Check dam in village Jarel with houses in the background

Making a case for Kanjar

Considered to be notorious, any idea of rehabilitating Kanjar tribe with livelihoods plans raises expectations as well as anxiety. In unsubstantiated common perception the Kanjar tribe is considered habitual offender, a social stigma that has marginalized the already `marginal’ community a great deal. Any attempt at bringing them into the mainstream must solicit an appreciation of their past.

The Kanjar
Derived from the Sanskrit kanana-chara, kanjar means wonderer in the jungle. They claim to have originated in Rajasthan, where they served as servants of the Rajputs & Jats. The Kanjar then had to flee to the jungles to avoid Moghul persecution. Since that period, they have been living a nomadic life of hunter gatherer. Some consider them to have descended from a Manu Guru and his wife Nathiya Kanjarin. They are divided into four clans, the Callad, Superala, Patharkat and Rachhband.

In Punjab, a section of Kanjar has historically associated with prostitution. Consequently, the muslim Kanjar of Punjab (notably in Pakistan) has always accepted fresh recruits. Those who have followed the profession for generations are called deradars, and look down upon the latter recruits. The Kanjar also supplied the executioners during the period of Moghul and Sikh rule in the Punjab.

Come the British and Kanjar get listed under the Criminal Tribes Act, 1871, as being a tribe `addicted to the systematic commission of non-bailable offences.’ After independence, they were de-notified in 1952, when the Criminal Tribes Act was replaced with the Habitual Offenders Act, but the community continues to carry considerable social stigma till date.

In recent times, Kanjar have been engaged in settled agriculture, wage labour and in rickshaw pulling. The Kanjar chieftan or patel is very strong, and exercises a strong hold over the community. The Kanjar have also been connected with music, and the do offer public performances as well. The formal education, however, has been fairly low on account of stigmatized social exclusion.

The Present
Two villages inhabited by Kanjar viz., Jarel and Chandia Kheri, about 15 kms from Jhalawar, one of the 33 districts of Rajasthan, bordering Guna district of Madhya Pradesh, were visited on Nov 14, 2009. The dilapidated settlements seem of recent origin, the villages may have been no more than a generation old. This lends support to the observation that the tribe has largely been nomadic, presumably driven out by extraneous factors from their previous locations. Though Kanjar have been given patta for building houses, but for the few in the village a large majority is otherwise landless. The following insights were gained through short interactions with the villagers:

· Kanjar are socially stigmatized, their children are intimidated in schools by other children (notably gujar). Education status amongst young is very poor.
· Socially marginalized, most Kanjar engage in farm and wage labour at nearby mines with a few having opted for being watchman.
· With a majority of the households being landless, women are busy in household chores and occasional wage labour.
· Kanjar have the obligation to keep daily record of each male in the village and report to the police patrol who visits them daily at or around midnight.
· As if this humiliation is not enough, each Kanjar has to report to police before each outstation travel with details about the place/person being visited.
· The benefits of various welfare schemes of the government have yet to reach the community, their awareness level on such schemes being poor.
· The socially stigmatized community has been pushed to the margins of survival by the society and the state.

The Questions
It raises a series of questions. The general impression is that due to sustained engagement with the police, Kanjar have given up on their habitual offender lifestyle. However, it will be worthwhile to assess whether that has led to overall decline in petty crimes in the area or the charges they were booked under were ever established? Many Kanjar lament that on several occasions they have often been booked for crimes that they never committed. Two young boys narrated their pathetic story when they were picked up by the police while they were on way to taking school exams. They could never get back to school thereafter. Such stories of continued harassments abound!

Question 1: even if the police intimidation technique has worked, how long will the entire community be subjected to such harassment? Far from mainstreaming the community, does it not contribute to their further marginalization?

Given the social stigma, poor education and no assets, eking out a living for an average Kanjar must be a nightmare. Branded as habitual offenders, their esteem must be at the lowest. Their habitations bear their plight. They have even been exploited by the vested interests on employment guarantee under NREGA. But for the police, none of the government welfare schemes, be it on education, health, housing and skill-building have reached them. On the sight of an outsider, the households congregate to share their plight and express their demands as well.

Question 2: should the government not remove social discrimination against Kanjar and make extra efforts to converge schemes for the benefit of these communities? should not the government be sympathetic towards their rehabilitation?

Even when Kanjar receive the benefits of welfare schemes, the crucial issue will relate to their integration into the society. It is clear that the hunter-gatherer nomadic tribe was forced into petty crimes as their natural habitation (forests) was decimated all across. As a consequence, they might have had no option but to survive by extracting money through petty crimes. Enforcing law to get them out of the cycle of crime is part of the solution, providing sustained livelihoods alone can create a new cycle.

Question 3: can Kanjar integration into the society be possible without first uplifting their social esteem? can livelihoods security be created without providing the firm basis for it through land reforms?

The Beginning
Given the emphasis on the rehabilitation of Kanjar by the Government of Rajasthan, a window of opportunity exists to simultaneously move in both horizontal (social integration) and vertical directions (policy change) to create impact within a reasonable period of time. The macro picture points towards the following:

Social Level: Building an understanding on their social-historical past by connecting the dots to their present status will make sense. Their power dynamics, social customs and religious practices can help develop a holistic understanding on what constitutes Kanjar.

Survival Strategy: Kanjar have survived through thick and thin. What endures them and what keeps them going? What skills do them have or what inherent capacities of theirs can be re-built? To know their hopes and aspirations are as critical as their current status.

Livelihoods Cycle: Drawing livelihoods cycles of each family and collating these cycles to constitute a community livelihood status can be helpful in identifying the gaps and in locating welfare schemes and related programs to fill them.

Resource Mapping: The natural and infrastructure resource (PDS, housing, water, sanitation, education & health) base need to be mapped to fine-tune (or brought-in such programs if non-existent) to suit the needs of the community.

The `indicator’ of change would be the restoration of Kanjar pride by liberating them from the mandatory police reporting. Once that is achieved, the rest will follow.

The Process
Conventional community mobilization and development techniques and processes may have to be done away with in the present case. The idea is to first build a rapport and fellowship with the community, alongside identification of local leadership and entry points. Creative conversation with the community, at individual as well as community level, to understand them should be the first step. Getting a sense of the community needs and the existing opportunities, including training needs and resource mobilization, will help in baseline information collection and for developing livelihood programs. The entire process ought to be dynamic and adaptive.

Dr Sudhirendar Sharma