Livelihood Patterns of Baiga Tribe: A Case Study of Rajnandgaon District of

Chhattisgarh

Shivani Mishra

A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree

of Masters of Arts in Development Practice

Prime Minister’s Rural Development Fellowship

Tata Institute of Social Sciences

Mumbai

2016
 DECLARATION

I, Shivani Mishra, hereby declare that this dissertation entitled ‘Livelihood Patterns of

Baiga Tribe: A Case Study of Rajnandgaon District of Chhattisgarh’ is the outcome of

my own study undertaken under the guidance of Dr. P. Karunakar, Assistant Professor, Tata

Institute of Social Sciences, Hyderabad. It has not previously formed the basis for the award

of any degree, diploma or certificate of this Institute or any other institute or university. I

have duly acknowledged all the sources used by me in the preparation of this dissertation.

25th February 2017 Shivani Mishra

 CERTIFICATE

This is to certify that the dissertation entitled ‘Livelihood Pattern of Baiga Tribe: A Case

Study of Rajnandgaon District of Chhattisgarh’ is the record of the original work done by

Ms. Shivani Mishra under my guidance and supervision. The results of the research presented

in this dissertation/thesis have not previously formed the basis for the award of any degree,

diploma, or certificate of this Institute or any other institute or university.

Research Supervisor

Dr. P. Karunakar

Assistant Professor

25th February 2017 Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Hyderabad

 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I would like to express my sincere gratitude to my Research Supervisor Dr. P. Karunakar, who
gave structure to my ideas for this dissertation and kept me motivated during the entire research.

I am indebted to Rajnandgaon District Collector, Mr. Mukesh Bansal and Chief Executive
Officer of Jila Panchayat, Mr. Chandan Kumar, who gave me an opportunity to learn and work
in those far flung; without their support this research would not have been possible. I am grateful
to Divisional Forest Officer, Khairagarh Division Mr. Dilraj Prabhakar for his help. I could not
have managed to achieve the aim of this research without the support of AD ITDA Mr.
Shrivastav, AD ATMA Mr Raju Kumar, Mr Virendra Verma, the Panchayat secretaries and
Panchayat heads. I am most thankful to all Baiga respondents who took the time to share their
experiences and made this research possible.

I would like express my sincere thanks to my peers- Prabhat, Pratik, and Nirmal for helping me
out whenever I needed.

Last but not the least, I would like to thank my family and friends who supported me though
every phase of this dissertation and had confidence in me to complete it.
 Table of Contents

LIST OF TABLES ................................................................................................................................ iii

LIST OF FIGURES ............................................................................................................................. iii

CHAPTERS

Chapters Page no
1 Introduction 1
1.1 Background 1
1.2 Baigas 3
1.3 Research Questions 4
1.4 Objectives 4
1.5 Design and Methodology 4
1.5.1 Background of the study area 5
1.5.2 Research Tools 6
1.6 Significance of Study 8
1.7 Limitations of Study 8
1.8 Chapterisations 9

2 Review of Literature 11
2.1 Tribal Agriculture 11
2.2 Land use pattern in tribal areas 12
2.3 Non Timber Forest Produce / Minor Forest Produce 14
2.4 Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme 16
(MGNREGS)
2.5 Forest Management and Forest Rights Act 17
2.6 Tribal Policy 19

3 Profile of Research Area 23

3.1 Chhattisgarh – An Overview 23
3.2 Rajnandgaon District 25
3.3 Chhuikhadan Block and research villages profile 26

4 Socio- Economic status of Baiga Tribe

4.1 Historical background of Baigas
4.2 Livelihood and Economy 30
4.3 Societal hierarchy 32
4.4 Folk , Culture and Traditions 32
4.5 Health and Nutrition 32
4.6 Education 33

5 Livelihood Pattern of Baiga 34

5.1 Agriculture 38
5.2 Non-Timber Forest Produce (NTFP) 41
5.3 Tendu Leaves 44
5.4 MGNREGS 45
5.5 Casual Labor 46

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 5.6 Others 47
5.7 Income and Expenditure 48

6 Government Intervention for Baiga welfare 51

6.1 TSP component of State Plans 52
6.2 Special area Programmes or Special Central Assistance (SCA) to TSP 53
6.3 Grants under Article 275 (1) of the Constitution 53
6.4 Integrated Tribal development Area Projects (ITDA): 54
6.5 Modified Area Development Approach (MADA): 59
6.6 The Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition 60
of Forest Rights) Act, 2006

7. Summary and Conclusion

8. References 67

9. Annexure 69

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List of Tables:
Table 1: Baiga population in Rajnandgaon district ............................................................................................................. 6
Table 2: Major Tribal Groups in different districts: (Tribes with population over 1000) .................................................25
Table 3: livelihood pattern of scheduled tribe families in district and Chhuikhadan block ..............................................28
Table 4: Brief Profile of the four villages under study......................................................................................................30
Table 5: Respondents' Profile ...........................................................................................................................................35
Table 6: Range of Yearly Income from four activities .....................................................................................................50
Table 7: Expenditure under three major categories ..........................................................................................................51
Table 8: Tribal Sub Plan component in State plans ..........................................................................................................53
Table 9: Special Central Assistance to Tribal Sub Plan - allocation and expenditure (in lakhs) .....................................54
Table 10: Chhattisgarh's allocation under Article 275 (1) and expenditure for last years (in crores). ..............................55
Table 11: List of works taken for Baiga Welfare (Livelihoods Sector) for 2013-14. .......................................................55
Table 12: List of works taken for Baiga Welfare (Livelihoods Sector) for 2014-15 and 2015-16 ...................................56
Table 13: MADA pocket Nachaniya's fund allocation and expenditure for last two years (in crores) .............................60

List of Figures:

Figure 1: Scheduled Tribe population of Rajnandgaon district among all blocks ............................................................. 27
Figure 2: Block -wise Scheduled Tribe Population .......................................................................................................... 27
Figure 3: Chhuikhadan Block Map ................................................................................................................................... 29
Figure 4: Age groups of Baiga respondents ...................................................................................................................... 38
Figure 5: Land Holdings of Baiga families ....................................................................................................................... 39
Figure 6 Yield of Kodo Production among Baiga households .......................................................................................... 41
Figure 7 : Cut and dried saag and lauki for future use in Saraipatera ............................................................................... 42
Figure 8: Chhattisgarh State Minor Forest Produce (Trading and Development) Co-operative Federation Ltd.
organisational Structure .................................................................................................................................................... 43
Figure 9: Collection of Mahua by Baiga families ............................................................................................................. 45
Figure 10: Tendu Leaves collection by Baiga Households ............................................................................................... 46
Figure 11: Baiga Families with MGNREGA workdays ................................................................................................... 47
Figure 12 Baiga working on Bamboo to make supa and tokni .......................................................................................... 48

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 Abstract:

This dissertation attempts to understand the pattern of livelihoods adopted by the Particularly
Vulnerable Tribal Group –“Baiga Tribe”. During the research, the socio- economic, and
cultural aspects of this tribe, living in Rajnandgaon district of Chhattisgarh, were studied. The
primary household survey and focused group discussions were an important source of data,
which revealed a lot about their lifestyle, habits, issues, challenges, and beliefs. It brought the
focus on their primary and secondary sources of income and how significant each activity is in
Baiga’s lives. An account of their income and expenditure has been provided along with the
factors that influence their consumption. “Livelihood Pattern of Baiga Tribe: A Case Study of
Rajnandgaon District of Chhattisgarh” also deals with government interventions for the welfare
of Baiga community through various schemes & programmes in India in general and
Rajnandgaon district in particular. It provides insights into how the plans are adopted and how
relevant are they for the Baigas. The perspectives of both the sides of the coin i.e. the
government officials (especially the field level) and the Baigas have been discussed. This
research provides an insight to what all factors come into play in the domain of development and
welfare of Baigas, with a focus on their livelihood activities.

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 Chapter 1: Introduction

1.1 Background:

In anthropological perspective, Tribe is a notional form of human social organization based on a set
of smaller groups (known as bands), having temporary or permanent political integration, and
defined by traditions of common descent, language, culture, and ideology. Tribal constitute matrix
of Indian poverty in terms of land ownership, access to education and health facility, capital access
and employment, be it self-employment or being a regular job. Scheduled Tribes (STs) are various
officially designated tribal groups of historically disadvantaged indigenous people in India. The
term is recognized in the Constitution of India.

“Article 366 (25) defined the Scheduled Tribes as "such tribes or tribal communities or
parts of or groups within such tribes or tribal communities as are deemed under Article 342
to be Scheduled Tribes for the purposes of this constitution".

Article 342 on Scheduled Tribes says

1. The President may with respect to any State or Union Territory, and where it is a State, after
consultation with the Governor thereof, by public notification, specify the tribes, or tribal
communities or parts of or groups within tribes or tribal communities which shall for the purposes
of this Constitution be deemed to be Scheduled Tribes in relation to that State or Union Territory,
as the case may be.

2. Parliament may by law include in or exclude from the list of Scheduled Tribes specified in a
notification issued under clause (2) any tribe or tribal community or part of or group within any
tribe or tribal community, but save as aforesaid a notification issued under the said clause shall not
be varied by any subsequent notification.

The criterion for identification of such tribes is not explicitly mentioned anywhere in the
constitution but are well established, such as the draft National Tribal policy, 2006 outlined the

1
criteria the Lokur Committee1 has evolved for declaring a particular community as a Schedules
Tribe are: (i) an ensemble of primitive traits, (ii) distinctive culture, (iii) geographical isolation, (iv)
shyness of contact with the outside world, and (v) backwardness

The National draft tribal policy, 20062 notes that tribal communities "are known to dwell in
compact areas, follow a community way of living, in harmony with nature, and have a uniqueness
of culture, distinctive customs, traditions and beliefs which are simple, direct and non-acquisitive
by nature". The national draft policy, 2006 also notices that tribes are scattered "over all the
States/Union Territories, except Punjab, Haryana, Delhi, and the Union Territories of Pondicherry
and Chandigarh”. While these three states and two union territories do not have the native
communities scheduled as tribes, a large number of tribes persons from other parts of the country
have moved to these metropolises where they work as domestic and shop servants, rickshaw-
pullers, loaders and coolies, vendors of newspapers and magazines at traffic signals, and many of
them have ended on the breadline, as beggars, destitute, sex-workers, organ-sellers, and even petty
deviants and criminals". Section 12 of the National Tribal Policy, 2006, deals with the Primitive
Tribal Groups (PTGs). This list of 75 STS, created in 1973, found to be more backward than the
others. The list was based on following criteria: "(i) pre-agricultural level; (ii) dwelling isolated and
remote habitations; (iii) small number; and (iv) near-constant or declining population; (v) low levels
of literacy; and (vi) economic and social backwardness" (Srivastava, 2008)

In 1961, when Dhebar Commission3 submitted its report it was found that even amongst the tribes
there existed inequality in their development levels (Oraon, 2012). The more vocal, progressive and
assertive tribes received the benefits of the governmental programmes neglecting the already
neglected and needy tribes. Recognizing this, a sub category was created within scheduled tribe
during fourth five year plan on the basis of Dhebhar Commission report and other studies. The
states/ UTs were directed to select such tribes which fulfilled the above criteria, and:

 Practiced pre-agriculture activities (hunting and gathering), for their sustenance.

 Stagnant or negative population Growth
 Extremely low levels of literacy compared to other tribes.
1 Lokur Committee was appointed on 1965 as “The Advisory Committee on the Revision of the Lists of Scheduled
Castes and Scheduled Tribes.
2
Vinay Kumar Srivastava, “Concept of 'Tribe' in the Draft National Tribal Policy”, Economic and Political Weekly,
Vol. 43, No. 50 (Dec. 13 - 19, 2008), pp. 29-35
3
The Scheduled Areas and Schedule Tribes Commission (1961)
2
This led to the inception of a separate category of tribal groups altogether called PTG – Primitive
Tribal Groups, which is formed of the most backward and vulnerable tribal communities which
require extra assistance and aid. The name PTGs was later changed to “PVTGs”- Particularly
Vulnerable Tribal Groups, in 2006. There are 75 PVTGs in India and majority of them live in
Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Odisha. The states of
Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh harbors 7 PVTGs namely- Abuj Marias, Baigas, Birhors, Hill
Korbas, Kamars, Bhariyas, and Saharias.

1.2 The Baigas:

The Baiga tribe is one of the most vulnerable, forest-dwelling aboriginal tribes of India included in
Particularly Vulnerable Tribal groups owing to their primitive nature. Specifically, the Baigas are
concentrated in the Central part of India covering the states viz. Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgrah,
Uttar Pradesh and Jharkhand. Their origin is said to be traced back to Mandla and Dhindori and
Balaghat districts of M.P (Elwin, 1936). Since early days, as old as 1860s, the baigas were engaged
in hunting, gathering and traditional agricultural system of mixed cropping known as Benwar or
Dahiya Cultivation (Swidden) (Archana Prasad, 2010). They are said to live in proximity with
nature deriving their livelihoods from the forest produce and hunting. Their economy, culture and
traditions are linked with the nature. Forest is their home. Almost 90percent of the tribal population
is directly or indirectly dependent on land for their survival (Verma, 1995). They are primarily an
agro-based community which depend on cultivating crops like kodo, kutki, paddy and vegetables
(Biswas, 2007), hunting and gathering of Non Timber Forest Produce like Mahua, Tendu patta
(leaves), wild mushrooms (Gangwar and Bose, 2012). As forest dwellers they are concentrated in
the dry deciduous forest of central India, and when water scarcity causes decline in agriculture,
more often than never NTFP collections help them to eke out their sustenance (Bhattacharya &
Hayat, 2004). Not just the language, customs, traditions and culture but even Baigas very number is
fast dwindling, and now they are slowly becoming aware of their rights. They are getting to know
the importance of money (Srivastava, 2010). Struggle of tribes for their rights and entitlements has
been ongoing for quite a long time as their traditional isolated and independent ecosystem is
intruded; traditional laws and customs of socio-economic life replaced of restrictive laws, and there
have been many instances where Baigas were displaced in the name of development, bio diversity
3
conservation (Menon, 2016). There’s a high incidence of poverty among the Baigas. The issue of
forest and tribal policies not being “adequately sensitive to the value systems of tribes” has also
been raised many times (Sen & Lalhretpui, 2006) .They are struggling especially in the domain of
livelihoods involving agriculture and rights on forest produce. But it is impertinent to understand
that forest forms an important part of their socio life and livelihoods..

