ESSAY

Topic: - Is the criticism Indian tribes merely gaud and albatross to countries economic
development justified?

Introduction to people of fourth world-The Indian Tribes

India, country with Brobdingnagian collection of different racial, ethnic, linguistic and
religious groups. With an agenda to safeguard, replenish and uplift immense diversity of its
entire nation it phrases, adopted and enacted The Constitution of India. Securing to its all
citizens justice, liberty, equality and fraternity via declaring herself as sovereign, secular,
socialist and democratic republic.
Among its large population of different social group Tribes form a major portion that are
still in dark light of countrys fast growing economic development post 67 years of
independence.

Brief Introduction to Tribes

Tribe forms a major portion with 8.2% of countries total population and sharing 15% of total
countrys land. They live in distinct climatic, hilly and forest land condition called as area of
isolation and people of fourth world.

Main areas of concentration of Indian tribal

The north eastern region (NER):-Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram,
Nagaland, Sikkim and Tripura.
The central tribal belt :- Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Dadar & Nagar Haveli, Daman
& Diu, Gujarat, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Orissa, Rajasthan, and West
Bengal.
Other States and Union Territories: - Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu
& Kashmir, Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu.

Gaps between tribals and general population

Inadequate infrastructure and development facilities in tribal areas for education, roads,
healthcare, communication, drinking water and sanitation.

Characteristic of Tribes

Indigenous and their own distinctive culture.

Importance to traditional values and social ethos.
Geographically isolated and low in socio-economic conditions.

Reason behind Socio-economic backwardness

Past and present colonialism.

Their habitation in forests and hilly tracts resulting in the bypassing of general developmental
programs.
Poverty, unemployment, displacement, indebtedness, lack of opportunities, accessibility.
Non homogeneous social-economic level among different tribal communities.

 Truckload of Govt. scheme for Tribal development

Government of India has National Commission, 5th and 6th Schedule for the protection and
administrative dispensation of tribals in the Central Indian States and North-Eastern Region
States providing them with special provisions for their welfare and development.
The Provision of Panchayats (Extension to the Scheduled Areas) Act, 1996 which confers
special powers to Gramsabha in 5th Scheduled Areas.
The National Tribal Policy covering various issues like alienation of tribal land,
rehabilitation, displacement, tribal forest interface, resettlement etc.
Tribal research institute providing planning inputs to state related to problem of tribes in
respective states.
The Tribal Sub-Plan (TSP) to raise economic and social status of tribals via integrated
development effort to develop their agriculture, animal husbandry, irrigation, forestry,
education, health and employment- Policy framework and administrative implementation
strategy.

Albatross to countries economic development

To manifest the need of economic development planning commission in India initiated big
development projects. Majority of them fall up in tribal areas and on the lands owned by
tribals. Number of projects often called as economic development projects are as follows:(i)
Irrigation and Power Projects
(ii)
Industries Projects
(iii)
Mining Projects
(iv)
Forest and Wildlife Projects
These projects are taken up in areas rich in natural resources like water, minerals and ores
and forests. These areas mostly inhibited by tribal people who called them a whammy to their
society.
Vast tracts of minerals wealth in India lie in tribal areas and on the lands owned by tribals but
govt. complain that they rarely reap any benefit due to difficulties in acquiring land and
tribals susceptible nature towards their land.
Recent example a project in a joint venture between Sterlite Industries, a unit of Vedanta, and
the Orissa Mining Corp, a state government enterprise wants to begin mining in Niyamgiri
Hill, Orissa to feed Lanjigarh Aluminium refinery located in mineral rich state of Orissa
which has stop its operating due to a shortage of bauxite.
Niyamgiri Hill and its adjoining forest area, the house of the 8,000-strong Dongria Kondh
tribal group who opposed this step to mine their land.

Govt. stand

Want to create jobs in an improvised region and bring tribal people into the economic
mainstream.

Private Company stand

Promised to fund school, clinics and engage in income generation projects in the area.

Dongria Kondh tribes stand

Niyamgiri Hill a sacred mountain to them.

