The Historical Perspectives of Shifting Cultivation in North-Eastern States of India

The paper discussed the historical perspectives of shifting cultivation in north-eastern states of India. It has been found that north-eastern region of India has long history of shifting cultivation. Shifting cultivation is a primitive method of agricultural cultivation in the region. Ethnic tribal people are more involve in such cultivation. Large portion land in the region are still under such cultivation. Culture, rituals and customs of the tribal people are connected with shifting cultivation. Area under shifting cultivation are declined in the region due to many reasons. Low production of crops, lack of rainfall, and government restrictions are the prominent factors. But large portion of land in Nagaland, Meghalaya, and Arunachal Pradesh, are still under the shifting cultivation. Poor tribal people are more involved in shifting cultivation because of less use of capital, inputs, machines etc. It is a labour-intensive method of cultivation. There are negative ecological implications of shifting cultivation on nature. The Government of many states in the region has already prohibited such cultivation considering its environmental consequences and encouraging them for transforming in agro-forestry.