Livelihood of the Char Dwellers of Western Assam

Abstract

The Brahmaputra and other rivers of Assam are replete with numerous sandbars, which are locally called chars. Chars are home to nearly 10 per cent population of Assam. Char dwellers live a precarious life. Battered by recurrent floods and soil erosion, chars have an impermanent existence. In western Assam, the char dwellers, mostly belonging to the migrant Muslim community of East Bengal origin, live in backwardness and poverty. The article examines two questions pertaining to their economic life: income and seasonal migration. Through a primary data survey and statistical analysis, the article seeks to delineate the salient factors which influence their income and migration decision. We conclude that land holding, land lost due to erosion, household size and education are some of the factors which play a key role in this regard. We find that location of a char is important: some chars are more migration-prone than others. Policy implications have been spelled out in the end.