Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Asur Tribes
Why in the News?
The Gumla district administration in Jharkhand has announced that the Asur community, a particularly vulnerable tribal group (PVTG) residing in the Netarhat plateau region of Gumla, will soon benefit from the Forest Rights Act (FRA), 2006.
About Asur Community
- The Asur tribe primarily resides in the districts of Gumla, Lohardaga, Palamu, and Latehar in Jharkhand, India.
- They speak Asuri, a Munda language belonging to the Austroasiatic language family.
- Traditionally, the Asur were skilled iron-smelters, practicing metallurgy using indigenous techniques.
- Over time, many have shifted to agriculture, although some are still involved in mining work.
- The Asur community has a traditional council (jati panch) to settle disputes.
- They maintain kinship ties with neighboring tribes like Kharwar and Munda.
Social Structure of Asur Community:
- They live in forest-surrounded clearings called pats, with houses made of mud walls, wooden poles, and roofs covered with paddy straw.
- Asurs follow a religion that combines animism, animatism, naturalism, and ancestral worship.
- Their chief deity is Singbonga, and they celebrate festivals like Sarhul and Karma.
- Marriage is significant, following rules of monogamy with exceptions for barrenness or widowhood.
- Widow remarriage is allowed, and marriages occur within the tribe (endogamy).
Back2Basics: Forest Rights Act, 2006
| Details | |
| Purpose | Recognizes and vests forest rights in Forest Dwelling Scheduled Tribes (FDST) and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (OTFD). |
| Eligibility | Individuals or communities residing in forest land for at least 3 generations (75 years) prior to December 13, 2005. |
| Rights Recognized |
|
| Authority | Gram Sabha initiates the process of determining Individual Forest Rights (IFR) or Community Forest Rights (CFR). |
| Conservation | Balances forest conservation with livelihood and food security of FDST and OTFD. |
PYQ:[2021] At the national level, which ministry is the nodal agency to ensure effective implementation of the Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006? (a) Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (b) Ministry of Panchayati Raj (c) Ministry of Rural Development (d) Ministry of Tribal Affairs |
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