Jhum cultivation

Source: Madhubanti Anashua

We talked as we watched the woman of the house make Bar-B-Q of the squirrel, rolling the stick over and over on the ember flame.
This family used to live in Baghaihat, a settlement very long away from here. Then there was a Bangalee-Chakma riot and all the Chakma houses were burned down. Insecure and jobless, they migrated and went deeper and deeper into the forest until they found this place.
It was deep forest all around, just as pristine as we had seen earlier in the day. They cleared it up – the size of a big stadium – and went for Jhum cultivation.
“We made good harvest this year,” Susanta Chakma, the head of the family said. The evidence we could see in stacks of jute sacks in the inside room. More paddy is waiting to be harvested. “Next year, we will abandon this place and clear the next patch of forest.”
Susanta’s neighbour Anil had also joined us. He has a rather peculiar story to tell.