Narikuravar- community study

6.1 Area Study

Origin and shift of livelihood:

A gypsy, nomadic community who fought not for food, nor freedom but to be considered “equal”.The word “Narikurava” is a fusion of two Tamil words “Nari” and “Kurava” meaning “fox people” or the “jackal people”.They are an indigenous community from Indian state of Tamil Nadu. The main employment of this community , is hunting. But since they were prohibited from entering into the forests to continue their main occupation, they were forced to sell beaded ornaments as an alternative to survive. Hence, they had to migrate from one place to another in search of a market for their beads. Children also accompany their parents wherever they go, which invariably means they don’t get to attend schools or colleges.

Cultural linkage:

The community’s ancestral linkage with gujarat gave them the title of Vagrivel jath. Vagri in Gujarati means Kurivikkaran and Vagrivel Jath means Tribe of Kuruvikkarans.

Language:

The Narikuravas speak an Indo-Aryan language called Vagriboli. Almost all Narikuravas are well-versed in Tamil.Notwithstanding, most of their literary works are found written and expressed in Vagriboli.

Living style:

Their entire families live together in small huts or tents, in both rural areas and cities of Tamil Nadu, which are at times even made of elephant grass stems. Men as well as women wear jewelleries made out of shells, beads and coins. The women often wear ghagro which are colorful pleated skirts that are not as long as saris.

People’s characteristics and identities that they posses

They are a nomadic people who are often known to other people for their passionate behaviour, independent nature and unwillingness to work under others. The Narikkuravas are distributed throughout Tamil Nadu. They largely occupy the rural sectors of the state, where they engage in a variety of occupations.

Broadlined issues prevailing amongst the community

The Narikuravas face a lot of issues , viz. Poverty, illiteracy, unemployment, diseases, discrimination etc. If the government continues to be indifferent about their problems then perhaps the mental hardships they face would worsen resulting in a distrust of the system. Care must be availed for the women and children because records show that they are the worst affected

Discrimination and its impact

Social discrimination against the Narikuravas can be easily traced down to a very long time in history.Due to their consumption of animals (tabooed by settled Hindu communities) and other similar habits, they are tagged as untouchables as per the Hindu Varna system and are excluded from streets inhabited by people belonging to the upper castes. Hence, their status in society is the same as any dalit and at times, even worse.

Genesis of criminal participation

Rapidly increasing crime rates and unemployment constitute other problems which erodes the Narikurava community. The prohibition of fox-hunting as well as killing endangered species of birds and animals has deprived the Narikuravas of their traditional sources of livelihood. As a result, unemployed Narikurava youth have taken to crime and illegal activities. There have also been instances when Narikurava have been arrested for the possession of unregistered firearms such as country rifles which are banned as per the Indian legal system.

in living conditions and culture-The issue of adaptability.

The tribal community’s socio- cultural norms are different from the general population, having distinct civilization, rituals, and customs depending on forest and traditional agricultural technology. The practices of the impoverished economy and exploitation have made them economically poor.

Complications due to adaptablility issues

A large proportion of the nomad tribal groups are suffering from issues like unemployment, malnutrition, diseases, poverty and lack of even the basic resources like food and water, not to mention electricity, cooking fuels etc.

Drastic shift in their lifestyle

Due to the sufferings experienced at the hands of the government, globalization and modernization, many of these populations have come out of their inveterate spheres of previous lifestyle and are desperate to adapt to new types of occupations. Although this move was significantly seen from their side, the acceptability was lacking significantly from the people in providing jobs, in teaching their children indiscriminately , in women participatory welfares and many more.

The circumstances have led them to accept what has been imposed upon them as something that they duly deserved, leaving them in a situation where they had no choice but to put on stake their dignity in the promise of a purported quality of living.

Futher nourishments of issues unimagined by them

Poor sanitation and inaccessibility to drinking water was a usual observation in their settlement, Unhygienic living conditions, degraded quality of fodder, and consumption of dirty water

increases the probability of transmission of infectious diseases, such as tuberculosis, and waterborne diseases, such as diarrhoea, in their settlement; and as if to add to the ordeal, preparing food using biomass fuel led to indoor air pollution which subsequently causes respiratory problems and increases the risk of tuberculosis.

