Braving Crocodiles with Kali: Being a prawn-seed collector and a modern woman in the 21st century Sundarbans

Globalisation has undoubtedly shaped popular conceptions of gender and society in innumerable ways. This article studies one such instance - the plight of tiger-prawn collectors in Sundarbans. The discovery of tiger-prawns - the 'living dollars of Sundarbans' - has certainly transformed the lives of women in the region beyond imagination. These women however have had to face strenuous attacks from many spheres. Based on anthropological fieldwork, this piece portrays the struggle of women in the area against patriarchy, traditional modes of exploitation and even urban notions of femininity. Braving crocodiles and even changing their religious allegiances, these women have, carved out a sphere of self-respect for themselves.

Forest of Tigers: People, Politics, and Environment in the Sundarbans

Acclaimed for their unique ecosystem and Royal Bengal tigers, the mangrove slands that comprise the Sundarbans area of the Bengal delta are the setting for this anthropological work. The key question that the author explores is: what do tigers mean for the islanders of the Sundarbans? The diverse origins and current occupations of the local population produce different answers to this question; but for all, 'the tiger question' is a significant social marker. Far more than through caste, tribe or religion, the Sundarbans islanders articulate their social locations and interactions by reference to the non-human world - the forest and its terrifying protagonist, the man-eating tiger. This study is also an exploration of the history of the encounter of Islam and Hinduism in the region, expressed through tiger-charming practices, the legacy of Sufi pirs and the worship of forest deities such as Bonbibi and Dokkhin Rai. With the recent arrival of the prawn industry, the products of which are sold to a global market, the marginal workers of the forest, especially women, are beginning to shift their religious allegiances. What is driving the displacement of the traditional forest deities by the more powerful, more 'global' figure of Kali? As environmentalists highlight the unique biodiversity of the Sundarbans ecosystem and push for greater conservation, the author revisits the islanders' memories of the Morichjhanpi massacre and their uneasy engagements with statist politics. These provide the critical background for the present-day dilemmas which emerge regarding the perceived unjust allocation of resources between humans and wildlife in a region better known as 'tiger-land'. The book combines ethnography on a little-known region with contemporary theoretical insights to provide a new frame of reference to understand social relations in the Indian subcontinent. It will be of interest to scholars and students of anthropology, sociology, development studies, religion, cultural studies, as well as those working on environment, conservation, the state and issues relating to discrimination and marginality. Table of contents: List of Maps and Illustrations vii Acknowledgements ix Note on Transliteration xiv I. Introduction 1 II. The Village and the Forest 21 III. Land and its Hierarchies 35 IV. Is Salt Water Thicker than Blood? 65 V. Roughing it with Kali: Braving Crocodiles, Relatives and the Bhadralok 109 VI. Sharing History with Tigers 146 VII. Unmasking the Cosmopolitan Tiger 176 VIII. Conclusion: Beneath the Masks, the Human Face of the Sundarbans 203 Afterword 213 Glossary of Selected Terms and Acronyms 220 Bibliography 225 Aout the Author 241 Inde

Website: http://banglastories.org/

This website is on stories of Bengali Muslim migration where through various life-stories, family trees and pictorial narratives, high-school students, especially British-Bangladeshi ones, can get a greater sense of the histories of their ancestors, explore different phases of migration and settlement, and understand the shifting formations of ‘community’. We are also co-authoring: The Bengali Muslim Diaspora: Migration, Displacement and Settlement in Bangladesh, India and Britain. This research came out of a three- year London School of Economics / University of Cambridge project funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC), U.K

Conservation And Conflicts In The Sundarban Biosphere Reserve, India

The Sundarban Biosphere Reserve in West Bengal, India, is part of the largest mangrove forest ecosystem in the world. The reserve is a world heritage site and the last refuge for the endangered Bengal tiger at a crucial time when global climate change threatens their existence. The mangrove ecosystem and wildlife conservation have become the priority for the state government of West Bengal. However, in becoming so, the state government imposes restrictions on catching fish in the core and buffer areas of the biosphere reserve, which intensify fishermen\u27s everyday resource‐access struggles in the mangrove forest. This paper examines the conflict between local fishermen and conservation needs, broadening the understanding of human‐environment relationships in the Sundarbans region of India