1

THE CONCEPT OF TRIBE & INDIGENOUS IN INDIA

6.1 TRIBAL SITUATION IN INDIA - BIO-GENETIC

VARIABILITY, LINGUISTIC AND SOCIO-ECONOMIC
CHARACTERISTICS OF TRIBAL POPULATIONS AND
THEIR DISTRIBUTION.

6.2 PROBLEMS OF THE TRIBAL COMMUNITIES - LAND

ALIENATION, POVERTY, INDEBTEDNESS, LOW
LITERACY, POOR EDUCATIONAL FACILITIES,
UNEMPLOYMENT, UNDEREMPLOYMENT, HEALTH
AND NUTRITION.
7.1 PROBLEMS OF EXPLOITATION AND
DEPRIVATION OF SCHEDULED CASTES ,
SCHEDULED TRIBES AND OTHER BACKWARD
CLASSES ( INCLUDING DENOTIFIED TRIBES)

7.3. PSEUDOTRIBALISM

6.3. DEVELOPMENTAL PROJECTS AND THEIR IMPACT

ON TRIBAL DISPLACEMENT AND PROBLEMS.

7.2 DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMMES AND WELFARE

MEASURES ON TRIBALS AND WEAKER SECTIONS. (&)
9.1 TRIBALSPOLICIES, PLANS, PROGRAMMES OF
TRIBAL DEVELOPMENT AND THEIR
IMPLEMENTATION.

8.1 IMPACT OF HINDUISM, BUDDHISM, CHRISTIANITY,

ISLAM AND OTHER RELIGIONS ON TRIBAL SOCIETIES.

8.2. TRIBE AND NATION STATE

ETHNO-NATIONALISM

7.3. THE CONCEPT OF ETHNICITY & ETHNIC CONFLICTS

7.3 UNREST AMONG TRIBAL COMMUNITIES;

REGIONALISM AND DEMAND FOR AUTONOMY; (&)
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9.3. ETHNIC AND POLITICAL MOVEMENTS (POLITICAL

DEVELOPMENTS) (&) SOCIAL MOVEMENTS IN INDIAN
TRIBES

9.1. PVTG (PARTICULARLY VULNERABLE TRIBAL

GROUPS)

7.1. CONSTITUTIONAL PROVISIONS FOR THE

SCHEDULED TRIBES AND SCHEDULED CASTES
9.1. HISTORY OF ADMINISTRATION OF SCHEDULED
& TRIBAL AREAS (HISTORICAL BACKGROUND OF V
AND VI SCHEDULES)

AFFIRMATIVE ACTION IN THE UNITED STATES VS

PROTECTIVE DISCRIMINATION IN INDIA

6.3. DEVELOPMENT OF NATIONAL FOREST POLICY AND

TRIBALS ( INCLUDING LAND ACQUISITION ACTS)

6.3. IMPACT OF URBANISATION &INDUSTRIALISATION

ON TRIBAL POPULATIONS

7.2 SOCIAL CHANGE AND CONTEMPORARY TRIBAL

SOCIETIES:
7.2.IMPACT OF MODERN DEMOCRATIC INSTITUTIONS

IMPACT OF LEFT WING EXTREMISM ON INDIAN TRIBES

9.3. REGIONALISM

9.3. COMMUNALISM

ISOLATION VS ASSIMILATION G.S.GHURYE VS

VERRIER ELWIN:

TRIBAL PANCHASHEEL
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9.1. THE ROLE OF NGOs IN TRIBAL DEVELOPMENT IN

INDIA

9.2 ROLE OF ANTHROPOLOGY IN TRIBAL AND RURAL

DEVELOPMENT.

PROBLEMS OF TRIBAL WOMEN

HIGH SEX RATIO AMONG TRIBALS

DISTINCTIVE FEATURES OF TRIBES OF ANDAMAN

AND NICOBAR / EXTINCT AND ENDANGERED TRIBES

DISTINCTIVE FEATURES OF TRIBES IN NORTH-EAST

INDIA.

HIGH SEX RATIO AMONG TRIBALS

THE CONCEPT OF TRIBE & INDIGENOUS IN INDIA

As per the UN convention C169 – Indigenous and tribal peoples convention,

1989 (An International Labour Organization Convention within the United
Nations that was established in 1989).

(Note: C169 was not ratified by India)

Tribal populations: Populations whose social and economic conditions are at a

less advanced stage than the stage reached by the other sections of the national
community, and whose status is regulated wholly or partially by their own customs
or traditions or by special laws or regulations.

Semi-tribal populations: Includes groups and persons who, although they are in
the process of losing their tribal characteristics, are not yet integrated into the
national community.
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Indigenous people: People having their descent from the populations which
inhabited the country at the time of conquest or colonisation and which,
irrespective of their legal status, live more in conformity with the social, economic
and cultural institutions of that time than with the institutions of the nation to
which they belong.

Thus According to ILO Convention No. 169.

Tribal peoples are peoples who are “not indigenous to the region [they inhabit], but
that share similar characteristics with indigenous peoples, such as having social,
cultural and economic traditions different from other sections of the national
community, identifying themselves with their ancestral territories, and regulating
themselves, at least partially, by their own norms, customs, and traditions”.

Conclusion: In Multi ethnic India, which ethnic group is autochthonous /

indigenous / first comer is a highly debated topic. Thus not all tribes in India are
indigenous and which tribes are indigenous is a debated topic.

Tribe in the Indian context:

D.N. Majumdar defines tribe as “a social group with territorial affiliation,
endogamous with no specialization of functions ruled by tribal officers hereditary
or otherwise, united in language or dialect recognizing social distance with other
tribes or castes”.

In Indian Context, T.B Naik has given the following features of tribes:
• A tribe should have least functional interdependence within the community.
• Economically backward (i.e. primitive and traditional means of exploiting
natural resources, tribal economy should be at an underdeveloped stage and
have multifarious
economic pursuits).
• A comparative geographical isolation of its people.
• Having a common dialect.
• Politically unorganized and community panchayat should be influential.
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• Have their own customary laws.

Tribe as a colonial construct in India:

Some anthropologists opine that the nomenclature ‘tribe’ is a ‘colonial
construction’. They are of the view that the character of this group was
consolidated by the British through the process of classification and enumeration.
It is not that groups corresponding to what we today call as ‘tribes’ did not exist in
the pre-colonial period, but that the British placed these groups under the category
of ‘tribe’.

The British colonial administrator-ethnographers in India were pioneers who

surveyed and carried out expeditions on tribes but often their methods were
doubtful. Their writings in many ways ended up contorting tribes as being
synonymous with being backward, uncivilized and barbarous.

The term "tribe" evolved to designate a set of negative traits, shaped under
colonialism's response to escalating tribal resistance to their rule.

The Oxford English Dictionary, Compact Edition (1971) explains the original
meaning of “tribe” as “a group of persons forming a community and claiming
descent from a common ancestor”.

The change of tribe from being a kinship-based simple community to a group in

“primitive and barbarous condition” marks distinct derogation of the term.

Demerits: The British Government became instrumental in strengthening the

exploitative attitude towards them, and considered them as a “burden” to the so
called advanced/cultured/civilized society in India. Hatred and bitterness have
created a wide socio-cultural gap between so called tribals and non-tribals. The
view of tribals as a lower evolutionary form of civilisation continues even till date
in nationalist India.
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Merits of construction the term tribe: Before the advent of British Rule, the so
called tribals were neglected and oppressed to the worst possible ways and degrees
by their neighbours. There was never made an attempt to improve the educational,
medical and economic conditions of the aboriginals by the caste ridden Hindu
society, but the general trend of modernisation they promoted led to such
developments.

CONCEPT OF TRIBE AND INDIAN CENSUS

Introduction: Some anthropologists opine that the nomenclature ‘tribe’ is a
‘colonial construction’. It is not that such groups did not exist in the pre-colonial
period, but that the British placed these groups under the category of ‘tribe’ and
included the term in census of India.
Sir Herbert Hope Risley was a British ethnographer and colonial administrator, In
1899 he was appointed Census Commissioner, tasked with preparing and reporting
on the forthcoming decennial census of 1901. He is notable for the formal
application of the caste system to the entire Hindu population of British India in the
1901 census, of which he was in charge.
As an exponent of scientific racism, he used the ratio of the width of a nose to its
height (Nasal index) to divide Indians into Aryan and Dravidian races, as well as
seven castes.
In the 1901 census, while the term caste was used to classify Hindus and Jains
the term tribe or race of those of other religions were recorded.
Conclusion: The term "tribe" was described as a group in “primitive and barbarous
condition”, shaped under colonialism's response to tribal resistance to their rule.

6.1 TRIBAL SITUATION IN INDIA - BIO-GENETIC VARIABILITY,

LINGUISTIC AND SOCIO-ECONOMIC CHARACTERISTICS OF
TRIBAL POPULATIONS AND THEIR DISTRIBUTION.

GEOGRAPHICAL CLASSIFICATION
B.S. Guha has classified the tribes of India into three zones: The north and
north-eastern zone, central or middle zone, and southern zone.
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D.N. Majumdar and T.N. Madan in their book Introduction to Social

Anthropology (1956) have also offered a similar classification.
S.C. Dube has demarcated four geographical regions including the North and
North-Eastern Zone, Middle Zone, the South Zone and the West Zone.

L. P. Vidyarthi put forward a five-fold classification system which included:

the Himalayan region, Middle India, Western India, South India and the Islands.

I) The Himalayan region is sub-divided into:

A) North-eastern Himalayan region comprising the states of Assam,

Meghalaya, Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram, Tripura and the
mountaineous region of West Bengal including Darjeeling.

B) Central Himalayan region comprising the Terai areas of Uttar Pradesh and
Bihar.

C) North-Western Himalayan region comprising the states of Himachal Pradesh

and Jammu and Kashmir.
The tribes inhabiting this region are the Akas, Daflas,
Apatanis, Mishmis, Khamptis, Singphos, Kukis, Khasis, Garos, Lepchas,
Bhotias, Tharus, etc.

II) Middle India Region comprising the states of Bihar, West Bengal, Orissa and
Madhya Pradesh. About 55% of the total tribal population of the country lives
in this region.
The tribes inhabiting this region are the Juangs, Kharia, Khonds, Bhumijs,
Baiga, Muria, Marias, Mundas, Gonds, Santhals, Oraons, etc.
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III)Western India Region comprising Rajasthan, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Goa and

the Union Territory of Dadra and Nagar Haveli.
The tribes inhabiting this region are the Barodias, Bharwads, Bhils, Damors,
Dhanwars, Dhodias, Girasias, Gonds, Katkaris, Koknas, Kolis, Minas, Siddi,
Warlis, etc.

IV) South India Region: Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Kerala
The tribes inhabiting this region are the Chenchus, Irulas, Paniyans, Kurumbas,
Kadars, Todas, Badagas, Kotas, etc.

V) The Island Region: comprising the islands of Andaman and Nicobar in the Bay
of Bengal and Lakshadweep in the Arabian Sea.
The tribes inhabiting this region are the Jarwas, Onges, the Great Andamanese,
North Sentinelese, etc.

K.S. Singh has offered a similar classification of tribes of India into the North-
eastern India, Middle India, Southern India, North-western Himalayas, and
Andaman and Nicobar Islands Zones.
The ratio of the tribal population to the total population is high in the north-eastern
states except Assam. It ranges from 64-95 per cent in Meghalaya, Nagaland,
Mizoram, Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh and between 30-35 percent in Tripura
and Manipur. The ratio is over 90 percent in the Union Territory of Lakshadweep
whereas it ranges from 22-23 percent in Orissa and Madhya Pradesh in central
India. In the rest of the country the ratio ranges from as low as 1-12 percent.
Besides the zonal and geographical distribution, tribes have also been classified on
the basis of their ecological habitat. On this basis they are classified as those who
live in the hills (Hill Karbis, Hill Tiwas of Assam), plains (Bodos, Singphos),
forests (Kadars of Kerala), rural, urban and industrial areas.

LINGUISTIC CLASSIFICATION
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Four broad language groups have been identified amongst the tribes of India which
are Indo-Aryan, Austro-Asiatic, Dravidian and Tibeto-Burman.
L.P Vidyarthi and Binay Kumar Rai in their book “The Tribal Culture of
India” put forward the following classificatory system of the languages of Indian
tribes:
I) Dravidian
• All the tribes of southern India as well as the Gonds and Oraons of central India
speak languages belonging to the Dravidian language family.
• The Gondi language spoken by the Gonds who spread from Uttar Pradesh to
Andhra Pradesh and from Maharashtra to Orissa belong to this language family.
• Other languages belonging to this family is the Kui language which is spoken
by the Kandh of Orissa,
• Kurukh spoken by the Oraons of central India.
• Tulu language spoken by the Malerus of Karnataka.
• The languages spoken by the Todas, Palliyans and Irulas of Tamil Nadu.
• The Chenchus of Andhra Pradesh, and Kadars of Kerala also belong to the
Dravidian language family.

II) Austro-Asiatic
This family is again sub-divided into the following sub-groups:
A) Mon-Khmer Branch: Languages of this family are found in certain pockets of
the north-Himalayan region of Meghlaya spoken by the Khasis and the Jaintias
as well as the Nicobarese of the Nicobar Islands.
B) Munda Branch: Santhali spoken by the Santhals, Gutob spoken by the
Gadabas; Kharia of South Munda sub-branch; Korwa spoken by Kodaku;
Korku of North Munda sub-branch, Juang of the central Munda sub-branch.
C) Kherwarian group: Language of Ho tribe.

III) Tibeto-Chinese : This family is again sub-divided into the following sub-
groups:
A) Siamese-Burmese: The Tai group of people including Khamptis and the
Phakials speak languages belonging to this family
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B) Tibeto Burman:

• Ladakhi spoken by the Mons

• Lahauli spoken by Lahaula
• Toto spoken by the Totos
• Hrusso spoken by the Akas
• Mishmi spoken by the Mishmis
• Bodo group: Kachari, Dimasa, Garo, Mikir spoken by the Karbis, Koch,
Dowyan spoken by the Tiwas, Rabha
• Naga Group: Angami, Ao, Chakhesang, Sema, Rengma, Lotha, Konyak,
Maram, Phom,
• Kuki-Chin Group: Hmar, Koireng, Lamgang, Monsang, Moyon, Paite;
Vaiphei; Zou
• Kachin Group: Singpho
Apart from the Khasis and the Jaintias of Meghalaya, all the other tribes of north-
east India and the Himalayan region speak languages belonging to the Tibeto-
Burman family.

IV) Indo-Aryan
The tribes of Gujarat, Rajasthan and the Indo-Gangetic Plain speak languages
belonging to the Indo-Aryan language family. Some of the languages belonging to
this family include Chattisgarhi, Gujarati; Marathi, Assamese; Oriya; Baigana
spoken by the Baigas; Banjari spoken by the Banjaras; Bhili spoken by the Bhils;
Ø The entire group of Austric language speaking people and 80 percent of the
Tibeto-Burman speaking people are identified as tribal communities.
Ø On the other hand a meagre 3 percent of the Dravidian language speaking
people and
Ø almost 1 percent of the Indo-Aryan speaking people are identified as tribal
people.

There is yet another language family spoken by the tribes of the Andaman Islands
like the Great Andamanese, the Onges, Jarawas and the Sentinelese. They are
loosely called the Andamanese language family.
There are 23 tribal languages that are each spoken by more than 100,000 (one lakh)
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people. These are Santhali, Gondi, Bhili, Oraon (or Kurukh), Lambadi, Ho,
Mundari, Vagdi, Meithei (or Mainpuri), Banjari (or Labhani), Kondh, Bhilali,
Savra, Garo, Khasi, Kui, Korku, Bara Bodo, Lushei, Paraja, Maria, Koya, and
Mikir. Santhali has the largest number of speakers, followed by Mikir. Other
languages fall between these extremes.
However, it must be kept in mind that many tribal’s speak more than one language
and at times have better linguistic competence in languages other than the mother
tongue; this is more so in the case of educated tribals and also those who are
frequently in contact with their non-tribal neighbours. Tribal political leaders from
Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh, for example, speak fluent Hindi.

RACIAL / BIOGENETIC CLASSIFICATION

The first attempt to categorise the Indian tribal communities in a scientific manner
based on the racial characteristics was done by Sir Herbert Risley.
He classified the entire population of the country into seven racial types which
are Turko- Iranian, Indo-Aryan, Scytho-Dravidian, Aryo-Dravidian, Mongolo-
Dravidian, Mongoloid and the Dravidian. No separate classificatory scheme for
the tribal population was given.
A more recent attempt of classification was given by J.H. Hutton, S.C. Guha and
D.N. Majumdar out of which the most accepted classification is that offered by
S.C. Guha who listed six main races with nine sub-types. They are as follows:
I) Negrito
II) Proto- Australoid
III) Mongoloid
A) Paleo-Mongoloids-
Ø Long-headed and
Ø Broad-headed
B) Tibeto-Mogoloids
IV) Mediterranean
A) Palaeo- Mediterranean
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B) Mediterranean
C) Oriental type
V) WesternBrachycephals
A) Alpinoid
B) Dinaric
C) Armenoid
VI) Nordic

B.S. Guha has also drawn conclusions as regards to the racial composition of the
tribes of India. They are:
I) Proto-Australoid II) Mongoloid III) Dravidian IV) Negrito

At present the racial composition of the tribes of India include the following:
I) Proto-Australoid: The tribes of middle India like the Mundas, the Oraons,
the Hos, the Gonds, the Khonds, etc. belong to the Proto-Australoid stock. This
group is characterized by dark skin colour, short to medium stature, low
forehead, sunken nose, dark complexion and curly hair.
II) Mongoloid: The tribes of north-eastern India and the Himalayan region
belong to this group. They have the typical features of straight hair, flat nose,
prominent cheek bones and almond shaped eyes with the epicanthic fold present
and yellowish skin colour. They have medium stature, high head and medium
nose.
III) Dravidian: The tribes of South India like the Kadars, the Irulas and the
Paniyans.
IV) Negrito: The Great Andamanese, Onges, Sentinelese having frizzy hair
have Negrito strains. The Siddis who migrated from the African shores of
course belong to the Negrito group.

CLASSIFICATION BASED ON SIZE

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Ø tribal communities like the Gonds, Bhils have a population of about forty lakhs
each
Ø Santhals with a population of more than thirty lakhs.
Ø Oraons, Minas and the Mundas who number about more than ten lakhs each.
Ø Hos, Khonds and the Kols with population strength of more than five lakhs.
Ø More than forty tribes, comprising about ten percent of the total tribal
population of India have a population ranging from one to five lakhs. These are
the Adis, Baigas, Bhumijs, Bodos-Kacharis, Dhodias, Garos, Kacharis, Kharias,
Kharwars, Khasis, Kolhas, Korkus, Lodhas, Mizos, Rabhas, Saoras, Tripuris,
Warlis, Yenadis and Yerukulas, etc.
Ø On the contrary there are communities like some Andamanese groups who
number even less than hundred each.

