EEFFECT OF DISPLACEMENT AND REHABILITATION ON THE SOCIAL LIFE OF TRADITIONAL FOREST DWELLERS: A STUDY AMONG THE KATTUNAYAKAN TRIBES RESETTLED IN CHETHALAYAM VILLAGES, WAYANAD

Abstract

The present study was an attempt towards deepening the existing body of knowledge relating to the impact of displacement from protected areas on the livelihood of the tribal communities affected. The universe of the study is the displaced tribal families from the kurichyad tribal settlement, Wayanad. The tribal communities of Kerala, as elsewhere, strive for their survival and existence for their livelihood, and their miserable plight has ever since been broadened and intensified even after the existence of more than half century of our democracy. With the acquisition of tribal lands by the alien people with the claim of development, most of the tribal lands become exposed as a public property. Even though the society is moving forward with the developmental projects including the upliftment of the tribal people, they have suffered large-scale displacement out of these developmental projects from their homeland. This kind of displacement also displays is their culture of community living, traditional language, food habits and religious practices to a great extent. The study argues that, for adivasis in particular, displacement means cultural genocide, because when they lost their lives land ,every aspect of their social structure is in a effect destroyed : their economy and identity because of loss of status self-sufficient workers ,their political structures because from being mainly self-employed they become a dependent on corporate and government hierarchies, forming a bottom rung of labors were unemployed, their social relationship because they cease to be a largely self-sufficient, cohesive community ,their religion ,because of' even their on gods are destroyed' when they are alienated from their inhabitants. From this study it can be assumed that the worst effects of displacement as the tribals also face the risk of marginalisation. This means that their economic, social and psychological infrastructure makes it impossible for them to rebuild their lives, let alone improve it. Also, displacement creates in them a crisis of social and cultural identity and sense of an acute powerless. They devalue their own culture and internalize as the dominant system. Thus, a cultural genocide is inevitable as well as inescapable among them. Rather than impoverishment and poverty, most painful misery for the tribals that, the erosion of people's sense of community and cultural identity, values and traditions which invariable arguments their separation from the land which they and their ancestors cultivated over many generations. This indicates collective devaluing of the people and culture was being displaced due to development induced cell development.