Embodying a Preparedness to Die: Why Bishnois of Western Rajasthan Rise in Defence of the Blackbuck and the Chinkara?

Abstract

Often referred to as the custodians of nature, the Bishnois have been taking initiatives to curb the illegal hunting/poaching of animals such as the blackbuck and the chinkara that are fully covered under the provisions of the Indian Wildlife Protection Act (WLPA, 1972). From within the realms of their philosophical engagement with nature, the Bishnois imagine the law offenders from hunting communities, such as Ban Bawri and Bhil, and those who come to be defined exclusively as poachers as the ‘violent’ other. While the hunting tribes heavily contest such a viewpoint, the contours of a grass-roots debate as well as Bishnoi activism against destruction of natural resources continue to fortify in western Rajasthan. The growth of an organised protest movement of the Bishnois, spearheaded by the Bishnoi Tiger Force (BTF), since the past two decades has also coincided with an embodiment of the community’s general preparedness to die in defence of the wildlife. What fuels the spirit and the sentiment behind this rising defence of the endangered wildlife, amidst other creatures of the desert? How do Bishnoi repertoires of protest influence the discourses of other involved communities and manage to keep the democracy of India on constant alertness in the great Indian Thar?

Embroidered Bishoi Shawls of Rajasthan: Threads of Its History

“…A wider range of social groups, including the Bishnoi sect formed by Guru Jambeshwar in 1458, were made possible by the confluence of early Bhakti and Sufi concepts with the region's earlier influences from Jainism and Buddhism. The Jats of western region transformed into the Bishnois, who are renowned for being excellent defenders of the environment and wildlife, by adhering to a set of 29 principles Sinha (2018). Due to the large-scale population displacement caused by the partition of India and Pakistan and the subsequent war in 1971 Bose (2017), many people who were familiar with embroidery left their hometowns, immigrated, and settled in the surrounding areas.…”

Population Status, Distribution, Threats and Conservation of Blackbuck Antilope cervicapra in South Asia: An Updated Literature Review

“…Religious association: Blackbuck in Thar desert of india has given protection owing to religious affiliation so their intervention in human vicinage and agricultural locality has granted. vishnoi Community also sets up in rajasthan has given protection to Blackbuck under their precepts (rahmani 1990a;rahmani 1990b;rahmani 1991;Mohapatra 2014;kankane 2014;Sinha and Singh 2020). The protected status of species has gained ground at public level publicity by the case of Salman khan (india's leading film star) to which he was sentenced imprisonment of five years for the killing of two black bucks and several endangered Chinkara.…”