A small tribe’s struggle to balance development and cultural identity

At the northern edge of the dense jungles of Jaldapara National Park in West Bengal, nestles a tiny village that attracts anthropologists from across the globe.

The village, called Totopara, is home to the sub-Himalayan Indian Tribe called Toto, one of the smallest primitive ethnic groups of the country, considered endangered. That explains its global significance.

The 2011 Census counted 1,389 Totos existed on earth — all huddled together in the 8 square kilometre frontier village in Alipurduar district near India-Bhutan border.

For context, the tiger population in India is 2,967.

The village is located some 150 kilometres north-east of Siliguri, the commercial hub of the northern part of Bengal. But about a three-hour drive from Siliguri to this last village in north Bengal, bisecting swathes of tea gardens and forests of Sal, Sishu, Khair and other trees, could instantly conjure an image of a habitat out of sync with modernity.

At a point, where the black-topped single-lane road leading to the village from the highway abruptly ends leaving ahead a dried and dusty river bed to cross, one might even be teleported a few decades back in time.

From there on, for a few kilometres till the village gate, it’s a bumpy ride along the gravelled road, only accentuating the sense of primitiveness.

All these notions and prejudices, however, disappear once the journey ends at Totopara, a picturesque mountain-enclosed village on the western bank of the River Torsha.

Totos comes across as an amicable community on the road to growth, both in number as well as well-being.

The Toto population at the beginning of the 20th century in 1901 was only 171. It took 100 years for the number to cross the 1,000-mark to 1,175 in 2001.

According to the statistics available with the Toto Kalyan Samiti, the apex body of the tribe, the population of the community has now increased to 1,616, registering the highest-ever decadal growth.

For the “remarkable growth story”, president of the samiti Bakul Toto credits the overall development that took place in the village in the past 10 years.

Growing up

Nine years ago, the Times of India had reported how the community’s skimpy economy was taking a toll on the Toto birth rate.

“Over the last year, we ensured there wouldn’t be a baby. No children until we make enough money,” the paper had quoted a couple as saying in that report.

The community has come a long way since then.

Totos are supplementing their regular income from cultivation of maize and betel nuts by trading in Bhutanese products.

“Earlier we had a hand-to-mouth existence selling betel nuts and maze. These days most of us also trade in fruits, vegetables, biscuits, shops and other items we bring from Bhutan,” said Gaurav Singh Toto (37).

Home-stay facilities that spouted in the village with support from the state government further strengthened the Toto economy.

“Now because of Coronavirus, we have not received any guests for over a year now. Otherwise, the flow of guests is quite good. Mostly researchers from various countries visit us,” said Bhabesh Toto (52), who runs a homestay.

The change is clearly visible. Concrete houses have now replaced the na-ko-shas (primitive thatched huts) rested, often precariously, on bamboo stilts. Village roads are paved and the market corner is crowded with businessmen mostly from Nepali and Bihari communities, giving a cosmopolitan look to the place.

Totopara also boasts of a gramin bank branch, a primary health centre, a primary school, a high school and electrification in all houses.

But there is another side to Totopara’s growth.

Losing identity?

The tiny village witnessed a massive population explosion in 1990s after Bhutan expelled the Lhotshampas, an ethnic group with its origins in Nepal, colloquially called Bhupalis, who made up one-sixth of Bhutan’s population.

Many of these refugees took shelter in Totopara, making Totos a minority in their own land. The Totos today account for about 27 per cent of the village’s total population of about 6,000. Nepalis are the major ethnic group in the area now.

The emergence of a new ethnic group in the area resulted in inter- caste love marriage which once was an alien to the Totos.

The phenomenon has a dual impact.

On the positive side, marriage outside their small ethnic group helped reduce the problem of Thalassemia, once widely prevailing among the Toto community.

On the flip side, it has led to dilution of the Toto culture and traditions due to the fusion of divergent cultures and languages.

The influx initially created demand stimulating the local village economy, said another village elder Dhaniram Toto.

As the population swelled, it created pressure on the land and also diluting the tribe’s pristine culture and heritage. Further, Nepali has almost become the lingua franca of the village, posing a threat to the ethnic Toto language.

“To preserve the community’s unique tradition and culture, the government should first and foremost reserve the village land for the Toto tribe. No other community should be allowed to own the land or else Totos would be completely outnumbered,” said Bakul Toto.

He also called for government’s intervention in promoting Toto language lamenting that the children did not get to learn their own language in the school. As a result, they were getting detached from their ethnic culture.

“Thankfully, of late, our population is increasing. But more than the tribe, our language is facing a greater threat of extinction,” said Dhaniram, an employee of the West Bengal government’s Backward Class Welfare Department.

Dhaniram himself has written a couple of books in Toto language on the community’s folk culture and tales using Bengali script in a bid to preserve the dying language.

Toto language is part of Tibeto-Burman group of Indian languages. To give a further push to its preservation, Dhaniram has also developed a script for the language.

Dhaniram’s was a lone man’s battle to hold on to an old culture, tradition, language and ways of life against a strong wave of change.

The change that brought the Totos at the crossroads of the new order holds the promise of prosperity, but does not guarantee safeguarding identity.

Are the Totos victims or beneficiaries of the progress, one wonders while returning from the village that has undergone a complete change.