“Raibari” by Ashwani Sharma: Monograph published

We are pleased to announce the publication of Raibari, a monograph by Ashwani Sharma, Doctoral Candidate at the Department of Anthropology, South Asia Institute, Heidelberg University.

Written in Hindi, Raibari is the first comprehensive ethnographic study of the Raibari—nomadic pastoral herders of the Thar Desert. Based on over a decade of immersive fieldwork, much of it conducted while living in mobile pastoral camps (deras), the book offers a vibrant, insider perspective on the community’s everyday life, healing practices, resilience, and relationship with the state.

More than a scholarly work, Raibari celebrates the Raibari as custodians of ecology and living roots of civilization. It vividly documents their memories, their deep ties to land, animals, and local communities, and how these are continually sustained through mobility. Richly illustrated with photographs and drawings, the monograph challenges stereotypes and brings to life the colors, struggles, and beauty of nomadic existence.

This is an important contribution to the fields of anthropology, environmental humanities, Indigenous and South Asian studies.