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Articles by Aastha Maggu
An unfair world
Young, jobless, married and a child to rear — a familiar tale from the dark underbelly Young, jobless, married and a child to rear — a familiar tale from the dark underbelly She was just a four-month-old baby. I asked Noori, her mother, if I could hold baby Maira in my arms, and she happily obliged. She said, “Didi, do not be afraid to hold the baby. Just be mindful to support her head and neck.” I nervously lifted her up.
Friends Of The Desert: How Camels Can Help Build Climate Change Resilience
Found in dry and semi-arid parts of Africa and Asia, camels are mostly reared by nomads. For centuries, the identity of the camel remains intertwined with the desert and its people. The milk and meat of the camel are either consumed directly or used to make other products by the families that rear them. The global camel population is estimated to be at 35 million. The situation the animal finds itself in India is grim. In the last decades, its numbers have nosedived.
Right of passage: Covid and pastoral communities
With opportunity costs attached to the livelihoods of pastoralists being so high, the government must facilitate their safe movement | | Published 22.06.21, 12:20 AM India is battling a second wave of Covid-19 infections; this time it has made inroads into rural India. Pastoral communities, who have limited information about the symptoms, preventive measures, diagnosis, treatment and vaccination, are becoming silent victims.
With Govt Support, Indian Pastoralists Can Help Mitigate Impact Of Climate Change
The world over — pastoralists are becoming a vanishing breed, even though they play a key role in the rehabilitation and sustainable management of fragile ecosystems. Today, India has nearly , but they are being increasingly threatened with mass displacement because of intense competition from agriculture, population growth, herd dispossession and drought. For the last three decades, Nitya Ghotge has been working on issues related to development and the environment.
As More Land Turns Into Deserts, Lives Of 130 Lakh Indians At Stake
Motilal Raika is a pastoralist from the Barmer district and he owns about a hundred goats and sheep. He has a family of six. Like most families in the Thar desert, his family chiefly relies on livestock rearing husbandry for their household income. “For centuries, in the summers, my ancestors migrated to greener grazing lands in the Sindh region, northern parts of Rajasthan, Punjab and Haryana. They would only return home after the monsoon ended,” he says.
How Desert Locusts Are Imperilling Food And Fodder Security In The Thar Desert
In December 2019, Western Rajasthan was hit by a severe locust attack It caused huge crop losses and caught the administration and the farmers unaware. Bikaner was one of the worst affected districts in the state. I had just started working with a non-profit at that time and was based out of their field office in the Bikaner district, when I happened to witness the attack. According to the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation, the desert locust is the most destructive migratory pest in the world.
Pastoralism as most sustainable form of production, livelihood, and land use
| | Published 12.11.20, 03:47 AM The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations has observed that supporting pastoralist systems would contribute directly to achieving several Sustainable Development Goals: elimination of poverty, achieving zero hunger, promoting good health and well-being, aiding economic growth, ensuring responsible consumption and production, and bolstering climate action and the biodiversity of life on land.
Desert dare
Tea and fellowship: a gritty woman in a Rajasthani village shows how both flow together Visit any household in western Rajasthan. After pleasantries, you will be offered tea. “The Marwaris believe in being good hosts, and they tend to get offended if you refuse tea,” my colleague said. “They would think that you are here only to extract information for your research,” another cautioned. I was now afraid how my urban stomach would cope with the copious amounts of tea and charted a washroom strategy.
Field notes from Thar
September 6, 2020 1:35:01 pm Girl students of Primary School at Barna Village in Kurukshetra (Express Photo by Kamleshwar Singh) Written by Aastha Maggu My mother laid out a long list of strict guidelines that I should follow as I prepared for my train journey as a “lone woman traveler” to Bikaner. “Do not smile too much. Do not befriend random people. You are too trusting, please remember that there are all kinds of people traveling. You can never be too careful.
As Jaisalmer villagers fight for sacred grove, a larger question looms
Environment Allocation of village land for the development of solar and wind parks at the cost of pasture land is detrimental for villages Residents of Devikot village in Rajasthan’s Jaisalmer district are fighting to protect a sacred grove that caters to the forage requirements of more than 35,000 large and small animals in the area. Sacred groves are areas of natural vegetation protected by village communities due to religious reasons.
Taking the right approach to child labour in Indian pastoral communities
The Indian case for child labour in pastoralism has been adequately overlooked, despite agriculture and its various branches being the largest employer of child labour. The Centre for Pastoralism estimates that there are 35 million pastoralists across India, with most of them living in austere and inhospitable regions, ranging from the cold deserts of Ladakh to the Thar Desert and Deccan plateau.
COVID-19 lockdown and the impact on camels in Rajasthan
Wildlife & Biodiversity Camel herders face problems in getting care for their animals because of the nationwide lockdown to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) Camels infected with mange at Karanpura village in Bikaner district Photo credits: Suraj Singh / Desert Resource Centre Camel herders across Rajasthan face several problems due to the nationwide lockdown to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19): They are unable to get proper veterinary...
COVID-19 makes summer 2020 harsh for Rajasthan’s pastoralists
Economy Pastoralists suspend migration to other states, fodder crisis in several villages Pastoralists stop to rest, with their camels, in Jojawar village in Rajasthan's Kharchi tehsil Photo: Sopan Joshi Thousands of pastoralist families from western Rajasthan, who begin their journey to Haryana and Punjab during the summer, were severely impacted by the nationwide lockdown, put in place to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19).
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