The Birhors Struggle to Preserve Tradition in a Changing World

Tribals are an integral part of our country, India. According to the 2011 census, the percentage of tribal people is 8.6% of the total population of India. In the present context, while talking about the tribal people, “The vulnerability of the tribal people” is a burning issue. Tribes are not only deprived in the present day, but they also were deprived during the British colonial period. According to the Ministry of tribal affairs, Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs) are categorized as the most vulnerable tribal groups among all Scheduled Tribes of India. A total of 75 PVTGs are identified and listed in India. Mainly, those tribes that are numerically declining day by day, economically backward, with a low literacy rate, and practice a pre-agricultural level of technology are listed as PVTGs. Among them, Birhors are recorded as one of the PVTGs. The Birhor are known as nomadic, hunter-gatherer, and rope-making people. These tribal groups are found in the states of Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Odisha, and West Bengal. The present study was carried out in Jehangutwa and Beti Village of Bishunpur CD Block of the Gumla district of Jharkhand, where the researcher tries to explore the present status of their traditional life. Different conventional anthropological tools and techniques were employed for the collection of both primary and secondary data to find out how they are changing their lives and struggling for identity after connecting with the modern world.