TODAY -

Humane Journey into the Nature of Human Culture: A Personal Narrative
- Part 3 -

Dr. S. B. Chakrabarti *



This article is the lecture delivered by Dr. S. B. Chakrabarti , Former Deputy Director, Anthropological Survey of India, Government of India ; General Secretary, The Asiatic Society, Kolkata, on the 2nd Gangmumei Kamei memorial Lecture

The cultivators' socio-economic and cultural domain may be captured on two settings- natural and super natural. Natural setting in composed of three elements – physiographic, organic and super organic. Physiographic elements include land, climate etc. The land is really the mother to a cultivator. They show moral and cultural obligations to land while cultivating their crops.

Even during sale or purchase a piece of land they perform many obligatory rituals. They have developed their own perceptions about climate, rainfall and other geographical eventualities base on generative knowledge and practical experiences accumulated through proverbs, folklore, myth, rhymes and oral traditional handed down to them through generations.

The organic elements include plants and animals as well as human being. They have developed a set of notions guiding their optimal operation for growing various crops from selection of seed to the harvest of produce. Similarly they have stored in their knowledge pool the ideas about milch animals and drought animals. They look upon themselves significantly as a moral community vis-a-vis the outsides, specially the urbanites so far their own cultural core of rural living is concerned.

The super organic elements have both endogenous and exogenous categories. The former includes micro socio-cultural parameters, such as traditional technological know-how for labour intensive production, self-consumption and internal redistribution. They show the capability of rationalising as to what to produce, when to produce, where to produce, how to produce and why to produce.

This approach is equally applicable to their choice and decision regarding the pattern of self consumption and mode of internal redistribution of the produce. The latter i.e. the exogenous category includes macro politico-economic parameters, such as the management of modern techno-economic inputs for capital intensive production, surplus mobilisation and external commercialisation. Most of the average cultivators more often than not feel threatened by these emergent factors and forces slowly thrust upon them by the encroaching agents of the penetrative market network.

This is somehow beyond their control to check, therefore, they have no option practically other than to be subjected to such an unbearable condition form which they cannot even afford to withdraw themselves immediately. The internalization of the modern inputs of agricultural production (improved seed, fertilizers, pesticides etc) and the externalization of the output i.e. the produce (not only the surplus production, even the quantity kept for self consumption) take place through a chain gradually built into the operative system.

The supernatural setting is composed of two types of elements namely, gross and subtle. The cultivators by and large participate in a number of observable ritual performances which are connected at each step of cultivation. These rituals are believed to have protective, prohibitive and promotional effects of the expectations of the cultivators for good harvest and well being of all kinds of livestock as well as safe human life. The gross element is super natural setting assumes all mundane aspects.

The subtle element assumes supra-mundane aspects which are not immediately observable but based on a perennial belief system transcended across the generations. There are specialists, priests or others, who mediate between the cultivators and the invisible outer domain through worship, prayer and so on.

The whole country has undergone a systemic adoption of agricultural development programmes since the first Five Year Plan period. Occasional shifts have been effected depending on the priority for improving a target group. Thus, for the improvement of production and income of the small and marginal farmers, agricultural labourers down to the specific poverty stricken rural families, lot of occasional programmes have been launched during each plan period.

Conceptually, the use of 'appropriate technology', 'balanced growth', 'inclusive development' and so on have been the idealized emphasis in each induced programme. In spite of all these measures and efforts towards the desired target the neat observable result has been questioned and debated by the academics, administrators, planner and the social activists. I am not going into any technical details or statistically based assessment or counter assessment at the moment excepting making a mention that the question of poverty in India has basically a rural dimension.

Therefore, in order to grapple with the ground reality we have to fall back upon the micro-level data base usually generated by the researchers in specific field situations. This approach in a sense help us understand how, despite the advance of technological development in agricultural production, a substantial number of the rural people engaged in cultivation have perpetually remained below the so called poverty line.

Further, and interestingly enough, how all the possible constraints notwithstanding, the cultivators of different descriptions manage to maintain in a village situation the internal social relations and sharing of common cultural values embedded in the very structure of a particular mode of production. Once these grass root realities are retrieved with a dependable data base it will automatically drive us towards taking correct initiative based on macro politico-economic considerations inherent in all major development programmes, specially in the agrarian sector, including a review of the various Land Reform measures and Tenancy Acts in different states of the country.

