Striking a balance is the way out of Shikar Yatra

In parts of West Bengal, tribes celebrate Shikar Utsav (hunting festival) for about four months every year since time immemorial. It begins and ends with summer.

During the festival, tribes in Bankura, Birbhum, Jhargram, Paschim (West) Medinipur, and Purulia in West Bengal forage deep inside the forest in search of their prey. Some members of the tribal population residing in the adjacent states of Jharkhand and Odisha also take part in the annual ritual.

The hunt begins in the morning after offering prayers and ends in the afternoon. The hunters then gather to distribute the game among themselves.

They wine (local brew), and dine (the prey), and indulge in revelry till late in the night – satisfied that their families’ food requirements have been taken care of.

The Utsav is considered a celebration of valour and skills that connect communities with their ancestral heritage.

Historically, many tribal communities, including the Santhal, Lodha, Sabar, Oraon, and others, consider the exercise as an integral part of their cultural identity.

They believe that hunting is not merely a means to procure game but a ritual that reinforces community cohesion and celebrates human mastery over nature.

The practice was originally conducted on a much smaller scale with keen attention to the limits of nature. The rituals were bound by social and ecological checks ensuring that the balance of wildlife populations was not severely disrupted.

But through the years, the scale of hunting is said to have grown to alarming proportions.

Once a closed and community-confined festival, it has allegedly been commercialised to the point of chaos. Participants are now not limited to the local tribes, allege some conservators. It is said that people in general have started taking part in it to get a thrill as well as money out of it.

Thus, in recent years, environmentalists have raised concerns over its impact on the wildlife population in the area.

“South-west Bengal continues to face significant challenges related to wildlife protection. One of these challenges is ritualistic hunting,” recently wrote Chief Conservator of Forests, Central Circle, West Bengal, Singaram Kulandaivel, in a English daily newspaper. 

Considering what he termed as a “tradition” on the one hand, and the depleting flora and fauna, Kolkata-based senior journalist, Prasenjit Baksi, suggested the need for a solution that can conserve both.

“The conservation of flora and fauna is definitely very important. But at the same time, we have to consider the conservation of traditions, or rituals as well,” he maintained.

South-western Bengal, with its delicate ecosystem, is home to a variety of wildlife species that have evolved within narrowly balanced food webs.

Thus, the large-scale hunting of small animals like wild boars, hares, etc. lead to significant repercussions on the ecological system.

“It’s a tradition, which has to be preserved. At the same time, considering the dwindling numbers of wildlife, ecological conservation is absolutely necessary. Therefore, a means must be identified to address both,” Baksi observed.

However, Kulandaivel expressed concerns over the impact on local ecosystems.

Meanwhile, the state forest department has launched a sustained campaign to prevent this ritualistic hunting. There is a collaboration between local communities and the state to protect and manage forests. The Joint Forest Management (JFM) model, which began in the 1980s in West Bengal, has had notable successes in improving forest cover and biodiversity while enhancing local livelihoods.

Apart from the forest department, several legal, administrative, and community-led initiatives have emerged to address the issue.

In 2023, the Calcutta High Court intervened by ordering the formation of special committees tasked with curbing hunting during such festivals. These committees are responsible for safeguarding wildlife, coordinating among forest departments, the police, and local communities. They are entrusted to ensure that any deviation from conservation norms is promptly addressed.

Local NGOs have also taken an active role. Kolkata-based conservation groups have been monitoring these events since the late 2010s. They document the extent of hunting, engage in public awareness campaigns, and support local communities in transitioning away from harmful practices.

For instance, initiatives are in place to educate hunters about the long-term ecological and economic costs of rampant hunting. By offering alternatives such as eco-tourism, wildlife monitoring, and community-based forest management, these organisations aim to balance traditional practices with modern conservation imperatives.

Success stories, however, are mixed because while some hunters have been reoriented, the sheer scale of the festivities resists easy transformation.

The challenges posed by ritualistic hunting continue to undermine these gains. The persistence of Shikar Utsav often puts immense pressure on forest staff who are tasked with monitoring vast areas.

Given the resource constraints and expansive nature of these regions, local administrations find it difficult to impose the necessary controls effectively. These challenges underscore the critical need for an integrated approach that combines legal enforcement with community engagement and sustainable livelihood alternatives.

Proponents of Shikar Utsav argue that the ritual embodies cultural heritage and rites of passage, though the on-ground reality reflects a troubling transformation.

Despite the ecological threat, stopping ritualistic hunting cannot simply lead to enforcing a ban. As Baksi emphasised, it is about reimagining the relationship between human communities and nature.

Other experts argue that to truly protect biodiversity and preserve the cultural integrity of local traditions, a radical reorientation of these practices is necessary.

The process must begin with education; by raising awareness of the ecological consequences, local communities can slowly evolve traditional practices to honour the sanctity of life rather than ban it.

Policy makers, conservationists, and community leaders need to collaborate more closely at the grassroots level to foster a sustainable model that is both culturally sensitive and ecologically sound.

It is an issue which needs a delicate balancing of the tradition as well as cultural heritage and the pressing needs of conservation of flora and fauna.