Context:

The Uttar Pradesh government has recently embarked upon a scheme to take the unique culture of its ethnic Tharu tribe across the world.

About the Scheme

• The Scheme is about connecting the Tharu villages in the districts of Balrampur, Bahraich, Lakhimpur, and Pilibhit bordering Nepal, with the homestay scheme of the UP Forest Department.
• The idea is to offer tourists an experience of living in the natural Tharu habitat, in traditional huts made of grass collected mainly from the forests.
• It will encourage villagers to acquaint them with aspects of safety and cleanliness, and with the rules of the forest.
• The intention is to put Tharu villages on the tourism map and to create jobs and bring economic independence to the tribal population.

The Tharu people

• The community belongs to the Terai lowlands, amid the Shivaliks of the lower Himalayas.
• The Tharus live in both India and Nepal.
• In the Indian Terai, they live mostly in Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, and Bihar
• Most of them are forest dwellers and some practiced agriculture.
• Members of the tribe survive on wheat, corn, and vegetables are grown close to their homes.
• A majority still lives off the forest.

Details on Tharu language, food, and culture

• They speak various dialects of Tharu, a language of the Indo-Aryan subgroup, and variants of Hindi, Urdu, and Awadhi.
• In central Nepal, they speak a variant of Bhojpuri, while in eastern Nepal, they speak a variant of Maithili.
• Tharus worship Lord Shiva as Mahadev.
• Most Tharutribals consume alcoholic beverages, and some eat beef.