The Sabar people (also Shabar and Saora) are one of the Munda tribes living mainly in northern

Odisha Odisha (), formerly Orissa (List of renamed places in India, the official name until 2011), is a States and union territories of India, state located in East India, Eastern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by ar ...

and southern

West Bengal West Bengal (; Bengali language, Bengali: , , abbr. WB) is a States and union territories of India, state in the East India, eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabi ...

in India. During the colonial period, they were classed as one of the 'criminal tribes' under

Criminal Tribes Act Since the 1870s, various pieces of colonialism, colonial legislation in India during British Raj, British rule were collectively called the Criminal Tribes Act (CTA). This criminalised entire communities by designating them as habitual criminals ...

1871, and suffer from social stigma and

ostracism Ostracism (, ''ostrakismos'') was an Athenian democratic procedure in which any citizen could be expelled from the city-state of Athens for ten years. While some instances clearly expressed popular anger at the citizen, ostracism was often us ...

in modern times. There are small communities of Sabar people in Bangladesh. Also known as Saora, the Sabar tribe finds mention in the Hindu epic Mahabharata, while in some parts of East Singhbhum district mainly in Musabani, they are known as Kariya. Noted writer and activist Mahasweta Devi is known for working with these forest tribals. This reclusive tribe is found primarily in

and in Midnapore District of

History

The traditionally forest-dwelling tribe lack experience in agriculture, and rely on the forests for their livelihood. In recent years, with the spread of the Naxalite rebellion in the area, the police often restrict their access to the forest. In 2004, five persons in the Sabar village of Amlasole, in Midnapore district, died after several months of starvation, leading to a national media furore. Subsequently, Durbar Mahila Samanway Committee (DMSC) started a school in the area, funded partially by sex workers from

Kolkata Kolkata, also known as Calcutta ( its official name until 2001), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of West Bengal. It lies on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River, west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary ...

. In June 2008, the Sabar suffered severe flooding in many of their West Bengal villages, and then received large amounts of aid from Catholic missionaries. Hundreds of Sabars migrated to present-day Bangladesh during the colonial period to work as tea garden labourers. Today, there are around 2000 of them residing in the northeastern district of Moulvibazar, in areas such as Nandarani, Harinchhara and Rajghat. In Gplot which is in

Sundarbans Sundarbans (; pronounced ) is a mangrove forest area in the Ganges Delta formed by the confluence of the Ganges, Brahmaputra and Meghna Rivers in the Bay of Bengal. It spans the area from the Hooghly River in India's state of West Bengal ...

, under Patharpratima block which is in South 24 parganas it has been observed that there is presence of Sabars, who have migrated from Midnapore district of West Bengal. Currently there are 2500-3000 people of Sabar community residing there.

References

Sources

* *

Sources

Sabar tribe in Sabar Nagar, Jamshedpur district
{{authority control Social groups of Odisha Social groups of West Bengal Tribes of West Bengal Ethnic groups in Odisha Scheduled Tribes of India Ethnic groups in Jharkhand Hindu communities Social groups of Jharkhand Denotified tribes of India People from Srimangal Upazila People from Kamalganj Upazila Ethnic groups in Bangladesh Scheduled Tribes of Odisha

History

References

Sources

Further reading

Sources