My narrative began with the journey among the so called backward primitive food gathering tribes. Eventually it passed through the villages of the settled cultivators – both in dry and wetland cultivation regions. Now the narrative will enter into my journey in the urban towns – one is situated in West Bengal and the other is island town of Port Blair, Andaman. As a student of Anthropology we had to take course in human evolution. This included both biological and cultural evolution of mankind.

One could perhaps notice that while the narrative proceeded through the sections as used in the preceding pages it has taken an evolutionary approach starting with food gathering communities, passing through the peasant communities, and landed into the urban communities. Our basic concern has been to understand human culture from the relatively simple stages of societal development that still exist. Then we have moved gradually to the complex stages.

These stages are normally determined by the social organisations where the respective communities are encapsulated along the tradition that they inherit through the ages. In order to get in to the root of human culture for a comprehensive understanding my task as a student of cultural anthropology has been to depend primarily on close and intimate observations on these communities as they express themselves through their performances in various activities – social, cultural, political and religious.

In the process they combine or recombine their mutual interpersonal or intergroup relations. Perhaps this journey is not that easy into the human terrain, because it entails lot of complicated entry points. As a researcher in the field one has to evolve differential strategy during any field journey and adopt certain techniques in eliciting required information from the people. It is relatively easy to observe a Jaroa or a Kadar, but difficult to communicate with them.

The constraint is not only language but the nature of their movement in the jungles during day time. It is nearly impossible even now to stay close to them in a camp in the evening. The rural cultivators are rather accessible within reach but one has to care enough for all kinds of social and economic divides that constitute the village life. In urban centres it requires a different strategy to capture the realities of life contextually diverse in nature.

The basic approach in taking up two different small urban centres was to pick up an immediately observable and directly accessible spatial unit. The management size of the population in such a given universe normally remains rooted in a common mode of social and economic interactions. The most question that haunted us initially was what happens when a land space (cadastral unit) changes its character in terms of the basic modes of production.

It is assumed that with the changes in land use pattern the concomitant social relations and cultural responses will be certainly affected. In view of this I led a team of cultural anthropologists and human geographers in a field work in Barnipur town under the district of 24 Parganas (south) in West Bengal. This small town in situated within easy access to Kolkata by road and rail transport being the hinterland of an encircling rural milieu.

Originally an enlarged village, which stood by the side of an important stream (Adi Ganga) and a life line for trade and transport, Barnipur carries with it number of important historical events. It is known, from available records as well as from the peoples' responses to our queries, that SriChaitanya Mahapravu stayed here about 500 years ago. The Barnipur area had the first municipality in 1869.

The famous litterateur Bankim Chandra Chattopdhyay became the Deputy Magistrate in the local court here between 1864 to 1868. The historical Hindu Mela, known for its link with India's struggle for freedom, was organised here during the late nineteenth century. A high school was established here way back in 1858. Large scale migration of rural population had taken place for seeking opportunities in advanced education, various employments, business and so on.

The place initially known for production of betel leafs, gradually turned into large scale plantation of different fruits, and finally turned into urban agglomeration with the establishment of modern buildings for dwelling and office accommodation of various institutions, extension of road and modern transport network and so on.

The changes in the land use pattern was recorded from the Land Revenue and Settlement offices and visibly reflected on the cartographic maps that were prepared based on 1932, 1962 Survey records and compared with the data collected during 1998-99.


(To be contd......)


* Dr. S. B. Chakrabarti wrote this article which was published at Imphal Times
The writer is Former Deputy Director, Anthropological Survey of India, Government of India and General Secretary, The Asiatic Society, Kolkata
This article was webcasted on March 29, 2019.



* Comments posted by users in this discussion thread and other parts of this site are opinions of the individuals posting them (whose user ID is displayed alongside) and not the views of e-pao.net. We strongly recommend that users exercise responsibility, sensitivity and caution over language while writing your opinions which will be seen and read by other users. Please read a complete Guideline on using comments on this website.




