Changing Pattern of Livelihood in tatma community: A Case Study of aurahi Rural Municipalitiy, Siraha District

Abstract

Nepal is one of the poorest countries of the world. According to the national statistics, 24percent people are below absolute poverty line.Development programs implemented by governmental and non-governmental agencies could not reach where the backward and poor people live.Tatmas or Dalits living in people belong to one of the poorest and backward caste in Nepal.Attempt hasmade to study their present socio-economic condition, cultural and demographicconditions and the present situation of their traditional occupation. In the present paperboth primary and secondary sources of data have been used.For Rural Municipality Aurahiward number 4and5named Itatar andAurahihave been selected purposively based on the relative representation of the dalits. Altogether 20Tatmahouseholds were selected randomly. In terms of food sufficiency90% of the Tatma community of the study site has got chronic shortage of food throughout the year.The Terai Dalit women are the least educated group, but culturally they are more free, open and receptive group than the high caste Hindu women of theTerai.Women are more sufferers than males within theTatma community, their socialand economic status is much lower to that of males.The population of Dalits as a whole stands at 2,675,817 which constitute 11.6 percent of the country's total. Of the total Dalitpopulation the population of Terai Dalits is only 886,839 or 35.4 percent.Tatma isrelatively a small group among the Terai Dalits.