Page 94 - Changing Living Spaces

Haruhisa Asada

Figure 7 Rice Straw Brought from Asamiyas Villages

straw can be fed to cows in a sufficiently dry condition. Since the prevalence
of HYV in sali rice is limited in the villages of indigenous communities, it
is possible to obtain straw of local varieties suitable for feeding to cows.
Therefore, Muslim immigrants visit village D or other Asamiyas villages
near Nagaon town to buy surplus rice straw in cash. In the past, rice straw
was available free of charge, but recently the value of the leftovers after
harvest has increased, and villagers have to pay some money for rice straw.
The interviews in village D also revealed that some Asamiyas learned
agricultural technologies from Muslim immigrants. They saw that Muslim
immigrants in nearby villages had started boro rice cultivation and began
to learn the technique through personal communication. Although the
area under boro rice cultivation in village D is small, the knowledge and
skills of Muslim immigrants can help increase agricultural productivity
in villages of indigenous communities.
As stated above, the presence of Muslim immigrants has become in-
dispensable in contemporary society in Assam. Moreover, Muslim immi-
grants also depend on the indigenous communities for their livelihood and
they need to maintain good relations with each other, at least in economic
terms. The conventional view that Muslim immigrants threaten the sur-
vival of indigenous communities does not necessarily correspond to the
reality of Muslim immigrants trying to coexist with indigenous people.

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