Indigenous communities: Idea & practice
- Hueiyen Lanpao Editorial :: December 11 2015 -
Most official state narratives had been taken as the absolute truth around the world.
This phenomenon has allowed certain steps to be initiated without raising questions against the actual validity of a rationalization prompted by the new found love for globalization and industrialization.
In the age of globalization, the predominant belief needs to be probed further.
With increasing focus on consumerist culture, twentieth century agriculture sought to shape the environment to its needs and methods leading to unnecessary prioritization of higher yield with imported technologies.
On an occasion like the World Environment Day, it is imperative for the people of the Northeast region in general and the environmentally conscious citizens need to raise certain uncomfortable questions not fully addressed by the government.
For instance, certain predominant belief supposedly triggered by scientific approach to environmental issues needs to be reviewed.
This has been necessitated by a paradigm shift even in the so called scientific belief for in the name of science policy makers have drawn conclusions quite opposite of age old knowledge system practiced by the people in the region.
For instance, the benign practice of Jhum cultivation in the hills has never been so subjected to systematic research that take cognisance of sustainable environmental approach.
The issue of whether or not Jhum cultivation has been beneficial to the people have been at the centre of heated debates.
Tinged with scientific jargons, at least the generation in the post 1960s have been taught just the negativity of practising Jhum or slash and burn cultivation that had been practiced by the tribes and communities in the region.
Jhum cultivation had been blamed for contributing to the deteriorating climate change in the world without taking into consideration how this method had immensely benefitted the communities.
The attempt to homogenize crop production had been given priorities ahead of the actual need of the people based on time tested method of tribal and indigenous communities’ idea and practice of moving from burning small areas to farm and allowing other areas to lie fallow. This practice eventually came in as direct challenge to the set objectives of organized farms.
This is where, the tribes and communities in the region needs to urge the authorities to have a relook at its policies against the age old practice instead of demonizing indigenous culture and lifestyles of the highlanders.
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