Victims of Development in the Struggle for Survival A Case of Fisherpeople's movement in India

Abstract

Fishermen like to talk about their esprit de corps, and it is true that there is a warm camaraderie, a sense of an elite brotherhood. Fishenn.en are like combat veterans who feel understood only by their comrades who have survived the same battles. But fishing is a constant struggle for economic survival. Each man works for shares of the catch. Anyone who can't keep up, whether because of injury or age is harassed out of the fishery. There are Jew fishermen over fifty. And because fisherman are technically self-employed and not salary earners, governments have been slow to recognize claims to social benefits for those who are out of work.