{"id":60144106,"date":"2026-07-31T09:02:01","date_gmt":"2026-07-31T08:02:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/?p=60144106"},"modified":"2026-07-31T10:03:18","modified_gmt":"2026-07-31T09:03:18","slug":"the-price-dumkas-adivasis-pay-for-home","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/forests\/the-price-dumkas-adivasis-pay-for-home\/","title":{"rendered":"The price Dumka\u2019s Adivasis pay for home"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Ukhrapahari sits in the heart of the forest. Cows feed quietly on the sparse grass around the edge of the village; chickens and goats scatter with the arrival of a car, a rare interruption. In the centre of the village, Mercilla Tudu \u2013 a gold nose pin glinting, a red flower tucked into her hair \u2013 sits in the shade of a bamboo shelter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A shelter under which, once a week, the village comes together \u2013 to discuss farming, rituals, local disputes. To discuss life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are no halls, walls or concrete benches. Women in bright saris sit together on the ground on an orange tarpaulin sheet, children settling in front of them. To their left, the men cluster together, some sitting, while others stand and watch. The shelter is little more than a thatched roof held aloft by wooden poles, itself under the canopy of wild mango and mahogany trees \u2013 the only refuge from the sun. As they filter in, they greet each other with one word; a word that means salutation and respect; a word that signals that these are their own. \u201cJohar.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Five months ago, Tudu and her husband Baghal Hembrom were not at the everyday gathering. They were over 2,000 kilometres away, in Kerala\u2019s Idukki district, working on cardamom plantations. That journey from Ukhrapahari in Jharkhand\u2019s Dumka district took them four days by bus. Waiting for the couple was a matchbox room \u2013 8 feet by 8 feet. At home, there was no money. But hard labour in Kerala earned them INR 500 (USD 5.20) each a day \u2013 enough to save for sand, stone and other construction materials to build a house in Ukhrapahari. \u201cNow that we have saved enough, we do not want to go back,\u201d says Tudu.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Because their small village was more than a place to live. It was a part of who they were. Everyone was Santhal. Everyone spoke Santhali. It was safe. It was home.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
\n
\"A<\/div>
Ukhrapahari resident Mercilla Tudu has seen livelihoods in her village become more uncertain as the surrounding forest disappears and rainfall becomes erratic. Many like her resort to working in faraway states like Kerala to make ends meet (Image: Shalinee Kumari \/ Dialogue Earth)<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
\n
\"Women<\/div>
Women gather around the shelter where their weekly village meeting is held. Although many residents leave Ukhrapahari for work, once they earn the money they need, most return to the safety of their community (Image: Shalinee Kumari \/ Dialogue Earth)<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

In June, Dialogue Earth travelled to Dumka and spoke to Adivasi (a term referring to the Indigenous populations of India) families and community leaders in Ukhrapahari and Burhidangal, two villages located ten kilometres apart, and found that migration is increasingly becoming temporary rather than permanent. Residents no longer leave with the intention of settling elsewhere. Instead, they migrate to meet expenses that the village itself cannot generate \u2013 building a house, paying for weddings or avoiding debt \u2013 returning once those needs are met.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Experts tell Dialogue Earth that two forces are shaping this migration in Jharkhand. First, the sustainability of Adivasi life is being eroded by mining, declining agricultural incomes, erratic rainfall and government apathy. Second, in the states<\/a> they frequently migrate to \u2013 such as Gujarat, Kerala, Maharashtra, Telangana and West Bengal \u2013 many experience exploitation and a deep alienation from their language, land and community.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Local records show Burhidangal and Ukhrapahari, for instance, have 65 and 42 households respectively. Community leaders in both villages estimate that around half have one family member working outside the state. Many who migrated have returned. Others continue to move back and forth. The pattern extends beyond these two villages: estimates from the 2023 Jharkhand Migration Survey<\/a> show that Dumka had around 273,000 current migrants and nearly 39,000 \u201creturn migrants\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In Dumka, leaving has become part of staying.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Where the forest begins to fray<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

From a distance, the forests appear untouched. During the monsoon, the hills are covered in green, and streams cut through the landscape, sometimes cascading down as natural waterfalls. It is only on the roads and the railway lines that another identity begins to emerge. Long queues of trucks wait near mining sites, their tyres leaving tracks in the darkened soil. In Dumka town, 30 kilometres from Ukhrapahari and Burhidangal, coal wagons line up at the railway station, their soot so persistent that it settles in the crevices of the terracotta tiles on the station platform, refusing to be washed away.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
\n
\"Coal-loaded<\/div>
