Class 9 History


Pastoralists in India

While passing through a highway or on the outskirts of cities, you may have seen herds of sheep or goat along with herders. Such people are nomadic by nature, i.e. they don’t live a settled life.

Even today, pastoralists live in India and many countries of the world. Rearing cattle and selling milk, meat, animal hide and wool are their source of livelihood.

But when we study history books, we seldom notice them. We often read about the kings and warriors in history classes. Sometimes, we do get to read about farmers, merchants and craftsperson. But very few books would tell you about the nomadic people, as if they don’t exist on this planet. In this lesson, you will read about pastoralists of India and Africa. You will learn about various changes in their life, brought about by colonial rule and modernization.

Pastoralists of the Himalayas

Gujjar Bakarwals

Gujjar Bakarwals live in the mountains of Jammu & Kashmir. They herd goat and sheep. They migrated to this region in the nineteenth century and established in this area. They move between their winter and summer grazing grounds every year. During winter the high mountains are covered with snow, resulting in scarcity of fodder. During this season, they move to the low hills of the Shiwalik in search of greener pasture. By the end of April, they begin their march towards higher mountains.

Gaddi

The Gaddi shepherds live in Himachal Pradesh. They also spend winter in the low hills of the Shiwalik. By April, they move towards north to spend summers in Lahul and Spiti.

Gujjar

The Gujjar cattle herders live in Garhwal and Kumaon. During winter, they come down to the dry forests of the bhabar. During summer, they go up to the high meadows, the bugyals. Many of them migrated from Jammu to the hills of UP in the nineteenth century.

Bhotiyas, Sherpas and Kinnauris

These are some other pastoral communities of the Himalayas which also follow the cyclical movement between and summer and winter pastures.

Bhabar: The region of dry forest in low hills of Garhwal and Kumaon is called bhabar.

Bugyal: The grasslands in the high mountains are called bugyal.

Pastoralists of Plateau and Desert

Dhangars

Dhangars were important pastoral community of Maharashtra. Their population was estimated to be 467,000 during the early twentieth century. Most of them were shepherds, but some were blanket weavers and some others were buffalo herders. During monsoon, the Dhangars used to stay in the central plateau of Maharashtra. Apart from herding their animals, they also used to grow bajra. By October, they used to harvest their bajra and started their march to west to reach Konkan.

They were welcomed by the Konkani peasants. Dhangar flocks fed on the stubble and manured the fields with their dung. They also took rice from the Konkani farmers and took the rice to the plateau where grain was scarce. This was a perfect symbiotic relationship between peasants and pastoralists.

Gollas

The Gollas lived in the plateaus of Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh. They were cattle herders.

Kurumas and Kurubas

The Kurumas and Kurubas also lived in Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh. They reared sheep and goats and sold blankets. They used to live near the forest and cultivated on small patches of land. They were also engaged in petty trades.

For the pastoralists of the central plateau, it was the alteration of monsoon and dry season which governed their seasonal migration. They used to move to the coastal areas during dry seasons, and go back to the central plateaus during monsoon.

Banjaras

The Banjaras lived in villages of Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra. They used to move long distances in search of good pastureland. They sold plough cattle and other items in exchange for grain and fodder.

Raikas

The Raikas lived in the deserts of Rajasthan. During the monsoons, the Raikas of Barmer, Jaisalemer, Jodhpur and Bikaner used to stay in their home villages because pasture was available. By October, they used to move in search of other pasture and water. They returned again in the next monsoon. The Maru (a group of Raikas) herded camels and another group reared sheep and goat.

The life of these pastoral groups was affected by various factors. The length of their stay in a particular area depended on the availability of pasture and water. They needed to have good knowledge of geography and meteorology to plan their movement. They also had to establish relationship with farmers on the way for mutual benefit.