month, i.e. around Rs. 228 per day or $ 3.36 per day. With regard to Sharmoli, the average income of

male Bhotias (across all occupations) is around Rs. 5,900, i.e. around Rs. 200 per day ($ 2.9 per day).

[The presence of higher individual male income in Darkot in comparison to Sharmoli is because of

presence of retired pensioners].

The average monthly income of a scheduled caste male (taking into account average of income of all

occupations) in Darkot is around Rs. 7,387, i.e. Rs 245 per day or $3.60 per day (1$=Rs. 68). But if one

does not count the salary of (two people) those who are engaged in government service outside the village

and are earning more than Rs. 20,000 per month, the monthly income of a scheduled caste male comes to

around Rs. 3,600, i.e. Rs. 120 per day or meager $ 1.7 per day. While in case of Sharmoli, it is round Rs.

6,000 per month, i.e. around $ 3.0 per day. The presence of the huge ‘labor’ and ‘private job’ class in

Sharmoli (among SC) clearly increases their daily income to a good extent.

The average monthly earning of a general male across all occupations in Darkot is around Rs. 7,000 per

month, i.e. Rs. 233 per day or $3.43 per day (1$= Rs.68), while in case of Sharmoli the average Thakur

male earning comes to around Rs. 7,400 per month, i.e. Rs. 246 per day ($ 3.6 per day).

Thus, on an average, individual male earning per day across various occupations, esp. in labor and private

jobs and business (leading occupations of both the villages) in both the villages is around US $ 3, i.e.

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around Rs. 200. This clearly shows the poor per capita income among villagers and hence less purchasing

power in turn.

Thus, in the end, one can say that, the economic space of both the villages is marked by low income

groups who are engaged in private activities such as labour and other business opportunities. Both the

villages are certainly divided into various classes, as inhabitants (migrant inhabitants) with white-collar

jobs, esp. government jobs (who live outside the villages in towns and cities) occupy the tip of the class

structure. Thus, the absent workers actually create the hierarchy structure of class. Living and working in

cities is considered as a superior form of occupation followed by government jobs within or in the vicinity

of a village. Thus, in our case, government jobs are considered to be the top employment opportunities

followed by business (shop-keeping etc.) and other private jobs (taxi–operator, contractor, tour guide

etc.). The last block of hierarchy belongs to labour class which forms the lowest section in the economic

class structure of the villages. But in the opinion of inhabitants of the villages, “labour provides them easy

and instant access to money” and hence is a lucrative occupation to follow which has led to the

diminishing value of class consciousness even among Bhotias and high–caste Thakurs, esp. in a village of

Sharmoli where society is less close-knitted in comparison to Darkot.

The average daily income of the villagers (across all occupations) is around $3, which is not a bad

scenario, as in India there are around 60% people who are earning below the $3 mark [Analysis from the

socio-economic caste census, 2011]. Thus, we can say that inhabitants of our research area are not so poor

(in a poor country). In terms of average (male) individual income in Darkot, if we exclude those who are

in government jobs, Thakurs and Bhotias are almost equivalent to each other while scheduled castes are

the poorest of all as their income is almost half in comparison to the other two high castes. In case of

Sharmoli, almost every caste earns similar amount of money while Thakurs are slightly better than the

other two castes (Bhotias and SC). Thus, we can say, in terms of income, Thakurs are the highest earners

in both the villages which is a result of large percentage of engagement in business and other private

activities70.

Hence, there is no doubt that both the villages are inhabited by less economically well-off people and

there it is very difficult to find the economically dominant caste. But in terms of class, government job

holders and retirees forms the dominant economic class among all. While there is no doubt that economic

opportunities are weak in the villages yet one has to understand the quality of labor force in the village. In

my survey, majority of male population, i.e. more than 50% across all castes (except Thakurs in Sharmoli,

70

Large number of low income Bhotia families (esp. labour class in Sharmoli) results in the overall lower average

per-capita income for Bhotias; while on the other hand, the number of Thakur families is less (in both the villages) and many of them are engaged in middle earning business activities.

231

every caste in both the villages has more than 75% male inhabitants who never attended the college) in

both the villages have maximum qualification up to school level and there are very few skilled people in

the villages. This is the reason why large numbers of people are engaged in labour and private activities.

This also proves the hypothesis that “only those who are less educated and could not avail themselves the

benefits of the reservation policy (Bhotias and shilpkars) remain in the villages of Johar”. While business

and other various private activities include people of all educational levels from zero to graduate,

government servants across all castes have matric (class X) as their minimum qualification leading up to

Master’s degree. Young people who are in the army have qualification between classes XII and

graduation. Thus, those who are able to acquire minimum qualification (i.e. class XII) for lower

government services are availing themselves benefits of reservation in it. Thus, there is no doubt that low

level of education plays an important role in forming the lower income group in both the villages.

Thakurs, because of lack of reservation in jobs, are usually confined to the Army as they are almost

absent in other civil government jobs. Thus, economically and educationally, no caste seems to be

dominant over others within the village.

The detailed analysis about the economic data of both the villages in terms of caste and class is provided

below

7.1.2 Statistical interpretation of the occupational structure of Darkot and Sharmoli

A. Type of work -

Let us first start with the very important topic –“various types of occupations and ‘kinds of earnings’ that

inhabitants of the Darkot and Sharmoli villages are engaged in”. ‘Various types of occupations’ include

government service, handicrafts, business, physical contractual labor, agriculture etc. in which a person

receives a monetary income or salary, while ‘kinds of earning’ include pensions and other social scheme

benefits available to inhabitants of the village, though in our chapter ‘earner / worker’ usually refers to a

person who earns money (whether through a pension or by working) for the survival of his family. The

inhabitants who form part of the earning population are those who live in Darkot and Sharmoli

respectively and earn/ receive money, and very few of those who send money to the dependent family

living in the both the villages. (Individuals or families who belong to Darkot / Sharmoli and live outside

but do not send money to family members or village are not considered). Only those males and females

are considered who responded ‘yes’ to the question of ‘earning some income’ while much of the non-

232

monetary works are not considered, e.g. a large number of women claim to work as agriculturalists or

carry out handloom activities but very few claim to earn any money from it. The case of non–monetary

occupations will be dealt with in later chapters. Generally, with regard to the village, it is very difficult to

understand the particular type of work in which inhabitants are engaged as both male and female

members are engaged in multiple occupations for monetary earnings. One may be a pensioner but at the

same time, he/she is also engaged in handicraft or business work. But not all occupations have income

generating capacity.

Figure 7.1 represents the percentage of male Bhotias who are engaged in various types of ‘income

generating occupations’ in the village of Darkot. If a person is engaged in more than one income

generated works, he is included in both the occupations. The figure shows the data of male earning

members among 39 Bhotia families surveyed in Darkot who are engaged in various occupations. As per

Fig. 7.1, it is clear that the highest percentage of male Bhotias in Darkot is dependent on a pension which

is generally of two types. Retired Pensioners are those who are getting pensions after retiring from

various Government departments and the army, while social security pensions include old age and

widow/ widower pensions. 27% of the male inhabitants in Darkot are earning through pensions and 20%

are retired pensioners, i.e. 1/5 of the total surveyed Bhotia male population in Darkot. Only 14% are

engaged in government services. These include people who are actually living in Darkot and are working

in various govt. departments, or those who send money to family in Darkot while working alone outside

the village. A similar percentage (14%) of earners is engaged in handicraft business. Only 7% of Bhotia

males depend upon physical labor activities for earning money while 18% depend upon business (shops

etc.) and other occupations like drivers, electrician, contractor, tailor etc. The interesting fact is that still

18% of the males are going to Johar (esp. Milam) for various activities like agriculture, finding cordyceps

etc.

233

Figure 7.1: Percentage of male earning Bhotias engaged in various types of work in Darkot

*Based on a survey of 62 families (39 Bhotias)

With regard to Sharmoli (69 Bhotia families, Fig. 7.2), 17% of male Bhotias are engaged in government

services including the army, while 13% are retired pensioners from various departments of state and

central government. The majority, i.e. 25% are working as manual (daily wage / contractual) labor and

21% are engaged in business (shop keeper) and other private activities like teaching, driver, electrician,

tourist guide etc. Only 5% are engaged in home stays activities while a similar percentage of the male

population is engaged in agriculture. 8% of male Bhotias (i.e. 10 respondents) go to Johar for carrying out

agriculture and hotel activities while more than 50% of those who go to Johar (out of 8%) devote their

time in finding cordyceps. Very few males (5%) claim to have been unemployed in the village.

14%

7%

20%

7%14%

18%

18%

2%

Percentage of male Bhotias engaged in various types of work in Darkot

Govt. Service

Labour

Retired Pensioners

Social Sec. Pensions

Handicrafts

Business and Others

Going to Milam

Unemployed

234

Figure 7.2: Percentage of male earning Bhotias engaged in various types of work in Sharmoli

*Based on a survey of 111 families (69 Bhotias)

Thus, to conclude, the majority of male Bhotia earners in Darkot are retired pensioners while in case of

Sharmoli the ‘laborer class’ makes up the majority. There is hardly any Bhotia male in Sharmoli who laid

claim to the profession of handicraft and there is no male in Darkot practicing home stays activities. A

similar percentage of males (around 15%) are engaged in government services in both the villages and

much the same is the case for business and other private jobs (around 20%). A large percentage of male

Bhotias, i.e. 18% (with regard to 39 respondents), in Darkot go to Johar while the case is opposite for

Sharmoli where only 8% (with regard to 69 respondents) follow summer migration. Very few males are

unemployed in both the villages. Thus, government service which claims to be the supreme occupation of

Bhotias esp. after stopping of trade, does not seem to verify the postulation with regard to our area of

research, particularly because all those who are in high status or white–collar government jobs

havemigrated to other towns and cities while only lower class state jobs are available in and around

17%

13%

25%

21%

0%4%

2%5%

8%

1%

4%

Percentage of male Bhotias engaged in various types of work

in Sharmoli

Govt Service

Retired Pensioners

Labour

Business and other pvt. JobsHandicrafts

Home stays

Social security pension

Agriculture

Going to Johar

Animal Husbandry

Unemployed

235

nearby villages. At present labor, business and other private jobs along with pensions of old people seem

to be the source of main income of male Bhotias in both the villages.

Figure 7.3: Percentage Of female Bhotias engaged in various types of occupations in Darkot

*Based on survey of 62 families (39 Bhotias)

The economic indicators for Bhotia women are quite different from their male counterparts. Though they

are engaged in multiple activities such as weaving, cooking, cleaning and other household activities etc.

yet very few endeavors produce actual monetary income for them. Thus, it is not incorrect to say that they

mostly act as ‘free labor’ for their home and society. Though every woman is engaged in a certain kind of

activity esp. handicraft and agriculture, only their responses are recorded and analyzed who claim to work

in a particular kind of income earning occupations.

Figure 7.3 presents the type of occupations that female Bhotias are engaged in Darkot. As mentioned

earlier, like in the case of male Bhotias, if one female is engaged in two or more occupations she is

included in both and all. As per figure 7.3, almost three-fourth of the Bhotia women present in Darkot

comprising all age groups are engaged in handicraft industry. Every Bhotia woman in the village spends a

minimum of 3-4 hours/ day on handloom installed in her house depending upon her age and physical

strength. They weave carpets, shawls, stoles, caps, mats etc. and sell them to tourists or locals either from

their house or through Sangathans (collectives) etc. Very few are engaged in government services, i.e.

11%2%

9%

71%

7%

Percentage of female Bhotias in various occupations in Darkot

Govt. Service

Labour

Retired Pensioners


Handicrafts

Business and Others

Going to Milam

236

11%, esp. in the form of anganwadi71 cook (who cooks in govt. pre-nursery school) and in education and

forest departments, while only 2% are engaged in manual labor work. Only 7% of the females are going

to Milam for agriculture along with their male counterparts or with their family, while 9% are dependent

on social security for their survival. Interestingly, none of the females is present in the category of ‘retired

pensioners’ which in case of male Bhotias is the main income generator group in Darkot. The reasons for

this may be numerous. One of them may be because of the presence of patriarchal Bhotia society (esp. in

past times). Females are not encouraged to pursue their education or take up a job which is considered to

be low grade among Bhotias. They are supposed to get married at an early age (usually in their early 20’s)

and dedicate themselves in fulfilling the cause of looking after the family, children and old parents; thus

they have little or no time to pursue education. They are also absent in case of business and other

activities, keeping the profession solely reserved for males.

To conclude, handicraft is the main occupation of the Bhotia women besides being engaged in other

activities to generate money. Even those who have day jobs carry out the handloom and weaving

activities in the evening time. Handicraft is not only their prime activity but it is the way of life for them.

It is almost impossible to think about Darkot without keeping in mind the picture of women working on a

handloom in her home. As women are not necessarily supposed to earn money for the family as in case of

men, none of the females in the Darkot is considered to be unemployed. In fact, they are engaged in so

many household activities that they hardly have free or leisure time for themselves. Even if they sit in the

courtyard for some time in the winter sun, their hands are always busy in knitting clothes. Still, when

asked about the work, the reponse of women is “kuch nahi karte hay” (we have nothing much to do).

Though none of the women (as per their responses) is engaged in business and other activities, e.g. shop–

keeping etc. yet they act as a chief seller of handicrafts to the tourists whenever they visit their home, thus

making them the important entrepreneur group of the village. It is only because of the Bhotia women that

age old industry of handicraft making is alive in the Darkot.

71

Started in 1975 by Govt. of India as part of Integrated Child Development Program to combat child hunger and

malnutrition. They also provide non- formal pre–school education.

237

Figure 7.4: Percentage Of female Bhotias engaged in various types of occupations in Sharmoli


In Sharmoli also, in similarity with Darkot, the majority, i.e. 37% of the women are engaged in handicraft

industry. Those who are in government service mostly work as anganwadi cooks while 10% receive a

family pension (pension of a deceased husband) and 3% are retired from government services. 11% of

Bhotia women carry out business work and private jobs in the form of running shops, selling eggs or as

private teachers. Five women are engaged in home stays activities while two women claim to have been

in agricultural activities. 5% of Bhotia women work as part-time physical labor for earning extra income.

None of the women are unemployed in the village and very few, i.e. only one Bhotia woman respondent,

go to Johar for kira – jhari. To conclude, handicraft is the primary occupation of Bhotia women in both

the villages.

10%

10%

3%

5%

11%

37%

13%

3%5%

3%

Percentage of female Bhotias in various occupations in Sharmoli

Govt. service

Family pension

Retired Pensioners

Labour

Business and other pvt. JobsHandicrafts

Home stays

Social security pension

Agriculture

Going to Johar

238

Let us now understand the situation of shilpkars i.e. Scheduled castes.

Figure 7.5: Percentage of scheduled castes males engaged in various occupations in Darkot

*Based on survey of 62 families (12 SCs)

Figure 7.5 explains the occupational scenario of male shilpkars living in Darkot village. Views of 12

families were recorded. Majority of male scheduled castes work as physical labor (43%), while 24% work

in business and other activities like shops, tailoring etc., 10% go to Johar (Milam) for agriculture and

finding cordyceps, and 5% are engaged in handicraft industry. Only 9% are in government service and

that too away from Darkot (but send money to families) while none of the scheduled castes living in the

village is a ‘retired pensioner’. With regard to social security pension, only 9% are obtaining the benefits

of it.

Similarly, figure 7.6 presents the working structure of scheduled castes male in Sharmoli. More than 50%

of the shilpkar males are engaged in manual labor while 29% are engaged in business and private

activities which include shop–keeping and temple care taker (religious). There is only one unemployed

(i.e. 14%) male among SC in the village.

Thus, clearly physical labor is the main occupation of the shilpkar males in both the villages, followed by

private jobs and business.

9%

9%

43%

24%

10%

5%

Percentage of SC's males in various occupations in Darkot

Govt Service

Retired Pensioners

Social Security Pensioners

Labour

Business and others

Going to Milam

Handicrafts

239

Figure 7.6: Percentage of scheduled castes males engaged in various occupations in Sharmoli

*Based on survey of 111 families (8 SCs) done in Sharmoli in April- June 2016

Figure 7.7: Percentage of scheduled castes women in various types of occupations in Darkot.


57%29%

14%

Percentage of SCs male engaged in various occupations in Sharmoli

Govt. service

Labour

Retired Pensioner

Social security pensions

Business and other private jobsAgriculture

Going to Johar

Handicrafts

Home stays

Unemployed

64%

18%

9%

9%

Percentage of SC's women in various occupations in Darkot

Handicraft

labour

Social Security Pension

Family Pension

240

Women of twelve scheduled caste families in Darkot were surveyed and their engagement in various

occupations is presented in Figure 7.7. In a similar way as in case of Bhotia women, the majority of

shilpkars women in Darkot, i.e. 64% of all scheduled castes females are absorbed in handicraft industry.

18% work as labor, while 9% are receiving social security pension and a similar percentage is drawing

family pension from the government. With regard to Sharmoli (Fig. 7.8), the situation is very simple and

clear. Only 4 respondents claim to work in some kind of occupation. Two females are in government jobs

working as a teacher and an anganwadi worker while the other two are working as manual laborers. None

of the shilpkar women in Sharmoli carry out handicraft activities (though knitting is common) while

home stays and agriculture among scheduled castes women is missing in both the Darkot and Sharmoli

villages. Interestingly, none of the SC women are in business and private jobs as in case of Bhotias.

Figure 7.8: Percentage of scheduled castes women in various types of occupations in Sharmoli.

*Based on survey of 111 families (8 SC’s) done in Sharmoli in April- June 2016

Situation of Thakurs (General caste) –

This part of the section deals with the economic condition of Thakurs, i.e. general category. They are the

people who have no reservation of any kind in jobs or in educational institutions. About 11 and 30

families are surveyed with regard to general category in Darkot and Sharmoli respectively.

Figure 7.9 presents the occupational engagement of Thakurs or General Category male population in

Darkot. This is the only category where none of the males in the current generation is in government

services while there are 18% retired pensioners. One male receives old age pension while one other goes

50%50%

Percentage of SC women engaged in various occupations in

Sharmoli

Govt. service

Labour

241

to Milam with his pack animals. A huge proportions, i.e. 46%, are engaged in business and other

activities which is the highest among all castes in Darkot. They are working as a shop-keepers, taxi

drivers, truck conductors etc. None of the males are in handicraft industry while 18% (i.e. two in number)

are working as manual laborers. Thus, general category prefers business and other activities as their

predominant profession besides being known as the ‘agriculturalist community’ of Darkot. In my survey,

none of the respondents claimed to be an agriculturalist, as in the opinion of all “there is hardly any

earning from the fields”.

Figure 7.9: Percentage of General category (Thakur) males engaged in various occupations in

Darkot

*Based on survey of 62 families (11 General)

18%

9%

18%46%

9%

Percentage of General category male engaged in various

occupations

Govt Service

Retired Pensioners


Labour

Business and others

Going to Milam

Handicrafts

242

Figure 7.10: Percentage of General category (Thakur) males engaged in various occupations in

Sharmoli


As in case of Darkot, majority of male Thakurs, i.e. 34%, are engaged in business and private activities

such as driver, shopkeeper, milk seller, guide etc. 20% are in government service (particularly the army)

while only 6% form the category of pensioners and that too dominated by social security beneficiaries

(4%). 12% are working as agriculturalists but carry it out as a secondary profession next to either labor or

business activities. 24% of the total general category males work as manual labor while only one person

goes to Johar for kira–jhari. None of the males is engaged in handicraft and home stays industries.

Thus, it is very clear that male Thakurs are no longer the agriculturalist caste and are moving towards

business and private activities as the main source of their income.

As per figure 7.11 with regard to Thakur women in Darkot, 25%, i.e. two women, are engaged in

handicrafts while 37% i.e. three women are engaged in agriculture. This is the first time that any women

among all castes claim to work as agriculturalists in the Darkot. They carry out almost all agricultural

operations from sowing to harvesting, except ploughing fields with animals or by hands which require

male support. Similarly, 13%, i.e. one person works as a business woman and one other receives social

security pension. This is also the first time that we have to include ‘politics’ in the occupational category

as one woman works as the Pradhan (chief) of Darkot village. None of the general category women are

20%

24%

2%

4%

34%

12%

2% 2%

Percentage of Thakur males engaged in various occupations in

Sharmoli

Govt. service

Labour

Retired Pensioner



Going to Johar

Handicrafts

243

in government service or are retired pensioners or are working as manual labor. The other important

feature is that agriculture, instead of handicraft, is the dominant occupation of the Thakur women.

Figure 7.11: Percentage of general category women engaged in various occupations in Darkot


In case of Sharmoli, only one Thakur woman works in a government job as an agent of post office while

30% are engaged in the manual labor force. Two Thakur women carry out home stays activities while a

similar number of women are dependent on family pension. None of the women are engaged in

handicrafts, business or go to Johar for agriculture and other purposes. Only one woman claims to be

engaged in agricultural activities.

