Development and Cultural Distortion: Assessing the Impacts of Development Programmes and Policies on Medicinal Practice of Baiga Community of Chhattisgarh

Abstract

Tribal population is known for its rich culture. Over the past few decades, the developmental approach towards the tribes has been influencing their culture in such a way that these tribes are losing their rich cultural elements. Many of the policies and acts have taken them to the process of homogenization, thereby resulting in the loss of the knowledge systems that prevailed, and were practiced, among this population. Here, the researchers try to bring about the case of Baiga community in Chhattisgarh and the reason as to how their medicinal practices—the benchmark of this tribe—changed due to the policies and acts such as The Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006, Development-induced Displacement and other centre and state provisions. The researchers have adopted case study method. The cases were 10 Baiga villages in Bilaspur that are displaced and resettled from the present Achanakmar Wildlife Sanctuary area. Semi-structured interview schedule, focused group discussion and observation are used to collect the information. The study indicates that medicinal practices are almost getting lost from the community. The transformation of the knowledge system has not effectively occurred. The lifestyle outside the forest habitat with the general population is influenced by the policies and provisions of the central and state governments. It is visible in the form of changing dependency from their medicinal system to government-sponsored or private-sponsored health care services, dependency on the food provisions under below poverty line (BPL) scheme rather than the self-reliance they had.