Investigating Premature Urbanization: Vernacular and Occupation based Development Model at Asharikandi

Abstract

The recent trends of rural-to-urban migration have made rural populations hustling into urban centres to get employment, health security and education. Eventually, to cope with the ever-increasing influx, the already-burdening Indian cities have been accommodating the migrating population, which has put an added pressure on the urban economy, infrastructure and environmental resources. Similarly, the Indian villages, which at one instance encompass a natural, rich and traditional lifestyle supported by indigenous cottage industries and vernacular knowledge systems, are also witnessing distress-migration and premature urbanization due to dying occupations and little employment prospects. The paper investigates the case of Asharikandi - an artisans’ village located in north-east India. The artisans' community in Asharikandi had over the time given up the terracotta works, owing to lack of economic sustenance. However, the continuous efforts of the local NGOs over the last decade have made many artisans re-engage with their traditional craft as a means of livelihood. Villages like Asharikandi are on the brink of premature urbanization throughout the country, and in another couple of decades, many of these might transform into towns and haphazard urban centres, thereby losing their cherished bond with craft – which not only connects with their livelihood but is also an expression of their cultural identity.