Thus, it is very clear that agriculture among Thakurs is mostly carried out by women, esp. in case of

Darkot, while in Sharmoli (Thakur) women are mostly engaged in daily wage labor activities.

25%

37%

12%

13%

13%

Percentage of general category women in various occupations in

Darkot

Handicrafts

Agriculture

Social Security Pension

Business and Others

Government Services

Politics

244

Figure 7.12: Percentage of general category women engaged in various occupations in Sharmoli


In the last, we will deal with Brahmin caste which is only present in Sharmoli. There are four families of

the priest class, i.e. Brahmin in Sharmoli. Out of four adult male members, three are engaged in religious

activities along with other secondary activities. One male runs home stays (did not involve in religious

activities), while one other works as a laborer esp. sharecropper in the fields of Bhotia families.

Interestingly, one other male also goes to Johar to sell meat and finding cordyceps (as Brahmins of plains

of India usually do not touch meat and other non-vegeterain food). With regard to females, only one

woman carries out the profession of home stay (with her husband) while the remaining did not say much

about their work.

In the end of this section, let us conclude and summarize the engagement in various types of work of all

the castes in the two villages. Table 7.1 lists the occupations carried out by the majority of people in both

the villages. It is clear from the table that with regard to both the villages and their inhabitants, neither

10%

30%

20%

10%

10%

20%

Percentage of Thakur females engaged in various occupations in

Sharmoli

Govt. service

Labour

Family pension

Retired Pensioner



Going to Johar

Handicrafts

Home stays

245

Bhotias are dominant in government jobs (with in the village72), nor Thakurs are carrying agricultural

activities at the fullest.

Table 7.1: List of occupations followed by majority among males and females across all castes in

Darkot and Sharmoli

CASTE GENDER MAIN

PROFESSION

IN DARKOT

MAIN

PROFESSION

IN SHARMOLI

BHOTIA MALE Retired Pensioner Wage Labour

FEMALE Handicrafts Handicrafts

SCHEDULED

CASTES

MALE Wage labour Wage labour

FEMALE Handicrafts -----------

THAKURS MALE Business and

private jobs

Business and

private jobs

FEMALE Agriculture Wage Labour

BRAHMIN MALE Religious activities

*Based on analysis of data of 62 and 111 families in Darkot and Sharmoli respectively.

B. Age of worker in various occupations -

As per survey average age of male Bhotia earner in Darkot is 44.5 years. Pangti male Bhotia earner has an

average age of 50.7 years which is higher than the other two clans which include Dharamsaktu male

earner having an average age of 39.4 years and ‘other Bhotia’ male earner having an average age of

around 43 years.

According to my survey (Fig. 7.13), six Bhotia males between ages 24–42 years are engaged in various

types of government services. Those who live in Darkot work in the Revenue department, banking sector

while one male member (of Sayana clan) goes to Milam to work in Post office for six months. The rest

72 We are not concerned about people who are in government jobs in other towns and cities. We only look for government servants within the village or those who send money to families in the village though working outside.

246

among them work in the Army or in the nearby Tehsil and send money to family in Darkot. {There are a

few families whose children also work in various government services but are not included as they have

individual families in towns and cities and do not send any money to older ones in Darkot}. Thus, as per

the survey, very few Bhotia individuals who are presently living in Darkot actually work in government

services and their average age is around 32 years. Only three Bhotia male individuals are engaged in the

activity of manual labor. They either work in government projects as monthly contractual labor or on

daily basis in construction activities. Thus, average Bhotia age of physical labour is around 31 years.

The pensioners form the majority among the earners in the Darkot. In my survey, 12 individuals (in 39

surveyed Bhotia families) in the age group of 50-80 are dependent on pension, while nine among them are

retired pensioners from various departments of the government and the army. A large number of old age

pensioners in the earning population results in the increase in the average age of the male earning

population of the village of Darkot. The average age of government pensioners is around 64.5 years while

those dependent on social security have an average age of above 76 years. Overall, the average age of a

male Bhotia pensioner comes to around 67.5 years.

Those Bhotia males who are engaged in handicraft have age between 30–48 years. These male individuals

work with their female partners or family as a whole, and carry it out as their main occupation. On the

other hand, two old Bhotia males having an age of 82 years and 60 years carry on these activities as

subsidiary to their main one. The average age of male Bhotias engaged in handicraft industry is around 48

years. With regard to migration to Milam for performing various activities which include agriculture

(including herbs cultivation), animal transhumance and finding kira–jhari, many male members are

engaged in it. In my survey, eight individuals (among 39 families) claimed to go to Milam either alone or

with their families. The average age of males going to Milam is around 34 years. The rest of the earners

belong to the category of private business and other activities. This occupation group includes members

of all age groups from 23 to 65 years old. They work as a driver, electrician, tailor, egg seller, shop

owner, contractor, trekker etc. They also form the substantial group among survey. Only one male

member of Pangti clan aged 45 years claims to be unemployed and performs no work.

247

Figure 7.13: Average age of Bhotia male earners in Darkot in various occupations


Figure 7.14: Average age of Bhotia male earners in Sharmoli in various occupations


With regard to male Bhotias in Sharmoli (Fig. 7.14), the average age of a male earner (across all

occupations) is around 44 years, which is almost similar as in case of Darkot. Those who are in

government jobs, business and private sector, manual labour or are carrying on agricultural activities are

01020304050607080

Ag

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n Y

ea

rs

Occupations

Average age of male Bhotias earners in various occupations in

Darkot

010203040506070

Ag

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n y

ea

rs

Types of occupation

Avg age of male Bhotia earners in various occupations in Sharmoli

Avg age

248

below 40 years (average of all in specific occupations). Majority of government servants, esp. army

personnel, are below 30 years of age and the average age of earner in all government jobs is around 36

years. The labor class forms the age group of 20–60 years while average age in this profession is around

34.4 years suggesting the engagement of a large number of young males in the hard physical activities.

Similar is the case with the Bhotia males who are going to Johar. Except one old man having age around

60 years, everyone (who carries out summer migration to Johar) is below the age of 40 years, thus making

the average age of the Bhotia males going to Johar around 35 years. Business and private activities form

the age group of 20- 80 years old, while average age in the occupation is around 38 years.

The average age of male Bhotias engaged in home stay activities is around 44 years. All of them except

one are above 40 years of age while the youngest one is around 35 years old. They, along with their

female partners carry out the home stay business. The average age of retired and social security

pensioners is around 63 years while the average age of unemployed Bhotia males is around 39 years

(which includes males of all ages from 24 years to 50 years old).

Let us now compare age structure of Bhotia females in various occupations in both the villages.

Figure 7.15: Average age of Bhotia women in various occupations in Darkot


The average age of Bhotia women working in a government job is 43.7 years. These women work as a

teacher in a government school or private school, or are engaged in the forest department, or are working

as an anganwadi cook. They are posted in the close vicinity of Darkot in nearby villages and are playing a

major role in augmenting the income of the family and economically taking care of the dependent ones.

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

Govt. Service Labour Social Sec. Pensions

Handicrafts Going to Milam

Ag

e (

in y

ea

rs)

Occupations

Average age of Bhotia women in various occupations

249

Only two women are working as physical labor and carry it out as a secondary occupation. The 40 years

old anganwadi cook also works as a part time laborer for extra income.

Those who are beneficiaries of social security have an average age of 54 years. These females are of age

between 52 and 70 years and receive Rs. 800 per month. All these women also practice handicraft as their

other occupation. The average age of Bhotia women going to Johar is around 36.5 years; as one gets older

it becomes more difficult to trek the harsh mountainous terrain.

Those who are engaged in handicraft include almost all the female members of the family. Handicraft is

the only occupation which is practiced by all females and range of age varies from 20 to 80 years old.

Still, the average age of the female handloom weaver is around 43 years.

Figure 7.16: Number of Bhotia women engaged in handicraft in various age groups in Darkot


Figure 7.16 provides the number of Bhotia women engaged in handicrafts under various age groups.

Many young women in the age group of 20-30 years are practicing handicraft while only a few women

after 60 years are actually engaged in this kind of work. This shows that the occupation of hand making

products is an art which is being transferred from the old to the young and even the young generation

seems to adopt the making of handicraft willingly. As the handicraft industry is a tradition in Darkot and

is directly linked to the cultural identity of Bhotias, thus to safeguard and promote it, many Bhotia

families in Darkot pass their art to the young generation esp. females. Also as per respondents of various

0

5

10

15

20-30 30-40 40-50 50-60 60-70 >70

No

. o

f F

em

ale

s

Age group in years

No. of Bhotia women engaged in handicraft in various age groups in

Darkot

250

age groups, the average time spent on handloom by the young generation, i.e. 20-40 years old, is more in

comparison to the old generation because of decreasing physical strength of the latter as this occupation

requires good eyes and strong arms and legs. Thus, very few women carry out handloom activities after

the age of 70 years. This is also the important activity for young women to keep themselves busy and at

the same time earn some money for the family.

Figure 7.17: Average age of Bhotia women in various occupations in Sharmoli


The average age of Bhotia women in Sharmoli (Fig.7.17) in almost all the occupations except pensioners

is less than 40 years. Those who are in government services in form of anganwadi worker or teacher etc.

have an average age of around early 30s. Those who carry out agriculture, works as manual labor, or

perform business in the form of shops, selling products like eggs, grass etc., or are engaged in handicrafts

and home stays industry fall in the average age group of 36-38.5 years old. While women of all ages from

20 years till 65 years old are engaged in business and handicrafts activities, the majority of women in

home stays are under 40 years of age. Only one woman of the age of more than 50 years claims to go to

Johar for kira–jhari. Pensioners, either in the form of family pensioners, retired pensioners or social

security pensioners, are all above 60 years old.

Thus, the working Bhotia female (across all occupations) has an average age of 43 and 46 years in Darkot

and Sharmoli respectively which is almost similar as in case of male Bhotias.

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Type of Occupations

Avg age of female Bhotias in various occupations in Sharmoli

Avg age

251

Situation of shilpkars –

Figure 7.18: Average age of scheduled castes male income earners in various occupations in Darkot


The earning male in Darkot belonging to shilpkars (Fig. 7.18) has an average age of 42 years. Those who

are in government services have an average age of around 24.5 years in which one male of age 21 years

works in public works department while another one of age 28 years is in ITBP force, both working

outside the village but sending a good amount of salary to the dependent family members. Those (two

individuals) who are getting social security pension have an age of 77 and 66 years respectively, while the

average age of all those who are engaged in physical labor is around 36.7 years. Similarly, the average

age of an earner in business and other activities is 41.8 years, while those who are going to Milam have an

average age of 32.5 years.

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Going to Milam

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Average age of SC male earners in various occupations in Darkot

252

Figure 7.19: Average age of scheduled castes male income earners in various occupations in

Sharmoli


As scheduled castes males (Fig. 7.19) in Sharmoli are engaged predominantly in two types of

occupations, i.e. labor and business, the average age of working SC men in Sharmoli is around 34 years.

Those who are engaged in labor are mostly in their late 30s with an average age of around 37.5 years.

Two men in their early 30s are engaged in shopkeeping and religious activities, while one 35 years old

man did not carry out any kind of work and is currently unemployed.

Figure 7.20: Average age of scheduled castes women in various occupations in Darkot

*Based on survey of 62 families (12 SCs) done in Darkot in April- June 2016

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Average age of SCs women in various occupations in Darkot

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With regard to the age of working female scheduled castes women (Fig. 7.20), only one female member

of age 50 years receives social security pension in the form of widow pension while one other 55 years

old receives family pension, i.e. pension of a deceased husband who was in government job earlier. Those

who are engaged in handicraft have an average age of around 35 years which includes a young woman of

22 years as well as an old lady of 60 years. Among seven women who practice handicrafts, six women are

below 40 years of age while only one is above 40 years. Two young women of age 30 years and 36 years

work as part–time labor. Thus, the average age of earning shilpkar women in Darkot is around 43 years.

Figure 7.21: Average age of scheduled castes women in various occupations in Sharmoli

*Based on survey of 111 families (8 SCs) done in Sharmoli in April- June 2016

The average age of shilpkars working women in Sharmoli is around 46 years in which one 35 years old

works as a teacher while another 55 years old works in anganwadi. Those who are working as labor have

an age beyond 45 years.

Case of Thakurs (General caste) –

With regard to the age of working male general caste people in Darkot (Fig. 7.22), the retired pensioners

and social security pensioner have an average age of around 60 years, while all those who are engaged in

labor activities, business or are going to Milam are below 40 years of age. Overall, the average age of the

general category male earner in Darkot (across all occupations) is around 46 years which is slightly

43

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46

47

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Avg age of SC women in various occupations in Sharmoli

Avg age

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greater than the other two categories of Bhotias and SCs. Those who work in business as shopkeepers are

35 and 43 years old, while a few others in their mid 30s work as a driver and conductor in transport

service. A 60 year old Bisht male is living alone and is surviving by means of old age pension. With

regard to the occupation of the laborer, one 48 years old Bhat male and one 30 years old Karki male are

dependent upon it. Only one person belonging to Karki sub-caste (in his 30s) is going to Milam with his

pack animals like horses and mules in order to provide food and other necessary items to the forces at the

border.

Figure 7.22: Average age of general category male in various occupations in Darkot


In case of Sharmoli (Fig. 7.23), the average age of male earners in the general category (across all

occupations) is around 46.5 years which is similar to Darkot. Those who are in government jobs have an

average age of 35 years and more than 80% (among government servants) are in military service. A 60

years old man is a retired pensioner while other two individuals in their 70s are beneficiaries of social

security pensions. Only one thirty years old male goes to Johar for kira–jhari along with sheep rearing,

while another man of the same age is unemployed. Agriculture is carried on by males of age group 30–60

years, while labor class consists of a majority of young people in their youth of the early 30s (around

70%) with the exception of a few who are in their late 50s. Similarly, the class of business and private

jobs consists of males of all age categories which include selling milk, grass, shopkeeping, private

teacher, driver, contractor, guide etc. The average age of a working Thakur male in business category is

around 40.7 years. The whole situation is summarized in Figure 7.23.

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Pensioners


Going to Milam

Average age of earner

Ag

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Average age of male General earners in darkot in various

occupations

255

Figure 7.23: Average age of general category male in various occupations in Sharmoli


Figure 7.24: Average age of general category women in various occupations in Darkot


Two young women have an age of 32 years and 25 years respectively and carry out activities of

handicraft besides the former being the Pradhan of Darkot village. An old lady of 80 years receives old

age pension of Rs. 800 per month. Three women having age in early 30s practice agriculture. With regard

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Avg age of male General caste in various occupations in Sharmoli

Avg age

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Business and Others

Politics

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Average age of general category women in various occupations in

Darkot

256

to business and other activities, only one Bhat woman of age 45 years sells milk. The details about the

average age of Thakur women in various occupations can be seen in figure 6.24. The average age of

women in handicrafts is around 28.5 years, while in agriculture it is around 33 years. Thus, average age

across all occupations is around 46 years.

With regard to Sharmoli (Fig. 6.25), only one 30 years old Thakur female works in a post office, while

four other women in their age group of 45 – 65 years receive family and social security pensions. Two

other women, having an age of 55 years and 36 years run home stays while other three women having an

average age of around 33 years are working as laborers. Thus, overall, average age of Thakur working

women in Sharmoli village is around 46.years.

Figure 7.25: Average age of general category women in various occupations in Sharmoli


Lastly, we will deal with Brahmins –

With regard to Brahmin males, all those who practice religious activities have an average age of around

41 years, with all the three males being in their early 40s. Those who work as a laborer and go to Johar

are 40 years old respectively while one 52 year old male runs home stays.

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Avg age of General category women in various occupations in

Sharmoli

avg age

257

With regard to female Brahmins, only one woman of age 43 years runs home stays along with her

(previously mentioned) 52 year old husband.

Table 7.2 sums up the average age of earning inhabitants of male and female across all occupations in

both the villages. It is very clear that average age of both male and female earner is beyond 40 years in

both the villages. Thus, both the villages are in the category of ‘middle age–group earning society’,

mainly because of the presence of a large number of pensioners (esp. among males) and presence of

‘handicraft class’ which is practiced by men and women of all ages. Besides that, the majority of labor

and business class people are young within the age group of 20–40 years.

Table 7.2: Average age among males and females in all occupations and castes in Darkot and

Sharmoli

CASTE GENDER Average age of

earner in Darkot

Average age of

earner in

Sharmoli

BHOTIA MALE 44.5 44

FEMALE 43 46

SCHEDULED

CASTES

MALE 42 34

FEMALE 43 46

THAKURS MALE 46 46.5

FEMALE 46.5 46

*Based on analysis of data of 62 and 111 families in Darkot and Sharmoli respectively

C. Earnings in various occupations -

Lastly, we will deal with the average monthly earnings/ income of males and females of all castes in

Darkot and Sharmoli. The income here represents the information provided by the respondents (based on

their earnings) and is not based on any official documents or any other solid references. The income here

represents male or female (individual) income associated with various kinds of occupations and should

not be confused with the income of the family.

258

Let us start with the earnings of male Bhotias in Darkot. Those who are engaged in government services

(including the Army) or are getting pensions can easily provide the exact figure of the amount of income

they earn. Generally, the higher the rank of a person in the government service, the higher is his income.

In the same way, higher is the pension of the retiree who retired from higher government post as

compared to others. Also with regard to Fig. 7.26, government service seems to be the highest paid as

well as permanent source of regular income. The average salary among government job workers in

Darkot is around Rs. 18,000 per month. (It also includes those who work outside Darkot but their family

resides in the village and is dependent on their salary for survival). Those who are in the various

government services, i.e. revenue department, banks, engineer, army etc. earn between Rs. 15,000–Rs.

30,000 per month (as per survey). (Army personnel send most of their salary home and only the amount

received by the family is included). Though very few workers actually stay and work near Darkot yet

mostly send good part of their income for the survival of their wife, children, and parents. (Majority of the

Bhotias in Darkot who are engaged in the various top and middle class or white–collar government

services reside in towns and cities along with their families. It is only the lower-middle service class that

is actually living in Darkot and is working nearby).

Figure 7.26: Average earnings of Bhotia males per month (in Rupees) in various occupations in

Darkot


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259

Very few Bhotia inhabitants work as physical labor in Darkot and nearby places. They are either

employed by road construction company on a fixed monthly wages as a contractual employee or work

with some private contractor for the house and building constructions. They usually earn Rs. 300–350 per

day (for 8 hours of work) and work for 15-20 days per month (in the opinion of the respondents). The

average earning of a physical laborer is the lowest among all the occupations and stands at Rs. 5,333 per

month. Thus, average working days of a physical laborer come to around 15-18 days/ month depending

upon the wage rate (Rs.300/ 350). Bhotias belonging to this occupation category fall under ‘lower class’

strata (among their caste) and that is the reason very few among them took this occupation as a permanent

source of livelihood. Only three Bhotia young males work as laborers among 39 Bhotia families surveyed

in the Darkot. The reason for them to be engaged in such a work is low education, almost no agricultural

land and no employment or earning opportunities in the village. They are left with no other option for the

survival of their family.

The pensioners form the largest group of earners in the village. As mentioned earlier, there are two types

of pensioners - those who retired from government offices and those who are getting old age/ widow

social security pension. The average pension of the retirees is around Rs. 14,000 per month, and the range

varies from Rs. 5,000 to Rs. 17,000 per month depending on the type of job and department. Eight male

members of Pangti and Dharamsaktu clans are retired pensioners, while only one Nikhurpa male from

‘other Bhotias’ falls in this category. These retirees play the main role in the survival of their family as

they are not only the second highest earners among all in the village but are also responsible for fulfilling

the needs of all family members from young to old. There are cases where old pensioner father takes care

of his adult son and his family who are not able to fulfill their every need and demand.

On the other hand, three Bhotia males survive by means of old age pension which is around Rs. 800 per

month (as per respondents in 2016). The person who gets old age pension generally comes under BPL

(Below Poverty Line). The benefit and usefulness of social security can be calculated from the fact that

‘amount of social security one receives is almost 20 times lower than the general pension’. Though a

person belonging to BPL may get cheap food and other facilities from PDS (Public Distribution System)

yet still the amount is far below required for the normal, healthy and minimum standard of living. Though

the social security amount does not seem to be even near the survival income for a individual (Rs. 25/ day

or $ 0.4/ day), still this little amount plays a good role when it is added to the overall ‘small income’ of

the family as it can be used to pay the school fees of children etc. Thus, every penny is worth it in the life

of an individual in the village where income and employment opportunities are very few.

