The hemp cultivators of Uttarakhand and social complexity (with a special reference to the Rathis of Garhwal)

Uttarakhand is dotted with a network of valleys that lends itself to the development of many small distinct communities, each valley being a micro-region, both in human and geographical terms, whose inhabitants form a largely self-contained economic and cultural entity. A noteworthy example of such a micro-region is the little known Rath (Rāṭh) area, drained by the Ayar in Garhwal. The inhabitants of this area are called Rathis (Rāṭhī-s, Rathi-s), predominantly traditional bhang-(bhāṅga, hemp, Cannabis sativa) cultivating folks in Uttarakhand. In pre-Colonial Uttarakhand, the hemp producers were a prosperous community due to their near monopoly in hempen business and enjoyed due social status, which accompanies prosperity. However, with the introduction of machine-made cloth by the British, which, contrasted to bhangela (bhaṅgelā, hempen cloth), was cheaper and fashionable, the hempen fabric lost market and its producers suffered economically and socially. Responding to the demand of the new socio-political ideology prevailing under the British, the hemp-producing community organised themselves accordingly. Based on the principle of ‘self-organization’, the present study purports to unfold as to how a simple society transforms into a complex one.