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Nestled in the slopes of mountainous region of the state of Himachal Pradesh in India, Dodra Kwar is a unique self sufficient society where people live in peace & tranquility and maintain perfect harmony with nature. A study was conducted to know about geo-demographic features of Dodra Kwar and to understand socio-economic life of the people and also to find out reasons of organic farming and self-sufficiency. Using exploratory and descriptive designs, information was elicited from primary sources- through interviews, Focused Group Discussions and participant & non-participant observation. Main sources of secondary information were the published literature, census & other reports of government and non-governmental bodies, official websites and accounts given by personnel visiting this region. Located at a height of about 2500 meters above mean sea level, the Dodra-Kwar, a grouping of twenty villages, five Village Pachayats and a Tehsil known by the same name comprise of an administrative division whose affairs are run through single line administration. Spread in 354 km², having a population of 6372 inhabiting 1215 households, its density of population in the tehsil is 18 persons per square kilometers. Temples being housed by local deities are the hubs of socio-cultural and religious life of the people. The residents carry on cent percent organic farming, grow abundant vegetables, fruits and food grain items and lead a high quality of life. They converge at residences and community places not only on important occasions like birth, marriage, death, fairs & festivals but also in routine daily life. They usually have interactive sessions where they express solidarity and cohesiveness towards each other. The people nurture healthy and vibrant societal relations, sustain a self sufficient economy and maintain balance between their living and environment.

Main objectives of the study were as given below;

1. To know about geo-demographic features of Dodra-Kwar.

2. To understand Socio-economic life of the people of Dodra-Kwar.

3. To find out reasons of organic farming and self-sufficiency in agricultural and horticultural production.

For this study, many books and literature has been reviewed which has been discussed through out the paper.

Using exploratory and descriptive designs, information was elicited from primary and secondary sources. Some of the main sources of primary information were interviews, FGDs (Focused Group Discussions) with cross sections of society and participant & non-participant observation personally visiting residences, temples, schools, community and different locations of the region. Published literature, census & other government reports, official websites and accounts given by those who traversed and or stayed in Dodra-Kwar region were among the main secondary sources of information.

Geographical and demographic features of Dodra-Kwar

Geo-climatic conditions play an important role in human settlements. Humankind witnessed flourishing of civilizations in the regions where such conditions are hospitable. However, inhospitable regions make human living a daunting task.  Dodra Kwar substantially falls in second category of human habitation. It is located at latitude of 31.212 and longitude of 78.0784. The sole single lane road, two third of which is still katcha (not mettled) passes through Chanshal pass at an altitude of 13000 feet and connects the area with Rohru, the nearest town from Kwar. It takes five to six hours by own car to cover a distance of 110 kilometers to reach Rohru. During winters the snow clad Chanshal Mountain does   not allow any human movement through it.  The Dodra and Kwar villages are located at an altitude of about 2500 meters and are almost in the middle of the mountain slopes. All other villages are also located in the sloppy hills of the region.

Environment: The Dodra Kwar tehsil falls in the ‘low vulnerability’ segment in Environment Master Plan Vulnerability Assessment Reports of Himachal Pradesh 2001 and 2011. It has been predicted to be in the same segment in 2021 and 2031. The vulnerability index is a six level scale and ascends from very low, low, moderately low, moderately high and high to very high. It merits a mention here that a vulnerability index is a measure of the exposure of population to some hazard. It is a composite of multiple quantitative indicators comprising of diverse issues and indicators that can be combined into a standardized framework. Such indicators include physical, social, cultural, medical and psychological variables which enable evaluation of potential complication for disaster planning.

Forests: The entire region of Dodra Kwar is heavily forested having vast variety of flora and thick forests of cedar (Deodar).  Out of the total geographical area of 36,697 hectare, about 96% (35,178 hectare) comprises of forests and just 4% is a non-forest area. Out of the forest area, 10.7% (3,767 ha) constitutes of demarcated protected forests (DPF) and rest 89.3% (31,411 hectare) area is under forests which is classified as an undemarcated protected forests (UPF).