260

Business and other activities also play an important role in the economic life of the Bhotias of Darkot.

More than ten male members (out of 39 Bhotia families) are engaged in various business and other

activities that include shopkeeping, driver, tailor and even handicrafts. The average earning in such

activities is around Rs. 8,000 per month. Those who work as drivers earn around Rs. 5,000–Rs. 6,000 per

month while others are engaged in various activities such as egg selling (Rs. 900/month), groceries and

daily need shop (Rs. 15,000/ month), and a private contractor (Rs. 10,000/ month). Though the income of

those who are engaged in handicraft is not very clear (as the sale of handicrafts depends on many factors

such as the flow of tourists, type of season, availability of raw materials etc.) their average monthly

income is below Rs. 5,000 per month (as an individual). Thus, business and self-employed activities seem

to be the good source of income to the people of Darkot who are not able to find any jobs and

employment opportunities in other towns and cities.

The last group consists of those who still go to Johar (or Milam) to carry out various kinds of activities

such as agriculture, finding cordyceps, carry loads for the army on their pack animals etc. The inhabitants

going to Johar work only for 3–6 months because of the climate and terrain constraints of the region

(May-October). They form the third highest group of earners and derive an average income of more than

Rs. 8,000 per month. Those who run a hotel in Milam earn around Rs. 7,500/ month (Rs. 90,000–100,000

per season) while agriculturalists earn Rs. 5,000 per month on an average. One Tolia male has two–three

horses and makes frequent trips to Johar for various purposes like trekking, sending food items and other

articles to the ITBP force in Milam etc. and earns around Rs. 150,000 in a season (around Rs. 12,500 per

month). Those who go for kira-jhari earn around Rs. 100,000 per season. Usually, a family (consisting of

husband and wife and sometimes parents as well) goes to Johar for agricultural purpose and hotel

running, while other activities such as kira–jhari, pack animals, trekking and rearing are mainly

performed by male members.

Those Bhotia males (Fig. 7.27) who are in government services in Sharmoli earn (or send) average

income of around Rs. 12, 500 per month. Those who are in the army send any amount ranging from Rs.

1,000 to Rs. 20,000 per month depending upon their individual and family needs. On the other hand,

retirees form the highest earning group in Sharmoli with average pension per person per month being Rs.

19, 142. The pension of an individual varies from Rs. 8,000 per month to Rs. 54,000 per month

depending upon his job. Thus, around 32 Bhotia individuals among 69 families form the group of

government servants and retired pensioners that are highest earners in the village.

261

Figure 7.27: Average earning of Bhotia male per month (in Rupees) in various occupations in

Sharmoli


Those who work as physical labour, earn an average income of around Rs. 4,400 per month. The

individual can earn a maximum of Rs. 9, 000 per month (if wage rate is Rs. 300 per day) depending upon

his capability and strength, but majority earns between Rs. 3,000–Rs. 6,000 per month. Very few

individuals claim to earn around Rs. 8, 000 per month. This is the group where highest numbers of Bhotia

males are engaged.

Those who are in business and private jobs form the third highest earner group in Sharmoli village with

an average earning of Rs. 6,600 per month. They earn between Rs 1,000 per month till Rs. 30,000 per

month depending upon the work. Drivers, shopkeeper earn around Rs. 5,000–Rs. 15,000 per month while

a teacher can earn up to Rs. 30, 00 per month. Those who are engaged in secondary activities like selling

grass or work as a guide earn averagely around Rs, 1,000 per month. Social security pensioners earn the

meager amount of Rs. 800 per month while those in agriculture earn around Rs. 820 per month. Only one

person has an agricultural income of Rs. 3,000 per month while all others only manage to earn below Rs.

300 per month. Those who are going to Johar earn around Rs. 3,500 per month by doing agriculture or by

finding kira- jhari. They earn from as low as Rs. 10,000 to as high as Rs. 100,000 per season from

cordyceps, depending upon the time and labour they devote.

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Avg. earning per month among Bhotias in various occupations in

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Avg. Income

262

The last and important category is of home stay earners who are absent in case of Darkot. The average

income from home stay is around Rs. 4, 200 per month (Remember we are talking about individual male

income, but home stays are run by families. So, we divide the income of home stay exactly half among

male and female partners). Their income from home stay is between Rs. 1,750 to Rs. 6,250 per month.

Those (families) who solely depend upon home stay income earn more than those who are already

earning good amount from their primary sources of income (e.g. retired pensioner).

Thus, government service and the retirees’ pension are the highest-paid occupations / earnings in both the

villages followed by the rest.

Let us now move to the case of Bhotia women in Darkot. The income of the female respondents engaged

in various activities is very difficult to assess as the majority of the female respondents have “no idea”

when asked about the question of monthly earnings. The ‘money’ in the village is still a masculine

concept and female members of the family do not like to speak much about the monetary issues. They

formulate their answer in such a way as to show that only males are responsible for the income and

survival of the family and they just act as a caretaker of the kids and elderly. This shows the presence of

patriarchy in the Bhotia society where work of women is not much acknowledged even if she works more

laboriously and is earning more handsomely than her male counterparts. I still managed to draw responses

from a few women and their results are summarized below-

Let us start with those women who are in service in various government departments. An Anganwadi

cook gets a fixed salary of Rs. 1,500 per month while those who are engaged as a teacher in private and

Anganwadi schools get a monthly salary between Rs. 5,500 andRs. 6,000. One Pangti woman who is a

teacher in government school gets a salary of Rs. 18,000 per month while the one in the forest department

refuses to comment on her earnings. The tangible difference between the salaries of female respondents of

the teaching profession, though they belong to the same class of occupation, is their educational level and

their belonging to the type of department and the permanency of their job. Anganwadi teachers are mostly

on the contractual job while those in private schools are usually paid less in comparison to the

government teachers. An Anganwadi cook spends 2-3 hours of her time per day in a school and cooks

food for children, esp. under mid-day meal scheme, while teachers spend almost 5-7 hours of their time in

work per day. Besides that, they also spend some time on handicraft and household work.

Those who are getting social security in the form of either old age pension or widow pension receive Rs.

800 per month equivalent to their male counterparts. Though the amount is very low, still it plays an

important role in the overall income of the family. In the opinion of the villagers, the criterion for

receiving old age pension basically depends up on the income of individual or family. There are cases

263

where an old women in her 80s is living alone but could not avail herself of pension for her survival

because her son or any other family member is earning handsomely in the town or city and thus she could

not be considered to be BPL (Below Poverty Line) even though the latter is not sending any money to the

former. On the other hand, there are a few who are receiving money while living with his/her family who

are earning way above the poverty line. There are definitely certain discrepancies in the policy of pension

and in my opinion much in the village depends up on the mercy of the ‘pradhan’. But, without going into

specific details and analysis, we are here (in this section) trying to confine ourselves to the statistics of

basic economic indicators.

Women who are going to Johar for agriculture are earning an average of Rs. 2,500- Rs. 5,000 per month

on the basis of the sale of crops (based on the seasonal earning). But this income is included in the

earning of the family (or earning of the male head) and not in the individual woman’s name, even though

they carry out majority of the agricultural operations in and out of the field. Thus, we did not consider

agricultural or any kind of income from Johar to the credit of women. Even those families who do not get

monetary benefits by selling any produce of Johar in the market are benefitted in kind by the hard work of

women, as at least some food crops (grown in Johar) are available for free consumption for a few months

while their stay in Darkot.

Lastly, we take up the scenario of handicrafts wherein majority of the Bhotia women are employed and it

is the only sector where a few women have admitted to retaining some money for themselves after selling

the products. Those who have responded, claim to earn between Rs. 500 and Rs. 3,000 per month by

selling handicrafts but the income depends upon the type of season, the inflow of tourists and demand in

the local and outside markets, availability of raw materials and time at the disposal of women for making

products etc. As per 15 respondents, their average income per month from handicraft is around Rs. 1,366

per month which is far below in terms of the amount of time spent on making different items. (In a family

where all male and female members are engaged in handicrafts, it is difficult to distinguish between the

income of male and female members and it is usually considered as an income of the family, e.g. Martolia

family in Darkot where all three young sons and their wives are engaged in handicrafts earns around Rs.

10,000 per month as a family). As the income from handicraft is irregular, large numbers of female

respondents are not sure of their income.

To conclude, it is very difficult to assess the income of female respondents where the majority is in

handicraft industry and income is not constant in comparison with the males who are engaged in fixed

income earning occupations whether it is in the form of pension or physical labor. Also in Bhotia society,

the male is supposed to earn and feed the house, thus freeing the woman from any pressure to generate

264

monetary income. But the low income of male Bhotias and increasing requirements of the family along

with the notion of preserving heritage culture that has the capacity to supplement family’s income make

Bhotia women continue to keep themselves engaged in handicrafts in the scenario of weak employment

opportunities in the village.

Similar is the case with Sharmoli. Those Bhotia women who are in any kind of government service earn

an average income of around Rs. 2,800 per month. They are mostly engaged in anganwadi services.

Family pensioners (i.e. pension of a deceased husband) and retired pensioners also form the highest

earner group among female Bhotias as the average monthly pension is in the range of Rs. 7,000–Rs.

20,000 per month. Those who work as labor earn around Rs. 3,000 per month while business and private

job workers earn around Rs. 2, 000 per month which includes shopkeeping, selling grass and eggs, milk

etc.

Those Bhotia women who are engaged in handicrafts in Sharmoli earn around Rs. 1,100 per month (as

per seven respondents) which is almost similar as in case of Darkot. They earn anything between Rs. 200

and Rs. 3,000 per month. Lastly, home stays emerge as a main and important source of income for the

women of Sharmoli. This is the highest earning profession for women after we leave out the lucky ones

who earn a pension. Their monthly average income is around Rs. 4,200 (as in case of the male of

Sharmoli). Thus, there is no doubt that that the new economy esp. home stays, plays an important role in

the emancipation of women.

Case of Scheduled castes –

Figure 7.28: Average earning of male Scheduled castes per month in Darkot under various

occupations


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Average montly earning of male SC's under various occupations

265

Figure 7.28 explains the average monthly earning of male shilpkars under various occupations in Darkot.

Those who are in government services, i.e. in ITBP and in public works department, send around Rs.

25,000 and Rs. 20,000 per month to their families respectively. Their average income comes to around

Rs. 22,500 thus making them the highest earner group among shilpkars across all occupations in Darkot.

Those who are eligible for social security pension receive Rs. 800 per month, i.e. only two males among

SCs are the beneficiaries of it. A large number of youths and middle–age men are employed as a

contractual labor either in GREF (Road Construction Company of the Army / Govt.) and earn Rs. 6,000

per month as a fixed salary or are under a private contractor. The average salary of a laborer is around Rs.

5,400 per month which depends upon the number of man-days work. Many people consider the job of a

laborer as the fastest and easy way to earn money, esp. for daily purposes, which is not possible in any

other unskilled occupations.

Business and other activities seem to earn less as compared to all other activities. Average earning of a

male in business-allied activities is around Rs. 3,250 per month. In most cases, a person cannot evaluate

his monthly earnings but still a person having a shop in Munsiyari earns a meager amount of Rs. 1,000

per month (and in his opinion, there is no earning to him from handicrafts), a tailor earns Rs. 2,000 per

month while an electrician earns Rs. 8,000 per month. A few others who also have shop or work as a

tailor are unable to price out their work.

Lastly, those who go to Milam for agricultural purposes and for cordyceps do not know the exact amount

of income they earn. In the opinion of one 28 years old young male, he earns around an average of Rs.

5,000 per month from agriculture (based on seasonal agricultural output) while around Rs. 6,000 per

month for finding and selling kira-jhari (Rs. 70,000 per season). Other individuals claim to keep the

agricultural produce for family consumption

In case of Sharmoli (8 scheduled castes families), majority of shilpkars (57%) are physical labor and their

average monthly earning is around Rs. 4, 750 per month. The rest (29%), are in business and private

activities and earn between Rs. 5,000–Rs. 9,000 per month by engaging in activities like religious

ceremonies and shopkeeping respectively. Besides labor and business, there is no other occupational

category among scheduled castes in Sharmoli while there is one unemployed person as well.

With regard to scheduled caste women in Darkot, it is very difficult to calculate the income of an

individual woman as none of them claim to have earned any significant amount with their hard work.

Those who are in manual labor earn between Rs. 2,000–Rs. 5,000 per month, while social security

pension is around Rs. 800 and family pension is Rs. 1,400 per month. Only three women responded to

some kind of earning from handicrafts, as the majority do not find any kind of income from the

266

occupation. The average monthly earning of scheduled castes women from handicraft is below Rs. 500.

This amount is almost half in comparison to the earning of Bhotia women who practice handicrafts. Also

with regard to handicrafts, shilpkar women do not find any help from their male counterparts as in case of

Bhotias where both males and females carry it out as a family occupation. They mostly work on

‘outsource basis’ as they get raw materials from others to make handicrafts at certain fixed rates.

In case of Sharmoli, one SC female who works as a government school teacher earns Rs. 30, 000 per

month while anganwadi worker receives around Rs. 2, 000 per month. The rest, employed as labor, earn

a monthly income of Rs. 3, 250.

Case of Thakurs (General Caste) –

Figure 7.29: Average monthly earning of males (general category) in various occupations in Darkot


As per figure 7.29, the average earning of a pensioner of the general category in Darkot is around Rs.

16,500 per month as two army pensioners receive Rs. 13,000 and Rs. 20,000 per month respectively. Two

persons are engaged in the shopkeeping activities and earn Rs. 2, 000 per month. Those who are working

as a driver and conductor in transport services earn between Rs. 5,000–Rs. 10,000 per month. Thus,

Thakur males belonging to business and other private activities earn around Rs. 5,400 per month. A 60

years old Bisht male is living alone and is surviving by means of old age pension of Rs. 800 per month,

while those who are laborers earn between Rs. 6,000–Rs. 9,000 per month, making an average income of

02000400060008000

1000012000140001600018000

Retired Pensioners



Going to Milam

Ea

rnin

gs

in R

s.

Occupations

Average monthly earning of general category male under various occupations in

Darkot

267

Rs. 7,500 per month. Only one person is going to Milam (with his pack animals like horses and mules in

order to provide food and other necessary items to the force at the border). His seasonal (May-October)

income is around Rs. 60,000 which comes to an average of Rs. 5,000 per month.

Figure 7.30: Average monthly earning of males (general category) in various occupations in

Sharmoli


Continuing with a similar trend, retirement pensions along with government service is the highest earning

profession among Thakurs in Sharmoli as well. Those who are retired earn an average pension of Rs.

15,000 per month while government servants earn around Rs. 13,000 per month which includes army

personnel who send the fixed amount to the village as well as people from other professions, e.g. teacher.

Labour class form the third highest earner group with an average earning of Rs. 6,500 per month while

business and private jobs come next at around Rs. 6,100 per month. Selling milk is the main business

activity of Thakurs and with it they earn between Rs. 3,000–Rs. 10,000 per month followed by other

professions such as guide, selling grass, shopkeeping, teaching and private jobs, driver etc. Only one

person is going to Johar and earns around Rs. 2,500 per month (based on seasonal catch of kira- jhari).

With regard to Thakur women, a 32 years old woman carries on with handicrafts besides being the

Pradhan of Darkot village. She earns Rs. 1,000 per month as Pradhan of the village, while income from

02000400060008000

10000120001400016000

Av

era

ge

ea

rnin

g

Occupations

Avg. earning of general category male in various occupations in

Sharmoli

Avg income

268

handicrafts is not known. Another 25 years old woman also makes handicrafts and earns around Rs. 1,000

per month from the sale of products. An old lady of 80 years belonging to Bhat caste receives old age

pension of Rs. 800 per month. Those who practice agriculture did not claim to earn anything from it. With

regard to business and other activities, only one Thakur woman sells milk and earns Rs. 1,000 per month.

Similarly, in case of Sharmoli, a Thakur women employed in post office earns around Rs. 5,000 per

month while two other women earn a family pension of Rs. 12,000 and Rs. 6,500 respectively. But, the

interesting case is of home stays where women earn an average income of Rs. 10,500 per month making

them the highest income grosser among all women among all castes. The reason being, Thakur male did

not claim to run home stays as in case of Bhotias and thus, all home stays income are included in the

female category. There is no income from agriculture and any other activities.

Case of Brahmins -

The Brahmins are present only in Sharmoli and are predominantly engaged in religious activities which

are carried out almost whole of the year in good as well as in bad times. They earn around Rs. 3,000–Rs.

5,000 per month while a male who runs homestay earns around Rs. 6,000 per month. Another male, who

goes to upper Johar (besides being engaged in religious activities) earns an extra income of around Rs.

2,000 per month.

With regard to women, only one lady runs home stays and earns the same amount as his husband i.e. Rs.

6,000 per month.

D. Educational level of workers

Let us understand the educational qualifications of villagers in Darkot and Sharmoli, esp. among males.

The percentage of males having different types of educational qualifications is provided and summarized

by means of pie chart, while occupation-based educational qualification is only provided by means of bar

graph for further knowledge. Figure 7.31 presents the educational level of male Bhotias in Darkot. 38% of

the Bhotia males have higher secondary qualification while 18% have attained matriculation certificate.

Overall, 60% of the male Bhotia population is having qualification between class 10 and 12. Only 13%

have Bachelor’s degree while meager 3% (only one respondent) have Master’s degree. 15% have

269

education below class 10 levels, i.e. between classes 1-9 while 8% have never attended any kind of

school. Thus to conclude, almost 85% of the male Bhotia population in Darkot never attended any college

or are engaged in any professional course, i.e. their maximum education level is up to higher secondary

school. Thus, one can easily correlate the type of work and low income of the people of Darkot with their

educational qualification. With regard to educational level in various occupations, Figure 7.32 provides

the summary on this account.

Figure 7.31: Percentage of male Bhotias having different educational level in Darkot.


18%

5%

38%

13%

3%8%

15%

Percentage of male Bhotias having different educational level at

Darkot.

Matric (10)

Class 11

Higher Secondary (12)

Graduation

Master

No Education

Below Matric

270

Figure 7.32: Educational level of number of Bhotia male in various occupations in Darkot

*Based on survey of 62 households (39 Bhotias)

Note with regard to Fig.7. 32: As same person can be in various occupations, his educational qualification is

considered every time he appears in various types of occupation categories. Thus a person having qualification of

higher secondary and working as handicraft and pensioner is considered in both the occupations.

0

0.5

1

1.5

2

2.5

3

3.5

4

4.5N

o.

of

pe

rso

ns

Occupations

No. of Bhotia males having type of qualification under various occupations

Matric (10)

Class 11


Graduation

Master

No Education

Below Matric

271

Figure 7.33: Percentage of male Bhotias having different educational level in Sharmoli

*Based on survey of 111 families (69 Bhotias) do

With regard to Sharmoli (Fig. 7.33) 47% of the male Bhotias either have qualification of matriculation or

below while, 24% have higher secondary as their highest qualification. Thus, more than 70% of the male

Bhotias have education till high school level. Only 14% are graduate while 8% have Master’s degree. 6%

Bhotia males are illiterate. The educational qualification with regard to occupation is provided in figure

7.34.

19%

28%

24%

14%

8%

1%

6%

Percentage of male Bhotias having different educational

qualification in Sharmoli

Below matric

Matric (10)


Graduation

Master

Doctorate

No education

272

Figure 7.34: Educational level of number of Bhotia males in various occupations in Sharmoli


Case of male Shilpkars-

Figure 7.35 presents the educational status of scheduled caste males in Darkot. Though only 6% (i.e. one

individual) have no education but a whopping 44% have educational qualification below class X. 31%

have education till matriculation while 13% have higher secondary (class 12) degree. Only one individual

has bachelor’s degree. Thus, 75% of the SC males have education up to or below class X level while only

19% have managed to get the high school certificate or more. To conclude, 90% of the scheduled castes

males only have ‘some kind of school education’. Figure 7.36 provides the occupation based educational

qualification of scheduled castes.

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

No

. o

f p

ers

on

s

Occupations

No. of Bhotia males having differernt type of qualification in Sharmoli

Below matric

Matric (10)


Graduation

Master

Doctorate

No education

273

Figure 7.35: Percentage of scheduled castes males having various types of educational qualification

in Darkot


Figure 7.36: Number of Scheduled castes males having educational qualification under different

types of occupations in Darkot


44%

31%

13%

6%6%

Percentage of SC's male having various qualifications

Below matric

Matriculation

Class 12

Graduation

No education

00.5

11.5

22.5

33.5

44.5

5

No

. o

f p

ers

on

s

Occupations

Number of SC's male having different educational qualification under various

occupations

Below matric

Matriculation

Class 12

Graduation

No education

274

Similarly, with regard to Sharmoli, 56% males are below educational qualification of matriculation while

35% have matriculation and above qualification till higher secondary. Thus, in line with Darkot, more

than 90% of the scheduled castes males only have ‘some kind of school education’. 11% (i.e. one

individual) are graduate and he is still studying, while no one among shilpkars claims to be illiterate.

