ABSTRACT
Environment such as forest and forest produce, water, land, stone, plants, birds, wild animal and other components are historically related to tribes in a symbiotic manner. Elements and traits of culture – both material and non-material – were constructed in the light of local environment which in turn protected and promoted environment. Tribals developed their languages, religion, food habit, dress pattern, dispute management mechanism and rituals related to vital demographic events and so forth in the light of environmental setting to ensure peaceful living. Elements of environment became basic foundation for the formation and sustenance of their identity. This state of affairs, with certain changes, continued for generations without harming core identity issues. Low population pressure, insignificant and ad hoc interaction with outside world and limited requirements retained and perpetuated symbiotic relations. But over time, due to various reasons, there was appropriation of different constituents of the environment by external forces which in turn affected both status of environment and tribal identity negatively. Gradually, with the increasing amount of unregulated interaction with the outside forces, the process of environmental degradation became hasty. No successful effort in a tenable manner was made by stakeholders to stop environmental degradation. Rather the process of environmental degradation became very fast since the year 1991 when globalisation was introduced. In principle, globalisation as a process and as an ideology is opposed to environmental stability, particularly when there is clash of interest among stakeholders including tribals on issues of land, forest and water. Central Indian states referred in this context, namely, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Odisha and Rajasthan, where a large number of tribes of different categories are glaring instance for discussion. Environmental degradation has caused serious harm to majority of these tribes, their material and non-material culture, livelihood and identity related issues. Today a majority of them are suffering from the problem of identity crisis. In craving required resources, they have failed to associate themselves with the so-called mainstream process and form new identity. Many of them are failed to retain their traditional identity either, due to environmental degradation, decreasing carrying capacity as well as decreasing access to these resources. Hence, environmental squalor has converted them rootless in social, psychological and economic terms. It has brought them in a paradoxical situation to what Michael Cernea called landlessness, joblessness, homelessness, marginalisation, food insecurity, high morbidity, loss of access to CPRs and community disarticulation. This chapter is an attempt to examine these inter-related complex issues from close quarters after integrating both ‘bookview’ and ‘fieldview’.
