Issue1. Vol.1 (April, 2013) - IIT Mandi

ESSENT Society for Collaborative Research and Innovation, IIT Mandireligious shrines were intricately associated withthe agrarian life of the local inhabitants.Fig 3: Religion: An important institution of localgovernance:The pagoda stye ‘Adi Brahma’ temple adjacent to asacred deodar tree.Teehri village, UttarsalBesides the customary rituals and religiouspractices that needed to be meticulouslyperformed during these religious ceremonies,these periodic festivities served as an outlet forsocial exchange and rejuvenation that wasnecessary to overcome the humdrumness ofphysically exhausting daily chores and routinetasks necessary for survival amidst undulatingterrain, extremities of climate and theunpredictability of weather conditions.VThe post independence era has been essentiallycharacterised by transformation and change.Infrastructure development through creation ofcommunity development blocks andimplementation of rural development programs,land reforms and improvements in marketaccess through better road connectivity aresignificant factors that have triggered theprocess of change. These developments haveessentially fuelled transition from a subsistencebased economy to one largely geared for themarket resulting in growing levels of economicprosperity for the local inhabitants. During thelast 25 years, the intensity and pace of changehas heightened in Uttarsal. Crop shifts towardsvegetable cultivation for the market in place oftraditional grains and millet is now an allpervasive phenomena. Sale of milk and milkproducts is being pursued by most villages ofthe belt for supplementing income fromagriculture. The strategic road connectivityprofile of the region has been an importantfactor triggering these developments as itpermits easy access to the urban wholesalemarkets of Kullu as well as Mandi towns.Locals have diversified their economic activitiesto include non-farm avenues of employmentsuch as engagement in petty retail trade andtransport activities. Some household members,particularly young lads, leave the regionseasonally to earn income from casualemployment by engaging in the flourishingtourism industry of Kullu and Manali. Similarly,a large fraction of the youth migrates seasonallyto prosperous apple belts of Shimla and Kinnaurwhere they assist in packing and gradingoperations for a living.While there has been an apparent rise in theeconomic well being of the local inhabitants,changes in other spheres of human developmenthave been less dramatic. There is close to 100%enrolment in primary education. But the dropoutrate after completion of 12 th grade is veryhigh for both genders. The gujjar population inUttarsal continues to have very low levels ofliteracy despite close urban links and exposure.Though it was not possible to decipher theuntoward effects of transformation and changeon other indices of human development such ashealth and the overall environment, as part ofthe present field research endeavour, someundesirable trends were evident. Mountingopportunities for income generation within theregion has led to ‘introvert’ patterns ofdevelopment resulting in rising demographicpressure on the natural resource base. For82 ESSENT|Issue1|Vol1