Socio-economic determinants of small ruminant pastoralists in J&K

Socio-economic determinants of
small ruminant pastoralists
Dr. Pranav Kumar
Sher-e-Kashmir University of AgriculturalSciences
and Technology of Jammu

Pastoralism
In the Indian context, pastoralists can be defined as "members of
caste or ethnic groups with a strong traditional association with livestock-
keeping, where a substantial proportion of the group derive over 50% of
household consumption from livestock products or their sale, and where
over 90% of animal’s feed & fodder is from natural pasture or browse,
and where households are responsible for the full cycle of livestock
breeding."

Pastoralism in the Indian Himalayas
Pastoralism in the Himalayas is based on transhumant
practices and involves cyclical movements from lowlands to
highlands to take advantage of seasonally available pastures
at different elevation in the Himalayas (Bhasin 1988).
During the summer, when the snow melts in the higher
alpine regions, Himalayan pastoralists move up to these
areas to graze their animals. After the monsoon they move
down to occupy the low altitude pasture for the winter
months.
Movement of people and their livestock proceeds between
previously earmarked sites, which become more or less
regular seasonal bases.
Migratory pastoralism is common throughout the Himalayas
and, from west to east, some of the herding communities in
the region include the goat and sheep herding Gujjars &
Bakrawals of Jammu and Kashmir

Pastoralism in Western India
 The area that is bordered by the Aravalli hills in the
west and the Indo-Pakistan border in the east is known
as the Thar Desert; receiving average annual rainfall
ranging from 100-600 mm, it is subject to frequent
droughts, and therefore, pastoralism traditionally
represented the predominant land use strategy.
 In this region pastoralism can be a market-oriented
strategy by landless people specialized in the
production of animals and animal products for sale; but
it can also be a subsistence and drought adaptation
strategy by people who own land.
 The majority of them are connected with particular
livestock species by their myth of origin, tracing their
descent to an ancestor who was created by God for the
purpose of taking care of these animals.
 For instance, the Raika/Rebari are linked to the camel,
the Charan in Gujarat are associated with cattle, and
the Bharvad keep mostly small stock.

Size, Location, Ethnic Identities and Migration
Pattern of the Major Pastoralist Groups
 “more than 200 tribes, comprising 6 per cent of the
country’s population, are engaged in pastoralism” (Khurana,
1999)
 no reliable statistics available on the number of “active
pastoralists”. Since Independence, population censuses no
longer collect data based on caste adherence; besides, not all
members of pastoral castes are actually engaged in livestock
keeping.
 Only a small proportion of young people from pastoral
backgrounds have the opportunity or interest to become
livestock herders whereas others are engaged mainly in
unskilled labour in cities.
 Indian pastoralists can be divided into groups that practice
horizontal movement patterns in the dryland regions and
vertical movement patterns in the mountainous areas.

Classification of Major Types of Indian
Pastoralists
A) Himalayan RegionNomadic Herders
Van Gujjars of Uttranchal and Himachal Pradesh and Changpas in Ladakh,
Jammu and Kashmir migrate from one pasture to another with their whole
families. They do not cultivate land and their entire livelihood revolves around
pastoral activities. They mostly depend on their neighbouring agricultural
communities for cultivable goods for which they perform extensive economic
exchange with them.
Semi-Nomadic Pastoralists
Gaddis and Bhotias of North-western Himalayas seasonally migrate to higher
pastures with their animals. These nomadic groups own cultivable land and
during half of the year are involved in agricultural activities. Bhuttias living in
the Lachen and Lachung valleys of Sikkim and Monpas of Arunachal Pradesh
are also included in this category.
Long-distance or Transhumant Herders
Village pastoralists practice long-distance herding of livestock and are
considered to be transhumant herders. Transhumance is a grazing strategy "…
in which the livestock is generally accompanied by hired men but also by
owners and their relatives, but rarely by a whole family, on a long migration or
transit between two seasonal ranges" (Rinschede, 1987).

