Livelihood Strategy of Hill Dalits from Siranchowk Rural Municipality, Gorkha

Sociology

This research paper focuses on the livelihood strategy of hill Dalit in Gorkha. This study examines livelihood diversification as a survival strategy of Dalit households. It shows changes in livelihood strategies along with persistence which have come about historically. Particular attention is paid to the shifts in the economy during the past few decades, particularly with the onset of new development discourse and practice since 1990s. The livelihood strategies of Dalit households seem to be changing depending upon the new opportunities and constraints that have been emerging from local to national and global level. Economic change, education system, modernization, urbanization and globalization, in single phrase, development processes play a decisive role in changing the structure of a society, a community or a group. This paper aims to examine the livelihood strategy of hill Dalit, specifically, analyzing socio-cultural and economic background of the Dalit, examining the changes in the livelihood strategies of Dalit during the last decade; and explaining the constraints and opportunities shaping Dalit’s livelihood strategies at present.To conduct this study, an ethnographic approach was employed, utilizing key informant’s interviews and observation as the primary data collection methods. The emerging survival strategies of these Dalit amid the special constraints and opportunities brought about by development is the testimony to the Dalit’s ability to adjust to the changing contexts. Diverse factors have been involved to bring about transformation in the livelihood of Dalit. The developments/ changes which are going on can be seen to relate to the three principal catalysts which have been introduced in the rural areas since the last two decades.

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