LATEST IN E-PAO.NET
  • Mera Houchongba @Kangla #4 : Gallery
  • Violence in Manipur 2023-2025 : Timeline
  • International Day of Yoga @JNMDA : Gallery
  • BD Behring: The inimitable Gentleman I knew
  • Violence in the name of patriotism : Misguided
  • Daily oral vs long-acting injectable for HIV
  • COVID-19: Update 30 June 2025 : Manipur
  • Smile :: Poem
  • Why was President's Rule imposed ?
  • BJP under pressure to forge unity
  • Kang @Leikai in Imphal : Gallery
  • July Calendar for Year 2025 : Tools
  • COVID-19 : A recurring crisis in Manipur
  • DC Kaith and Forestry in Manipur : Book
  • COVID-19: Update 29 June 2025 : Manipur
  • Longing for Peace :: Poem
  • Black badge, slogan protest by peeved scribes
  • Present the true picture before Delhi
  • Pung-Cholom @ Polo Tournament : Gallery
  • Life: A Journey Through Thought & Being
  • Khongjai Hills & Kuki claim to indigeneity
  • Master Time by Managing Information
  • COVID-19: Update 28 June 2025 : Manipur
  • Pride & patriotism in CCpur's army families
  • The Power of Poppy - 87 :: Poem
  • World Decarbonisation Day: green environment
  • Welcome Home - Nganthoi #2 : Gallery
  • Loss of two precious lives from Manipur
  • Balancing civil liberties with public safety
  • COVID-19: Update 27 June 2025 : Manipur
  • Gender equality & human rights are indivisible
  • Stay hydrated this summer season
  • Silent Half of the Sun :: Poem
  • Connecting the dots in the wishlist
  • Assembly record tampering claims by ex-CM
  • The immortal legacy of Pukhramba Kajao
  • Yaingakpa, Renglien, Thariktha : eMing
  • International Day against Drug Abuse 2025
  • COVID-19: Update 26 June 2025 : Manipur
  • Black pottery from Ukhrul - tribal heritage
  • Program on "Mission-Drug Free Campus"
  • Play makes a better world
  • Urgent Appeal to the Honourable MLAs
  • Tribal Empowerment Campaign at CCpur
  • Talk doing the round: PM to come
  • 'Emergency' relief for under-fire BJP
  • Golden Jubilee Art Fair @Imphal : Gallery
  • Declaration: Meetei People Convention, Delhi
  • A Flower Among the Rocks :: Review
  • Book Donation Campaign
  • Improved road connectivity boosts livelihoods
  • To Have Great Dreams :: Poem
  • COVID-19: Update 25 June 2025 : Manipur
  • Regret vs Sorry: Technical & moral insight
  • Cocktail of inept Govt, selfish people
  • State trailing others in cleanliness
  • Colonial Knowledge in NE India #6
  • UHI effect & rising temperatures in Manipur
  • Frequent road blockades cripple economy
  • COVID-19: Update 24 June 2025 : Manipur
  • Unite Health with Community health services
  • NSU, Imphal, tops IIRF Ranking 2025
  • Endless conflict :: Poem
  • Pak nobel pish prize for Trump
  • May 3, 2023 - June 24, 2025: Failure of Delhi
  • Hotter days, sudden rainfall no more a rarity
  • "The Great June Uprising" #2 : Gallery
  • How to Build a Career, Lead with Purpose
  • 2nd Foundation Day- Karnataka Meitei Assn
  • COVID-19: Update 23 June 2025 : Manipur
  • NSCN-IM Amnesty threatens to isolate it
  • Sunset :: Poem
  • Intl Yoga Day for a healthier environment
  • Of clogged drains and plastics
  • Poor roads testify Govt indifference
  • Welcome Home - Nganthoi #1 : Gallery
  • The Silent Erosion of Manipuri Language
  • Design health services around people
  • Serene Hills Host Inspiring Int'l Yoga Day
  • COVID-19: Update 22 June 2025 : Manipur
  • Chopper services between Senapati & Imphal
  • High Court Judges interacted with convicts
  • Redyeing the Fabric :: Poem
  • Differences yet to be resolved stand