Classification of Major Types of Indian Pastoralists
B) Western Region
Urban Pastoralism:
 Urban pastoralism refers to the keeping of buffaloes and cattle in and at
the periphery of large cities (Ahmedabad, Baroda, and Jodhpur) for milk
production with market-purchased fodder. Certain pastoral castes, especially
the Bharwads of Gujarat, engage in this strategy.
 Village-based Pastoralism:
Village-based pastoralism (sedentary to semi-sedentary, depending on
rainfalls) is the type of pastoralism usually practiced by owners of small to
medium sized sheep herds, by goat owners and by also by some camel
pastoralists, for instance in Pali District of Rajasthan. Herds usually return to
the village for the night, although they may stay away for several days.
 Long-distance Group Migration:
Long-distance migration (for 9 months of the year) is undertaken mostly by
owners of large sheep herds, but also by some owners of large camel herds.
 Permanent Migration:
Permanent migration is a local term used to refer to pastoralists who no
longer return with their herds to the villages. This situation is reported for
Raika sheep breeders from Pali District in Rajasthan. Some of their family
members stay permanently with the sheep herds in Madhya Pradesh.

Livestock is an essential part of the socioeconomic structure of
rural India as a source of livelihood and provider of draught
power, manure and energy.
Over the last three decades livestock production grew faster
than crop sector as a whole and made significant contribution to
agricultural growth, which is considered to be an important
factor in poverty reduction in most developing countries (Birthal
et al, 2006)
Jammu & Kashmir, a north-western hill state of India, has
varied agro-climatic conditions across various regions and based
upon this diversity/geographical locations, the state has been
divided into three distinct regions, viz. Kashmir region
(temperate), Ladakh region (cold arid), and Jammu region (sub-
tropical). Each region provides suitable production environment
to the particular crop-livestock mix, based upon its setting.

The Social Context of Pastoralism
 Small ruminants (sheep and goats) are a major component
of the pastoral population’s household economy in India.
They are kept for both tangible (cash income, milk, meat
and home consumption) and intangible (savings,
insurance against emergencies, cultural and ceremonial
purposes) benefits (Verbeek 2007).
 The current population of small ruminants in India is
estimated to be 124.36 million goats and 61.47 million
sheep with an annual growth rate of 3.10 and 3.87
respectively (Livestock Census 2007, Department of
Animal Husbandry, Dairying & Fishery, GoI).
 The cattle population, especially of sheep and goats has
decreased in Jammu and Kashmir. The rapid decline in
livestock populations can be attributed to a combination
of factors including the political instability in the region,
shift towards sedentarisation of the nomads, drought,
land use change and Competition for water and forage
among others.

J&K’s Livestock Population 1950-2011
.
The cattle population, especially of sheep and goats animals, has
decreased in Jammu and Kashmir.
The rapid decline in livestock populations can be attributed to a
combination of factors including the Political instability in the region, shift
towards sedentarisation of the nomads, drought, land use change and
competition for water and forage among others.

J&K’s Livestock Population trend
Nineties was the base line from where the livestock population keep
declining due to disturbed conditions in the state of Jammu and Kashmir
In the year 1951 the total livestock population of Jammu Kashmir was
32.19 lakhs, in the year 1977 it increased up to 46.58 lakhs
In the year 2002, it increased to 39.5 lakhs. Again it declined to 32.93
lakhs in 2007. Where as in 2011 it reached up to 34 lakhs in the state.
In the year 1951 the total livestock population of Jammu Kashmir was
32.19 lakhs, in the year 1977 it increased up to 46.58 lakhs

Socio - economic determinants of the
Gujjars and Bakarwals
community
 The coming slides compares the changes in socio
economic characteristics of Gujjars and Bakarwals
as per the field work report 2011 and Khatana
Study of 1984.
 An attempt has also been made to examine the
dwindling share of livestock economy in the total
income of the community.
 Other socio economic characteristics like cropping
pattern, workforce participation rates and
contribution of livestock economy of the Gujjars and
Bakarwals are also used as parameters for socio
economic determinants.

Socio economic determinants of
pastoralists Educational Level
 Workforce Composition
 Workforce Structure
 Occupational Mobility
 Land Resources : Average size of the
landholding
Percentage share of the Land size
 Cropping Pattern
 Livestock size : Average Size of Livestock per Family
 Sources of the Income :
Pattern of income distribution
Income from the Flock Products
Income from the Supplementary Sources
 Income variations

Educational Level among Gujjars and Bakarwals
 among the
Bakarwals
population majority
of 79.3 percent
workers are
illiterate, 77 percent
males and 90
females are illiterate
respectively.
 In the Gujjars
community 70.8
percent are
illiterate, the males
and the females are
67.2 percent and
86.9 percent
respectively.