CLASSIFICATION BASED ON ECONOMY OR SUBSISTENCE PATTERN

On the basis of the mode of livelihood or the subsistence pattern, Indian tribes can
be divided into:
• Food gatherers and hunters
• Horticulturists
• Pastoralists
• Hill cultivation type
• Agriculturists
• Simple Artisan
• Folk Artist
• Labourers and
• Industrial workers
I) Food gatherers and hunters: Chenchus, Challa Yanadi, Malaya Pandaram/ Hill
Pandaram, Cholanaickan and the Great Andamanese

II) Horticulturists

III) Pastoralists: Bakarwals, Bharwads, Broqpas, Gujjars, Todas are pastoralist

tribes.
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IV) Hill cultivation type : Tribal communities inhabiting the hills of Assam,
Meghalaya, Manipur, Tripura, Bihar, Orissa, Madhya Pradesh and Andhra
Pradesh including the Adis, Akas, Birjhias, Bondos, Chakmas, Chirus, Gangtes,
Hmars, Jamatias, Juangs, Dimasas, Karbis, Mijis, Mishmis, Aos, Konyaks,
Phoms, Paites, Riangs, Tangsas, Wanchos practice the Hill cultivation methods.

V) Agriculturists: Apatanis, Cheros, Deoris, Miris, Hos, Jaintias, Khambas,

Kharias, Khasis, Kolams, Tiwas, Rabhas, Kinnauras, Bhumijs, Santhals,
Mundas, Oraons, Kharwas, Baigas, Gonds, Bhils, Minas, Warlis, Koyas; the list
is endless.

VI) Simple artisan type:

Ø The Asurs of Bihar, Goduliya Lohars of Rajasthan, Agarias of Madhya Pradesh
are engaged in iron smelting.
Ø Birhors are engaged in rope making.
Ø Garas of Jammu and Kashmir and the Kammarus are blacksmiths.
Ø The Katkaris are engaged in catechu making (Catechu = Extract of Acasia trees
use as food additive, astringent etc).
Ø Kotas and the Tharuas are potters
Ø Sauntas and the Mahalis are basket makers.

VII) Folk artist:

Ø Nats and Saperas of Uttar Pradesh; the Mundupttas and Kelas of Orissa who are
acrobats
Ø Pardhans are bards
Ø Pamulas and the Kalbelias of Rajasthan who are snake charmers
Ø Dommaras who are acrobats
Ø Gorait who are drum beaters
Ø Mons are musicians.

These communities have ceremonial relations with their neighbouring

communities. For instance, the Pardhans are considered the bards of the Gonds.
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Their presence is mandatory in the social functions of the Gonds. The Pardhans
play on the Kikri- a stringed musical instrument and live on ritual begging and the
customary alms received from the neighbouring Gonds.
Similarly the Kotas of the Nilgiris apart from catering to the needs of the Todas
and the Badagas for pots and knives also offer music essential in the ceremonies of
the Todas and the Badagas. They are offered grain in return of the same. The Kotas
also have a reciprocal relationship with the Kurumbas who compensate the Todas
with honey and fruits.
VIII) Labourers/industrial workers
The most renowned non-agricultural labour belt is the Chotanagpur of Bihar.
Tribals of this area are found working in the tea gardens of North-East India,
forestry and other sectors in the Andaman and Nicober Islands, etc. The Santhals
and the Hos dominate the labourer sector of the iron mines and industries of Bihar,
almost half the labour force of the manganese industry of Madhya Pradesh is
constituted of tribal people.

CLASSIFICATION BASED ON DEGREE OF INCORPORATION INTO

THE HINDU SOCIETY

B.K.Roy Burman in 1971 divided the tribal population into those who are;
1. Fully incorporated into the Hindu social order such as, the Bhils who have
adopted the Hindu way of life including the ethos of the caste system and can
hardly be differentiated from the neighbouring Hindu peasantry.
2. Positively oriented towards the Hindu social order: This category includes
tribes like the Santhals, Oraons, Mundas and the Gonds who have not been
incorporated totally into the caste structure but have to a large extent adopted
the symbols and world views of their Hindu neighbours.
3. Negatively oriented towards the Hindu social order: This category includes
tribes like the Mizos and the Nagas who are negatively oriented towards the
Hindu social order and reject the caste structure.
4. Indifferent towards the Hindu social order: This category includes tribes like
those of Arunachal Pradesh who are totally indifferent to the Hindu order.
G.S. Ghurye in “The Scheduled Tribes” proposed a similar classification which
includes;
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Ø Tribes who attain a high status within the Hindu society

Ø Partially Hinduised tribes
Ø Tribes inhabiting remote hill areas and who exhibited great resistance to
Hinduism as an alien culture

CLASSIFICATION BASED ON RELIGION

• Though the tribes follow any major religion, they usually do not leave their
traditional beliefs.
• Among the other religions the influence of Hinduism on Tribal India is
tremendous almost 90% of tribals follow Hinduism.
• Tribals following Christianity are also considerable in number.
• Tribes following Buddhism, Jainism and Islam are negligible.
• Islands of Bay of Bengal, Arabian sea , south India, western India and central
India are mostly Hindus.
• Tribals of north eastern India and more than 90% of the population of Nagaland
and Mizoram, Central India , and major tribes of chotanagpur follow
christianity.
• Certain notable tribes following Christianity are Oraon, Munda and Ho
• Tribes following Islam are mostly scattered in Lakshadweep, Himachal
pradesh, West Bengal, Maharashtra and Jammu and Kashmir.
• Tribes of Arunachal Pradesh and certain Himalayan and maharashtrian tribes
follow Buddhism.

6.2 PROBLEMS OF THE TRIBAL COMMUNITIES - LAND

ALIENATION, POVERTY, INDEBTEDNESS, LOW LITERACY, POOR
EDUCATIONAL FACILITIES, UNEMPLOYMENT,
UNDEREMPLOYMENT, HEALTH AND NUTRITION.

(I) PROBLEMS OF DENOTIFIED TRIBES:

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• The Denotified Tribes, also known as vimukta jati are communities that
were listed or notified as ‘born criminal’ by the British under a number of
laws.
• This process began with the Criminal Tribes Act of 1871, which gave the
police wide powers to arrest members of such communities and to control and
monitor their movements. Once a tribe became notified as criminal, all its
members were required to register with the local magistrate, failing which
they will be charges with a crime. It is followed by the criminal tribes act of
1952. The Act was repealed post-independence and the communities were
‘denotified’.
• Although denotified in 1952, members of denotified tribes often find
themselves restricted by the Habitual Offenders Act, 1959, which has similar
provisions as the 1871 Act for restricting movement of those found to be
‘habitual offenders
• There were various reasons as to why these communities were labelled
‘criminal’. The National Commission for Denotified, Nomadic and Semi-
Nomadic Tribes (NCDNST), constituted in 2005, notes in its 2008 report
that the forest laws that came into force from the mid-nineteenth century
onwards “deprived a large number of communities of their traditional rights
of grazing, hunting and gathering and shifting cultivation in specific areas.”
The new laws, of which these communities were unaware, criminalised their
very source of livelihood and they “frequently found themselves on the wrong
side of the law.”
• When the forests were cleared by the British for commercial use and forest
communities asked to contribute to labour, some communities resisted and
were declared ‘criminal’.
• The British thought that “once such communities had lost their legitimate
means of livelihood, they must have been living by indulging in criminal
activities. There is ample evidence to show that a very large number of
communities that were formerly nomadic fell in the net of the Criminal Tribes
Act because of such an argument.” On the pretext of ‘law and order’, anybody
who resisted the British or any “‘respectable’ people of the village (landlords,
high castes or those who paid taxes to the British)” was notified as ‘criminal’.
• The fallout of this period of labelling has been that, that stigma and suspicion
against entire communities has persisted, as noted by as many as six
committees and commissions before the NCDNST was formed.
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• As the NCDNST report says, “In fact, the state was the biggest enemy of the
nomads, for it represented the interests of the dominant classes, for whom
peregrinating communities were both a threat and a nuisance.”
• Examples include Sansi, Yerukula, Banjara,

(II) 7.3. PSEUDOTRIBALISM

• Pseudo tribalism: Pseudo tribalism refers to the concept of non-tribal caste
groups claiming Scheduled Tribe social status to enjoy the unintended concessions
and privilege in the fields of education, employment and developmental activities.
• The concept of Tribe varies from State to State or area to area depending upon
local socio-economic conditions of particular community and the consequent
inclusion of a particular group in the list of Scheduled Tribes or Scheduled Castes.
• A community may be Scheduled Tribe in one State and it may be Scheduled
Caste in another State and same may be backward class or forward class in another
State. For example, Lambadas or Banjaras or Sugalis are Scheduled Tribes in
Andhra Pradesh, but they are classified as Scheduled Castes in Karnataka and Union
Territory of Delhi and Backward Class in neighbouring Maharashtra.
• Korcha community which is synonymous of Yerukula tribe is in the list of
Scheduled Castes in Karnataka State and in Andhra Pradesh, they are
Scheduled Tribes.
• Similarly, ‘Goudu’ is Scheduled Tribe within the Agency tracts of Andhra
Pradesh but they are not recognised as Scheduled Tribes in adjoining State of Orissa
eventhough they are predominantly found in tribal areas of, Orissa State.
• This kind of anomalies lead to emigration of identical communities from a State
where they are not Scheduled to a State where the same group is scheduled in order
to utilise the benefits under the garb of Scheduled Tribes.
• Identical nomenclature of certain communities, sometimes based on identical
traditional occupations within the State also is leading to much confusion and
facilitating these non-tribal caste groups to claim Scheduled Tribe social status.

Case study: The Kammara caste group people (which is included in State B.C.
list) who are blacksmiths in the plain areas, are also claiming as Kammaras of
Agency tracts for the sake of cornering the reservation benefits of Scheduled
Tribes. These two are quite distinct communities and they differ widely in their
customs, traditions, habits and values. The social organisation of these two
 19

communities and associated ritual practices are diametrically opposite to each

community.
Case study: Goudu of Agency tracts (Pastorals) are included in Scheduled Tribe
list but Gowda of plain areas who are traditional toddy tappers are included as
Backward Classes. Both communities are distinct and different. The High Court in
its Writ Appeal No.439 of 1980 also clearly brought out this distinction between
these two communities and Gowda or Gamalla people even residing in Agency
areas cannot be recognised as Scheduled Tribes.

Case study: Some of the people belonging to Pala Ekiri caste are styling
themselves as Erukula and are producing bogus tribal certificates.

Case study: Some of the communities, who even without any kind of identical
nomenclature, are also fraudulently claiming as if they belong to some of the sub-
divisions mentioned under certain generic names or main group. For example,
Lingadhari Koya under Koya.

Conclusion: There is mushroom growth of sham tribals (Sham = a thing that is not
what it is purported to be) to enjoy the unintended concessions and privilege in the
fields of education, employment and developmental activities. Unless this process of
pseudo tribalism is strictly controlled the genuine tribals cannot be developed as
envisaged in the Constitution.

(III) PROBLEMS WITH LAND ALIENATION

The Xaxa Committee report, looking into the condition of STs, proposes the following
types or routes to alienation.
• Development induced alienation - large tracts of adivasi land acquired by state or
negotiated by private parties, for setting up development projects, with no or very
modest returns for adivasis.
• Community land of tribal communities, recorded as Government land in survey
and settlement operations, and most state tenancy laws recognizing only
individually owned registered land.
• State action of acquiring tribal lands for settling refugees, resulting in land
alienation and displacement.
 20

• Creation of National Parks, resulting in alienation of rights and consequent

displacement and forced migration of tribal people.
• Illegal land alienation, due to participation of revenue functionaries and officials,
and incorrect interpretation of laws, manipulation of records and permission.
 21

Andhra Ø Andhra Pradesh Schedule Areas Land Transfer

Pradesh Regulation of 1959
Ø PESA, 1996, adopted but not effective.
Rules/guidelines not framed.

Chattisgarh Ø No specific law on land alienation

Ø Sec. 170-B of Chhattisgarh Panchayat Raj Evam
Gram Swaraj Adhiniyam 1993
Ø PESA, 1996, adopted but not effective.
Rules/guidelines not framed.

Gujarat Ø Bombay Land Revenue Code,1879 (Sec 73A)

Ø PESA, 1996, adopted but not effective.
Rules/guidelines not framed.

Jharkhand Ø Chotanagpur Tenancy Act 1908,

Ø Santhal Parangan Tenancy Act, 1949
Ø Scheduled Areas Regulation, 1969
Ø PESA, 1996, adopted but not effective.
Rules/guidelines not framed.

Madhya Ø Madhya Pradesh Land Revenue Code, 1959

Pradesh Ø PESA, 1996, adopted but not effective.
Rules/guidelines not framed.

Maharashtra Ø Maharashtra Land Revenue Code and Tenancy

Laws (Amendment) Act, 1966, -
Ø Maharashtra Restoration of Lands to Scheduled
Tribes Act, 1974

Orissa Ø Orissa Scheduled Areas Transfer of Immovable

Property (by ST) Regulation, 1956
Ø Orissa Land Reforms Act, 1960 (for non-scheduled
areas)
 22

Ø Orissa Government Land Settlement Act, 1962,

Ø Orissa Prevention of Land Encroachment Act, 1972
Ø PESA 1996, adopted, and rules and guidelines
framed

Rajasthan Ø Rajasthan Tenancy Act, 1955

Ø PESA 1996, adopted, and rules and guidelines
frame.

Tripura Ø Tripura Land Reform & Land Revenue and Act,

1960
Ø Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District
CouncilAct,1979

A combination of factors - the weaknesses of the laws, their poor enforcement by a

complicit state system, and a parallel set of contradictory laws - have meant that
laws have been flouted more often than they have been enforced.
The other measures include:

i. Panchayati Raj (Extension in Scheduled Areas) Act, 1996 –effective in

schedule 5 areas of states, and that seeks to empower local adivasi communities
(through Gram Sabha) themselves, to act to prevent alienation and better
manage local resources, including land, are still show much results.

ii. The Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition
of Forest Rights) Act, 2006 is used as a mechanism by which to restore lands
belonging to tribal communities – through provision of award of title deeds to
Adivasis in forest lands, which has been used to some good measures in select
cases – it has no implications for protection from further land alienation.
And yet, land alienation is an ongoing phenomenon

(III) INDEBTEDNESS
 23

In India 58% of the tribal people Below Poverty Line with a high concentration in
states like Andhra, Rajastan, UP, Bihar, Orissa and West Bengal
• Deficit family income and
• Social compulsions.
• Loss of tribal rights over land and forests
• Poor and primitive mode of agriculture
• Ignorance
• Expenditure beyond their means
• Fear of excommunication and fines

Role of money lender

Consequences of indebtedness:
• Loss of freedom
• Wastage of labour power
• Alienation of land
• Sale of girls and prostitution
• Chronic venereal diseases
• Bonded labour

Legislation and remedial steps:

• The agency debt bondage abolition 1964
• The Assam money lenders regulation 1968
• The Bihar moneylenders(regulation of transaction) act 1939
• The Bombay agricultural debtors relief act 1947
• The kerala money lending act 1958

The immediate steps can be the following

Ø spread of banking
Ø Focus on poverty alleviation
Ø entrepreneurship
Ø debt relief legislation
Ø legal aid
Ø awareness and education
 24

Ø prevention
Ø protection’
Ø promotion of micro credit facilities through formal and favourable terms

(V) BONDED LABOUR

Slavery convention (1926) and International Labour Organisation (ILO) (1930)
argue forced labour, bonded labour is to be defined as labour and services extracted
from a person as a penalty where the person has not involved voluntarily.
United Nations sees bonded labour as a special kind of forced labour (1956).
However in India bonded labour is characteristically more complex.
Features in India:
• Creditor – debtor relationship which can spill over to other members of the
family
• It has an infinite duration
• Adverse contract more frequently illegal
• Not purely economic terms. The relationship often has a customary backup
which reinforces the bondage.
• Link between caste, social structure and bondage
• Traditional feudal social relations and bonded labour
1. Agricultural sector:
• Land alienation.
• Denial of access to Common Property Resources.
• Socio-economic dominance of certain groups
• Changing labour requirement with capitalist investment.
• Social rituals, illness and substantive absence of cash resulted in indebtedness
and bondage (e.g. Kol Tribal bondage in Mirzapur district of Southern UP).
2. Brick Kilns:
• Employment through middlemen who are paid from wages of the labourers.
• Part of the payment is made on weekly basis and bulk payment is made on end of
the month and season as a result labourers become bonded.
3. Stone queries, crushers and miners:
 25

• Small scale and localised quarrying and mining invite labourers from nomadic
tribes and rural poor. They are irregularly paid and are made bonded
without proper work place protection. Instances are reported from Hariyana, UP,
MP, Rajastan, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu.
Mitigation: India has a strong and substantivistic bonded labour abolition act of
1976. It recognises
a) overlap between forced and bonded labour,
b) contract labour and interstate migration issues,
c) embeddedness within social customs.
However, since states showed reluctance and it is challenging to identify bonded
labours supreme court have tasked National Human Rights Commission for
monitoring the implementation of the act.

(VI) ISSUES RELATED TO HEALTH

Tribal communities face the “triple burden” of disease. Apart from high rates of
malnutrition and communicable diseases (Malaria, TB, leprosy, HIV etc), the
advent of rapid urbanisation, and changing lifestyles and environment, has led to
a rise in non-communicable diseases as well (cancer, diabetes, and hypertension).
These are in addition to the burden of mental illness and subsequent addiction.

1. Deficiency of essential components in diet leading to malnutrition, protein

calorie malnutrition and micronutrient deficiencies (vit A, iron and iodine) are
common. Goitre of various grades is also endemic in some of the tribal areas.
2. Water borne and communicable diseases: Gastrointestinal disorders,
particularly dysentery and parasitic infections are very common, leading to
marked morbidity and malnutrition. Malaria and tuberculosis still remain a
problem in many tribal areas, while the spectrum of viral and venereal diseases
have not been studied in-depth.
3. High prevalence of genetic disorders mostly involving red blood cells:
Genetically transmitted disorders like sickle cell anaemia, glucose 6 phosphate
dehydrogenase deficiency and different forms of thalassaemia are also
common. All these defects lead to the early destruction of red blood cells and
add to the overall anaemia.
 26

4. Excess consumption of alcohol: The brewing of alcohol from Mohua flower

and fruits has been practiced traditionally. However, the switch over to
commercially available liquor is likely to be a major threat.
5. Superstitions particularly related to health problems.
6. Extreme poverty.
The inadequate health infrastructure for these peculiar health needs makes the
problem more severe.

• Poverty disease nexus: Poverty and disease makes a vicious cycle one leading
to the other.
• The World Health Report (2000) stressed on the awareness generation about
hygiene and available health infrastructure. Removal of chronic poverty and a
culture change was thought to be the prime factor for improvement of health and
hygiene.
• Policy regarding service delivery: The health survey development committee
headed by Bhore (1946) highlighted the importance of making health service
facilities available at micro level with more emphasis on tribals.

