ABSTRACT
This ethnographic village background chapter sets the scene for the study of the North Indian multi-caste village of Tejam, located in Munsyari block of Pithorogarh district in Uttarakhand State. The geopolitical context, contemporary population compositions, occupational profiles, demographic features and infrastructure conditions of the village are introduced. This contextual socio-economic and demographic village information provides the background against which the subsequent history and analysis chapters are to be understood. Geopolitics of the Indo-Tibetan border area, caste and tribe compositions of village residents across three spatially separated hamlets, occupational profiles according to social groups and gender, and demographic trends in household size are important features intertwined with migratory patterns and impacts discussed in subsequent chapters. Aspects of specificity and generality of the hill village are highlighted.