  • Border fencing rage as solution eludes
  • Radio E-pao: 14 new songs updated
  • Climate Adaptive Agroforestry
  • Manipur overlooked demographic shifts
  • Young designers shine on Fashion Stage
  • COVID-19: Update 21 June 2025 : Manipur
  • International Day of Yoga at Lamphelpat
  • International Day of Yoga at JNMDA
  • The Power of Poppy - 86 :: Poem
  • Keishampat Lairembi Haraoba #1 : Gallery
  • Crisis in Manipur's Contemporary Education
  • Best 8 Performances in Manipuri Cinema
  • Identity: Caught between China & India ?
  • COVID-19: Update 20 June 2025 : Manipur
  • To The Father Who Listens :: Poem
  • How does net suspension affect youths ?
  • Targeting farmers to cripple state's economy
  • The virus is back and spreading
  • Who is afraid of Manipur ?
  • A threatened lily growing at Shirui Hills
  • World Environment Day in Manipur : Gallery
  • Ambubachi Mela at Maa Kamakhya
  • COVID-19: Update 19 June 2025 : Manipur
  • Dolls made from repurposed vegetable refuse
  • Condemns Attack on Farmer & Killing
  • Abhorrent politics of SoO
  • Police arrogance on harmless drivers
  • "The Great June Uprising" #1 : Gallery
  • Solution from Buddhist & Jain perspectives
  • AI sparks employment concerns in Manipur
  • Greatest Foe :: Poem
  • Chief Justice at Relief Camp, Kangpokpi
  • Call for Recognition of a 3rd Category of IDPs
  • Jun 18, 2001- May 3, 2023: Seed of violence
  • Contract scam in hill districts
  • Colonial Knowledge in NE India #5
  • Spaced Out - Panthung Di Kadaaida! : Rvw
  • Condemns the Killing of Abdul Qadir
  • COVID-19: Update 17 June 2025 : Manipur
  • Thoubal aspirant makes Manipur proud
  • Tamenglong hospital brings quality healthcare
  • Chief Justice at Relief Camp, Mayang Imphal
  • Kuki CM & Sixth Schedule
  • Selective protests, selective silence
  • Nailing the culprits need of the hour
  • UK Meetei diaspora run for Myanmar : Gallery
  • Erwin Khundrakpam : NEET-UG 2025 topper
  • Will we rise to #endAIDS challenge or stumble
  • COVID-19: Update 16 June 2025 : Manipur
  • Appeal to Prime Minister: Manipur Crisis
  • Urges Action on Misinformation
  • Condolences : 2 young cabin crew
  • Grateful To Be Alive :: Poem
  • Making bonfire on the roads
  • Aggression yet again, inspite of playing victim
  • Aftermath of flooding @ Khurai #2 : Gallery
  • Zomia, geopolitics, & the struggle for unity
  • COVID-19: Update 15 June 2025 : Manipur
  • Condolences : Demise of 2 Manipuri Girls
  • Manipur unites in grief after Air India tragedy
  • Hail arms recovery as step toward peace
  • Cleanliness Drive at JNIMS Campus
  • Global Wind Day for a clean environment
  • First came the rain, then the heat
  • Rise in Covid-19 cases
  • Thang-Ta Day @Khuman Lampak #3 : Gallery
  • Meetei diaspora in UK runs for Myanmar victim
  • Manipur empower children with disabilities
  • COVID-19: Update 14 June 2025 : Manipur
  • World Blood Donor Day 2025
  • The Power of Poppy - 85 :: Poem
  • A Northeast Gin Makes Its Mark
  • Mera Houchongba @Kangla #3 : Gallery
  • Saluting Nganthoi, Lamnunthem : Joining hand
  • Condolence : Nganthoi & Lamnunthem
  • From Earth Day to World Environment Day
  • COVID-19: Update 13 June 2025 : Manipur
  • JJM brings clean drinking water to CCpur
  • M.Tech CSE Admission at Assam University
  • Save your nails from damage this summer
  • No takers for Moreh cops' distress call
  • 50 years of Pebet #2 : Gallery
  • Implement Hill Areas (Chief Rights) Act 1967
  • Manipur fields shape India sport future
