Transformation of Tribal Society: Integration vs Assimilation

Author(s): K. S. Singh
Source: Economic and Political Weekly, Vol. 17, No. 33 (Aug. 14, 1982), pp. 1318-1325
Published by: Economic and Political Weekly
Stable URL: https://www.jstor.org/stable/4371239
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 SPECIAL ARTICLES

Transformation of Tribal Society

Integration vs Assimilation
K S Singh

This paper attempts to set thte current changes thi-at are taking place in tribal society i
in a twider perspectice of social, economic and political changes. The paper is in fotur sections
Section I p-esents an ideological perspective of the changes that are taking place, and Se
II and III discuiss the economic transformation of tribal society anid its impact on thte soci.al strat
tion amlong(c tthe- tribals. The final sectioni discusses in detail howv these social and economic chianges
have givenl rise to, and are reflected in, various ethnic based solidarity movements as twell as socio-
cultural movements revolving round the qtestion of tr,ibal religion, language and script; and political
movements wvhose dematnds range fromn. greater political 'autoniomy to independence and whose methods
range from constituitional agitation to armed insurgency.
This is the first part of the paper which is being published1 in two instalments.
SOCIAL ANTHROPOLOGY has moved assimilation viewpoint regarding tribals tions of the native's rights in them,
away from the stereotype of a tribe as in 1942, has recently not only reiterat- etc. The encounter with the whife
an isolate, and has focused on inter- ed his views but has also questioned settlers and Christianity gave rise to
action and interdependence of tribes th,e related policy and programmes and many a movement the study of which
and peasants.' Speaking on a similar the social anthropologists' commitment has generated a good deal of informa-
theme, Transformation of Tribal Society to the concept of integration instead tion and stimulated a lot of theoretical
in Modern India, Surajit Sinha had deli- of assimiiilation of tribes into the larger model-building. In the United States
neated the process of the assimilation of society.6 What irks him is that the wvhich has an Indian population of
tribes into caste-peasant base of Indian American model of ethnic-cum-cultural 800,000 divided into 300 tribes living
civilisation through the adoption of pluralism has been unabashedly applied in 300 reservations about 40 per cent
agricultural technology and linguistic to the Indian situation, even though it of them are living below the poverty
and cultural norms of the peasant h.is failed in relation to the Americai line. This is in spite of the fact that
castes. . The varna-ati model of ab- Indians. Ghurye notes that while the the Federal government spends an in-
sorption has given way to the search- Rulssians have set out to Russianise credibly large amount on their welfare
for political status as an ethnic mino- their nationalities, - the Chinese have and the Indians enjoy full rights as
rity within a constitutional framework Sinified their minorities and the Ame- American citizens. The Indians have
informed with an egalitarian democra- ricans did try to Americanise their refused to be assimilated and to give
tic ideology. This inspired the rise of ethnics once upon a, titne, there is also up their identity in spite of the Ame-
ethnic-based solidarity movements led a case for the assimilation of the sche- ricanisation of their life-style. The pro-
by an educated elite, there being a duiled tribes, a process which has been cess of grabbing of the Indian land
broad correlation between the intensity held up by the faulty policies of the continues. In a damining indictment,
of the separatist solidarity movements government out to appease the tribals. the World International Tribunal at
and the degree of spatial and cultural Therefore, it will be appropriate to
Rotterdam (Holland) in November 1980
isolation from the regional caste/pea- held the governments of the United
set the 'tribal transfonnations' in a
sant society.2 The social historian has States and Canada guilty of stealing
wider perspective. I will first deal with
seen this process of integration within thle land of the Indians and charged
the perspective and ideologv, economic
the framework of the political economy them with following a systematic policy
transformation and social stratification
of feudalism and colonialism.3 What of genocide against the Indians, of
in tribal society in India. I will then
Nirmal Kumar Bose described as the having illegally deprived them of their
discuss how these processes are reflect-
Hindu mode of absorption was neither lands and of unleashing violent repres-
ed not only in ethnic-based solidarity
Hindu nor absorption, but a process of Sion against their protest movements.
inovements but in a whole range of
integration into the production system The tribunal also condemned the acti-
miiovements.
of colonialism.4 This secular process vities of various multinational corpora-
has sometimes been oversimplified: the tions in the Indian sett'evnent ateas
transition of tribes into peasants and of which have resulted in reckless mining,
peasants into depeasantised working Prespective and Ideology deforestation, despoiling of the land
class is generally described as a uni- and utter callousness in waste disposal
We are by now familiar with the
linear process.5 Such studies of a tribe on the part of the MNCs and have
stories of the annihilation of indigenous
as a class or one ethnic community
caused serious environmental and health
peoples and the formation of the reser-
overlook the complexities of tribal hazards leading to innumerable diseases
vations for the 'Red Indians' in the
social formations and situations, the
and, in the long run, physical deform-
New World, under various treaties con-
ities and deaths.7
pull of ethnicity amidst growing dif- chided between their chiefs and the
ferentiation, etc. G S Ghurye, who had colonisers' governments, continuing en- The North American model of reser-
propounded his anti-isolation and pro- croachment on reservations and restric- vations travelled to Latin America. A

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 ECONOMIC AND POLITICAL WEEKLY August 14, 1982

recent study of ,andtheprofits arepolicy,

disbursed annuallylegislatioii
as ill the counltries of tropical Africa and
and administration dividends. Whileof they have carried
welfare South Asia, preferred a system of direct
measures
for these people, conducted by thi out expensive farming operations, or indirect rule or a combination ot
International Labour Organisation w-hich have contributed significantly to for the indigenous population.