NUTRITIONAL PARAMETERS AMONG TRIBALS AND NONTRIBALS

Parameter Scheduled tribes General population

(%) (%)

Malnutrition in children 54.5 33.7

Anemia in children 76.8 70

Anemia in women 68.5 51.3

Underweight among women 46.6 29.4

Vitamin A deficiency in 30 18.5

women.
 27

Ø According to the National Family Health Survey, 47% of tribal women are
having chronic energy deficiency (CED) compared to 35% among the general
population.
Ø Tribals account for 25% of all malaria cases occurring in India and 15% of all
falciparum cases.
Ø Intestinal helminthiasis is widely prevalent among tribal children (up to 50% in
Orissa and 75% in MP).
Ø Skin infections such as tinea and scabies are seen among tribals due to poor
personal hygiene.
Ø Sexually transmitted diseases are relatively more common (7.2% prevalence of
syphilis among Kolli hills tribals of Tamil Nadu).
Ø The prevalence of tuberculosis is high, especially in Orissa.
Ø Sickle cell trait prevalence varies from 0.5% to 45%, disease prevalence is
around 10%. It is mostly seen among the tribals of central and southern India,
not reported in North-East
Ø The prevalence of tobacco use is 44.9% among tribal men and 24% among
tribal women.
Ø Plasmodium falciparum (Malaria)

PUBLIC HEALTH INFRASTRUCTURE

India since 1952 is following a pyramidal structure of health service delivery. In

tribal areas the government has provided for the establishment of primary health
centers for every 20,000 population and sub-centers for every 3000 population, health
care is not available to the majority of the tribals. This is due to several factors:
Lack of accessibility to health facilities: As of the year 1999, 20,770 sub-centers, 3289
primary health centers, and 514 community health centers were available in the tribal
areas. This leaves almost 25% of the tribal population without adequate access to
health services even with the existing norms under the minimum need program.
 28

Non-availability of health staff in the health centers: Almost 20% of the PHCs in
tribal areas are not staffed with doctors and 15% of the posts of paramedical workers
is vacant.
Quality of services: Non-availability of essential drugs and equipments, lack of
proper building facilities, difficult terrain and constraints of distance and time, and
lack of transport and communication facilities hinder the provision of health care.
Traditional practices and superstitions: Local beliefs, customs, and practices have
obstructed health care delivery to the tribals. However, acceptance toward modern
medicine is found to be increasing among tribals in the recent years.
The tribals of India are heterogeneous. Hence, the methods to tackle their health
problems should not only be multi-fold, but also specific to the individual groups as
feasible as possible.
• Health issues should be dealt by clubbing them together with nutrition,
sanitation, family planning, health education, awareness generation etc.
XAXA COMMITTEE RECOMMENDED

• Tribal Health Assembly: From the Gram Sabhas at village level, upto the
national level, Tribal Health Assemblies should be annually organized in which
the people (at the level of village) or their representatives (at the higher levels)
participate. For instance, such a ‘Tribal Health Assembly’ is annually
organized for the past 15 years by an NGO, SEARCH, in Gadchiroli
district (Maharashtra) for three purposes, a) to listen to the health problems and
priorities of the people, b) to get approval for the proposed health solutions and
activities, c) to get their feedback on ongoing activities.
• Tribal Health Councils: These should be constituted by including elected
representatives, NGOs, experts and government officers for the purpose of
planning and monitoring of programs.
• Tribes Advisory Councils at the state level: These Councils should approve the
health plans prepared by the Tribal Health Councils, and to review the
performance of implementation.
• Traditional healers play an important role in the indigenous health care.
• Accredited Social Health Activists (ASHA) and Anganwadi workers,
paramedic workers, the doctors and public health program managers must
be local, belong to Scheduled Tribes, be fluent in local tribal dialects, be
 29

selected on merit and should be committed to serve in the local Scheduled Area
for at least ten years.
• separate Medical Colleges for Tribal Areas be opened in selected scheduled
districts
• Addiction prevented.
• Data on the Scheduled Tribe population is a basic ingredient for planning,
monitoring and evaluating health programs in Scheduled Areas. All national
data systems – the Census, SRS, NFHS, NSSO, and DLHS – should be asked to
plan for and generate Scheduled Tribe-specific estimates on health indicators at
the district level and above.
• Construction of a composite Tribal Health Index (THI) including the indicators
on health status, determinants and health care.

(VII) EDUCATION

Challenges in Tribal Education

Education is one of the primary agents of transformation towards
development.Education is in fact, an input not only for economic development of
tribes but also for inner strength of the tribal communities which helps them in
meeting the new challenges of life.
Medium of Instruction: Language has been the biggest constraints in tribal
education. All the curriculum and teachers module are designed in
official/regional language which is alien for tribal student.
Economic Condition: The economic condition of tribal people is so poor that
they do not desire to spare their children or their labour power and allow them to
attend schools.
Teacher Absenteeism: In the remote tribal areas the teacher absenteeism is a
regular phenomenon and this affects largely the quality of education.
Attitude of the Parents: As education does not yield any immediate economic
return, the tribal parents prefer to engage their children in remunerative
employment which supplements the family income.
Infrastructural Challenges: Most of the schools located in tribal areas have
minimal infrastructural facilities. These schools are not equipped with teaching
 30

learning materials, study materials, even minimum sanitary provisions are not
maintained.
Government Intervention:
§ Eklavya Model School: Residential School based on Navodaya Model to
be opened in each tribal block by 2022.
§ Rajiv Gandhi National Fellowship Scheme (RGNF): RGNF was
introduced in the year 2005-2006 with the objective to encourage the
students belonging to ST community to pursue higher education
§ Pre and Post Matric Scholarship Schemes
§ Vocational Training Center in Tribal Areas: The aim of this scheme is to
develop the skill of ST students depending on their qualification and
present market trends.

Recommendations:
§ Kothari Commission stressed to pay special attention to the education of
Scheduled Tribes.
§ XaXa Committee recommended greater focus on removing gender
disparity in education.
§ Awareness Campaigns like street drama, Camps Counselling session to
bring attitudinal change in Parents.
§ Emphasis should be given to career or job oriented course.
§ Teachers should be locally recruited who understand and respect tribal
culture and practices and most importantly are acquainted with the local
language.
Sharma in 1976 opined that “Urban middle class-oriented education is
superimposed on the entire nation both in terms of structure and content.
L. R. N. Srivastava puts that the isolated tribal children hardly appreciates the
geography of the country, civilisation, history etc.
S. N. Rath opines that a supplementary curriculum must be added to the main

(VIII) SHIFTING CULTIVATION:

 31

• Cultivating a plot of land for a temporary period and leaving it fallow

• Clearing the forest, burning the fallen leaves and spreading the seeds in the ash
filled soil.
• Dates back to the Neolithic period
• In few years the fallowed land regains part of its fertility and grows in to a less
luxurious secondary forest in some places called as Belukars.
• According to Leach, in the vast tropical and subtropical Africa and Asia and the
new world shifting cultivation co existed with agriculture.
• Called Jhum among the tribes of assam, Meghalaya, Tripura, Mizoram, and
Arunachal Pradesh
• Bewar /Dahya in Madhya Pradesh
• Podu in AP
• Koman /Bringa in north Orissa
• Very common in the states of AP, North east region,Bihar and Orissa.
• Baigas of Madhya Pradesh and Orissa believe that mother earth must not be
tortured with plough, and it brings misery.
• Forest department is dead against it
• According to Nicholson a conservator, The damage done to the forests by
shifting cultivation is serious and only under certain conditions where the land
available is large and the tribal population is very small it does little harm.
• According to M.L.BOR a botanist, of all practices initiated by man the most
obnoxious is that of shifting cultivation.
• M.D. Chaturvedi, former inspector general of forests has a liberal opinion on
shift cultivation. According to him it’s a natural response of humans to the
physiographic character of land. Instead of condemning it as an evil practice, it must
be recognised as a way of life.
• S.H. Howard, former inspector general of forests suggests that if wisely
regulated the procedure can be followed indefinitely without harming nature.
• It is now legally prohibited except in few pockets of Madhya Pradesh and north
eastern region.
• Promotes laziness and inertia among cultivators.
• Korku, Baiga, Korwa, Maria tribes of Madhya Pradesh and Nagas of assam claim
the shift cultivation needs simple eqp like axe, Hoe, digging stick, sickle etc.
• Report of the scheduled areas and scheduled tribes Commission 1961 gives
some important suggestions.
1.Total replacement takes time it is entwined with the sociocultural aspect of the
tribes. alternatives must be tried mean while
 32

2. Repleace it with terracing

3. Establishment of agricultural colonies.

• Planning commission’s report of the study team on tribal development

programme 1969 suggest following steps
1. Setting up of demonstration farms,
2. Distribution of improved agricultural implements
3. Providing credit facilities.
6.3. DEVELOPMENTAL PROJECTS AND THEIR IMPACT ON TRIBAL
DISPLACEMENT AND PROBLEMS.
• Dams, highways, or other large-scale construction projects..
• World Bank estimates that only in post 1990s the construction of 300 high
dams displaced four million people each year, urban projects have displaced 6
million people each year world wide each year.
• Ongoing industrialisation, electrification and urbanisation processes are likely to
increase, rather than reduce, the number of programmes causing involuntary
population displacement.

Causes or categories of development-induced displacement include the following:

• water supply (dams, reservoirs, irrigation);
• urban infrastructure;
• transportation (roads, highway, canals);
• energy (mining, power plants, oil exploration and extraction, pipelines);
• agriculture expansion;
• parks and forest reserves; and
• population redistribution schemes.
Situation in India:
• Despite of the abandonment of many high cost projects during 1950s and 1960s
which displaced about 40 – 50 percent of the tribal people from their homeland,
many of these projects are in the process of restarting.
• In 1994 the government of India admitted that 10 million people displaced by
dams, mines, deforestation and other development projects were still ‘awaiting
rehabilitation’, a figure regarded as very conservative by most independent
researchers.
 33

• Estimates suggest that in Andhra Pradesh 27% of the tribal people are displaced.
Orissa has a displacement of 22% of her tribal communities. Similar situation
prevails in Jharkhand, West Bengal and Kerala.
Protests:
• Universal Declaration of Human Rights prohibit forced displacement.
• however, due to political or unknown reasons the UN bodies are at complete
silence. In India some famous example of such people’s movement include
Narmada Bachao Andolan, and KoelKaro Hydro Electric Power Project where
protest resulted in death of 9 and additionally 22 people were injured on 2nd
February 2001.
Impact Assessment:
Michael Cernea, a sociologist, (1999) has identified eight interlinked potential risks
intrinsic to displacement.
1. Landlessness:
2. Joblessness:
3. Homelessness.
4. Marginalisation.
5. Food Insecurity.
6. Increased Morbidity and Mortality.
7. Loss of Access to Common Property.
8. Social Disintegration.
Rehabilitation resettlement:
the ministry of rehabilitation. Even UN bodies are quite reluctant to take initiative
for proper rehabilitation and resettlement.
· Right to participation of local people in decision making.
· Rights to life and livelihood
· Rights of vulnerable groups
· Rights to remedy must be properly implemented

• Patrick McCully (1998) consequences of displacement, are very painful. the

tribals who live in the hills and forests are the worst sufferers. resettlement kills:
 34

sickness and death rates usually increase markedly specially among the very young
and very old.
• If we look at the Narmada Bachao Andolan led by Medha Patkar, it shows that
most of the oustees of the river valley are the poor tribals.
• Arundhati Roy made a study of the problems of displacement with the tribals in
the valley of Narmada. She says that the dam is not in the interest of the common
good of tribals.
• The tribals have raised a very important slogan: Whose is Mother Narmada?
Ours, ours (Narmada maiya konin chhe? Hamri chhe, Hamri chhe).
• The oustees of the dam argue that just as farmers have tilled the land and
fishermen have used the river, tribals have been living in self-sufficient harmony
with the forest for generations. The government cannot own the resources of the
community.
• The biggest flaw in the Narmada project is the lack of a viable rehabilitation
policy for the oustees.
• Thus, one of the severest problems of tribals is their displacement and the
resultant rehabilitation.

OTHER PROBLEMS OF TRIBALS

• they are required to integrate themselves in the cultural mainstream.

• They have become victims of 'cultural terrorism'.
• There are efforts by fundamental Hindu organizations such as Vishwa Hindu
Parishad (VHP), Bajrang Dal and others to identify the tribals as Hindus.
• On the other hand, there are Christian missionaries who convert them into
Christianity.
• Basically, the problems faced by the tribals are not homogeneous. For instance,
the problems of north-east tribals, such as Nagas and Bodos, are different from
those of central India. The former are geo-political. On the other hand, the
heartland tribals have problems of land alienation, poverty, illiteracy, exploitation
and victimization from former jagirdars, dikus and high caste Hindus.
• A meeting of anthropologists was held in May 1972 at Vigyan Bhawan in
collaboration with the Indian Institute of Advance Study, Simla, and the Indian
Council of Social Science Research, New Delhi. This meeting set out to identify the
basic problems of tribals along with the problems emerging from social change. We
specify some of these problems.
Problems Resulting from Social Change
 35

(1) Participation in a democratic, secular, socialistic society has affected their

village unity and encouraged factionalism on party ideology.
(2) Directed change has created unrest. There is demand for political autonomy.
(3)The new economic policy has created a new market system. Money economy
has come about and capitalism has encroached into tribal agriculture leading to land
scarcity.
(4) Education, modernization, transport and communication have brought about an
identity crisis.
(5) The society now has class formation and ethnic divisions.
Forest and Forest Produce : Tribals consider forests as their abode. In the past they
made their livelihood from the forest, forest produce and forest game. a new
problem which has emerged out of forest legislation.
Distillation of Country Liquor
• The tribal life revolves round liquor.
• The state governments have prohibited the distillation of liquor.
• Admittedly, drinking liquor is injurious for health.
• But, for tribals, it is an abiding tradition.
• Prohibition has led to illicit distillation and the resultant police harassment and
litigation.
• Elwin says that when a tribal goes to a public vendor for drinking he learns the
evil habits of urban life. Home distillation of liquor is not very easy. When it is
brewed in the house, the elderly members of the family have also to be served; to be
given to be neighbours and village kin this discourages liquor consumption. 'Thus,
prohibition is a great strain on tribals and needs to be improved.
Emergence of New Exploiters
neo-rich tribals. Earlier, the exploiters were dikus or non-tribals. Today, the
exploiters are within the tribals themselves. Nothing can be worse than this. The
exploited have now become exploiters.
De-scheduling
• When the list of Scheduled Tribes was declared by the President of India, the
number of such tribes was 312 only.
• Within a period of 50 years, this number has gone up to 461. The multiplication
is conspicuous.
 36

• It was expected that with the investment on development the number of

Scheduled Tribes would go down.
• The increase in their size shows that the whole process of scheduling has been
politicized.
• In the case of Rajasthan, for example, P.C. Jain (1999) informs that the socio-
cultural and economic status of the Minas—the predominant tribal group of
Rajasthan—is much above that of the Bhils. He suggests, why not deschedule
Minas? As a matter of fact, we should have started de-scheduling of some of the
tribals who have made substantial improvement in their status.
• But de-scheduling cannot work as it is highly politicized.
Maintaining Tribal Ethnicity
If the Brahmins, Rajputs and other innumerable high caste Hindus maintain their
ethnic identity, so also should the tribals. No group has the right to 'impose' their
way of life and ideology on the tribals.

7.2 DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMMES AND WELFARE MEASURES ON

TRIBALS AND WEAKER SECTIONS. (&)
9.1 TRIBALSPOLICIES, PLANS, PROGRAMMES OF TRIBAL
DEVELOPMENT AND THEIR IMPLEMENTATION.

Types of schemes:
Ø Central sector schemes are 100% funded by the Union government and
implemented by the Central Government machinery.
Ø Under Centrally Sponsored Schemes (CSS) a certain percentage of the funding
is borne by the States in the ratio of 50:50, 70:30, 75:25 or 90:10 and the
implementation is by the State Governments.
Source of fund:
Ø Ministry of Tribal Affairs through its schemes, ‘Special Central Assistance to
Tribal Sub-Scheme (SCA to TSS)’, Grant-in-Aid to voluntary Organisations
and Grants under Article 275(1) of the Constitution provides funds to the State
Governments as an additive based on their proposal after approval of Project
Appraisal Committee in the Ministry.
1. GRANTS-IN-AID UNDER ARTICLE 275(1) OF THE CONSTITUTION:
 37

• Grants-in-aid under Article 275(1) of Constitution of India is 100% annual grant

from Government of India to States.
• It is an additive to State Plan funds and efforts for Tribal Development.
• Grant is provided to 27 States, namely, Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh,
Assam, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Goa, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu &
Kashmir, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Manipur,
Maharashtra, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Odisha, Rajasthan, Sikkim,
Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Tripura, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and West Bengal.
• Fund is utilized for economic development of Integrated Tribal Development
Project (ITDP), Integrated Tribal Development Agency (ITDA), Modified Area
Development Approach (MADA) pockets & Clusters and Particularly
Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs).
2. Tribal Sub-Plan: (TSP) (Now called Scheduled tribe component STC at
central level and tribal sub scheme TSS at state level)
Emergence: The concept of Tribal Sub-Plans was introduced in the Fifth Five
Year Plan (1974-1979)
Salient features:
• It is a planning concept used in India to channelize the flow of benefits from
the Central government for the development of tribal populations in the states.
• It is a part of the annual plan.
• The funds that are given under Tribal Sub scheme are in proportion with the
Scheduled Tribe (ST) in the state or UT.
• The motivation for TSS is to bridge the gap between tribal population and
others by accelerating access to education and health services, housing,
income generating opportunities, and protection against exploitation and
oppression.
• It presently covers 23 states, Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Chhattisgarh,
Goa, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu &Kashmir, Jharkhand, Karnataka,
Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Manipur, Odisha, Rajasthan, Sikkim,
Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Tripura, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh and West
Bengal.
Limitations:
• The objectives are completely violated by the department authorities.
• The fund and the resources that are sent for the welfare of the Tribal are used
for their self-benefits and thus the rules are violated. For instance, the funds
 38

that were sent for the Tribal benefit in Odisha are used for development of
infrastructure in areas other than TSP areas.
• The budget that is assigned in annual year plan is less than the required based
on the population of tribal.
• The SC and ST development departments are spending less than the required
expenditure that are provided for the various development programs.

3. SPECIAL CENTRAL ASSISTANCE TO TRIBAL SUB-SCHEME (SCA

TO TSS):
• Special Central Assistance to Tribal Sub-Scheme (SCA to TSS) is 100% grant
from Government of India.
• SCA to TSS is a part of the umbrella scheme for development of scheduled tribes,
It is directed towards providing grants to states / UTs as an additive to their own
efforts for accelerating tribal development.
• This grant is utilized for economic development of Integrated Tribal Development
Project (ITDP), Integrated Tribal Development Agency (ITDA), Modified Area
Development Approach (MADA) pockets & Clusters, Particularly Vulnerable
Tribal Groups (PVTGs) and dispersed tribal population.
• SCA to TSS covers 23 States:

Note:
• ITDAs are additional institutions for delivery of public goods and services to
STs. These agencies function under overall control of the State Governments.
The respective State Government keep watch over these agencies for ensuring
effective utilization of funds provided to them for implementation of various
programmes / interventions and submission of progress of the work assigned to
them. (Presently, TSP areas, Scheduled areas, ITDP areas are made
coterminous in many states)
• ITDP: Area consisting of one or more blocks where ST population is more than
50% (Presently, TSP areas, Scheduled areas, ITDPs are made coterminous in
many states)
• MADA (Modified area development approach) scheme has been operating
since the Sixth Plan for the total development of the dispersed tribal population
 39

residing outside TSP area, which are contiguous smaller areas having a
population of 10,000 or more, with 50% tribal concentration.
• The cluster approach: It has been introduced from the middle of the 7th Five
Year Plan Period in order to bring smaller areas of tribal concentration beyond
the MADA pockets into the mainstream of development. Contiguous areas
having a population of 5,000 or more with at least 50% tribal concentration are
identified as clusters).
• Dispersed Tribal Development Project (DTDP): As an extension of TSP
strategy, the dispersed ST population of the state located outside the ITDA/
MADA/ Cluster Pocket is covered under a special project for tribal
development called, ‘Dispersed Tribal Development Project (DTDP).