Demographic features are essentially important to understand size and distribution of population of a community. Religious adherence and fourfold categorization of population, as it is done in Indian Society since a quite long, are some of the important features of Dodra Kwar worth understanding in order to have deeper insights about the community.

Population: Information compressed in table 1 reveals that male population comprises above 52% of the total population of 6372 in Dodra Kwar region. The total population is estimated to have grown to 7901 during 2011-2021. The sex ratio is 915 as compared to 972 in Himachal Pradesh and 940 at national level as per census 2011. The lower sex ratio in the region could either be owing to widespread preference for male child or due to outmigration of male population to pursue higher education or to earn livelihood outside this region or due to all of these or some other reasons. Density of population in Dodra Kwar is 18 persons per square kilometers. It is worthwhile to know that the last census in India was held in 2011 and the census which was due in 2021 could not be conducted owing to successive waves of COVID during years 2020 and 2021.

Table-1 Demographic characteristics

Population		Literacy Rate
Male	3327 (52.2%)	Male	62.9%
Female	3045(47.8%)	Female	43.8%
Total	6372 (100%)	Total	53.8%

Education: A person aged seven and above, who can both read and write with understanding in any language, is treated as literate. Literacy rate in the study area is 43.8% for females and 62.9% for males making it to be 53.8% for the total population. It is discernible that difference of literacy rate between two genders is 29 percentage points. The glaring difference between the overall literacy rates in Himachal Pradesh (82.8%) and the region under study could be due to availability of less educational institutions in Dodra Kwar. The data has also revealed that there is a difference of about thirty percentage points in literacy rates between the state and this region. There is no institute of higher education in the region and the people have either to go to Rohru, a five to six hours of drive by car, to acquire higher education or to other cities of state which are located at farther places.
Dodra Kwar and tribal status: Residents of Sub-division of Dodra Kwar has almost all the main features of a tribe. A common dialect (Kwar is spoken in Kwar), a common culture (folkways, mores, customs, traditions, rules & regulations, beliefs, rituals, arts, architecture and morals etc.), a definite territory, supremacy of blood relationships, strong feeling of unity, endogamy, organization of clans, feeling of the need of protection, immense importance of religion, isolation, common rules and taboos and simple division of labor etc. In view of it Himachal Pradesh took up the case with the central government in 2016 to award tribal status to Dodra Kwar. However,  the Ministry of Tribal Affairs clarified in April 2022 that the state government’s proposal to notify ‘tribal status’ to the Dodra Kwar subdivision of Shimla district could not be considered. The ministry clarified, “For such a declaration, the criteria are preponderance of tribal population, compactness and the reasonable size of the area, a viable administrative entity such as a district, block or taluk and economic backwardness of the area as compared to the neighboring areas. Since the state government’s proposal was not in the current format, it could not be considered.”
Single Line Administration: Sub-divisional magistrate (SDM) is the chief administrative authority within the tehsil and sub-division of Dodra Kwar. The SDM is not only head of the administration of sub-division for all intents and purposes but also heads other government offices located in the sub-division. The officer is responsible to maintain law and order and execution of various plans and programmes as well.

Socio-economic life of Dodra-Kwarians

Unique socio-economic life of the residents of Dodra Kwar makes them a distinct society. Resemblance in behavior, cohesive social relations, collective consciousness, special importance of public opinion, dominance of religion in day to day activities, composite culture, sparse population and special importance of morality are some of the main features which together make them a mechanical society where mechanical solidarity is observed.  Mechanical social solidarity, as Emile Durkheim, a world renowned sociologist has explained in his book entitled ‘The Division of Labor in Society’ is reflected in the people’s social actions and interactions and relations. Further, the arable land in the region is highly fertile where people grow variety of vegetables, fruits and other horticultural products and food grain items in sufficient quantity to sustain their lives. They locally consume whatever they produce. Some of the main points highlighting socio-economic life of Dodra Kwarians are as given below;

Marriage: Marriage is the most important sacrament and ritual in Dodra Kwar. It is preferred to tie nuptial knot within the Dodra Kwar region. However, cases of marriages outside this region are not uncommon. Marriage is solemnized in a traditional way where groom being accompanied with kiths and kins goes to the place of bride and marry her. Priest plays an important role in chanting incantations and performing various rituals of marriage. However marriage is done on the date fixed by the deity. As a last leg of marriage celebrations, a grand feast is organized by the family of bride where residents of entire Dodra Kwar region are cordially invited. Such large gatherings on feast are indicative of the fact that people continue to nurture relations with the residents of the area.   