both
shoNvs that they were still governed bythe overall growth and productivity, These countries shared the experiences
'he 19th century attitude of ccmpletethey hardly claim to be a vital link of of national oppression, ethnic conflicts
assimilation and denied right to a New Zealand's economy.10 and con-itradictions, the role of the
share in administration of their affairs. Against the capitalistic nmodels of re- ethnic factor or factors in their freedom
In Brazil the Indians who are not inte-servations and incorporations based on struggles. After attaining independence,
grated with national life are held under
the concept of the assimilation of in- many of the African states faced the
tiutelage and thus denied the exercise (ligenous peoples could be pitted the task of forming a nation out of myriad
of fu l civic rights. Of the 180,000 socialistic - concept of self-determination tribes, and the euphoria over the unity
Indians under tutelage none has ap- of nationalities which was fonnulated of ethnic communities forged in the
piied for emancipation. In Columbia as part of the debate on the national course of the freedom struggles gave
the general law of the State does not qluestion in the second and third de- way to a m-ature understanding of
apply to the 'savages' who are being cades of the present century. Soviet inter-ethnic relationship and the need
reclaimed to civilisation by the mis- ethnographers recognise ethnicity as a fcr its development in the process of
sions. In general the picture which process of social consolidation working national consolidation. Although many
emnerges is dismal.8 African states had passed the stage of
at a level lower than nationality and
In Australia, too, th! aboriginese as a key element in socialist reconstruc- tribal formation.' tribal fonns and pre-
,.vere pushed off their ancestral landtion. At the time of the foundation of judices survived. Therefore while
and herded on to reservations, and the USSR the right of 'the nationality etnnic goups were exhorted to give up
continued to be exterminated until aryd national minority to determine its their tribalism, it was generally under-
1928 wvhen the last official killings political and economic status was re- stood that the solution of ethnic prob-
were reported. Their number fell from cognised and their union into the great lems is linked wvith the socio-economic
:J00,000 in the late 18th century to family was considered a voluntary act. tr ansformation of nation-state.
67,000 in 1901, and has been slowlyIn consonance with this principle the Secessionism has no place in the
increasing since then, having reached ethnic boundaries were regorously de- system. As Jomo Kenyatta said:
L61,000 today. It was riot until 1967 inarcated and made co-termious with "Nationhood and familyhood must and
that equal citizenship rights were given
the administrative boundaries of re- can be contrived out of our many
to the aboriginese, their languages publics and autonomous territories. tribes and culitures".12 This is also
wvere recognised, and the Common-The policy has been to promote the echoed in one of the objectives of the
wealth assumed concurrent jurisdictionfull deve'opment of cultural autonomy Tanganyika African National Union,
over matters relating to them which of* the nationalities while integrating which is "the creation of a nation out
earlier fell within the purview of thethem fully within the politico-economic of more than 120 tribes, out of peoples
state regimes. Other administrativesystem of socialism. While describing of different religious and different
changes are creation of a Department this process the Soviet ethnographers social groups, and a nation in which
of Aboriginal Affairs, an Aboriginal have noted that the pre-Revolution race is of less importance than a record
IDevelopment Commission and an elec-.social system of many of these national of service and an expected ability to
ted National Aboriginal Conference. ininorities was characterised by the rise oive service".13
The aboriginese customary law is being of private property and social differen- Of particular interest is President
integrated into Australian jurisprudence. tiation, alienation of the upper crust Julius Nyerere's socialistic experiments
The ownership of land however re- froam the working populations, etc. ia a tribal milieu:
mained the key issue and it was not With t1he growth of the socialist eco- In the past, when our population
urntil 1977 that the government enact- nomy, the primitive communities have was divided into different tribal
ed a law whereby the aboriginese could b>een generally urbaniised and their groups, the land belonged to the
lay claim to any crown land not al- particular tribe living on it. In
pastoral or agrarian economics have
ready occupied. It is reported that future, however, our population
bteen integrated into the macro-level wvill be united as one aation, and
about 25,000 aboriginese acquired free-industrial complexes leading to a phe- the land will belong to the nation.
hold title to roughly 28 per cent oFoiomenal rise of productive forces. And today just as one man cannot
Northern Territory's 523,620 square At the same time there have also beeln prevent another man from his tribe
miles of rock and shrub. Simi'arly thethe strong centralising influences at from using land, so also tomorrow
Governmernt of South Australia handecdwvork; for example, the widespread useone tribe will not be able to prevent
another tribe from using land that
over to the Pitjantiatiara tribe title of the Russian language as the medium is actually the property of tle na-
deeds to about 40,000 square miies of of communication. Once the choice tions a whole.14
territory.9 Complications have, how- of self-determination has been exercis- Many of these countries are grappling
ever, arisen in this regard as Australia ed at the time of the formation of with colonial backlog of discrepancies
lias struck rich oil and mineral deposits the state or the nation-state, secession- between ethnic and political boundar-
inl the aboriginese' home'and. isin is 0out of quLestion and is seen asies, inter-tribe conflicts, movements of
Alongside the reservations, there is the handiwork of neocolonial forces. separatism and secessionism.
also the model of incorporations esta- The hird wvorld under the colonial The African experience is relevant
blished for indigenous people. There system wvas generally spared the trau-because we too are faced with the
are Maori incorporations in New matic experiences of the reservations. probletmi of consolidating a nation-state
Zealand in which the Maori landowners The colonial encounter with the indi- and have iinherited the colonial back-
have become shareholders, farming arenous is population was not as direct log of ethnic conflicts which have
determnined by a managing committee afl(l as bloodyr. The colonial systemn, sharpened as the process of develop-

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 August 14, 1982 ECONO.MIC AND POLITICAL WNTEEKLY

inent intensifies. lyOur created conditions

founding in wvhich their Bihar:
fathers
too sought to create and consolidate a economy and political system were While we [the Britishl have beeii
nation-state out of a congeries of com- uindermined by the ramIpaging market in power we have not .lone much
forces.1s for them beyond a certain amnounit
munities including tribes. However.
of protective legislation which tunc-
India is not the best example of a That the nonoral laws should not tions effectively >when -he officers
plural society, because while pluralism automatically apply to the tribal areas responsible are really sympathetic
stresses cleavages and discontinuities was the principle -that underlay the and - largely with the lid of mis-
between the sections of people differen- passage of the Scheduled Districts Act sionaries -- we have done a little
to educate them. The tendency on
tia'ed by race, ethnicity, religion or (1874) and shaped the concept of the
the whole has been to treat them
cultuie, there has been an all pervasive l)ack-ward areas in the Govemment of as delightful primitives whose
sense of cultural unity, a wide ranging India Act of 1919. Whether or not simplicity and customs are a wel-
sharing of its idioms and symbols, in this principle should continue to be come relief from the sordid details
applied was a matter that figured in a of administration among tiie ordi-
spite of diversities in our country.
nary Hinduis and M uslims.li
Tribals were not aliens: their isolation rmost lively debate in the early 1930s.
