Who are the Tharu people?

Why in news?

• Forest officials of the Katarniaghat division say a plan is in the works for the financial inclusion of the Tharu groups that live near the Katarniaghat Wildlife Sanctuary (KWS) and are much affected by human-wildlife conflicts.

About Tharu people

• They are an ethnic group indigenous to the Terai region of the Himalayan foothills, located in southern Nepal and in the state of Uttar Pradesh in India. 
• Tharu in Nepal officially numbered about 1.5 million and those in India about 170,000. 
• They speak various dialects of Tharu, a language of the Indo-Aryan subgroup of the Indo-Iranian group of the Indo-European family, and they are largely Indian in culture.
• Most Tharu practice agriculture, raise cattle, hunt, fish, and collect forest products.
• Although they are Hindu, the Tharu use their own traditional ritual specialists in addition to the Hindu Brahman priests.
• Each Tahru village is governed by a council and a headman.

About Katarniaghat Wildlife Sanctuary (KWS)

• Location: It is situated in the Upper Gangetic plain falling in the Terai of Bahraich district of Uttar Pradesh.
• It is part of Dudhwa Tiger Reserve Lakhimpur kheri.
• The Katarniya Ghat Forest provides strategic connectivity between tiger habitats of India and Nepal.
• Flora: The sanctuary has a mosaic of Sal and Teak forests, lush grasslands, numerous swamps and wetlands.
• Fauna: It is home to a number of endangered species including gharial, tiger, rhino, Gangetic dolphin, Swamp deer, Hispid hare, Bengal florican, the White-backed and Long-billed vultures.

 

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Q1) Where is Terai region located?

Tarai, also spelled Terai, region of northern India and southern Nepal running parallel to the lower ranges of the Himalayas.

Source: Forest dept, NABARD to give skill-development training to Tharu people