Are Grazing Lands Wastelands-Some Evidence from Rajasthan

Are Grazing Lands 'Wastelands'?
Some Evidence from Rajasthan Rita Brara The dominant view contends that vast tracts of common grazing land are wastelands to be greened in the wake of the environmental crisis confronting the country's arid and semi-arid zones. Clearly there can be no definition of wasteland other than that which draws attention to its defining feature of uselessness. What is to be investigated then, is whether this land and its produce, if any, has a use value at all This article, based on a study in the Sikar district of Rajasthan, juxtaposes the state's view (incorporating the scientists' definition) of wastelands to the villagers' perception of the commons which draws its characteristics and validity from the shared context of local inhabitants.