Coal-loaded wagons beside a storage yard near Dumka railway station. Mining for coal around villages like Burhidangal and Ukhrapahari has changed the surrounding forests, say staff at Lahanti, a local NGO (Image: Shalinee Kumari \/ Dialogue Earth)<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
\n
\"Close-up<\/div>
Jharkhand has India\u2019s second-largest coal reserves. It has faced a sharp rise in coal mining in recent years, part of a government push to increase<\/a> domestic production and reduce dependence on imports (Image: Shalinee Kumari \/ Dialogue Earth)<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Jharkhand is one of India\u2019s largest<\/a> coal-producing states, and production has increased<\/a> by over 60% between 2017 and 2025. As of July 2026, there are 23 coal mining leases registered under the Dumka Mining Office. Vincent Murmu, project coordinator at the non-profit Lahanti, which works to improve socio-economic conditions for tribal communities in the area, says mining has changed the forests Adivasi communities have long structured their lives around.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For generations, families have relied on the forests for food, fuel, medicine and supplementary income. They gather seasonal fruits and wild leafy greens for everyday nutrition. Sal leaves, mahua flowers, tendu leaves and honey provide an additional source of income. \u201cBut even the forest is disappearing from around us,\u201d says Loveen Hembrom, an Ukhrapahari village leader.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Seven<\/div>
Loveen Hembrom (third from right) gathers with fellow Ukhrapahari residents outside the village council office following their community\u2019s weekly meeting. At their feet are a collection of traditional Santhali drums. Music and dance remain an important part of community life, and cultural events are often discussed at village meetings along with other issues (Image: Shalinee Kumari \/ Dialogue Earth)<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Both villages have applied for recognition of their community forest rights under the Forest Rights Act, which recognises the customary rights of forest-dwelling communities over woodlands they have traditionally used. But these rights are yet to be granted. \u201cUntil they are recognised, communities remain uncertain about their long-term control over the forests,\u201d says Avijit Karmakar, a programme manager at Lahanti. \u201cWhen mining happens, forests are cleared for extraction. People are worried they could be next.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The large-scale coal mines closest to the villages are open-cast. In a 2016 report<\/a> titled \u201cWhen land is lost, do we eat coal?\u201d, Amnesty International characterised such mining as removing all vegetation on the surface of the land, blasting and clearing the soil above the coal deposits, and then extracting the coal in strips. Though open-cast mining has relatively low production costs, it has a significant, adverse environmental footprint of dust and noise pollution, as well as land degradation, deforestation and soil erosion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Elderly villagers say fewer than half of the varieties of wild leafy greens they used to gather for food can now be found in and around Adivasi villages. \u201cWe believe the declining diversity of forest foods is affecting nutrition,\u201d Karmakar says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"A<\/div>
A woman serves a dish made from dried mahua flowers at Burhidangal\u2019s village meeting. Forest foods like mahua remain a vital source of food and income for Dumka\u2019s Santhal communities (Image: Shalinee Kumari \/ Dialogue Earth)<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Virginius Xaxa, an academic who is one of India\u2019s leading Adivasi scholars, says the size of tribal landholdings has steadily declined across India, in part because land gets divided within families over generations, but also due to the loss of land through debt, alienation and intimidation. \u201cAlthough many households still have some land, it is not enough to sustain them through the year,\u201d Xaxa says. Such land would typically be used for farming and livestock rearing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From the ordinary to the profound, cultural traditions woven into the forests around them become harder to sustain. Every Santhal wedding requires a branch from the sal tree. But as the forests change, sal branches become harder to find, leading some families to reuse them from one wedding to the next. As Lahanti\u2019s Karmakar puts it: \u201cJungle hai toh Adivasi hai. Adivasi hai toh jungle hai.<\/em>\u201d(The Adivasis exist because of the forest. The forests exist because of the Adivasis.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When water becomes work<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Every evening, before the village meets in Burhidangal, Stein Sila Hasda tucks metal pots beneath her arm and starts walking. The first such journey is made long before dawn, and the last, just as the sun is dipping. Sometimes she wears worn-out slippers, but for the most part, her callused feet navigate narrow, uneven paths of scraggly rock. She walks for close to half an hour before reaching a spring, which emerges to create a small pond around 10 metres below the path. Like the women around her, she climbs down the steep embankments with empty vessels, before struggling back up with the water that her household needs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
\n
\"Women<\/div>
Stein Sila Hasda attending the weekly village meeting in Burhidangal, where she raised the issue of difficulty in fetching water. Women often play a leading role in articulating community concerns at these meetings (Image: Shalinee Kumari \/ Dialogue Earth)<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
\n
\"Men<\/div>
