The term tribe here means a group of people that have lived at a particular place from time

immemorial. Anthropologically the tribe is a system of social organisation which includes several
local groups- villages, districts on lineage and normally includes a common territory, a common
language and a common culture, a common name, political system, simple economy, religion and
belief, primitive law and own education system. Constitutionally a tribe is he who has been
mentioned in the scheduled list of Indian constitution under Article !"#i$ and !"#ii$ .
Tribals are found in almost all the states of country. Currently there are between "%& and %!'
scheduled tribe communities e(ists. The strength of these communities varies from ) people of
*arwa tribe to over + million gonds. Thus the gonds are big tribal community. ,hereas the small
communities comprising less than )''' people include the andamanese, onge, oraon, munda,
mina,-hond, saora. According to recent study there are mainly . tribes in chhatisgarh they are gond,
baiga, halba, -amar, bhun*ia, -orwa.
The /uality of life of tribal people during pre-independence period was more deplorable and their
main occupation was hunting, gathering of wood and forest products and primitive shifiting
cultivation. 0ue to destruction of forest and non availability of proper facilities, tribal people were
forced to lead a poor /uality of life. After independence with the adoptation of Indian constitution in
)1%' special attention was given for the upliftment of the tribal people under the 23article !&33,it was
mandatory on the part of the state government to ma-e all efforts to improve economic, social, and
educational standard of the tribal people.
0ue to the welfare programmes tribal communities also made themselves conscious about their own
clans upliftment. 4ow tribles are engaged in struggle for survival. They see- identity, autonomy
e/uality and empowerment. They are moving out of ancestral lands to participate in all institution of
state. All tribes or clans have their own uni/ue cultures including language.
India is home to a large number of tribes with population of about +' million. In terms of
geographical distribution about %%5 of tribals lived in central India, "&5 in west, )"5 in north-east
India, !5 in 6outh India and )5 elsewhere. These communities are actively wor-ing to preserve
their rich cultures through broad institutional efforts.
Tribals constitute &.)!5 of the total population of the country, numbering &!.%) million #"'')
Census$ and cover about )%5 of the country3s area. The fact that tribal people need special attention
can be observed from their low social, economic and participatory indicators. ,hether it is
maternal and child mortality, si7e of agricultural holdings or access to drin-ing water and electricity,
tribal communities lag far behind the general population. %"5 of Tribal population is 8elow
9overty :ine and what is staggering is that %!5 tribals have no access to economic assets such as
communication and transport.
6everal alarming poverty indicators underline the importance of the need of livelihood generating
activities based on locally available resources so that employment opportunities could be created.
;ecogni7ing this need, the <inistry of ,elfare #now <inistry of Tribal Affairs$ established an
organi7ation to ta-e up mar-eting development activities for 4on Timber forest produce #4T=9$ on
which tribal men and women spends most of their time and derive a ma*or portion of his>her
income. In )1&+, the Tribal Cooperative <ar-eting 0evelopment =ederation of India :imited
#T;I=?0$ was set up with an aim to serve the interest of the tribal community and wor- for their
socio-economic development by conducting its affairs in a professional, democratic and
autonomous manner for underta-ing mar-eting of local tribal products. To achieve the aim of
accelerating the economic development of tribal people by providing wider e(posure to their art and
crafts, T;I8?6 I40IA, the e(clusive shops of tribal artifacts were set up all over India by T;I=?0,
showcasing and mar-eting the art and craft items produced by the tribal people. In India tribals are
also called Adivasis.
The Tribal groups in India have distinct cultural patterns. A large chun- of Indians belong to Tribal
group # Tribal community$ @ Adivasis, as they are called, they occupy distinct regions, especially in
the hilly and forested areas.
6cheduled Tribes in India form the largest proportion of the total population in :a-shadweep and
<i7oram followed by 4agaland and <eghalaya. <adhya 9radesh has the largest number of
6cheduled Tribes followed by 8ihar. 8astar district of <adhya 9radesh consists of largest number
of 6cheduled Tribes. There are no 6cheduled Tribes in 9un*ab, 0elhi, Chandigarh, 9ondicherry,
Aaryana and Bammu and Cashmir.
There are more than %' tribal groups in India. <ost of the tribals belong basically to the 4egrito,
Australoid and <ongoloid racial stoc-s.
The list of names of Important tribal groups and
Communities) are:
AborsD Arunachal 9radesh
AptanisD Arunachal 9radesh
8adagasD 4ilgiri #T4$
8aigaD <adhya 9radesh
8hilsD <adhya 9radesh and ;a*asthan, some in Eu*arat and <aharashtra
8hotD Aimachal 9radesh
8hotiasD Earhwal and Cumaon regions of F. 9.