was relative, never absolute; they have Whi'e one school contended- that' the The need Co provide adequate safe-
been part of the Indiani civilisational aborigines formed a distinct element guards for the tribal was again e,xten-
universe. However, as a nation-state in India and should be placed in sively discussed in the Constituent
in the process of consolidation, we too charge of the British government, the
Assnmbly, and the niationalist opinion
are confronted like others with ethnic rnationalists saw in this proposition the
favoured incorporation. of far more
problems. continuation of the imperial policy of radical provisions for the - safeguards
To go back to the colonial experience divide and rule. However, the tribal of., the tribals' intcrests in the formS
of the subcontinent, unlike Africa a-nd non-tribal areas were both partly of the V and VI schedules of the
which adopted the system of indirect and fully 'excluded' in the Governmnent Indian Constitution. This was an index
rule, namely, rule through the traditio- of India Act of 1935. of the profound change that had
nal chiefs of terTitories, a large part Gandhi reacted sharply to the segre- come over the nationalist opinion in
of the -tribal region and most of the gation of various communities, parti- regard to the tribal question owing, to
trilbal population in India were inte- cularly the tribals, under the dangerous the efforts of Gandhi and Thakkar
1grated within the administration of spell
the of the policy of the 'isolation and Bapa, among others, the unf olding of
provinces of British India or within status quo'. The Act of 1935, he the profound humanism of the free-
that of the Indian states would recall, separated tribals from dom movement, and the liberalism of
where the British Resident kept the rest of the inhabitants. The 'Ex- the tribal leaders themsolves. This ap-
a watch on the tribal situa- cluded Areas' were placed under the preciation of the uniquenessi of tribal
tioni and, in somle cases, even acted governmnent's- direct administration: factor within the framework of Indian-
as the agent for the tribal regions. the Adivasis were put into watertight nationalism and the extension of
There were areas of tribal concentra- compartments and classified as tribal political rights to tribals were beyond
tioli which were enclaved to 'reclaim people by the government. 'it 'was a the expectations of the colonial ad-
to civilisationi' the tribes who had re-shame", he told social workers, "that ministrators and anthropologists.
Ielled or were difficult to pacify. It they had allowed them to be treated
Short of providiil,g a measure of
was in these enclaves that the concept like that. It was up to them to mnake
protection for tribals in middle India
of profection of the tribes as an ethnic the Adivasis feel one with them". In under the Fifth Schedule and of
commtunity developed in stages. The strategically situated Assam, in 1946, autonomy in the North-East under the
'?gency system established with the he reminded the people that "it was
Sixth Schedule, it was neither possi-
objective of quelling rebellions was the their shame that the Adivasis should
ble nor practicable to create a tribal
earliest mode of protective administra- be isolated from the rest of the nation
state out of the adjoining tribal majo-
tion. The Agency settled tribes open- of which they were an inalienable
rity areas of the provinces at the time
ed up the tribal world, laid lines of part". W-Vhile including Adivasis
of the transfer of power. India had
communication, established chatties Welfare as the fourteenth item the
iriherited the, Lboundaries of the pro--
Mabatma said:
along highways to supply the army vinces fixed with an eye on admini-
which brought in merchants, traders Adivasis have become thle fouir-
teenth item in the construcEiojn pro- strative convenience Lang,uage and
and pedlars and set up cantonments
gramme. But they are not the leasr noL ethnicity determined the reorga-
and centres of administration and in point of importance. Oiur coun- nisatlon of states in the 1950s. It was
trade. The colonial svstem ended the try is so vast and 'the races are so w,ithin the political and cultural sys-
relative isolation of the tribal society; varied that the best of tus, in spite tem of the states that the tribals in
brought it into the inainstream of the of every effort, cannot know all
there is to know of men and their middle India were sought to be inte-
new administrative set-up, policy and condition. As one comes upon layer grated, even though they wcere divid-
programmes; put an end to the politi- after layer of thi:ngs one ought to ed between more than one state.
cal doMinance of the tribes in the know as a national servant, one Et'hnicity influenced the formation of
region; and roped the tribal commu- realises how difficul-t it is to make
the states in the Nor;h-East in the
good our claim to b2 one nation
nities which had been spared the strain 1960s and 1970s, even 'though certain
whose every unit has a living conis-
of surplus generation by their states ciousness . of being one with one ethnic areas are still to be integrated.
inito a new system of production rela- another.16 Howeveir the application of the prin-
tions. The colonial system, as else- On ( the eve of the transfer of power ciple of tribal ethnicity elsewhere in
where, folowed the dual policy of the most scathing indictment of the
middle India is Lraug-ht with difficul-
strengthening the feudal crust of the colonial policy of isolation and status
ties because nowhere except in t7wo
tribal .societies, formned bJy the rajas, quo for tribals came from the last districts and a few tal1ukas are- the
chiefs and zamnindars andl simultaneous- B-iitish Governor, T G Rutherford oftribals in majority. Hfowever, the

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 ECONONMIC AND POLITICAL W\EEKLY August 14, 1982
Chotanagpur Developmeit Authority
presents in interesting, model of re-
gional autonomy. Its performance de-
ser.es to be watched for some time
before the concept of regional auto-
nomy is ecxamined for application else-
where in middle India.
The process of decolonisationi which
began after the transfer of power in-
volved enfranchisement and grant of
full citizenship rights to tribal com-
munities and setting up of democra-
tic institutions. This resulted In the
curtailment and abolition of the power
of the tribal chiefs wlho had acted as
the natural leaders of their commu-
nity. The chiefs enjoyed a great deal
of power in the Mizo and Khasi hills
and therefore, when threatened with
loss of power they joined hands with
the anti-national forces in the early
1950s, while the educated tribal elite
favoured union with India. In middle
India. tribal chieftainship was abolish-
ed with the zamindari and intermedi-
ary interests in the first flush of land
reforms. As a corollary to this a new
leadership came up through elections
(ii) Tribal rights in land and
and as agents of development process
w.hich control the, apparatus of politi-(iii) We . should try to train and
cal power and corner a good bit of
development benefits today. Almost
all over the country this class of tribal
elite exploits the national stereotypes
of tribal society to secure benefit and
acts as the mediator with the govern-
ment; it has more in common with
the middle class elsewhere than with
its own people.
Secondly, while isolation was equat-
ed with the status quo in the colonial
society, a new strategy of development
was' drawn up combining the twin
elements of protection and develop-
ment. Seen in the perspective of the
third world, the Indian strategy of
tribal development, in spite of its
limitations, has been acclaimed as a
unique experiment.
Jawaharlal Nehru's philosophy and
vision shaped--the tribal policy in the
1950s, particularly in the North-East.
