No room for the dead: Kalbelias struggle for cremation land in Rajasthan

I belong to the Kalbelia community, which has been categorised as a nomadic tribe. Despite this classification, we have been living in villages across Rajasthan’s Jodhpur district for the past 20–25 years. And while we have homes in these villages, we don’t have a cremation ground available to bury our dead. As a result of this, graves are being built everywhere. Many people from the community have no option but to bury dead bodies in open grounds, sometimes even in front of their houses.

Kalbelias in the region are often discriminated against and restricted from using the village’s cremation land. This is primarily due to the perception, held by local residents and government officials, that our nomadic status implies we will eventually leave. Consequently, they see no point in granting us access to this land. In my village Bheser Kotwali, for instance, the cremation grounds were being used by Jaat and Mali communities who would stop us from accessing the land because they believed that they were the original inhabitants and permanent residents of the village.  

This widespread belief and prejudice make it critical for us not only to get access to these burial grounds but also to ensure we have titles in our names. Unless the land is in our name in panchayat records, this discriminatory practice might persist, leaving the land vulnerable to capture in certain instances.

I, along with a few others, have been working across 35 villages in the district to help Kalbelias get access to burial plots and titles for burial lands. We usually issue a memo to the district collector and protest, often several times, in front of the administration with all the Kalbelias that reside in Jodhpur district. I recently managed to get 5 bighas (1.2 hectares) of land allotted to my village. It took us two years to complete the process.

While there are some villages where we have managed to secure the land and the title in the name of the Kalbelias, there are many more where either they have access to the land but no title or they have neither the land nor the title.

Tiloknath Kalbelia is a fellow with CORO India, and has been working for the Kalbelia community in Rajasthan for the past five years.

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Know more: Learn about the changing lifestyles of the Kalbelia women in Ajmer, Rajasthan.

Do more: Connect with the author at triloknath2712199500@gmail.com to learn more about and support his work.