Task Force Report - Govind Ballabh Pant Institute of Himalayan ...

With such a profound influence on the regional
climate and due to great variations in altitude
and latitude, the Himalayan region nurtures
a staggering diversity of flora and fauna. The
vegetation assemblages of the Himalayan region
range from tropical savanna type to alpine
meadows. Taking note of this, the entire landscape
has been designated as one of the global hotspots
of biodiversity. IHR accounts for around 70% of
the Himalayan biodiversity hotspot; Recognition of
the Himalaya as one of the 34 global biodiversity
hotspots aptly reflects it’s wide ranging ecological
significance 13 . Diverse natural resources support
socio-cultural diversity in these mountains.
The initial human settlement of the Himalayan
region was the result of waves of Caucasoid
migration from the west and Mongoloids from
the east. Thus, due to their individual migration
routes, the former are spread across the Western
Himalaya while the latter settled in the eastern
Himalaya. Migrants settled with time and brought
their religions such as Hinduism from the southern
plains, Buddhism from the northern high plateau
and Islam from the west. While their cultural
identity remains preserved in a large number of
distinct languages of Tibeto-Burman and Indo-
Aryan language families, which they speak across
the region, the spiritual faith of many Himalayan
people is still ingrained in their Shamanistic
belief 11 .
1.1.2. The Indian Himalayan Region
(IHR)
The IHR, including the Himalaya proper and the
north-eastern hill states, lies between 21 o 57’ and
37 o 5’ N latitudes and 72 o 40’ and 97 o 25’ E longitudes
covering an area of 5,33,000 km 2 (16.2% of the total
geographical area of the country). It stretches over
2,500 km from Jammu & Kashmir in the west to
Arunachal Pradesh in the east, covering partially/
fully twelve states of India (Fig. 1.1), but its width
varies from 150 km to 600 km at different places.
The IHR is the home to four crore (40 million)
people 14 (3.8% of the total population of the
country). Historically the region had been
controlled by different principalities/tribal
coalitions/ monastic orders, and then came the
colonial regime that lasted till the independence
of the country. Since independence, the system of
democratic governance ushered in new institutional
arrangements with some specific arrangements 15 to
protect and maintain socio-cultural identities of the
mountain societies in the IHR.
In the religious traditions of India, the Himalaya
as an entity has been personified as God Himvat
(in Hinduism), the father of lord Shiva’s consort,
Parvati. However, religious significance of the
Himalaya extends to other religions as well. Some
scholars opine that the IHR has become the symbol
of religious harmony of the highest order in the
country 16,17 . Multiple ethnic compositions are a
striking feature of the region. More than 170 of the
total 701 scheduled tribes of India inhabit the IHR.
Broadly divided into the eastern Himalaya and
the western Himalaya, each region has its unique
culture and cultural diversity. Ethnic mosaic of
western Himalaya differs conspicuously from
that of the east. A wide spectrum of biophysical
gradients when superimposed with socio-cultural
diversity make the IHR all the more heterogeneous,
necessitating formulation of location specific
developmental plans as well as finding solutions
to the local problems. There is a distinct social
awareness on conservation and natural resource
management as reflected by the origin of world
famous environmental movement Chipko and the
existence of a number of traditional institutions
like Dzumsa, Mangma, and Dwichi in the IHR.
The region is vast, rugged and varied. The higher
ranges remaining perpetually snow bound
13 Conservation International. 2007. http://www.biodiversityhotspots.org
14 Census of India, 2001.
15 Indian Constitution – Part XXI: Article 370; 371A, B, C, F, G, & H. Foreigners (Protected Areas) Order 1958- Protected
Area Permit.
16 Gurudwara Pather Sahib’s was built by Lamas of Leh in 1517 AD, and run by them for over four centuries.
17 Religious harmony between Hindu pilgrims and local Muslims during Amarnath yatra.
18
Report of the Task Force