He avoided the extremes of the two
standpoints; namely, the anthropologi-
cal approach which sought to 'treat the
tribals as museum specimens to be
kept apart, for study and observation;
and the other approach which sought
to destroy their individuality, distort
the process of their development and
absorb them in a culture and way of
lite that waq alien, to them. That they
should be- "engulfed by the masses of
Indian humanity" was a prospect that
appalled Nehru.
I am alarmed when I see not only
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in this country but in 3ther great
countries too - how anxio-us peo-
ple are to shape others accordingi to
their own image or liveness, and to
impose on them their particular
way of life. ... I am not at all sure
which is a better way of living. In
certain respects. I am quite certain
theirs is better. Therefore, it is
grossly presumptuous on our part
to anproach them with an air of
superiroty or to tell them what to
do or not to do. There is no point
in trying to make them a second
rate copy of ourselves.',
Therefore, while tribal identity should
be preserved, tribals- should develop
in their own way-without let or hind-
rance. As Nehrui admitted, these reac-
tioiis were, to begin with, instinctive
and not based on any knowledge or
experience. Gradually and towards the
close of the 1950s, outlines of a policy
emerged.
(i) People should develop along
the lines of their own genius
and we should avoid imnpos-
ing anything on them. We
-should try to encourage in
every way their own tradi-
lional arts and culture.
forests should be respected.
build un a team of their own
p_ople to do the work of
administration and develop-
ment. Some technical per-
sonnel from outside will, no to bring within the ambit of planned
doubt, be needed, especially
in the beginning. But we
should avoid introducing too
many outsiders into tribal
territory.
(iv) We should not over-adminis-
-ter these areas or overwhelm
them with a multiplicity of
schemes. We should rather
work through, and not in
rivalry to, their owvn social cial needs of the areas; th;se are corn-
and cultural institutionis.
(v) We should judge resuilts, not
by statistics or the amount
of monev spent, but b7v the
qualitV of human character
that is evolved.
In consonance with this phi!osophy
a strategy of tribal development was
framed. The Nehru era laid the founda-
tion of tribal policy. The Scheduled
Areas and Scheduled Tribes Com-
mission (1961) evaluated the working
of constitutional safeguards for the
tribals and tribal development pro-
gramnmes. It noted the changes of the
reacting character introduced in tribal rather than remain workers in forests,
areas by the development process. The
Commission while endorsing Jawahar-
lal Nehru's approach made widerang-
ing recommendations involving pro-
tection of tribals' land, of their right development of the tribal regions
in forest, their rehabilitation etc, all filom many sources, outlay in the
within the framework of the Nehru-
vian po.licy.
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The framework of policy andc stra-
t( gy imbued with Nehru's Huimanismi
held the ground for about 15 y2ars. It
still provides the- sheet anchor of In-
dia's tribal policy though in recent
years there has been a considerable
broadening and deepening of the
structture of the policy and programimes
We ent.er Llpoil a more intensive phase
from mid-60s. The for mulation of the
Fifth and Sixth Five Year Plans show-
ed perception of (a) the deleterious
effects of the disturbance of the en-
vironment consequent upon the inten-
sive exploitation of the natural resour-
ces of tribal regions on the tribal com-
munities, (b) the growing incidence of
exploitation of the tribal people, their
loss of land, their indebtedness, their
transformation from peasants into la-
bour, particularly in the 2ones of in-
tknsive industrial activities, and (c)
the diversities of tribal situations,
which called for a more area specific
approach to planning and development.
This means a gradual movinig away
from the schematic pattern of the
earlier plan and formulation of a more
integrated approach to the tribal pro-
blems. More backward communities
have been identified as tribes, Uttar
Pradesh appeared for the first time
oni the tribal map of lndia, and areas
of tribal concentration were enlarged
development the poptulationis -ra;nging-
from 50,000 to 10,000. Each tribal re-
gion prepares its own sub-plan, which
forms a part of the plan of the state.
Each project in the sub-plan region
there are 180 intensive tribal develop-
ment projects - prepares its own pro-
ject report with reference to the spe-
piled into the sub-plan, which is a
part of tile plan prep lred by the state.
A plethora of legi-.a3ion has been
enacted to prevent alienation of land,
regulate money-lending, abolish bonded
labour system, and organlise labour.
The new package of programme
seeks to tackle more effectively on
a wide front the programm.-s of
credit and marketing, application of a
simple and relevant techlnology to
agriculture, development of a pro-
gramme of social forestry under which
far-tribals could become the owners
and further developm. nt of communi-
cations, health and education, which
have already made an impact. The
resources- being mobilised for the
state plan, investment of the Central
government ministries, institutional
1321
 August 14, 1982 ECONOMIC ANND POLITICAL WEEKLY
finanice and the special central assis-
tance for development of tribal areas
have reached an all time high. The
funds allocated for tribal development
by successive governiments since
independence might not have been
commensur-ate with the proportion of
the tribal population and they were
v ery low up to the Fourth Plan, but
they did rise to 3.01 per cent in fhe
Fifth Plan and 4.37 per cent in the
Sixth Plan, thus inching very close to
their share in the plan efforts. The
developmen,t experience shows that
even where ample funds are available,
thee administration in tribal areas has
to be so reoriented and the technology
of development so evolved that the
tribals are able to absorb and take
advantage of the development pro-
gramme.
To sum up, while the Indian
experiment with tribal development
has been hailed as unique in the third
world perspective of the treatment of
the indigenous peoples, one has to
take a balanced view of its processes.
on the positive sicde the tribes who are
ftull citizens have, barring a couple of
islandic communities, maintained their
demographic growth rate. They have
also maintained their identity, their
distinct way of life, although they have
not remained uinaffected by the storms
blowing arounid their country. They
have also remained in good parts of
the Nortlh-East and a large part of
middle India an agrarian community
in possession of their lands, even
thlouglh the incidence of land aliena-
tion has sharply increased in and
arounid urban areas. From almost the
zero level in the 1930s progress in
edLucation and literacy, health care
and communication has been re-
rnarkable, though critical gaps exist in
the utilisation of these facilities by tri-
bals as compared to non-tribals. They
have also paricipated in the democratic
processes and have a share in the con-
trol of the apparatus of political power.
Therefore there is no substance in the
allegation that their population has
declined anid, that they have been pre-
venitcd from acquiring real political
powers-"9 On the negative side how-
ever they remain the most backward,
ulnder-deve-loped and, next only to tlhe
Harijans, the most exploitd commu-
niity.
