Paper Short Abstract:

his study examines the reorganization of social relationships among climate-displaced communities in the Sundarban delta, using Habermas's lifeworld, Victor turner's communitas . Based on interviews with 50 respondents and focus groups, it highlights self-reliance and sustainability as keys to resilience and social cohesion.

Paper Abstract:

Rehabilitating communities has been a major challenge in the context of India where classic cases of failed resettlement such as the Narmada valley bring painful memories of the internally displaced population. This study examines how social relationships are rearranged in communities affected by natural disasters using Habermas’s lifeworld and victor turner's communitas, Disaster led displacement has long-term impact on vulnerable littoral communities (Mustak, 2022) and it has a profound implication for pre-existing social networks, forcing people to adjust to new social situations while attempting to start over. This study will focus on how cyclone displaced communities in the Bay of Bengal delta rim can be supported using the “sustainability and self-reliance principles”, which will help build resilience and maintain long-term social cohesiveness. Reorganising social relationships after resettlement is about more than just restoring what has been lost, it is also about building a resilient community that aligns with larger social goals of self-reliance for sustainable development. The fieldwork was conducted using qualitative methodology- semi structured interviews, and the interview schedule was used to gather data from the field. This involved purposive and snowball sampling to select respondents who were displaced by climate induced disaster events. This study was based on 90 migrant’s households in the Sundarban delta. The analysis is based on detailed interviews carried out among 50 respondents and a series of focus group discussions with community members from different age groups and both genders.