Men sit at the back listening to the issues being discussed. Though these meetings are a chance for the community to collectively decide how to respond to problems, some issues such as the lack of piped water are beyond their control (Image: Shalinee Kumari \/ Dialogue Earth)<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

The natural pond is unclean, shared with cattle and wild animals. Drinking from it has led to illness in some families, but there is no alternative. Even pregnant women must make the same arduous walk and drink the same water. \u201cWe have to make multiple trips,\u201d Hasda says. \u201cIt is exhausting.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Neither Ukhrapahari nor Burhidangal has functional piped water supply. In January 2025, government officials went to Burhidangal, dug the earth and laid a pipeline as part of the Jal Jeevan Mission<\/a>, explains Prem Hasda, a Burhidangal resident. The government initiative promised tap connections to all households in rural India by 2024. But in 2026, there is no water. \u201cThey never came back,\u201d he says. In Ukhrapahari, there has been no visible progress at all, several residents told Dialogue Earth. The Jal Jeevan Mission dashboard<\/a> lists the scheme as \u201cin progress<\/a>\u201d in both Burhidangal and Ukhrapahari and records four deep tubewells in these villages. But on the ground, residents remain dependent on unclean sources of water.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"A<\/div>
A pond near Burhidangal, where some residents wash clothes. Community members say water has become increasingly scarce as rainfall has grown more erratic, making everyday tasks and farming more difficult (Image: Shalinee Kumari \/ Dialogue Earth)<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Dialogue Earth spoke to Rounak Kumar, a junior engineer at Dumka\u2019s Drinking Water and Sanitation Department, who says that both villages fall under the Shikaripara-Kathikund Full Block Coverage Multi Village Scheme<\/a>, part of the Jal Jeevan Mission. Kumar adds that around 65% of the project has been completed, but water can\u2019t be supplied until work across the multi-district scheme is finished. Kumar says that pending clearances from the forest department and the National Highways Authority of India have delayed construction, with the completion deadline pushed to 2028.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to the Central Ground Water Board, as of end-2025, about one-third of monitored wells<\/a> in Jharkhand have declining groundwater levels compared with the previous decade\u2019s average. Researchers say<\/a> limited natural groundwater recharge and a lack of artificial recharging<\/a> facilities have contributed to this. Increased reliance on tube wells has added further pressure on groundwater resources.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Further, Dumka receives 60% of its annual rainfall<\/a> during the monsoon period between June and September. A 2017 study<\/a> published in the journal Climate notes that Jharkhand faced a downward trend in annual and monsoon rainfall in the 20th century, with Dumka among the districts facing the greatest decline. More recently, this decline has persisted: Jharkhand has experienced eight years of below-normal rainfall over the last 25 years, Abhishek Anand, head of India Meterological Department\u2019s centre in Ranchi, recently told<\/a> Mongabay.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For Adivasi communities that depend almost entirely on rainfed farming, this decline is having devastating consequences. \u201cIt is unbelievable that communities whose generations have spent their entire lives being surrounded by water now face such scarcity,\u201d says Bitiya Murmu, the chief executive of Lahanti.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"A<\/div>
Goats and other livestock provide an additional source of food and income for some households in Burhidangal, helping diversify their livelihoods as farming becomes increasingly uncertain (Image: Shalinee Kumari \/ Dialogue Earth)<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

The main problems are scarcity and the rate of change. But unpredictable fluctuations are also hard to deal with. \u201cSometimes there is too much rainfall, and sometimes there is not enough,\u201d says Murmu. Data<\/a> from the non-profit Council on Energy, Environment and Water\u2019s Climate Risk and Vulnerability Assessment Information System shows Dumka\u2019s annual rainfall has become more unpredictable, with year-to-year variation about 17% higher in 2000-2025 than in 1980-1999. Rainfall ranged from 1,822 mm in 2006 and 1,641mm in 2017, to lows of 967mm in 2018 and 959 mm in 2022. Karmakar explains: \u201cThe erratic rainfall makes tribal communities lose their Indigenous knowledge and confuses the traditional agricultural calendar.\u201d This year, for example, villagers say unseasonal rainfall meant close to half of the mahua flowers \u2013 a vital source of food, income and cultural identity for the Santhals \u2013 failed to bloom.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As water disappears and the rains turn erratic, a land once comfortable in its predictability stops giving.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The places that did not understand them<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Three years ago, 32-year-old Phuleen Hembrom decided she had to move to Hyderabad, the southern metropolis of more than 11 million people. In Ukhrapahari, her family of seven cultivated maize, rice, millet and vegetables. But without dependable rainfall, there was never enough food. \u201cShe had to leave because we had nothing to eat here at home,\u201d says her brother Loveen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the city, with its bright lights, Phuleen lived in its underbelly, working as a welder who earned INR 300 (USD 3) a day. Some days she began at 8am and toiled until midnight. Working nights made her feel anxious, unsafe. She barely spoke any language other than Santhali, and communication was a problem. \u201cIt was exhausting for her,\u201d Loveen says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Three months ago, Phuleen returned to Ukhrapahari, to the forests and the fields; to the evening village meetings. Here, she has autonomy and the ability to decide when she can stop work. Here, she is surrounded by friends and family who understand her. \u201cEven if farming becomes difficult here, she will not go back,\u201d Loveen says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Women<\/div>