  • How to Speak Soft and Still Win
  • Thokchom Khoiba : mosquito killer machine
  • Looking for wealthy groom, question you too
  • When is the net ban going to be lifted
  • Stir speculations nix school reopening plan
  • Indo-Naga Talks (From 2012) :: Timeline
  • Colonial Knowledge in NE India #4
  • Namphake Monastery @ Dibrugarh : Gallery
  • Fire safety: preventive measures
  • Peculiar plants & incidents unique to Manipur
  • Artificial Intelligence & environment
  • Cutting off the nose to spite the face
  • Relief for daily wagers as shutdown called off
  • Protest @Checkon -AT arrest [Jun 9] : Gallery
  • The question of territorial integrity of Manipur
  • Animal Farm's allegory in dynamics of Manipur
  • Their hands deserve books, not burdens
  • JNV empowers Tamenglong students
  • We can do better- people with HIV live healthy
  • Bandh: The Cry Beneath the Silence :: Poem
  • Cutting short 240 hours general strike
  • Shutdown lifted, curfew eased, mobile ban
  • Protests - AT arrest [Jun 8 night] : Gallery
  • Review of 'Rain Stopping in Manipur'
  • Highway blockades trigger soaring prices
  • Voice of the Masses :: Poem
  • Congress may claim if none
  • Learning new skills related to AI
  • Delhi, Raj Bhavan: Losing the plot ?
  • CBI arrest after Governor clemency assurance
  • Aftermath of flooding @ Khurai #1 : Gallery
  • Appeals Home Minister not to renew SoO
  • Self-defence :: Poem
  • When will humans learn nature's lessons ?
  • Forgotten voices of drug users in Manipur
  • High-yielding RC Manichakhao-1
  • PC Editorial Blank Space : June 09 2025
  • TSE Editorial Blank Space : June 09 2025
  • Flooding at JNIMS Hospital #2 : Gallery
  • North East NSS Festival @ MU : Gallery
  • 27th Meira Paibi Numit : Gallery
  • Micromanager vs Leader
  • Valedictory Function of NE NSS Festival
  • WED at various campuses in Manipur
  • World Environment Day 2025
  • Trump's tariff legacy & its global echo
  • Flooding at JNIMS Hospital #1 : Gallery
  • Flooding Imphal East [31 May] #3 : Gallery
  • Flooding Imphal East [31 May] #2 : Gallery
  • Flooding Imphal East [31 May] #1 : Gallery
  • Sarangthem Nirupama at Miss Universe India
  • S Nirupama @Miss Universe : Gallery
  • Protesters to Raj Bhavan [May 25]: Gallery
  • Human Chain @Airport road [May 26]: Gallery
  • Miss Shirui Pageant Contestant: Gallery
  • 48 hrs Bandh: protest security forces: Gallery
  • Protest Rally: Journalist harassment: Gallery
  • HSLC 2025: Full Result (Check Roll No)
  • HSLC 2025: Important Info & Grading System
  • HSLC 2025 : Compartmental candidates
  • HSLC 2025 : Comparative Statement
  • HSLC 2025 : Statistical Abstract
  • HSLC 2025 : District Pass Percentage
  • HSLC 2025 : Govt School Pass %
  • HSLC 2025 : Aided School Pass %
  • HSLC 2025 : Private School Pass %
  • People's Convention on 3rd May #2 : Gallery
  • Featured Front Page Photo 2025 #2: Gallery
  • Riya Khwairakpam : HSE Science Topper
  • Keisham Hannah : HSE Arts Topper
  • Warepam Lidia : HSE Commerce Topper
  • HSE 2025 Result : Science Full Result
  • HSE 2025 Result : Arts Full Result
  • HSE 2025 Result : Commerce Full Result
  • HSE 2025 Information / Abbreviation
  • HSE 2025 Topper : Science
  • HSE 2025 Topper : Arts
  • HSE 2025 Topper : Commerce
  • HSE 2025 : Pass Percentage
  • HSE 2025 : Result Abstract
  • HSE 2025 : Candidates with Highest Marks
  • Ougri Lirol :: Part 1 : Ooba Video
  • President's Rule in Manipur : 1967 - 2025
  • Downloadable Manipuri Calendar :: 2025