From plateau pastures to urban fringe: sedentarisation of nomadic pastoralists in Ladakh, north-west India.

Abstract

The sedentarisation of nomadic pastoralists in Ladakh, north-west India, is taking place amidst a global trend toward settlement. Despite a few exceptions, where pastoralism either continues to thrive or is being revitalised by market reform, many nomadic pastoral communities are facing a period of unprecedented change, as they are increasingly drawn into national and international economies. This study focuses on the migration of Ladakh’s nomadic pastoralists from their traditional grazing lands to the rapidly urbanising capital Leh. Three separate communities were studied to determine their levels of out-migration and settlement and to explore the causes and consequences of the decision to settle. The research design encompassed both sending and receiving communities and uses a multi-level approach to assess the combined influence of macro-level (structural) and micro (individual and household-level) factors on the decision to migrate. Data from a survey of 103 migrant households and in-depth interviews conducted in each of the three nomadic pastoral communities shed light on the complex nature of population mobility. The data reveal the communities to be characterised by distinct forms of mobility (large scale, permanent out-migration from one community, seasonal circulation from the second, and low-level traditional forms of out-migration from the third). It is argued that the community-level differences in out-migration are not indicative of a progressive decline of nomadic pastoralism in the region. The nomadic communities are facing substantial pressure from external socio-economic change and migration to the urban area is seen as a strategy for survival and security optimisation. However, the extent to which the communities utilise this strategy is influenced by locally specific normative and regulatory factors.