They rely for their crops and livelihood for nearly a decade

Mine would destroy the forest and disrupt the rivers in the Niyamgiri hills which are central
to the livelihood and identity of 8000 strong tribes.

Real Consequences of these mining projects

Extensive displacement of tribals, loss of livelihood and identity and turn them to destitute.
With the hope to benefit economic growth it would only trickle down to the poor community.
It merely disturbed the traditional resource-utilization pattern and existing mode of
production with an advanced mode of production.
Process of acquiring land by govt. is an inevitable process leads to mass displacement of poor
tribals.
Land Rehabilitation & Resettlement Policy of govt. takes years for resettling displaced tribals
lead to bulk migration of these communities towards states for searching small- small jobs.

Govt. Failure and tribal win

Our constitutional right of Right to liberty of worship.

Wide international support via survival international which campaign for the right of tribes.
International Labour organization (ILO) report on Indias indigenous population claims that
more than half of the countries mineral wealth is obtained by violating the rights of tribals.
This international pressure and religious right helped Dongria Kondh to save their land and
culture. But there are so many tribal masses who are the culprits of economic development.
One question came to this is tribal win in this case is purely due to worship right or
international pressure or both, and if there might be absence of both (worship right and
international pressure as in many of past cases) tribes would have lost.
Economic Burden on Government
With the advent of new technology in succession with the standard of living it encumbrance the
government responsibility which further leads to condone tribes subsistence and using its
eminent domain to fulfill its need. This put a sequence of questions to all citizens of India for
whom constitution was phrased to uplift and secure them.
Is countrys economic development is above 15% tribal citizens and can only be developed
by riding on their livelihood.
Are we ignoring our brother and sisters right to enjoy countries independence and economic
development and condign censure for being a tribe?
Measures that Govt. must take to ensure this would not happen again

Govt. must stand for rather than provocative measure like eminent domain.
Help them by creating infrastructure necessary for agriculture growth.
Knowledge them to participate in agriculture growth and thereby increasing countrys GDP.
Creating market for tribes who are engaged with fishing, horticulture activities.
Policy making is rather simpler task than execution and implementation; govt. must take
several measures to successfully implement her policies.

 What if Govt. continues to enact provocative measure like eminent domain?

Displacement of tribals from their land leads to disturbance of their life, livelihood and
destruction of their social, cultural, religious and economic traditions.
Various international organizations taking advantage their vulnerable nature might try to
seditious them, handling over illegal arms which lead to formation of new naxalism or
mujahidin groups. Putting them back in the backwardness of economic development.

Conclusion

In short post-independence period various measures govt. has initiated for their up-liftment
which are very well appreciated but some important factors are overlooked.
It is no harm to accept that we are wrong somewhere in the line that is why Supreme Court
and our acts are not accepted internationally. Govt. should reconsider her act and not criticize
tribals by words like gaud and albatross to countries economic development and helps
nation to build spirit of togetherness.
References:1. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/india/10253003/Indian-tribals-rejectVedantas-mining-proposal-in-sacred-hills.html
2. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/india/10234593/Tribal-peoples-victoryover-Vedanta-historic-moment.html
3. http://tribesindia.com/
4. http://www.downtoearth.org.in/content/has-government-weakened-its-case-againstvedanta
5. http://www.cseindia.org/
6. http://www.survivalinternational.org/news/5546
7. Geography of India Majid Husain, Chapter 13 Culture Setting
8. Creation of essay title- Taken help from UPSC CS 2012 Essay Paper
9. http://tribal.nic.in/Content/IntroductionScheduledTribes.aspx
10. Factors Influencing Socio-Economic Status of the Primitive Tribal Groups (PTGs) and
Plain Tribes in Andhra Pradesh (A Logistic Regression Analysis) by M. Sundara Rao and
2B. Lakshmana Rao,Andhra University, Visakhapatnam, A.P., India, Dr. B.R Ambedkar
University, Etcherla, A.P., India.
11. Development, Displacement and Rehabilitation of Tribal People: A Case Study of Orissa
by Sujit Kumar Mishra, Department of Economics, School of Social Science, University
of Hyderabad 500 046, Andhra Pradesh, India.

Name

: - Tarun Kumar Sharma