Family: Traditional joint family system is practiced in Dodra Kwar where members of three-four generations live together at one residence, cook meals in one hearth and share common economy. Average size of the household is 5.3 persons which is larger than what it is in 24 of the 28 states of India. Average size of households in the HP state (4.6) and India (4.8) are significantly smaller than what it is in the study area. Cordiality of relations, frequent exchange of ideas and   communication amongst family members, care giving by all the three generations to each other, respect and care of the elderly, simple division of labor in socio-economic activities and performance of activities on the basis of ‘best according to the capabilities’ and fulfilling the needs of each member of family characterize the family system in the region. 

Religion: Religion plays a pivotal role in the life styles of the people of Dodra Kwar. Overwhelming population (98.6%) in the study area adheres to Hinduism. In other words, the people accept the sacred beliefs and practice rituals of sanatan and vedic culture. The natives pay obeisance in the temples of local deities viz. Khas deity at Dodra village or Kwar deity at Kwar village. However, the ones (1% of total population) who adhere to Islam are Muslim Gujjars who inhabit higher reaches of mountains, keep herds of buffalos and lead semi-nomadic life. There are just a dozen of people who profess Christianity in the entire region.

Table-2 Religion and Caste

Local deity: The local deities play pivotal role in the lives of the people. Kwar and Jakh are the main deities in the region. Their idols are well kept in magnanimous architecturally designed temples which are built with cedar wood. How important authority of the deities is evident from the lines of a book ‘Dodra Kwar’ unquoted in the Tribune which run as ‘that of the three ‘tantras’ – prajatantra, rajtantra and devtantra (the authority of the people, the king and gods’ play pivotal role in governing lives of the people. In other words, three authorities used to be functional together in the area. These three being authority of the people, the king and the deities. People visit abode of deity to seek blessings before embarking on any important activity and work, be it fixing of date of marriage, performing rituals of marriage and joining of some service to earn livelihood etc. They pay obeisance at the altar of deity upon having fresh harvest. Grain, vegetables and fruits are offered to the deity in the temples. Not only this, when there is a dispute on any issue, the parties concerned go to their deities who act as an arbitrator. Thus socio-cultural, religious and economic life of the people is deeply influenced by the deities. The temples are hub of the activities of the people.

Caste and Community: Dodra Kwar has a total of 20 villages where five Village Panchayats are constituted in accordance with the provisions of eleventh schedule of Indian Constitution. The entire region comprises of hundred percent rural areas and there is no urban settlement here. Further 29% of the people belong to scheduled caste category and 1.3% is scheduled tribes. These two categories are believed to be at the lower rungs of society. Therefore, persons belonging to both of these categories have been given benefit of reservation in government jobs, educational institutions, Panchayati Raj Institutions, state assemblies and Parliament of the country in accordance with the provisions of constitution of India.

Dodra Kwarian, by and large, is a farming community. Every family has its own land. In fact land is the most important property of the people in the area. It is cultivated by them to produce vegetables, fruits and food grain items in abundance. How the people sustain their lives during inhospitable conditions in winters when due to heavy snowfall all around they have to stay indoors is a question worth pondering?

Vegetables: The people produce variety of vegetables in sufficient quantity to sustain their lives. Some of the main vegetables being produced by them are Spinach (Faparia), Mushroom, Chiaun, Ragudi, Jashiara, Jalga (Spinach), Gandiyali, Cabbage, Cauliflower, Potato, Pangri (Hill Onion) and Garlic etc. They produce these vegetables for their own consumption and not for selling in the market.