II
Economic Development and
Change
We now turn to an analysis of the
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processes of economic transformnation.
Both economic and noni-economic cri-
teria determine the definition of the
'tribes', which is an administrative
category. The traditional criteria are
tribals' relative isolation, homogeneity,
and settlement in a well-defined ha-
bitat. To these are added criteria in-
fluenced by administrative convenience
and the compulsions of rural deve-
lopment: primitiveness, economic
backwardness and treating the com-
munity as a whole notwithstanding the
levels of advancement of its strata as
a unit of developmnent planning. Thus
the more primitive groups have been
distinguished from the less primitive;
the former are characterised by low
literacy rate, pre-agricultural techno-
logy and small population. Implicit in
this two-fold division has been the
recognition of the fact that there is
not one tribal system but many, that
there is not one but several tribal
economies. Before we turn to the
spatial distribution of tribal economies,
it should be noted however that except
for a few isolated and small communi-
ties, no tribe in India today subsists
on a single techno-economy of produc-
tion. The primitive technology of
huniting, foodgathering, shifting and
terrace cultivation is confined to the
heavy monsoon zone covered by
tropical forests in the North-East,
part of Eastern and Central regions,
the Nilgiris and the Andaman Islands.
Vhile there is historical evidence of
the practice of shifting cultivition
having prevailed in western India, it is
no longer practised in the arid and
semi-arid regions. The hunting and
foodgathering tribes are the Onges
and Jarwas of the Andaman Islands
and the Shompens of Nicobar Island,
the Sulung in the North-East who are
now taking to shifting cultivation, the
Cholanickanis in Kerala and the Birhors
in Bihar and Orissa. Foodgathering is
now generally a subsidiary and, dur-
ihg the lean months, a primary source
of food for most of the primitive
tribes on the mainland. Shifting
cultivation is being practised by 2.6
million tribals who constitute 8.7 per
cent of the tribal population. A firm
indication of the extent of dependence
on this mode of production will
emerge after the completion of the
Anthropological Survey of India's cur-
rent project on shifting cultivation.
Wet terrace cultivation has developed
in western Himalayas, North-East
India anid in a couple of pockets in
Bihar and Orissa. Pastoral economny
which constitues about 10 per cent of
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tht tribal population survives in the
high altitude of the sub-Himnalayan
regions, the arid zones of Gujarat and
Rajasthan, and in a small pocket in
the Nilgiris. All over tribal India
settled dry cultivatio.n has emerged as
the primary mode of food production
involving nearly 60 per cent of the
tribals.
The major thrust of change has been
from tribes into peasants. We are in
a position today to trace the process
of transfer of technology from pea-
sants to tribes in the pro-colonial and
colonial societies. By the end of the
18th century communities of peasan-
tised tribals had emerged in Assam,
Rajasthan, middle India, etc. The colo-
nial period witnessed an accentuation
of this trend as movements of pea-
sants into tribal regiorns continued.
The colonial administration built up a
hierarchy of tenures for the upper
crust of the tribal society which con-
sisted of the tribal chiefs and recog-
nised the occupancy rights of tribal
peasants. The colonial system follow-
ed the policy of reclaiming the tribes
to civilisation through the adoption
of plough culture and integration into
market. The survey and settlement
operations introduced in unsurveyed
tribal regions acted as an instrument
for the transformation of tribes into
peasants. They identified different cate-
gories of land, determined tribals'
rights in land, fixed rent and thus
grafted the concept of private property
in land on to the tribal system. Transi-
tion to settled 4griculture was also
helped by the conservation of forests
resources for commercial exploitation,
which pushed the tribals off their land
in reserved forests.
Since Independence this process of
transformation has intensified. Pres-
sure of tribal population on land has
grown as the carrying capacity of land
has diminished. There has been dif-
fusion of improved agricultural tech-
n'blogy by government agency. Of par-
ticular interest is the extension of agri-
culture technology into the tribal eco-
nomies of the North-East because un-
like middle India, there was no trans-
fer of technology from peasants to
tribes, no inter-ethnic participation in
production. Separation of craft from
agriculture occurred within the tribal
community itself and its economy was
integrated with the market system
across the Inner Line. With introduc-
tion of new technology the shifting
cultivation is being increasingly com-
bined with terrace and wet cultivation
in the foothills and low-lying areas,
 ECONOMIC AND POLITICAL WEEKLY August 14, 1982
iron implements have replaced the
wooden tools and a variety of new
crops is grown to suit the market. The
technological innovations have brought
about a change in social relationships.
Hunting, foodgathering and shifting
cultivation technologies were associat-
ed with the system of communal or
collective ownership of land and use
of 'labour. The systems of terrace and
wet cultivation are associated with the
emerging trends of private ownership
of land, increased use of inputs and
labour, and the role of market. In the
North-East while the two forms of
collective and private ownership exist
side by side, yet evidence suggests that
the latter preponderates in areas of
wet cultivation.
Much the same kind of technologi-
cal structural changes are taking place,
though oni a smaller scale, in the re-
gions of dry cultivation. As the dry
farming technology is developed and
applied to settled agriculture, the pace
of the transformation of tribal agri-
culture is quickened. At present, much
of settled cultivation is at subsistance
level and the majority of the tribals
produce not a marketable surplus but
'marketed surplus' which they are
forced to do to buy their necessities.
However, pockets of modernised agri-
cultural farming are emerging among
the Munda and Oraon of Chotanagpur,
the Gonds and Korkus of middle In-
dia, the Badagas and Mullu Kurmbas
of the Nilgiris. Cash cropping of
coconut has turned the Nicobarese into
an affluent community. Incidence of
cash cropping has been reported from
parts of tribal Gujarat, Rajasthan,
Andhra, Orissa and Chotanagpur.
This process may be discussed at
some length. In Chotanagpur, particu-
larly in Ranchi, tribals have taken up
cultivation of wheat as a second. crop,
aided by minor irrigation. They have
constructed thousands of wells helped
by the voluntary agencies and govern-
ment. About one-third of the area
under the improved variety of crops
and a substantial area under the high
yielding varieties is owned by tribals.
The increase in production of cereals
and vegetables has Inot resulted in
generation of surplus; it has only short-
ened the tribals' hunger period.
