Lodha people

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Lodha
Regions with significant populations
              West Bengal84,966
Languages
Lodhi
Related ethnic groups
Munda people  • Sabar  • Lodha Muslims

Lodha people are a tribal/Adivasi people living primarily in the Indian states of West Bengal and Odisha, mostly in the Paschim Medinipur district. A section of the Lodha has converted to Islam, and form a distinct community of Lodha Muslims.

Demographics

As per 2001 census, Lodhas numbered 84,966 and formed 1.9 per cent of the scheduled tribe population of West Bengal. They had a literacy rate of 34.8 per cent.[1]

They are found in Suliapada and Morada blocks of Baripada sub-division of Mayurbhanj district of Orissa.[2]

Focus

Lodha means piece of flesh named after their ancestor. Lodhas have been in the focus of anthropologists and social activists.[3] During the early period of their rule, the British government in India oppressed the tribal people of Jungle Mahals, who were traditionally dependent upon the forests for a living. They had revolted but were ruthlessly suppressed. Having been deprived of their livelihood and without any alternatives, they took to criminal ways of life and were subsequently branded a criminal tribe. They should properly be labelled as uprooted rebels. Lodha titles are Nayek, Mallick, Digar, Sardar, Bhokta, Kotal, Dandapat, Bhunya etc. These titles. Sabars.[4] One of the most important research on the Lodhas was done by a Calcutta University faculty, Professor Probodh Kumar Bhowmick[5][6] Much later, researchers from the Department of Anthropology at Vidyasagar University have done empirical studies on the development scenario of the Lodha tribe in Midnapore district[7][8] who were by that time declared as a 'Primitive Tribal Group'(PTG) by the Government of India.

See also

References

  1. ^ "West Bengal: Data Highlights the Scheduled Tribes" (PDF). Census of India 2001. Census Commission of India. Retrieved 2009-09-26.
  2. ^ "Mayurbhanj, Tribal languages, festivals and culture". Retrieved 2009-09-26.
  3. ^ Rise of anthropology in India: a social science orientation, Volume 1 By Lalita Prasad Vidyarthi. Retrieved 2009-09-26.
  4. ^ Ghosh, Binoy, Paschim Banger Sanskriti, (in Bengali), part I, 1976 edition, pp. 201-203, Prakash Bhaban
  5. ^ Rehabilitation of a 'Denotified Community': The Ex-Criminal Lodhas of West Bengal, Royal Anthropological Institute Newsletter No. 44 (Jun., 1981), pp. 6-8, https://www.jstor.org/stable/3032233
  6. ^ Lodhas of West Bengal: A Socio-economic Study by P.K.Bhowmick https://www.amazon.com/Lodhas-Bengal-Socio-Economic-Study-Foreword/dp/B000OMQZYY
  7. ^ https://www.academia.edu/7999059/Lodhas_of_West_Bengal_A_Case_Study
  8. ^ https://www.researchgate.net/publication/257221844_Ground_realities_of_Development_among_the_Lodhas_in_West_Bengal