Of foolish ancestors, and land over weapons: Political ecology of the “development” of Chenchu

Abstract

Based on fieldwork conducted among the Chenchu, a tribal community of Andhra Pradesh, India, this paper discusses the effects of physical displacement on the ethnomedical knowledge of the community. Furthermore, it gives an account of how the Chenchu view their lives following displacement positively, thereby demonstrating apathy toward their Chenchu identity. Contrasting the apathy demonstrated by the Chenchu toward their identity with growing concerns over the need to preserve eroding knowledge systems, this paper raises the question, how can knowledge loss or erosion be addressed when groups like the Chenchu no longer wish to identify with their traditional ways of life? Using a political ecology framework, my paper is a conversation between the critique of development discourse surrounding tribal development and growing concerns over loss of indigenous knowledge systems; Through this conversation, I describe two contradictory but simultaneous phenomena: tribal development, which often assumes displacement as a precursor to progress in the Indian context, and efforts of preserving indigenous knowledge system, which require the socio-geographic context in which they operate to remain intact. By juxtaposing these two processes, this analysis brings to light an inherent contradiction in the current development discourse undertaken by the Indian state toward tribal communities. This contradiction helps explain why India’s tribal development project continues to perpetuate the marginalization it aims at overcoming. This paper ultimately challenges the existing paradigm of tribal development that not only explains growing apathy of the Chenchu toward their tribal identity, but also contributes to their sustained disempowerment.