Figure 7.37: Percentage of scheduled castes males having various types of educational qualification

in Sharmoli


Figure 7.38: Number of Scheduled castes males having educational qualification under different

types of occupations in Sharmoli


56%

11%

22%

11%

Percentage of male scheduled castes having different qualification

in Sharmoli

Below matric

Matric (10)


Graduation

Master

Doctorate

No education

00.5

11.5

22.5

33.5

44.5

No

. o

f p

eo

ple

Occupations

No. of SC male having qualification under various occupations in

Sharmoli

Below matric

Matric (10)


275

Case of male Thakurs –

Figure 7.39: Percentage of Thakur (general) males having different types of educational

qualifications in Darkot


Here, we deal with the educational status of the general category men in Darkot. Majority of individuals,

i.e. 55% have matriculation certificate while 27% have below matric qualification. Thus, more than 90%

of males belonging to Thakur caste have education till class X which also include 9% illiterates. Those

who are educated till class XII constitute 9% of the total Thakur male population. There is not a single

person who is graduate or postgraduate among Thakurs.

Figure 7.40: Number of General category males having educational qualification under different

types of occupations in Darkot


27%

55%

9%9%

Percentage of general category male having different types

of educational qualifications

Below Matric

Matriculation

High School (12)

Graduate

No education

012345

No

. o

f In

div

idu

als

Occupations

Number of general category males having different educational

qualification under various occupations.

Below Matric

Matriculation

High School (12)

Graduate

No education

276

Figure 7.41: Percentage of Thakur (general) males having different types of educational

qualifications in Sharmoli


Figure 7.42: Number of General category males having educational qualification under different

types of occupations in Sharmoli


15%

25%

22%

16%

6%

16%

Percentage of general category male having different educational


Below matric

Matric (10)


Graduation

Master

Doctorate

No education

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

No

. o

f p

ers

on

s

Occupations

No. of male General caste having different qualification in various occupations in

Sharmoli

Below matric

Matric (10)


Graduation

Master

Doctorate

No education

277

In case of Sharmoli, 40% of the Thakur males are either matric qualified or are below it. 22% have high

school certificate while a similar percentage has Bachelor’s or Master’s degree. 16% are illiterate, thus

making 56% of the Thakur male population below matric qualification which is still better as compared to

other castes.

With regard to Brahmin males three people have matriculation certificate while the one who runs home

stays has Bachelor’s degree.

7.2 ECONOMY AT THE LEVEL OF FAMILY

In this section we shall deal with economy at the level of family and try to analyze their saving and

expenditure pattern.

In the above part of the chapter, we have dealt with the income of various castes and genders at the

individual level but in this section, we will consider ‘family73’ as a unit of observation. Saving is defined

as the amount in Rupees saved by a family either in the bank or in the home per month (on an average)

out of their regular / irregular income. On the other hand, expenditure is the amount spent by a family on

various things like food, education, etc. out of total monthly income. Income, in this case, is the sum total

of income of all the earning members of a family. Let us first start with the case of Darkot followed by the

analysis of Sharmoli. The data collected is based on the ‘saying and knowledge’ of respondents and

should not be correlated mathematically by the formula of ‘income = saving + expenditure’. There are

cases, where, in the words of respondents “expenditure is more than the income of a family”. I want to

relate my experience in the words of Swarup and Singh while explaining about the tribal village of

Himachal Pradesh: “it was observed during the survey that people in general have the tendency to over-

state their consumption expenditure while reverse is the tendency in giving out figures for income”

[Swarup and Singh, 1988]. Also, in my opinion, those who are rich did not want to comment upon their

income while the poor were eager to explain their problem (low income) whenever they got an

opportunity. Analysis provided below gives a rough estimate about the income, expenditure and saving

habits of families in Darkot and Sharmoli.

73

As mentioned in previous chapters, a family (in our case) may have any number of dependent and independent

members that are living together and share food in a single house surveyed.

278

Figure 7.43 provides the summary of average income, saving, and expenditure at the family level among

all castes in Darkot engaged in various occupations. The average income of Bhotia families is the highest

in the village, i.e. around Rs. 12, 000 per month, followed by shilpkars (SC) who are almost close to the

former. The reason for scheduled castes occupying the second position (among highest earners) with

respect to the family is because of the presence of a large number of small earners in one family74 (esp.

laborers) and a few others (i.e. two in number) who earn more than Rs. 20,000 per month in government

services, while in case of Thakurs, there are no government servants besides one retired pensioner.

Similar is the situation with regard to expenditure, where Bhotias have highest expenditure (i.e. around

Rs. 7, 000 per month), followed by scheduled castes and Thakurs. But interestingly, the saving of Bhotias

and Thakurs are almost four times higher than that of the shilpkars. The average monthly saving amount

among Bhotias is around Rs. 1,500, followed by Thakurs, i.e. Rs. 1,120 per month, while in case of

scheduled castes, it stands at mere Rs. 258 per month. This also proves our point of hand to mouth

economic situation of scheduled castes: they are the second highest earners, only because of the presence

of large numbers of low-earning family members. [On seeing the Fig. 7.43, one can estimate that if

average income of Bhotias is around Rs. 12,000 and their expenditure is Rs. 7, 000 then their saving must

be around Rs. 5,000. But the question of expenditure mainly deals with payment of necessary goods and

items (food, education) while in reality there are other expenditures related to social functions, religious

ceremonies, travelling, catering to habits like smoking and drinking, small items such as recharge of

mobiles etc. and payments of loans (whether from a institution or from village people. Thus, Income is not

always equal to saving plus expenditure in our case]

74

SC has highest number of members per family i.e. 5.3 in Darkot in comparison to around 4 in all other castes.

279

Figure 7.43: Average income, saving and expenditure per family (in Rs.) among Bhotias,

scheduled castes and Thakurs in Darkot

* Based on survey of 62 families (39 Bhotias, 12 SC, 11 Thakur) in Darkot

The expenditure of family mainly depends upon its structure. The larger is the family the more is the

expenditure. Similarly, the more is the number of young and adult kids in the family, the more is the

expenditure with regard to their education. Figure 7.44 provides the details of expenditure of families.

Almost all the families esp. among Thakurs and scheduled castes, and 29 among Bhotias (out of 39) claim

to spend the major part of their of their income for purchasing food items and vegetables while more than

50% families among all castes mention education of their young and adult children as the most important

purpose of expenditure. Besides it, there are a few families (overall nine), who think ‘other items’ like

monthly bills (phone, electricity etc.), loan installments, traveling etc. make most of the dent in their

income. Four families among Bhotias and three SC families have no idea about their expenditure. [If a

family mentions “food, education and other” or “any two categories of it” as their main source of

expenditure, it is included in all the three / mentioned categories]

0

2000

4000

6000

8000

10000

12000

14000

Income Expenditure Saving

Am

ou

nt

in R

s.

Economic indicators

Average income, saving and expenditure per family among all

castes in Darkot

Bhotia

SC

Thakur

280

Figure 7.44: No. of families among all castes (Bhotias, SC, Thakurs) having main

expenditure on types of issues/ items in Darkot

* Based on survey of 62 families (39 Bhotias, 12 SC, 11 Thakur) in Darkot

With regard to saving, most of the families, esp. females save some money regularly in various financial

institutions in the name of their children, so that it can be used in future for their education and other

purposes. They save anything between Rs. 200 per month and Rs. 2,000 per month while there are a few

retired persons who save more than Rs. 5,000 per month from their monthly pensions. There are eight

Bhotia families, six scheduled castes families and four Thakur families who do not save any amount and

they are earning between Rs. 800 to Rs. 35,000 per month. Thus, saving is more dependent upon the

responsibility and structure of the family, e.g. there is an SC family who earns Rs. 35, 000 per month as

one of its male is in the army while another works as a laborer, but do not save anything because of the

presence of eight family members among whom three are young kids.

With regard to investment, esp. in insurances and bonds, very few families, i.e. seven Bhotia families and

four Thakur families, have infused their money in various types of life insurance (where you invest every

year for a long time period and get back minimum interest amount after every fixed time frame). There is

no shilpkar family among investors in life or other insurances. With regard to loan, five Bhotia families

have a loan of over Rs. 50, 000 (per family) for house, car, purchasing animals etc. Similarly, four SC and

four Thakur families have loan between Rs. 20,000–Rs. 10,00,000 for house construction, agriculture,

car, wool works etc. There are cases where people have taken a loan for one item, e.g. wool works,

purchasing an animal or for agriculture but have used it for other purposes, esp. family functions

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

Food Education Others

No

. o

f fa

mil

ies

Type of expenditure

No. of families having expenditure on various items

Bhotias

SC

Thakur

281

(marriages etc.) and for medical treatment etc. (In my survey, three–four families have claim to have used

loan for other purposes).

Thus, to conclude, the low monthly income of families results in a low saving by families in Darkot

because of expenditure on food, education etc. With regard to our analysis, a family (average of all

Darkot families) on an average spends around 98% of their earnings, while only less than 2% of the

income is saved, although expenditure on necessity items (education, food) comprise around 60% of the

income.

Let us now move to the Sharmoli. Figure 7.45 provides the summary of average income along with

saving and expenditure of all families. Again, Bhotias are the highest earners with an average income of

around Rs. 14,000 per month, followed by Thakurs at Rs. 11,120 per month, and finally, shilpkars with

Rs. 9,000 per month. The low income of scheduled castes is because of the absence of government

service earners among males (only one woman works as a teacher in govt. school) in all the families

where the majority are laborers and the working members are fewer in number in Sharmoli in comparison

to Darkot. The expenditure also follows the same trend, i.e. the higher is the income, and the more is the

expenditure. The average expenditure on basic items of food, education and a few other purposes per

family is about 68% of the income in case of Bhotias while Thakurs and scheduled castes spend about

75% and 85% of their income respectively. Thus, clearly, the average ratio of expenditure of all castes on

basic items (in terms of percentage) in Sharmoli is greater in comparison to Darkot (which stands around

50%-60%). In terms of Rupees, inhabitants of Sharmoli also spend more money as their average income

(of all castes) is more than average income of inhabitants of various castes in Darkot and hence, greater

percentage of expenditure to (more) income results in greater spending of money One of the reasons for

it is that as large number of people are settled in Sharmoli, expenditure esp. with regard to education of

their children and school fees is more in and around Sharmoli (which is core and market area, and is

surrounded by good quality schools), esp. in private schools75, as in comparison to Darkot, and hence,

inhabitants are bound to spend more.

75

The fees in private school are around Rs. 600 – Rs. 1,000 per month while its almost free in government schools.

282

Figure 7.45: Average income, saving, and expenditure per family (in Rs.) among Bhotias,

scheduled castes and Thakurs in Sharmoli

* Based on survey of 111 families (69 Bhotias, 8 SC, 30 Thakur) in Sharmoli

Around 35 families among Bhotias have food and education as the main purpose of expenditure. Besides

that, 25 Bhotia families give sole priority to food while five other families mention education of their

children as their main cause of expense. 16 Bhotia families also have ‘other kind’ of main expenses such

as on animals, bills etc. Overall, more than 40 Bhotia families in the survey (around 60%) have major

expenditure on food and education.

30 families among Thakurs have education and food as their priority among items of expenditure while in

case of scheduled castes, food and education are the main expenditure purpose for almost six families.

The summarization of ‘kind of expenditure’ is presented in Figure 7.46.

0

2000

4000

6000

8000

10000

12000

14000

16000

Income Expenditure Saving

Am

ou

nt

in R

s.

Economic Indicators

Average income, saving, expenditure per family among all castes in

Sharmoli

Bhotias

SC

Thakurs

283

Figure 7.46: No. of families among all castes (Bhotias, SC, Thakurs) havingmain expenditure on

types of issues/ items in Sharmoli

* Based on survey of 111 families (69 Bhotias, 8 SC, 30 Thakur) in Sharmoli

With regard to average saving, a Bhotia family saves Rs. 1,425 per month, followed by Thakurs who save

almost one–third of Bhotias, i.e. around Rs. 560 per month, while shilpkars save around Rs. 230 per

month, making them the lowest category among all with regard to saving, as in case of Darkot. The range

of saving for scheduled castes is between Rs. 200–Rs. 1,000 per month, while in case of Thakurs it lies

between Rs. 200–Rs. 3,500 per month. Generally, people with high income save more but it is not always

the case, e.g. the SC woman who earns Rs. 30, 000 per month as a teacher saves only Rs. 1,000 per month

because of unemployed husband and three young children, while there is a Thakur family who earn

around Rs. 16,000 per month but did not claim to save even a penny because of one earning member and

four dependent ones. Bhotias, on the other hand, save anything between Rs. 200–Rs. 10,000 per month.

Most of the retired pensioners among Bhotias are able to save between Rs. 8,000-Rs. 10,000 per month

thus increasing the average saving amount of Bhotias. Besides that, 27 Bhotia families, 11 Thakur

families, and four SC families did not save anything. Large numbers of respondents (i.e. more than 90%)

among all the castes save money for the future of their children.

With regard to loans, 24 Bhotia families have taken a loan for various purposes such as house and shop

construction, marriages, automobile, animals, agriculture, wool works and home stay. The amount may be

as low as Rs. 20,000 to as high as Rs. 7,50,000 depending upon the type of loan. There are seven Bhotia

families who have no idea about the amount of loan. Similarly, 11 Thakur families have loan up to a

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

Food Education Others

No

. o

f fa

mil

ies

Type of expenditure

No. of families having main expenditure on various items

Bhotias

SC

Thakurs

284

maximum of Rs. 3,00,000 in the similar categories as mentioned above. As in case of Darkot, there are a

few families who have taken agriculture or animal loan for other purposes like marriage and medical

expenses. Interestingly, every scheduled caste family in Sharmoli has a certain type of loan ranging from

Rs. 10,000–Rs. 2,00,000. There is only one shilpkar family who claims to have taken education loan

among all castes in both the villages. 24 families in Sharmoli invest their money in insurances which

include 18 Bhotia families and five Thakur families.

Table 7.3: Average income, expenditure, and saving (in Rupees) of families of all castes in

Darkot and Sharmoli

CASTE VILLAGE INCOME EXPENDITURE SAVING

Bhotia DARKOT 12082 7076 1442

SHARMOLI 14321 9679 1425

Scheduled

Castes

DARKOT 11545 5500 258

SHARMOLI 9000 7625 213

Thakurs DARKOT 8480 4730 1120

SHARMOLI 11120 8296 566

* Based on a survey of 62 and 111 families in Darkot and Sharmoli resp.

Table 7.3 provides the conclusion for the section. The income of Bhotia and Thakur families is more in

Sharmoli in comparison to Darkot and so is their expenditure, while the income of scheduled castes is

more in Darkot than Sharmoli. Thus, shilpkars are poorer in the village Sharmoli which is marked by

higher per–capita average income among other castes. The presence of home stays also plays an

important role in augmenting the income of families in Sharmoli, esp. Bhotias and Thakurs who earn on

an average of around Rs. 12, 500 per month–Rs. 20, 000 per month. Scheduled castes in Sharmoli are in

majority laborers (4 out of 5 male respondents) while in Darkot there a are few who are in business and

government services besides being laborers, which automatically increases the income of SCs in Darkot.

There is no doubt that people in both the villages are dependent on ‘hand to mouth economy’ as a large

part of their incomes goes for the purpose of food and education. There are hardly any savings, less than

2% of earnings in case of Darkot and less than 1% in case of Sharmoli (average for the total population).

Thus, with regard to the two villages, whatever their distance to Munsyari, the ‘economics of families’

across all castes does not seem to make a solid case of differentiability, i.e. there are little differences

285

among incomes of families in both the villages. Does this mean that distance from the core has nothing to

do with the income of inhabitants? Actually, it has, if we consider the individual occupation separately as

in case of the previous section. Tourism and travel industry is more prosperous in Sharmoli, esp. home

stays, while the income of Darkot is augmented mainly by the presence of pensioners and private

business. In terms of economic dominance, we can say that Bhotia families form the largest income

group, followed by the rest, but the reality is that there are no substantial differences among them. In

comparison to the national level where the average rural household income stands at Rs. 1,900 per month

and the state (Uttarakhand) rural household income is around Rs. 2,400 per month, our research area

seems to be far better [IHDS 2004-05 Data].

286

CHAPTER 8

SOCIETY, ECONOMY AND CULTURE – ANALYSIS OF HOME STAYS, HANDICRAFTS

AND UNDERSTANDING OUT-MIGRATION

After understanding the relation between physical space, economy and culture in the last seven chapters

of the thesis, here we will have a brief idea about their impact on the village society. The poor income and

low educational qualifications of the majority of inhabitants along with the presence of low-skilled

manual jobs, caste and class consciousness have moulded and provided the current pattern of the physical

and social landscape of the villages of Darkot and Sharmoli as described in the last few chapters. In this

chapter, we will try to focus on the neo-economy of home stays, the traditions of handicrafts and analyse

the situation of women and the impact of migration along with brief knowledge about other aspects of the

society.

8.1 HOME STAYS AND THE SITUATION OF WOMEN – A BOON TO AN

OPPRESSED CLASS

In the last chapter related to economy, we have analyzed that home stays play an important role in

augmenting the incomes of families, esp. women, as it is one of the highest income generating

occupations. Here we will understand the other impacts of home stays on the society of Sharmoli.

A home stay in our context is defined as a room having facilities of attached bathroom and sometime

equipped with other facilities such as kitchen appliances etc. designed specially to cater to the needs of

national and international tourists. Generally, the owners of the home stay have two–three separate rooms

(besides their home) that are used for the purpose of staying tourists. Running home stays comes under

one of the largest income generating occupations among families of Sharmoli. Home stays are only

present in Sharmoli and nearby villages (which are close to core Munsiyari) while they are absent in

Darkot mainly because of its distance from the main village center and bad road conditions. Home stays

are mainly constructed with modern facilities which include bedding, western toilet and bath facilities, big

glass window either in front or in the side, cooking facilities, well painted walls which are decorated with

photos and pictures etc. Besides that, food is provided by the owner family for the guests. All home stays

are facing snow–peaked Panchachuli Mountains. Thus, the main aim of the home stays is to make an

‘outsider’ familiar with the daily village life and its customs, esp. with food and culture and at the same

time enjoy the picturesque view of nature. It not only provides mesmerizing experience to the tourists but

also an important means of earning to the village families and esp. women. The social and cultural impact

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of home stays on the women and families will be discussed in later part of the chapter, but here we look

into the economic aspects of it. As per revenue records 2011, there are 24 home stays in and around

Sharmoli run by Bhotias, Thakurs and one Brahmin family. There is not a single scheduled caste family

who is engaged in home stays. There may be many reasons for it which may be discussed later, but the

investment required for construction of home stays is certainly big (starts around Rs. 2,00,000 for one

room-bathroom set) and could not be afforded by everyone.

There are three categories of home stays depending upon the facilities available to the guests. The range

starts from Rs. 800 per day/night (i.e. 24 hours) till Rs. 1,500 (rates as per 2016 survey) depending upon

facilities of kitchen, hot water, type of construction (old or new) and its beautification etc. The rates have

increased in comparison to last years and may vary depending upon the duration of stay. The number of

tourists (as per the home stay records obtained from the organization) who stayed in a home stay in 2015-

16 is around 450 (2000 nights overall, as individual/ group/ families stay for different number of days/

months). Though home stay activity is carried on throughout the year, it is usually at its peak in the

months of April-June and September–November.

In my survey five Bhotia families and two Thakur families are engaged in home stay activities. They earn

around Rs. 7,000–Rs. 15,000 per month depending on the occupancy, turn and their other sources of

income. Majority of home stay owners among Bhotias (3 out of 5) are big landlords (mentioned in the

chapter related to land) and a few among them are retired pensioners or are carrying out other activities

like subsistence agriculture, selling milk etc., while two Thakur families might have small amount of land

(i.e. 2-8 nali) but their male head is working in some other occupation. One Brahmin family solely

depends upon the home stays for its survival. Thus, to conclude, the activity of home stay, in my opinion,

economically attracts only those who have the capacity to invest money (for constructing modern rooms)

and have extra space for construction on their available land, or are already rich enough to have extra

rooms in their house, while the majority of financially weak and poor people are automatically sidelined.