In this connection the findings of
two micro-level case studies in the
transformation of tribal economy are
interesting. The first is based on the
study of the working of the Tribal
Development Agency (TDA), Chakra-
dharpur (1972-8), which embraces re-
motely situated tribal regions lying on
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the borders of Ranchi and Singhbhum, requirements; and (iii) that there has
and peopled by the Ho and Munda been visible affluence among a few
communities. During the last six years middle level tribal peasants who have
the TDA spent Rs 1.80 crore, a major benefited most from the development
part of which went inito developing a process.
minor irrigation system in the undulat-
The other project, the Indo-German
ing terrain and application of the new
Project, smaller in size, was started
agrcultural strategy. Over 52,000 out
in April 1979. It covers 709 families
of 70,000 families participated in the
in the Simadega block. They mostly
programmes. There has been a notice-
belong to the primitive Kharia tribe.
able increase in the area under cultiva-
The project has spent Rs 40 lakh which
tion and consumptioni of fertilisers by
works out to a per capita inv estment
farmers has gone up. There has been
of Rs 4,000 makiiig it an -essentially
a rise in the production of vegetables
capital-intensive project. It introduced
and wheat anid summer crops, the areas
the new agriculture strategy, support-
under which have multiplied. As tribal
ed by a vigorous irrigation programnme.
economy is traditionally - deficit in
Like the TDA, it constructed big
drauglht cattle, their distribution help-
clia-wells (160) and set up lift irriga-
ed boost agriculture. The application
tion schemes (4); there were also mo-
of the techniques of dry land farming
bile pumping sets. Altogether they
has substantially helped agricultural
irrigated 700 hectares owned by tribal
development. The upland was treated
families. Thus mono crop areas were
for acidity and cropped with high
brought unider double (525 ha) and
yielding varieties which became instant-
triple cropping (100 ha), accounting
ly popular, covering about 30 per, cent
for a total production of 26,400 quin-
of the area. It is however in the area
tals. The average family income has
of wheat cultivation that the most
thus gonie up. They have used the in-
spectacular results could be seen. Tir-
creased income to buy land and fancy
bal peasants have taken to double,
goods, repay debt, acquire assets, etc.
and, in some cases, even triple crop-
There is no starvation. Out-migration
ping instead of the traditional mono
has stopped.
cropping and the area under both is
There are many such success; stories
progressively being extended. This
which suggest that the first 'green re-
would not have been possible without
volution' has spread to the backward
the reorientation of irrigation poli-
tribal tracts creating pockets of afflu-
cies. The emphasis has shifted from the
enice. The technology of the second
construction of weirs and large irriga-
green revolution in pulscs and seeds,
tioln works to the exploitation of
maize and minor millets has been de-
underground and surface water resour-
ces through a chain of intake wells
veloped and is being introduced. The
plateau regions of Orissa have report-
constructed in river beds, big dia-
ed a substantial rise in the yield of
wells a few of which were energised
these crops benefiting tribals. The
with pumps in rivulets and streams.
small peasant sector in tribal areas has
As tribal economy is starved of credit
become dynamic, as part of the over-
because of the legislative restriction on
all process of- the transformation of
the transfer of land, a major innova-
rural society.
tion has been the arrangement for
As a result of the introduction of
easy flow of credit from co-operative
institutions and banks on furnishing the new agricultural technology, and
methods of farming suited to the
personal or collective security by tri-
north-eastern region, foodgrain pro-
bal farmers, thus reducing their de-
duction rose by 16 per cent between
pendence on moneylenders. Tribals
1972-73 and 1977-8; the area under
have always been responsive to the
various crops increased during the
programmes concerning rearing of
pigs, ducks and goats; and aided by
same period from 30.8& Jakh hectares
to 31.39 lakh hectares, while the
subsidies this programme has become
average production rose to 1,130 kg
very popular enabling a tribal family
from 989 kg in 1972-3 -- an increase
to earn an additional yearly income of
of 14 per cent. Manipur reported the
Rs 2,500 to Rs 4,000. An evaluation
highest yield (1,626 kg per hectare)
of the impact of this intensive pro-
while the corresponding figures for
gramme of development suggests (i)
Meghalaya anid Tripura were 1,152 kg
that the traditional leani and hunger
and 1,224 kg respectively. For the
period has been shortened; (ii) that
country as a whole about 7.44 lakh
surpluses which have emerged are acres of tribal land was brought under
being used for creating productive various improved agricultural techni-
assets, or meeting higher consumption ques in all eight tribal development
1323
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 August 14, 1982 ECONOMIC AND POLITICAL WEEKLY

agencies. The other dimensions of the This means that some land will have which 97 per cent of the dis-
agricultural strategy for the tribals to be given for the land to be acquir- trict tribal population belong to
Bhil tribe, we find that 11.6 per
who subsisted on agriculture and for- ed, and displaced persons will have
celnt are agricultural labourers, 65.1
est produce comprised (a) allotment to) be assured opportunities of em- per cenlt are poor peasant, 21.7 per
of land for cultivation (18,253 acres), ployment or self-employment. Absorp- cent are middle peasant andl 1.6
(b) land-development and soil coniser- tion into industrial culture of the per cent are rich peasants. A
vation progratmnmes (23,531 acres), (c) indigenous People through training similar pattern has also been ob-
served in the other districts.
extension of minor irrigation (60,000 and eduication should be a part of in-
acres) through wells (5600), (d) con- dustrial project, and a charge on it At the bottom of the stratifica-
tory system are the tribal agricul-
struction of tank, roads and arterial as has been the experienice of socia- tural labourers. A majority of
roads and (e) distribution of plough list cotuntries. This is all the more agricultural labourers are landless,
bullocks (12,800 pairs) and saplings necessary because there has been a a few of them have less than one
and grafts (7.3 lakh). 71 per cent of steep decline of village industries and acre of land of poor quality which
the targeted beneficiaries -(3.36 lakh) traditional crafts.21 virtually means having no land at
all and like lanidless labourers they
have benefited from these programmes.
also live by selling their labour
In fact, the entire thrust of the pro- II1 power,24
gramme appears to be to, peasantise
the tribals, draw them closer within Sodal Stratification In a restudy of the Chodhras, a
the network of the new agricultural Gujarat tribe again, Shah' tells us
The political and economic Drocesses
policy and programme, to improve pro- about the emerging differentiation
of tribal transformation described
ductivity of land, bridge the foodgap, based on landownership and education
above have been reflecte.d in social
increase earnings from lanid etc. Fin- which reflect in political attitudes and
stratification. There always existed
ancing of the schedulcd- tribes/castes Behaviour.