Due to the unacceptability by the general public the young and old alike in their community had taken toodd jobs, which psychologically demanded toxicities-thus with increasing barley production, there has been a significant increase in consumption of barley wine or local alcoholic drinks, as indicated by an increase in liver problems and stomach aches within the community (according to records from the health centres).

Other transitional social issues

Improved road transportation has always been associated with increasing numbers of traffic accidents, infectious diseases, and also social issues. Women seem to be more sensitive to these issues, which can be associated with the daunting amount of stress stoked onto them by the absence of men at home. The impact is felt at varying levels as one analyses the temporal and spatial aspects

Demographic ratios

Statistical surveys conducted in the Narikuravas put forth a very transparent image of the socio-economic conditions prevailing in the community . The survey puts light on the distribution of demography based on various parameters such as gender, age, religion and so on.

It was noted that there was a 1.25 : 1 male to female ratio ,which despite being a healthy one, is seldom employed for proactive tasks. There is a mixed distribution of ages which is predominated by age groups above 41. A further classification, based on religion, would show that the community easily represents the dominance of hindu population ,with muslims being minimal in number and christians accounting to none.

It also becomes painfully evident that the educational sector hasn’t been of much appeal to the Narikurava community, only a few (38%) enjoy primary level schooling, whereas the numbers for higher levels of education is better left unsaid. A reason could be the lack of awareness or more probably the inefficacy of the various existing government schemes and policies.

Income levels have also been considered as a mode of classification,which separates the community into groups earning Rs.10002000, Rs.2001-4000, Rs.4001- 6000 and Rs. 6000 above per month into various categories of study. This unveils the pathetic economical condition in which the Narikuravas are leading their lives, equating the conclusion to the fact that majority of the population fall under the category earning only an avg. of Rs.4000 a month.

Reasons for lack of proper care rendered for education

It is because of the lack of proper settlement in one place, lack of educational institution in their area, poverty, child marriage, negligence of government and lack of awareness about importance of the education.

Demand for support

Classification based on the monthly income of respondents produced four category groups.. More than one-third (41.3) % of the respondents come under the 2001-4000 rupees category. Another One- third (33.3) % of the respondents fall under the 40016000 rupees category. Remaining make up the 1000-2000 (17.5) percentage category and above 6000 rupees category, which is (7.9) percentage. The table shows that average monthly income of Narikurava of keerannur is 4000 thousand rupees only which indicate the pathetic condition of life both economically and socially. Inhibition in terms of social can also be attributed to their income

. It is worth observing that the category of above 6000 thousand monthly incomes constitutes only a miniscule 7.9 % people

Presently Narikuravar Community is in a very pathetic condition as they are subjected to various kind of discrimination, living in a poor socio, economic and health conditions. So necessary Health, Education and Employment facilities have to be created by the Government by long-term planning. Long term and short-term courses of vocational training should be provided to develop skills and knowledge of Narikurava community people. Special attention needs to be given to the Narikurava community’s women and children and the Government should have a long-term plan for improvement of the Socio-economic status of the Narikurava community.

Intiations intiated for their welfare

•In 1996, a social-welfare organization named Narikurava Seva Sangam was formed in order to educate Narikurava children and facilitate them to lead a settled life.

•In May 2008, the creation of a Welfare Board for the Narikuravas headed by the Backward Classes Minister was authorized by the State Government.

•Steady progress is being made in educating Narikuravas and assimilating them into society.

•Other social-welfare organizations, too, have poured in their ef- forts to improve the lives of the Narikuravas.

•The demand for the Welfare Board and the appeal to remove them from the Backward Class list and to include them into the Scheduled Tribes class are still going on.

Conclusion

The above study is an initiative initiated in order to test the framework in the later parts of my contiuation on the study. Please find it attached as a piece of work initiated to bring the framework to utilisation and is open to even be adopted for any studies by fellow readers.

Since the rest of the process demands the in person visit and engagment with the community and by far the process couldn’t support the physical visit due to Covid 19 protocols and rules, the study can be adopted in further researches and refered for the process