dwellings after the declaration of the area
as a park and prefer to live far away from
the watchful eye of the Forest Department.
Coupled with government policy, demo-
graphic pressures have further made it diffi-
cult for nomads to set up their dwellings or
practice their traditional livelihood. No
expanses are left uncultivated or unoccu-
pied; a study of arid villages across India
shows a decline of 30-50% in common
property resources leading to shrinking pas-
tures.^5 Agricultural policies leading to con-
solidation of land holdings, irrigation and
mechanisation have drastically changed
nomadic-sedentary relations.^6 As the urban
sprawl of cities expands and village com-
mons shrink nomadic communities find
themselves displaced constantly. The his-
toric need to be on the move was econom-
ic. Today it is driven by a number of other
factors, such as conflicts with villagers over
use of natural resources or lack of space to
build settlements. In sum, nomadic commu-
nities find it difficult to practice their tradi-
tional livelihood strategies.
About the study area
The Bawarias interviewed in this study are
from Alwar district in the north western
state of Rajasthan, India. The district of
Alwar it is said derives its name from the
Salwa tribe that are mentioned in the
ancient Indian manuscript of Satpatha
Brahmana. The city was originally Salwapur,
then Salwar and eventually Alwar. The dis-
trict is situated in the north east of
Rajasthan between 27.4’ and 28.4’ north
latitudes and 76.7 and 77.13’ east longi-
tude, and is famous for Sariska National
Park, which has a high density of wild fauna
and flora. Sariska National Park used to be
the hunting grounds for the royal families
and was declared a wildlife sanctuary in
- The area was subsequently accorded
the highest degree of protection as a
National Park and in 1985 as a Tiger
Reserve. Besides the tiger (Panthera tigris)
a number of herbivores like spotted deer
(Axis axis) and sambar (Cervus unicolor)
are found in high densities.^7
Livelihoods profile of a hunting
community
The study involved extensive dialogue with
members of the Bawaria
community in the state
of Rajasthan, night halts
and participatory work-
shops. Subsequently a
detailed questionnaire
was developed and 105
individuals in the region
were interviewed. The
main aim was to find out
how modern conserva-
tion laws have impacted
the livelihoods of this
hunting community.
The occupation that was followed for more
than 6 months a year was recorded as the
main occupation. The main occupation for
most Bawarias today is chowkidarior guard-
ing agricultural fields from crop-raiding ani-
mals such as nilgai (Bosephalus trago-
camelus) an antelope species that is found
in abundance across northern and western
India. In return for their services they are
offered a few sacks of foodgrains and the
right to build a temporary shelter on the
farmer’s field. Of the population sampled, a
sizeable number, that is nearly 80% of the
Bawarias were engaged in chowkidarias
their main occupation. Further, nearly 15%
were practising agriculture on land owned
by them and 5% were engaged in daily
wage work which included farm labour or
construction work.
At the end of the agricultural season, fear-
ing that the Bawarias will set up a perma-
nent home on their land, the landowners
ask them to move as soon as the crops are
harvested. The Bawarias move their tents
History, cculture aand cconservation
The BBawarias ccommu-
nities rresponded tto tthe
changing ttimes bby
turning tto ooccupa-
tions ssuch aas cchowki-
dari ((crop pprotection)
and aanimal hhus-
bandry, wwhich aare
legal aand oof sservice tto
the rrest oof ssociety.