within a tribe a measure of distinction
by the commercial banks as on Decem- between the high and the low in terms The rich Chaudhris identify their
ber 31, 1978 was of the order of interests with those of the non-
of social and physical dist-ance, notion tribal rich faimers. In fact, some of
Rs 36.78 crore. The inflow of institu- of purity and pollution, prestige and them supported the Khedut Samaj
tional finance explains the success of status, habits and customs, etc. The (rich peasant organiisation) against
the new agricultural strategy in the colonial system created and strength- paddy levy and land ceiling. Educat-
tribal areas. A critical study of the ened a threefold division with the ed Chaudhri boys identify them-
physical achievements of their pro- selves wLh the urban middle-class
feudatory chief zarnindars at the top,boys. These attitudes reflected in
grammes durinig the Fifth Five Year the'well-to-do headmen in the middlethe 1975 state Assemnbly elections to
Plan shows that notwithstandinig a and the general mass at the bottom. some extent. Tl he majority of the
wide range of variations in perform- As mentioned earlier a class of insider poor peasants voted for the ruling
ance, the programmes have succeeded dikac an-d professionial tribal money- Congress, believing that it was a
in achieving their objectives, though party of the poor. The middle pea-
lander also grew up as the unintenided sant-s got equally divided between
in a limited way,20 Yet tribals' transi- result of the anti-land alienation laws, the Congress and Janata Morcha, and
tio'n t) the peasant system is nlot yet
which restricted transfer from tribaIls the majority of the- rich peasants
complete, their dependence on'forest as voted for the Janata Morcha. Sisni-
to non-tribals. A rich stratum of tribal
a source of food and earninigs is in larly most of the educated Chaudhris,
buyers of land emerged as suggested like the urban and rural educated
many ways as crucial as their depend-
by the data on transactions in land youths, voted against the ruling
eince on land. and. nolneyleimding in. the district Congress on moral issues, consider-
settlement reports.22 ing the ruliing party as corrupt. This
Tribal areas in middle India have (livision of votes stratawise in the
witnessed a rapid growth of urban po- This process has developed further tribal society also reflects the gene-
pullation and industrialisation., An im- in the post-colonial phase. The 1961 ral voting pattern among the caste
mediate result of this has been the Census Reports suggest a three-tier Hinduis in South Gujarat. Thus, in
immigration into tribal areas of non- perception, behaviour and life style,
pattern of landholding in tribal members of the different straa among.
tribals in search of job. In Chotanag- society.23 In a perceptive analysis the Chaudhris in general and edu-
puir the level of immigration jumped of emerging stratification in tribal cated and rich peasants in parti-
from 4,80,000 in 1951 to 10,73,920 in Gujarat, Bose identifies four distinct cular are becoming part of the larger
society, joining hands with the
1961' anid to 14,29,805 in 1971. The classes of peasants among tribals:
similar secular strata outside the
demographic pattern has thus been rich peasant, middle p-easant, poor tribal society. Such process, on the
disturbed and tribal population is dec- peasant, and agricultural labourer. one hand, disintegrates the tribal
lining. Another result has been the In Ino region has a. sin-le tribe society in terms of its culture-
displacement of tribals from lands solely occupied a particular class customs, rituals, life style and eco-
position: but they are generally nomic interests anid integrates some
which have been acquired for setting of its sections with the larger
distributed among all thc fouir
up- industries and constructing pro- society, on the other.25
classes. However, some tribes are
jects. In the early phase of industria- in better position than the others. Mishra reports a similar process
lisation the tribals were given hand- For instance, in Vadodara, none of
from the north-east:
some compensation for land which they the Nayakas are rich peasants, 30.3
did not know how to use. They be- per cent of them are labours and, The special division of 'labour
54.5 per cent are poor peasants, between tribes anid the subjuga
came niomads. The danger of displace-
while all the rich peasants in this of one by the other having performed
ment still hlautnts them. The strategy
district belong to the Bhil tribe. i's historfc role lapses into oblivion
of relief and rehabilitation therefore But, from the same tribe we find and a new phase of social karyoki-
will have' to ba, re-oriented with the 35.4 per cent alre middle peasants nesis vithiln the menmbers of a single
objective of recreating communlity and 1.6 pler cent are r ich peasant, tribe come.s into existence. TIn some
settlement in appropriate environment.
and 10.5 per cent are agricutltureal place, as in the Khasi hills, where
labourers. Again, in Sabar kanthla in private property in la.nd is well

1324

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ECONOMIC AND POLITICAL WEEKLY August 14, 1982
developed, the division of labour
takes a new shape. Here the first
group of citizens discriminates
against the second, the second
against the third, and all discrimi-
nate joinitly against the rest. In
addition to this the law of female
ultimogeniture in matters of in-
heritance has a built-in-tendency to
create both propertied as also dispos-
sessed section of society. And it is
through the forcee operating in this
endogenous process that the land-
lord, tenant and labourer come into
being to perform their roles as
assigned by the great social division
of labour.2E
However it should be noted in
evaluating the findings of these studies
that there are also contrary pulls in
the opposite direction. The bonds of
ethnicity and the appreciation of the
political advantages of the tribe as an
ethnic minority are still strong.. This
has inhibited the development of
tribals with non-tribals. An interesting
intra-tribal contradictions which are
overshadowed by the confrontation of
aspect of-stratification is the developing
nexus between the 'insider and
outsider'.?7 Diku, the alien, a creature
of the colonial system, acted as the
middleman, trader and money-lender.
While the protective tenancy laws
sought to curb this class, they had the
unintended result of spawning a class
of tribal moneylenders or the insider
diku. Recent settlement operations
in Chotanagpur have revealed exten-
sive tvansaction in land between tribals
andl tribals. This process operates in
the North-East also where the business
and trading communities across the
Inner Line have maintained close
relations with their tribal agents.
Therefore, it appears that no matter 10 K,-wharu, I H. McEwen, J M, and
stroing the sentiments against these
alieins i11 the North-East and elsewhere
rvmay be they are for too deeply
entrenched in the economic system of
t,he region tc be expelled, because
their ouster will mean the collapse ofBoard, "National Relations in the
the market, with which tribal economy USSR: Theorv and Practice Pro-
is being increasingly linked. Even the
most primitive economic system of
the Cholanaickans has been drawn
into the vortex of market forces.