The Baiga’s economic sustenance, empowerment and decision making capability in an open
globalised world need a thorough research. Keeping this in mind, I chose to study the livelihoods of
the Baigas in Rajnandgaon district, where I am posted as a Prime Minster Rural Development
Fellow (PMRDF).

1.3 Research questions:

1. What are the factors influencing agricultural and other livelihood pattern of the Baiga Tribe
in Chhattisgarh?
2. What are the Major factors contributing income and expenditure?

1.4 Objectives:

1. To study the changing agricultural livelihood pattern, their economic empowerment in

Rajnandgaon district of Chhattisgarh.
2. To study the interventions and assistance provided by the government in the
aforementioned sector and its outcome in Rajnandgaon district.

1.5 Design and methodology:

The most critical aspect of research is data collection. In the research, data will be of two types:
Qualitative and quantitative. Qualitative In terms of genesis of data they can be classified in three
categories. First, data which are directly taken from the secondary sources and used as it is collected

4
without any qualitative and quantitative modification or manipulation. Census data of targeted area,
District Level Household survey done by government and non-government organization which are
relevant for the objectives of this research will come under this first category. Newly carried out
socio-economic and caste survey will not only provide latest economic situation of Baiga
households but will also provide consolidated link to their social status and assets ownership.
Additionally data with several district level department like education, agriculture, MGNREGS,
horticulture, tribal welfare department and other employment related departments will be handful as
these are the departments which carry out employment interventions in Baiga populates of the area.
These data can be both quantitative as well as qualitative.

Second category contains such data which was collected by the researcher from stakeholders in this
area. Details of fund allocation and agriculture and employment related scheme intervention by
multiple employments and mobilization to different levels of administration can come under this
category.

Third category will comprise of the data directly observed or inferred by the researcher. The
researcher has been working in Rajnandgaon for last two years and had taken a special interest in
Baiga Belt for the purpose of this research. Relevant data from 30 Households from 2 Villages has
been collected in this due course of time which is part quantitative and mostly qualitative. This will
be consolidated and more essential data will be collected by this researcher directly or through field
level government machinery. Here the households have been selected under convenient sampling.

1.5.1 Background of the study area:

The Baiga Tribe inhabits the peripheral gram panchayats of Chhuikhadan Block of Rajnandgaon
District. The Baiga Belt adjoins the Kabeerdham District of Chhattisgarh and Balaghat District of
Madhya Pradesh at its borders. Even in the peripheral areas of Madhya Pradesh and in Kabeerdham
district, considerable Baiga Population is located, although they may be of different sub-tribe, and
adopt different practices.

I made regular visits to those far flung areas as a PMRDF as part of district administration and
monitoring the implementation of government schemes which led to my focus on agriculture and

5
employment interventions. The Sarpanch and panchayats secretaries also provided an insight into
the implementation of various works and programmes My previous association with Baiga and
Gond tribes in Kabeerdham District also encouraged me further to study their socio-economic
conditions.

The study area is in the Chhuikhadan block of the district comprises of 32 villages (17 Gram
Panchayats) out which 5 villages were chosen for the survey. The villages’ selection were based on
the extent of development and their proximity to infrastructure, government institutions. The
villages were: Samundpani, Gerukhadan, and Saraipatera and Baigasalewara.

A brief profile of the villages in Baiga belt is given below in the Table 1:

Table 1: Baiga population in Rajnandgaon district

Male population 2174

Female population 2136
Total Baiga Population 4310
Total Households 1245
Sex Ratio 982
Average Household Size 3.5
Source- Rajnandgaon district Integrated Tribal Development Area

1.5.2 Research Tools:

The tools that were used for data collection were of 3 categories:

1) Primary Household Survey:

In the aforementioned four villages, 60 households were chosen on the basis of random sampling
for the interviews. As there was little variation observed amongst the lifestyle, livelihood and socio-
economic status of the people among the Baiga tribe, a sample of 60 people was chosen. The
objective of the survey was to collect household level data on their livelihood pattern, and their

6
income and expenditure. The questionnaire consisted of both qualitative and quantitative questions.
The Qualitative questions were open-ended, so as to give the interviewee the space to talk about
their livelihood comfortably. The quantitative questions were direct and targeted but many a times
they faced difficulty of answering questions on the value of crop production and the income or
expenditure of their households. In such cases, approximate values after discussions have been
taken.

2) Focused Group Discussions with the farmers of the villages:

The second research tool that was used was Focused Group Discussions (FGD) with farmer groups.
FGD brings out various issues attached the group and different opinions attached to those issues.
The deliberations with the farmers helped to chalk out their perspective of their livelihood, the
issues faced by them and the preferences they would make, if the issues have been addressed. The
alternative practices that would be suggested by the expert would be put forth for their interest.
They were questioned about their perspective on changing landscape of employment opportunities
and especially changing nature of agriculture practices and their land use.

3) Interviews from Key Informants i.e. Government functionaries of the concerned

departments:

The Key informants interviewed in this research were:

1. Panchayat Secretaries of the selected Gram Panchayats

2. Block Agriculture Technology Officer (ATMA)
3. Block Rural Agricultural Extension Officer
4. District Assistant Director ATMA
5. Agricultural Livelihoods , Young Professional of the district
6. Chief Executive Officer of Chhuikhadan Block
7. Assistant Director of Integrated Tribal Development Agency of the district.
8. Divisional Forest Officer (DFO), Khairagarh division.

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They were consulted on a regular basis during the study because they helped:

a) To get expert opinion after gauging the current situation and try to come up with alternative
agriculture practices that may be relevant and feasible in the target area.

b) To get secondary data of their budgetary allocation and subsequently the expenditure of the same
under various heads for the welfare of Baiga People

Apart from these the Gram Panchayat’s Sarpanch4, and Rozgaar Sahayak5, were also interviewed
regarding the field situation so as to check any disparities among the data.

Tribal Sub Plans of the State was also taken from the State Tribal Department which also included
the state’s outlay as well as the utilization of the funds available to ITDA for implementation for
Baiga welfare. Data from Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) Khairagarh division and Assistant
Director (AD) of ITDA was also retrieved for this research.

1.6 Significance of the study:

There have been voluminous research studies available on tribal issues of various other tribes of
India, but in the case of Baiga tribe it is very scanty. This research will be an important case study
for the future researchers, anthropologists, sociologists who would be interested in studying on
Baigas. This research brings forth the schemes that have been implemented and how they are
implemented

1.7 Limitations of Study:

During the course of this research there were some unavoidable limitations. The
research area was 200 km away from the district headquarters, so logistics took most
of the time. Baigas rely on daily wages, many a times they were not found in their
4
Elected Head of a Gram Panchayat (GP)
5A person who manages MGNREGA related work at the GP level
8
villages making data collection a difficult task. Many baigas questions could not be
answered by the baigas as they either could not comprehend the questions or did not
know the answers. Many respondents were vary of the fact that someone was asking
them about their land and its uses so they were reluctant to answer them. It made
some of their responses ambiguous. The sample size chosen was small compared to
their population due to constraints mentioned above. Baigas don’t keep track of their
incomes from various sources, so this biased this research and holistic calculation of
their incomes as well as expenditure could not be done.

1.8 Chapterisation:

This dissertation has been divided into the following six chapters-

Chapter 1: This chapter introduces briefly to Scheduled Tribes and its constitutional provisions;
Baiga Tribe as a Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Group, the research questions of this study, the
objectives of this research and the methodology adopted to carry it out.

Chapter 2: Under this chapter, literature on tribal livelihoods and its related aspects such as tribal
land use pattern, tribal agriculture, their livelihood from other sources such as Non Timber Forest
Produce (NTFP), MGNREGA have been reviewed underscoring its relevance to this research.

Chapter 3: In this chapter an overview and basic profile of the state of Chhattisgarh, Rajnandgaon
district and the selected villages is described to give an idea of the current socio-economic status of
the research area.

Chapter 4: It briefly gives a glimpse of the Socio- Economic background of the Baiga Tribe- their
history, culture, tradition, livelihoods, Health, Nutrition and education have been described .

Chapter 5: This chapter analyses the findings of the primary household survey which mainly
involved their sources of livelihoods, and studies the pattern of the livelihoods of the Baiga Tribe. It

9
discusses the primary and secondary sources of livelihoods and their contribution in Baiga’s
sustenance

Chapter 6: Here, details of funds allocated under various heads, mainly the Tribal Sub Plan and its
components, have been provided and discussed in depth. Later in the chapter, the utilization of
funds and the plans incorporated at district level have been studied.

Summary and Conclusion: This last section concludes this research by summarizing all the
outcomes of this research and possible suggestions for the development of Baiga Tribe.

10
 Chapter 2: Review of Literature

Although there are many studies on central Indian tribes but very few have been on Baiga Tribe.
Literature on tribal land use, case studies of other tribes would be helpful in guiding the approach of
a course of a research. I have reviewed literature on livelihood aspects of other tribes, which have
allowed me to understand Baigas livelihood pattern better. A primitive tribal community’s major
livelihood aspects include Tribal Land use, Tribal Agriculture, gathering from forest (non-timber
forest produce), wage employment under MGNREGS which have been discussed in the chapter.

2.1 Tribal Agriculture:

Bhubaneshwar Sawar, 2010, in his paper titled “Tribal Agriculture: the Chuktiyas Bhunjiyas in the
Central India” is a significant description of the agriculture practices of the chuktiya Bhunjiya tribe
hailing from central India, covering the states Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra and Odisha. The paper is
a briefly elaborate on the “alternative agriculture” practices derived from the farmers’ traditional
agricultural knowledge and local practices. The paper elaborated on land classification by
tribes,what crops to be cultivated, how to cultivate and on what kind of land. They practice shifting
cultivation keeping in mind the fertility of the soil; trenches and bunds are made wherever the
intensity of the slope is felt high. Prayers and rituals are followed to avoid disease and insect
protection. Although the paper highlights the pros of alternative agricultural practices it emphasise
that scientific opinion, actual yield should back them. Traditional farming and methods can get
some inspiration from modern organic and dryland farming

The paper titled “Modernization of tribal Agriculture” by Sitakant Mohapatra, 1978, paper is based
upon field studies in four selected villages of two Grama Panchayats in Baman-ghati sub-division
of Mayurbhanj District, Orissa. It shows that modernisation of agriculture has been slow because of
the over-crowding of the agricultural sector, the small holdings, lack of irrigation facilities and
socio-cultural factors. The paper has findings in four specific aspects. Firstly, he makes an analysis
of extent of overcrowding in the agricultural sector due to the nonexistent alternate employment
opportunities and declining of existing employment in mining. There is over-crowding even so far
as the agricultural labour situation is concerned. Declining landholding hinders modernization and

11
commercialization of agriculture. There has been fast decline in per capita land post-independence
due to exponential rise of population in district. As an example, due to closure, in 1968, of the
TISCO mines at Badampahad, Gorumahisani and Suleipat. Nearly 8,000 mine-workers and another
2,000 who had earned their livelihood from ancillary occupations connected with mining lost their
jobs, further increasing overcrowding.

Secondly, his analysis reflected in the poor sale value of land and the disinclination among tribals to
purchase land from their own people. People less attracted to land and interested to move to
alternate opportunity are forced to remain as cultivator. Thirdly the paper lists out types and nature
of implements used in the district now and compares it with implements used centuries ago. He
concluded that the Santhal (local tribe) is moving slowly towards a society which believes in
division of labour and expertise even though in a modest way. The Santhal of the older days - with
a few tools and implements fashioned by his own hand, and living in a small world - is not to be
found in any household. Neither does a prospective bride attach any importance to the skills of the
Santali youth in the making of simple agricultural implements.

Fourth part discuss the critical aspect of diffusion of technical information and socio-cultural
factors influencing agriculture and livelihood. He found it evident that the modernization of
agriculture which demands timely inter-cultural operations sometimes comes into conflict with the
ritualistic basis of agriculture. Here, technology and ritual must mix creating a new system of ritual
flexible and liberal enough to absorb the demands of the new technology or conversely restructure
the ritual. For instance, there could be greater adaptability in the timing of the festivals and the
authority or agency who decides the date for different festivals.

2.2 Land use pattern in tribal areas:

In “Land Use Strategies for tribals: A socio-economic Analysis” by Seema Purushottam, 2005, a
study conducted in a tribal belt inhabited by the indigenous people of Irulas, a dry degraded
montane region, falling under the two states of Kerela and Tamil Nadu, revealed the alternative land
use practices and land management strategies that would help to address the twin issues economic
development issues and ecological degradation.