Fruits: Himachal Pradesh is known to be an apple state of India. In fact, this fruit is grown in hilly areas where snow is like manure for it. Good quality apple is also produced in the entire study area. After keeping sufficient quantity for own consumption, rest of the apples are transported to bigger markets which earn money to the sellers.  There are many types of other fruits which are also produced in large quantity in the region. Chooli (Chutney) is one of such fruits which is consumed after mixing it with snow and adding mint in it. Oil is produced from its seeds which has immense medicinal value. Apricot is also a delicious fruit wich is dried to enhance the shelf life and can be used during winters when fresh fruits are not available. Its seed is like a small almond and is believed to be useful in curing heart related diseases. Apart from these, Palm, Peach, Veggie, etc. are some of other fruits which are also produced in sufficient quantity to meet needs of the local residents.

Food grain:  Agriculture is the backbone of economy of the people. Wheat, Paddy, Maize, Rajmah, Bethu, Ogla, Soyaveen, Chali, Koda and Fafra are some of the main food grain items produced in the region. Chapati (Indian bread) is made of the flour of wheat, maize, Fafra Chulai and Koda. Local rice and rajmah are part of the staple food of the people.

Miscellaneous: Cow rearing is a common practice in the region. Almost every household has its own cow(s). That is why the people have sufficient Milk and milk products like Curd, Lassi and Ghee etc. of their own. People preserve cow ghee for couples of years to be used in bigger feasts like marriage ceremony. This being a cold zone, shelf life of edible items naturally is longer as compared to the warmer regions. People also collect honey from wild honey bees. They also have the luxury of top class trout fish from the local river Rupin.

Most of the informants shared the realism that each of the households grows vegetables, fruits, food grain and other edible items in sufficient quantity in their own fields. They have additional advantage over people inhabiting other regions of the state and country that they get garden fresh vegetables being produced in unpolluted fields and gardens. Above all they do organic farming only.  All the people have developed storage system in their households. Be it dry woods, dried fruits, vegetables, food grain items, ghee and honey, they preserve each of such items and well keep in their storage system to be consumed when life comes to grinding halt during winters due to heavy snowfall in the region.
Working population: A working population is an inexhaustible resource and provides opportunities for economic growth. It refers to total the population that is considered to be a population employed in a specified occupation or is available to work and to contribute to the economy. At the same time it poses a challenge for job creation.  In Dodra Kwar 70.8 percent of the total population comprise working population and rest of the 29.2 percent who are either children or elderly persons i.e. underage or overage to be considered as part of working-age population. Males outnumber both working and non-working populations.

Table 4 Working Population in Dodra Kwar

Working population					Non-working Population
Sl.	Category of workers	Total	Male	Female	Total	Male	Female
1.	All types of workers	4512 (100%)/ (70.8%)*	2341 (51.9%)	2171 (48.1%)	1,860 (100%)/ (29.2%)	986 (53%)	874 (47%)
2.	Main workers	3,773 (83.6%)	1,971 (52.2%)	1,802 (47.8%)
i.	Cultivators	3,242 (85.9%)	1,564 (48.2%)	1,678 (51.8%)
ii.	Other Workers**	531 (14.1%)	407 (76.6%)	124 (23.4%)
5.	Marginal workers	739 (16.4%)	370 (50.1%)	369 (49.9%)

*Working population as a percentage of total population.

**Agriculture laborers, workers in household industries etc.

If we look at category wise state of working population, 83.6% of the total workers are main workers and 16.4% fall in the category of marginal workers. Out of main workers, 85.9 percent are cultivators and 14.1% are other workers including agriculture laborers and the workers engaged in household industries etc. It is interesting to note that males constitute more than three fourth of agriculture laborers and workers in household industries etc. whereas females comprise less than one fourth of such categories of workers. 

