State policy and local performance: Pasture use and pastoral practices in the Kumaon Himalaya

Abstract

In the Kumaon Himalaya, British colonial administrators as well as agents of the independent Indian Union intervened heavily in pasture use by adopting rationally governed and scientifically sanctioned development schemes. These measures mostly originated from outside and largely ignored local cultural logics through which a pastoral life also takes its form. We use the case of the Bhotiyas of the Kumaon Himalaya to explicate this interaction of state policy and local performance. On the one hand, we analyse recent development trends that occurred after India started to liberalise its market in the early 1990s. On the other hand, we describe a ritual practice through which the Bhotiyas channel emerging power relations and conflicts towards the outside of their migratory cycle. We conclude by suggesting an interdisciplinary perspective on pastoral practices in the Himalayan region.