Though various subsidies and grants are provided to construct toilets etc. (up to Rs. 10,000) by forest and

other related departments, still more than 90% of the cost has to be borne by the family which is not

possible with small income and limited space (not everyone’s house is at a strategic location with good

view and slope). Though one can take a loan for construction of home stay, its repayment (which usually

takes 5 years or more) is a major hurdle for many, as villagers (esp. SC) do not want to put the financial

burden on their family. Loan in a village is still considered as a burden rather than an opportunity to

invest. ‘Small is good’ is the view of 80% of people when asked about the question of ‘economic

happiness’, i.e. ‘are they happy with their income?’ In my opinion, the villagers are happy with their

small earnings as long as they are able to meet their daily basic needs and avoid taking any kind of

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financial risk related with small duration of the touristic season, geopolitical situation (foreigners

prohibited till 1993), etc.

The home stay activity was introduced in the year 2004 within the village by a woman (Ms. Mallika

Virdi) who came from outside the state and settled here in the village (after purchasing land and building

a house). She is not a original inhabitant of Johar or Munsiyari but came to settled there in and around

last 25–30 years. She along with 13 families started the enterprise of home stays and later on 25 families

became part of the successful program. The women heads of all the home stay families form the

organization (sangathan) and participate in meeting and share their economic, social and personal

problems and views, and try to bring out a solution for it. In the opinion of Ms. Mallika “Tourism is one

way to bring people (of the village) together and to augment the income of the families”, while keeping

the view of environmental conservation intact. As she was the sarpanch (village head) of the van

panchayat (community forest) of the village Sharmoli from the year 2000, a few rules have been

established in order to become a member of the home stay community such as active participation in

meetings, shram-dan (voluntary physical labour) such as for cleaning water bodies, roads, planting trees

etc. In the initial years of establishing of home stays, 7% of the earning of home stay families went for

van panchayat (i.e. for conservation of nature) which at present (2016) exists at 2% of the total home stay

income of the family (The current share of 2% is more than the initial year share of 7% because of

increasing profits). Thus, the enterprise of home stays not only has economic benefits but also provides a

platform for upliftment of women and has social consequences along with environmental protection. In

2013, the organization of home stays formalized their business and identity by registering as a business

enterprise in the name of ‘Himalayan Ark’. Now, in the opinion of home stays owners “Sharmoli is one

of the famous and trusted names in the field of home stays in India and abroad”. Thus, the identity of

Sharmoli and home stays are intertwined, i.e. ‘Sharmoli means home stay, home stay means Sharmoli’.

The home stays have got support in form of a small subsidy (Rs. 10,000 per family for constructing toilet)

from the Forest department, while some other aids have been provided by various departments of ministry

of environment and forestry for training and other purposes. The home stays have led to the emergence of

other subsidiary occupations and prove to be a boon to those who could not afford to construct home

stays. One of such secondary occupations is the ‘trained nature and bird guide’, who provides information

about the flora and fauna of the village to the tourists. Besides it, a sangathan (collective / organization)

known as ‘Mati’ (meaning soil, i.e. related to earth) is a self–help group of women who sell various

handicrafts woven by local artisans of Sharmoli and other villages, agricultural and horticultural products

grown by locals in their fields and in upper Johar, along with addressing the social and economic need of

‘mountain women’. The aim behind setting up of the Mati collective is that there is not much money in

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traditional occupations and in order to keep the work of handloom alive and thriving, one has to find the

profitable means to carry on the profession besides strengthening the livelihood of villagers. Under Mati,

at least 95% of the mark–up price goes to the producer (maker) while 5% goes to the collective. This 5%

supports the marketing, design and sale function of the organization to sync with the competition of

outside world. They sell shawls, stoles, rajmah (red kidney beans), pulses, millets, local Himalayan spices

(Black cumin, etc.), and dehydrated vegetables etc. which are the hot–selling products of the organization.

As mentioned earlier, the home stays are run by families belonging to Bhotia, Thakur and Brahmin castes

while there is a complete absence of home stays in the scheduled caste households. The reason may be

economic and social as well. The lack of money and interest to invest in the activity, and shyness in

accommodating the person of high caste and foreigner is one of the few reasons. In the words of an old

shilpkar man “hum nahi chahte ki koi bahar wala hamare ghar me ake rahe, unka swabhav humse alag

hay” (We don’t want anyone from outside to stay in our house as their culture / beliefs / nature is different

from ours). This statement also shows the reluctance of the scheduled castes in mixing with the others in

the caste based rigid societies of the villages of India. One young scheduled caste male provided the

reason of lack of rooms and extra space along with monetary issues for not adopting home stay activities.

In my opinion, there may be a possibility that high caste Indian tourists (who want to stay in home stays)

may not want to stay and eat food from the lower caste service provider, but in the opinion of home stay

owners ‘it is not the case as many people (esp. city dwellers) do not believe in such biased system’.

According to Ms. Mallika, many shilpkar youths are engaged in subsidiary activities of home stays such

as guides, porters etc. Interestingly, Brahmins who are on the tip of the caste structure and are supposed

to follow strict caste rules, did not feel any problem in hosting the outsider and sharing their rooms with

them. In fact, one more Brahmin family (relatives of the Brahmin family who is already a member of

home stays) join the group of home stays in 2017, thus increasing their number to two. They provide the

economic reason (i.e. income generating capacity) for joining the home stay group in order to cater to the

needs of the family. Does this mean that Brahmins are more liberal in shedding caste consciousness than

the scheduled castes when it comes to economic gains? Though I am not sure, yet certainly many

scheduled castes males (esp. middle aged and old people) are not interested in accommodating outsiders

in their homes.

In the opinion of home stay owners, one of the hurdles in working of the home stays is to address a

dichotomy of “accommodating ‘guests’ and make them feel at home (like a family), and at the same time

commodify the services provided to them”. The guest in India is usually treated as God and in the opinion

of a few women (home stay owners) ‘it is difficult at first to attend to the guests and treat them as their

family by taking money from them’. Thus, the very first barricade for the local people is to get adjusted to

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a professional approach by maintaining the balance between interaction with ‘guests’ (i.e. social

approach) and ‘professional commitments’ (economic benefits). Home stays have certain rules which in

my opinion help people of all castes, esp. Brahmins, to perform and carry out the work of home stay

while keeping their values intact. Prohibition of alcohol and homemade food (usually vegetarian) to the

guests (cooked by the owner’s family) are the two important criteria that have to be followed by the

guests in order to stay in home stays. The owner thus has (sort of) power to control the environment of

home stay by maintaining his / her values and beliefs (even by controlling the type of food served in the

home stay). The second rule, the important one, is the principle of equity. There is a criterion set up by

home stay organization that those who are poor or don’t have any other primary source of income, they

will get the first chance to accommodate the tourist so that the weaker has opportunity to earn more (or

equal) in the occupation of home stay (there are a few home stay owners who are pensioners or have other

jobs and are earning well from those occupations). Thus, tourists have no choice of choosing a particular

home stay or room of their preference and have to stay as per the rule of adlo-badlo (in order of turn) of

the home stays organisation. Hence, though the physical landscape (construction of home stays etc.) is

moulded as per the need of tourists yet the social landscape is maintained (rules and regulations) as per

the desire of the owners / community of the village (home stay owners).

There are many benefits of the business of home stay as well. The important one is the emancipation of

women. As women are the ones who generally take care of each and every activity (cooking, taking care

of guests etc.) of home stay and also take care of all the financial transactions (women receive the rent of

home stays), it generally makes them economically viable and decision maker in the spending habits of

the family. Though most of the women (home stay owners) did not claim the ‘attainment of complete

economic freedom’ in decision making but certainly found the change in attitude of their husbands

towards them. Almost every husband acknowledges the hard work of this wife in running the home stays

and improving the life style of their households, and there are a few families esp. in Bhotias where

husband–wife carry out the profession together by dividing the work among themselves. A few Thakur

males on the other hand, solely associate the home stay business with their wives as they do not want to

show that they are thriving on the earnings of their female counterpart. There are cases in the village

where males did not want to carry out the home stay business (even though they can) or want to associate

with it, as this enterprise is associated with the women (because of sangathan) and thus, did not want to

show that they are living on the earnings of their wives, which somehow impacted their male ego which is

based on the fact that ‘males are the only bread winners of the family’. But the important benefit of the

home stay is social emancipation of the women of not only home stay owners but of Sharmoli and other

villages as well. The presence of sangathan along with the guidance of intellectual, social worker and

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feminist-oriented leaders (Ms. Mallika and a few other women) help the village women to share their

problems and find out the solution for the same. The problems may be economic (need of loan), personal

(family or husband–wife dispute), or, public (deforestation, cruelty to nature) etc.; they are dealt with in a

judicious and timely manner. There are cases of destroying of forests or where drunken husband beat their

wives which are solved by the interference of the women’s organization. Thus, women have found the

trust, confidence and hope in the sangathan where they can discuss and solve their problem resulting in

the independence of their thinking and beliefs and hence breaking up of the orthodox system of

patriarchy. They usually meet or hold meeting at a specific interval period and groupthink on various

personal and village matters. This sort of liberation of women was seen in antipathy by a few people esp.

males within or outside the village and considered as a threat to their culture and society. In the opinion of

a few: “agar aurat aadmi ko jawab dene lag jaye to kya hoga” (What will happen if women starts

questioning the (acts) of men or their behaviour). This statement shows more of jealousy of men towards

economic and social independence of the women and hence prevailing of patriarchal society within the

village.

The other benefits of home stays include exchange of culture. As people of different regions, religions,

beliefs come to stay in home stays, one develops a sense of understanding, acceptance, tolerance and

mutual respect towards each other and their culture. In the opinion of a home stay owner “we were able to

learn new words as many foreigners come to stay in our homes”. Though the women of home stays speak

only Hindi or local language, it never came as a barrier to them in catering to the needs of foreign tourists.

When asked about the identity of home stay owners, interestingly, they like to associate themselves with

the ‘kisan’ (farmer) and ‘bunkar’ (handicraft weaver). They have an ideology that they are deeply

connected with nature and work as a primary producer first. Every woman associated with sangathan

spends some time in the various agricultural processes, i.e. harvesting, sowing etc. (i.e. community

farming) either in the common farm (located near the house of Ms. Mallika where they perform collective

farming and produce organic foods) or on individual land. As handicraft is the ‘culture of Johar valley’

and all the women (even home stay owners) make some handicraft items that are sold in the Mati

sangathan, they associate themselves as the bunkars. Thus, ‘entrepreneur’ is the second identity of the

women of Sharmoli home stay owners.

In the end, we can say that home stays are a conservation initiative which is linked with the livelihood,

resulting in the nature-based tourism in a region where resources are very few and are contested. It is less

focus on wealth creation and more on livelihood formation. The income of the home stays is spent

primarily for daily household needs of food and education of children while the remaining amount

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(around 10%-30%) is used for renovation and improvement of infrastructure and other facilities in home

stays. I put a question in the previous chapters, whether an outsider can become a patron in the village

which is marked by the presence of neo-economies such as home stays and absence of primary activities.

The answer may be ‘Yes’, esp. with regard to women, as many female inhabitants of Sharmoli (as well as

of a few other villages) consider Ms. Mallika as a leader and an ideal to follow (esp. women engaged in

sangathan activities) while home stay families (of all castes) support Ms. Mallika in all her initiatives and

work. They have started a social organisation (a kind of NGO) known as ‘Himal Prakriti’ where they

provide economic help to the poor inhabitants of the village to construct their houses (esp. those who lost

their land in floods in upper Johar and got land in Sharmoli and other villages as a part of relief from the

government). They also celebrate and organise various cultural festivals (as explained in the chapter

related to physical space) based on environment, ecology and tourism, and thus try to make a cultural

imprint on the landscape (as the temple makes cultural imprint on Darkot) by means of modern, secular

and democratic means. The position of the patron in the new world is not only based on the caste, assets

and material strength, but on capability of generating new ideas to augment economy, income and

modernity in the life of people as well. As it is said, ‘the innovators in the village are generally from the

elite group / high-caste [Grover and Singh, 2004]. This is the reason why Ms. Mallika (feminist-elite as

well as of high-caste) wins the election of the head of van-panchayat (chosen by democratic means) as her

works and ideas related to village people have greatly emancipated their life in economic and social

fronts. But, village society is always defined by factions and marked by the truth of ‘myth of community’.

There are a few factions within the village of Sharmoli (esp. belonging to Bhotia community) who are

jealous of her having become so relevant in the village community (despite being a outsider) in such a

small time. The differences come out in the form of political rivalry, either in the elections of village or

van panchayat, or sometimes in a form of social rivalry (such as boycotting certain functions by the

opposite faction) or even at personal level (in the opinion of Ms. Mallika). But, there is no doubt that her

endeavour of creating new employments (by giving new income opportunities to the people who are left

in the bleak-opportunity land of Johar) and her role in conservation of forests and promoting handicrafts

and agriculture (that are close to the life of village people), thus mixing the innovation of ‘bringing new

ideas of tourism and traditional values of preserving nature’ together, have earned her a great reputation

within and outside the village. Her experience in the social sector along with her contacts outside the

village, i.e. in other towns, cities and countries, help her to bring tourists, foreigners and (groups of)

students to Sharmoli, and this plays an important role in the diffusion of innovation within the Sharmoli

village. Though her ideas are still limited or have reached only within the vicinity of the core (Munsiyari),

yet may be in later years and with improvement of roads and communication, facilities of home stays may

reach beyond the limit set up by distance and time.

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In the previous section, we have discussed about the emancipation of women triggered by the impact of

sangathans and home stays resulting in their economic and social wellbeing. This might show that

Sharmoli (where home stays and sangathans are situated) is superior esp. in comparison to other villages

of Munsiyari. With the increased participation of women in social and economic decisions of life, the

village has shown the trend of moving towards gender equality, but this privilege is confined to a few

women, generally those who are associated with the sangathans. This does not mean that overall

condition and situation of women is appreciable in every aspect of the village life and society. In this

section, we will define and understand a few parameters that will help us to recognize the actual status of

the women in the two villages.

The situation of women was always worse than men’s before and after the advent of Hinduization in

Johar. Earlier, a woman were considered as an ‘object of enjoyment’ and her life revolved around the

‘four walls of houses’. Cooking food, taking care of children, making woollen clothes and bringing grass

and woods from the jungle was her main work. Women as such were never a part of the dominant

economic system (trade) and were considered inferior and dependent on males for their needs. On the

other hand, the male who survived on women’s income was considered less ‘manly’ and was a matter of a

shame. After coming of Dham Singh, the condition of women became more helpless. She had to remain

in veil like Rajput women of Rajasthan, even though the phenomenon is absent in Garhwal and Kumaon.

Besides that, she had to be secluded from the family and had to stay in a separate room (outside the

house) during menstruation and pregnancy period. Remarriage of widow was prohibited while polygamy

among males was common. The marriage of young men and women depended upon the mercy of their

parents and family. As per Dr.Pangti, there have been incidents of ‘sati’ (to burn alive along with the dead

husband) among women of Johar. There were different types of marriages in Johar which included

Kanyadan (giving away daughter on parent’s discretion without any dowry), Damtaur (to give price of a

daughter), Apaharan (to kidnap a woman, esp. a widow, for marriage) etc. Inter-caste marriage was

prohibited while dowry was a common practice. By 1913, after coming of British administration, many

efforts were taken with regard to women’s education and upliftment by local Joharis and the situation of

women started to improve, e.g. the age of marriage of a woman increased to 18 years, women started to

gain education till secondary school etc [Pangti, 1991]. Let us understand the contemporary situation of

women in Darkot and Sharmoli as it may give the general overview of the Johar. We will begin our

discussion about education of women and provide the summary of our results (while the details statistical

discussion is provided in latter half of the section).

The educational level of women in Darkot and Sharmoli across all castes is poor as majority, i.e. more

than 50% of women among all the castes have education till school level (i.e. up to or below class X

294

level). There are very few graduates while more than 30% women across all castes have no formal

education at all. Scheduled castes women are in the worst position as more than 45% of SC women in

both the villages are illiterate while Thakur women are not far behind them. This clearly shows the plight

of educational status of women in the villages irrespective of high and low castes. Besides that, all the

current generation women, i.e. age group of 20-30 years, have some kind of education and all the

‘graduates and above’ belong to this category.

All the young girls till the age of 3–15 years are studying in some kind of school. There is no doubt that

the importance of education of girl child has increased as many families across all castes send their girl

child to school. But the cultural and social difference lies in the fact that majority of families (more than

90% of the surveyed families) send their girls to the free Hindi medium government schools in

comparison to the boys (there is hardly any family except few among SCs) who are studying in the

private English medium schools, which later provide better jobs and incomes. Thus, gender plays an

important role in choosing the type of school for the children by the families as expenditure on a girl’s

education is still considered to be a ‘wasted one’. Overall, the present situation of women’s education

with regard to Darkot and Sharmoli (or if the interpretation is extended to the general analysis of villages

of Johar) is not very encouraging as the majority are not able to study beyond the school level. The details

about the educational level among women is provided below

Figure 8.1: Female Bhotia educational level in Darkot

*Based on survey of 62 families (39 Bhotias) done in Darkot

13%0%

17%

9%

9%28%

24%

Percentage of Bhotia women having different educational level in

Darkot

Matric (10)

Class 11


Graduation

Master

No Education

Below Matric

295

Figure 8.2: Bhotia women having different educational level in Sharmoli

*Based on survey of 111 families (69 Bhotias) done in Sharmoli

As per figure 8.1, more than 50% of female Bhotias in Darkot have either no education or are below

matriculation level. 13% of female Bhotias have cleared class X examinations while 17% have high

secondary degree. Thus, 80% of the female Bhotias in Darkot have either no education or education up to

higher secondary level. Only 18% of female Bhotias have graduated or have master’s degree. Similar is

the situation in Sharmoli (Figure 8.2), where 35% of the Bhotia women have education below

matriculation level while 20% have no education at all. Only 18% have completed matriculation

certificate while around 10% have education till higher secondary. 15% of the total Bhotia women in

Sharmoli are graduates or above. Those who are graduates and above generally comprise young

population, i.e. 20 - 35 years old.

Figure 8.3: Scheduled castes women having different educational qualification in Darkot

*Based on survey of 62 families (12 SCs) done in Darkot

35%

18%11%

11%

5%

0% 20%

Percentage of Bhotia women having differernt educational


Below matric

Matric (10)


Graduation

Master

Doctorate

No education

46%

45%

0% 9%

Percentage of SCwomen having different educational qualifications

in Darkot

No education

Below matric

Matric

Class 12

296

In case of Darkot (Figure 8.3), 46 % of SC women have no education and almost similar percentage of

women have education below matriculation level. Only one woman has education till class XII. Thus with

regard to education, Shilpkars women seem to be the most marginalized of all. There is not a single

graduate among them. Many young women of age 20-35 years have education till class 5 while the

women with the highest educational qualification, i.e. class 12, is also the youngest one, i.e. 22 years old.

All the women who are above 50 years have no education at their disposal.With regard to Sharmoli

(Figure 8.4), 80% of the scheduled castes women have either no education or are below matriculation

level (class X). Only 10% have cleared matriculation examination while similar percentage is graduate

among shilpkars women. Many young women (8 respondents out of 10) in the age group of 20–35 years

have education below matriculation level. Thus, it is not wrong to say that majority of SC women are

illiterate.

Figure 8.4: Scheduled castes women having different educational qualification in Sharmoli

*Based on survey of 111 families (8SCs) done in Sharmoli

40%

10%

0%0%

10%0%

40%

Percentage of SC women having different educational qualification

in Sharmoli

Below matric

Matric (10)


Graduation

Master

Doctorate

No education

297

Figure 8.5: General category women having different types of educational qualification in Darkot

*Based on survey of 62 families (11 General) done in Darkot

As per figure 8.5, 43% of the Thakur caste women in Darkot are illiterate, i.e. have no formal education.

The highest educational qualification, i.e. high school, is obtained by the youngest 25 years old woman

(Bhat) among the general caste women. The Pradhan of Darkot village has matriculation certificate. None

of the women has graduated while almost 30% have lower level of school education. Overall, the

educational status of Thakur women is also poor and their educational conditions and opportunities did

not seem to be any better than scheduled castes females. In case of Sharmoli (Figure 8.6), 50% of the

Thakur women have education till class X level in which 33% have matriculation degree. 38% have no

formal education while only 12% are graduate. Those who have graduate degree are young women in the

age group of 20-30 years while many middle age women (30-50 years) are uneducated.

43%

29%

14%

14%

Percentage of general category women having different

educational qualification in Darkot

No education

Below matric

Matriculation

High school (12)

298

Figure 8.6: General category women having different types of educational qualification in Sharmoli

*Based on survey of 111 families (30 General) done in Sharmoli

Let us now look at some other indicators which will throw some light on the social status of the women.

