Conclusions
The results of my study of the Bawarias
can be summarised as follows:
Q There has been a significant change in
the main occupation of the Bawarias
from one generation to another. In the
current generation 80% of the families
interviewed practise chowkidari (crop-
protection) while in the previous gener-
ation this number was only 10%.
Q A significant percentage (70%) of
Bawaria families face shortage of food
throughout the year and 21% of the
families turn to hunting in order to
make up for this shortage. This implies
that despite their occupation being
declared as illegal some families still
practice hunting to make up for short-
age of food.
Q 65% of the Bawarias interviewed have
faced harassment from law enforce-
ment agencies such as the police. Of
these nearly 46% have been sent to
jail, 16% have had their goods confis-
cated while 31% have faced cases of
harassment such as poking with a stick,
being roughed up or beaten.
The Bawarias are a community in transi-
tion. Two laws: the Indian Wildlife
Protection Act and
Criminal Tribes Act have
rendered the livelihood
of this community basi-
cally impossible to sus-
tain. Nomadism as a
way of life— which
made sense in the past
as a viable economic
and ecological strategy
when hunting was not
banned— is of no rele-
vance today. The
Bawarias communities
responded to the chang-
ing times by turning to
occupations such as chowkidari (crop pro-
tection) and animal husbandry, which are
legal and of service to the rest of society.
And yet the stigma of being a criminal
tribe and belonging to a lower caste has
made it impossible for them to set up
their tents anywhere without getting into
conflict with surrounding villages.
Short-sighted policies on the part of the
governments in the past have made
nomads sceptical of participation in any
schemes. For instance, in 1960, the
Rajasthan Government had introduced
compulsory housing for the Gaduliya
lohars, another nomadic community of
blacksmiths in the state. The scheme
failed as it did not address the livelihood
needs of the community. Any attempts to
support and help nomadic communities
must take into account their livelihood
needs, otherwise chances are that it might
even have adverse impacts.
At a time when human-wildlife conflicts
are many, the Bawarias are providing a
valuable service to farmers by protecting
agricultural fields from crop-raiding ani-
mals such as the wild pigs (Sus scrofa)
and the nilgai (Bocephalus tragocamelus)
This strategy needs encouragement and
recognition at the policy level and by the
History, cculture aand cconservation
Figure 6. Percentage of Bawarias who have had encounters with
enforcement agencies