Workforce Composition among Gujjars and Bakarwals
 60.3 percent of the
Gujjars and 33.2
percent of the
Bakarwals workers
are cultivators.
 Live stock occupation
is one of the major
occupation .
 In the agricultural
labourers category 5.8
percent of the Gujjars
and 2.2 percent of the
Bakarwals are
engaged.
 Agriculture and
Livestock are the only
two major sectors of
the Gujjars and
Bakarwals.

Workforce Structure of pastoralists
 Livestock accounts 35.2
percent of the main work
force while agriculture
share is 32 percent.
 A high percentage of the
main workers are
concentrated in the
livestock sector.
 Labour and service
sector contributes 23.5
and 6 percent of the
workers.

Occupational Mobility
 Nowadays the economy of the
Gujjars and Bakarwals is not
fully dependent on the livestock
as it was before the start of
militancy in the state of Jammu
and Kashmir.
 the percentage of livestock
economy at the time of Khatana
study (1984) was 52 percent and
it came down to 21 percent only
in 2011 study.
 In the agriculture sector 26
percent of the families were
engaged in the 1984 and in the
later period 43.0 percent were in
the agriculture sector.
 In the government jobs sector in
the 2011, the share has
increased i.e. 10.8 percent in
comparison to 3.8 percent of the
Khatana Study.

Reasons behind the occupational shift
 After leaving the livestock economy, now
pastoralists are shifted to government jobs,
agriculture and various kinds of labour works
 main reason behind the occupation shift in the
pre 1990 and post 1990 period is hostile
condition in the state of Jammu and Kashmir
from last two decades.
 50.8 percent of the families left the transhumance
practice due to the militancy in the state, which
effected their seasonal movement.
 17 percent of the respondents think that sufficient
pastures are not available to graze their animals
in the summer areas.
 Modernization impact also left its influence on the
Gujjar and Bakarwal community, 22.3 percent of
the households thinks that due to the children’s
education many of the communities start settling
in the winter areas and adopted other
occupations.
 Another 10 percent labeled other factors behind
the intergenerational mobility.

Land Resources
 Traditionally, the Gujjar and
Bakarwals society is known
for having common
ownership of land rather
than individual ownership.
 But of late there has been
change in the ownership
patterns of land in the tribal
societies
 as the laws of the country
does not recognize any
community ownership of
land but individual
ownership of the land.
 There have been a lot of
anomalies when the
individual land rights were
granted to tribal peoples.

Average size of the landholding
 The socio economically
advanced people among
them took full advantage of
ignorance of their tribal
fellowmen and manipulated
the land ownership rights in
their names.
 This led to the concentration
of the vast land in the hands
of few tribal households of
the Gujjars and Bakarwals.
 the average size of the
landholding increases from
1.82 ha in the Khatana’s
study to 3.9 ha among the
sample population
 many of the families
purchased land during the
last few years and are shifting
towards sedentarisation
.

Percentage share of the Land size
 The households owning
2-4 acres of land
accounts 40.5 percent of
the total households.
 about 60 percent of the
households having less
than 4 acres of land.
Only 40 percent of the
households having more
than 4 acres of the land
 The Majority of the land
holdings of the Gujjars
and Bakarwals in Jammu
and Kashmir is marginal
below 2 acres
 7 percent of the
households who are
reported to be landless

Cropping Pattern
 majority of cultivated land
is devoted to the maize
cultivation (71 percent)
which is a staple diet of
these nomads and a
careless crop too.
 It implies that maize is one
of the single dominant crop
in the Jammu and Kashmir.
 Wheat occupies the
second (12 percent)
important crop of the
Gujjars and Bakarwals.
 While 6.3 percent of the
land is cultivated for rice.
 About 5.7 % of land is
devoted for fodder crops

Livestock Economy
 In a transhumant society of the Gujjars and Bakarwals, the flock is major
source of production and forms large portion of the total income.
 The people of this community, in addition to the flock of sheep and goats
also own other animals like horses, mules, bovines and oxen.
 Buffalo number has increased from last few years due to sedentarisation of
pastoralists , sale of the milk is the major source of income for them.

