Pastoral Cultures of the Thar Desert
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- ISBN 9781041139805
- Weight: 540g
- Dimensions: 156 x 234mm
- Publication Date: 22 Jan 2026
- Publisher: Taylor & Francis Ltd
- Publication City/Country: GB
- Product Form: Hardback
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The book brings together narratives of earth-stolid pastoral nomads and experiences of their mobility across different terrains as they negotiate the harsh terrain in interiors of the Thar. Synthesising learnings from lived experience of development practice with pastoralists for two and a half decades and an ethnographic study of selected villages in Bikaner and Jaisalmer, the volume transcends tragic tropes about pastoralism that have obfuscated perspectives about pastoralists in academia, policy discourse and state action. Instead, it argues for an interweaving of pastoral destinies with our destinies in the quest for a sustainable world. Pastoral communities offer useful cues on sustainable natural resource management, values of frugality and gratitude to nature.
In the context of a globally renewed interest in pastoralism and sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, this volume would be of interest to researchers, students of environment and development, sociology, economics, development studies, and public policy. It will also appeal to humanities and development practitioners, arid zone specialists, travellers and desert enthusiasts.
Rahul Ghai studied History at Delhi University and Jawaharlal Nehru University, Delhi. Since 1994 Rahul has lived for two and half decades in the interiors of Thar, Rajasthan working with pastoral communities for development entitlements of food, fodder, water security and with Sufi musicians to reinvigorate musical traditions of pastoral communities. For more than a decade and half now he has designed and taught postgraduate courses in Rural Management / Rural Development at the IIHMR University, Entrepreneurial Development Institute, and Shiv Nadar University. Rahul continues to be associated with pastoral communities, learning and co creating solutions for a sustainable Thar.