12
Identification of existing land uses was done through a preliminary household survey, the expert
interviews and cost benefit analysis ensuring constant exchange of knowledge between expert
opinion and farmer preference. This helped in chalking out the existing, potential, preferred and
economically viable land use strategies for the “Irula” people. Due to Drought, Land alienation and
the subsistence agriculture in lesser productive forest periphery land, there was a constant decline in
the productivity of their land. Lack of awareness about sustainable land management and
conservation techniques further suppress productivity. All this resulted in eroding the livelihood
base, employment opportunities and increase exploitation vulnerability of Irula, They now heavily
depended on government schemes and daily wage labour on others' land. Very few of Irula wish to
continue with the current pattern of Cultivating Millet (12%). Majority Irula wish to do advanced
millet farming, horticulture, silviculture with or without dry land farming practices and with
modified land use pattern.

Results of her analysis show that there are land-uses superior to the current one for private fallows
in the forest peripheries of her research Area “Annikutty”. As per her analysis, millet-based rain-fed
agro-forestry, dry farming with soil conservation, and dry farming with protection from wild
animals and grazing emerge can result in 244 to 322 percent increase in discounted annual income
per hectare compared to the prevailing yield of about 50 USD per hectare per year. Thus, these are
land-uses that should be promoted - particularly since farmers seem willing to adopt them.

To arrive at this conclusion, the paper brings together economic, ecological and social aspects of
land-use dynamics. In order for these systems to be adopted, she suggested following actions need
to be undertaken: protection of the land with vegetative fencing, bunds, mulching and bund planting
with sustained long run effort. Other essential steps include assured rights over trees grown on
farm, continuous technical support in management of multi- purpose trees and appropriate soil-
moisture management. She concludes that adoption of potential rain- fed agriculture practices with
the correct dry farming with soil conservation techniques that may be implemented with their
willingness so that they would be able to reap benefits of harvest at the same time hold economic
viability and social sustainability

13
2.3 Non Timber Forest Produce / Minor Forest Produce:
Minor forest produce is the most ancient mode of sustenance, food and livelihood of tribals running
across millennia. The irony is that in last one century, this natural right of tribals has been taken
away. Vidhya Das, 1996, in her paper “Minor forest produce and tribal right” discusses the irony
of political ignorance in respect of this right. She noted in this paper that in 1953, 1,000 tribal
women went to meet the then chief minister, Nabakrushna Choudhury to demand that the tamarind
tree leases to private parties be withdrawn in the interests of people living in tribal areas. Verbally,
the chief minister agreed, but nothing happened in practice. Four decades later history repeated
itself, when women went and demanded of Biju Patnaik that they be allowed to collect and sell
minor forest produce (MFP) to which the chief minister agreed but then nothing happened. This
corroborate that the struggle for rights over MFP is an old one, and will probably continue for time
to come.

Though these items provide sizable revenue to the state, the tribal people who spend long hours to
collect it are not allowed to stock, process or sell it in the open market. The government issues
leases and permits which are, more often than not, granted on the whim of political leaders with no
clearly defined criteria. Even terms and conditions of these contracts are minimal mandating some
notional royalty amount going to state exchequer. This leads to exploitation and loot of the people
in tribal area by vested interests with regard to the particular item of forest products.

Vidhya Das (1996) also find that the commercial importance of MFP has led the state to nationalize
almost all the important MFP items. This has cut down the number of legal buyers, and denied a
fair price to the gatherers. Contractors’ high margin, political and administrative cut, under deals,
cross border operations result in very small remunerations for tribals. This smuggling goes on
unchecked and extensively in most border area. If tribals are enabled with skill, technology, process
support and right over MFP, remuneration and prices can turn in tribals favor. Local processing
units would ensure that resources remain within the community. Government should focus on these
aspects rather than looking for exit routes, random bling commercialization and short term
monetary benefits.

14
Golam Rasul, Madhav Karki and Ram P. Sah, 2008, in “The role of non-timber forest products in
poverty reduction in India” paint a holistic picture of by analysing the importance of NTFP in the
lives of the tribal people and exhaustively enumerates the obstacles that are hindering the
underlying goal of NTFP policies i.e. poverty eradication and economic empowerment. It broadly
covers issues related to marketing and income as well as concerning with the unsustainable
production of NTFP.

It has described how issues like exploitation by traders of primary collectors, access to trade
licenses, restriction on movement of products, processing and value addition has played an
obstructive role in the life of the forest dwellers. This stood true in the context of the tribes in the
central India region too. Lack of value addition in NTFP/MFP combined with unscientific
collection and unsustainable production deny higher remuneration threatening livelihood,
ecological balance and leading to substandard produce and soil erosion.

Although there have been many initiatives undertaken by the government to make their NTFP rules
resilient to the needs and socio economic status of the tribes but it still hasn’t managed to make a
significant impact on their livelihood. They still suffer at the hands of middlemen and traders;
succumb to the pressures of the market causing decline in their livelihood opportunities resulting in
under or unemployment while the middlemen still reaping benefits. Government in its policy
recommendations elaborate needs such as capacity building of the tribe people/ local community
for value addition process, which undoubtedly is the need of the hour. But the effort is dismal and
the tribes remain oblivious to the actual worth of their produce which hamper. Formation of micro-
enterprises is yet another suggestion but its implementation and impact would take a long time. The
people who are not accustomed to concept of saving money, would face initial challenges such as
inculcating interest and retaining it; unlearning their socio-economic values where they think and
live on per day basis.

A Farmer Producer Group can be a way out and solution to the problems. FPG might start learning
the concept of working with people of similar interest, goals values and community with enhanced
monetary motivations. Promoting sustainable production is urgently needed which would include
controlling unsustainable production, capacity building of the forest dwelling community
diversifying NTFP cultivation, value addition, marketing and credit support etc. Incorporation of
these suggestions would provide unconventional and nature friendly alternatives but would
15
simultaneously require concerted efforts from various Scientific and Research and Development
Institutions and government tribal groups, NGOs, and FPGs.

“There is a need to conserve genetic resources; a large-scale plan is required to propagate the
plantation of elite, high-demand species in government, community, and private forests and lands.
It will be necessary to link these production projects with research and development institutions
and industries, backed up with enabling policies and regulation” (Golam Rasul, Madhav Karki and
Ram P. Sah, 2008).

2.4 Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) :

MGNREGS is right based flagship scheme of government with effect from 2nd October 2006, aim
to provide 100 days of wage employment to every rural household whose adult members volunteer
to do unskilled manual job. State of Chhattisgarh has added 50 days more and has provisions of 150
days of employment. By decentralized planning, wage employment and assets creation, it aims to
empower marginalized. It mandates 33 percent participation of women and unemployment
allowance to be given by state government if work is not provided within 15 days of application for
work.

Srinivas Rao Didde and P Muthaiyan, 2013, in their paper "Employment generation under
MGNREGA in Andhra Pradesh" aimed to examine the extent to which the programme and its
benefits have penetrated the tribals in terms of both providing employment and creating assets.
Some of his major observations are lack of awareness, denial of employment allowance, delay in
wage disbursement and most importantly the average employment provided is between 35 to 50
days per year which is far below the mandated 100 days. Authors demand more micro planning and
execution of the scheme, more effort on awareness generation, modification in work measurement
and wage calculation methodologies and lastly more streamlined and regular employment
generation to curb distress migration.

Prabeena Kumar Barbeta, 2013, in paper titled "Impact of MGNREGA on lives of tribal people"
intend to assess awareness level of scheme among tribals, understand its socio-economic impact on
tribal lives, assess implementation and functioning and suggest suitable policy intervention. The
paper explain how beneficiaries are aware only about minimum wages and not abut other
16
empowering provisions like mandated women participation and employment allowance. The
scheme is more of target driven and not demand Driven as intended in the Act. Wage payment
delays range between 15 to 150 days due to non-tracking of e-Muster Roll, lack of financial
inclusion and back connectivity. BC model, social audits, efficient tracking and grievance redressal
mechanism can be effective in enhancing effective financial inclusion.

Keshlata and Dr Sayed Nadeem Fatmi, 2015, in their paper "The Contribution Of MGNREGA In
The Empowerment Of The Scheduled Tribes Through Poverty Alleviation And Rural
Development In The Sheopur District Of Madhya Pradesh: An Analytical Study" study the
reasons of tribal poverty and role of MGNREGS to alleviate it. The reasons for tribal poverty are
listed as forced or distress migration, poor education availability, lack of health facility and lack of
awareness. Weaknesses in the implementation of MGNREGS includes denial of dated receipt, work
not provided within 15 days, denial of unemployment allowance, poor Gram Sabha participation,
lack of work site facilities, delays in payment and lack of transparency and social audit.

2.5 Forest Management and Forest Rights Act:

In the paper “Forest Management vis-a-vis Tribal Economy”, Debashish Debnath, 2010 stresses on
the importance of nature in a tribal economy, and thus forest management plays a vital role in their
livelihood generation. He focuses on Joint Forest Management, Community Forest Management,
enlisting their aims of sustainable symbiotic relationship between the nature and the forest dwellers.
The livelihood interventions in the tribal economy of Madhya Pradesh are focussed. Programmes
such as Millennium Development Goals, Forest Villages Development Project, Swarnajayanti
Gram Swarojgar Yojana, and Commercial projects under National Medicinal Plants Board and their
contribution towards livelihood generation in Madhya Pradesh have been studied. Even after such
holistic initiatives, the issues, such as dominance of forest department, cultural barrier in women
empowerment, preparation of micro plan, in socio-economic development of the tribal in M.P is
discussed. He concludes that the emergence of decentralized governance institutions helped in
protection of traditional livelihoods and at the same time linking it with promotional and additional
livelihoods. The principle of “ecological sustainability, economic stability, social acceptability and
institutional sustainability” is followed throughout to achieve this.

17
Sohel Firdos, 2005, in “Forest Degradation, Changing Workforce Structure and Population
Redistribution (The Case of Birhors in Jharkhand”, draws a direct correlation between the
deforestation in Jharkhand and decline in the livelihood base of Birhor PVTGs residing there. Their
primary livelihood being Rope making and forest gathering which rely heavily on the forest, and
along with it they were involved in hunting, cultivation, and agricultural labourers. It also put forth
the distribution of Birhor Workforce across three decades i.e. from 1961-1991 among 6 districts and
their redistribution in search of livelihood. Within the duration it was observed that the workers
doing their traditional rope making constantly declined and got involved in other occupations such
as industrial workers, wage workers. The major issue behind decline of rope making has been stated
as the corresponding decline in forest cover. However, the causes behind deforestation haven’t been
addressed. It also states agriculture being practiced by them as an alternative livelihood but due to
lack of awareness and degraded land, it was not a very viable option

Madhusan Bandi, 2016, in “Forest Rights Act, Is there an Underlying Pattern in Implementation?”,
focusses on issues relating to the implementation of FRA which have two aspects: one is from the
perspective tribals and “other forest dwellers” and the second one face by the government
functionaries. In case of tribals, rejection of their claims due to insufficient or absence of required
documents, local political dynamics existing are usually cited for its poor implementation. The
forest department voices concern about the increasingly degrading forest cover especially when
protected areas are given to the tribals. They believe it is a “one-sided legislation”, and there needs
to be an unbiased environment available to them to voice their views especially regarding inclusion
of “other forest dwellers”, increasing the limit of maximum land claimable per nuclear family to
four hectares, lack of clarity on conservation and livelihood concerns. Over all it speaks out that
there is lack of awareness about the provision of the act. The ambit of government officials has
been kept only to Forest department, and not included the revenue department-SDM office, Babus,
Patwari et all who all play an equally great role in providing FRA pattas and the dynamics
involved need to studied closely to get a holistic view on the hindrances to the implementation of
FRA.

18
S.N. Chaudhary, 2010, in “Changing Patterns of Tribal Economy and its Implications” highlights
the findings of a study on the tribal economy in 2 villages of Betul district. The study takes into
account the major facets of the tribal economy i.e. livelihoods, food security and money lending and
how these affect their socio-economic condition. He observes farming as an essential part of the
tribal people’s livelihood. Even the landless, majority of whom practiced share-cropping as
agriculture provided them with food security and a chance to save their income from other sources
(wage work). Lack of irrigation facility, traditional practices, lack of awareness of to avail
government provided benefits such as subsidized seeds and fertilizer availability et all led to low
productivity and hence, rarely was there surplus for market. Most of the suggestions offered to the
government by the people were to enhance their income. He observes that although the increase in
income of the people isn’t enough to pull them out of poverty but the increase has had a positive
impact on health management, disease control and education of the people.

2.6 Tribal Policy:

Vinay Kumar Srivastava, 2008, in his comparative and critical analysis of two National draft policy
for tribe in "Concept of tribe in National Draft Policy" tried to deliberate on the concept of tribe. As
a matter of policy, tribes are sometimes confused with caste. Communities which are declared as
‘tribe’ in one area, are termed as ‘caste’ in other. Both similarities and differences can be found
between the concept “tribes” and “castes”. "However, a large number of communities, classified as
"tribal", dwelt in close proximity to "caste" communities, having long-standing relations of
exchange between them. These relations have obviously contributed towards a myriad of
similarities between them, thus bringing castes and tribes closer, leading to a deviation of both the
social formations from their ideal definition. The draft emphasises how the criteria recommended
by Lokur committee to identify Scheduled Tribe is becoming irrelevant with time. One of the
examples of such criteria being "Primitive Traits".

The draft notes that the value-loaded and disparaging terms used for defining tribes "need to be
replaced with terms that are not derogatory", and that since the criteria that the Lokur Committee

19
has put forward has lost their relevance today, there is a need to identify other "accurate criteria".
Tribal migration to big cities are permanent as there are no economic or social resource left at
native place for survival. These are exploited in the name of development. Government should have
census and dedicated policy for such permanent tribal internal migration.

