CASAS’ member Amit John Kurien has published an chapter in the report Community Involvement in Conservation and Livelihood Initiatives in the Eastern Himalayas Reflections on Practices and Policies.
Abstract: Post-Independence efforts by the Indian agricultural science community and the state to curb jhum (shifting cultivation) in Northeast India. It took place primarily in the hill states of Northeast India, including Meghalaya (Garo Hills) and Mizoram, where policies like the Jhum Control Scheme, Watershed Development Programme (WDPSCA), and the New Land Use Policy (NLUP) were implemented. The analysis shows thta despite decades of state-led efforts to eliminate it, jhum refuses to disappear from the landscape and as a livelihood strategy due to its ecological suitability, cultural importance, and role in ensuring food security and livelihood resilience in Northeast India – something the state and central governments are choosing to ignore.
Check the chapter here: https://www.universiteitleiden.nl/futuringheritage/project-outcomes
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CASAS
The Collective of Agrarian Scholar-Activists from the Global South (CASAS) is a community of Scholar-Activists working in critical agrarian studies.