The name ‘Vaghri’ is the term used to identify wandering tribes originating from Gujarat. The Vaghri is said to have derived their name from the Sanskrit words ‘vaghurs’ or ‘wagura’ or ‘gogharas’ meaning a net, and Vaghri is said to have gotten this name because many Vaghri were professional hunters.
Vaghri
Population in the Project Area :
8000
The People
Pakistan
This ethnic community found in South Asian countries, mainly in India and Pakistan. Badin, Digri, Hala, Jang Sai, Karachi, Matli, Mirpur Khas, Nawabshah, Noakot, Sakrand, Sanghar, Sukkur, Tando Adam, Tando Allahyar, Tando Ghulam Ali, and Tando Mohammed Khan are the major villages inhabited by the Vaghri people. Historically, they were involved in hunting and gathering. They were skilled at trapping birds and animals in nets. Bavri, Salavta, and Vaghri Koli are the alternate names of the community. Population-wise, Vaghri is a small community in the country. The Vaghri population is around 8,000 people. Despite a few owners of small plots of land, they are a landless community. The Vaghri people were efficient hunters in the forest. Their name itself is an indication of their traditional profession. During British colonial rule, the Vaghri were considered petty thieves. This idea has continued to hurt the Vaghri people in their desire to escape poverty. They are classified as scheduled backward castes. Nowadays, the Vaghri people are mostly cattle breeders and traders who sell their cattle. The Vaghri are also landless and depend on agricultural labour. They also raise poultry, sheep, goats, and cattle and sell vegetables. The adopted occupations include scrap collecting, construction and market labour, shaving buffalos, trading in old clothes etc. Most families live below the poverty line and are mired in poverty, hunger, ill-health, unemployment, family strife, ignorance and superstition, with youngsters and elders alike ultimately leading themselves into addiction. The Vaghri people have their own unique culture, language, and customs regarding marriage, birth, funeral etc.
The Project
Mother-Tongue literacy.
The language of the community is called Vaghri language. Bavri, Wagdi, Salavta, and Vaghri Koli are the alternate names of the language. Vaghri belongs to the Indo-Aryan subbranch of the Indo-European language family. The language group believes that their language has a close connection with Gujarati since they migrated from the Gujarat region of India. The language is used by and between all the generation groups within the community. The community reports that, since they were a nomadic tribe, they preserve their language wherever they go. This helps them to communicate with their own people without passing information on to outsiders. In spite of the relatively small population, the community has a very positive attitude towards their language and maintains it. The community people also acquire basic communication skills in the Urdu to communicate with outsiders for their essential survival. Moreover, a few people are proficient in both mother tongue and Urdu. This group has a rate of literacy (5%) among the surveyed languages in the country. Their floating nature causes the language to borrow elements from different language groups. Still, a group of people who roam around and practice nomadic life can communicate with the Vaghri people in permanent settlements without considerable issues. Their dialectal variation does not cause a loss of mutual understanding within the ethnic community.
Our organization has recently completed the first stage of our initiative, which involved conducting a comprehensive survey to identify the language capabilities of the local community. Through this survey, we were able to gain a deeper understanding of the linguistic dynamics and cultural nuances of the region. Based on the results, we carefully selected and trained suitable candidates to become literacy trainers. Our ultimate goal is to empower the local community through teaching basic life skills via literacy activities, thereby enabling individuals to take a more active role in society. We firmly believe that providing access to education and life skills training is crucial for improving the overall wellbeing and quality of life for the community. Our efforts are aimed at not only promoting literacy, but also facilitating personal and professional growth among the individuals we work with. We are committed to creating a sustainable and lasting impact in the community, and we look forward to continuing our work in partnership with the local people.
Progress
As of March 2023
Our organization is committed to addressing the challenges faced by ethnic communities in the country, particularly in the area of literacy. We have completed a comprehensive Sociolinguistic Survey among the ethnic language groups to identify their language capabilities, assess the vitality and stability of their mother tongue, and identify different dialects and their mutual intelligibility across dialect regions. The next stage of our program is to select suitable candidates for becoming trainers and teachers. An orientation program is planned for the selected candidates which will enable us to dive deep into their cultural roots. We have a larger vision of teaching basic life skills through literacy activities, which will help bring the people forward in society. We plan to provide basic literacy and life skills education in the mother tongue of these communities to enable them to participate more fully in society. We are committed to making a positive impact in the lives of these communities and are dedicated to achieving our vision of promoting education and empowerment.