Vinay Kumar criticises the value loaded assumption or prejudices, be it positive or negative, about
tribes and dualistic comparative thinking between tribal and non-tribal about their socio-economic
lifestyle, especially in government policy documents. Bhupinder Singh (1990) has made distinction
between two types of tribal communities: first, those that demand the "first-aid treatment" (which
means little help); and second, those which require "hospitalisation" (i.e. proper intensive care). The
primitive tribes, he thinks, fall in the second category. Incidentally, he also proposes that they may
be called the "primary tribes".

The draft tribal policy document divide primitive tribal groups in two type. In the first category are
those are included which are "insulated from the surrounding populations and are placed in isolated
ecological environments". Its examples are the Jarawa, Sentinelese, Shompen, Cholanaicken, etc.
They are termed as "heritage group". The second category includes those tribes (such as the Birhor,
Chenchu, Jenu Kuruba) which are "located on the fringes of 'mainstream' population and have some
contact with them". "For the PTGs of the first category, the proposal is for group-oriented
approach, which would include the conservation of their habitats, lifestyles, and traditional skills.
For the second, it would be a mix of the approaches of group - orientation and area- development.
In other words, it would lay emphasis on “economic programmes” but the author advocate a more
unified single approach. There is a scope of disagreement with the author of this paper. Tribes in a
diverse geographical setting of India ranging from Jarawa of Andaman to Meena of Rajsthan are at
extremes ends of development and need more segregated micro approaches.

Rahul Sen in his paper "Tribal Policy in Indian" recounts history of tribal policy in Indian. Tribes in
India were never fully in isolation. Sanskrit and Sangam literature proves of contacts in terms of
social and cultural overlapping. Britishers conquest led to wholesome penetration through trade,
communication and revenue administration initially via me litany expedition. This led to tribal land
alienation and resultant tribal discontent and rebellions. Britishers changed policy to bring tribal
area under "non-regulation tract" to be administered by simple codes through agents of Governor.

20
One such example is - Regulation III of 1833 in Chhotanagpur. Consolidation of this policy
happened when Government of India Act underfunded Backward Tract. These areas were fully or
partially removed from administrative ministry jurisdiction. In brief, the policy was of contradiction
with some aspects focus in on isolation and protection whereas others promoting exploitation
through trade, commerce and communication.

Post-independence the democratic government attempted dual policy of protection cum

development of tribal tracts. But assimilation-isolation controversy again surfaced. Social workers
accused anthropologists of keeping tribes in isolation and a perennial subject matter of research or
as the paper mention "as exhibits in glass case in a Museum". Anthropologists advocated "cautious
studied approach". Amid this, the most accepted policy guideline was given by Jawaharlal Nehru in
his Foreword to the second edition of A Philosophy for NEFA by Elwin.

"We cannot allow matters to drift in the tribal areas or just not take interest in them. In the World
of today that is not possible or desirable. At the same time, we should avoid over-administering
these areas and, in particular, sending too many outsiders into tribal territory” (1964).

This was followed later by five famous principles named Panchsheel Tribal Policy6. These policies
were operationalised by Government of India through various constitutional provisions like Article
46, fifth schedule and sixth schedule. Independent India modified Britishers exclusion policy to
some extent but also did not accept assimilation policies completely. Government policies and
schemes, more often than not, negated the Panchsheel of Nehru.

Through the route of article 46 of constitution focus sing on "Welfare of Backward Classes"
government launched various social sector schemes in sector of community development,
education, health, agriculture, animal husbandry, industry and similar other sectors. Special
Multipurpose Tribal Block (SMPT block) was created for focus wholesome tribal development.

6 Jawaharlal Nehru [1889–1964, first Prime Minister of India] formulated the following five principles for the policy to be
pursued vis-a-vis the tribals:
(1) People should develop along the lines of their own genius, and the imposition of alien values should be avoided. (2) Tribal rights
in land and forest should be respected. (3) Teams of tribals should be trained in the work of administration and development. (4)
Tribal areas should not be over administered or overwhelmed with a multiplicity of schemes. (5) Results should be judged not by
statistics or the amount of money spent, but by the human character that is evolved.

21
This approach further evolved into Tribal Sub Plan in fifth Five Year Plan. TSP was initially
conceived as Area Development Plan to provide basic infrastructure but later also incorporated
poverty alleviation in 6th Five year plan. Focus emphasised on 1) agriculture, foresters, animal
husbandry, horticulture, small and cottage industry, 2) education, 3) infrastructure to achieve above
two objectives and 4) Elimination of Tribal exploitation.

Post his analysis, Rahul Sen suggested four pronged approach. Self-sufficiency of tribal economy
and society, elimination of exploitation it tribes ensuring social justice, development control in
tribes hand with their own "priorities, values, customs and finally ecological and environmental
sustainability in development approach. Critically analysing Rahul Sen focus suggestions are more
of an anthropologist’s approach of caution and slow intervention. Though acceptability should be
key but development should not wait for time.

22
 Chapter 3: Profile of Research Area

The sample area of my survey is the Baiga village cluster in Chhuikhadan block of Rajnandgaon
district in the state of Chhattisgarh. I shall briefly present the basic profile of: Chhattisgarh,
Rajnandgaon district, Chhuikhadan block pertaining to scheduled tribes and villages in my research.

3.1 Chhattisgarh – An Overview:

The state of Chhattisgarh was carved out of the state of Madhya Pradesh on 1st November 2000. It
consists of 27 districts and 5 Revenue divisions namely: Raipur, Durg, Bastar, Bilaspur, and
Surguja. There are 105 backward blocks which is 77.8 percent of the total. 44percent of the state is
covered by deciduous forests of Eastern Highlands which is nearly 12percent of India's forest. It is a
landlocked state and is bounded by Madhya Pradesh in North-west, Maharashtra in South-west,
Telangana in South, Odisha in East, Uttar Pradesh in North and Jharkhand State in North-East. It
has a relatively lower population density of 189 persons per square kilometer against India's which
is 382 persons per sq. km. The sex-ratio being 991 females per 1000 males. The overall literacy rate
is 70.3percent. It has been blessed with a great resource base especially the dense forests, diverse
wildlife, innumerable minerals (such as limestone, tin, dolomite and bauxite). This has attracted
many industries of Steel, Aluminum and Cement. In fact, it produces 20percent and 15percent of
our country's cement and steel production respectively.7

Poverty: There is high incidence of poverty in the state with the Human Development Index of
0.358 which the lowest in India. Although, it is one of the fastest growing states of India (13.xy
percent growth rate of GDP) it has one lowest absolute incomes and standard of living in India.8

Livelihood: Chhattisgarh is primarily a rural dominated state with almost 23.24percent living in
urban regions who are mostly dependent on agriculture and agro-based small industry for their
primary source of income. Agriculture is monsoon-dependent as total irrigated area is only
30.73percent of the total sown area. Main crop cultivated is Paddy which is grown in over

7 Economic Survey of Chhattisgarh 2015-16

8 idib

23
77percent of the total cultivated area, and therefore Chhattisgarh is also known as the “Rice Bowl”.
Other major crops grown are Food Grains, Cereal, Maize It has over 200 Non-Timber Forest
Products which has immense potential for value addition (Economic survey 2014-15). In fact
Chhattisgarh's own brand “Sanjeevani” markets forest products such as Honey, Amla Candy, Imli
Candy, Chavanprash, Amla Juice etc.

Scheduled Tribes: Schedules Tribes constitute 30.64percent of the total population of the state and
are mostly located in the northern and southern regions. There are 42 types of ST's present in
Chhattisgarh of which 5 are Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs). Of the 42 tribes, Gond
is the most populous tribe constituting 55.3percent of the total ST population. There are 19
Integrated Tribal Development Projects and 98 blocks which come under Integrated Tribal
Development Project.9

Table 2: Major Tribal Groups in different districts: (Tribes with population over 1000) 10

Name of district Tribes

Sarguja Agria, Baiga, Baria, Biar, Binjwar, Gond, Dhanwar

Kanwar, Kanwar, Cole, boater, Mnjwar, Ngeshiya,
Oraon, Suta.

Bilaspur Agria, Baiga, Bhaina, Bria, Bijwar, Dhanwar,

Gdwa, Gond, Kanwar, Cole, boater, Mjwar, Oran,
head, Pardhi, Suta Auto.

Raigad Agria, Bans, Bria, Bijnwar, Dhanwar Gond,

Kanwar, Kria, Korwa, boater, Mjwar, Ngeshiya,
Oran, solar / Saura.

Rajnandgaon Baiga, Gond, Halba, Kanwar.

Durg Gond, Halba, halwi, Kanwar, Pardhi.

9 Census 2011 and Cg.tribal.gov.in

10
Cg.tribal.gov.in
24
 Raipur Bhujia, Bijwar, Dhanwar Gond, pudding, halwi,
command, Kanwar, Kria, Kand / shoulders, solar,
Savara, Soura, Sonr.

Bastar Bhatara, Batra, Gdaya, Gond, pudding, Kanwar,

Kamar, Pardhi, Majra, sanver.

Source: tribal.cg.gov.in/

3.2 Rajnandgaon District Profile:

Rajnandgaon is located at 21.10°N – 81.03°E. 28.4percent of the district is covered with forests. It
is majorly a rural district with 82.27 percent of households falling under rural region. The sex ratio
is 1014 which higher than the national average and the literacy rate is 75.96percent. It consists of
798 Gram Panchayats and 1698 villages. The district has 9 Blocks namely: Ambagarh Chowki,
Manpur, Mohla, Chhuikhadan, Khairagarh, Chhuriya, Dongargarh, Dongargaon and Rajnandgaon.
Of these 6 blocks come under ITDA : Dongargarh, Dongargaon, Mohla, Manpur, Ambagarh
Chowki and Churiya and 3 blocks come under Tribal Blocks namely- Mohla, Manpur, Ambagarh
Chowki. Chhuikhadan doesn't have more than 40percent of the population as tribal therefore is
notincluded in ITDA or tribal blocks. Instead it is a Community Development block and a “Baiga
Vikas Prakosht Samiti”11 has been formed. In Figure 1 below shows the district’s Scheduled Tribe
(ST) population distributed over the 9 blocks. It reveals that 44 percent of the tribal population is in
the three blocks mentioned above. Figure 2 depicts the absolute ST population in all the 9 blocks of
Rajnandgaon district. Although Churiya has the highest number but its proportion to its total
population is less resulting it not being a Tribal block.

11 BaigaProksht samiti is a committee especially for baiga welfare. It decides the works and plans for the development
of Baigas
25
 Figure 1: Scheduled Tribe population of Rajnandgaon district among all blocks

ST POPULATION
Dongargaon
6%
Churiya Mohla
19% 15%

Rajnandgaon Andere
6% 44%
Manpur
16%
Chowki
Dongargarh 13%
13%

KhairagaC
rhhhuikhadan
4% 8%

Figure 2: Block -wise Scheduled Tribe Population

ST POPULATION
90000
80000
70000 76426
60000 60950 65926
50000 53513 52786
40000
30000 33405
20000 17396 22581 22211
10000
0

Source- Rajnandgaon district handbook, 2015

3.3 Chhuikhadan Block and Research Villages profile:

Chhuikhadan block is surrounded by State of Madhya Pradesh on the west, Kabeerdham district of
C.G on the north and Khairagarh tehsil on the south. It falls under the Khairagarh Subdivision of

26
 forest and forms a big part of “Katora Reserved Forest”. It doesn’t fall under the category of
ITDP/ITDA but it does have a MADA pocket called Nachaniya (involving 76 villages)

Out of the total population of Chhuikhadan block, 20.11 percent of the total population form the ST
population. The literacy rate for STs in the district and Chhuikhadan block are 72.02 percent and
60.11 percent respectively. The Scheduled Tribe households of the district are 82045, which was
30.85percent of the total households of the district (Census, 2011). They are involved in the
following livelihoods as depicted in the table below:

Table 3: livelihood pattern of scheduled tribe families in district and Chhuikhadan block.

Total
ST HH Number Of Households Income Source

Table 1- Code 3= Part- 5= Non-

2= 4= 6=
with Tehsil time or agricultural
1= Manual Foraging Begging/Char
Name Full-Time Own 7= Others
Cultivation Casual Rag ity/ Alms
Domestic Account
Labour Picking collection
Service Enterprise

District Total 82045 51468 27712 421 14 68 217 2062

001 –
Chhuikhadan 7677 2171 5243 44 0 2 12 171

Source- SECC 2011 data

From the table, we find that almost 63 percent of the ST households of the district are involved in
cultivation and 34 percent do manual casual labour, whereas in Chhuikhadan block around
69percent of the ST households are involved in Manual labour.

According to the SECC data, 91.84 percent of the total ST households have monthly income less
than Rs5000, which again is ambiguous as we don't know how much less exactly these earn as 0-
5000 is a big bracket.

27
 Figure 3: Chhuikhadan Block Map.

Source-Census-2011

In Chhuikhadan block there are 17 Gram Panchayats and 32 villages where the Baiga people reside.
Out of these 32, 4 have been selected for my research. The basic profile data of the four villages
namely- Samundpani, Saraipatera, Gerukhadan, and Baigasalewara in the Table 4 as shown below.
It is important to note that the irrigated area in 2 villages have “0” as their net sown area and the
other form very small percentage of the respective net sown area.

