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Life on Wheels: The Van Bawaria – A Nomadic Hunting Community of Rajasthan, India
Biswajit Mahapatra, Piyusha Ranjan Sahoo and Debashis Basu
Published: 2023/09/01
Abstract
The present study describes the livelihood strategies and assesses the food security level among the Van-Bawaria people of Rajasthan, India. All data were collected through a scheduled questionnaire and using interview methods. The study covers four districts in Rajasthan (Sikar, Jhunjhunu, Nagaur, and Jodhpur) and studied 24 temporary settlements (Jodi) from January to February, 2020. Most of the people have no permanent place of residence and therefore no identity cards. As a result, they do not benefit from the government’s development schemes. Overall, 73.6 % of the households experienced high food vulnerability and insecurity, 24.5 % experienced high food insecurity, and the remaining households (1.9 %) experienced medium food insecurity. The present study of the Van-Bawaria community is the first ever attempt to anthropologically study the Van-Bawaria community’s needs in terms of their “triple socio-psycho-economic burden” to keep them on the path of survival. Keywords: Van-Bawaria, Nomadic community, Livelihood, Food security, Rajasthan, Ethnography
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