Indigenous people’s attachment to shifting cultivation in the Eastern Himalayas, India: A cross-sectional evidence

Abstract

Shifting cultivation (SC), or swidden, continues to be a predominant agricultural practice in some parts of North-East India despite efforts by the state to discourage that practice. The indigenous people persist in practising SC because it is part of their culture and traditions, because SC means much more to them than a means of livelihood, and also because of the lack of any worthwhile alternative. Empirical analysis revealed that such attachment or bonding takes three forms, namely nature-bonding (attachment to the natural landscape), social bonding (attachment to the local community and traditions), and economic bonding (attachment to the form of livelihood and to the place). In descending order of importance, the reasons were social bonding, lack of alternative livelihoods, economic bonding, and nature-bonding. The study – based on a survey of 500 respondents drawn from 52 villages, representing six states of North-East India –showed that SC is not merely an alternative method of farming but a form of landscape management that has not only evolved over centuries of experimentation but is also inseparable from the culture and the way of life of those who continue to practise SC. Even more important, contrary to the popular notion held by state officials and other agencies, SC provides a sustainable means of livelihood and food security to the indigenous people.