Table 8.1 analyzes the two important parameters, i.e. age during marriage and number of children based

on the responses of those surveyed in the two villages, which includes people from the last two

generations (i.e. last 40-50 years). The average age of marriage of Bhotia women is around 19.5 years in

Darkot and Sharmoli while in case of Thakurs the average age of marriage of a woman is 17.6 years in

both the surveyed villages. The shilpkars women were in the worst position among all, as their average

age of marriage lies between 16–17 years. Thus, with regard to Thakur and SC women, their average

marriage age is below the legal marriage age of 18 years for the women in India.

17%

33%

0%

12%

0%

0%

38%

Percentage of general caste women having different educational


Below matric

Matric (10)


Graduation

Master

Doctorate

No education

299

Table 8.1: Average age (in years) of marriage of females and males and average numbers of

children among all castes in Darkot and Sharmoli

CASTE VILLAGE Average age of marriage in

years

Average No.

of children

FEMALE MALE

BHOTIA DARKOT 19.6 27 2.4

SCHEDULED

CASTE

DARKOT 17.1 22.7 2.3

THAKUR

(GENERAL)

DARKOT 17.6 21.8 2.7

BHOTIA SHARMOLI 19.3 25.1 2.2

SCHEDULED

CASTE

SHARMOLI 16 20.1 2.8

THAKUR

(GENERAL)

SHARMOLI 17.6 21.5 2.3

*Based on survey of 62 families and 111 families in Darkot and Sharmoli respectively.

From our analysis, we can conclude that average age of marriage of women in Darkot and Sharmoli is

around 17.8 years, i.e. woman gets married as soon as she attains (or is close to) the age of 18 years. This

may be one of the reasons for poor educational level among women, as once they get married they don’t

find time for reading and educational purpose. This also leads to the fact that majority of women (almost

100%) become mothers in the age group of 20-22 years. There are many cases where the difference

between the age of mother and child is very low e.g. (1) a Thakur woman in Sharmoli is 30 years old

while her son is 16 years old indicating the teenage marriage and pregnancy of a mother, (2) a 40 years

old Bhotia woman has 25 years old son while his (son’s) wife is 20 years old etc. Hence, the marital

status of women does not seem to be in a good position, as early marriage sometime also leads to early

widowhood (there are women in both the villages who became widows by the age of 35-45 years). In

spite of it, a few things have improved for the women in last 4-5 decades. There is no doubt that average

age of marriage has increased to near about 18 years in comparison to the past where women got married

as early as in the age of 10-12 years. Earlier, a woman used to give birth to 7–8 children [Pangti, 1991]

while at present the average number of children per couple (husband-wife) is around 2.5. The present

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young generation have a maximum of two–three children. There are hardly any cases of polygamy76 or

polyandry in both the villages. On the other hand, average age of men for marriage across all castes is

around 23 years which makes the average age difference between male and female partners of about 5

years. Bhotia males have an average marriage age of above 25 years in both the villages while Thakur and

SC males have an average marriage age in range between 20-22 years. The greater age of Bhotia males is

mainly due to absence of ‘inter-caste marriage’ among Bhotias as it is not easy to find a bride (within

Bhotias and within Johar) for marriage. Also, low level of education (difficult to get married to an

educated woman or city woman), and lack of work and earning capacity in the villages results in further

delay of marriage. There are many couples esp. among Bhotias whose age differences are beyond 10

years. Besides that, the marriage relationship occurs within particular villages or clans [e.g. Brijwal can

marry Martolia (both Bhotia sub–castes belonging to two different villages of upper Johar)] and in

general, both the bride and groom families know each other well from the very beginning and hence it

results in a close-knit society

Two important features of marriage in Darkot and Sharmoli are the practice of ‘non-inter-caste marriage’,

i.e. endogamy, and ‘preference for male child’. Endogamy is observed strictly in both the villages across

all castes, and as per my survey, none of the married couples have inter-caste marriage (though with

regard to migrated Bhotias in cities and towns, there are several cases of inter-caste marriage). Thus, most

of the marriages are arranged marriages in which the groom is chosen by the family instead of the bride.

The endogamy among Bhotias is one of the important social customs and it is believed that (Bhotia)

society does not permit deviation from the specified practices (esp. in the case of orthodox village

societies). Many Bhotia authors show their displeasure towards inter-caste marriages of Bhotias (with

regard to those who have migrated to cities and towns and are marrying people of other castes) and

consider it to be a deterioration of Shauka culture because of assimilation with the others (caste groups).

There are few cases in the villages where a person is not able to find the ‘perfect’ partner for him / herself

once he/ she becomes more educated or misses the ‘marriage time–frame77’ limit: a 40 year old educated

Bhotia woman working as a Govt. school teacher and living in Darkot is not able to find a suitable groom

(educated) for herself and has decided to remain single (probably against the wishes of her parents). On

the other hand, a 35 year old educated scheduled caste woman working as a teacher in government school

(living in Shankhdhura hamlet) had to marry an uneducated and unemployed groom within the village as

76None of the respondents claim to have more than on wife, except one Bhotia male (in Sharmoli) who married twice as the first wife was not able to reproduce any heir (child) for the family (Both the wives live together). There might be the cases where people got married again after divorce or death of a partner, but did not actually have two wives at the same time. **Respondents (male and female) do not feel comfortable when asked about the marriage related questions 77There is a view among villagers across all the castes that a woman should get married as early as possible (say up to 25 years) but no such criterion for men.

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it is difficult to find a partner outside the caste. Thus, when it comes to the marriage of a woman, besides

the pressure of age, there is hardly any consideration for her choice (esp. with regard to groom). Hence,

both the villages are orthodox where the sexuality of a woman is mainly controlled by the society.

The other important feature of married life in Darkot and Sharmoli is the ‘preference for male child’.

Though there are families who have two or more daughters and are living happily and satisfied, but

mostly prefer at least one male child among children. There are families among all castes who have three–

four children (e.g. two elder daughters and a younger son) mainly because of the need of a boy. Thus, the

‘desire for a male child’ (esp. with regard to the opinion that he (boy) on growing up will take care of old

parents, while a daughter on the other hand is always ‘outsider / stranger’ as she is supposed to get

married and take care of her in-laws house) forces many families to have three–four children (esp. in case

where first born children are females) until a male child is born. There are three-four families in my

survey (among Bhotias and SCs) who end up having four daughters, particularly in need of a male child.

In spite of its official prohibition, dowry is also a common phenomenon in the surveyed villages of Johar

either in the form of money or in kind. There is a social pressure on the bride’s family (among all castes)

to provide a particular amount/ kind of dowry to satisfy the groom’s family along with hosting a good

quantity and quality of feast. This leads to economic pressure esp. on the poor, as they have to take loan

or borrow money from others in order to maintain their ‘social status’. Thus, in this case, social status is

more important than the economic status as one tries to maintain the former by sacrificing the latter. This

is also one of the important reasons why women are considered a burden on their family and it is also a

cause of early marriage. As said by respondent who is working as a physical labourer: “As we have to give

something to the groom’s family, it’s better if a daughter get married at an early age so that we can repay

the money back as long as we are in a working position”. There are families in Darkot and Sharmoli who

have taken loan from bank (officially agricultural or home loan etc.) but used it for the wedding of their

girl child.

The concept of pre–marital sex and widow’s sexual desire is still considered to be a matter of indecency

and immorality. Sex before marriage (for young girls) is unacceptable and considered as a blot on the

image of a woman and her purity (of character), while widows are supposed to control their (sexual)

desire. Still, there are very few cases of ‘Tikua’ in the surveyed villages, i.e. a widow keeping (another)

man in her (ex–husband’s) house after the death of the husband, esp. for sexual desire (or for not being

alone or out of pure love). For the village society of Johar or in particular as per Hindu traditions, these

things are still considered to be taboo and of low morality. In the opinion of local scholars the cases of

Tikua exist mainly because of availability of modern pregnancy–control instruments like condom, birth

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control pills etc. which were not available earlier and as a result, a woman (widow) had to marry a man

to enter sexual relations in order to keep her ‘social purity’ intact78. Thus availability of modern

techniques has created a challenge to the social customs and beliefs of a particularly orthodox society.

Besides that, there are many other practices which are losing their significance with time and are early

indicators of a society that is moving towards liberalisation and modernisation. Purdah system, i.e.

covering of face with veil, has lost meaning and it is difficult to find a woman (esp. in our surveyed

villages) who still follows this ‘age old Rajput tradition’. Earlier there was a ‘conversation gap’ between a

bride and her husband’s family members, e.g. a bride could not have a conversation with the groom’s

elder brother, or, could not make a decision about family matters esp. related to economy, etc., but with

changing times, situation has become more palliative for the women. The reasons for this may be many

but the prime factor is the emergence of migration which results in more nuclear families or sometimes

there is a situation where a wife has to run a house on her own (in the absence of working migrated

husband) and take care of all family members (young and old). Thus, there is no doubt that participation

of women in family matters has increased.

In conclusion, there is a difference in the situation of women with regard to urban and rural spaces. In my

conversation with a few Bhotia families (esp. with women and girls) who are living in cities and towns,

their situation seems to be better in comparison to those women who are living in the villages. As

majority of Bhotia families living in cities are well educated, their women are more liberated in the field

of education and other prospects of life. In the general view of five Bhotia families (living outside the

village), “Every family in city / town provides equal opportunity for their girl child to study (till they

want). Many young girls are carrying on their professional education and graduation from various

colleges in different parts of the country while wives of a large number of Bhotia males are engaged in

various occupations such as teacher, doctor, banking, nurses etc. There is no age bar to marriage and

caste is not important for many families”. But, these are only views of five Bhotia families and could not

be inferred as the view of every Bhotia household living in the city / town. The situations in the two

researched villages are definitely opposite to the above statement. Though there are a few Bhotia families

(who are rich and are working in jobs, or are running home stays) in Darkot and Sharmoli whose female

children are studying in various cities and towns and who do not believe in the caste–based marriage, but

majority have the opposite view as mentioned earlier. Thus, one can say that modern views (with regard

78 As women is not bothered about the pregnancy (with use of modern tools), she can have coitus with any number of partners resulting in increase in cases of ‘Tikua’ Earlier, with the absence of modern birth–control tools, women on having sexual intercourse might get pregnant resulting in the birth of a child [from ‘not a legal’ father (without marriage)] which is not accepted by the society, resulting in the social boycott of mother and child.

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to women) are confined to a few or the elite class (those who are educated and in jobs or those very few

who come under the influence of sangathan and collectives and understand the meaning and benefits of

women empowerment) while the rest carry the same old traditional view about women. With regard to

three castes in Darkot and Sharmoli, scheduled castes women seem to be more marginalised and

oppressed [from patriarchy with regard to their own caste, and with caste–discrimination on the basis of

gender (by females of higher caste) as well].

Besides the above factors, the opinion of male inhabitants (previous generations) about the women is also

not very supportive. Though there are husbands (few in number) who have liberal views about the women

and their freedom, esp. among Bhotias and Thakur caste (and that too in Sharmoli), yet the majority have

conservative views. The scheduled caste males (esp. the last generation) did not support the modern

dressing sense (jeans / shirts) for women and in the opinion of a few it is considered as a ‘deterioration of

their culture’. The ‘appropriate behaviour of women’ (in terms of taking care of family, husband and

household work) is the main concern for the Thakurs of Darkot while many have a response of “acchi

honi chahiye” [she must be good (with regard to behaviour, attitude and looks)] when asked their views

about the women. Still, many young couples have modern views (at least in response to the ‘outsider’)

about their wives. There is an example in Sharmoli where a newly-married wife is allowed to study and

complete her education by her in-laws and husband; on the other hand, there are cases where a young

woman (in her mid 20s) has to take care of her drunkard husband and young children.

Among women in both the villages, there is another class of ‘forgotten females’ comprising old women

(usually in their 70s and 80s) who live alone in the village and are abandoned by their families and

children who reside in town and cities. Four women in Darkot and three women in Sharmoli (mainly

Bhotias) belong to this category and are supported either by social security pension (Rs. 800 per month)

or by the villagers / neighbours. Some of them are also engaged in knitting or agricultural activities (in a

small portion of the house) in order to utilize their spare time. The situation of a few of them is very

depressing as their eyes become teary when they talk about their life and situation within the village

community. This is one of the cons of migration where old ones are left alone in the village at the mercy

of God, while it also depicts the changing values (about family and in my opinion, morality) in Bhotia

society. But it also shows the community value in the villages where all the neighbours / members of a

village take care of a dependent by providing all sort of help and moral support.

In the end, one can say that the situation of women has improved in comparison to the past, but still needs

a lot of reformation which will only come with the development of education and change of orthodox

views of the village society. The poor status of women in both villages is a result of social (orthodox

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views) and economic (poor income) factors and meagre education level of the society. Though women are

gaining and improving their social and economic status with the help of neo-economy and sangathans,

yet it is confined to a few lucky women (and that too in Sharmoli or nearby villages) as it has to go a long

way to make an impact at a bigger level.

8.2 HANDICRAFTS – CARRYING ON THE TRADITION WITH LOW INCOME

Handicrafts are the main occupation of many Bhotia and shilpkar families and particularly women. But in

the opinion of villagers and as per our survey in the previous chapter related to economy, the amount

earned from selling the products is very less. Let us understand the work (in time) and price relation of

handicrafts in this section based on the survey of women (around 50 women) in Darkot and Sharmoli.

There are varieties of products made by the local people such as carpets, shawls, caps, stoles etc. Time

taken to complete one product, their sale price, and the income from products is shown in Table 8.2 after

surveying families in Darkot and Sharmoli who are engaged in handicraft activities. Here we deal at the

level of individual handicraft makers who make products in his/ her own house by using his/ her raw

materials (wool etc.) and manual handloom pit. They either sell them in sangathans (community markets)

or directly to customers. An individual (esp. female) usually spend 5–8 hours on handicrafts depending

upon his/ her age and physical strength and that concludes a day, i.e. 1 working day = 6 hours (on an

average). As mostly women are engaged in making handicrafts, and they also have to carry out other

household activities, e.g. cooking, cleaning etc., which do not generate any kind of income, they usually

spend 5–8 hours on handloom pits. The process of making handicrafts has to go through various

procedures such as Chhatai (removing rough and thick hair), Dhulai (washing), Carding (making thread

soft through hand–operated machine), Katai (making roll of single thread), Batai (making roll of double

thread), Bunai (making product on handloom) and finally (Dhulai) washing the final product. These

processes take different amounts of time to complete depending upon the product to be manufactured.

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Table 8.2: Work–Price–Earning relation with respect to various handicraft products in

Sharmoli and Darkot

Products Average Time

taken for

completion (1

product in

no.) in days

Average sale

price of the

product in

Rs. (To the

buyer)

Average Cost

of raw

materials (e.g.

wool etc.) to

the

manufacturer

in Rs.

Average

Earnings of the

manufacturer

(when the

product is sold)

in Rs.

Average

earning of

manufacturer

per day (on

the basis of

time spent on

manufacturing

product) in

Rs.

Carpet 70-90 6, 000 2, 000 4, 000 45

Shawl

(Pashmina)

30 10, 000 1, 500 8, 500 283

Shawl

(Angora)

30 4, 000 600 3, 400 113

Cap 5 350 150 200 40

Muffler 15 1, 000 250 750 50

Stoles 20 3, 000 500 2, 500 125

Aasan (kind

of small

carpet)

10 800 250 550 55

Pankhi (kind

of carpet)

30 1, 200 500 700 23

*Based on analysis after surveying villagers in the handicraft sector in Darkot and Sharmoli

Table 8.2 explains the average earnings of handicraft workers in various products. An individual can earn

between Rs. 20–Rs. 300 per day (excluding cost of raw material) depending upon the amount of time

spent on making products and their sale. A family whose main business is handicrafts (a few families in

Darkot) can complete the making of products (together) within half of the time described above and thus

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can increase the margin of profit and hence, their daily income. But as many families have single pit loom

and are operated by women, the average time for making different products may vary from 5 days to 3

months (see Table 8.2). An individual woman can only make one or two different kinds of products in a

month, e.g. either shawls or carpet or combination of items such as muffler and cap etc., and put them on

sale. The average income from handicrafts, esp. in case of women (in our survey in the previous chapter

related to economy) is less than Rs. 500 per month and depends upon the sale of the item. The sale is

particularly dependent on the tourist season, i.e. April-June, September–November. But that is not the

only factor. Besides season, quality, design, and beauty of products also matter. There are people whose

products are sold within days or weeks after manufacturing while there are others who have to wait for

months to make their first sale. But the important parameter that determines the sale is the ‘distance from

Munsiyari’. As tourists mainly reside in hotels and home stays in and around the main town of Munsiyari,

as a result of it many handicraft makers try to sell their products in shops and handicraft markets situated

near the core. Many communities-based handicraft selling centers such as Mati Sangathan, Saras Bazar

have come up in Sharmoli, where manufacturers from various villages and castes (who joined the

community) can put up their stuff for sale. In case of Darkot, there are Bhotia families, esp. two Pangti

families who sell their products directly to the customers while one of them also keeps their products in

Mati Sangathan in Darkot. As Darkot is famous for handicrafts, many tourists (who know this fact) visit

there. But again, here in case of Darkot, height plays an important role in the sale. As Darkot is located on

the slope of a hill and one has to climb down from the main gate to reach the village (and thus has to

climb up again), sellers who are situated nearby (the main gate i.e. top to bottom) make a good sale in

comparison to others. There is a complete absence of any collective or market centre in the Darkot as very

few inhabitants (4–5 Bhotia families) are actually engaged in the profession while others (esp. shilpkars)

make handicrafts on outsource basis either from a village or outside of it. As Sharmoli is visited by a

number of tourists because of presence of home stays and lodges, along with nearness to market, many

weavers (from various villages) prefer to place their products in the sangathan. Also, by associating with

the sangathan, women have a certain privilege of interacting and discussing the issues faced by them and

are sure of all possible help at the time of distress.

The amount of time spent for making one item on one handloom set is given in Table 8.2. A carpet can

take as many as 3 months while a cap can be made within 5 days. These are tentative time periods and

depend upon the capacity (age, strength etc.) of an individual. As per female respondents, they do not get

the right wage for their hard work. In the words of a few “lagat kam hay aur mehnat jyada”, i.e. though

the cost of raw materials (i.e. wool) is less, the amount of time spent for the manufacturing is huge (esp.

due to hand operated looms), and women do not get the right amount for their consumed time. There are

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cases where people sell their products at a very cheap rate as they are not able to make any sale for last

few months or the product is not able to sell itself in a market for a very long time. Women also make

handicraft products on ‘outsource’ basis. They make the products and take the manufacturing cost, i.e.

bunai, while the raw materials are provided by the outsourcer. The average costs of bunai for various

products are - Rs. 40 for a cap, Rs. 1,500 for a shawl, Rs. 150 for a muffler etc. and they have to complete

the task in the stipulated time period. This relieves the pressure of selling products in the market as they

are sure of getting the cost of making products, while selling of the product is responsibility of the

outsourcer. This is the reason many low–income families esp. scheduled castes are engaged in such

activities. Pashmina wool items seem to be profitable in comparison to others (as their sale price is high)

but Pashmina wool is available in very low quantity and that too to selected manufacturers. The

manufacturers (almost all surveyors) use angora wool which is easily and cheaply available (as some of

them rear rabbits) and use different (local) designs to enhance their outlook.

To conclude, the manufacturers input costs in handicrafts is in form of his/ her time and physical

endeavor on a pit loom, but the output price is very low in relation to his/ her efforts. The problem is not

with the cost of raw materials but with the time of manufacturing process as everything from spinning to

weaving is done manually. That is why a large number of inhabitants of Sharmoli and Darkot, esp.

women, did not claim to earn anything from the handicraft industry. They generally sell a few products

(e.g. between two–three pieces of shawls) per tourist season and thus their monthly income comes below

Rs. 500. But, still these small incomes help women to save money for their small needs as well as for the

future need of the family.

By means of handicrafts and home stays, women are able to associate themselves with the tradition as

well as modern culture of the society and more importantly with the sangathan. By means of handloom

they are able to keep their centuries old tradition alive while home stays have made them and their

families financially strong. It is true that the income from home stays is manifold in comparison to the

income from handicrafts, but there is no doubt that home stays and collectives have played a major role in

reviving the income of handloom weavers by providing a platform for selling products to the tourists as

well to the buyers in international market by establishing contacts with the foreigner entrepreneurs. In

present times, many weavers from Darkot and other villages are going for exhibitions organized in

different parts of the country by Khadi and Gramodyog department / KVIC (Khadi and village industry

commission) or community organizers for selling products. There is no doubt that handicrafts have lost

their dominance in comparison with earlier times (because of cheaply available ready-made factory

garments) but still many local affirmatives are doing their best in order to uplift the business of hand-

made products.

