Introduction
Rubber is an important commercial plantation. It has its origin in the Amazon basin and from there it was brought to India and has become the more popular plantation in the country today (Chaudhury & Sarkar, 2020). Rubber plantation was first familiarized in Kerala during the British period. Natural rubber or latex is a commercial product of rubber plantations (Bela, 2016). Rubber is the basic component for manufacturing various goods used in our daily life (Ziegler et. al., 2009). It is an important raw material for heavy industries like kitchenware, motor tire, plastic, houseware etc. Rubber items are being used by people from birth to death (Chaudhuri et. al., 2016).1, 2, 3, 4, 5
North-eastern India has extensive areas suitable for natural rubber cultivation. Governments of northeastern states have taken many initiatives for the expansion of rubber cultivation (Dey, 2016). Tripura and Assam are the leading rubber plantation states in north-eastern India. This region is considered a non-traditional rubber plantation region (Chaudhury & Sarkar., 2022). Rubber is also cultivated in limited land areas in Nagaland, Manipur, Meghalaya, Manipur and Arunachal Pradesh (Joshi, 2015). Rubber plantation is an important commercial plantations in Tripura. Tripura was the first state to introduce rubber plantations in the northeast region in 1963 (Lalneizo & Reddy, 2010). Tripura is the leading rubber manufacturer in north-eastern India and the second-largest producer of rubber in the country. Rubber plantations is increasing in Tripura since 2004 (Chaudhury & Sarkar, 2022). The total cultivated area under plantation was 34.63 thousand hectares in 2004 which increased to 67.54 thousand hectares in 2011 and then reached 85.45 thousand hectares in 2019 (Mardi & Sarkar, 2021).6, 7, 8, 9
Tripura is a leading rubber-producing state in northeast India. It is also known as the 'Second Rubber Capital of India' (Vongkhamheng et. al., 2016). Recently, the Government of Tripura has started the Rubber Mission for good harmonization of various agencies connected with rubber production and marketing (Chaudhury & Sarkar, 2022). Rubber plantation is considered one of the most popular and profitable plantations because of its demand and prospects (Nandi, 2017). Rubber plantation has already improved the social and economic status of its growers. The Rubber Board has been executing many schemes for increasing the cultivated land of rubber plantations in the state (Chaudhury & Sarkar., 2022). The main objectives of this paper are (a) to study the social status of rubber cultivators in Tripura; (b) to evaluate the standard of living parameters of rubber cultivators in Tripura, (c) to assess the educational and health status of the rubber cultivators in Tripura, and (d) to examine the consumption pattern of the rubber cultivators in Tripura.10, 11, 12, 13, 14
Materials and Methods
The present study is based on primary data. This study was conducted in Tripura which is a smaller state in the Northeastern region of India. It is surrounded by north, west and south Bangladesh and on the eastern side by the Indian states Assam and Mizoram. Primary data have been collected with the help of a semi-structured questionnaire from 600 rubber cultivator households, randomly selected from the four undivided districts of Tripura where the shifting cultivator’s rehabilitation programme had been implemented by the government.
There are two subgroups of the respondents identified; the first group is engaged in cultivation work on their land. The second group is engaged in cultivation work both on their land and as a labourer on other's land while the third group is engaged only as a labourer in the cultivation land owned by others only because they don’t have their land. The sample households have been selected from the following 24 randomly selected villages from four districts (i.e. North Tripura, South Tripura, West Tripura, and Dhalai) of Tripura where shifting cultivators have been transformed into rubber cultivators.
Result and Discussion
Tripura has experienced marvellous alterations in its demographic arrangement with a key absorption of the non-tribal population. This has marked the political scenario and cultural, social, and economic setup of the state. The livelihood of tribal people is more challenging as they live in hilly areas and the forest is an integral part of their life and shifting cultivation is the main source of food for them (Chaudhury & Sarkar, 2021). Table 1 shows the details of the rubber cultivators' lifestyle in Tripura.
Table 1
Social status of rubber cultivators inTripura
The Table 1 depicted that joint family is popular in the survey areas. As the areas are more backwards and the effect of modern lifestyle is less. Hinduism and Christianity are popular religions among rubber cultivators. The majority of the families have family members between 2-6. It is because of the popularity of family planning and awareness. The majority of the families have children between 1-3.