Cha-maD Tripura
ChenchusD Andhra 9radesh, Grissa
EaddisD Aimachal 9radesh
EarosD <eghalaya
EondsD <adhya 9radesh. Also in 8ihar, Grissa and A.9.
Eu**arsD Aimachal 9radesh
BarawasD :ittle Andamans
ChasD Baunsar-8abar area in F.9.
ChasisD Assam, <eghalaya
ColD <adhya 9radesh
CotasD 4ilgiri #Tamil 4adu$
Cu-iD <anipur
:epchasD 6i--im
:ushaisD <i7oram
<uriasD 8astar #<adhya 9radesh$
<i-irsD Assam
<undasD 8ihar, Grissa, ,est 8engal
4agas #Angami, 6ema, Ao, Tang-ul, :ahora$D 4agaland, some in Assam and 4?=A region.
Garons #also called Curu-h$D 8ihar, Grissa and ,est 8engal.
GngesD Andaman and 4icobar islands
6antalsD 8irbhum region in 8engal, Aa7aribagh, 9urnea in 8ihar, Grissa
6entineleseD 6entinel Island, Andaman and 4icobar
6hompensD Andaman and 4icobar
TodasD 4ilgiri #Tamil 4adu$

The Chasi are an indigenous or tribal people, the ma*ority of whom live in <eghalaya, A substantial
minority of the Chasi people follow their tribal religionH called variously, Ca 4iam Chasi and Ca
4iam Tre in the Baintia region. Gther religions practiced include 9resbyterian, Anglican, Fnitarian,
;oman Catholic and very few are <uslims. The main crops produced by the Chasi people living in
the ,ar areas are betel leaf, areca nut and oranges. The Chasis are a matrilineal society.
The 0imasa are one of the oldest inhabitants of 4orth ?astern India and is one of the many Cachari
tribes. The name I0imasaI stands for Jchildren of the big river,J referring to 8rahmaputra
river#-nown as 0ilao in 0imasa$. Cacharis appear to be one of the earliest indigenous ethnic groups
of north eastern India. As 0imasa Cachari have both male clan and female clans their law
inheritance is somewhat peculiar in nature. The 0imasa have a patriarchal society.
Cha-hesang girls wearing ti7a tida. Ti7a is the carnelian beads which ma-es up the central part of a
Tida, a nec-lace worn by the women of most 4aga tribes. It is a broad, heavy, delicate and beautiful
*ewelry made up of carnelians, agate, ivory, glass beads etc, laced together in specific patterns.
Traditionally, a Ti7a is a girlIs pri7ed possession. Gn attaining puberty, it is gifted to the daughters
by their mothers. The number of strands and /uality of the Ti7a denotes wealth and status.
8aiga is a tribe found in <9, F9, Chhattisgarh and Bhar-hand. The 8aiga tribe in <9 is -nown for
its uni/ue culture. They do not interact even with other tribals li-e the Eonds, believe in a hand-to-
mouth e(istence, and do not try to access education, eat outside their community, or associate with
others. After a death in the family, the 8aigas *ust leave the house and build another. They are
totally dependent on the *ungle. Tattooing is an integral part of their lifestyle is the 8aiga tribe.
The :imbu tribes and clans are found in 6i--im. :imbu bury their dead and observe for two to three
days through practiced death rituals. ,eddings, mourning, gift e(changes, and settlement of
conflicts involve consumption of li/uor, especially the :imbu traditional beer popularly -nown as
Tongba. 0ancing parties are arranged for visitors to the village. The traditional dress of the :imbus
is me-hli and taga. 0ha-a is the traditional fabric of the :imbus.
The 6angtams are a 4aga tribe living in the Tuensang and Ciphire districts of 4agaland. :i-e many
other tribal groups in 4ortheast India, they practice *hum, or shifting cultivation. Fnli-e other 4aga
tribes in 4agaland, many of the 6angtam have retained their traditional beliefs in spite of embracing
Christianity at the same time. 6angtams celebrate twelve different festivals, in particular
<ongmong, all of which are affiliated with their traditional culture and religion.
The :isu people are a Tibeto-8urman ethnic group who inhabit the mountainous regions of
Arunachal 9radesh. :isu history is passed from one generation to the ne(t in the form of songs.
Today, this song is so long that it can ta-e a whole night to sing. :isu practice a religion that is part
animistic, part ancestor worship. The main :isu =estival corresponds to the Chinese 4ew Kear and
is celebrated with music, feasting and drin-ing, as are weddings.