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- Title
The Shadow over Betel Vine and Flowerbeds : A Case Study of Sustainable Livelihood in a Howrah Village.
- Authors
Chakrabarti, Gopalkrishna; Chatterjee, Dhriti; Mallick, Kanchan Kumar
- Abstract
The present study attempts to understand the factors and consequences of the transformation from paddy cultivation to betel leaf and floriculture at Shivarajpur village located near Bagnan in the district of Howrah. A considerable section of this village predominantly populated by the mahishya caste group has started to change their traditional occupation of paddy cultivation some thirty years back by materialising the cultivation of betel leaf. They learnt the art of cultivating the betel leaf from the traditional betel leaf grower barujibi caste group of the neighbouring villages. Later, many of them have shifted to floriculture due to the expanding flower market of India and abroad. Analysis of the collected data through known anthropological techniques suggests that the local geographical events are primarily responsible to force mahishya caste group to adopt nontraditional crops. Small land holdings, political events and the governmental initiatives have accentuated the change. Long before the notion of market based concept of sustainable development sway the economic scenario of the country, the changing course of the village under study is the result of the villagers' sustained conscious effort to retain their agriculture-oriented livelihood. The paper argues that the development experienced by the villagers poses a note of interrogation on sustainability. The absolute dependence on the market may turn into potential threat to the cultivators because other invisible forces control markets of the commercial produces in India.
- Subjects
HOWRAH (India); INDIA; PIPER betle; AGRICULTURAL implements; ECONOMIC development
- Publication
Journal of the Indian Anthropological Society, 2005, Vol 40, Issue 2/3, p187
- ISSN
0019-4387
- Publication type
Article