God created Man around nature and meant them to remain the same way. In this modern world we have twisted and created our own paths. In the process, the bond a modern day man shares with nature is waning with each passing day. However there are these simple people who have forever remained connected to nature. We, the modern day civilisation call them tribes.
One such tribes are The Irulas, found in the Southern parts of India. According to anthropologists, these people belong to the Negrito stocks, the ancestors of these people are supposed to have come from Africa. The ethnic relatives of these people are now found in small pockets in the southern region of the Indian mainland and in Andaman and Nicobar islands. With utmost skill, these small groups of indigenous forest-dwelling people have made a living for generations by catching snakes and reptiles.
When the Indian Parliament adopted the Wildlife Protection Act in 1972, the economic basis of the Irulas was suddenly made illegal, punishable with a jail sentence. Many felt it was literally the end of the road for this highly skilled tribe. Irulas had to learn to become farm labourers; others migrated to the cities and towns in search of jobs in extremely difficult conditions. The community today is largely neglected. They don’t have a steady means of livelihood and the state of living in the villages is very unfavourable. Extreme apathy from the government forces the society into an economic downward spiral (under-education, unemployment, poverty, denial of basic rights and resources) while the condition within (lack of hygiene and dominance of various diseases) makes things worse. Besides, the traditional traits of the Irula culture and identity are gradually being eroded as their way of life is increasingly molded by the neo-liberal dynamics of modern India
However all hope is not lostÖ Today the communal enterprise has established snake farms, where, snakes are not caught to be killed for skin but are caught to be milked for their venom to prepare antivenin. The people also produce handicrafts and engage in small-scale cottage industries to earn their bread.
