By Bharat Dogra Water conservation is emerging as the strongest pillar of climate resilience for several villages in Jhansi district, where a combination of erratic rainfall and prolonged dry spells has made farming increasingly difficult. During a visit to Dakhneshwar village in Bamaur block, a long walk along farm bunds and a brief struggle through thorny undergrowth opened into the sight of a sturdy check dam—now a symbol of renewed hope for villagers recovering from this year’s adverse weather. Anguri and other women gathered there described how this structure has changed their prospects by securing water that had become increasingly scarce.
By Raj Kumar Sinha* In the time of Dharti Aaba Birsa Munda, the British accelerated the process of transforming the tribal agricultural system into a feudal state. Since the tribal people could not generate surplus with their primitive technology, the chieftains of Chota Nagpur invited non-tribal farmers to settle and cultivate the land. This resulted in the alienation of land from the tribal people. A new class of contractors, of a greedier kind, began to create disruption in agriculture to increase their wealth. This dual challenge of agrarian disruption and cultural change was met through a series of revolts and uprisings led by Birsa Munda. At the young age of 25, that boy from Ulihatu village in present-day Jharkhand became the great hero of mass resistance against colonial exploitation. When British officials and local landlords were exploiting tribal communities, grabbing their lands, and committing atrocities, Bhagwan Birsa rose up against this social and econo...