Decline in India’s Camel Population

Why is the camel population declining?

• Change in the way of life from nomadic-pastoralism to agriculture. Reasons for this shift:

1. Shrinking of grazing grounds
2. Individually owned farmlands with fences restricting free movement of the animals and their keepers.
3. The Rajasthan/Indira Gandhi Canal’s construction in Rajasthan led to a 25% increase in the net sown area in the state between 1957 and 1987.

• Raika-farmer conflicts:

1. Raikas or Rebaris are an ethnic group who live as pastoralists.
2. They have been moving freely across huge swathes of desert lands in Rajasthan and Gujarat, for centuries.
3. Their conflict with the farmers became more common and almost a