Practice of organic farming

Organic farming is an agricultural system where fertilizers of organic origin viz. compost manure, green manure and bone meal are used. In organic farming ecologically based pest controls and biological fertilizers are derived largely from animal and plant wastes nitrogen-fixing cover crops. In fact the concept of organic farming has strong linkage with Indian agriculture practices. Albert Howard who is one of the pioneers to develop this concept and propagators of organic farming in the West worked in India as an agriculture researcher and derived inspiration from the traditional and sustainable farming practices in vogue in India about a century ago. It was during 1940s that his son and others brought out a magazine entitled ‘Organic Gardening and Farming’ and outlined usefulness of such agricultural practices. Thus twentieth century witnessed worldwide use of organic farming heralding a new era of laying organic standards including in the European Union and United States who prohibited the use of synthetic pesticides, fertilizers, sewage sludge, genetically engineered plants and products and ionizing radiation. It resulted in whopping increase in the sale of organic products which increased from $20.39 billion in 2008 to $47.9 billion in 2019 in USA, while sales in Europe reached more than $52 billion in the same year.

International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements (IFOAM) established in 1972 is an international umbrella organization which has set standards for organic agricultural methods that are being enforced internationally. The Report ‘The World of Organic Agriculture – Statistics & Emerging Trends’ 2022 reveals that as of 2020 about 75 million hectares which is 1.6% of the total world farmland is being farmed organically. It is worthwhile to mention that use of nitrogen fertilizers witnessed whopping increase of 800% during last six decades i.e. from 1961-2019.  In fact Australia leads the world in terms of organic farming. It accounted for majority (51%) of 70 million hectares of organically farmed land during 2019, reports John Paull. As for as India is concerned, although traditionally it had a rich culture of organic farming yet the country eventually switched over to inorganic farming. However, efforts are being made to go back to organic farming. As on March 2020 above 2.78 million hectare of farmland is under organic cultivation which comprises about 2% of the total 140 million hectare net sown area in the country.

With such a state of affairs at global and national level in India it is interesting to note that entire area under study practice organic farming to grow vegetables, fruits and food grain items. It was endeavored to understand the reasons of organic farming in the region. Following were observed to be main reasons for such agricultural practice;

1. The local residents continued age old practice of organic farming in the region without switching over to inorganic farming.

2. Since the Dodra Kwar region was not connected by road till recent years (A motorable road was constructed in 2009) and lacked transportation system, therefore, the people grew variety of vegetables, fruits and food grain items for self consumption. Therefore, they continued to have sufficient yield from their farm land through organic farming.

3. Every household rear cow(s) and large number of families has big herds of sheep and goats. So they have sufficient compost manure for their fields.

4. The area being fertile having good productivity of the items being produced there, the people did not feel the need to adopt inorganic farming.

5. Till a few years ago (2009) the people of Dodra Kwar would travel on foot at least for two days to reach a market place near Chidgaon to procure anything available and worth purchasing. For the procurement of industrially produced synthetically created fertilizers including nitrogen fertilizers, they would have to undergo on foot to and fro journey for four to five days and bring such fertilizers. Therefore, cost of the fertilizers in the market, plus cost to be incurred in its manual transportation would go much higher than the yields from farm land. Organic farm therefore, was believed to be a better option. Besides, arduous on foot journey is also believed to have deterred the people form switching over to such artificial fertilizers.

Now since significant portion of Dodra Kwar region has been connected by road, though majority of it is Kacha, it would interesting to see in the years to come whether the people are tempted to higher level of yields using synthetic or inorganic fertilizers.

Kwar Temple at Kwar

Jakh temple at Dodra

Social solidarity among Dodra Kwarians volunteering vibrant participation in community activities and strong sense of unity and adherence to local belief systems and rituals together is a portrayal of it as a mechanical society with heavy leanings towards mechanical solidarity. Every household has enough dung from their cows, sheep and goats to be used as fertilizer in the fields and allowing them to continue the age old healthy practice of cent percent organic farming.  Using organic farming, the people grow vegetables, fruits, food grain and other consumable items in sufficient quantity to sustain their lives. After working hard during the months of April to October, ploughing their fields and harvesting their crops, the people store edible items for themselves and their cattle to be consumed during inhospitable climatic conditions in the winters when the entire region remains cut off from rest of the state. They are ardent believer that nature has given them in abundance to fulfill their needs but not to satisfy their greed. Their impeccable belief in local deities that they strongly stand by them in the times of happiness and grief help solve some of their psychological problems. They derive contentment from this and many other such beliefs. 

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