28
 Table 4: Brief Profile of the four villages under study

Details (2011 Census) Saraipatera Samundpani Gerukhadan BaigaSalewara

Population 903 272 605 276
Households 236 69 151 63
Sex-ratio 985 957 977 829
ST population 802 234 485 100
Literacy Percentage 452 96 178 140
Cultivators (both main
147 33 - -
and marginal)
Agricultural Labourers
346 121 444 146
(both main and marginal)
Area (In ha) 930.35 465.63 433.32 227.68
Barren Area/
0 37.5 0 4.9
Uncultivable Land
Total Fallow (Current +
27.5 11.8 19 6.4
others)
Culturable waste-land 11.1 41.1 23.2 2
Permanent Pastures /
37.3 293.3 157.6 138.1
Other Grazing Land
Forest Area 715.7 35.2 165.4 24.9
Net Sown Area 124 22 62.7 48
Total Irrigated Land Area 4 0 0 0
Total Un-Irrigated Land
127.2 22 87.3 48.8
Area
Area under Non-
13 24.8 5.4 3.4
Agriculture Uses
Anganwadi yes yes yes yes
2 Primary and 1 Primary and 1 Primary and Primary and
School
2 Middle Middle Middle Middle
Health Centre no no no no

Source: Census 2011

29
 Chapter 4: Socio-Economic Status of Baigas

4.1 Historical background of Baigas:

Anthropologist and historians have always agreed that Baigas and Gonds were the “original
inhabitants” of Gondwana region. Baiga tribe is said to be one of the most prominent ethnic tribal
groups and their earliest account can be traced back to 1861 when British had annexed the Nagpur
Central Province (Prasad, 2010). In 1867, in Seoni Settlement Report, Captain Thomson describes
Baiga as “the wildest of tribes, inhabiting the most inaccessible hills and remote forests; living on
what they can secure with their bows and arrows, in the use of which they are very skillful, and on
the forest produce and the small crops they raise on their hill sides. They are extraordinarily shy, so
much so that it is often difficult to get hold of them, unless you are accompanied by someone they
know. They fly out at one end of the village, as you appear at the other, and you can see them
scrambling up the hill sides amongst the stone and bushes, or hiding and peeping at you from
behind bushes like wild animals” (Elwin, 1936)

Many evidences support that the Baiga tribe is a part of the Bhuiya Tribe (Prasad, 2010) which
today cover areas of Jharkhand, Odisha, Madhya Pradesh, West Bengal. Baiga tribe inhabit the
states of Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, and Uttar Pradesh and Jharkhand. There are 7 sub-castes of
the Baigas: Narotias, Binjhwars, Barotias, Nahars, Rai Bhainas, Kadh Bhainas and Kath Bhainas.
However, it has been found that Narotias, Barotias and Bhainas account for 80percent of all the
Baigas from Madhya Pradesh (MP) and Chhattisgarh states. (Manish Gangwar and Pradeep Bose,
2012).

4.2 Livelihood and Economy

According to Verrier Elwin the Baigas had been broadly engaged in the following activities
(Elwin, 1969):

1. “Cutting dhya and thus obtaining the kharif crops.

2. Village pujariship, exorcism, and herbalism.

3. Bamboo matting and baskets-

30
 4. By collecting and selling honey and jungle produce such as harra.

5. By labour

6. by jungle fruits and roots

7. By killing wild animals and on fish”

The livelihood of collection and making baskets always posed an issue posed by the then
government officials. Gathering was not a gender-specific task. Today, all the bamboo has been
wiped out, very few are available. Honey is also seldom collected by Baiga these days.

Benwar Cultivation is shifting cultivation or “slash and burn” adopted by Baigas and is similar to
those of Khonds of Orissa farming system. Although its practice has been reduced drastically and
Baigas in Rajnandgaon district don’t practice it at all anymore but it is still prevalent in some place
in Madhya Pradesh (Biswas, 2007). It involved clearing of a forest patch by cutting the bushes and
trees, followed by burning it and then planting the seeds in the layer of ashes. It is mostly practiced
on hilly slopes, where contour bunding cannot check soil erosion. The practice involves cutting
bushes and branches of trees and laying them out on slopes for drying. The Baigas cultivate coarse
cereals, pulses and vegetables. Mixed cropping has several advantages. Harvests last all year,
skillful crop rotation protects against pests and diseases, and the crop mix ensures that the soil is
consistently supplied with organic matter. Effort is also put into storage of harvested cereals and
pulses. For example by using Neem and Mahul12 Leaves they could preserve kodo for almost 100
years! For relief from pests, they make an incision at the neck of the gourd and fill it with water.
Later in a week, the rotten pulp is removed and the hollow vegetable becomes ready for storage.
(Biswas, 2007). But as I proceeded with this study I came across the fact that the topographical
differences most of time didn’t support for anything other than Kodo, Kutki (small millets) and
Maize. Climatic and topographical factors play a major role in the agronomy of their produce. As
majority of them face water shortage, emphasis has to be put on soil and moisture conservation,
vegetative fencing, equitable access to groundwater, and choice and availability of saplings.
(Purushottam, 2005). This method of cultivation has been faced with a lot of criticism and is
regarded as waste of timber, bamboos and degrades the environment resulting in its prohibition by
the government (Elwin, 1969).
12 Indian Lilac and Maloo creeper
31
4.3 Societal hierarchy
Studies have revealed that the Baiga community was patriarchal in nature that is- Men were the
decision makers of the households, all the women's earnings went to the man, and he was always
involved in the more “lucrative” produces like honey, silk cocoon , lac- which would fetch him
more profit13. “The male members of the tribe controlled the technology and production” (Prasad,
2010). The females used to collect saag (leafy vegetable), mushrooms, tamarind etc. The situation
It should be noted that, since the distribution of FRA pattas, many, the otherwise semi-nomadic,
baiga people have displayed a sense of settlement in Chhuikhadan. They still move from one place
to eke out their sustenance.

4.4 Folk, Culture and Traditions

Baigas perform many dances during celebratory occasions like weddings, Sarhul festival, harvest
season etc. They have many dance forms such as Bilma, Jharpat, Tapdi Dassera and the major form
being Karma dance. The women dress up and put on ornaments they have. They also put colorful
shawls on themselves and put strings of rings made of biran bark on their hair. They also put tufts
of multicolored wool pulled out of a pundra. Men also take part and wear big round hollow ring
made of metal in the ankle so that when they dance it makes sounds. They also hold “tiski” (music
instrument) to make beats of sounds. They have nagadas, and small sized drums which they play for
music. The main types of songs they sing is Dadaria or Salho (forest songs) and songs for each kind
of dance mentioned above. Apart from folk songs and dances, there is also a culture of tattooing
among women. The ink of the tattoo is made of black sesame seeds or fluid from Malwan tree, and
the tattoo is done with the help of needle pricks.

4.5 Health and Nutrition

They still use herbs as traditional medicine and they treat all their health issues such as cold cough
headache, fever, bruises etc. are cured with forest herbs. In recent times, when there are more
complicated disease outbreak or health conditions, it becomes difficult to treat themselves. Baiga
population suffers from constant infections. In fact, I came across Baigas from Sonwahi village of

13 Archana Prasad : Reinterpreting Tribal Livelihood Systems- p:121

32
Kabeerdham district, who were often affected by skin infection (due to open defecation and usage
of leaves for the same), rabies according to the RMA of the Sub Health Centre Of that Gram
Panchayat. During interaction with them, I found out that they don’t believe in institutional delivery
and questioned me the rationale behind it, although they did cite instances when women in labor
had to be rushed to the nearest Health center but in vain. Lack of awareness.

4.6 Education
Amongst others, education forms one the most important drivers of social change in any
community. Owing to the primitive and disconnected nature of PVTGs, they are more than often
ignorant. This is reflected from the fact that not only the education and literacy levels are low in the
Baiga community but awareness regarding the importance of education is low as well. They believe
as it doesn’t form an important aspect of their lives as it not important for their sustenance. While
conversing with village siyan-man14 from Samundpani as to why they are not encouraging their
children to pursue education. This issue came into light because there were as many as 12- 8thpass
students who dropped out later. The major reason was that high school cum tribal boy hostel were 6
km away in Bakarkatta Gram Panchayat (GP). They were not sent to the hostel facility even when it
was completely free for them. The siyan said - hum toh chahte hain wo padhe likhe par sir log
humare hi bacche ko fail kar dete hain. Unhe pass karna toh chaiye tabhi toh wo school jayenge.
When I tried explaining that it has to be other way round- the students have to be motivated to put
in more effort in their studies, the teachers pass only those who work hard. But he rebuked it by
saying- Sarkar ki jimmedari hai k humare baccho ko pass nahi karenge toh aage kaise badhenge.

This depicts how education is completely misunderstood among Baigas and their lack of
understanding as on how it empowers a community as a whole. In fact, to encourage Baigas to
complete their education till 12th, the state government of Chhattisgarh (C.G) came up with a
scheme where every 12th pass Baiga will be appointed as Shikhshakarmi15 in (C.G) right away
without undergoing any selection process.

14 Village elder
15 They are Panchayat level Teachers recruited at district and block level depending on their grades.
33
 Chapter 5 –Livelihood Pattern of Baigas

This chapter will incorporate various aspects of Livelihoods of the Baiga Community. A pattern
will be drawn from the survey of 60 Households and their responses. As mentions earlier these
families reside in four Baiga populated Panchayat- Samundpani, Saraipatera, Baigasalewara, and
Gerukhadan. A basic profile of respondent’s Name, Age, Sex and Number of family members in
their household has been given in the table below:

Table 5: Respondents' Profile

Respondent Respondent Name Sex Age Family

Number Members

#1 Maheshwar M 35 3

#2 Kamal Singh M 50 3

#3 Chariya F 70 4

#4 Mahingbai F 40 5

#5 Mansa Ram M 25 2

#6 Agariya M 45 3

#7 Pardeshi M 45 4

#8 Budhari M 55 3

#9 Parbu M 27 5

#10 Baran M 45 4

#11 Samarin F 60 2

#12 Agnu M 35 4

#13 Munkdu Baiga M 55 3

#14 Dasri F 25 5

#15 Sukhbati F 18 3

34
#16 Mehru M 45 2

#17 Khorbari F 50 3

#18 Kanhaiya M 33 5

#19 Ramgopal M 26 6

#20 Kamlesh M 25 2

#21 Sankal M 35 5

#22 Chamaru Singh M 62 3

#23 Kaushiliya F 25 2

#24 Sukhwant Bai F 47 5

#25 Janki Bai F 30 4

#26 Bhaktin Bai F 60 1

#27 Amru M 45 2

#28 Barsati M 35 4

#29 Phagulal M 27 4

#30 Amar Singh M 26 4

#31 Sukhraji M 31 4

#32 Brijlal M 24 2

#33 Eshwan M 35 6

#34 Tuluram M 35 5

#35 Sarjuram M 24 3

#36 Gain Singh M 50 2

#37 Chain Singh M 37 4

#38 Sukhdev M 22 2

#39 Arjun Singh M 23 3

35
#40 Radhelal M 26 m

#41 Madan singh M 53 7

#42 Jhariar M 44 4

#43 Krishna M 37 6

#44 Khorbarin F 62 2

#45 Nohru M 50 5

#46 Udelal M 29 5

#47 Banaoram M 66 7

#48 Moti M 30 5

#49 Dhiraji M 24 2

#50 Hansalal M 45 5

#51 Haushilal M 35 2

#52 Surajlal M 22 3

#53 Guatariha M 46 4

#54 Chandrashekhar M 30 4

#55 Ramnath M 24 4

#56 karansingh M 53 3

#57 Sukal M 70 5

#58 Pareth M 48 2

#59 Chamarin Bai F 70 1

#60 Shatrahan M 27 4

Source: Prepared by the researcher

Based on the data depicted above we find that out of 60 respondents, only 12 are females i.e. 20 per
cent. They seemed shyer than the males, and the younger female respondents knew lesser about
their livelihoods, incomes and agricultural productivity. Following figure (Figure 4) represents the

36
age profile of the respondents. Almost 55 percent of the respondents were from the ages between
18-39 years and 32 percent of the respondents were from ages of 40 to 59 and the rest were above
60. As only adults were surveyed, no respondent is in the age group of 0-18 years as depicted in
Figure 4.

Figure 4: Age groups of Baiga respondents

18-39 40-59 60 +

13%

55%
32%

Source: Prepared by the researcher

Land ownership forms an important component of the research as most of them rely heavily on
agriculture. They were asked about the lands they own due from their and land they received as
FRA patta. The study resulted in providing the following land holding profile of the target
households as depicted in the chart below:

37
 Figure 5: Land Holdings of Baiga families

30
27

25
Number of Respondents

20

15
15 13

10

5
5

0
0-0.5 Acre 0.6-2.00 Acres 2.01-5.00 Acres More than 5 Acres
Land Holding (in acres)

Source: Prepared by the researcher

It was found that 6 families were landless. 3 of them practiced “adhiya” agriculture. From the chart
above it can be said that the majority of them fall under medium farmer category (that is more than
2 to 5 Acres of land) according to their land ownership.

The Baigas are found to be involved in more than one type of the following activities to eke out
their livelihoods:

5.1 Agriculture:
Being an agro-based community, all households were involved in agriculture. The produce is
usually for self-consumption and only when the families with greater landholding or who adopt
newer agricultural practices than the rest are in a position to sell their produce. Most of the
respondents land was found to be 0.5-2 km away from their house. The crops cultivated mostly are-
“kodo”16, paddy, maize, and “kutki”17 with kodo being preferred by all. The reason is that it requires
very little water during its entire period.

