“After that many non–Toto families came and settled in Totopara village permanently,” he adds. Then, in the 1940s, a dozen Nepalese families came from Bhutan and settled there, says Biswas. What is known is that up until 1939, the Totos were the only inhabitants of the village. The Bhutia are the majority community in neighbouring Bhutan. “But they might have moved here from Bhutan to avoid confrontation with unfriendly powerful Bhutias during the middle of the 18th century,” he says. The exact history of when and why the Totos settled in Totopara is unclear, says Samar Kumar Biswas, a professor of anthropology at the University of North Bengal. The entrance to Totopara, where generations of Totos have lived – but where they now fear they could be squeezed out Shifting demographics There’s also a more recent tension that’s enveloping Totopara and upsetting the Totos – migration from Bhutan has now turned them into a minority in the village, stoking worries that the small community could be squeezed out of its own traditional home. “No political leader after the poll has ever come here to take stock of our situation.” We still face poor roads and pathetic health services,” says Jiten. “Not much has been done for our development. But despite that exercise in democracy, many Totos say their small numbers and remote geography mean that politicians have repeatedly ignored their concerns. When India votes between March and May, polling officials will come – as they have in previous elections – to set up a camp where the villagers can cast their votes on electronic machines. The Indo-Bhutanese community lives almost exclusively in Totopara, a village with narrow lanes surrounded by hills, which sits just 2km (1.2 miles) from India’s border with Bhutan. Nearly 75 percent of them are eligible to vote. One of the smallest tribes in the world, the total Toto population is estimated at about 1,670 people. Totopara gets its name from the Toto tribe that Jiten belongs to. Now, as India prepares for its 18th general election, he has little hope that anything will change in a tiny corner of the country whose unique residents feel they’ve long been forgotten by the world’s largest democracy. Jiten has seen dozens of harvests and 17 national elections pass by. Keep reading list of 4 items list 1 of 4 Protests in India against ‘anti-Muslim’ citizenship law list 2 of 4 India’s Modi government rushes to regulate AI ahead of national elections list 3 of 4 Why is India’s Citizenship Amendment Act so controversial? list 4 of 4 ‘Dark day’: India on edge over religion-based citizenship law before polls end of list
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |