Contemporary Voice of Dalit, Ahead of Print.
The Oraon, Munda and Santal are the three major Scheduled Tribes of the Jalpaiguri district of West Bengal. During the colonial period (mainly between 1880 and 1930), their arrival from the Chota Nagpur region to the Dooars region (Jalpaiguri district) took place by the British. In the present article, an attempt has been made to assess housing condition, livelihood pattern and socio-cultural life of the concerned tribes. For this purpose, 650 household surveys were carried out with the help of semi-structured questionnaire, focus group discussion, informal interviews and field visits. The study finds that, after being displaced from their homeland (Chota Nagpur Plateau region) and settled for long in the Jalpaiguri district, they undergone many changes in their habitat, economic condition and society, but it did not bring any improvement in their quality of life. The deplorable residence, lack of housing amenities and necessities, inadequate income, illiteracy, loosening of social organization are the major features presently prevalent among them.