Seeds of Resistance: Indigenous Environmental Knowledge and Gendered Sustainability among the Munda Pathalgadi Movement

Abstract (English)

This paper examines the gendered aspects of Indigenous Environmental Knowledge (IEK) of the Pathalgadi Movement in the Munda Adivasi community of Jharkhand, India. As a movement of indigenous self-governance and sovereignty at the grassroots level, the Pathalgadi Movement presents an engaging case for interrogating how knowledge of the environment and sustainable processes are integrated in the daily living, especially by the Munda women through roles and contributions. The research seeks to, document the gendered aspects of IEK in the everyday lives of Munda women and examine their roles in sustaining ecological practices and traditional governance systems amidst the movement. The study argues that women’s knowledge is the key to community resilience and environmental justice, providing precious insights into different pathways approaches to sustainable development based on indigenous worldviews.
This research is relevant to anthropological research, specifically within the domains of political ecology, gender and environmental anthropology. It underscores the importance of acknowledging women’s ecological agency and indigenous epistemologies in the context of sociopolitical contestation. In fact, it joins the ongoing debates regarding decolonial development, participatory environmental policy, and cultural rights of South Asian indigenous groups.
The study employs a qualitative, ethnographic methodology, including fieldwork in selected Munda villages in Jharkhand. Data collection methods involve participant observation, in-depth interviews with women elders and community leaders, oral history documentation, and analysis of ritual and customary practices linked to ecological knowledge. Emphasis is given to the emic perspectives of participants and community-defined meanings of sustainability and resistance and the socio-political context of the Pathalgadi Movement.