4. CHEME OF GRANT-IN-AID TO VOLUNTARY ORGANIZATIONS

WORKING FOR THE WELFARE OF SCHEDULED TRIBES:
• The Prime Objective of the scheme is to enhance the reach of welfare schemes
of Government and fill the gaps in service deficient tribal areas, in the sectors
such as education, health, drinking water, agro-horticultural productivity ,social
security etc, through the efforts of Voluntary Organizations, and to provide an
environment for socio-economic development or livelihood generation of STs .
• It’s a central sector scheme. Grants are provided to the NGO organization on
application and recommendation by “Multi-disciplinary state level committee”
of concerned state government/UT administration. Generally, 90% funds are
provided by the Govt and the VO/NGO is expected to bear remaining 10%.

5. EKLAVYA MODEL RESIDENTIAL SCHOOL (EMRS)

• Eklavya Model Residential School is an excellent approach for imparting
quality education to ST children.
• Eklavya schools will be on par with Navodaya Vidyalayas and will have special
facilities for preserving local art and culture besides providing training in sports
and skill development.
• Funded through grants under Article 275(1) of the constitution.
 40

6. PRE - MATRIC SCHOLARSHIPS TO ST STUDENTS:

• Applicable to students who are studying in Classes IX–X.
• Parental income from all sources should be less than Rs.2.00 lakhs per annum,
which is proposed to be revised to Rs.2.50 lakhs per annum.
• Central assistance in the ratio of 75:25 between center and State
Governments/UT Administrations (90:10 for North eastern states, J&K,
Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh).
• Scholarship is distributed through the State Government/UT Administration.

7. POST - MATRIC SCHOLARSHIPS TO ST STUDENTS (CLASS XI AND

ABOVE)
• Applicable to students who are studying in any recognized course from a
recognized institution for which qualification is Matriculation/Class X or above.
• Parental income & funding similar to pre matric)

8. NATIONAL OVERSEAS SCHOLARSHIPS (NOS) FOR ST STUDENTS

FOR STUDYING ABROAD
• Provides financial assistance to selected students to pursue Post Graduation,
Ph.D & Post-Doctoral study abroad.
• A total of 20 awards are given every year. Of these, 17 awards are for STs and 3
awards for students belonging to Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups.
• Parental/family income from all sources should not exceed Rs.6.00 lakhs per
annum.
• Central sector scheme. Funds released to ministry of external affairs on
reimbursement basis.

9. SCHEME OF “DEVELOPMENT OF PARTICULARLY VULNERABLE

TRIBAL GROUPS” (PVTGS):
• The scheme of Development of PVTGs covers 75 identified PVTGs in 18
States and UT of Andaman & Nicobar Islands for the activities like
Ø Housing,
 41

Ø Land distribution,
Ø Land development,
Ø Agricultural development,
Ø Animal husbandry,
Ø Construction of link roads,
Ø Installation of non-conventional sources of energy for lighting purpose,
Ø Social security including Janashree Bima Yojana or
Ø Any other innovative activity meant for the comprehensive socio-
economic development of PVTGs.
• The scheme is flexible as it enables the States to focus on areas that they
consider as relevant to PVTGs and their socio-cultural environment.

10. VOCATIONAL TRAINING IN TRIBAL AREAS:

• The main aim of the Scheme is to develop the skills of the ST youth for a
variety of jobs as well as self-employment and to improve their socio-economic
condition by enhancing their income.
• The scheme covers all the States and Union Territories.
• 100% grants under the scheme are provided to the State, Union Territories and
other Associations implementing the Scheme.
• Each Vocational Training Centre (VTC) under the Scheme may cater to 5
vocational courses in traditional skills depending upon the employment
potential of the area.
• Each ST boy/girl is trained in two trades of his/her choice, the course in each
trade being for duration of three months.
• Each trainee is to be attached at the end of six months to a master craftsman in a
semi urban / urban area for a period of six months, to learn his/her skills by
practical experience.

11. SCHEME OF STRENGTHENING EDUCATION AMONG SCHEDULED

TRIBES GIRLS IN LOW LITERACY DISTRICTS:
 42

• The Scheme aims to bridge the gap in literacy levels between the general
female population and tribal women, through facilitating 100% enrolment of
tribal girls in the identified Districts or Blocks, more particularly in naxal
affected areas and in areas inhabited by Primitive Tribal Groups(PTGs), and
reducing drop-outs at the elementary level by creating the required ambience
for education. Improvement of the literacy rate of tribal girls is essential to
enable them to participate effectively in and benefit from, socio-economic
development.
• The scheme will be implemented through Voluntary Organizations (Vos) /
Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs).

12. NATIONAL FELLOWSHIP & SCHOLARSHIP FOR HIGHER

EDUCATION OF ST STUDENTS:
a) Scholarship for higher education (earlier known as Top Class Education) For
ST students.
• Scholarship is given to ST students for pursuing studies in prescribed courses in
any of the institutes of excellence across the country like IITs, AIIMS, IIMs,
NIITs, etc. identified by the Ministry.
• Total number of scholarships is 1000 per year.
• Family income from all sources does not exceed Rs.6.00 lakhs per annum.
• Scholarship amount includes tuition fees, living expenses and allowances for
books and computer.
b) Fellowship scheme for ST students.
• 750 fellowships are provided to ST students each year for pursing higher
studies in India for MPhil and PhD.
• Fellowship is granted as per University Grant Commission (UGC) norms,
• Central sector scheme. Funds to institutes / students

13. MECHANISM FOR MARKETING OF MINOR FOREST PRODUCE

(MFP) THROUGH MINIMUM SUPPORT PRICE (MSP) AND
DEVELOPMENT OF VALUE CHAIN FOR MFP AS A MEASURE OF
SOCIAL SAFETY FOR MFP GATHERERS (CENTRALLY SPONSORED
SCHEME)
 43

• The scheme covers 24 MFPs in all states.

• Scheme is implemented through state level agency (SLA) appointed by the state
govt.
• Loss if any is shared by the center and the state in 75:25 ratio.

14. PRADHAN MANTRI VAN DHAN YOJANA (PMVDY):

• Launched in 2018, being implemented by TRIFED.
• PMVDY is an initiative targeting livelihood generation for tribals by harnessing
the wealth of forest i.e. Van Dhan.
• The programme aims to tap into traditional knowledge & skill sets of tribals by
adding technology & IT to upgrade it at each stage and to convert the tribal
wisdom into a viable economic activity.
• The Van Dhan initiative shall promote and leverage the collective strength of
tribals to achieve a viable scale to take on the predatory market forces in the
areas where these are still prevalent.
• Proposition is to set-up tribal community owned Minor Forest Produce (MFP)-
centric multi-purpose Van Dhan Vikas Kendras (the Kendra) in predominantly
tribal districts.
15. VANBANDHU KALYAN YOJANA:
• The Government of India, Ministry of Tribal Affairs has launched Vanbandhu
Kalyan Yojana (VKY) for the holistic development and welfare of Tribal
population in India by filling the infra structure gaps and lags in human
development indices.

Objectives:
Ø Improving the quality of life in tribal areas.
Ø Improving the quality of education.
Ø Qualitative and sustainable employment for tribal families.
Ø Bridging infrastructure gaps with focus on quality.
Ø Protection of tribal culture and heritage.
 44

16) YOUNG ENTREPRENEURS OF TRIFED (TRIBAL COOPERATIVE

MARKETING DEVELOPMENT FEDERATION OF INDIA):
• Young Entrepreneur Development Programme of TRIFED plans to expand sale
operations by empanelling young sales men/women.
• These sales people will undertake house to house campaign for sale of tribal
products.
• They will be paid a commission of 10% on net sales.
• By this revamped plan every tribal products will have a Tribal Craft Mark in form
of hologram/ label/tag for its genuineness and authenticity.

17. TRIBAL RESEARCH INSTITUTES:

The Ministry of Tribal Affairs recognizes the need for continued research on cultural,
anthropological, socio economic and related issues concerning the tribals. The
Ministry also considers it important to support research on issues concerning tribals.

TRIs have been set up by the state governments in various States namely, Andhra
Pradesh, Assam, Chhattisgarh, Jammu & Kashmir, Jharkhand, Gujarat, Himachal
Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Manipur, Orissa,
Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Tripura, West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, Sikkim and
in the Union Territory of Andaman & Nicobar Islands.

The basic objective of the scheme:

• To strengthen the Tribal Research Institutes (TRIs) in their infrastructural
needs, Research & Documentation activities and Training & Capacity Building
programmes, etc.
• It is envisaged that TRIs should work as body of knowledge & research more or
less as a think tank for tribal development, preservation of tribal cultural
heritage.
• provide inputs to States for evidence based planning and appropriate
legislations.
• Capacity building of tribals and persons / institutions associated with tribal
affairs
 45

• Dissemination of information and creation of awareness.

• Funding under this Scheme is 100% Grant-in-Aid by the Ministry of Tribal
Affairs to the TRIs on need basis.
18. NATIONAL SCHEDULED TRIBES FINANCE AND DEVELOPMENT
CORPORATION (NSTFDC), under the Ministry of Tribal Affairs, extends financial
assistance at concessional rates of interest to Scheduled Tribes for undertaking income
generation activities. NSTFDC implements following schemes for self-employment of
Scheduled Tribes who are unemployed or underemployed:
• Term Loan scheme: NSTFDC provides Term Loan for any income generation
scheme costing upto ₹25.00 lakhs per unit.
• Adivasi Mahila Sashaktikaran Yojana (AMSY): Under the scheme,
Scheduled Tribes women can undertake any income generation activity. Loans
upto 90% for scheme costing upto ₹1 lakh are provided at a concessional rate of
interest of 4% p.a.
• Micro Credit Scheme for Self Help Groups: The Corporation provides loans
upto ₹50,000/- per member and ₹ 5 Lakhs per Self Help Group (SHG). The
interest rate chargeable is 6% p.a.
• Adivasi Shiksha Rrinn Yojana: Under this scheme, financial assistance upto
₹5.00 lakh at concessional rate of interest of 6% per annum is provided to ST
students for pursuing professional/ technical education including Ph.D. in India.

19. ANAMAYA : TRIBAL HEALTH COLLABORATIVE :

• Tribal health collaborative launched by MoTA, supported by Piramal
Foundation and Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
• It will cover efforts of various govt agencies and organisations to enhance the
health and nutrition status of the tribal communities of India.
• It aims to end all preventable deaths among tribal communities of India. It aims
to build a sustainable high performance health eco-systems to address the key
health challenges faced by the tribal population of India.
• Over 10 years the work of tribal health collaborative will be extended to 177
tribal districts as recognised by the MoTA.
• A ‘Tribal Health Cell’ is being set up in the MoTA.
 46

20. TRIBES INDIA e-MARKET PLACE:

• It is India’s largest handicraft and organic products marketplace.
• This initiative aims to onboard 5 lakh tribal producers for sourcing of various
handicraft, handloom, natural food products brings best of tribal produce to
consumers.

21. SWASTHYA PORTAL :

• It is an e-portal providing all health and nutrition related information of tribal
population of india in a single platform.
• Swasthya will also curate innovative practices,research briefs ,case studies and
best practices collected from different parts of india to facilitate the exchange of
evidence,expertise and experiences.
• The Centre of Excellence will constantly engage with the ministry and provide
inputs to drive evidence based policy and decision making pertaining to health
and nutrition of the tribal population of India.

22. ASHRAM SCHOOLS :

• They are demand driven residential schools implemented through state govts.
• These schools are constructed in tribal sub plan states/UT administration.
• The scheme covers primary, middle, secondary and senior secondary level of
education.
• Under the scheme only construction grant in cost sharing ratio basis is released
to state govt for construction of ashram schools
• As per extant provisions of the scheme, state govt are eligible for 100% central
share for construction of all girls, ashram schools and also for construction of
boys, ashram schools in Naxal affected areas. The funding pattern for the other
boys ashram schools is on 50:50 basis, while 100% assistance is given to UTs
for construction of both girls and boys ashram schools.
• Recurring grants of these schools are released by the concerned state govt and
all administrative management ,academic issues including food, education and
safety are taken care of by state govt.
 47

OTHER INITIATIVES:
• Programme for capacity building of scheduled tribe (ST) representatives in
local self governments (PRI)
• 1000 spring initiative for improving access to safe and adequate water for
tribal communities living in inaccessible regions.
• Tribal health cell in the ministry of tribal affairs to strengthen primary health
care system and invest in tribal health research.

GOVT SUPPORT TO TRIBALS DURING COVID- 19 PANDEMIC:

• MoTA has focused its interventions in health on spreading awareness about
COVID – 19, improving accessibility to the essential medical services and
thermal screening of tribal people.
• Essentials like – masks, soap, PPE kits to frontline workers have been
distributed in various areas. Mobile Medical Units and other medical facilities
were provisioned in different locations.
• Medical Plant clusters have been developed under AatmaNirbhar Bharat
Abhiyaan with support community members and utilizing their local knowledge
of medical plants, in collaboration with Ministry of AYUSH.
• Ministry has also extended its interventions for economic support during the
pandemic by revising the Minimum Support Price (MSP) of forest produce,
adding 23 new items under MSP list, sanctioning of 1126 Van Dhan Vikas
Kendra to create employment opportunities for 3.6 lakh tribal under Van Dhan
Yojana and provisioning of financial, capacity and advisory support for
establishment of village enterprises.
• National Scheduled Tribes Finance and Development Corporation (NSTFDC),
under the Ministry of Tribal Affairs extends financial support for self-
employment to tribal and provide assured availability of need based financial
support, capacity and advisory services for establishment of village enterprises/
self-employment through its institutional platform to 55,000 tribal individuals.

PROBLEMS IN TRIBAL AREA DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMMES: In spite of

concrete efforts made during the last six decades, there has not been much change in
the socio-economic condition of tribals. The various barriers faced by tribals in
adoption of agricultural innovations can be grouped as follows:
 48

i) Education barriers: These include ignorance of improved practices, lack of

knowledge regarding these, or having wrong knowledge of the practice, etc.
ii) Economic barriers: These include higher cost of improved agricultural
practices, lack of money to purchase required requisites, poverty, etc.
iii) Social-cultural barriers: Social barriers pertain to the farmer's in the social
system use the same. Cultural barriers are related to different cultural values
which come in the way of adoption of agricultural innovation, e.g.
a) High yield entirely depends upon God's will rather than use of improved
seeds or fertilizers.
b) Fertilizers destroy the fertility of the soil.
c) To kill insects is to suffer the gnawing of remorse.
d) Diseases of plants are nothing but an astonishing events of nature and fight
against these 'events' is to suffer the gnawing of compunction, etc.
iv) Practical barriers: lack of irrigation facilities, major portion of the applied
fertilizers leached away as the fields are located on stiff slopes of hills.

8.1 IMPACT OF HINDUISM, BUDDHISM, CHRISTIANITY, ISLAM AND

OTHER RELIGIONS ON TRIBAL SOCIETIES.

IMPACT OF HINDUISM:

• Hinduisation of tribals is historical, mentioned in epics as well

• It is a smooth process without any missionary activity
• Hinduism is compatible with tribal culture they need not leave their cultural
values completely to be Hinduised
• Few tribes have even adopted the caste system. Who are called the scheduled
castes, they represent the concept called tribe caste continuum.
• According to S.K. Srivastava Gond, Bhil, Bhumij, Tharu etc, adopted kshatriya
culture. Kshatriyization seems to be the most popular form of sanscritisation among
the tribals.
• G.S.Bhatt describes the role of Brahmins in hinduisation. E.g. Bhils who are
involved in dacoity, theft and gambling believe that parvathi is a bhil and when the
 49

Bhils asked for the bride price shiva refuses and in order to get money they kills
Nandi shiva’s Bullock as they believed that its shoulders contain lots of precious
pearls. Hence cursed to lead a life of poverty and misery. But given a vardaan that
theft for them invites no sin. They consider themselves as thieves of mahadev.
• More than a dozen versions of rama katha among many tribes is an indicative of
the effect of hinduisation
• Increase in child marriage, decrease in the permissiveness of tribal women,
decline in bride wealth, Introduction of money economy, Cash transactions in
marital alliances.
• Lambadas take services of a Brahmin priest for their ritual needs like marriage.
• Griffiths 1946, Kol tribes of Up amd MP are forming miniature caste system
among them.
• Rajbanshi of Bengal believe that they belong to the same gotra as Kashyap but
they practice gotra endogamy unlike hindus.
• The elements of Hindu culture were devolved into the tribal culture by the
process called parochialisation.
Negative effects:
• Their simple magicoreligious practices are replaced by complex rituals which are
costly and need a priest.
• Hindus used the permissiveness of tribal women which increased prostitution.

IMPACT OF BUDHISM:

A major breakthrough occurred in 1956 after some 30 years of untouchable or Dalit

agitation when Dr.Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar, the leader of untouchable within the
congress declared that he was converting to Buddhism as a way to escape from the
impediments of the Hindu caste system . He brought with him, masses of
untouchables , also known as harijans / Dalits and scheduled castes who mostly
came from Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh. By early 1990s there were 5 million
Buddhists in Maharashtra, 79% of the total Buddhists in India. Almost all recent
conversions were from the lower castes .
• Hill areas of north east India ( west Bengal, Assam, Sikkim , Mizoram, Tripura )
and high Himalayan valleys (Ladakh district of Jammu and Kashmir ,Himachal
Pradesh, Northern Uttar Pradesh are influenced by the Tibetan Buddhist refugees
who fled from Tibet with the Dalai lama in 1959.
 50

• It raised the conversions in to Buddhism making it the 5th largest religion in India.
The form of Buddhism practiced by Himalayan communities and the Tibetan
refugees is Vajrayana Buddhism, a part of Mahayana Buddhism.
• The impact is Decline in alcoholism, Simplification of marriage ceremonies,
abolition of ruinous marriage expenditure, Greater emphasis on education, and a
heightened sense of identity and self-worth.
• Buddhism and Islam are marginal when compared to Christianity.
• Adopting these religions leads to severing their culture completely which they
never wanted
• Nature man spirit complex.
• Bhots of north west Himalaya, Bhutias, Lepchas, Chakmas and Nagas of
north east Himalayas, some tribes of Arunachal Pradesh, some tribals of Ladakh
practice Buddhism.
• Those who have taken Buddhism maintain a gompa a holy place where the
images of budha are installed and holy books are kept. Lama attached to a gompa.
• Khampti and Singpho practice Hinayana Buddhism and maintain a monastery
locally known as Bapuchang.
• Khowas (Now called Buguns), monpas & Sherdukpens of Arunachal
Pradesh combine their budhist and animist beliefs, they follow the nature
worship, pray numerous local deities, perform animal sacrifice and also follow
Buddhism and employ a lama to perform their rituals.
• The reason for the influence of Buddhism on the tribes of Arunachal Pradesh and
other north eastern states is because of the proximity of Tibet where Buddhism is the
major religion.

