Ecological organization of Indian society
Gadgil, M.
Icssr Newsletter. Indian Council of Social Science Research 21(4): 1-9
1991
ISSN/ISBN: 0018-9049 PMID: 12285490 Document Number: 320423
Some of the factors involved in securing the well being of an Indian rural population in a sustainable and environmentally sound fashion are discussed. Population pressure on the land and declining productivity threaten the balance between man and nature. The options are to provide outside technological inputs and/or to empower the rural population who may be able to provide an intimate knowledge of the local environment and must be organized and motivated to value and protect their resource base. Attention in paid to the Indian caste system, resource use diversification, group size and range, group dynamics, elites and the ecosystem, the drain on rural resources, the iron triangle of beneficiaries of subsidies, of administrators of subsidies, and of politicians, and the growing strife. The Indian caste system is differentiated by its subgroups which maintain communication within the subgroup, and resource access is determined by an individual's affiliation with the subgroup. It is not a smooth continuum between subgroups. Inequalities in resource access can create social tensions and/or partitioning of resources. The example is given of the subgroups Gavlis and Kunbis, in the Western Ghats in Pune district of Maharashtra, where exchanges are made for livestock or surplus grain, and the multicaste system of 40 subgroups in Uttara Kannada, with occupations specific to each subgroup. In order to function effectively as a subgroup the numbers must be limited or splinter groups develop. Several estimates of possible ranges are given, i.e., an upper limit of 10,000 or the equivalent of a subcaste and 10-20 endogenous groups/larger village with an area of 1000 km. Mergers and group splits are described among the Gavlis in Western Ghat and Tirumal Nadivallas and settlers of the Andaman Islands. Historically, communities were self-sufficient and surrounded elite communities; they had their own self-government and organized local resources for sustainable use, even though this was sometimes inequitable but not overexploited. Elites formed on the surplus of resources, but there was little outflow to other regions. British colonial rule made tremendous changes which led to the lack of security within depressed subgroups. The resources were controlled by the elite in the iron triangle at the expense of the small landholder, landless agricultural workers, village artisans, tribals and nomads, and urban slum dwellers. There was no reason for efficient resource use, and development was wasteful and benefited the elites. Regionalism is growing as well as tension between the elites and the poorer members of minorities.