Forest Resource Management and Lepcha Tribal Forest Culture: A study in the context of Colonial Darjeeling (1865-1947)

Abstract

The present paper aims to locate the colonial bureaucratic management in terms of forest policy and its sporadic impact on the Lepcha tribes presumed to be the earliest forest . people of the eastern Himalayas in the Darjeeling region. The tribal Lepcha groups predominantly associated with the woodlands, appeared to witness extensive technological adjustments and alien concept of conservational approach, that in turn redefined their relationship with nature and the environment. Traditional capabilities of tribal economy and forest usage rights perished and systematic exploitation strengthened over tribal regions or so called forest zones. The process of colonial notion of 'conservation' in Darjeeling was profoundly developed reshaping the ecological milieu of the region like in any other parts of the country. With the codification and implementation of forest laws; forest lands' were legitimized through the state excluding the erstwhile community rights.