and shift to offer their services to another
landowner. During post-harvest periods of
unemployment, from April to May, the
Bawarias collect foodgrains in return for the
work they have done for the landowners.
Payment is in kind and is usually one sack
of wheat for every field that a Bawaria has
guarded. Some Bawarias manage to collect
as many as 10 kilograms of wheat, half of
which is consumed and the rest sold in the
market for cash.
Chowkidarihowever was not always the
main occupation of this community. The
livelihoods of the Bawarias have undergone
a tremendous change. The Bawarias were
famed hunters, and trackers who made a
living from killing wild animals and selling
their parts in local villages or for self con-
sumption. They also assisted the royal fami-
lies with their hunts in the nearby forest
which is now known as Sariska National
Park^8. Nearly 70% of the Bawarias of the
previous generation were engaged in hunt-
ing, 10% in chowkidari.The categories of
agriculture and daily wage work remained
the same as the current generation i.e.
15% of the families were engaged in agri-
culture and 5% in daily wage work.
There has thus been a considerable decline
in the traditional occupation of the Bawarias
from one generation to another. In the cur-
rent generation out of all the families sur-
veyed not one admitted to practising hunt-
ing as an occupation. When asked for the
reasons for the decline in their occupation,
a substantial number (90%) admitted the
introduction of wildlife laws as a reason,
while 5% stated declining wildlife popula-
tions and another 5% stated a recurring
drought in the semi-arid region of Rajasthan
as a reason why hunting as an occupation
has declined.
The livelihood patterns further indicate a
strategy of ‘livelihood diversification’ where-
by the communities turn to more than one
occupation for sustenance. This feature is
especially common in arid and semi-arid
landscapes, where agriculture cannot pro-
vide sustenance throughout the year.
Supplementary occupations are practiced
through the year and include work such as
padda’^9 , honey collection and daily wage
work especially during the lean months
when there is nochowkidariand the crops
have been harvested. Another source of
income is chakki khodnaor making grinding
stones which are then sold in the local mar-
ket.Conservation aas ccultural aand ppolitical ppractice
Picture 3. The grinding stones made by Bawaria
women are sold in the local market. (Courtesy
Ramesh Kumar).Figure 1. Occupational profile of current
generation of Bawarias