As ownership of the sheep and goats concerned, sheep is being a renewable
source of wool is mostly preferred over the goats.
Share of both small and big animals per family has declined since 1984

Livestock size
 3.8 % population
in the Khatana’s
study had 251-
300 herd size
where as only 1
percent of the
households has
this size of the
herd size in 2011
sample survey
 Larger herd size
have declined
among the
Gujjars and
Bakarwals.

Average Size of Livestock per Family
&
Engagement of the shepherds
 The average size of the livestock in
2011 study sample was 32 whereas the
Khatana study research (1984) had 82 ,
so it is quite clear that livestock number
declined significantly.
 Rich or maldar Gujjars and Bakarwals
who have large herds of cattle’s use
shepherds on the contract bases.
 In the surveyed households, in the
Khatana study the shepherds help was
taken to control the animals.
 63 percent of the families have the
shepherds in 1984. Whereas it came
down to only 22 percent in the sample
survey of 2011.
 So here it can be concluded that the
size of herds declined from the past few
years, so there is no such necessity for
the shepherds.

Sources of Income & pattern of income distribution
 Income of pastoral community is
derived from flock, land and
supplementary sources in the gross
income.
 Contribution of flocks was 75.46
percent in the total income of the
households in the Khatana’s study
while the share came down to 41.5
percent among the sample
households in 2011.
 The land resource contributes 8.24
percent in the Khatana’s study while
it goes up in the sample population
i.e. 36 percent.
 Supplementary sources contribute
16.3 percent in the Khatana’s study
while it moves up to 22.5 percent
among the sample households
 flocks contribution in the total
income declined with over a period
of time and income from land
resources income goes up.

Income from the Flock Products
 Income from the sale of
animals contributes as
much as 80.6 percent of
the total flock income; its
share is highest among all
the sources.
 The second highest
source of income is from
milk 9.5 percent. While
the share of the wool
products is 7.26 percent.
 On the Gross income
source wise from the flock
products, we can see that
income from the wool
products came down
while from milk and milk
products goes up.

Income from the Supplementary Sources
 It is observed that the supplementary income in
aggregate contributes 22.5 percent of its share.
 The share of the supplementary sources of income
also goes up during the last two decades.
 In the earlier times Gujjars and Bakarwals were fully
transhumants and the larger share of the income
comes from the flocks.
 But now many of them left the seasonal migration and
shifted towards other occupations,
 the share in the tourism increases from 11.4 percent
in the Khatana’s study to 33.5 percent in the present
time.
 Nowadays, many of the nomads during the summer
months are working in the Amarnath Yatra and other
tourism related activities in the Valley of Kashmir.
Collection from the Forests
 Gujjars and Bakarwals households are invariably
dependent on the forests for their one need or the
other.
 Forest collection goes down to 14 percent from 33.2
percent in the Khatana time.

Income variations
 Income variation is one of
the main features of the
occupational mobility among
the Gujjars and Bakarwals
families.
 Income in the Pre 1990
period was too low among
the Gujjars and Bakarwals
where as significant jump is
found in the income in the
post nineties period.
 36.2 percent of the families
have below Rs 1000
monthly income in the pre
1990 period in comparison
to it 13 percent families
having this income in the
post 1990 period.

Summary of socio economic determinants of
pastoralists
 The economy of the Gujjars and Bakarwals of the Sample
Population (2011) was compared with the Khatana’s study of
1984.
 Earlier their major chunk of income comes from livestock but
now their sources of income has shifted towards other
sources like land resources, labour works, tourism,
business, govt. jobs etc.
 The land size also increased among the sample population.
 Herd size declined significantly in the selected sample of the
Gujjars and Bakarwals.
 Economy of the Gujjars and Bakarwals from the past few
years has shifted from the livestock economy to other
occupations.
 The reasons may be militancy in the Jammu and Kashmir,
impact of urbanisation, modernisation etc.