IMPACT OF ISLAM:

• Islam could not penetrate the tribal community because of its highly dogmatic
nature and absence of patronage and missionary activities.
• Siddis of Gujarat a section of Gujjars of north west Himalayans a section of
bhils, Dhankasis and kotis of rajasthan, some pastoral communities like gaddis,
Bakarwal of jammu and Kashmir have embraced Islam.
• Lakshadweep is the only region where there is complete conversion in to islam
having 7 muslim tribes Koya, Malmi, Mela Cheri, Manikfan, Thakurfan,
Thakru and raveri.
• Muslims constitute 96.58% of Lakshadweep population.
 51

• Islam came to Arabian sea islands from southern Arabia & Malabar coast.
• Impact of Islam on tribes of Lakshadweep was discussed in “The Muslim tribes
of Lakshadweep islands: An anthropological appraisal of island ecology and
cultural perceptions” – Makhan Jha
• Matriliny in islam was well studied by Leela Dube and Kutty
• Puberty rites of girls have been given up as they are considered to be repugnant
according to islam.
• Celebration of new festivals like the birthday of prophet mohammed
• Practices in conformity with Bahar-e-Shariat (an encyclopedia of Islamic
jurisprudence spread over 20 volumes). are insisted up on
• Old rituals and folk dances are disappearing
• cousin marriages became common.
• Women enjoy higher status.
• Acc to yogendrasingh the conversions are due to the willingness for new identity
rejecting the old orthodoxy.
• Tableeghi-jamaat is a Society for spreading Islamic faith. It is an Islamic global
proselytizing movement.
• Islam also tried parochialisation.
• Muslim tribal societies themselves may show marked internal differentiation in
the structure and organisation.

MATRILINY AND ISLAM: RELIGION AND SOCIETY IN THE

LACCADIVES. LEELA DUBE, WITH THE ASSISTANCE OF ABDUL
RAHMAN KUTTY. FOREWORD & EDITED BY S. C. DUBE:

• The 2620 inhabitants are descendants of Kerala Hindus, probably converted to

Islam in the fourteenth century, long after their migration to the islands.
• The structural unit of society is the Taravad, a matrilineal exogamous unit
• The oldest male of each group is usually the manager of the work unit and
legal guardian of property.
• But Islam, both implicitly and explicitly, assumes that male is the source of
authority.
• Her specific central problem in Kalpeni is what has happened to the system of
matriliny as a result of the strongly male oriented Islam religion,
• And how have religious prescriptions been modified through their persistent
contact with a female-centered system of social organization?
 52

• Dube’s answers suggest that matriliny wins.

• The father in Kalpeni does have an important role in his children’s lives, even
when he does not live with them: there is a strong affective tie, and he is expected to
pay the costs of his children’s entry into life as well as of some life crisis
ceremonies.
• But the closest kinship ties are between the mother and her children, while the
authority for punishment of children is the grandmother.
• The oldest woman in a Taravad enjoys special status, although a male
member of the matrilineal group is usually the head of the household.
• Matrilineal rules of inheritance govern the really important property, such as
ninety percent of the island’s coconut trees, which are held in common by groups.
• Only personal property, earned outside the prevalent system, is covered by
Islamic rules and can pass along in the male line.
• Purdah (segregation of women) is absent in Kalpeni, and is presumably
inconsistent with a matrilineal society.
• Polygyny is permitted in Islam, under specific circumstances, although not
always under civil law, but is almost entirely missing in Kalpeni.
• She notes that marriages in Kalpeni are extremely fragile.
• “easy” divorce is available only to half the Muslim population-the men. In most
Muslim countries, divorce is still extremely difficult for women to initiate, but in
Kalpeni both men and women can use informal conventions to initiate divorce.

IMPACT OF CHRISTIANITY:

• After Hinduism it is the best example of acculturation

• Traced back to the establishment of british colonial rule
• Khasis of Meghalaya are distributed in to christiankhasis and non
Christiankhasis
• While the hinduisation is a slow and gradual process Christianisation is a radical
process by the establishment of missionaries and churches in the tribal areas.
• It started as revolt against their landlords and money lenders who mostly
happened to be hindus.Eg: KOlrebellion and spread of Christianity in and around
chotanagpur is an example.
• Encouraged personal and private property.
• Came as a consequence of westernisation.
• In Mizoram during the first quarter of 20 th century.
 53

• Monogamy has been totally accepted.

• In mizo tribes if a mother die at the time of child birth the child also used to be
buried along with the mother later Christian missionaries established homes for such
babies and spread the medical facilities so that such deaths can be minimised
• It became a fashion to be Christianised
• In Nagas it increased abstinence from drinking country rice beer (zu)or any
other alcoholic drink.
• K.N.Sahay made detailed study on the tribal Christian converts of chotanagpur
and concluded that they have a sense of superiority as they are practicing the best
religion of the world.
• D.N majumdar emphasises that their culture must be protected as they become
the part of larger Indian federation of cultures.
• G.S.Ghurye took the stand that tribals are ancient Hindus and they must be
brought in to the hindu milieu.
• G.S.Bhatt tribal cultures must be protected from all kinds of missionaries.

8.2. TRIBE AND NATION STATE

• A sovereign state of which most of the citizens or subjects are united also by
factors which define a nation, such as language or common descent is called a nation
state. "Nepal emerged as a nation state in the eighteenth century"
• A nation state is a state in which a great majority shares the same culture and
ethnicity and are conscious of it.
• State is a geopolitical entity
• Nation is a cultural and ethnic entity
• When they coincide then it is called a nation state.
• In these cases, there is little immigration or emigration.
• Bangladesh: The vast majority ethnic group of Bangladesh are the Bengali
people, comprising 98% of the population,
• Japan: Japan is also traditionally seen as an example of a nation state and also
the largest of the nation states, with population in excess of 120 million. It should
be noted that Japan has a small number of minorities like the
indigenous Ainu minority. However, they are either numerically insignificant
(Ainu), their difference is not as pronounced
 54

• Mongolia: The vast majority of the population is ethnically Mongol at about

95.0% of the population, with the remainder consisting of a few ethnic minorities
included in Kazakhs.
• German nationalism is the nationalist idea that Germans are a nation, promotes
the unity of Germans and German-speakers into a nation state, and emphasizes and
takes pride in the national identity of Germans. In the 1930s, the Nazis came to
power and sought to create a Greater Germanic Reich, emphasizing ethnic German
identity and German greatness to the exclusion of all others, eventually leading to
the extermination of Jews, Poles, Romani, Serbs and other people
deemed Untermenschen (subhumans) in the Holocaust during World War II.
• Negative responses to minorities with in the nation state have ranged from state
enforced cultural assimilation , expulsion, violence
• Nation states become the best examples of violence against minorities. Minorities
are not considered as a part of the nation
• In many nation states minorities were accepted then they are called the national
minorities.
The concept of a nation state can be compared and contrasted with that of
the multinational state.
Most of the modern countries are composed of multiple ethnicities but usually
have one or few dominant (Majority) Ethnic groups. In practical reality such
countries also operate as nation states in effect.
• India is an example for multiculturalism where tribes are considered as the
primitive groups but not as another ethnic group living in the larger population of the
nation. But not all cultural groups are equal in terms of numbers or political power.
• In such situations, if some tribals consider themselves as a separate ethnic group
and demand for a separate identity and political autonomy, Ethnic movements of
separatist or secessionist nature will emerge. (e.g., Nagaland, Manipur, Assam)
The ideal of the emergence of nation state tries to undermine such movements and
promote cultural assimilation.

(Note: Country and nation are often used interchangeably but country is a self
governing political entity where as nation is a thickly knit group of people with a
common culture).

CIVIC NATIONALISM & ETHNIC NATIONALISM

 55

Ignatieff compares two types of Nationalism, according to the nature of

“belonging”

A. CIVIC NATIONALISM : Nationhood is defined by common citizenship. A

civic nation consists of all those who subscribe to its political creed regardless of
ethnicity or race, color, religion, gender, language. A civic nation is in principle a
community of equal rights-bearing citizens, united in patriotic attachment to a
shared set of political practices and values. A civic nation is “democratic” in the
sense that it vests sovereignty in all of the people (all citizens).
Civic nationalism is exemplified by the French and American revolutions Which
created the French and American republics and put forth civic nationalism as
a world embracing project

B. ETHNIC NATIONALISM: Nationhood is defined by language, religion,

customs & traditions. It is not the state that creates the nation but the nation that
creates the state. The glue that holds people together is not shared political rights
but pre-existing ethnic characteristics
Civic nationalism is the more "realistic” source of belonging
than ethnic nationalism, Ignatieff believes

ETHNO-NATIONALISM

• Ethnic nationalism, also known as ethno-nationalism, is a form

of nationalism wherein the "nation" is defined in terms of ethnicity.
• The central theme of ethnic nationalists is that "nations are defined by a shared
heritage, which usually includes a common language, a common faith, and
a common ethnic ancestry". It also includes ideas of a culture shared between
members of the group, and with their ancestors.
• Professor Sanjib Baruah in his book, India against Itself: Assam and the
politics of nationality defines ‘Assamese national imagination’ as a conflict
between “Mother Assam” and “Mother India”.
 56

• In Assam and its environs, regionalism as an idea almost inevitably evolved into
demands for political autonomy and, in course of time, more militant forms of
nationalist assertion.
• The reasons for such evolution are rooted in both geography and history.
• Historical factors like late entry into British India, ethnic differences and the
realities of geographical isolation from the rest of India have influenced this
trajectory.
• The debate in the pages of the Economic and Political Weekly in the early 1980s
on the character of the anti-foreigner agitation in Assam brought in the concept of
‘little nationalism’ and ‘great nationalism.’
• ‘little nationalisms’ were a part of a ‘sub-nationalist narrative’ of a people
that had been subsumed (include /absorb) by the ‘great nationalist narrative.’

Eg: the three major sovereignty (self-governing state / supreme power or authority)
movements werebased in Nagaland, Manipur and Assam

1. NAGALAND: Demand for own flag and constitution, Nagalim is a proposed

independent country for Naga people, the secessionist violence decreased after
the formation of Nagaland state, but still some factions of national socialist
council of Nagaland continue to demand a separata country.
2. ASSAM: The militant organization United liberation front of assam demands a
separate country for the indigenous people in assam. government of india banned
it and labelled it as a terrorist group. military operations against it by the indian
army continue to the present.

7.3. THE CONCEPT OF ETHNICITY AND ETHNIC CONFLICTS

Contribution of anthropologists for the understanding of ethnicity / theoretical

background of ethnicity / anthropological approaches to ethnicity & ethnic
conflicts:

Primordialism / Essentialism: is the idea that nations or ethnic identities are fixed,
natural and ancient. Primordialists like Clifford Geertz argue that individuals have a
single ethnic identity which is not subject to change. They lead to social turbulence
and violence, and are dysfunctional in the development process of civil society.
 57

The constructivist theory perceives ethnic identity as a socially constructed and fluid
entity that can be formed through various means including conquest, colonization or
immigration.

The instrumentalist theory sees ethnicity as “neither inherent in human nature nor
intrinsically valuable”. Ethnicity is perceived as a strategic basis for coalitions that are
looking for a larger share of scarce economic or political power and so it is a device
for restricting resources to a few individuals.

Marxist, Neo Marxist / Materialist approach believes that ethnic conflicts emerge
when there is cultural division of labour, that is, when members of one ethnic group
are placed in a subordinate position within a state. Violence between ethnically
aligned groups is the result of economic inequalities and elite exploitation.
Pluralist approach: According to this approach, multiple ethnic groups only coexist
within a political unit but cannot combine. Each group holds its own religion,
language and institutions. There is a possibility of conflict between them.

Weberian approach: Weber described ethnic groups as “those human groups that
entertain a subjective belief in their common descent, it does not matter whether or
not an objective blood relationship exists” In a nutshell, for Weber, ethnicity is
based on people’s cultural practices, and race is based on their biological traits.

Postmodern critiques of ethnicity: A number of critiques have been levelled at

ethnicity theory since the rise of postmodernism in the 1980s. These critiques are
of two main types.
Ø Scholars who call for a 'rethinking' of ethnicity (Jenkins 2008). Greater
conceptual and analytical clarity is called for.
Scholars argue for the outright abandonment of ethnicity (Carter and Fenton 2009).
These critiques stem from the all-embracing usage of ethnicity in social analysis,
which has led to an over ethnicised interpretation of social reality. Ethnicity
according to them, is therefore everything and nothing.
 58

7.3. UNREST AMONG TRIBAL COMMUNITIES;

REGIONALISM AND DEMAND FOR AUTONOMY

9.3. ETHNIC AND POLITICAL MOVEMENTS (POLITICAL

DEVELOPMENTS) (&) SOCIAL MOVEMENTS IN INDIAN TRIBES

Theoretical Approach
• Social movement: a movement intends to reform, reinterpret or oppose the
existing order. It is an ongoing process.
• According to L.K. Mahapatra, A social movement occurs when large number
of people deliberately band together for collective action against a problem.
(I) Mahapatra (1972) has classified tribal movements in three groups,
reactionary, conservative and revolutionary.
1. Reactionary or revivalist: When the movements are organized to bring back the
good old days, these are called 'reactionary' by Cameron, but as 'revivalist' by
Linton.
2. Conservative / perpetuative movements: According to Linton, these are the
movements that seek to perpetuate (continue) the status quo and are organized to
obstruct the current changes.
Nativistic movements : For Linton, both 'revivalistic' and `perpetuative'
movements are subsumed under nativistic movements."
Revisionary / social mobility movements "All the movements organized for the
'improvement' or purification of the culture by eliminating 'evil' or 'low' customs,
beliefs, or institutions.
3. Revolutionary movements: movements to replace the whole culture or social
order with another more suitable, adequate or progressive culture.

(II) After independence, the tribal movements may be classified into three
groups:

1. movements due to exploitation by outsiders (like those of the Santhals and

Mundas),
2. movements due to economic deprivation (like those of the Gonds in Madhya
Pradesh), and
 59

3. movements due to separatist tendencies (like those of the Nagas and Mizos).

(III) The tribal movements may also be classified on the basis of their ori-
entation into four types:

1. movements seeking political autonomy and formation of a state (Nagas,

Mizos, Jharkhand),
2. agrarian movements,
3. forest-based movements, and
4. socio-religious or socio-cultural movements (the Bhagat movement among
Bhils of Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh, movement among tribals of south
Gujarat or Raghunath Murmu’s movement among the Santhals).

(IV) Surajit Sinha (1968) has classified movements into five groups:

1. Ethnic rebellion,
2. Reform movements,
3. Political autonomy (Separatist) movements within the Indian Union,
4. Secessionist movements, and
5. Agrarian unrest. ( un even distribution of agricultural land, and against land
lords)

Secessionist movements in India:

Khalistan demand in Punjab

Nagalim demand in Nagaland
United liberation front of Assam demand for a separate country for the indigenous
people in assam.
(Note: They may settle down for autonomous state within the country, in such cases
they may be called as separatist movements or movements for political
autonomy. If such demand is on the grounds of ethnicity, can also be considered
as ethnic movements / ethnonationalism)
 60

(VI) S.M. Dube (1982) has classified them in four categories:

1. Religious and social reform movements

2. Movements for separate statehood
3. Insurgent movements and (Insurgent = a person fighting against a government
or invading force, a rebel/revolutionary. Insrgency = an active revolt or
uprising)
4. Cultural rights movements.
(VII) Ghanshyam Shah has classified them in three groups:

1. Ethnic
2. Agrarian, and
3. Political.

(VIII) K.S. Singh (1985) analysing tribal movements before independence have
divided them into three phases:
• The first phase between 1795 and 1860, coincided with the establishment of
the British Empire
• The second between 1861 and 1920, coincided with the intensive colonialism.
The rebellious tribal leaders revolted against the British and exhorted their followers
to drive them out. Eg: Oraon, Mundas, Naikada, etc., in Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat
etc. Stephen Fuchs 1965 called them messianic movements
• Third between 1921 and 1947. coincided with the participation in the nationalist
movement.

(IX) Tribal movements after independence have been classified by K.S. Singh in
four categories:
K.S. Singh, following the categorization of the Anthropological Survey of India, has
given a four-fold typology of tribal movements.

1. Movements for Political Autonomy

 61

(a) Jharkhand movement in Bihar

Ø was a major movement for the demand for political autonomy.
Ø Three factors were crucial in the Jharkhand movement:
1. The administrative unity of the region.
2. Exploitation of the people and material resources of the region by dikus, that is,
aliens and outsiders, mainly the non-Biharis. (Jharkhand having 35% of Bihar
population but contributed 65% of the state revenue because of its coal mines and
stell mills)
3. The ethnic differences between the people of (Chotanagpur & Santhal
Parganas) and the people of north Bihar.
• Before 1940s the Santhal people did not have any political consciousness.
• It was only at a later stage that they realized that they were being exploited by the
Dikus (Britishers, money lenders & traders).
• The literal meaning of the word jharkhand' is a tract of forest.
• Chotanagpur, Santhal parganas, and other adjacent districts belonging to
the States of Bengal, Orissa and Madhya Pradesh (Before formation of
Chhattisgarh 1/11/2000) are considered as parts of Jharkhand, by the protagonists of
the movement.
• The formation of the Jharkhand party in 1950 gave a new direction to
political and other welfare activities in the Jharkhand region in Bihar.
• The history of the Jharkhand movement has passed through at least four phases
since independence: (i) 1947 to 1954; (ii) 1955 to 1963; (iii) 1964 to 1969; and (iv)
1970 onwards.

• During the first phase, the movement was at its climax when Jaipal Singh
Munda emerged as the unquestionable leader of the adivasis. The Jharkhand
Mukti Morcha was formally formed during this period. It contested the 1952
general elections, and emerged as the main opposition in the Bihar Legislative
Assembly.

• The second phase started with the States Reorganization Commission's rejection
of the demand for a separate Jharkhand state and ended with the merger of the
Jharkhand party with the Congress Party.

• During the third phase, there emerged factions and cleavages among the
Jharkhand cadre. This weakened the movement.
 62

• Fourth phase After 1970, the movement flourished and recently ended with the
formation of a new, independent Jharkhand state (15/11/2000).

• Finally Jharkhand was formed from 18 districts of Southern Bihar.

(b) Mizo national front uprising was a revolt against the Government of India,
aimed at establishing a separate state for Mizos. Formed Mizoram as a UT in 1972
and got full statehood in 1987. (Mizoram = The land of Mizos)

(c) K.S. Singh says that at the beginning of the Second World War the Gonds and
Bhils demanded the formation of a separate state. Komaram Bheem in Adilabad
(Hyderabad) demanded a Gond Raj in 1941. "Then, in a memorandum submitted
before the States Reorganization Commission in the 1950s, the Gond leaders
demanded the formation of a separate state for the tribals to be carved out of the
tribal areas of present day Chattisgarh. A movement consisting of the Gonds of the
lower strata led by Hira Singh developed in the late 1950s and reached its peak in
1962-63 before dying down."

(d) I.P. Desai has described the tribal autonomy (Adivasi Swayat Raj) movement
in south Gujarat in the 1960s. The movement was initiated by the CPI. It could
not gather strength for any long time. Tribes which participated in the movement
included Bhil, Dhodia and Kunbi. Only, the Communist Party of India (Marxists)
supported this movement. It is through this movement that the tribals of Gujarat
developed class consciousness. Their demand was that the Gujarat government
exploited the forests and deprived the tribals from their livelihood and it should be
stopped. Desai has critically examined the demand for an autonomous State in south
Gujarat. According to him, the main objective of this movement has been political
only and the masses of tribals are not really interested in autonomy. Desai argues,
the tribals have a desire to integrate themselves into the wider national
mainstream.
(e) In south Rajasthan, western Madhya Pradesh and northern Gujarat, the
Bhils have raised their voice for an autonomous state .The whole tribal belt is rich in
minerals and it is argued that it should not be consumed by a non- tribal state.

2. Agrarian and Forest-Based Movements

 63

Agrarian and forest-based movements are restricted to only a few regions, such as
northern and southern parts of India. In central India, though tribal discontent
over various forms of exploitation is widespread, it has been organized into
movements only in some places involving a few tribes.