Like in Burhidangal, women in Ukhrapahari serve food after their weekly village meeting. Such gatherings are not only spaces for discussing community affairs, but also help reinforce all-important social ties (Image: Shalinee Kumari \/ Dialogue Earth)<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Xaxa says it is difficult for Adivasis to settle permanently in cities because, for centuries, they have lived in rural landscapes and find themselves unaccustomed to congested settlements or slums. They find themselves far away from their primary language and from social worlds rooted in community, and are often isolated with few social connections. \u201cFreedom is what they value,\u201d Xaxa says. \u201cThey don\u2019t like to go somewhere where they are constantly under someone else\u2019s command. When they depend on employers and contractors, their lives are organised very differently. That transition is difficult.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Karmakar says that most migrants who leave Jharkhand are unregistered, making it difficult to track where they work, or intervene when problems arise. \u201cSometimes they end up in very dangerous situations,\u201d he notes, adding that Lahanti has come across cases where residents boarded buses arranged by labour contractors without knowing where they were being taken. There have also been cases of women being harassed while working outside the state.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
\n
\"A<\/div>
Jogesh Murmu, Burhidangal\u2019s village headman, has repeatedly migrated for work but always comes home as soon as he can (Image: Shalinee Kumari \/ Dialogue Earth)<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
\n
\"A<\/div>
Burhidangal\u2019s jackfruit trees are a reliable source of food and income for its residents (Image: Shalinee Kumari \/ Dialogue Earth)<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

In Burhidangal, under the setting sun, young girls dressed in bright turquoise costumes giggled, still wearing the clothes from a Santhal folk dance they had performed earlier. When they danced, they beamed. When they forgot a step, they burst into laughter. Jogesh Murmu smiled at the cacophony before him. Burhidangal\u2019s elected village headman travelled to Pune last year, where he earned INR 450 (USD 4.50) a day as a construction labourer. He was overworked. More than that, he felt alone. He returned within the year. \u201cI returned because I want to live close to my family, my village and the forest,\u201d he says. \u201cThis is our way of life.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And yet, with the forests under pressure, water still not reaching homes, and rain no longer keeping time, Murmu is worried. \u201cMy sister is getting married next year,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So he will leave once more, earn what he needs and then return.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To his people. To the forest. To the clearing under the jackfruit trees. To Burhidangal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Mining, water scarcity and erratic rainfall are making life harder for the Indigenous Santhal communities of the district in Jharkhand. Many migrate for work, earning enough just to return to their land, language and forest <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":20000972,"featured_media":60144479,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[761,50039902,50039903],"tags":[519,555,50040749,50040706,566,607],"hashtags":[],"country":[20000111],"class_list":["post-60144106","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-climate","category-forests","category-water","tag-climate-impacts","tag-indigenous-peoples","tag-livelihoods","tag-migration","tag-mining","tag-water-scarcity","country-india"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nThe price Dumka\u2019s Adivasis pay for home | Dialogue Earth<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Mining, water scarcity and erratic rainfall are making life harder for the Indigenous Santhal communities of the district in Jharkhand. Many migrate for work, earning enough just to return to their land, language and forest\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/forests\/the-price-dumkas-adivasis-pay-for-home\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The price Dumka\u2019s Adivasis pay for home\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Mining, water scarcity and erratic rainfall are making life harder for the Indigenous Santhal communities of the district in Jharkhand. Many migrate for work, earning enough just to return to their land, language and forest\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/forests\/the-price-dumkas-adivasis-pay-for-home\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Dialogue Earth\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-07-31T08:02:01+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-07-31T09:03:18+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/20260616_India-Dumka-Adivasi-villagers-perform-traditional-dance_ShalineeKumari_DialogueEarth-1-e1785486368445.