Aayu Publications

The book entitled 'Hill Kharia and Health Care Practices: Perspectives and Problems'disseminates the health care practices as well as disease aetiology prevalent among the Hill Kharia population in the Indian state of West Bengal. The Hill Kharia is classified as the Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Group (PVTG) in some of the Indian states and also identified as a vulnerable population in the present context, although the community does not hold the said designation in the state of West Bengal. The present study highlights the habitat, ecology and traditional health care practices in their cultural milieu along with the accessibility and availability of modern health care facilities and programmes in the close vicinity. The field work has been carried out during 2014-2019 in different phases and continued in the south-western part of West Bengal of the districts Purulia and Bankura. The topic covered indigenous notions of health care, healer and healing practices; ethnomedicinal practices, ethno-botanical knowledge; child rearing and pregnancy care practices etc. prevailing among the Hill Kharia community. The compilation would provide a better understanding towards the key determinants of the health and well being of the Hill Kharia people in the context of public health also.The book will be of extremely stimulus and will also serve as useful reference material for the researchers, policy makers and consultants in the field of tribal health studies.