Birhor tribals carry their wares to the Tata Steel Rural Development Society

Bokaro, July 10: Rope has brought hope to an endangered ethnic group inhabiting the hills of Chhotanagpur.

Fifty-four Birhor families are the largest supplier of ropes and gunny bags to the Tata Steel’s West Bokaro division. The Birhors weave ropes from the bark of Mohal trees.

Most of their children are now attending school and excelling in archery, athletics and soccer. The children displayed their talent at the inter-village sports meet in Jamshedpur and at the Republic Day functions in Bokaro and Hazaribagh.

Fearing starvation deaths, seven Birhor families from Pachmo village led by their chief, Badhan Birhor, migrated to Ghatotand (West Bokaro) in 1982 as forest resources were dwindling in Hazaribagh, which has the highest concentration of the tribe. Officials of the Tata Steel Rural Development Society, which rehabilitated the Birhors, said the nomads were initially so shy that they hid themselves whenever they saw outsiders. They used to gesture for food as no one could understand their dialect.

Initially, the Birhors tried to stick to their primitive lifestyle. They gathered fruits from the forests, but later, the male members started making ropes from the bark of Mohal trees and demanded food in exchange. Their lifestyle changed when the chieftain Badhan Birhor was taken to rural development society office and shown various ways in which the tribe could earn a living.

He played a major role in the socio-economic rehabilitation of the tribe. A senior officer of TSRDS said initially the Birhors found it difficult to adjust to the new environment. “Our prime objective was to help them become self-sufficient by nurturing all that is good and beautiful in their culture and at the same time opening them up to the world,” the officer said.

The society identified rope-making as the traditional skill of the Birhors and asked them hone it. The Tatas required sturdy ropes for loading cargo at the Chainpur Railway Station loading point.

Sources said the Birhors now live at Ghatotand Colony and each family earns more than Rs 1,500 by making ropes. Besides, the Tatas provide them with other facilities. They also sell their products in the market to earn extra money. Some of these families have even purchased television and other electronic gadgets. The project has now become a steady source for supplying low-cost durable ropes to Tata Steel.