16
A kind of small millet that grows easily in poor soil
38
On being asked about Bewar method, they said they don’t practice it; instead they practice
Broadcasting method of agriculture, with no pesticide and no manure. Very few of them are
members of the agricultural cooperative society which distributes seeds, fertilizer, pesticides at
subsidized rate and also provides agricultural credit. On being questioned about knowledge of
agricultural credit, they all were aware of it. Water stood out to be the biggest issue faced by them.
No matter what kind or seeds or manure or vegetables they grow, the quality and quantity will
always be adversely affected by availability of water. When the agriculture technology officer at the
block and Dhurve were enquired about agricultural practices of Baiga tribe , they said that baigas
never use pesticides, few use manure but mostly use “gobar khaad” so their produce is as good as
organic produce. In fact, the block officers are keen on getting the produce certified as organic in 3
year time. The block officials also mentioned that the seeds used by the Baigas are usually the
previous years, the ones they are left with from the previous years’ produce. They till their lands
and simple sow the seeds during the rains. In the survey of 60 households only 2 had access to
water sources (well) for irrigation purposes. Out of 60 households 33 spent on inputs (tillage,
sowing, weeding) before cultivation ranging from Rs500 to Rs 6000 depending on the land holding.
I could not find any family with a plough, but they had hand tools for shovelling.

During the survey, it was found out that 51 households produced “kodo” but 45 of them were able
to tell the approximate quantity. Since the range of land ownership is large so an analysis of the
production per acre of “kodo” has been displayed in the chart below (Figure 6). From the figure, we
can deduce that most households produce between 1 to 3 quintals per acre one hand but there are
also 13 households that grow more than Five quintals per acre (one of them grew 10quintals last
year!) On an average the yield is 3.7 quintals from one acre. The block’s RAEO, on average one
can produce about 3-4 quintals of kodo from one acre that may go upto 7quintals with right care
and inputs.

17
Little millet
39
 Figure 6 Yield of Kodo Production among Baiga households

25

20
20
18
Number of households

15
13

10

0
1 to 3 3 to less than 5 5 to 10
Yield of Kodo production (quintal/acre)

Source: Prepared by the Researcher

Most of families keep the produce for consumption is and very little is available for selling so the
agriculture is subsistence in nature. The families growing in surplus (who fall in the last category)
sell it at prices ranging from Rs800- Rs1200 per quintal local weekly markets. There is no
government’s provision that is Minimum Support Price for selling kodo so the Baigas end up
selling it to local traders or kochiya.

Paddy is grown by only 25 households, out of which only 18 were able to quantify their paddy
production. Baigas do not have access to irrigation and Paddy is a water intensive crop due to which
its production is not widespread among Baiga.

Kitchen gardens: It would be untrue to say that the Baiga community doesn’t produce vegetables
at all. In fact, during my visits to these villages as PMRDF , I always came across small kitchen
garden or “badi” of around 10-50 disimil, where they would grow vegetables and pulses such as
pigeon pea, grow saag, brinjal, tomatos, lauki, okra, maize, lauki, yam etc. But the quantities of the
vegetables are very little is for their own consumption. They usually inhabit on the “tips of an

40
undulated land” and in the slopes they grow maize. They could also cut vegetables such as lauki
and dry them in the sun so in times of shortage of food, they could it.

Figure 7 : Cut and dried saag and lauki for future use in Saraipatera

Source: Photographed by the Researcher

5.2 Non-Timber Forest Produce (NTFP):

Chhattisgarh State Minor Forest Produce (Trading and Development) Co-operative Federation Ltd.
(CSMFPCF) Deals with the collection, trading and marketing of Minor Forest Produce. It is a 3-tier
organization with Federation being the Apex Body.

41
 Figure 8: Chhattisgarh State Minor Forest Produce (Trading and Development) Co-operative Federation Ltd.
organisational Structure

Minor Forest Produce

Federation

District Unions-31

Primary Forest Produce cooperative societies-916

Source: CSMFPCF website.

When asked about the major Minor Forest Produce collected by the 60 families, they mentioned the
following:

● Bael (Aegle marmelos) - Baigas pick “bel” during the months of March- April. These are
sold in the local markets or the local collectors come to the village to buy, at varied price of
Rs3 to Rs 10 per kg. From my survey only 10 households collected and sold Bel last year
and the amount of their collect varied from as low as 15 kilos to as high as 400kilos.

● Mahua (Madhuca longifolia) – It is an Indian tropical flower which is collected by Baigas.

This flower is then fermented for a couple of ways for 3-4 days to produce country liquor. It
is a significant part of the Baiga cultural heritage. During any celebrations- from weddings,
to christening of baby, it forms an important drink in their lifestyle. Men, Women and

42
children drink as well. I was told that even during naming a child, they put a few drops in
the baby's mouth, as a symbol of officially naming him/her. At any point of time, one can
find Mahua at a Baiga's house. For many of them it’s a daily practice to consume it. If they
run out of the drink, they buy from other fellow baigas. They are sold at Rs 40-50 per litre.
The state government has approved selling of Mahuwa by the Baigas up to 5 Litres, but
usually this limit is breached. The oil from the seeds is edible and used as vegetable oil for
cooking. But Baigas say the oil extraction is a tedious process and therefore people
generally prefer to buy oil from the market. Although these seeds are also collected by the
collection centers of CSMFPCF, none of them sell it there. The block agriculture
department officials and Baiga say that it requires almost 2 kg of Mahua flowers to make
700ml of country liquor. When they collect Mahua during March –April, Baigas keep some
part for brewing purpose and the rest they sell it for 10-27 Rs/kg. During off season, when
there’s no Mahua left- they buy it at around 50-75 Rs per kg. Last year out of 60
households, 12 didn’t pick Mahua flowers. On the other hand the break-up of Mahua
collections done by 48 families is shown as followed.

43
 Figure 9: Collection of Mahua by Baiga families

more than 60 10
Mahua Collection in Kgs

41-60 9

21-40 13

0-20 16

0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18
Number of households

Source: Prepared by the Researcher

● Honey- out of 57, 3 families collect Honey. The prices are regulated by the middlemen. As
per one respondent, he sells half a kilo of pure honey at Rs50 only. Bel and Mahua are
collected during March-April.

It should be noted here that the NTFP produce collected by the Baiga rarely gets the Minimum
Support Price as designed by the government. None of the respondents sell it to the designated
NTFP collection centers

5.3 Tendu Leaves:

Baigas are involved in Tendu leaves collection from April to June. Every family member (man and
his wife) pick the leaves and sell to the forest department. During the survey it was found that 14
families didn’t involve in Tendu patta collection this year. Out of the remaining 46 households
collected as low as 100 leaves to 5000 leaves, as represented in Figure 9.

44
 Figure 10: Tendu Leaves collection by Baiga Households

30
25
25
Number of Households
20

15
10
10
6
5
5

0
Till 500 leaves 501-2000 2001-3000 More than 3000
Collection of leaves in numbers

Source: Prepared by the Researcher

From the chart above it can be inferred that majority of the households (25 families) picked up
between 501-2000 leaves. There were 3 households who collected as much as 5000 leaves! They
receive 110Rs- 150 Rs per gatti.18. Each gatti has 100 Tendu Patta leaves as opposed to 50 leave-
bundle which is made into standard bags at collection centre.

5.4 Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme

(MGNREGS):

During the survey, it was revealed that all 60 families possessed a MGNREGS job and were
provided employment under this scheme but 7 families did not apply for last year. Also, out of the 4
panchayats, all the households surveyed from Samundpani all worked for 100 days save one. The
Chhattisgarh government promises 150 days of employment that is 50 days more than the Central’s
provision. In Samundpani village everyone received 100 days of work due to the construction of
(against the district’s average of 45.7 days in the year 2015-16.(). They usually get work during the

18 Each standard bag has 1000 such bundles which costs Rs1500 (as per CSMFPCF)
45
months from March to June (the number of days they were given employment in at avg) The
Breakup of their work days in the Figure 10. In last 2 financial years (2015-16 and 2016-17) Only 2
kinds of works have been taken up – that is Pond Formation and Land levelling.19 There has been
very little asset creation works done under MGNREGS in last 3 years in the Baiga belt, and not just
in the study villages.20

Figure 11: Baiga Families with MGNREGA workdays

35
32

30
Number of households

25

20

15
10
9
10

5
2

0
1 to 24 25 to 60 61 to 99 100+
MGNREGA man days

Source: Prepared by the Researcher

5.5 Casual Labor:

The Baigas are also involved in casual/ agricultural labor where the get paid Rs.100 per day wage
and they help out in agricultural fields of others. Many a times they prefer casual labour as opposed
to MGNREGA due to following reasons. First, the legislation mandate payment within 14days
which itself is too late for tribals who live on daily earning. In addition the delays vary from 20
days to 150 days. Second, payments are done through banks which are 10 to 50 Km away. Third,
many households do not have bank accounts yet. The option of physical payment is more lucrative
for these tribesmen. For example in Baigasalewara Gram Panchayat where people from “patel

19 MGNREGA list of works from Rajnandgaon district.

20 Due to the rising Left Wing Extremism and the remoteness of the areas.
46
samaj” also live and practice cultivation of Cauliflower on a commercial scale. They ask the Baigas
to work for them. They have also taken a few baigas' land (FRA patta) on lease unofficially21, for a
minimal amount of – Rs1500 per acre per season! During the season, the Patels earn as much as
Rs5, 00,000 per month!

5.6 Other livelihood activities

Wood selling-

Wood collection is a perennial activity, where they cut trees and take a portion for their own use,
the remaining they carry it on their heads they sell 1 bundle for Rs 60-Rs70. (The exact amount of
wood was difficult calculate as they didn't give a definitive answer)

Bamboo Works:

One of the many traditional livelihoods of Baigas has been bamboo works. They would collect
bamboo from forest and make supas, tokni22, containers, etc. But over the time due to reasons like
the erratic nature of availability or inaccessibility of bamboo and low demand of bamboo products,
this activity is on decline. A few families are engaged in Basket making but their data hasn't been
incorporated because data couldn’t be retrieved on it. It is a time consuming process, so they prefer
to go to the forest to collect mushrooms and other Minor Forest Produce instead.

Figure 12 Baiga working on Bamboo to make supa and tokni

Source: Photographed by the researcher.

21 As told by the block agriculture technology officer.

22 Bamboo hand crafted products for domestic use.

47
Livestock:

Only 3 Baiga families were found to own oxen. No culture of dairy or poultry or any form of
animal husbandry exists. They don’t consume milk because they believe the milk is for the calf.
They do enjoy eating meat-fowl, wild boar etc. which they hunt or buy.

5.7 Income and Expenditure:

When we are discussing about tribal livelihoods, it would be incomplete without pondering over the
community’s or its members’ incomes and expenditures, and may help to understand more about
their earning and consumption levels. We have mentioned the major sources of livelihoods for
Baiga community in Rajnandgaon district above. We shall now observe their income and
expenditure based on the survey’s respondents.

Income: The primary sources of income of Baiga community are - Agriculture, MGNREGA,
Mahua collection, Casual Labour and Tendu leaves collection- as majority of them participated in
these activities every year; whereas Bel and honey collection are secondary sources. For people
who did not plan out their mode of sustenance and were heavily dependent on daily wages, the
primary sources offered assured income for a fixed number of days. As discussed in the previous
section, they mainly produce kodo and few of them produce paddy and these produce are mostly for
self-consumption. During the surveys and FGDs it was found that only when one produces more
than 4-5quintals of kodo (in a family of 4), one is able to sell the remaining quantity in the local
markets. Same goes for paddy. When asked about how much they save it for selling, the
respondents could not answer. Then, when questioned about the number of days working as casual /
agricultural labour, their responses were varied between 5-10 days per month to 70 - 90 days a year
but may not be every month. This translate to Rs 500 - Rs 1000 per month. The answers were
usually given in monthly terms as Baigas are not in habit of keeping a track of their livelihood
activities. But since work MGNREGA, Tendu Patta, Mahua & Bel collection is done for a few
montha and payments for MGNREGA & Tendu Patta are done by government functionaries, so a
definitive answers were received here (with the help of Panchayat Secretary). Below is a table

48
(Table 6) showing the range of yearly income under four activities for which definitive answers
were received. We find that from MGNREGA Baigas earn highest proportion of their income.

Table 6: Range of Yearly Income from four activities

Income
Details Range of Yearly Income
MGNREGA Rs 3340 - Rs16700
Tendu Patta Rs 120 - Rs 6000
Mahua Rs 45 - Rs 3000
Bel Rs 100 - Rs 1500
Source: Prepared by the researcher.

Expenditure: When asked about their expenditure details, the respondents mainly answered
under three major categories of expenditure – Groceries, Mahua, and Medical Expenses.

For groceries, they would go to weekly haats23and it comprised mainly of edible items such as
vegetables, oil, salt etc. As these haats were weekly, so there responses were also in weekly terms
and it ranged from Rs 150 - Rs 1000 per week (as shown in Table 7). This represents a wide
variation amongst the Baigas.

Table 7: Expenditure under three major categories

Expenditure
Details Range of Expenditure

Groceries Rs 150 - Rs1000 per week

Mahua Rs 0- Rs 500 per week

Medicine Rs 2400- Rs 8000 per year

Source: Prepared by the researcher.

23 Market day.
49
As discussed earlier in this chapter the importance of Mahua in the lives of Baiga. I always used to
come across many Baigas, who would be drunk, irrespective of the time of the day. Since, fewer
people brew Mahua now24, they usually buy it from somebody else. If Mahua is not available, they
would get some other intoxicating drink from local liquor shops. Few respondents claimed to have
left drinking Mahua completely, but others said they drank. Considering the answers of respondents
only we get a range of Rs 0- Rs 500 per week. This forms a large part of their expenditure
considering it is only one commodity.