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"800\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Shalinee Kumari\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/forests\/the-price-dumkas-adivasis-pay-for-home\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/forests\/the-price-dumkas-adivasis-pay-for-home\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Shalinee Kumari\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/04abc8ef1c9bacb4f2b42587dcd43841\"},\"headline\":\"The price Dumka\u2019s Adivasis pay for home\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-07-31T08:02:01+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-07-31T09:03:18+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/forests\/the-price-dumkas-adivasis-pay-for-home\/\"},\"wordCount\":2811,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/forests\/the-price-dumkas-adivasis-pay-for-home\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/20260616_India-Dumka-Adivasi-villagers-perform-traditional-dance_ShalineeKumari_DialogueEarth-1-e1785486368445.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Climate impacts\",\"Indigenous peoples\",\"Livelihoods\",\"Migration\",\"Mining\",\"Water scarcity\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Climate\",\"Forests\",\"Water\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/forests\/the-price-dumkas-adivasis-pay-for-home\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/forests\/the-price-dumkas-adivasis-pay-for-home\/\",\"name\":\"The price Dumka\u2019s Adivasis pay for home | Dialogue Earth\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/forests\/the-price-dumkas-adivasis-pay-for-home\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/forests\/the-price-dumkas-adivasis-pay-for-home\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/20260616_India-Dumka-Adivasi-villagers-perform-traditional-dance_ShalineeKumari_DialogueEarth-1-e1785486368445.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-07-31T08:02:01+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-07-31T09:03:18+00:00\",\"description\":\"Mining, water scarcity and erratic rainfall are making life harder for the Indigenous Santhal communities of the district in Jharkhand. Many migrate for work, earning enough just to return to their land, language and forest\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/forests\/the-price-dumkas-adivasis-pay-for-home\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/forests\/the-price-dumkas-adivasis-pay-for-home\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/forests\/the-price-dumkas-adivasis-pay-for-home\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/20260616_India-Dumka-Adivasi-villagers-perform-traditional-dance_ShalineeKumari_DialogueEarth-1-e1785486368445.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/20260616_India-Dumka-Adivasi-villagers-perform-traditional-dance_ShalineeKumari_DialogueEarth-1-e1785486368445.jpg\",\"width\":1200,\"height\":800,\"caption\":\"A group of women in green and blue traditional saris dance in a line in a rural village setting.\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/forests\/the-price-dumkas-adivasis-pay-for-home\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"The price Dumka\u2019s Adivasis pay for home\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/\",\"name\":\"Dialogue Earth\",\"description\":\"Global climate and environment news\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/#organization\",\"name\":\"\u5bf9\u8bdd\u5730\u7403\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/Dialogue-Earth-Symbol-Logo_Black-Text.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/Dialogue-Earth-Symbol-Logo_Black-Text.png\",\"width\":256,\"height\":256,\"caption\":\"\u5bf9\u8bdd\u5730\u7403\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/DialogueEarth_\",\"\",\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/DialogueEarth.English\",\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/dialogue.earth\/\",\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/dialogueearth\/\"],\"publishingPrinciples\":\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/about\/\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/04abc8ef1c9bacb4f2b42587dcd43841\",\"name\":\"Shalinee Kumari\",\"description\":\"Shalinee Kumari is an editorial assistant at The Third Pole. Prior to this role, she has worked as a digital journalism trainee with BBC Hindi. She is a postgraduate in Convergent Journalism from AJK MCRC, Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi.\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/author\/shalinee-kumari\/\",\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/author\/shalinee-kumari\/\"]}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"The price Dumka\u2019s Adivasis pay for home | Dialogue Earth","description":"Mining, water scarcity and erratic rainfall are making life harder for the Indigenous Santhal communities of the district in Jharkhand. Many migrate for work, earning enough just to return to their land, language and forest","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/forests\/the-price-dumkas-adivasis-pay-for-home\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"The price Dumka\u2019s Adivasis pay for home","og_description":"Mining, water scarcity and erratic rainfall are making life harder for the Indigenous Santhal communities of the district in Jharkhand. Many migrate for work, earning enough just to return to their land, language and forest","og_url":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/forests\/the-price-dumkas-adivasis-pay-for-home\/","og_site_name":"Dialogue Earth","article_published_time":"2026-07-31T08:02:01+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-07-31T09:03:18+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1200,"height":800,"url":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/20260616_India-Dumka-Adivasi-villagers-perform-traditional-dance_ShalineeKumari_DialogueEarth-1-e1785486368445.