About the community and their economic and education background:India is home to a substantial pastoral population. The largest pastoral community of India is Rebari/Raika/Dewasi ( all name are synonymous). In their search for pastures, Raika shepherds move well out of their home ranges in the Great Indian Desert, migrating north-east, east and south-east into the neighbouring territories of Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Maharastra, Chatishgarh, Punjab and Utranchal. Distances travelled can be considerable even more than a thousand kilometre. The Raika are not just professional livestock breeders, but also have a great deal of compassion for their animals, which they feel for as if they were their children. Keeping animals is more than a business for them; it is also regarded as a divine duty, expressed in the belief that it was God Shiva who entrusted them with the task of looking after the camel and their livestock. Raikas have been facing various difficulties in their search of livelihood. Conflict of grazers with state-controlled protected forests and with settled village community is a much-discussed subject in environmental literature. Due to decline of their traditional occupation, they are facing intense poverty and deprivation. Many of them have been forced to do labour work in other states to support their family. This is the most backward society in terms of economical and educational criteria but due to lack of awareness about their rights and integration with mainstream society they have not been able to get educational and economic facilities provided to other societies. The main problems experienced by this community are as under:
(1) Illiteracy and lack of education:Due to pastoral character, their children are not able to take even primary education. Girls and boys are engaged in grazing their cattle and migrate with their family from state to state in search of grazing area for their livestock. Today, only 10-15 percent of this community have primary education and in terms of higher education and girl education, the numbers are negligible. The percentage of drop outs from primary education is highest in this community due to their migrating pastoral activities. Lack of education is biggest factor in their poverty, social backwardness, indebtness and many social evils like child marriage. There is no special provision for the education of this community and no reservation in the services. (2) Depleting grazing land and forest land: The mainstay of this society is livestock. But today most of the forests are reserved for many types of sanctuaries and community grazing land has been encroached and decreased day by day. Thus the base of livestock is decreasing day by day and society is loosing its means of livelihood. Frequent famine in Rajasthan has forced the community to longer their migration duration in the year. They have to pass through the agricultural lands with thousands of their livestock. Previously, they were welcomed by the villages as the livestock provide their land manures but now they are the most unwelcome people in the villages. Many innocent Rebari/Raikas have been killed gruesomely by the villagers while passing through the area with their cattle. The non-voilent community has become a victim of modern world and their livelihood is at stake. They are nowhere in the society. No compensation is declared by the government for the welfare of the family of killed Rebaris. Hundreds of Rebaris have been killed by the villagers, dangerous wild animals, dacoits, forest officials without inviting the attention of media and no protection has been provided by the government. (3) Deprivation of drought relief programme:During the drought, their livestock are not categorised as drought animals and in the process they have not been given any help from the government. They have not been given any land for their alternative livelihood. Their livestock is without any insurance and medical facilities. As a result, the number of camels has been decreased. It has been proved by many medical reports that camel milk can be used for the treatment of diabeties. But when there will be no camel, we have to import camel milk from foreign countries like Isreal. No government programme is intended to increase the population of camel while crores of rupees have been spent for conservation of wild animals. (4) Grazing tax on livestock: They have to pay heavy grazing tax in Madhyapradesh and when they enter in each district, they have to pay separate grazing tax on their livestock. Poor pastoralist bear the tax without any complain
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