Inconstant economic situation of the Lodha: A hunter gatherer primitive tribe of West Bengal

India is enriched with all geographical definitions. Forest is one amongst them. Tribes are aboriginal, their individual traditional methods of sustaining livelihood identify their socio-economic condition and cultural heritage. The then ruler realizing the immense commercial potentiality of Indian Forest, amalgamated with better knowledge of the tribal community in the regard, ushered the Indian Forest Act in 1865 to establish absolute supremacy and control over the forest. The Lodha were indigenes, innocent, illiterate, hunter-gatherer tribe and forest was their principal source of sustaining livelihood and domain. By dint of the Act without knowing any implications they were totally dislodged from the forest, which could not stop them from forest collections, since the forest was their basic source of sustaining livelihood. Repeated such actions identified them law offenders and restrained them by the Criminal Tribes Act 1871, though it was repealed in 1952, still the stigma to be fester even today. Thus, the ignorance of law and never ending dependence of the forest compelled them in inconstant economic pursuit at present day. The quest was quenched at Lengamara, a Lodha village under Khagra Beat, Hijli Range of Kharagpur Forest Division revealing facts and figures iterated in the sequel.