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Lastly, on analyzing the handicraft and handloom industry, one can say that home stay activity has

definitely augmented the income of associated inhabitants of Sharmoli, but in my opinion, it only helps

those families who are already well–off in terms of money or space (though the sangathan members deny

my claim) while excluding the less-well to do families. Home stays have created a new economic class in

Munsiyari which is earning far better in comparison to other private occupations. Thus, it might have

created economic disparity (and made the already well-off a little better) but it really helps women of all

castes (even those who come for help and are not members of the sangathan) to fight for their equality

and rights and plays an important role in conservation of nature.

Photos 8.1: Various photos of home stays

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Photos 8.2: Photos of women collective and meeting (Mati sangathan)

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Photos 8.3: Handicrafts related photos (in Darkot)

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Photos 8.4: News clippings about handicrafts (Year 2016-17/ 18) (showing positive and negative

views about the handicraft industry of Darkot and Munsiyari)

Headline depicting: Handicraft is still practiced (and is not losing its identity) and is main source of

income of people in Darkot

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Headline depicting: Darkot handicrafts are being sold and are in great demand in the town of

Guwahati (Assam) in an exhibition organised by Ministry of Tribal Affairs

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Headline depicting: The handicrafts work of Darkot / Munsiyari is losing its significance and

demand with regard to synthetic clothes from China

8.3 OUT-MIGRATION IN DARKOT AND SHARMOLI

Migration has been a important component of the lifestyle of Johar, esp. Bhotias, from the time of the

trade. Earlier, Bhotias used to practice transhumance all around the year from plains of India to Tibet and

back along the well-defined routes with the purpose of trade while later on, with stoppage of trade and

coming of reservation, they migrate permanently to various towns and cities for jobs. We have already

provided a brief idea about the in-migration in Darkot and Sharmoli in the chapter related to land (i.e.

how many inhabitants have bought land in recent times), and in this chapter, let us understand the present

scenario of out–migration among inhabitants of Darkot and Sharmoli. Only those families are considered

in the survey who are currently living in either of the villages, i.e. Darkot and Sharmoli, but one or

more members of the family are migrated (permanently or temporarily) to other places for various

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reasons79. Thus, our data on migration only includes current migrants (may be in last 5-10 years and a

few of those who are living outside for many decades but often come to the village and participate in

social and cultural activities) while many of those migrants who had completely shifted elsewhere many

years ago (like there are few houses in Darkot which are empty) are left out. They might be forgotten by

the family members or the villagers as they have been living in other parts of the country for many

decades and are not active members of village social and cultural affairs. We will consider two types of

migration in the villages of Munsiyari, one is permanent migration where inhabitants move to other cities

/ towns and visit their home village once in one-two years, while the other one is seasonal migration

where family members migrate to upper villages of Johar for the small time period of three–six months.

Those who are in jobs (in cities / towns) usually visit the place once in two–three years while students

(studying in towns / cities) visit their home village once or twice a year. In this chapter, we have only

considered those female migrants who are mentioned by their respondent family members (or, neighbors)

in the village while in reality there are large numbers of women migrants, as the wives have to migrate

when their husbands migrate to different cities / towns for jobs (except in case of Army, where families

are not allowed to stay). They are not considered as ‘migrants’ by the villagers as in India, it is a tradition

(esp. in villages and small towns) that the bride goes and lives with her husband after the marriage.

Case of Darkot –

In case of Darkot, 60 people are out-migrants among 62 families surveyed across various castes. Out of

60 migrants, 53 are Bhotias while the rest seven are from Thakurs (3) and scheduled castes (4) families.

Men form the majority of migrants which include 40 male Bhotias, three male scheduled castes and two

male Thakurs, i.e. 45 inhabitants are male (75%) out of 60 migrants. Thus, clearly Bhotia male form the

substantial group among all migrants in the village of Darkot. The summary of migrants is provided in

Table 8.3.

79 Note: The number, age, qualifications etc. of out–migrants have been provided by the respondents, who are their

family members, in the village. There are cases where a few parameters of the migrants (e.g. age, qualification level

etc.) are not known to respondents and thus, only known parameters of the out-migrants are included in the different

types of analysis related to age, education etc..

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Table 8.3: Number of out-migrants among various castes with regard to gender from Darkot.

CASTE GENDER

MALE FEMALE OTHER

BHOTIAS 40 13 -

SC 3 1 -

THAKURS 2 1 -


Figure 8.7 presents the age group of various out-migrants (among families) in Darkot. It is clear from the

figure that more than 50% of the migrants (male and female) are in the age group of 20–30 years while

only four migrants are above 40 years of age. Thus, more than 90% of the migrants are in the age

category of 0–40 years and fall under the group of ‘young age migrants’. All those who are below 20

years of age irrespective of the gender have gone for some kind of higher education, whereas those who

are above 20 years are either studying, doing a job or are migrating to Johar. Six Bhotia males and four

Bhotia females, one Thakur male and one Thakur female above 20 years are studying in various graduate

schools either in towns and cities within the state or in other states. Only 12 Bhotias are migrating to

Johar (alpine upper villages) for seasonal migration (or were in Johar at the time of survey) of which 10

are male having age between 22 years–50 years while only two females of age 21 years and 60 years

respectively are in Johar. Four Bhotia males in the age group of 20–30 years are unemployed or are

searching for jobs in the other cities/ towns.

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Figure 8.7: Age group of migrants among various caste and gender from Darkot


Overall, around 75% of the migrants (male and female) are either in a job or are studying outside the

village. Job category is dominated by males as 22 migrants out of 26 (85%) who work in some kind of

jobs are male, which is further dominated by Bhotia males who are 18 in number (out of 22). With regard

to education, 11 male and seven female migrants form part of a group in which one male and one female

are from Thakur caste while the rest are from Bhotias. Thus, there is no SC man or woman who is

studying outside the village and are very few in numbers in various jobs as well. This might show that the

poorest of the poor (scheduled castes) did not migrate as they may not have contacts in other towns and

cities like Bhotias which can initiate chain migration. Those who are in a job, work in various occupations

such as the army, teacher, hospital, and engineer etc. and even as factory labor in a few cases. A few

among those who are in the jobs outside the village esp. in the army or are posted in nearby towns send

money to their family ranging up to Rs. 20, 000 per month.

With regard to qualification of out-migrants who are in a job, everyone has a minimum educational level

of higher secondary (class plus two). Almost 50% of the working migrant males (i.e. 9 out of 20 male

migrants; based on answers provided by the families with regard to migrant’s qualifications) are graduates

or above, while almost similar percentage are high school pass. Similar is the situation with women where

all have studied minimum till class ‘ten plus two’ while two among them hold a bachelor’s degree. Thus,

0

5

10

15

20

Bhotia male

SC male Thakur male

Bhotia Female

SC female Thakur female

No

. o

f m

igra

nts

Caste/ Gender

Age group of migrants among various castes (gender based) from

Darkot

<20

20 - 30

30-40

>40

319

it is clear that all the migrants irrespective of caste and gender have minimum required qualification for

job, i.e. class 12, and many of them are graduates and above. Those who have migrated to Johar also have

school level qualification, i.e. class X and class XII, and two male migrants have bachelor’s degree. This

shows why the less educated (with education below class X level) who are staying in the villages of Johar

(and not able to find good jobs in towns / cities) are present in large percentage in the villages while

anyone who achieves a minimum level of education (esp. among Bhotias) tries to migrate to other places

for finding opportunities.

Finally, Figure 8.8 presents the aggregate percentage of out-migrants who migrate to different kinds of

towns and cities from Darkot. 26% of the migrants (male and female) migrate to other villages within the

state that include people going to Johar as well as other government servants who work in nearby villages.

Similar is the percentage of migrants who are migrating outside the state. All those who are migrating

either outside the state or within to other villages are all Bhotias (except one Thakur male who is in

Bangalore city). Those who are migrating to other towns and cities within Uttarakhand form the majority,

i.e. 48%. It includes 22 Bhotia migrants, four shilpkars and two Thakur migrants.

90% of the migrants, who have migrated because of education purposes, live in other towns and cities

within the state e.g. in Pitthoragarh, Almora, Haldwani etc. Similarly, more than 60% of the migrants who

are in job live outside the state.

Figure 8.8: Percentage of out-migrants to various villages/ towns/ cities from Darkot


26%

48%

26%

Percentage of migrants to various villages/ towns/ cities from Darkot

Migrate to other village within state

Migrate to other town/ city within state

Migrate to other state

320

Case of Sharmoli-

Out of 111 families surveyed, there are about 95 out-migrants (male and female) who have migrated to

various villages, towns, and cities from Sharmoli, while their family members are living in the village.

Out of 95 migrants, 72 are male (76%) while the rest are females. Among 72 male migrants, 53 are

Bhotias (74%) and 15 are Thakurs, while shilpkars and Brahmins are in minute numbers. Similarly, with

regard to women migrants, 70% are Bhotias while the rest are from other castes. The summarization of

the number of migrants among various castes, gender-wise, is provided in Table 8.4.

.

Table 8.4: Number of out-migrants among various castes with regard to gender from Sharmoli.

CASTE GENDER

MALE FEMALE OTHER

BHOTIAS 53 16 -

SC 3 1 -

THAKURS 15 4 -

BRAHMIN 1 2 -

*Based on survey of 111 families of Sharmoli (69Bhotias, 8 SC, 30 Thakurs, 4 Brahmin)

Figure 8.9 provides the age–group analysis of migrants of Sharmoli. 85% of the migrants (male and

female) are in age–group of 0-40 years while 66% are in the 20–40 years age group. On the basis of

gender, 70% of all the males are in the age group of 20–40 years while 50% of the females are in the

same age group. Thus, like Darkot, Sharmoli also has the maximum percentage of ‘young age migrants’.

All the male and female out-migrants who are below 20 years of age are engaged in studies in various

educational institutions. This category mainly includes students at school level or for bachelor’s degree.

They form 15% of the total migrant population. Besides that there are other 13 migrants who are in the

age group of 20–30 years and are engaged in various graduate courses. Thus, the total percentage of

migrants who are students is around 30% in which female students are one–fourth of the male. 75% of the

students are from Bhotia caste while the rests are from Thakurs and shilpkars.

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Figure 8.9: Age group of migrants among various caste and gender fromSharmoli


45% of the migrants are engaged in various types of jobs. Among working migrants, 65% are Bhotias

while 25% are Thakurs. More than 90% of the migrants who are in the job are males while females make

a very low contribution. Among working male migrants, Bhotias contribution is around 70% while 26%

are Thakur males. Thus, shilpkar males hardly play any role with regard to the jobs outside the village.

With regard to age group, 44% of the working migrant males (of all castes) are in the category of 20–30

years, while 31% are in the 30–40 years category. Thus, more than 70% of the working male migrants are

below 40 years of age. Only a few females (i.e. 3) are engaged in jobs and they are in the age group of 20-

40 years. Though the number of migrant females (in the form of wife, daughter–in–law) is more but the

surveyed families in the village are not able to respond to the question of their age, education, job etc.

15% of the migrants are going to or are in Johar. These include eight Bhotias, four Thakurs, and three

Brahmin migrants. There is no SC migrant to Johar from Sharmoli. Among Bhotia migrants, six are male

while two are females. The age group of male Bhotias going for summer migration is between 28–60

years old, in which majority (i.e. 5 out of 6 males) are above the age of 30 years. With regard to Bhotia

women, both are in the early 50s age group. Two males and two females from Thakur caste go to Johar

but respondents in the family (in the village Sharmoli) have no idea about their age (may be in their mid

40s). In case of Brahmins, a 40 year old male along with his wife (36 years) and daughter (18 years) goes

0

5

10

15

20

25

30N

o.

of

Mig

ran

ts

Caste/ Gender

Age group of migrants among various castes (gender based) from

Sharmoli

<20

20 - 30

30-40

>40

322

till the village of Tola (Johar). Remaining migrants are either unemployed or have gone recently to other

towns and cities in search of jobs.

With regard to qualifications, all those who are in jobs have minimum educational level up to class X.

60% of the working migrated male Bhotias are graduates or above, while more than 35% have completed

class plus two. Similarly, 50% of the male migrant working Thakurs are graduates and the only shilpkar

working male also has a bachelor’s degree. Thus, clearly, the educational level of the migrant male

workers is quite high in comparison to the local working class within the village. With regard to working

migrant women, they have a minimum of bachelor’s degree. Those who are going to Johar have

qualification below school level, i.e. below matriculation, while only one young Brahmin female has

education till higher secondary school. Thus, those who are migrating within villages have lower

educational qualification in comparison to those who are going to towns and cities for jobs.

As per figure 8.10, more than 50% of the migrants from Sharmoli go to other towns and cities within the

state of Uttarakhand while 31% migrate outside the state. Only 16% migrate to other villages within the

state, particularly to Johar as summer migrants who include Bhotias, Thakurs, and Brahmins. All those

people who have migrated for better education, with the exception of two individuals, migrate within

Uttarakhand to various places like Pitthoragarh, Almora etc.

68% of the Bhotias migrate to other states for jobs while the remaining 32% have migrated within the

state. Similar is the situation with Thakurs where 64% have migrated to other states for jobs while

scheduled castes migrate within the state for various occupations. Overall, around 64% migrants migrate

to other states for various kinds of the jobs from the army to being a white-collar worker.

Figure 8.10: Percentage of migrants migrated to various villages/ towns/ cities from Sharmoli


16%

53%

31%

Percentage of migrants migrated to various vilages/ towns/ cities

from Sharmoli

Migrate to other village within state

Migrate to other town/ city within state

Migrate to other state

323

Thus to conclude, there are many similarities with regard to out–migrants in both the villages which are

mentioned below –

1. Among all the out-migrants, 75% are males in both the villages and Bhotia males form the

majority (> 75%) within the male category.

2. More than 85% of the migrants (male and female) in both the villages are in category of 0-40

years age group.

3. 75% of the migrants (male and female) in both the villages are either in a job or are studying in

various villages, towns or cities within or outside the state.

4. More than 85% of the migrants who are pursuing jobs are males.

5. More than 50% of the migrants who are pursuing jobs are graduates or above in qualification.

6. Majority of the migrants (> 50%) move within various towns and cities of Uttarakhand i.e. within

the state.

7. More than 90% of the migrants who are studying in various courses (or are in education) have

migrated within the state while more than 60% of the migrant workers are outside the state [this

also shows the lack of working opportunities (for educated class) in the state of Uttarakhand].

Thus, with regard to out–migration, males hold the dominance esp. Bhotias who are travelling far to

pursue their education or for various types of occupations. As many of them who are in jobs are

graduates, it clearly shows the inability of the villages to absorb them in the better-suited occupations (as

per qualifications). This also proves the point that those who are educated or have studied in college, do

not remain in Johar and move out in search of better jobs. Scheduled castes, on the other hand, are the

category that has least migrated inhabitants which apparently throws light on their poor economic and

social status. Thus, one can say that migration from both the villages is a kind of ‘skilled migration’ as

there are very few inhabitants (one–two in survey) who are working in manual labor-oriented jobs in

cities / towns. Those who are low–skilled usually stay in the villages and carry out different kinds of work

as mentioned in the previous chapter on economy. In our case, the out-migration in the villages of Darkot

and Sharmoli is mainly confined to ‘rural to urban migration’ as large numbers of migrants are educated

and skilled, unlike the other parts of India where ‘rural to rural’ migration dominates the scenario because

of presence of rampant poverty and illiteracy.

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CHAPTER 9

CONCLUSION

In this last chapter of the thesis, we will briefly synopsize the important points of our analysis of physical

space, economy, society and culture of the villages of Darkot and Sharmoli and determine the truth of our

hypothesis.

I have started my thesis by providing the introduction about the core Munsiyari. I have shown Munsiyari

more as a touristic place besides having elements of administrative and market functions. In my opinion,

the reason for this is the presence of a large number of hotels, lodges and home stays that occupy the

bigger part of the physical space of Munsiyari. The tourism department of Uttarakhand also interprets

Munsiyari as akin to Kashmir of India which is mentioned in their touristic information pamphlet (Photo

9.1). As Kashmir in India is analogous to ‘heaven on earth’ and is known as ‘Switzerland of India’, one

can understand the beauty and importance of Munsiyari in the tourism sector of Uttarakhand.

Photo 9.1: Description of Munsiyari in the pamphlet of Tourism department of Uttarakhand

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The tourism department in its information has tried to create an image of Munsiyari as an ‘adventurous

place’ for the tourists where trekkers, skiers, para-gliders, glacier enthusiasts, nature lovers can find their

true love for the unexpected undertaking. Besides it, the department also provides very brief information

about various mountain ranges, passes, rivers, trees, bugyals etc. along with the mention of Tibetan trade,

Shaukas (Bhotia community) and Johar valley. Thus, my interpretation of Munsiyari as a touristic core is

not wrong. But, as mentioned in Chapter 2, the tourism element of the core is peculiar in the lack of

availability of the transport element. Besides it, there are limited infrastructure for the trekkers and

glaciers enthusiasts, and there is very little help and services provided by the army with regard to tourists.

The core provides duality as it is marked as a touristic core (with many hotels and home stays) but at the

same time is identified by the constraint of transport and travel element (with regard to public transport)

and infrastructure. Still the presence of market, hospitals, various government departments, schools etc.

that provide the low-order/rank services for the whole Tehsil and block, make Munsiyari exhibit core-like

characteristics (in the context of rural peripheral areas).

The third chapter of the thesis provides information about the inhabitants of the villages and their caste.

The question here arises about the identity of the inhabitants in the village. Thakurs are the high-caste

Kshatriya Hindus while Bhotias established their identity as high-caste Rajputs in both the villages by

completely discarding the theory of any close proximity with the Tibetans or Buddhism. As both high-

caste inhabitants, i.e. Bhotias and Thakurs, belong to warrior caste (Kshatriya), both try to establish their

superiority over the others. The caste as an identity plays a very important role in the village. Besides the

structure of houses, there are other visible objects which can depict the status of inhabitants, such as one

can find the caste of a person written on the windows of cars or on bikes (see Photos 9.1 A and B).

Bhotias and Thakurs are very conscious about their caste while the shilpkars are less vocal about their

identity. Bhotias take pride in their caste and their identity as Shaukas along with their glorious past of the

trade. They try to avoid the identity of ‘tribes’ in their social or village life and proudly mark themselves

as Rajputs or Kshatriya warriors. This Kshatriya identity helps them to make their status equivalent to

Thakur caste and their effort to remain in the top of caste hierarchy as well as to firm their Hindu identity.

Ironically, when it comes to education and jobs, their tribal identity becomes supreme (because of

reservation) and thus their economic status (i.e. high-paid jobs) is generally acquired by low social status

(i.e. scheduled tribes). Here, Bhotias do not feel ashamed of their tribal status but actually provide the

example of their struggle of living in the border areas and their fight for tribal status (after stoppage of

trade) for the current achievements in jobs and education. Thus, Bhotias provide duality and dilemma in

their identity when it comes to social and economic life which establishes their dominance in different

ways. Thakurs, on the other hand, also establish their identity as Rajputs but try to forget their past (as

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Kashtkars) and do not associate themselves with the agriculture or cultivator class (mainly because of

lack of dominance of agriculture in both the villages) though they take pride as landholders. Scheduled

castes do not speak much about their identity and try to avoid caste-based conversations.

An interesting difference between the identity of Thakurs and Bhotias can be seen in Photos 9.2 A and B.

The car in Photo 9.1A belongs to Thakur caste as it is clearly engraved on the glass ‘Thakur Rajpoot’ to

distinguish themselves from the ‘Bhotia Rajputs’. Thus, the imprints of identity (of high-castes) can be

found in a number of tangible ways from houses to cars etc. But we cannot find any tangible objects

(house, cars or any other thing) where we may observe the positive impression of the identities associated

with the lower castes, though it is present everywhere in negative ways (e.g. the structure of the temple

and shanty shops in Darkot). Sometime, the cars (or any other object) also provide the identity of the class

of a person along with the caste as seen in Photo 9.2 C where information about the occupation of the

owner (related to tourism) is displayed on the glass of a car. On the other hand, a car can also be subject

to religiosity by inscribing the name of god (see Photo 9.2D, ‘Jai Alak Nath’, written in Hindi on the front

glass of the jeep) on the car which provides information about the caste of people (e.g. name of a god

belonging to a Bhotia caste). Thus, the imprints of high-caste people can be viewed in a number of ways

in the tangible/non-tangible, stationary/moving objects of the physical space.

