Van Rawat
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The tiny tribe in 2017
Prem Punetha, Tiny tribe will vote for `whoever gives food'Feb 11 2017 : The Times of India
Pithoragarh:
The tiny Van Rawat tribe with a population of a few thousand, regarded as Uttarakhand's smallest Himalayan tribe, has just about 300-odd voters, mainly at Dharchula and Didihat of Pithoragarh district.
Many in the community have no education and are extremely poor.Till the first decade of the 21st century, they lived in mountain caves. Only recently have many settled near towns, work as labourers and wood-gatherers.
Parvati, a Van Rawat is a firewood seller at the Jauljibi market near Dharchula. Vimla, who accompanies Parvati to the market, says: “Most of us barely earn Rs 80 or 100 a day. That's why whoever gives us food or money we go with [vote for] him.“
The origins of this mountain tribe are hazy . Dehradun-based anthropologist Lokesh Ohri says: “Folklore has it that the Van Rawats descend from a king who ruled at Askot near Pithoragarh. The belief is that a brother of the king was exiled and went to live in a cave. His descendants became the Van Rawats. They consider themselves Rajputs. Those who've interacted with them say they often insist on being ad dressed respectfully in line with their lineage.“
Because they mainly belong to the remote jun gles, the tribe hasn't had access to education and jobs. Renu Thakur, convener of the NGO Arpan, says some Van Rawats now live in pucca houses but still don't have a permanent source of income. “They get MNREGA work, are usually employed by the Border Roads Organisation or are employed as farmhands. Since their numbers are so tiny , politicians ignore them.“
Gagan Singh Rajwar, a tribe member, won two assembly elections in 2002 and 2007, after Dharchula was made a reserved seat. Rajwar, one of the few Van Rawats who went to school, acknowledges that the community “hasn't been able to speak up for itself. Most of our people are tied up trying to make ends meet.“
As in 2022
Prem Punetha, February 14, 2022: The Times of India
Pithoragarh: One of India’s smallest and most endangered tribes has always found it hard to make itself heard. This time, too, it’s no different for the last 600 members of Uttarakhand’s Van Rawats. To exercise their franchise, a Van Rawat would first have to undertake a journey of roughly 60kms to get a voter ID card made, which very few have. On polli ng day, there would be long distances to travel to a booth to cast their vote. And a trek back through forests and tough hill terrain. “It’s not worth it,” one of them said. “In any case, in a country so large, what weight do wecarry?” The population of the tribe, which experts fear is on the brink of extinction, is scattered across a few localities in the remote hills of Pithoragarh, Khirdwari, Dharchula, and Baitadi district of Nepal. Virtually cut off from society, most have no voter cards, Aadhaar cards or even cellphones, and are in abject poverty.
Tribe m embers who mainly live in areas in and around forests in the hills would have to trek several kms to reach polling booths. Bhaktirva has 24 voters with the nearest polling booth 7 km fro m the locality. Kantoli has roughly 70 v oters with the v oting station 5 km away. “Those who have turned 18 give us logic. ‘20 km, no voice’, they say. What can we tell them,” said Kheema Jethi, an elder.
The tribe was recently hit hard by the Covid outbreak. TOI had earlier reported that sans smartphones and other resources, vaccination centres, almost always far away, were out of bounds for the Van Rawats. The tribe remembers are a “success story” though. Gagan Singh Rajwar, a Van Rawat, was an MLA for 10 years from the Dharchula constituency in Pithoragarh from 2002 to 2012, fielded by the local population as an independent candidate against the “big” BJP and Congress.
“Local community members were looking for an educated tribal to contest against the others. They found Gagan Singh Rajwar, who had studied till class 9. He was the most educated among the Van Rawats,” said Kundal Singh, a local. He added that it took over a week to convince Rajwar to contest the election.
But quite a few among the Van Rawats aren’t giving up. “I will go and cast my vote, whatever may be the distance,” said Kalyan Singh from Bhaktirva. Basanti Devi of Kimkhola said she will join him. “Voices echo in the forests,” Basanti said. “Who knows, ours might too. ”
As in 2022 Dec
Prem Punetha, Dec 15, 2022: The Times of India
TNN
Pithoragarh : In 2015, a 65-yearold member of the primitive Van Rawat tribe living in remote Khirdwari village in Champawat district of Uttarakhand undertook a trek of around 18 km to reach the nearest market in Chalthi and bought a radio transistor. And with that, he ended centuries of isolation for his village and brought the world to it.
Years later, that one radio transistor remains the only medium for nearly 200 members of the tribe to remain connected to the world outside. “I vividly remember the day I got a radio, it was a momentous occasion,” recalled Raghuveer Singh (who is now 80 years old), adding, “Though I am not very educat-ed, I like to stay abreast of current affairs. As soon as I tuned to the local station that day, a wave of excitement brought an impromptu audience together for the daily bulletin. Meanwhile, the word spread and since then, my house became a favourite haunt for the villagerswho gather here to listen to regional and national news. ”
Virtually disconnected from society, the village is situated almost 20 km away from the nearest road head, and has no electricity nor any public distribution shop or health care facilities. They eke out a living by working as labourers in nearby villages. “Even as government talks about technology-driven development and digital revolution, we don’t even have a phone connection, let alone internet connectivity. Plus, there is no power supply, we use oil lamps to light up our homes,” said Jeet Singh, a villager. Himanshu Kafaltia, SDM at Tanakpur, said, “The district administration has sent a proposal to the government to install a BSNL tower and get proper power supply for the village. ”
