Van Gujjars

IN NEWS:

• People belonging to the Van Gujjar community in Uttrakhand’s Rajaji National Park area have alleged that officials from the state forest department tried to demolished their makeshift huts and ‘physically assaulted’ them during Covid-19 Lock down period.

ABOUT VANN GUJJARS:

• Van Gujjars is one of the few forest-dwelling nomadic communities in the country.
• Usually, they migrate to the bugyals (grasslands) located in the upper Himalayas with their buffaloes and return only at the end of monsoons to their makeshift huts, deras, in the foothills.
• The Van Gujjars traditionally practice buffalo husbandry; a family owns up to 25 heads of buffaloes.
• They rely on buffaloes for milk, which gets them a good price in Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh markets.
• They have been known to make a sustainable use of forest resources as forests cater to fodder needs of the cattle.

PRELIMS QUESTION:

Q. Consider the following statements regarding Vann Gujjars:

1. They are a forest dwelling nomadic community from Gujarat.

2. They traditionally practice buffalo husbandry.

Which among the above statements is/are correct:

1. 1 only
2. 2 only
3. Both 1 and 2
4. Neither 1 nor 2

Answer to Prelims question