Major Problems Experienced by Pastoralists
 The problems that pastoralists face are as much social and political as
economic and resource-based.
Himalayan Region
 While the government has included the Himalayan pastoral groups, with the
exception of the Uttranchal Gujjars, in a reserved category for government jobs and
other facilities, Himalayan pastoralists are finding it difficult in many ways to follow
their traditional livelihoods.
The immediate threats like….
 Government attitudes to Pastoralism
In social evolutionary thinking, the nomadic lifestyle has traditionally been treated as
less civilized, less productive and more degrading than a settled lifestyle. This cultural
bias is clearly manifested in many of the colonial/historical documents, and seems to
have many policy level implications for the Himalayan pastoralists. Pastoralists
continue to be treated as a problem for administrators in terms of collecting taxes or
controlling the population.
 Non-Recognition of Pastoral Land Rights:
The local pastoral groups regard themselves as owners of the pasture resources in
Himalayas and there is an extensive customary usage of these resources by the local
pastoralists.
 Population Growth and Land Fragmentation
As a result of growing human population in the Himalayan region, land resources per
household are decreasing, with sub-division and fragmentation of agricultural land.

Major problems contd…..
Livelihood Threats:
Reduced Pastures: Across all the Himalayan states, the pastoral livelihoods are seriously threatened by the
problem of shrunken pasturage. This decreasing availability of pasture resources has been due to
misinformed conservation policies of these states, as discussed and illustrated above, and encroachment on
the pasture resources.
Disturbed Migratory Routes:
The migratory graziers in Himalayas travel long distances from low to high altitudes. On their way to summer
or winter grazing lands, they halt at common lands of various villages, which is important for animal forage
and their social relations with the agricultural communities. The Himalayan states have gone through
dramatic development in the last few decades and besides infrastructure development these states have
seen tremendous tourism development, extensive road building, hydro power plants, hotels etc. across the
length and breadth of the Himalayas. As a result, pastoralists frequently have had to alter their migratory
routes and face problems of livestock being killed on roads, thefts and a constant pressure to move. There
are instances where animals die of eating noxious weeds growing close to the roads or on degraded land.
Sedentarization
 Sedentarization of pastoralists is now widespread, both because of active government policies and because
of lack of support for migratory pastoralism. The Himalayan states like Himachal Pradesh and
Uttaranchalhave tried many times to settle their local nomadic communities, although this is against the very
logic of migratory pastoralism in Himalayas.

Policies for pastoralists
The first policy responses should be to:
 Discontinuance of any policies which are designed
solely to end pastoralist mobility: under a range of
environmental and institutional conditions, mobility is a
rational strategy that maximizes welfare and minimizes
negative impacts on the environment
 Exploration of alternatives for human service delivery
to mobile pastoralists and strengthening pastoralism as
a productive system in a number of ways:
 strengthening local natural resource management
 promoting conflict resolution mechanisms
 introducing well-designed grazing fee regimes
 drought management policies
 zoning of rangelands

Sedentarisation of Pastoralists:
Policy Pressures and Policy Options
 Sedentarisation of nomadic and transhumant pastoralists can take
place for a number of overlapping reasons:
 Explicit government policy to settle pastoralists because mobile
pastoralism per se is perceived as "primitive" or as a problem (for the
environment, service delivery, taxation, law and order and national
security). In some cases this has involved settlement of pastoralists
on new irrigated schemes.
 Inappropriate land tenure policies and insecurity that inhibit mobility
 Pastoralists voluntarily settling to get easier access to government
services, wage employment
 Destitute pastoralists settling quasi-voluntarily to get access to relief
food (often on a long term basis), food-for-work etc.
 Pastoralists settling in sub-humid areas made available for year
round settlement by the control of human or animal diseases
 Pastoralists settling pre-emptively in areas where available land is
rapidly being claimed.

Mobile schools to boost literacy of pastoralists
The absence of education for their
children is a major problem. The
Jammu and Kashmir Government
has come up with the novel
scheme
Nomadic women can breathe
easier now as the mobile
schools take care of the basic
education of their children .
More and more children are
attending these seasonal schools.
The number of children outside
schools has fallen from 3.76 lakh in
2002-03 to 68,051 in 2007-08

Institutions, which speak for / Represent the
Interests of Major Pastoralist Groups
Grassroots-level pastoral organizations or associations
provide a path to empower pastoralists.
There are quite a few government and non-government
institutions, which represent the concerns of pastoralists in
the Himalayan states.
 Government Institutions
Departments of Agriculture, Animal Husbandry, Environment
and Forests, and Revenue jointly implement various
development programmes for the Himalayan pastoralists:
 Animal Husbandry departments are functional in all the
Himalayan states, as separate or subsidiary units of
Departments of Agriculture. These departments are
essentially involved in livestock development programmes,
but their major focus is on settled farmers.
 Revenue and Forest Departments are responsible for the
pasture development in the Himalayan states.

