The bucks stop with the Bishnois

The bucks stop with the Bishnois

In 1998, it was the Bishnois who reported Khan's blackbuck hunting expedition in the first place. Now, they continue to help keep public attention on the actor as the trials proceed. The community, well known for its conservation practices, sees Khan's attempts to poach as a transgression punishable by death.

Khan is lucky, says a villager from Kankani in Jodhpur district, where he was spotted shooting blackbucks. "There were just two eyewitnesses, had the whole village turned up, Khan's fate would have been the same as that of the blackbucks he shot. We can give our life for conservation," says the villager.

There are around two million Bishnois in Rajasthan. They are mostly agriculturists but a number have taken to business and politics and are powerful, politically and economically. In Rajasthan, it is also commonly said that a section of the Bishnois control the illicit opium and liquor trades.

According to legend, the founder of the Bishnoi sect, Jambeshwar Maharaj, attracted many Jat followers in the 15th century, promising them they would not have to migrate in years of drought if they followed 29 principles. He propagated the idea of resource optimisation, including restrictions on cutting and lopping of the khejri tree (Prosopis cineraria), rearing camels and cattle, and conserving all forms of life. The khejri, chinkara and blackbuck are revered.

"We have been taught from our childhood that the environment comes first," says Ratna Ram from Kankani. "One life is a small sacrifice when protecting a tree." J R Bishnoi, also from Kankani, a graduate from Jodhpur University, says modern education has helped Bishnois. "Earlier generations followed rules because they were sacrosanct, but with education they make more sense. Protecting the environment allows you to use resources more systematically and efficiently," he says.

Advantage of adversity
Purnendu Kavoori, associate professor of anthropology at the Institute of Development Studies, Jaipur, says harsh conditions have made the Bishnois good conservators. In 2003, Kavoori documented the drying up of the Luni river, the only drainage outlet in western Rajasthan. His study also looked at the resource utilisation of the Bishnois and other communities that inhabit the banks of the Luni. Citing the example of a devastating flood in 1981 caused by this saline river which destroyed most irrigated agriculture in Rawar, a village on its banks, Kavoori documented how the Rajput, Seervi and Jat communities of the area emigrated en masse from the village. The saline intrusion left well water unfit for irrigation. The Bishnois moved in. "For Bishnois this was a chance to colonise and expand. With their resource-conservation strategies they functioned more effectively in the retarded environment," Kavoori says.

"What distinguishes Bishnois is the evolution of institutions and practices geared to resource conservation. This helps them secure a firm foothold in less than optimal conditions," Kavoori adds.

S M Mohnoth, director, School of Desert Sciences, Jodhpur, who has worked with Bishnois, says: "The khejri is leguminous. It restores nitrogen and micronutrients to the soil. Blackbucks and chinkaras provide manure."