Medical Expenses are also a major category of expenditure. They are prone to many diseases and
health issues, and so when queried about their medical expenses, the respondents gave an
approximate answer of expenditure per year as given in the above table (Table 7).

24 It’s a tedious process. Baigas find it easier to buy

50
Chapter 6: Government Interventions for Baiga Welfare

“Wherever you live, you should live in your own way. This is what I want you to decide
yourselves. How would you like to live? Your old customs and habits are good. We want that they
should be educated and should do your part in the welfare of the country.”

(Nehru-1955, while addressing an All India Conference of the tribals held at Jagdalpur in March 1955)

Our first Prime minister, late Jawaharlal Nehru believed in developing the tribes “along the lines of
their own genius”. After Independence, the Central and State governments have taken many
measures to enhance tribal livelihoods .There have been may programmes and schemes launched
for their wellbeing. The schemes are being continuously modified to make them more resilient to
accommodate and preserve their culture and traditions and prevent any activity which may cause
disruption of their socio-economic fabric. Pt. Jawahar Lal Nehru introduced the basic principles
under which the development of Scheduled Tribes would take place and the second Five year plan
incorporated this philosophy call as “Tribal Panchsheel”. This was also corroborated by Dhebar
Commission (1961) and Shilu Ao Committee (1969) (Vijay Oraon, 2012). The government has
relentlessly been working on formulation of policies according to the socio-cultural fabric of the
primitive tribes such as Baiga, Birhor, Pahadi Korwa etc, thereby coming up with developmental
initiatives and programmes specifically tailored to their needs. The following initiatives show the
course of tribal development approach and important landmarks of tribal development25

During the Second Five Year Plan (1956-61), 43 Special Multipurpose Tribal Blocks were created,
which were later renamed as Tribal Development Blocks. These were adopted for more concerted
development of the Scheduled Tribes.

The Fifth Five Year Plan (1974-79) introduced special strategies - Tribal Sub-plan (TSP) and
Special Central Assistance to TSP for population – proportionate fund flow from other sectors for
the tribals within the State plan. The aim of TSP is to identify and fill development deficit and bring
about a holistic development for the scheduled tribe community such as- provision of basic
amenities, overall human development (education, health, nutrition) reduction in poverty,

25 10th Five Year Plan, Planning Commission p-444

51
enhancing their capacities to avail opportunities, rights and their entitlements, protection against
exploitation, suppression and providing them an equal chance to live a dignified life to the best of
their abilities. The TSP is formulated and approved by the District Planning and Monitoring
committee, reflecting the actual demand of schemes for STs, addressing their local aspirations and
socio-economic backwardness. This is, in turn, sent to the state for approval. Broadly, fund flow for
tribal development under TSP strategy are under the following break up26:

6.1 TSP component of State Plans:

When we look into the funds allocated for Tribal Sub Plan of the State government of Chhattisgarh
in last 5 years, we find that the state’s allocation to the Tribal Sub Plan increased from Rs 7356.45
crores to Rs 11500.34, which is 56.33 percent increase from 2012-13 to 2016-17. Over the last five
years, the pattern depicts that the Tribal Sub Plan roughly forms one-third of the total State’s plan.
In the table below (Table- 8), the TSP component of Chhattisgarh in last three years is given:

Table 8: Tribal Sub Plan component in State plans

Tribal Sub Plan of the State of Chhattisgarh

S. No Year % of Tribal Total plan outlay TSP outlay % Flow of

population out of (amount in crore) TSP outlay
total population
(Census 2011)

1 2012-13 30.62 23480.35 7356.45 31.33

2 2013-14 30.62 25250 7952.49 31.49

3 2014-15 30.62 26615 9518.57 35.76

4 2015-16 30.62 29753 10513.42 35.33

5 2016-17 30.62 34715.45 11500.34 33.12

Source: Chhattisgarh State Tribal Department

26
http://tribal.nic.in/ebooktd/
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6.2 Special area Programmes or Special Central Assistance (SCA) to Tribal Sub Plan:
As already discussed in Chapter 2, SCA is aimed at enhancing the employability and impart skills
which help them secure sustainable income generating livelihood (Dairy development, Poultry, and
other agriculture and allied sectors). SCA funds can also be utilized for infrastructure, but it should
not be more than 30 percent of the total outlay. The table below (Table-7) shows the funds
allocation and expenditure under Special Central Assistance (SCA) to Tribal Sub Plan (TSP) in
Chhattisgarh. There is a clear increase in allocation but the expenditure is always less than the
allocation, which means that districts are not able to utilize the funds they are provided or that the
allocation is more than what is required. Since the underdevelopment

Table 9: Special Central Assistance to Tribal Sub Plan - allocation and expenditure (in lakhs)

Sector 2013-14 2014-15 2015-16

Allocation Expenditure Allocation Expenditure Allocation Expenditure

SCA to TSP 7952.49 6946.97 9518.57 9416.59 10513.42 10066.46

TOTAL 7952.49 6946.97 9518.57 9416.59 10513.42 10066.46

Source: Chhattisgarh State Tribal Department

6.3 Grants under Article 275 (1) of the Constitution: For improvement of quality of
administration, infrastructure and strengthening of Institutions, the central government allocates
funds to agencies such as ITDP/ ITDA and MADA. The plans undertaken by these agencies will be
discussed separately later in this chapter. The table below (Table 8) shows allocation of funds from
2013-14 to 2015-2016, for Chhattisgarh under Art 275 (1). As per the table, the fund allocation has
increased from Rs 27.85.03 Crores to Rs 91.74 Crores, which is more than 300 percent increase
during the 3 year period.

53
 Table 10: Chhattisgarh's allocation under Article 275 (1) and expenditure for last years (in crores).

Sector 2013-14 2014-15 2015-16

Allocation Expenditure Allocation Expenditure Allocation Expenditure

Article 275(1) 91.72 91.72 107.78 99.58 119.04 89.71

TOTAL 91.72 91.72 107.78 99.58 119.04 89.71

Source: Chhattisgarh State Tribal Department

6.4 Integrated Tribal development Area Projects (ITDA):

The ITDAs were conceived for expediting the development of tribal concentrated areas. ITDA is an
area or block where more than 50 percent of the total population is comprised of Scheduled Tribes.
In Rajnandgaon district, there are 6 ITDP blocks. In ITDPs, Article 275(1) grants are utilized for
the development of the tribals. The Ministry of Tribal affairs releases grants to State governments
for implementing schemes /programmes for tribal welfare. The state government deploys
administrative units like ITDP/ITDA, which receive funds and the details of their utilization from
the state are given in the table below (Table 9). The monitoring of these administrative units is the
prerogative of the state government.27

Table 11: List of works taken for Baiga Welfare (Livelihoods Sector) for 2013-14.

Works Costs (in lakhs) Year % of the total plan

for Baigas Welfare

Donna Pattal training 5

Vegetable Minikit 1.5

distribution

Fishery training 5 2013-14 74.31%

27 http://pib.nic.in/newsite/PrintRelease.aspx?relid=82621
54
 Goatery (Animal 1.5
Husbandry)

Poultry (Animal 0.5

Husbandry)

Distribution of 0.5
agriculture equipments

Distribution of Paddy, 7.26

Pulses (pigeon pea,
black gram) and Maize
seeds

Tailor Training 4.4

Handpumps 6.16

Tubewell with electric 3.45

pump

Total 35.27

Table 12: List of works taken for Baiga Welfare (Livelihoods Sector) for 2014-15 and 2015-16

Works Costs (in lakhs) Year % of the total plan for

Baigas Welfare

Vegetable Minikits 1.2

family drip irrigation 1.5

Distribution of 1.5
sprinkler sets 2014-15 Plan still getting

55
 Driving training 2.51 implemented

TOTAL 6.71

Distribution of hybrid 0.0032

drumstick plants

Vermicompost for 0.16

2015-16 Plan still getting
baiga
implemented
Vegetable crop 0.25
production program

TOTAL 0.4132

Source: Rajnandgaon District Integrated Tribal Development Project department

Observations: When we look at the above Tables 9 and 10, we find that in the year 2013-14,
around 74.31 percent of the total Plan outlay (Rs 47.76 Lakhs) went to livelihoods sector. Now that
we have a fair understanding (socio-economic and livelihood pattern) of Baiga Tribe in general and
the Baiga in Chhuikhadan in particular, so it will give us a clearer picture about the relevance of any
kind of developmental works for the Baiga community.

The important works that are being carried out for Baigas by various line departments are vegetable
minikits distribution, agricultural implements, animal husbandry program, driving and tailor
training, hand pumps and tube well. These works and efforts made by the district administration is
credit worthy as they try to incorporate many such works which might not have been implemented
before and make a positive contribution in the Baigas’ lives. Although, implementation of these
works intend to aim at the livelihood enhancement of the community, streamlining the approach
and plans is the need of the hour. In other words, we may deliberate on the following points-

 How are these plans being made? Have the needs, aspirations, potential and the culture of
the Baiga people taken into consideration? For example, they have never been involved in

56
 Animal Husbandry. They have to be educated about animal husbandry before embarking on
a journey of getting a livelihood out of it. Similarly, training of making Donna Pattal
(utensils made of leaves) does nothing in this age of mass and cheap production machines.
Garment Training would help if one is connected to a market or remotely connected to
traditional livelihood generation.

 Are the objectives and outcomes clear while incorporating the plans? The works of the plan
when combined should have a common objective rather than have a potpourri of works
under sector for the sake of showing utilization of funds. For example; the connectivity in
Baiga area is a major concern let alone drive in the forest- how does driving training help in
achieving any objective? Random distribution of agricultural equipment, pumps, seeds, drip
irrigation systems are required to be checked. Instead, a targeted and streamlined approach
may be adopted like - the people who receive the seeds may also be given agriculture
equipments (if they don’t have) and drip irrigation system. Moreover, Baigas are needed to
be sensitized to understand the significance of all the above in their agriculture activities.28
This would give positive outcomes and also instill faith in government’s schemes and
intentions. We may focus on few villages at a time instead of achieving targets of how many
minikits, drip irrigation systems or pumps distributed. We may gauge our performance on
the basis of how many acres of land were brought under irrigation, how much increase in
yield, and increase in cultivation of Rabi and Zaid crops.

 Gap between the proposed plan from the district and the sanctioned plan from the center.
We have to accept that the people working at the grassroots have a better understanding of
the issues and challenges of that place. The AD ITDP mentions that there have been
considerable changes made to the plan. No doubt there plans submitted by the district have
to be substantiated by outcomes and beneficiaries of a work, but these are provided. A few
minor changes may be accepted but changing the plans entirely defeats the purpose of
having an administrative machinery at the district. If there is trust deficit in the capabilities
of our agencies, then we should supplement them with the right human resources and train

28
Cases of selling of pumps, agricultural equipments, and tailor machines were cited by the Panchayat secretaries on
numerous occasions.

57
 them in the required skills such as micro– planning and involvement of Non-government
organisations and civil society organisations for getting fresh perspective on board and
keeping the plans from biases.

 Attitudes of both Government and baigas towards each other outlines trust deficit.The field
level government officials tend to develop a dispassionate attitude towards the Baigas which
has been reflected in the many conversations I have had with them. They feel the state
government of Chhattisgarh which provides Baigas Re 1/ kg rice (35kgs per family)29, Rs
5/kg of pulses in additional to the central food security benefits have made them lazy and
have made them complacent. The officials mention that many a time they faced with labor
shortage in Baiga areas for development works as they baiga weren’t willing to work. The
oldest panchayat secretay of baiga area along with others said- “inke liye itna kar key bhi
kuch nahi hoga madam, kaam leke jao toh bolte hai k chawal daal toh milta hai toh kam kya
karna. Saara Ghana jangal kaat diye hain patte k naam se. Inko alag se jagah mein rakhna
chaiye, saare baigaon ko” The block development officer of Chhuikhadan reiterated the
same feeling by saying- “inke liye kuch bhi karna waste hai, pata nahi Sarkar kyu piche
pade rehti hai inke”. This growing apathy may hamper the implementation of schemes for
Baiga welfare

The Baigas lack awareness of many things involving their welfare, for example - when
kochiyas or middlemen take advantage of this while buying the minor forest produce;
people of other community take Baigas’ land at very unfair prices; when they fail to
understand the concept of education and how one is benefitted from it and that significance
of education is not just limited to getting jobs; lack of understanding why institutional
delivery, immunization and nutrition for pregnant mothers is important , are few of many
instances where their ignorance is manifested. It is not Baigas follow the above on purpose
but they do not understand the concept of “their welfare”. G. S. Aurora mentions in his
article on “Economy of a Tribal Village”-
“In the traditional Adivasi economic system studied here there is little likelihood of
endogenous change. In this system the 'outsider' commercial element and the indigenous

29 Chhattisgarh food security bill, 2012. The national Food Security Bill provides for rice/ wheat/ pulses at Rs 3/ 2/ 1
per kilo respectively.
58
 social institutions support each other to maintain the stagnant equilibrium of the economy.
Any force which could disturb this equilibrium, therefore, has to come from outside.”