Non Governmental Organizations (NGOs)/Institutions
 Leh Nutritional Project (LNP): Leh Nutrition Project is based at Leh
in Ladakh of Jammu and Kashmir. The organisation is working
amongst the Changpa nomads of Rupshu plains for their integrated
rural development, which includes the predominant issue of health
and education
 Society for Advancement of Village Economy (SAVE): Society for
the Advancement of Village Economy is based in the Kullu district of
Himachal Pradesh and they are trying to fight for the pasture rights of
displaced local Gaddi pastorals after the notification has been issued
for the Great Himalayan National Park.
 Rural Litigation and Employment Kendra (RLEK): Rural Litigation
and Employment Kendra (RLEK), is working for the land rights of
Gujjar pastorals in Rajaji National Park, Uttaranchal. They are also
running programmes for education and employment generation
initiative amongst this pastoral population.
 Center for Science and Environment (CSE): CSE is an
environmental organisation and has been conducting applied
research and also publishing papers on the myth of Himalayan
pastoralism and environmental degradation

Western Region (NGOs)/Institutions
 Bher Palak Sangh This is a federation of shepherd societies (353 societies) composed of nearly
10,000 households from semi-arid western districts of Rajasthan which is chaired by Bhopalaram Raika
 Pashu Palak Mitr :Pashu Palak Mitr (literally “friend of the animal breeder”) is a monthly newspaper that
has been serving as a communication tool for Raika/Rebari throughout India, for the last five years. It
currently has 1570 subscribers/members in 14 states. It has been successful in making some of the
problems faced by pastoralists known to the (state) government
 Lokhit Pashu-Palak Sansthan (LPSS) ; This is a registered voluntary society (NGO) with the specific
objective of improving pastoral livelihoods through advocacy, facilitation and support projects. It
developed out of research with camel pastoralists and has a strong base among camel breeders of the
Godwar area. Its activities consist of camel health services, training of pastoralists in use of modern
medicines, research and documentation on ethnoveterinary medicine, support for camel milk marketing,
camel breed improvement, income generation for women, exposure tours etc.
 Marag or Maldhari Rural Action Group :Maldhari Action Group is an NGO in Gujarat that seeks to
“create greater levels of awareness among the Maldharis, to organise them into different groups and to
introduce specific development programmes within these community-based structures”. Its activities focus
on formal and informal educational activities, group building for developmental activities, animal
husbandry and pastureland development (with a focus on better management of natural resources) and
upgrading skills of Maldhari women in their traditional crafts.
 LIFE (Local Livestock For Empowerment of Rural People), an initiative for endogenous livestock
development and community based management of animal genetic resources.
 ANTHRA, an NGO of female veterinarians that works with Kuruba shepherds in Karnataka.
 SEVA (is working with a variety of pastoral groups in southern India, incl. Toda and Vembur sheep
breeders, encouraging community-based conservation of their indigenous breeds; is part of the LIFE
initiative, and might be in a position to provide information on South Indian pastoralism.

Acknowledgement
 BHASIN, VEENA (1988) Himalayan Ecology:
Transhumance and Social Organization of Gaddis in
Himachal Pradesh. Kamal Raj Enterprise, New Delhi.
 Khatana, Ram Parsad, Transhumance Economy of the Gujjars
and Bakarwals, Unpublished thesis submitted to the Centre
for the Study of Regional Development, School of Social
Sciences, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi.
 Sharma, Vijay Paul, Ilse Köhler-Rollefson and John Morton.
Pastoralism in India: A Scoping Study. Jointly carried out by
the Indian Institute of Management (IIM), Ahmedabad (India)
and the League for Pastoral Peoples, Germany.

Socio-economic determinants of small ruminant pastoralists in J&K

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