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Shalinee Kumari","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/forests\/the-price-dumkas-adivasis-pay-for-home\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/forests\/the-price-dumkas-adivasis-pay-for-home\/"},"author":{"name":"Shalinee Kumari","@id":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/04abc8ef1c9bacb4f2b42587dcd43841"},"headline":"The price Dumka\u2019s Adivasis pay for home","datePublished":"2026-07-31T08:02:01+00:00","dateModified":"2026-07-31T09:03:18+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/forests\/the-price-dumkas-adivasis-pay-for-home\/"},"wordCount":2811,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/forests\/the-price-dumkas-adivasis-pay-for-home\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/20260616_India-Dumka-Adivasi-villagers-perform-traditional-dance_ShalineeKumari_DialogueEarth-1-e1785486368445.jpg","keywords":["Climate impacts","Indigenous peoples","Livelihoods","Migration","Mining","Water scarcity"],"articleSection":["Climate","Forests","Water"],"inLanguage":"en"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/forests\/the-price-dumkas-adivasis-pay-for-home\/","url":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/forests\/the-price-dumkas-adivasis-pay-for-home\/","name":"The price Dumka\u2019s Adivasis pay for home | Dialogue Earth","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/forests\/the-price-dumkas-adivasis-pay-for-home\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/forests\/the-price-dumkas-adivasis-pay-for-home\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/20260616_India-Dumka-Adivasi-villagers-perform-traditional-dance_ShalineeKumari_DialogueEarth-1-e1785486368445.jpg","datePublished":"2026-07-31T08:02:01+00:00","dateModified":"2026-07-31T09:03:18+00:00","description":"Mining, water scarcity and erratic rainfall are making life harder for the Indigenous Santhal communities of the district in Jharkhand. Many migrate for work, earning enough just to return to their land, language and forest","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/forests\/the-price-dumkas-adivasis-pay-for-home\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/forests\/the-price-dumkas-adivasis-pay-for-home\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en","@id":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/forests\/the-price-dumkas-adivasis-pay-for-home\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/20260616_India-Dumka-Adivasi-villagers-perform-traditional-dance_ShalineeKumari_DialogueEarth-1-e1785486368445.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/20260616_India-Dumka-Adivasi-villagers-perform-traditional-dance_ShalineeKumari_DialogueEarth-1-e1785486368445.jpg","width":1200,"height":800,"caption":"A group of women in green and blue traditional saris dance in a line in a rural village setting."},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/forests\/the-price-dumkas-adivasis-pay-for-home\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"The price Dumka\u2019s Adivasis pay for home"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/#website","url":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/","name":"Dialogue Earth","description":"Global climate and environment news","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/#organization","name":"\u5bf9\u8bdd\u5730\u7403","url":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en","@id":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/Dialogue-Earth-Symbol-Logo_Black-Text.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/Dialogue-Earth-Symbol-Logo_Black-Text.png","width":256,"height":256,"caption":"\u5bf9\u8bdd\u5730\u7403"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/twitter.com\/DialogueEarth_","","https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/DialogueEarth.English","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/dialogue.earth\/","https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/dialogueearth\/"],"publishingPrinciples":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/about\/"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/04abc8ef1c9bacb4f2b42587dcd43841","name":"Shalinee Kumari","description":"Shalinee Kumari is an editorial assistant at The Third Pole. Prior to this role, she has worked as a digital journalism trainee with BBC Hindi. She is a postgraduate in Convergent Journalism from AJK MCRC, Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi.","url":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/author\/shalinee-kumari\/","sameAs":["https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/author\/shalinee-kumari\/"]}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/60144106","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/20000972"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=60144106"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/60144106\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":60144501,"href":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/60144106\/revisions\/60144501"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/60144479"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=60144106"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=60144106"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=60144106"},{"taxonomy":"hashtags","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/hashtags?post=60144106"},{"taxonomy":"country","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/country?post=60144106"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}