(a) The Gonds in Madhya Pradesh Since independence, their territorial and
political systems have broken down and their rights over forests and land have been
eroded.

(b) Dhulia of Maharashtra. "There has been large-scale transfer of land from
tribals to non-tribals who include moneylenders, rich landlords and traders. As
landlessness and poverty, grew the tribals sought employment on low wages.
Ambar Singh Suratwanti, a Bhil himself, started to organize the adivasis in
1967. The Government of Maharashtra issued an ordinance in July 1975 to prohibit
alienation of tribal lands and to provide for the restoration of lands alienated in
contravention of the law."

(c) tribal of Chotanagpur in recent years. There, the non-tribals took away the land
of the tribals who organized themselves and got their land vacated from the latter.

(d) The Naxalite movement has come into existence at the initiation of CPI(ML).
The movement mobilized both tribal and non-tribal peasants against oppression by
rich peasants, moneylenders and local officials.
Ø The movement was strong in North Bengal, the Srikakulam-Adilabad region of
Andhra Pradesh, Chotanagpur-Santhal Pargana belt and the Bhil regions of
western India. However, it is found that the tribal participation in the leadership
structure of the Naxalite movement was marginal."

3. Sanskritization Movement
(a) Bhagat movements have been reported from Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat and
Rajasthan. The tribals find solutions to their problems in the acceptance of the
lifestyle, ideas, values and beliefs of the higher castes. Those who convert to this
new life are known as Bhagats. Bhagat needs to abstain from eating meat and
drinking alcohol.
 64

There is also a demand to make a separate Bhil state by merging some districts
of Rajasthan, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra.

4. Cultural Movements Based on Script and Language

K.S. Singh says that the Gonds have lost their Gondi language; the Bhils have lost
their Bhili. In Chotanagpur area, where the tribals are demanding for the revival of
their tribal culture. They also want to recreate many of the cultural symbols of the
past. The movement for revival for language is also found among the tribals of
central India and northern Andhra Pradesh. However, the involvement of tribals
in such movements is very weak.
Evans-Pritchard made a plea that an-thropologists should study problems
rather than area or people, there cannot be two futures for one nation.

(X) B.K. Roy Burman (1971 and 1979) has distinguished between proto- national
and substantial movements among tribes.
1. Proto-national movements emerge when tribes experience a transformation from
tribalism to nationalism. It is a search for identity at a higher level of integration.
proto-nationalism results from expansion of the orbit of development. It is based on
the moral consensus of the community.
2. sub-national movements sub-nationalism is the result of disparities of
development. Sub-nationalism is based on the coercive power of the community
• These movements indicate that tribals adopted two paths of achieving goals,
Non-violent path and , Militant path both paths have not helped them to achieve
their goals.
• Some scholars like Desai (1979), Gough (1974) and Guha (1983) have treated
tribal movements after independence as peasant movements, but K.S. Singh (1985)
has criticised such approach.

9.1. PVTG (PARTICULARLY VULNERABLE TRIBAL GROUPS)

 65

• PVTG are a special class of tribal groups, classified as such by the govt of
India, due to their specially low development indices when compared to
other local tribes.
• These were classified under the Dhebar Commission (1960-61), so as to
better facilitate their growth, on par with other STs on national scale, and
help them include in the mainstream development, while using their
indigenous knowledge.
• There are 75 Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs) notified as on date
in the country. The criteria followed for determination of PVTGs are as under:
Ø A pre-agriculture level of technology;
Ø A stagnant or declining population;
Ø Extremely low literacy; and
Ø A subsistence level of economy.

v Each of these groups is small in number,

v Differentially developed with respect to one another,
v Remote habitat with
v Poor administrative and infrastructure back up.
v Therefore, they are in need of priority
v Their problems and needs are quite different from other Scheduled Tribes.

• In addition to the exclusive scheme for PVTGs , priority is also assigned to

PVTGs under the schemes of Special Central Assistance (SCA) to Tribal Sub-
Scheme(TSS), Grants under Article 275(1) of the Constitution, Grants-in-aid to
Voluntary Organisations working for the welfare of Schedule Tribes and
Strengthening of Education among ST Girls in Low Literacy Districts.

About the PVTGs development scheme

§ The Ministry of Tribal Affairs is implementing a scheme of development
exclusively for PVTGs namely “Conservation cum development (CCD)”
which covers the 75 identified PVTGs among Scheduled Tribes in 18 States /
UT of Andaman & Nicobar Islands.
§ Under the scheme, Conservation-cum-Development (CCD)/Annual Plans are to
be prepared by each State/UT for their PVTGs based on their need assessment,
 66

which are then appraised and approved by the Project Appraisal Committee of
the Ministry.

Aims and Objectives

§ The scheme aims at planning their(PVTGs) socio-economic development in a
comprehensive manner while retaining the culture and heritage of the
community by adopting habitat development approach.
§ The scheme follows the strategic approach of Vanbandhu Kalyan Yojana ,
which is need-based and strives to optimise utilisation of resources available
under various programs and aims at specific outcomes.

Scope: Activities under it may include the following:

v Livelihood,
v Employment opportunities and economic development of PVTGs through
Agriculture, Horticulture, Animal Husbandry, Dairy, and Skilling/ Vocational
Training
v Education, (Literacy, Drop-out, Residential schools in addition to SSA/RMSA).
v Health, (Gap filling for effective health service delivery beyond NHM etc).
v Provision of safe drinking water (gap filling where line Ministries do not provide
complete/universal coverage),
v Land distribution, land development,
v Social security,
v Housing and Habitat,
v Connectivity (Road and Telecommunication),
v Supply of Electricity (gap filling where line Ministries do not provide
complete/universal coverage), Solar power, with provision of maintenance,
v Irrigation (gap filling where line Ministries do not provide complete/universal
coverage),
v Urban Development,
v Culture,
v Sports including traditional and tribal games and sports,
v Any other innovative activity for the comprehensive socio-economic development
of PVTGs.

Implementing agencies:
 67

The scheme will be implemented in accordance CCD Plan prepared by the

State/UT and executed through various agencies of the State Government/UT
Administration like;

1. Integrated Tribal Development Projects (ITDPs)/Integrated Tribal

Development Agencies (ITDAs).
2. Tribal Research Institutes (TRIs).
3. State/UT Societies and
4. (Panchayati Raj Institutions)PRIs as well as the
5. Line departments (Government departments at state level) of Government of
India.
The State Government concerned will be responsible for proper execution,
implementation, supervision and coordination of the scheme
§ The Ministry of Tribal Affairs can also draw up plans for the PVTGs involving
reputed National level bodies, including Industry Associations, and the
concerned State Governments/ Agencies.

Funding pattern
It is a 100% Central Sector Scheme. The funds will be released to States/UT
in one/two instalment(s) in accordance with the annual programme proposed for a
particular financial year in the CCD Plan, subject to availability of funds with the
Ministry of Tribal Affairs.

Social conditions and declining population

The growth of PVTGs' population is either stagnating or declining, compared to the

general population growth, particularly in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands where the
declining rate is very high. There are five PVTGs in the Andaman islands such as
Great Andamanese, Jarawas, Onges, Sentineles and Shom Pens. In 1858, the Great
Andamanese were estimated at nearly 3500,in 1901 their number declined to 625.
According to the2001 Census, the Great Andamanese stood at just 43, Jarawas are
241, Onges are 96, Sentineles are 39 and Shom Pens are 398.
 68

Name of the States /UT Name of

1. Bodo Gadaba,

2. Bondo Porja

3. Chenchu

4. Dongria Khond

5. Gutob Gadaba

6. Khond Porja
Andhra Pradesh and Telangana
7. Kolam

8. Konda Reddi

9. Konda Savara

10. Kutia Khond

11. Parengi Porja

12. Thoti

13. Asur

14. Birhor
Bihar & Jharkhand
15. Birjia

16. Hill Kharia

 69

17. Korwas

18. Mal Paharia

19. Parhaiya

20. Sauria Paharia

21. Savar

22. Kathodi

23. Kolgha

Gujarat 24. Kotwalia

25. Padhar

26. Siddi

27. Jenu Kuruba

Karnataka
28. Koraga

29. Cholanaikkan

30. Kadar

Kerala 31. Kattunayakan

32. Koraga

33. Kurumba

Madhya Pradesh & 34. Abujh Maria

 70

Chhattisgarh 35. Baiga

36. Bharia

37. Birhor

38. Hill Korwa

39. Kamar

40. Saharia

41. Kathodi

Maharashtra 42. Kolam

43. Maria Gond

Manipur 44. Maram Naga

45. Birhor

46. Bondo

47. Chuktia Bhunjia

48. Didayi
Odisha
49. Dongria Khond

50. Juang

51. Kharia

52. Kutia Khond

 71

53. Lanjia Saura

54. Lodha

55. Mankidia

56. Paudi Bhuyan

57. Sauura

Rajasthan 58. Saharia

59. Irular

60. Kattu Nayakan

61. Korumba
Tamil Nadu
62. Kota

63. Paniyan

64. Toda

Tripura 65. Riang

66. Buksa
Uttar Pradesh & Uttrakhand
67. Raji

68. Birhor

West Bengal 69. Lodha

70. Toto
 72

71. Great Andamanese

72. Jarawa

Andaman & Nicobar Islands 73. Onge

74. Sentinelese

75. Shom Pen

7.1. CONSTITUTIONAL PROVISIONS FOR THE SCHEDULED TRIBES

AND SCHEDULED CASTES

Article 15: No discrimination will be permitted on the grounds of religion, race,

caste, sex or place of birth.
Article 15 (4) : Nothing in article (15) or 29(2) shall prevent the state from making
any special provisions for the advancement of any socially and educationally
backward classes of citizens or for the scheduled castes and tribes
It enables state make special provisions like
Ø A reservation of seats for members of backward classes in educational
institutions.
Ø Relaxation of qualifications required for admission in to such institutions
Ø Providing accommodation
• Article 16: Equality of opportunity in all matters of public employment.
• Article 16(4): Nothing in this article shall prevent the state from making any
provision of appointments or posts in favour of any backward classes of citizens

The clauses 15(4) &16(4) are to bring 15 & 16 in line with 29 ,46 and 340.

• Article 29: Protection of interests of minorities

• (1) Any section of the citizens residing in the territory of India having a distinct
language, script or culture of its own shall have the right to conserve the same
 73

• (2) No citizen shall be denied admission into any educational institution

maintained by the State or receiving aid out of State funds on grounds only of
religion, race, caste, language or any of them
• Article 46: The state shall promote with special care the educational and
economic interests of weaker section of people and in particular of SCs and STs and
shall protect them from social injustice and all forms of exploitation.
• Article 338A: Appointment of National commission for scheduled tribes to
investigate and monitor all matters relating to safeguards provided to STs.
• Article 339: Control of the union over the administration of scheduled areas and
the welfare of scheduled tribes. President may at any time appoint a committee to
report on administration of the scheduled areas and the welfare of STs in the states.
• Article 19 (1): All citizens shall have the right
(d) to move freely throughout the territory of India.
(e) to reside and settle in any part of the territory of India.
• Article 19(5) : Reasonable restrictions of freedom of movement and settlement
in tribal areas.
• Article 23: Illegalises traffic in human beings & Forced labour and evils which
non tribals have encouraged and imposed on tribal folk.
• Article 164 (1) : Appointment of ministry of tribal welfare in Bihar, Madhya
Pradesh and Orissa. New states Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand came in to being later
with madhyapradesh reorganisation act 2000 & Bihar reorganisation act 2000.
According to census 2001, the proportion of STs in the states are Bihar-0.9%,
Jarkhand26.3%, Chhattisgarh-31.8%, Madhya Pradesh-20.3%.As there are no
scheduled areas in Bihar and as the proportion of STs is very less. It is proposed to
exclude Bihar from the purview of the act in the constitution amendment act (94th,
2006).
• Article 330: Reserving seats for SCs and STs in the house of people (Lok sabha)
proportional to the population of SC &ST in that state.
• Article 332: seats have been reserved in state legislatures for SC &ST
proportional to the population of SC & ST in that state.
• Article 334: 10 years period for reservation of elected seats. (Amended several
times to extend the period.
• Article 366 (25): Scheduled Tribes means 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(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
 74

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.
• President after consultation with the Governors of the concerned states, lists the
tribes in the schedule to The constitution (Scheduled tribes) order.

(Indicators of primitive traits: Distinctive culture, Backwardness, geographical

isolation, shyness of contact with community at large).

Article 275(1): Indian constitution provides funds to both Schedule Fifth and
Schedule Sixth areas for the purpose of promoting the welfare of Scheduled tribes or
raising the level of administration of the Schedule Areas.

SOME ACTS TO SAFEGUARD THE INTEREST OF STS:

• The SC/ST (Prevention of atrocities) act, 1989
• Legal services authorities act,1987: provides for legal services to members of
Scheduled tribes.
Note: PESA act, Forest rights act, 2006, Right to fair compensation and transparency
in land acquisition, rehabilitation and resettlement act, 2013 are discussed in other
topics.

HISTORICAL BACKGROUND OF 5TH AND 6THSCHEDULES :

• Regulation X of 1822 was the first regulation enforced by the British

for administering the tribal areas of North East India.
• Considering the situation for safeguarding tribals of eastern part of Bengal, the
British Indian administration had enacted the Bengal Eastern Frontier Regulation,
1873 which was popularly known as Inner Line Regulation or Inner Line Permit.
• Schedule Districts Act of 1874 was enforced in the hill districts where Inner Line
Permit was not yet extended and those areas were also subsequently brought under
the Inner Line Regulation afterwards.
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• Schedule District signifies those backward districts where normal administration

could not be carried out. Due to that, the entire tribal dominated backward
districts were declared as Scheduled Districts by the Schedule Districts Act of 1874.
• A new term was introduced in the Government of India Act of 1935
called “Excluded Area”. Excluded Area means most backward tribal areas
which were under the direct rule of the Governors and districts which
were categorized as excluded area had no representation in the
Provincial Legislature. ( During British rule there were 2 types of political
formations, provinces and princely state & 2 types of legislature, provincial
legislature and central legislature)
• Districts which were categorized as partially excluded Area were under the
provincial government and they had representatives in the provincial legislature.
However, the law enacted by provincial legislature could not be enforced in the
partially excluded area without the approval of the Governor.
• An Advisory Committee on fundamental rights of minorities and Tribal
& Excluded Area was set up with Vallabhai Patel as the Chairman by
the Constituent Assembly (Assembly for the formation of constitution).
• Consequently, two sub committees were formed namely:
• i) North East Frontier (Assam) Tribal and Excluded Area Committee (Chairman
– Gopinath Bordoloi) (Committee popularly known as Bordoloi Committee)
ii) Excluded and partially excluded areas in provinces other than Assam (Chairman –
A.V. Thakkar)
• The report of the Bordoloi Committee dealt with various aspects relating
to administration of the tribal areas such as thoughts on development, special feature
of these areas, land, forest, control of immigration, service etc. This report was
discussed by the Drafting Committee headed By Dr. Ambedkar & it was put in
the Sixth Schedule.
• This schedule was discussed in the Constituent Assembly in 1949. Lot of debate
took place on this schedule. People against and in favour were putting their
arguments.
• People against the schedule were demanding that these areas be at par integrated
with plains & autonomy should not be granted to them. Some even argued that it
would create “TRIBALISTAN” in the same way as Pakistan was created.
• However, Dr.B.R. Ambedkar, Gopinath Bordoloi, A.V. Thakkar, Jaipal
singh and JJM Nichols Roy spoke strongly in favour of the Sixth
schedule provision.
• JJM Nichols Roy is regarded as an architect of the District council autonomy.
 76

• After a long and heated debate in the Constituent Assembly and after certain
amendments were made, the Sixth Schedule finally emerged and was incorporated in
Art. 244(2) read with 275(1) of the Constitution of India.
• Along with that, preservation of custom, culture, language and ethnic identity of
tribals of Excluded and Partially Excluded areas other than Assam was incorporated
in the Fifth Schedule in Art. 244(1) of the Constitution of India.

5TH SCHEDULE:

Article 244(1) of Part X (Part consisting of articles on scheduled and tribal

areas) Provisions as to the administration and control Scheduled Areas and
Scheduled Tribes. (In any State other than the States of Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura
and Mizoram)
Ø The Governor is the “sole legislature for the Scheduled Areas and the Scheduled
Tribes,” competent to make laws on all subjects enumerated in the Constitution’s
Union, State, and Concurrent Lists.
Ø The Governor could also preclude (Make impossible) the application of any
federal or state law in the Fifth Schedule areas.
Ø Gubernatorial authority was “of a very wide nature” and subject to only two
restrictions:
(i) that the Governor would consult a Tribes Advisory Council “before making any
regulation”; and,
(i) that all regulations would receive Presidential assent before taking effect.
Ø Requires governor to submit reports to the president on the administration of
scheduled areas and receive from the president instructions on administration of
these areas.
Ø Governor can modify laws or restrict their application when applied to tribes.
Ø He may make regulations for the peace and good government of a scheduled area
in his state.
Ø These may refer to the prevention of land alienations.
Ø Provides for the appointment of the tribes advisory council. It has a status of
constitutional body.
Ø Tribes Advisory Council (TAC)
Ø As per Para 4(1) of the Fifth Schedule of the Constitution, there shall be TAC in
each State having Scheduled Areas and , if the President directs, also in any State
having Scheduled Tribes but non-Scheduled Areas Therein
Ø Composition of TAC
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Ø As per provisions of Fifth Schedule, the members of TAC should be not more
than 20 of whom, nearly three-fourths shall be the representatives of the STs in the
Legislative Assemble in the State.
Ø Role of TAC
Ø To advise on such matters pertaining to the welfare and advancement of the
Scheduled Tribes. No regulation shall be made unless the Governor consulted such
Council.
Ø Details of TAC constituted by the States.
Ø Tribes Advisory Council has been constituted in the ten Scheduled Area States of
Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Madhya
Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha, Rajasthan and Telangana and two non-Scheduled
Areas States of Tamil Nadu and West Bengal. The directions of the Hon’ble
President has also been conveyed to the non-Scheduled Area State of Uttarakhand
for constitution of TAC in the State.
Ø States with Scheduled Tribes but not Fifth Schedule Areas(Excluding Sixth
Schedule States): Bihar, Goa, Jammu And Kashmir, Karnataka, Kerala, Sikkim,
Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Andaman And Nicobar Island (UT),
Dadra And Nagar Haveli (UT), Daman And Diu (UT), Lakshadweep (UT)

Note:
• The recent revival of the demand for two autonomous councils in Arunachal
Pradesh has led to the call for bringing the entire Arunachal Pradesh under
the ambit of the 6th Schedule or Article 371 (A) of the Constitution.
• Currently Arunachal Pradesh is neither under 5th Schedule nor under
6th Schedule. It is under the Inner Line Permit (ILP) system.
Inner Line Permit is a document that allows an Indian citizen to visit or stay in a
state that is protected under the ILP system. The system is in force today in—
Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland Mizoram, Manipur and Lakshadweep.
Article 371A in The Constitution Of India 1949
371A. Special provision with respect to the State of Nagaland
(1) Notwithstanding anything in this Constitution,
(a) no Act of Parliament in respect of
(i) religious or social practices of the Nagas,
(ii) Naga customary law and procedure,
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(iii) administration of civil and criminal justice involving decisions according to

Naga customary law,
(iv) ownership and transfer of land and its resources, shall apply to the State of
Nagaland unless the Legislative Assembly of Nagaland by a resolution so decides.