Photos 9.2 A, B, C and D: The car and the bike showing the identity of the owner by means of

printed name/ words on the glass of the car and bike

9.2A

327

9.2B

9.2 C

328

After analysing the physical space of Darkot and Sharmoli along with studying the impact of culture on it

in the chapters 4 and 5, we can deduce that the landscape of Sharmoli is more secular, developed and

modern in comparison to that of Darkot. The secular and modern character (at least in the public domain)

of Sharmoli is imparted by the presence of a mixed society (inhabitants of all castes and clans live there),

large percentage of modern-design houses, home stays and hotels, sangathans and handicraft marts, and

the influence of tourists which is almost absent in the case of Darkot. Though diffusion of innovation has

percolated in both the villages in terms of communication (mobile phones), electricity and road, still

Sharmoli provides the more modern view than Darkot because of its nearness to other facilities such as

schools, colleges, market, etc. along with existence of basic modern conveniences and appliances such as

personal vehicles, fridge, washing machines, and computers which can only be found in Sharmoli while

television is present in both the villages.

The landscape of Darkot is predominantly constructed by the locals (and that too by the high-caste) who

got settled there in the last 100 odd years, and the imprint of their beliefs, values and culture traits can be

easily found in it. The presence of a large number of old-design houses and the role of the temple in

village life of Darkot is an example of it. On the other hand, Sharmoli’s landscape is a result of the

9.2 D

329

influence of the locals (who settled there in the last 40-50 years) and the tourists (whose presence has

increased in the last 20 odd years) along with the impact of a few outsiders who play an important role in

moulding the landscape. Though the religious and cultural beliefs of the inhabitants are similar (in their

private life), yet the inhabitants of Sharmoli (esp. those related to home stays and sangathans) try their

best to show the less caste-based characteristics of their society in public life. Darkot, on the other hand,

tries to give a glimpse of mutual harmony by means of the temple, but that myth can be easily busted

once one enters and looks at the constructed landscape and carries out conversation with the inhabitants.

My woman helper Ms. Geeta (in Darkot) did not go inside the houses of scheduled caste villagers or drink

tea / water in their household as she has a fear that if somebody came to know about that, she might bring

embarrassment to her family (Bhotias). Also, many SC families did not offer any drink to me as well as to

her in the fear that I or she might get offended or might not like to have food / drink from the low caste as

well as poor class of the village.

The perception of people about their landscape is also based on their experiences of life, their status in

society, their struggle and legacy, economy, religion, etc. Their views about the landscape may be

different when they talk about it to a local or to a third person (outside the village). In my opinion, the

knowledge of the landscape of many of the respondents is generally based on the comparison with regard

to some distant (imaginary) landscapes, e.g. a few respondents (esp. from high castes) in the village were

always interested in my caste and the place of my belonging, whether to Himachal (which establishes my

identity as one of the Mountain people and a lifestyle similar to them) or to France (which establishes my

identity as a researcher as well as an outsider, and a lifestyle alien / opposite to them). They try to frame

answers about their view of the landscape by comparing it to the landscape of the places which are

associated with me. The response of a Bhotia male on a question about the landscape is: “waisa hi hai

jaisa aapka Himachal hai, kuch alag nahin hai” (It is the same as Himachal, there is nothing different

here). Another person’s view (belonging to Thakur caste) is: “Paris to bahut sundar hai, wahan sab

facility hai, yahan khubsurti to hai par aur kuchh nahin” (Paris is beautiful and comprised of all facilities.

Here (in Munsiyari) there is a natural beauty but no facilities). People of different castes see landscape as

per their perception based on positive or negative connotation. Bhotias in Darkot see landscape based on

the elements of religion (temple), trade legacy and fake equality; home stay owners see landscape based

on beauty (Panchachuli Mountains), tourists and economy (earnings); Thakurs in Darkot see landscape as

an uncultivable land, the scheduled castes see it as a site of low income while admiring the natural beauty.

Also, the behaviour and practices of the inhabitants change as per the part of the landscape. They behave

differently as per their location in public spaces (e.g. temple, community ground, dhara, sangathans etc.)

and private spaces (e.g. houses) based on the relation of caste-class, rituals of purity-pollution, gender etc.

330

The landscape of Sharmoli and Darkot is also sculptured by the presence of other forces such as the BRO

which is constructing motor-able road and carrying out ruination of the houses that leads to change in the

physical landscape, social ties (many people lose their spaces and their close relation with the neighbours

after settling at a different location within the village) along with the income (one home stays family lost

their house and home stay; one family running grocery shop in Sharmoli lost its source of income).

Chapters 6 and 7 provide information about the economy as well as changing roles of agriculture, animal

husbandry and land use in both the villages. The low income and the large dependency on manual labour

work are the chief characteristics of both the villages. The labour work has come up as an option of quick

and daily income in the low-opportunity landscape of Munsiyari marked by low educational

qualifications (of workers) and no-skilled force. Many people have migrated to Sharmoli and nearby

villages such as Naya-Basti, Jainti etc. (from other villages of Johar) mainly because of labour work

whose instant income can cater to the needs of education, food and medical assistance to the family. The

increasing importance of labour work in the economic landscape of Munsiyari can be seen in Photo 9.3

(clipping of newspaper published on March 20, 2018). It is mentioned in the news that inhabitants of the

the border area of Pitthoragarh district (such as Munsiyari) are getting attracted towards the BRO (road

widening project) which has increased the monthly salary to Rs. 10,800 (from the earlier Rs. 7,100) for

the work of a manual labourer. The increased salary has led to increase in the number of local people

engaging in manual work which was earlier dominated by the workers belonging to the state of Bihar and

Nepal. The bottom part of the clipping shows that the women are also attracted towards the manual labour

work because of increased emoluments.

331

Photo 9.3: Newspaper clipping

The lack of agriculture and decreasing role of animal husbandry in the village life of Darkot and Sharmoli

has automatically led the working force to move from the class of agricultural cultivator / labourer to the

332

contractual one. Both villages seem to be sharing the same economic status in overall individual / family

income and educational qualifications, but the difference lies in the types of opportunity of occupations

available in Darkot and Sharmoli. Sharmoli, because of its nearness to the core, accommodates tourism as

the biggest source of income (esp. to those who can afford investment) in terms of home stays, hotels,

handicrafts marts, tourist guides etc. which are absent in Darkot. The out-migration of large number of

young people from both the villages to pursue jobs and education show the weak state of affairs in the

mountainous border areas with regard to skilled work, college and professional education, and other basic

facilities. The changing use of land, i.e. inhabitants are diverting land to home stays and other tourism-

based activities, shows the changing value of land esp. near the core areas. The inhabitants of both the

villages have low income but they are not poor as per my survey, i.e. many are earning above $1.90 (Rs.

120) per day, though there are a few families who are below poverty line (around 10% in my survey in

both the villages) and in official terms (as per data maintained by Block office) there are about 80

inhabitants in Sharmoli and around 30 in Darkot (of all castes but ST are in large number) who are below

poverty line.

When asked about the level of happiness in the place of living, almost 85% of the inhabitants (of all

castes) are happy with their present life style but also complain about low income and few opportunities

along with lack of facilities of education and medical treatment. But in the views of the locals “yahan par

shanti hai, aaram hai, khoobsurati hai, bas yahi kafi hai” [Here (in Munsiyari) the life is peaceful and

relaxed (in comparison to cities) surrounded with natural beauty, and it is enough]. Thus, low income of

the inhabitants is compensated by the serene, smooth and placid life of the village.

In my thesis, all my interpretation, analysis and discussion revolve around the caste, which is still the

main determinant of the life of an individual in the villages as well as towns of India. Though some

scholars claim of decreasing caste-consciousness in the villages, still majority of the Indian authors in the

village context (esp. Marxist scholars, sociologists) define caste as an important premise of social,

economic and political discussion in India. The Constitution of India also acknowledges caste-based

oppression and social inequality in India, and therefore the policy of reservation and other affirmative acts

are prescribed in order to palliate the situation of the oppressed. Though in our case, economy is less

driven by the caste as people (of all castes) are engaged in same kinds of occupations (e.g. inhabitants of

all castes are engaged in the occupation of labour work) to fulfil their basic needs of food, shelter and

clothing, yet it is more apparent in the social and political sphere. Let me give a few examples from my

own experience and discussion with the people of Darkot and Sharmoli about the caste relations in

Munsiyari –

333

In our analysis, the situation of scheduled castes seems to be marginalised of all the castes in terms of

space, economy and social relations, while women are marginalised with regard to gender. The SCs have

very small amount of land, the majority work as labourers and do other menial jobs, have low income,

and are facing caste-based discrimination in the society, while women are living under the patriarchy and

have less freedom in comparison to their male counterparts. The village as such is never a homogenous

and harmonious unit, and factions are integral part of the rural life. In our research villages, the faction is

more visible (in public domain) within the high castes while it is obscure in case of low and high caste

communities (opposite to the Indian scenario in general, where “atrocities” over Dalits and lower caste

are clearly visible in the society). Though discrimination with shilpkars is a cultural and social

phenomenon within villages, yet cases of atrocities are not heard of in Darkot and Sharmoli. The presence

of so-called cordial relations between high and low castes may also point towards acceptance of the

dominance by the lower caste and their inability to voice against the (bias of) high-caste because of their

low numbers and low status (economically and socially) in the society. Also, as mentioned earlier, the

illusion of equality provided by the high-caste people (e.g. by means of temple) may further enhance the

ignorance of the low-caste people.

Thakurs and Bhotias are two main faction groups (caste-based) in the village of Darkot (as well as in

other villages of Munsiyari) as Bhotias envy Thakurs because of their loss of land to them, while Thakurs

envy Bhotias because of the facility of reservation available to them. This rivalry of Bhotias and Thakurs

is common across Munsiyari and beyond it. The rivalry is best viewed in terms of politics within the

village or even up to the legislative assembly seat of Dharchula (Munsiyari comes under Dharchula

legislative assembly). In modern times, both communities try to exert pressure on each other by showing

their dominance in the form of power obtained by various means and one of them is politics. Bhotias

show their economic dominance and social dominance while Thakurs try to put political pressure over the

others esp. in legislative assembly elections of Dharchula seat, where Thakurs are in majority while

Bhotias occupy the back seat. In the 2002-07 election of the state assembly when the seat of Dharchula

(Munsiyari) was reserved for the scheduled tribe category and prospects of the Bhotia candidate seemed

to be bright, Thakurs played an important role in keeping the Bhotias out of power by supporting an ST

candidate from Van-Raji community (a very small ST community in Johar and other valleys) who stood

against the Bhotia candidate and won the election because of support by Thakurs. In the opinion of one

Bhotia inhabitant of Darkot ‘Caste is more significant than development, as Thakurs in order to maintain

their status-quo in politics chose an illiterate candidate over Bhotias who did nothing for 5 years and

displaced an educated Bhotia candidate who had vision for the constituency”. Thakurs in 2012 retained

their power when the seat was reserved for general category candidates and hence continue their

334

dominance in the political space. They also tried to put political pressure to get reservation under ‘other

backward communities’ by virtue of their settlement at the border and non-developed area but failed to

get recognition from the central government. Thus, Thakurs have done their best to compete with Bhotias

esp. in political terms to counter the effect of their economic and cultural influence in Bhotia-dominated

villages. Other communities, such as Scheduled Castes seem to be closer to Bhotias (because of their

close relationship at the time of trade) than to Thakurs, but they are also small in number and lack any

political power.

Bhotias try to compensate the political dominance of Thakurs and others in the Bhotia dominated villages

such as Darkot and Sharmoli. The political power has become an important element of dominance in the

villages by means of election of gram panchayat (village council) and sarpanch (village head), though

75% of the respondents in Darkot claim to be neutral, i.e. did not have any (ideological / party-based /

caste-based) preference in politics. The election of gram panchayat as well as the post of Pradhan has

undergone a significant change from the past. In the words of a Bhotia respondent in Darkot, ‘Earlier

there was no election and inhabitants used to choose their candidate by mutual understanding. The eldest

and intelligent person of the village was chosen as the head while the works of all castes were performed

on priority basis’. In present times, there is a competition among candidates even in a small village like

Darkot where two women candidates stood in election within a small community of Thakurs (having

around 10 families and those too are heirs of three-four main families). Thus, even intra-caste relations

are not very harmonious when it comes to acquiring power and thus the role of Bhotias and other castes

becomes important in choosing the candidate (when your own caste vote is divided). That is why politics

at the village level is different, and a dominant caste, i.e. Bhotias in terms of number, economy and social

behaviour maintain their monopoly in the village of Darkot which is opposite to the situation at the

legislative assembly constituency level. The post of gram Pradhan has become a lucrative one in recent

times, mainly because of the availability of large funds (for developmental work) and the power of

Pradhan (though village has a saying in the expenditure of the budget) to utilise it as per his/her wisdom.

The caste solidarity is best seen among Bhotias not only within the village but also outside of it as

everybody tried their best to participate in good and bad times of the community. Bhotias form many

organizations in various towns and cities of Uttarakhand as well as in Delhi and Mumbai. They organize

annual festivals in places like Haldwani etc. which feature exhibitions, cultural dance and feasts, debate

and discussions etc. Munsiyari also has an annual cultural festival organised by Bhotias in the month of

May/June which is marked by sports meet, local dance and songs, exhibitions etc. and attended by many

Bhotias who come from various towns and cities to meet their families and enjoy the festival. Bhotias by

forming a strong group carry out many assistance and relief works (esp. those who live in towns and cities

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and are earning handsomely) by means of providing education to the poor, helping them in need of

financial distress etc., e.g. there is a Bhotia person who was accused of murder in Haldwani but did not

have financial power to fight and defend the criminal case; Bhotia community tried its best to help the

accused by collecting money and providing other necessary support to him and his family. They also

claim to help other people (outside the caste) as well. In the opinion of a few Bhotia inhabitants, the

coaching classes are run by Bhotia organization in Munsiyari (for competitive examinations) and poor

students of every caste are provided free tuition.

In the end, we can say that the landscape of both the villages, i.e. Darkot and Sharmoli, is influenced by

various cultural factors such as religion, caste, income (economy), values and beliefs etc. and thus

changing villages in terms of development and modernity. There is a technological change in both the

villages with the advent of roads, communication and other facilities; there is an economic change in the

villages with respect to occupations, income etc; and there is a cultural change in the villages brought

about by the new-economies (home stays), education facilities, migration etc. There is a view that decline

in cultural diversity is a modern trend, but the way people of Darkot are trying to keep their age old

profession of handicrafts (by passing it to the new generation) along with construction of Darkot temple,

and people of Sharmoli present their culture (of food and hospitality along with a glimpse of village life,

forests etc.) to the outsiders in form of home stays, shows their endeavour to preserve their culture and

identity, but decrease in the number of old-design houses and the move towards new-design construction,

losing handicrafts and moving towards labour-oriented occupations esp. in the villages near to the core,

increase in nuclear families (because of migration), etc. show the movement of society towards imitating

city culture and trying to assimilate in it. As culture can unite and divide humanity, we can find the

duality in many cases such as religion (Darkot temple unites and divides people at a same time), home

stay economy (unites the people of sangathan but increases inequality with respect to those who are poor

and have less space). Thus, changing culture may have both positive and negative impact on the

landscape and people, depending upon which side one is standing.

It is believed that modernization depends upon the adaptability of society concerned. In my survey in both

the villages, almost 98% of the respondent families are willing to adopt modern ideas, esp. related to

technology and development such as use of mobile, computer, television etc. They are happy with the

construction and broadening of roads, electrification of villages, water and sanitation supply etc. as it is

seen beneficial and useful for the villagers. But it is not easy to adopt modern ideas with regard to their

age old beliefs and norms of the society, as even a (western) dress of women can trigger criticism among

a few males in both the villages. The foundation of religion is very strong in the life of the inhabitants,

esp. in Darkot (where every religious festival is celebrated with grandeur), while caste-system is an

integral part of the society. The economy is playing a little role in

in the villages (because of lack of primary activities) but it is very difficult to

social and cultural views of the people in a short time span. This also proves the fact about modernit

India: ‘Modernization is a continuous adaptive process which might not oppose tradition’ [Verma, 2009].

Photo 9.4: Celebration of Hindu new year

Sometimes, even a tradition may lose signif

adaptation to modern views and approves of it

my visit of Darkot village in the end of 2017 (Photo 9.5), the inhabitants of Darkot decid

‘bali-pratha’ (sacrificing of animals to the god) inside the temple premises, which has been an important

element of the religious life of Himalayan villages, after the Uttarakhand High Court imposed a ban on

the sacrificing of animals. Thus, sacrificing of animals, despite being an age old tradition of the society of

Johar, has been stopped by the forced idea from outside the society (or by an authority) that led to change

in the customs and beliefs.

integral part of the society. The economy is playing a little role in breaking the hierarchical caste

in the villages (because of lack of primary activities) but it is very difficult to bring about a change in the

social and cultural views of the people in a short time span. This also proves the fact about modernit


Photo 9.4: Celebration of Hindu new year (March, 2018) by the inhabitants of Darkot

Sometimes, even a tradition may lose significance if community / society understands the importance of

and approves of its acceptance (even if it is forced from the outside

my visit of Darkot village in the end of 2017 (Photo 9.5), the inhabitants of Darkot decid

’ (sacrificing of animals to the god) inside the temple premises, which has been an important


, sacrificing of animals, despite being an age old tradition of the society of


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breaking the hierarchical caste-relations

bring about a change in the

social and cultural views of the people in a short time span. This also proves the fact about modernity in


by the inhabitants of Darkot in the temple

understands the importance of

even if it is forced from the outside). During

my visit of Darkot village in the end of 2017 (Photo 9.5), the inhabitants of Darkot decided to stop the

’ (sacrificing of animals to the god) inside the temple premises, which has been an important


, sacrificing of animals, despite being an age old tradition of the society of


337

Photo 9.5: Signboard showing ban of ‘bali-pratha’ in the temple of Darkot in an order passed in a

writ of 2011 (and implemented after 2015)

To conclude, the landscapes of Darkot and Sharmoli are inhabited by the majority Bhotias and their

impression on the land can be seen in different ways. They have tried their best to keep the hegemony

over the physical, economic, social and political landscape of both the villages and thus keep the power in

their hands. Even those Bhotias who live outside the village (i.e. in cities / towns) play an important role

in establishing the superiority of Bhotia community over the local landscapes (Bhotia villages) by

providing economic and social support. Thus, even migration and decreasing population of Bhotias in the

villages of Johar, so far, has not led to the decrease of control of Bhotias over the village life of Darkot

and Sharmoli. Bhotias have established their identity in the whole landscape of Uttarakhand and an

example of it can be seen in Photo 9.6, which shows presence of ‘Bhotia market’ (selling handicrafts and

other goods) in the Nainital district of Uttarakhand (Bhotia market / centres / community hostel etc. are

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also present in other places of Uttarakhand such as Haldwani, Almora etc.). The other two castes, Thakurs

and SC, do not depend economically on the dominant Bhotias, but their social and cultural life definitely

revolves around the superior group (within Bhotia villages).

The modernity, on the other hand, depends upon the adaptation level of different caste and class groups in

villages and thus our hypothesis shows different results in diverse situations. It is true in the cases where

home stay owners accommodate new ideas and norms with regard to earnings in Sharmoli and shed their

orthodoxy; it is true if one compares the working class of Sharmoli (dominated by labourers) with Darkot

(dominated by pensioners); it is true when one compares the cultural festival of Sharmoli with religious-

based festivals of Darkot; it is true if one compares the general landscape of Darkot (caste-based) and

Sharmoli; but it is false if one compares the caste-based interactions of the inhabitants (in their private

life) in both the villages along with the situation of women, etc. Thus, society can be modern and quick in

the adaptation of new ideas, technology that improve their economy, income and prove beneficial to

them, but it may remain traditional in terms of views, norms and age old beliefs, unless forced by an

external agency or their own wisdom to change their social views.

Photo 9.6: Signboard showing ‘Bhotia market’ on the Mall Road of Nainital town (Headquarter of

Kumaon) of Uttarakhand

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GLOSSARY / IMPORTANT NON-ENGLISH TERMS USED IN THE CHAPTERS

Anganwadi

Anwal

Bali-Pratha

Bazar

Bhabhar

Bhagwat Katha

Bhakhali

Bhotias

Brahmins

Bugyals

Bunkar

Cheenakoni

Dalit

Dev Bhoomi

Dhakariya

Dhara

Gamgiya

Garhwal

Goth

Gur

Halduva-Pingluva

Janshakti

Jau

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Jimbu

Johar (Malla / Talla Johar)

Kalakendra

Kashtkars

Kholi

Kira-Jhari

Kiratas

Kisan

Kshatriyas

Kumaon

Kund

Madua

Mitra

Muthi

Nali

Oova

Pahari

Panchachuli

Panjwari

Panjwari

Pankhi

Pashmina

Phaphar

Pradhan

Rajmah

Rajputs

Sangathan

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Sarson

Sattu

Shaukas

Shilpkars

Suhaga

Tehsil

Tehsildar

Terai

Tipari

Zamindar

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APPENDIX: Photo of questionnaire used in the survey

Mohit KAPOOR - Université Paris Nanterre

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