Indias Endangered Raji Tribe in Central Himalaya Population Settlement Culture Environment and Challenges

Abstract

Raji Tribe is highly valuable and relevant in the light of their present newlineenvironmental conditions and adaptation to the environment. Due to cultural newlinesuicide, mixed culture, cross-culture, globalization and modernization most of the newlineindigenous ecological resources, settlement structure, socio-economic and cultural newlineterrain are at the edge of destruction. The concept of sustainability is highly newlinequestionable for this tribal society. Changes in Raji society has found like in their newlinesocial and cultural adaptations, as a result of inter and intra connectivity and opening newlineup of spatial and economic relation with surrounding territories and cultures. Raji is newlineone of the five tribes (Raji, Bhotia, Tharu, Jaunsari and Buxa) of Uttarakhand state newlinein India and it possesses the status of PVTGs (Primitive Vulnerable Tribal Groups) newlineas declared by the Government of India. The Raji tribe is one of the smallest tribes newlineof India and is educationally and economically backward tribe of Central Himalayan newlineregion who are deprived and sometimes exploited for all kind of necessary newlinedevelopment due to their lack of awareness and consciousness. newline To understand their demographic and cultural life, tribe-environment newlinerelationship, settlement, indigenous aspects, economy, livelihood, resources, newlinedevelopmental status, Government approaches, ecological sustainability, traditional newlineresource management- all are these have been discussed in this thesis. newline