6.5 Modified Area Development Approach (MADA):

MADA are pockets of areas where the ST population is more than 50 percent within a total
population of minimum 10000. “Clusters” are further smaller areas with 50 percent or more ST
population in an area within a minimum population of 5000. They don’t have separate
administrative units for programmes under MADA and Clusters. Usually ITDP/ITDA machinery is
used for them. There is one MADA pocket of 76 villages (Nachaniya pocket) in Chhuikhadan block
of Rajnandgaon District. Table 8 shows the fund allocation along with the expenditure in MADA
pocket of Rajnandgaon district. As both years’ plan are still being implemented the expenditure is
underway. Since the MADA pockets consist of Scheduled Tribes in general, so the adopted plans
are for other STs of Nachaniya pocket not just Baigas. The works in are similar to plan discussed in
ITDA specifically for Baigas. Some examples of livelihood works are – Badi development
programme, Poultry development, beauty parlor courses, Rabi crops demonstration programme –
expansion of oilseeds, pulses, maize in Nachaniya pocket. All these are commendable works like
the ones from Baiga prokosht samiti, in fact the district administration takes many initiatives which
may be helpful for STs (including Baigas) to eke out their livelihood, but it has to be outcome based
rather than target based as discussed above in observation.

Table 13: MADA pocket Nachaniya's fund allocation and expenditure for last two years (in crores)

Sector 2014-15 2015-16

Allocation Expenditure Allocation Expenditure

Nachaniya 3.0422 2.3004 1.7923 0.0502

Source: Chhattisgarh State Tribal Department

59
6.6 The Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of
Forest Rights) Act, 2006:
This Act came into being as a result of continuous struggle of the tribal communities and forest
dwellers who have been deprived of their rights over their home and livelihood, both of which was
directly linked to forest. Indian Forest Act, 1927 had declared an area as forest area without
recording the dependents living in those areas and how their socio-economic life will be affected.
As per FRA: The weapon of democracy in forests, 82 percent of forest blocks of Madhya Pradesh
and 40 percent of Odisha were never surveyed leaving process of enquiry and settlements of rights
incomplete. The situation leads to harassment of inhabitants, especially PVTG like Baiga, their
eviction, torture, bonded labour, extortion, exploitation of their natural a resource by vested
commercial interests endangering their own socio-economic and cultural survival. The primary
reason for this was the enactment of Indian Forest Act 1927 which was made to meet the British
commercial needs and it had nothing to do with conservation overriding customary rights, ancient
forest management system threatening tribal livelihood and survival.

With the aim of reversing this whole trend, government passed "The Scheduled Tribes and other
Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Right) Act 2006. The act intends to

1. Legally recognize rights of scheduled tribes and other traditional forest dweller. By doing
this it partially attempt to correct injustice of past forest laws, preserve tribal and forest
dweller livelihood and sustenance on forest.
2. Giving voice to dwellers so that they can assert for their rights, livelihood, home and
conservation and sustainable use of forest and associated resources. The rights included in
Section 3 of the Act are :

● Right to hold, live or self-cultivate in the forest individually and as community

● Community Rights like Nistar
● Own, collect, use and dispose Minor Forest Produce
● Community Rights on water resources, grazing (settled as well as transhumance) and on
similar other resource.
● Community tenures of Habitat
● Right in or over disputed land

60
 ● Conversion of Patta/lease/grant to title
● Conversion of habitations into revenue village
● Protect, regenerate, conserve and manage community forest
● Rights under state laws, autonomous council laws
● Access to Biodiversity and community Rights to intellectual property and traditional
knowledge related to biodiversity and cultural diversity
● Any other traditional right customarily enjoyed

In Rajnandgaon district, according to the tribal Census conducted in 2005, the total number of
Baiga households were 975. Now, recently when their households were recounted the number came
up to be 1339. According to the Divisional Forest Officer, Khairagarh division, 271 Baiga families
have been provided with FRA pattas (legal title) under individual rights totaling to distribution of
179.02 hectares. When it comes to community forest rights, only 1 such patta has been given to a
Baiga family from the Salewara area of Chhuikhadan Block of 2 Hectares. But according to AD,
ITDP of the district, as of December 2016, a total of 1065 families have been provided with FRA
pattas which is equivalent to 806 Hectares. Going by the Forest Rights Act, we have provided to
more than 100percent families (2005 figure is 975), most of the current families have received land
under this. This shows discrepancies amongst the data from the two departments.

Vanbadhu Kalyan Yojana (VKY) launched in the year 2014-15 focuses on converging of
resources for all round development ensuring the delivery of goods and services to the tribal
population especially in critical sectors such as30:

● Qualitative and Sustainable Employment

● Quality Education and Higher Education.
● Accelerated Economic Development of tribal areas.
● Health for all.
● Housing for all.
● Safe Drinking Water for all at doorsteps.
● Irrigation facilities suited to the terrain.

30
http://vky.tribal.nic.in/Component_VKY
61
 ● All Weather Roads with connectivity to the nearby town/cities.
● Universal Availability of Electricity.
● Urban Development.
● Robust institutional mechanism. (ITDAs/ITDPs)
● Promotion and conservation of Tribal Cultural Heritage
● Promotion of Sports in Tribal Areas.

As of now, In the State of Chhattisgarh, this scheme has been initiated only Kondagaon district
from 2016.

A special 100 percent Central Sector Scheme viz. “Development of Particularly Vulnerable
Tribal Groups” exclusively for PVTGs was started in 1998-99, then later modified in 2007-08.
Like Vanbandhu Yojana which follows a need based and outcome specific, holistic development
approach with optimum utilization of resources under various programmes. It is a flexible scheme
in which it is the States’ prerogative to choose areas of development which are attuned to the
requirements of their PVTGs and customized according to their socio-cultural fabric. The State
submits the plan viz. Conservation –cum-Development plan (CCD), which will include an annual
Plan, for each of their PVTGs according to the gaps reflected through baseline survey. The funds
are then released to the respective states and in proportion to PVTG in the State vis-a-vis PVTG
population in the country31. The implementing agencies here are ITDP/ITDA/, Tribal Research
Institutes and also Non-Governmental Organizations.

Various other programmes were formulated such as Large-scale Adivasi Multipurpose

Cooperative Societies (LAMPS) in 1974, which catered to meet the need for credit, marketing the
agricultural and forest produce without being exploited at the hands of money-lenders, middlemen
and local traders. These are also known by the name of Primary Agriculture Credit Societies
(PACS) and play a vital role in providing farmers with credit and other supplements like seeds,
manure, urea etc. There are 135 PACS in Rajanandgaon district as of now. Further, there are other
such programmes like the Small Farmers Development Agency (SFDA) and Marginal Farmers and
Agricultural Laborers Development Agency (MFAL) were devised to assist small and marginal
farmers to maximize the productivity of their small land-holdings.

31
http://pib.nic.in/newsite/PrintRelease.aspx?relid=106846
62
Although some of the above mentioned developmental programmes being implemented in the state
of Chhattisgarh, the Baigas still remain backward and the fruits of development have not yet
reached them due to the lack of proper implementation and commitment on the part of various
stakeholders and also the lack of awareness among Baigas since they being isolated, primitive and
marginalized community.

63
 Summary and Conclusion

This research on Baigas gives an insight into their changing pattern of livelihoods, various aspects
of welfare and development. The study highlights that the Baigas are still in the primitive stage of
development in all the aspects of socio economic and cultural life. They still depend on subsistence
and traditional means of livelihood. Saving for the future doesn't have much significance in their
lives. Having said that, it would be wrong to assume, that they do not understand the importance of
money in day-to-day activities. What will they earn today, where will they go to earn, the costs at
which they would sell their produce are seldom fixed. Owing to the unpredictable nature of their
sustenance- whatever mode of livelihood they adopt is essentially subsistence in nature. So many
times when due to calamities like drought, their produce is affected, it becomes difficult to sustain.
They are gradually realizing this and taking initiative to move forward without letting go of their
roots and culture. Recently two Baiga students (intermediate passed) were given the position of
Shikhshakarmi in Rajnandgaon and I am positive that there are more to come.

The study gives an insight on their semi-nomadic and primitive nature of being. For example, they
practice agriculture during the months of May to November and the rest of the year they rely on
gathering of minor forest produce (Mahua, Tendu leaves, bel, honey, wild mushrooms) usually
during the months of December to March. Baiga who have access to water may grow Rabi or Zaid
crops, which is rare. In the months of April and May, mostly MGNREGS works are carried out in
their villages. A Baiga family doesn’t strictly follow all these activities to eke out their livelihood
but surely relies on one or more of the above activities, because these have been cultured into their
lifestyle and form their livelihood ecosystem. The activities in their livelihood ecosystem have
remained the same since times immemorial. The outsiders’ commercial interests in the tribal
livelihood activities and the tribal indigenous ecosystem maintain an equilibrium. This equilibrium
has caused stagnation in the overall development of these tribes. G. S. Aurora also mentions “Any
force which could disturb this equilibrium, therefore, has to come from outside”. Therefore, the
government needs to be very particular about the schemes and initiatives adopted for Baiga welfare,
as they should be in lines with their culture and grounded in their roots.

When we peruse the development plans made by the ITDP district committee at the district as well
as the plan sanctioned from the Centre, we find there's a gap. The Plans at the district are mostly the
64
ones submitted by Member of Legislative Assembly of ITDP blocks, and block PRI members under
Baiga Prakosht Samiti32 under the chairmanship of Collector. The plans are sent to the Center via
State; the center then makes changes whatsoever it finds relevant. The amended plans are then sent
back to the district for implementation and the designated funds are provided to an ITDA. A top-
down approach is still being followed, and therefore, the plan from the district is completely
changed and a new one is put on the table.

The whole process leaves out the crucial aspect of involving Baigas in their own planning; there has
to be proper procedure such as field work to substantiate a plan's outcome, to ensure that the works
included in the plan are not just politically motivated, is systemically lacking. This has led to
inclusion of adoption of activities such as random distribution of minikits, seeds, agricultural
equipments, training baigas in driving, and garment making, which otherwise may have been
avoided. Very few relevant works have been taken which are not sufficient to enhance the
livelihoods of the tribes sustainably. Sustainability always comes with behavioral change - just as it
was seen in Swacch Bharat Mission’s implementation. No amount of monetary awards helped the
people to understand the importance of using a toilet. People had to unlearn age old myths about it
and societal taboos linked with building a toilet at home, and understand of how it affects our health
and hygiene. In a similar manner, just giving out freebies, and not teaching them about its
importance is as good as wasting the funds.

It has rightly emphasized on the force of change that can bring about development has to be from
outside. Due to sheer lack of awareness amongst PVTGs, they are unable to fathom the
opportunities they are open to, the rights they are entitled to and their potential to bring about a
positive impact in their lives. To initiate a movement that covers all the above three, multipronged
approach needs to be adopted-

● First step : Every community has few members who are bit more aware than the rest and
are interested in moving forward, hence repeated Sensitization of those Baiga people and
developing them into leaders from their community can be the.

32
Baiga Proksht samiti is a committee especially for baiga welfare. It decides the works and plans for the development
of Baigas
65
● Second Step: The force from outside can be the block's hand holding support, but even the
block level functionaries are not aware and many a times disgruntled by the sheer magnitude
of the fund flow for Baiga development. Tackling the apathy towards PVTGs is very
important if we wish to make the implementation of any development scheme; not just on
paper but in reality.

● Third Step- Incorporating Non-government institutions and Civil Society Organisations in

the planning of Baiga Tribe relevant welfare programmes. This will allow for a fresh
perspective with which the planning at the grass root level can be carried out. A targeted
approach is likely to yield positive results. Launching another programme in the name of
Baiga welfare, whereas keep the ground level administrative machinery same as before will
yield plans similar o previous years’.

66
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http://www.peoplesoftheworld.org/hosted/baigas/index.jsp
31. Tribal Welfare & Development Annual Report (2014-15). pp.11-32 , 210-225
32. Xaxa, V (1999). “Tribes as Indigenous People of India”. Economic and Political Weekly, Vol. 34, No.
51, pp. 3589-3595
33. Bhattacharya, P & Hayat, S.F. (2004). “Sustainable NTFP management for rural development: a case
from Madhya Pradesh, India”. The International Forestry Review, Vol. 6, No. 2, pp. 161-168

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 Annexure-I

Household Level Survey:

Gram Panchayat:

Name

Age

Gender

Job Card (yes/No):

SECC data:

Aadhaar Card:

Nearest Market (Village name & distance):

Family Members:

Name of the Relation with Age Gender Educational Nature of work If Differently abled /
family the Head of Status (in case of an any other physical
Member HH adult) ailment

Livelihood Details:

Sr Livelihood Activity Season & Months Earning

No.
1 Agriculture
2 MGNREGA
3 NTFP
4 Animal Husbandry
5 Fisheries
6 Government/Private Job
…

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Household Expenditure Details: (Priority –wise)

Sr. Activity Season & Months Amount

No
1
2
3
4
5
…

Agriculture:

Total Land Owned:

Land Usage:

Irrigation Facility:

Subsistence / Intensive Agriculture:

Crops/ Vegetables grown:

Season & Months Crops/Vegetables Production

Kharif

Rabi

Zaid

Existing Agriculture Practices:

PROCESS INPUTS & COST OUTPUT

Q) What are your food habits? Where do you get vegetables?

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Q) Where is their produce sold? Who buys it? What all they sell & buy in the market?

Q) Have you received any assistance/ benefits regarding livelihood under any government scheme?

Q) Ever in an SHG? Agricultural Credit ever received?

Q) Agriculture Compensation ever received?

Q) Have you received FRA patta? How much?

Q) What use has the FRA land been put to and why?

Q) Have you tried to opt for new and advance agriculture practices? If yes, what were the issues? If No, why
Not? On farm diversification.

Q) What assistance is required to go ahead with it?

Other important observations

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