Kokborak is the common language among rubber cultivators because all belong to the schedule tribe. The majority of respondents have aged between 41-50 ages. The majority of the cultivators started rubber plantations 6-15 years back only. TRPC is the main institution for assisting shifting cultivators for rubber plantations. The tribal welfare department provides funds for running the programme. The majority of households are actively involved in politics. The main reason behind it is the influence of the political parties and political assistance. Vegetable plants, fruit plants and timber plants are common in the house of households. Gardening is increasing in popularity among households.
Table 2
Standard of living parameters of rubber cultivators in tripura
Table 0
Table 2 presented that the majority of households have pucca and tin-made houses. The basic reason behind it is the improving purchasing power. Most of the households stay on government-held land. Firewood is the main source of fuel, but it also shows the popularity of LPG. Electricity is the main source of power. Many households are using solar in interior places. The use of kerosene is decreasing continuously. The use of tape water and tube well is increasing continuously. Government effect and implementations of various programmes are the basic reason behind it.
Parmanent sanitation is increasing continuously. The implementation of government schemes and awareness is responsible for it. All the households are getting good food properly, because of the increasing purchasing power. Rice is a premium food for households. Although they are taking new types of items, rice is the main food. The majority of them have a monthly income between Rs. 10,000-20,000. The income of cultivators fluctuates in various months, because of weathers condition, quality and quantity of latex. The majority of households have a bank account. There are many reasons behind this, but the most prominent is the increasing importance of bank accounts and their need in business. The majority of households do not have any debt and few others are taking loans from banks, friends and moneylenders. Banks and post offices are the main money savings institution of households. Bicycle is the main source of conveyance, but the popularity of motorcycle is increasing.
Table 3
Educational and health status of the rubber cultivators inTripura
Table 4
Consumer pattern of the rubber cultivators in Tripura
The Table 4 shows that the majority of children are going to school regularly. The basic reason is the increasing awareness and higher income. The majority of children depend on the school teachers for study. The popularity of home teachers is increasing continuously. Biri and alcohol are more popular among households. It is a component of the culture. The majority of households are affected by malaria and stomach Disease. The popularity of primary health centres and the hospital is increasing continuously. The number of illiterate households is very less. The majority of them have the basic knowledge of writing, speaking and normal arithmetic calculation. The reason behind this is the own awareness, needs of the job and the assistance from the Govt. departments.
The Table 5 showed that the majority of households spend approximately 31-50 per cent of their income on food. Nearly 23 per cent of households spend more than 50 per cent of their income on food. The majority of households are spending less than 20 per cent of their income on health. They spend less than 20 per cent of their income on the education of children. The majority of households are spending approximately 20-40 per cent of their income on entertainment. They are spending nearly 20-30 per cent of their income on their requirements. Nearly 72 per cent of the household spends less than 20 per cent expenditure on others.
After comparing the expenditure pattern it has been found that the percentage of expenditure on food decreased after rehabilitation. Where during the shifting cultivation more than 50 per cent of income was spent on food, but after rehabilitation, it is nearly 31-50 per cent. Expenditure on children's education is increased after rehabilitation. The percentage of expenditure on entertainment is increased after rehabilitation. The percentage of expenditure on own purpose is increased after rehabilitation, which was less than 20 per cent during shifting cultivation and nearly 20-30 per cent during rubber cultivation. The percentage of expenditure on other purposes is nearly the same for both shifting cultivators and rubber cultivators (less than 20 per cent).
Conclusion
Hinduism is the popular religion among rubber cultivators. The majority of the families have family members between 2-6, and children are between 1-3. Kokborak is the common language among rubber cultivators. Rubber board and Tripura Rehabilitation Plantation Corporation is the main institution for assisting jhumias for rubber plantation. The tribal welfare department provides funds for running the programme. The majority of households are actively involved in politics. Firewood is the main source of fuel, but it also shows the popularity of LPG also growing. Electricity is the main source of power. The use of tape water and tube well is increasing continuously. The number of permanent sanitation is increasing. The majority of them have a monthly income between Rs. 10,000-20,000. The income of cultivators fluctuates in various months because weather affects the quality and quantity of latex.
The majority of children are going to school regularly. The popularity of home teachers is increasing continuously. Biri and alcohol are popular among cultivators. The majority of households are affected by malaria and stomach Disease. The popularity of primary health centres and the hospital is increasing. Rubber cultivators have the basic knowledge of writing, speaking and normal arithmetic calculation. The percentage of expenditure on entertainment, education and own purpose is increased after rehabilitation in the rubber plantation.
