Paper short abstract:

The research locates the changing political and economic structures with the state of Jammu and Kashmir and analyses their impact on the political, economic and social mobilities of the pastoral community of Bakkarwal in a period after the pandemic- marked by a changed federal structure.

Paper long abstract:

The Himalayas of South Asia are home to many tribal communities; some of which practice transhumant pastoralism as a tool of social reproduction and production. The Gujjar- Bakarwal tribe of Jammu and Kashmir are one of the largest groups which traverse across the Western Himalayas along with their flock. The community is intrinsically tied to nature as they undertake seasonal migration with their flock for access to pastures and other natural resources. Mobility, in terms of space and time, is crucial to contextualise the lived experiences of the Gujjar-Bakarwal tribe, as their political, social, and economic decisions have been shaped by the constant ability and need to move. The collaboration of modernisation project of neoliberalism during the period of the Covid-19 pandemic and rearrangement of the federal structure have reshaped the various spaces occupied by this pastoral tribe.

This research while employing pluralist analytical methods— political economy, social constructionist, eco-materialist — interrogates crystallised notions of identity, political and social understanding of community, and the future of social and cultural reproduction. For a grounded policy response, the session will locate the toll of phenomenal changes occurring due to hegemonic anthropogenic actions on three spaces inhabited by the Gujjar-Bakarwals — physical (land), epistemic and public identity. This would allow the creation of a communitarian response and grading of prevalent structures in their ability to justly include pastoral lives and aspirations.