We have described above various
models of tribal transformations, the
uniqueness of the Indian experiment
with all its merits and shortcomings,
the social impact of the transfer of
agricultural technology, and the pro-
cess of transformation of tribes into
peasants. We have also discussed the
factors which have contributed to
social stratification. All these pro-
cesses are reflected in a wide ranging
variety of tribal movements which are
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discussed in the following section.
(To be concluded)
Notes
[This paper is based on the eighth
Devraj , Chanana Memorial Lecture
delivered under -the auspices of Delhi
Universi.y on December 10-11, 1981.]
1 Dube, S C, "Tribal Heritage of
India, Ethnicity, Identity and
Interaction", Volume 1, Vikas 1977.
2 Sinha, Surajit, 'Transformation of
Tribal Society in Modern India',
Fifth Devraj Chanana Memorial
Lecture, 1973 (unpublished).
3 Singhq K S 'Colonial Transforma-
tion of the Tribal Society in
Mliddle India', Presidential Ad-
dress, Bhubaneswar, 1977. Also
see Sharma, R S, "Indian Feudal-.
ism; c 300-1200", University of
Calcutta, 1965.
4 Ibid.
5 Bardhan, A B, "The UJnsolved Tri-
bal Problem", Freedom Jubilee
Series No 5, Communist Party
Publication, 1973. Also see,
Bhowmik,- Sharit, "Class Forma-
tionr in the Plantatioxn Sys' em",
Peop'R.e's Publishing House, New
Delhi, 1981.
6 Ghurye, G S, "The Burning Caul-
dron of North-East India", Popular
Prakashan, Bombay 1980. Also
see "The Scheduled Tribes", Popu-
lar Prakashan, Bombay. 1963.
7 'Red Indians fight for the right to
live on the Land of Ancestors'.
The Searchlight, September 15,
1981.
8 See, Swepston. Le;, 'Latin Ameri-
can Approaches to the "Indian
Problem"' Itnternational Labour
Review. Vol 117, No 2. March-
April, 1978.
9 gee, Datta-Ray. Sunanda K, 'New
I reams for Old'. The Statesman.
December 1 and 2 1981. Also see
Chinai, Rupa, 'The Alienated
Aborigines'. Stunday Standard
Ma:gazine, March 8, 1981.
Winiate, W. "Maori Incorporations
in New Zealand". New Zealand
National Commicsion for UNSCO
(unpublished).
11 USSR Academy cf Sciences.
Social Sciences Today, Ed'itorial
blems of the Contermporaky World",
Moscow, 1 974. Also see, Brom-
ley, Yu V. "Soviet Ethnography:
-Main Trends. Problems of the Con-
temporary World", Social Sciences
Today.I. Editorial Board. USSR
Academy of Sciences, Moscow,
1978.
13 O0-ted in Ismagileva, R N, Fthnic
Problems of the Tropical Africa:
Can they be solved? Progress
Puiblishers. Moscow, 1978, p 122.
IlR Ihid p 126.
14 -id.
3 vingh, K S 'Colonial Transforma-
i-mn of the Tribal Society', op cit.
'6 Fingh, K S. 'The Mahatma and the
Adivasis', Mani in India. Vol 50,
No 1, January-March, 1970.
17 Quoted in Singh, K S, "Colonial'
All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms
ism, Anthropology and Prijmitive
Society: The Indian Scenario
(1928-47)", Second Indo-GDR His-
tory Seminar, University of Delhi,
December 1981.
18 Quoted in Singh, K-S, "Jawahar-
lal Nehru, Tribals and their
Transformation", Seminar on
Nehru and Village, Madras,
February 22-27, 1980.
19 Jones, Steves, 'TriLal Underdeve-
lopment in India', paper presented
to UN Institute for Economic
Pl.nning and Development, En-
vironment Training Programme,
S,eminar on Environment and
Poorly Integrated Socities in
Africa (Mauritius April, 1976).
Also see a rejoinder by Bhupender
Singh, Planning Strategy for Tri-
bal Development in Retrospoct and
Prospect. A Mid-Term Appraisal,
c-casional Papors on Tribal De-
Ve.7opmem'. 29, Government of
TIndia. Ministry of Home Affairs,
New Delhi. 1981].
20 Singh,. K S, Tribal Economy in
India', 1ndo-Sovie- Symposium in
Social Sciences, February 22-26,
1 977, Visva-Bharati, Santiniketan.
Also se- by the same author,
'Transformation of Trilaal Eco-
inomn: Two Case Studies' (un-
pb zlished), 1978: and 'Pattern of
A1 -icultural Changes in Tribal
Chotanagpur'. "Trends of Socio-
economic Change in India 1871-
1961", Transact.ions of the Indian
Institute of Advanced Study,
Volume VII. Simla. 1969.
21 l1ra'zd. N and Saihay, A. "Im-
pa(t of Industrialisation oii Bihar
Tribes". 1961: Census of India,
1961, "Social Processes in the
Jndustrialisation of Rourkela"
1968: Vid-varthi, L F, "Industria.i-
sation in India. A Case Study of
lTribal Bihar 1970". Also see Pra-
dhan, H Prasad anid N Sengupta,
"Regional Distribution of Economic
Benefits arising from a Steel Plant:
A Case Stuidy of Rourkela Steel'
Plant" (m,1imeoaraphed).
A22 Singh, K S. "Colonial Transfor-
mation of the Tribal Society",
op cit.
23 "Land Tenures in India". Census
of India 1961. Volume 1, India,
Part XI-A fi) 1968.
24 Bose, Pradip Kumar, Stratification
..mong Tribals in Gujarat', EPW,
February 7, 1981.
5 Shalh, Ghanshyam, "Socio-Econo-
iic Condition of Chodhras: A
RRetudy", Centre for Social Stu-
dies, Surat, Indian Council of So-
ci.l Science Research (unpublish-
ed).
26 Misra, Bani Prasanna, 'Kirata
T?rYokinesis: Modes of Produc-
ticn in Tribal Societies in North-
Flsst India'- in Arvind N Das and
V Nilkant (ed) "Agrarian Rela-
tions in India", Manohar, Delhi,
1979.
27 Sirogh, K S,- Tribal Ethnicity in a
Multi-Ethnic Society: A Study -in
Colonial and Post-Colonial Chota-
nagpur' UNESCO Seminar .on
Trends inl Ethnic Group Relations
in Asia, Manila, March 1976.
1325