Perception Of People About Effects Of Atal Tunnel At Rohtang On The Life Of Tribal People In Lahaul Area In The State Of Himachal Pradesh- India

Abstract

The word ‘tribe’ has different connotations for different branches of social sciences. Western anthropologists and sociologists take the term to denote a “primary aggregate of peoples living in a primitive or barbarous condition under a headman or chief”. Indian Constitution assigned special status to the schedule tribes, traditionally referred to as adivasi, vanavasi, tribes or tribals. The Tribal People of Lahaul have been experiencing geographical isolation as the area remain inaccessible for more than six months from the month of November to April every year due to closing of Rohtang Pass the only way to the area. Having difficult geographic environment i.e. mountainous and rugged terrain, extreme cold and dry agro climatic conditions, non- industrialization and limited basic infrastructure facilities at village level Lahaul tribal area of Himachal Pradesh. However, after opening the Atal Tunnel at Rohtang a new era of development, accessibility and connectivity started in this area. The present Paper is to study the perception of these tribal people about effect of Atal tunnel in Lahaul Tribal area. A questionnaire has been prepared and questions related to the effect of opening the tunnel on their Social, Cultural, economic life, opportunities, Challenges and tribal identity has been asked and recoded for analysis. For this purpose the study area has been divided into five physiographic units for sampling at village level. These micro physiographic units are demarcated by ridge line of mountains, drainage network and tehsils boundaries. Considering the geographic spread the purposive random sampling technique will be used for collecting the primary data. In total, 39 sample villages and about 585 households which constitute approximately 15% of total population surveyed for the present study.