Fishermen of the Coastal Districts of Bengal: A Study in Socio-Cultural Transformation

The present study seeks to emphasize the condition of fishermen of some select districts of Bengal. Covering the entire colonial and post-colonial period the study identifies the significant changes that have taken place among the fisher folk. Migration, improved communication, occupational diversification, urbanization, and education have admittedly brought about changes in their mindset, which in turn has affected the structure of the fishermen community. The study attempts to trace the origin of the fishing community and reflect on the physical characteristics of the fishermen settlement and topography of the land of their operation as well as the historical development pertaining to it. It also tries to show the changes in the cultural concept of the community over a period of long historical time. It has shown how the penetration of merchant capital accentuated increasing exploitation of water resources vis-a-vis the life of the fishing community. It has looked into the roles of the colonial and the post-colonial state in shaping the life of Bengal fishermen and fisheries as also the changes in cultural concepts of the community-the transformation from fishermen to trader, businessmen or cultivator as is reflected in the social geography, social mobility and social structure in their spatial location. The advantage of western education and adoption of new technology have influenced the fishermen community. This has resulted in a ‘class within a class’ and the loss of roots of their traditional culture. This transition to modern times spanning through 19th and 20th centuries constitutes a stuff that informs the core of this book, addressed in an anthropo-historical perspective.