Ø With centralism in governance coming in for increasing criticism, the P.V.

Narasimha Rao government in 1992 passed the 73rd and 74th Constitutional
Amendment Acts, which empowered panchayats and municipalities with a vision
of local self-governance.
Ø The Fifth Schedule areas, because of the constitutional immunity against
overarching laws, did not fall in its domain legally.
Ø While village-level democracy became a real prospect in other areas, the Fifth
Schedule areas remained bereft of that privilege.
Ø It was for this reason that PESA was enacted under the Fifth Schedule, which
extended panchayat rule to the tribal areas.
Ø The fundamental spirit of PESA is that it does not delegate powers but devolves
them to the village-level gram sabhas, paving the way for participatory democracy.
Ø The final target is to make PESA comparable to the 6th schedule.
Ø The Bhuria Committee in 1995 formulated a three-tier structure to extend the
panchayati raj functions in the scheduled areas.
Ø The lowest but most important constituent of the structure is the village-level
gram sabha, which will exercise command over natural resources, resolve disputes
and manage institutions such as schools and cooperatives under it.
Ø Above it will be a gram panchayat, an elected body of representatives of each
gram sabha, also to function as an appellate authority for unresolved disputes at the
lower level.
Ø At the top of it will be a block- or taluk-level body.
Ø When it was enacted, PESA was seen as a legislative revolution as it empowered
gram sabhas to take decisions on important and contested tribal matters such as
v enforcing a ban on the sale and consumption of intoxicants,
v ownership of minor forest produce,
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v power to prevent alienation of land

v and to restore unlawfully alienated land,
v management of village markets,
v control over moneylending,
v land acquisition.
v Along with this, it made it mandatory for all legislation in the scheduled areas to
be in conformity with the customary law, social and religious practices and
traditional management practices of the community.

The Panchayat (Extension to Scheduled Areas) Act 1996

Ø After PESA was enacted the tribals were directed to follow democratic elections,
conform to the hierarchical Panchayat system stipulated in Part IX (Part of
the Constitution of India related toPanchayats.)
Ø It was added to the Constitution by the 73rd Amendment, which came into force
on 24 April 1993.) and exercise the powers thought “necessary to enable them to
function as institutions of self-government.”
Ø PESA is therefore considered by many as a logical extension of both the fifth
schedule and part IX of the constitution (Deals with panchayats)
A Review of PESA:
Ø the tribes feel as much “culturally deprived and economically robbed” as under
colonial rule.
Ø the benefits of any actual development “rarely percolate down to the local
tribes,”
Ø They could not get “control over the natural resources which constituted the life-
support systems of the tribal communities;”
Ø they could not make the tribes prosperous from the mineral-rich land on which
they live.
Ø Two different ministries, the Ministry of Panchayati Raj and the Ministry of
Tribal Affairs, have overlapping influence on the implementation of PESA and they
function almost without any coordination.
Ø The abrupt shift from traditional institutions to alien concepts of elected
representatives and Panchayats has resulted in “very low” tribal participation and an
underutilization of the institutions. Eg: In Santhal, Gond and Bhil societies the
Panchayat system eroded the significance of traditional councils and strained ties
within the community. Eg: The Manki-Munda (Self governing system) system in
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the state of Jharkhand, for instance, competes with state laws enacted to enforce
PESA because the tribes prefer their traditional law’s emphasis on collective and
consensual decision-making.

Definition of Village and Gram Sabha

Under the PESA Act, {section 4 (b)}, a village shall ordinarily consist of a habitation
or a group of habitations or a hamlet or a group of hamlets comprising a community
and managing its affairs in accordance with traditions and customs.
Under the PESA Act, {section 4 (c)}, every village shall have a Gram Sabha
consisting of persons whose names are included in the electoral rolls for the Panchayat
at the village level.
PESA exclusively empowers Gram Sabha to Safeguard and preserve the
Ø traditions and customs of the people, and their cultural identity,
Ø community resources, and
Ø customary mode of dispute resolution

Carry out executive functions to

Ø approve plans, programmes and projects for social and economic development;
Ø identify persons as beneficiaries under the poverty alleviation and
other programmes;
Ø issue a certificate of utilisation of funds by the Panchayat for the plans; programmes
and projects.
Note:
• All posts of chairpersons of PRIs in the areas covered under PESA are reserved
for tribal community.
• Minor forest produce has been defined in “ The scheduled tribes and other
traditional forest dwellers (Recognition of forest rights) Act 2006 which
includes all non timber forest produce of plant origin, including bamboo, brush
wood, stumps, cane, tussar, cocoons, honey wax, lac, tendu leaves, medicinal
plants, herbs, roots , tubers etc.

SAMATA JUDGEMENT: IN 1987, Samata, a non-governmental organisation

closely associated with 10 community-based institutions in 300 villages of
Srikakulam, Visakhapatnam and East Godavari districts, began to work for the
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rights of the tribal people as it found them being alienated from their lands and
exploited by non-tribal people and the state, in contravention of the Fifth Schedule
of the Constitution and various Central and State government laws.
After a protracted struggle - in the form of dharnas, rallies, picketings and meetings
- and several rounds of petitions to various Central and State departments, Samata
decided to approach the courts. It first filed a case in the local courts and later in
the Andhra Pradesh High Court in 1993 against the State government's move to
lease tribal land to mining companies. When the High Court dismissed the case,
Samata filed a Special Leave Petition in the Supreme Court. After a four-year legal
battle, it won a historic judgment, which declared null and void the transfer of land
in the Scheduled Areas for private mining and upheld the Forest Protection Act of
1980, which prohibits mining in reserved areas.

PESA empowers Gram Sabha/ Panchayat at appropriate level with

Ø right to mandatory consultation in land acquisition, resettlement and
rehabilitation of displaced persons
Ø panchayat at an appropriate level is entrusted with planning and management of
minor water bodies
Ø mandatory recommendations by Gram Sabha or Panchayat at appropriate level
for prospective licenses/lease for mines and concession for the exploitation of
minor minerals
Ø regulate sale/consumption of intoxicants
Ø ownership of minor forest produce
Ø prevent land alienation and restore alienated land
Ø manage village markets
Ø control over money lending to STs
Ø control over institutions and functionaries in social sector, local plans including
Tribal sub plans and resources

Importance of PESA: Effective implementation of PESA will not only bring

development but will also deepen democracy in Fifth Schedule Areas. There are many
benefits of PESA.
• It will enhance people’s participation in decision making.
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• PESA will reduce alienation in tribal areas as they will have better control over the
utilisation of public resources.
• PESA will reduce poverty and out-migration among tribal population as they will
have control and management of natural resources.
• Will improve their livelihoods and incomes.
• PESA will minimise exploitation of tribal population as they will be able to control
and manage money lending, consumption and sale of liquor and also village
markets.
• Effective implementation of PESA will check illegal land alienation and also
restore unlawfully alienated tribal land.
• And most importantly PESA will promote cultural heritage through preservation of
traditions, customs and cultural identity of tribal population.

6TH SCHEDULE:

Article 244(2) of Part X and 275(1) Provisions as to the administration of tribal

areas in the the States of Assam Meghalaya, Tripura and Mizoram.

In Ambedkar’s words tribals in other areas have been largely “Hinduised”. But the
tribal population in Assam is different. They continue to have their roots in their
own civilization and culture. They have continued to practice their laws of
inheritance, marriage, customs which are different to that of Hindus. This is
primarily the reason that there has to be different scheme of policies for tribal
population in the north east when compared to the rest of India. (quoted in Tillin
2007, 56-57).
There were two reasons for the different treatment that the tribes of 5th and 6th
schedule areas received.
Ø First, the tribes in Fifth Schedule areas were considered incapable of self-
government.
Ø Second, unlike the Sixth Schedule areas, some tribal communities in peninsular
India coexisted with a minority non tribal population, and autonomy for the tribes in
such a case seemed impractical.
The Supreme Court of India later endorsed this paternalist justification when it
said that “The tribes need to be taken care of by the protective arm of the law,
so that they may prosper and by an evolutionary process join the mainstream
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of the society.” provision has been made for the creation of the District Councils
and regional councils for the exercise of the certain legislative and judicial
powers.
Autonomous Districts and Autonomous Regions:
Ø Governors of four states viz. Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura and Mizoram are
empowered to declare some tribal dominated districts / areas of these states as
autonomous districts and autonomous regions by order. No separate legislation is
needed for this.
Ø The Governor also has power to include any other area, exclude any area,
increase, decrease, diminish these areas, unite two districts / regions, and alter the
names and boundaries of these autonomous districts and regions.
Creation of autonomous district councils and regional councils:
Ø Article 244 (2) make provision for creation of the District Councils and
regional councils.
Ø Each district / regional council is a body corporate which is empowered for
administration of the area under its jurisdiction.
Ø They are named as “District council of (name of district) and Regional Council of
(name of region)”.
Ø ADC are the district councils within a state to which central government has
given varying degrees of autonomy within the state legislature.
Ø The establishment and functions of these ADC’s are based on the sixth schedule
of the Constitution of India.
Ø The elected councils in the Sixth Schedule areas are vested with administrative
authority, make laws with respect to a variety of subjects (but need governor’s
assent).
Ø Even exercise judicial authority through traditional legal systems embedded with
certain features of federal law.
Ø The councils are also financially independent.

Composition of District Councils and regional Councils

• The District Councils and Regional Councils are consisting of maximum 30

members, of whom maximum 4 members shall be nominated by the Governor and
the rest shall be elected on the basis of adult suffrage (Public voting).
• It is usually seen that the members who are nominated basically are
representatives of the minorities and unrepresented communities.
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• For Eg: Lai Autonomous District Council in Mizoram has 27 members (23
elected, 4 nominated) while Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council has
30 members.(28 elected and 2 nominated).
• However, this rule has an exception. The current provision is that the Bodoland
Territorial Council can have 46 members and out of these 46, 40 are elected on
the basis of adult suffrage. ( Due to bodo and non bodo conflict).
• These 40 seats are divided as follows: 30 seats are reserved for the Scheduled
Tribes 5 seats are reserved for non-tribal communities 5 seats are unreserved The
remaining six seats are nominated by the Governor from amongst the un-represented
communities of the Bodoland Territorial Areas District. Out of these 6, at least 2 are
women.
• District Council is elected for a five year term. The term can be extended for a
period not exceeding one year in case of national emergency or situation in which it
is impossible to hold elections.
• The sessions of the Council is presided by Chairman and in his absence a Deputy
Chairman. They are elected by the elected members of the District Councils.
• The function of Chairman and Deputy Chairman is similar to Speaker and
Deputy Speaker of a legislature. The Chairman has been endowed with legislative
functions like calling meetings for the council, preside over the session and also
regulate the proceedings of the session. He allows time for discussion and also
admits question and motions. Like the speaker he also has a casting vote in case of a
tie.
Executive Committee: The executive functions of the council is carried by an
Executive committee.
Current Councils:
Ø Currently, there are ten such Councils in the region as listed below:
Assam (Part-I)
Ø Bodoland Territorial Autonomous district Council
Ø Karbi Anglong Autonomous district Council
Ø Dima Hasao Autonomous District Council ( Earlier called north cachar hill
district council)
Meghalaya (Part-II)
Ø Garo Hills Autonomous District Council
Ø Jaintia Hills Autonomous District Council
Ø Khasi Hills Autonomous District Council
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Tripura (Part-IIA)
Ø Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council
Mizoram (Part – III)
Ø Chakma Autonomous District Council
Ø Lai Autonomous District Council
Ø Mara Autonomous District Council

Executive Functions
• power to manage markets, roads, waterways, ferries etc.
• prescribes the medium of instruction and manner of education in primary schools
within its jurisdiction.

Financial Functions
• power to collect land revenues, levy and collect taxes on shops, holdings etc.
• collection of tolls within their jurisdiction. It also has concurrent powers over
professions, trade, animals, goods carried by ferries etc.
• The royalty on the licenses for extraction of minerals within the autonomous
districts goes to the District Council.
• The Tax on motor vehicle within the area is assigned and collected by the state
government on behalf of the Council.
• Other sources of income for District and Regional Council include Grants in aid,
loans and advances from the state government.
• The District Councils have autonomous status and parliamentary or state acts do
not normally apply on the subjects under their authority. Such acts can only be
extended with required exception and modification which are considered necessary
by the concerned District Regional Council.

Legislative Powers of the Sixth Schedule Councils:

• The district councils and regional councils have powers to make laws on certain
matters of local importance like below, but all such laws require the assent of the
governor.
• Roads, bridges, ferries etc. modes of transport
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• Animal husbandry, veterinary training & practice

• Primary and Secondary Education
• Agriculture including farm research and education
• Fisheries
• Social security and social insurance
• employment and unemployment
• Flood control
• Entertainment including Cinemas and Theatres
• Public health, sanitation, hospitals and dispensaries
• Minor irrigation
• Trade and commerce in certain products such as food, cattle fodder, raw cotton,
raw jute etc.
• Libraries, museums, monuments etc.
• Alienation of land
Further, Bodoland Territorial Council has been given more powers and it has
capable of making laws on virtually all subjects of local interest. All these laws need
assent of the Governor. The Governor may keep some of the laws for consideration
of the president.

Judicial Powers of the Sixth Schedule Council:

• The laws made by the state legislature would not extend within the jurisdiction of
the autonomous council unless the council so directs by public notification.
• The President in regard to a Central Act and the Governor in regard to a State Act
may direct that the Central Act or State Act shall not apply to an autonomous district
or shall apply with such modifications as may be specified.
• Autonomous district councils have powers to form courts to hear cases where
both parties are members of Scheduled Tribes and the maximum sentence is less
than 5 years in prison.
• The Councils have also been endowed with wide civil and criminal judicial
powers, for example establishing village courts etc.
Ø The Indian Supreme Court clarified that even though the Sixth Schedule is not
a “self-contained code”or a “Constitution within the Constitution,”
Ø Sixth Schedule was primarily adopted to address the political aspirations of the
Nagas. But the Nagas refused it because it offered too little.
Ø Tripura and Bodoland councils have also been given judicial powers to settle
certain types of civil and criminal cases.
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Ø Thus, the councils under the sixth schedule have been given more power than
the local governments under the 73rd and 74th amendments in the rest of the
country.
Ø This is the reason that Autonomous District Councils (ADCs) based on the Sixth
Schedule of the Constitution of India are described as “State in miniature”.
However, there are certain issues due to which the sixth schedule has ended up
creating multiple power centres instead of bringing in a genuine process of
democratization or autonomy in the region. They are as follows:
Ø Conflict of Power: There are frequent conflicts of interest between the District
Councils and the state legislatures. Most notable example is Meghalaya where
despite the formation of the State, the whole of the State continues to be under
the Sixth Schedule causing frequent conflicts with the State Government.
Ø Para 12 (A) of the Sixth Schedule clearly states that, whenever there is a
conflict of interest between the District Councils and the state legislature, the latter
would prevail. Thus state enjoys the superiority,
Ø The local bodies established via Seventy-third Amendment are more liberally
funded through the State Finance commissions.
Ø Then in a state where there are more than one autonomous councils; one claims
that it is being treated less favourably than other. For example, in Assam, there is a
perceived preferential treatment to Bodoland Territorial Council in matters of
budget allocations.

ROLE OF GOVERNOR

• The Governor under the provision of the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution is
empowered to determine areas under the administration of the council.
• He has the authority to form new autonomous districts.
• He can increase or reduce the area of any autonomous districts or Districts
Councils.
• He is also empowered to unite two or more districts or its parts to carve out one
autonomous district from it.
• The Governor can also define the boundaries or alter the name of any
autonomous district. But it should be noted that such changes can only be brought in
by the Governor after the submission of report of the appointed commission for that
purpose.
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• There has been some differences observed in designation of the Administrative

areas of the District Councils from one place to another. Eg: In some states like
Assam and Meghalaya the District Council has been constituted at the District level.
But in Mizoram it exists both at the district and sub-divisional level.
• The Legislations passed by the Autonomous councils come into effect only after
the assent of the Governor. However, Governor works as per the aid and advice of
the state Council of Ministers. This makes many a times, the autonomous councils
irrelevant as far as power to legislate is concerned.
• Thus sixth schedule has ended up creating multiple power centers instead of
bringing in a genuine process of democratization or autonomy in the region.
Remedies to sixth schedule problems:
Ø Governors may exercise at their discretion without having to act on the ‘aid and
advice’ of the Council of Ministers.
Ø The administration of the district autonomous councils should be periodically
reviewed by a commission under Union Government.
CATEGORIES OF SIXTH SCHEDULE

Sixth Schedule was divided into two parts at the initial stage.
Ø Part A – Those areas where the people were a bit developed, and
where democratic political institution could be established were listed in part A.
In fact, the areas where District Council could be established were listed in Part A.
Ø On the other hand, the backward most areas where establishment of democratic
system was not possible were categorized in Part B.
Ø Therefore, the Governor of Assam was given discretionary power for
administering tribals in Part B of the Sixth Schedule.
Ø Part B is also identified as the Sixth Schedule where there is no District Council.
Ø Initially, even the areas of Nagaland & Arunachal Pradesh were included
in the Sixth Schedule with a provision to make district council. But the status of
“District Council” was rejected by the people in these areas. After some years, these
areas were given state hood & now they no longer appear in the Sixth Schedule.
Ø The Sixth Schedule was amended again with the reorganization of Assam . (The
reorganisation of Assam and the border region, previously called the Northeast
Frontier Agency (NEFA), took place in stages and led to the formation of four new
predominantly tribal states: Nagaland, granted statehood in
1963; Meghalaya formed as a separate state in 1972 for the Garo, Khasi, and
Jaintia tribes; Arunachal Pradesh, created as a Union Territory then converted to
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full statehood in 1972; and Mizoram, formed into a Union Territory in 1971 and
granted the status of a separate state in 1987. )
Ø Furthermore, the categories for listing Tribal Areas under the Sixth
Schedule provision was also changed from Part A and part B to Part-I, Part-II
and Part-III.
Ø With the approval of the Tripura Assembly, the Parliament again amended the
Sixth Schedule and Tripura Tribal Area Autonomous District Council
was included in Part-II A of the Sixth Schedule with effect from 1st April, 1985.
Ø Eminent lawyer and former Vice President of India, M, Hidayatullah referred
sixth schedule as constitution within a constitution.

FIFTH SCHEDULE VS. SIXTH SCHEDULE

Ø Fifth Schedule [Article 244(1)] –

Ø Sixth Schedule [Articles 244(2)] and 275(1))—
Ø tribal inhabited areas under the Fifth Schedule are known as “Scheduled Area”
and tribal inhabited areas under the Sixth Schedule are known as “Tribal Area”.
Ø It is clearly incorporated in the Constitution of India that even if an area
is exclusively tribal dominated area, it cannot be called a Tribal Area if
Sixth Schedule Provision to the Constitution of India is not enforced in that area.
Ø The Sixth Schedule, applicable in Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura and
Mizoram, gives tribal people freedom to exercise legislative and executive
powers through “autonomous regional council” & “autonomous
district council”.
Ø The Fifth Schedule, applicable in all the other identified tribal regions, guarantees
tribal autonomy and tribal rights over land through a Tribal Advisory Council in
each State.
Ø While executive powers of the union extend in Scheduled areas with respect to
their administration in 5th schedule, the 6th schedule areas remain within executive
authority of the state.
Ø 6 th schedule is more powerful .
Ø Sixth Schedule has always given the tribes considerable autonomy.
Ø Amendment of the V and VI Schedule: Fifth Schedule-administration of
scheduled areas and scheduled tribes & Sixth Schedule-administration of tribal areas
can be amended by simple majority of the two houses of Parliament outside the
scope of Article 368 (Amendment procedure)
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DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE ADC OF SIXTH SCHEDULE AND ADC

UNDER MANIPUR DISTRICT COUNCIL ACT, 1972

Ø ADC under sixth schedule has legislative and judicial powers.

Ø ADC under Manipur District Council Act, 1972 don’t have legislative
and judicial powers. It provides limited administrative powers.

CURRENT CRY OF ARUNACHAL PRADESH: Arunachal Pradesh is

demanding to create Mon Autonomous council and Patkai Autonomous Council.

NATIONAL COMMISSION FOR SCHEDULED TRIBES (NCST)

Ø On the 89th Amendment of the Constitution coming into force on 19th February
2004, the National Commission for Scheduled Tribes has been set up under Article
338A on the bifurcation of the erstwhile National Commission for Scheduled Castes
and Scheduled Tribes to oversee the implementation of various safeguards provided
to Scheduled Tribes under the Constitution.
Ø The Commission comprises a Chairperson, a Vice-Chairperson and three full
time Members (including one lady Member).
Duties and functions:
• To investigate and monitor all matters relating to the safeguards provided for the
Scheduled Tribes under the Constitution or under any other law
• to evaluate the working of such safeguards;
• To inquire into specific complaints with respect to the deprivation of rights and
safeguards of the Scheduled Tribes;
• To participate and advise in the planning process of socio-economic development
of the Scheduled Tribes and to evaluate the progress of their development under
the Union and any State;
• To present to the President, annually and at such other times reports upon the
working of those safeguards;
• Measures that need to be taken over conferring ownership rights in respect of
minor forest produce;
• Measures to be taken to safeguard rights of the tribal communities over mineral
resources, water resources, etc. as per law;
• Measures to be taken for the development of tribals and to work for more viable
livelihood strategies;
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• Measures to be taken to improve the efficacy of relief and rehabilitation measures

for tribal groups displaced by development projects;
• Measures to be taken to prevent alienation of tribal people from land and to
effectively rehabilitate such people in whose case alienation has already taken place;
• Measures to be taken to elicit maximum cooperation and involvement of tribal
communities for protecting forests and undertaking social afforestation;
• Measures to be taken to ensure full implementation of the Provisions of
Panchayats (Extension to the Scheduled Areas) Act, 1996 (40 of 1996);
• Measures to be taken to reduce and ultimately eliminate the practice of shifting
cultivation by tribals that lead to their continuous disempowerment and degradation
of land and the environment.
Monitoring:
• Acting upon Article 23 of the Constitution which prohibits traffic in human
beings and forced labour, etc.; in respect of STs
• Prohibition of child labour under Article 24; in respect of STs
• Educational safeguards under Article 15(4) for reservation of seats in educational
institutions
• Economic safeguards under Article 244 and working of Fifth and Sixth
Schedules and release of grants for raising the level of administration in tribal areas
• To safeguard the distinct language, script or culture under Article 29(i)
• Working of service safeguards provided under Articles 16(4), 16(4A), 16(4B)
and 335 providing for adequate representation of Scheduled Tribes in appointments
or posts

Enforcement of various laws such as:

• The Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989
• Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act, 1976 (in respect of Scheduled Tribes)
• The Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act, 1986 (in respect of
Scheduled Tribes)
• State Acts and Regulations concerning alienation and restoration of land
belonging to Scheduled Tribes
• Forest Conservation Act, 1980 (in respect of Scheduled Tribes)
• The Panchayat (Extension to the Scheduled Areas) Act, 1996
• Minimum Wages Act, 1948 (in respect of Scheduled Tribes)
 92

The working of the Commission:

The National Commission for Scheduled Tribes functions from its Headquarters at
New Delhi and from the State Offices of the Commission located in six States.
There are four Wings at Hqrs.
• Administration & Coordination Wing
• Service Safeguards Wing
• Atrocities Wing
• Economic & Social Development Wing

SCHEDULED AREA: Paragraph 6 of the Fifth Schedule of the Constitution

prescribes following procedure for scheduling, rescheduling and alteration of
Scheduled Areas
(1) Scheduled Areas means such areas as the President may by order declare to be
Scheduled Areas.
(2) The President may at any time by order.
• Direct that the whole or any specified part of a Scheduled Area shall cease to
be a Scheduled Area
• Increase the area of any Scheduled Area in a State after consultation with the
Governor of that State.
• Alter, but only by way of rectification of boundaries, any Scheduled Area.
• On any alteration of the boundaries of a State on the admission into the Union
or the establishment of a new State, declare any territory not previously
included in any State to be, or to form part of, a Scheduled Area.
(3) The criteria followed for declaring an area as Scheduled Area are
• preponderance of tribal population;
• compactness and reasonable size of the area;
• under-developed nature of the area;
• and marked disparity in economic standard of the people.

Since TSP strategy also has twin objectives namely Socio-economic development of
Schedule tribes and protection of tribal against exploitation, the Govt. of India in
Aug., 1976 had decided to make the boundaries of Scheduled Areas co-terminus
with TSP areas (ITDP/ITDA only) so that the protective measure available to Sch.
 93

Tribes in Sch. Areas could be uniformly applied to TSP areas for effective
implementation of the development programmes in these areas. Accordingly, the
TSP areas have been made co-terminus with Sch. Areas in the State of Bihar,
Gujarat, H.P., Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Orissa and Rajasthan. The State of
A.P. where the TSP areas are not co-terminus with sch. Areas has also furnished a
proposal to this effect which is under examination.

TSP forms a part of annual plan of a state or UT. These benefits are in addition to
what percolates from overall plan of a state/UT. The funds under TSP should be at
least in proportion to ST population of the state or UT. TSP is now called
schedules tribe component (STC) at central level and TSS (Tribal sub scheme) at
state level.

AFFIRMATIVE ACTION IN THE UNITED STATES VS PROTECTIVE

DISCRIMINATION IN INDIA
Tends to focus on issues such as education and employment, specifically granting
special consideration to racial minorities, Native Americans, and women who have
been historically excluded groups in America. Reports have shown that minorities
and women have faced discrimination in schools and businesses for many years
and this discrimination produced unfair advantages for whites and males in
education and employment.The impetus toward affirmative action is redressing the
disadvantages associated with past and present discrimination. Further impetus is a
desire to ensure public institutions, such as universities, hospitals, and police
forces, are more representative of the populations they serve.
Affirmative action is a subject of controversy. Some policies adopted as
affirmative action, such as racial quotas or gender quotas for collegiate admission,
have been criticized as a form of reverse discrimination, and such implementation
of affirmative action has been ruled unconstitutional by the majority opinion of
Gratz v. Bollinger. Affirmative action as a practice was upheld by the Supreme
Court's decision in Grutter v. Bollinger in 2003. Affirmative action policies were
developed in order to correct decades of discrimination stemming from the
Reconstruction Era by granting disadvantaged minorities opportunities. Many
believe that the diversity of current American society suggests that affirmative
action policies succeeded and are no longer required. Opponents of affirmative
action argue that these policies are outdated and lead to reverse discrimination
 94

which entails favoring one group over another based upon racial preference rather
than achievement.
The phrase "affirmative action" is also used in executive orders relating to equal
opportunity employment measures that Federal contractors and subcontractors are
legally required to adopt. Qualifying efforts may include outreach campaigns,
targeted recruitment, employee and management development, and employee
support programs.
Protective Discrimination: Positive discrimination, blamed as reverse
discrimination (Constiturional safe guards and developmental schemes for SC&STs)

CONSTITUTIONAL SAFEGUARDS FOR SCHEDULED CASTES

• Article 17: Abolishes untouchability.
• Article 15: No discrimination will be permitted on the grounds of religion, race,
caste, sex or place of birth.
• Article 15 (4) : Nothing in article (15) or 29(2) shall prevent the state from
making any special provisions for the advancement of any socially and
educationally backward classes of citizens or for the scheduled castes and tribes
It enables state make special provisions like
Ø A reservation of seats for members of backward classes in educational
institutions.
Ø Relaxation of qualifications required for admission in to such institutions
Ø Providing accommodation
• Article 16: Equality of opportunity in all matters of public employment.
• Article 16(4): Nothing in this article shall prevent the state from making any
provision of appointments or posts in favour of any backward classes of citizens
• Article 46: The state shall promote with special care the educational and
economic interests of weaker section of people and in particular of SCs and STs and
shall protect them from social injustice and all forms of exploitation.
• Article 338: Appointment of National commission for scheduled castes to
investigate and monitor all matters relating to safeguards provided to SCs.
• Article 23: Illegalises traffic in human beings & Forced labour.
• Article 330: Reserving seats for SCs and STs in the house of people (Lok sabha)
proportional to the population of SC &ST in that state.
• Article 332: seats have been reserved in state legislatures for SC &ST
proportional to the population of SC & ST in that state.
 95

• Article 334: 10 years period for reservation of elected seats. (Amended several
times to extend the period).

SOME ACTS TO SAFEGUARD THE INTEREST OF SCS:

• The Protection of civil rights act, 1955: An act to prescribe punishment for
preaching and practice of untouchability.
• The SC/ST (Prevention of atrocities) act, 1989
• The prohibition of employment as manual scavengers and their
rehabilitation act, 2013.

NATIONAL COMMISSION ON SC

Functions of the Commission: Following functions are performed by commission

which have been laid down in clauses (5), (8) and (9) of the Article 338 of the
Constitution:

The following are the functions of the commission

• To investigate and monitor all matters relating to the safeguards provided for the
Scheduled Castes under this Constitution or under any other law for the time being
in force or under any order of the Government and to evaluate the working of such
safeguards
• To inquire into specific complaints with respect to the deprivation of rights and
safeguards of the Scheduled Castes
• To participate and advise on the planning process of socio-economic development
of the Scheduled Castes and to evaluate the progress of their development under
the Union and any State
• To present to the President, annually and at such other times as the Commission
may deem fit, reports upon the working of those safeguards
• To make in such reports recommendations as to the measures that should be taken
by the Union or any State for the effective implementation of those safeguards and
 96

other measures for the protection, welfare and socio-economic development of the
Scheduled Castes
• To discharge such other functions in relation to the protection, welfare and
development and advancement of the Scheduled Castes as the President may,
subject to the provisions of any law made by Parliament, by rule specify.
Power of the Commission:-
While examining any issue under sub-clauses (a) and (b) of clause (5), the
Commission shall have all the powers of a civil court and in particular in
respect of the following matters:
1. Summoning and enforcing the attendance of any person from any part of India
and examining him on oath.
2. Requiring the discovery and production of any document.
3. Receiving evidence on affidavit.
4. Requisitioning any public record or copy thereof from any court or office.
5. Issuing commissions for the examination of witnesses and documents.
6. Any other matter which the President may, by rule, determine
Areas of functioning:-
Of the four core areas of the Commission’s functioning – viz., service safeguards,
education, economic development and atrocities – the
1. Services Safeguards Wing is the most active. These complaints relate mostly
to promotions, discrimination and harassment on various counts, institution of
disciplinary proceedings on flimsy grounds, the conduct of departmental
enquires in an unfair manner, adverse entry in the annual confidential reports,
transfers to far off places or insignificant positions, delay in payment of
retirement benefits, delay in the completion of departmental inquires, and so
forth. It has also succeeded in institutionalizing the system of liaison officers
and special SC and ST cells in all central ministries and public sector
enterprises for the speedy and effective resolution of the grievances of
employees of these communities
2. Secondly, the Commission monitors the levels of literacy and educational
development of the Scheduled Castes. It has shown sensitivity to the internal
differentiations, relative levels of deprivation and marginalization within the
SCs, along gender and community lines. It has taken special interest in female
literacy rates. It marks the tendencies in enrolment at the primary level and
 97

dropout rates at successive tiers of the educational ladder. It also monitors the
working of book-bank facilities and various scholarship programs at all levels,
and has paid special attention to the creation of hostel facilities for these
sections. Most complaints received by the Commission in this sector relate to
the denial of, or discrepancies in the application of, reservation policy. The key
problem in the Commission's approach here appears to be that it lacks a general
philosophy of education, and the role that education can play in the betterment
of these communities.
3. A critically important area of concern is, of course, that of atrocities against
dalits, and here the NCSC monitors the implementation of the various legal
provisions in force regarding such occurrences. It collects and comments on the
statistics pertaining to cases under the Civil Rights Act, 1955 and the
Prevention of Atrocities Act 1989. It pays special attention to the atrocities
perpetuated by police personnel. A key monitoring activity performed by the
Commission pertains to the setting up of special courts for the speedy trial of
offences under the Civil Rights Act and the Atrocities Act. It also monitors the
case disposal rates of these courts. Over the years, the Commission has
conducted several on-the-spot inquires into complaints of atrocities.
4. Economic development is, curiously enough, the least contentious area of the
Commission’s functioning. In its second report (as the NCSCST) the
Commission investigated the land question, establishing beyond doubt that the
vast majority of the workforce in the agricultural sector is from the Scheduled
Castes. It systematically unraveled their plight through the marshalling of
statistics pertaining to occupational holdings, average size of holdings, etc.
Addressing the all-important questions of land reform, land records, and the
streamlining of land revenue administration, the Commission recommended
land ceiling and the redistribution of surplus land by various state governments.
It also suggested a range of tenancy reforms and several measures to prevent the
alienation of tribal land (as it was the NCSCST at the time). Ironically this
attempt to safeguard and even advance the interests of the Scheduled Castes has
not produced results, because the agenda is not well-served by the entire
political class paying lip service to it.
Issues in its working
1. The most significant handicap of the Commission is the fact that its decisions
are not binding, but recommendatory.
2. There has historically prevailed a conflict between the Commission and its
nodal ministry, which has often taken the form of conflict between the Minister
and the Chairman of the NCSCST. As a consequence of this rivalry, the
 98

Ministry chose to delay the constitution of the Commission and, when it

ultimately did constitute it, it denied the Commission adequate staff to
effectively carry out its mandate, and also denied members of the Commission
the promised status (e.g., the promised rank of a Union Cabinet Minister for the
Chairperson, and Minister of State for the Vice- Chairperson, materialised as
the rank of a secretary to the Union government in both cases).
3. The existing priorities of the Commission are visibly lopsided in favor of the
elite of these communities.
4. The quality of reports in terms of the data they contain, and the manner in
which the data is organized, has also been declining over the years.
Comparisons are often made with the first ten reports prepared under late L.M.
Shrikant and the decline in quality thereafter.
5. The Annual Report that the Commission is required to submit to the President is
a crucial activity of the commission, the importance of which is generally
overlooked. The delay in submitting and discussing reports has been remarked
upon by members of parliament over the years.

CONSTITUTIONAL SAFEGUARDS FOR OBCs

Other backward classes(OBCs) is a collective term used by the Government of India to
classify castes which are socially and educationally backward.
Following are the constitutional safeguards for OBCs
Ø Article 38: State shall promote the welfare of citizens by establishing a just social
order.
Ø Article 46, 15,15(4),15(5),16(4) – Discussed in SC & STs
Ø Article 340: Appointment of a commission to investigate the conditions of
backward classes.
NATIONAL COMMISSION ON BACKWARD CLASS
Ø 102nd Constitution Amendment Act, 2018 provides constitutional status to the
National Commission for Backward Classes (NCBC).
Ø 102nd Constitution Amendment Act inserted new Articles 338 B and 342 A.
Ø Article 338B: provides authority to NCBC to examine complaints and welfare
measures regarding socially and educationally backward classes.
Ø Article 342A: The Constitution Amendment Bill states that the President may
specify the socially and educationally backward classes in the various states and
union territories. He may do this in consultation with the Governor of the
 99

concerned state. However, a law of Parliament will be required if the list of

backward classes is to be amended. (Article 342 A)

Functions of NCBC:
The duties of the NCBC will include:
(i) Investigating and monitoring how safeguards provided to the backward
classes under the Constitution and other laws are being implemented,
(ii) Inquiring into specific complaints regarding violation of rights, and
(iii) Advising and making recommendations on socio-economic development of
such classes.
(iv) The central and state governments will be required to consult with the
NCBC on all major policy matters affecting the socially and educationally
backward classes.
(v) It presents to the President, annually and at such other times as the
Commission may deem fit, reports upon the working of those safeguards. The
President laid such reports before each House of Parliament.

Powers of NCBC

Under the Constitution Amendment Act, the NCBC will have the powers of a
civil court while investigating or inquiring into any complaints. These powers
include:
(i) Summoning people and examining them on oath,
(ii) Requiring production of any document or public record, and
(iii) Receiving evidence.
Is Affirmative Action Secular?
• The Constitution of India envisages a secular form of affirmative action.
• It means that socio-economic and educational backwardness are the only criteria to
determine the marginalisation of a social group for the purpose of affirmative
action in general, and reservation, in particular.
• The Constitution, thus, proposes four administrative categories:
Ø Scheduled Caste (SC),
Ø Scheduled Tribes (ST),
Ø Religious and Linguistic Minorities, and
Ø Other Backward Classes (OBC).
• Instead, there is a well-defined mechanism to deal with the question of exclusion
from the development. It has following aspects.
 100

Ø A proper formula is worked out to identify backward communities;

Ø Reservation is given to an individual not a community;
Ø There is provision for a periodical assessment of the impact of reservation;
Ø There is an exit policy, meaning, the social and educational status of
beneficiary groups is evaluated and those groups which have achieved
certain level of collective progress are de-scheduled so as to make room for
other backward communities.
v Untouchability and caste-based exploitation is the main criterion
to identify SCs;
v Unique culture and indigenous ways of life as principal factor to
classify STs; and,
v Distinctive culture, language, religion and script to determine the
minority status of a community, primarily at the state-level.
v But the OBC category is a bit complicated.

Kalelkar Commission: The First Backward Classes Commission was established

by a presidential order on 29 January 1953 under the chairmanship of Kaka
Kalelkar, and submitted its report on 30 March 1955. It had prepared a list of
2,399 backward castes or communities for the entire country, of which 837 had
been classified as the "most backward". The commission in its final report
recommended "caste as the criteria" to determine backwardness. However,
the report was not accepted by the government.
Mandal Commission:
• The second backward classes commission popularly known as the Mandal
Commission was made official by the president on 1 January 1979, its chairman
being B. P. Mandal, submitted a report in December 1980 that stated that
the population of OBCs, which includes both Hindus and non-Hindus, was
around 52 per cent of the total population.
• The National Sample Survey puts the figure at 41%.
• The number of backward castes and communities was 3,743 in the initial list
of Mandal Commission set up in 1979–80.
• The number of backward castes in Central list of OBCs has now increased to
5,013 (without the figures for most of the Union Territories) in 2006 as
per National Commission for Backward Classes.
 101

• Mandal Commission developed 11 indicators or criteria to identify OBCs, of

which four were economic.
• 27 percent of reservation was recommended owing to the legal constraint
that the total quantum of reservation should not exceed 50 percent. States
which have already introduced reservation for OBC exceeding 27 per cent will
not be affected by this recommendation.
• It recognises caste as a basic feature to determine backwardness. The
commission divided India’s population into five categories:
Ø Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes;
Ø Non-Hindu Communities, Religious Groups, etc.,
Ø Forward Hindu Castes and Communities.
Ø Backward Hindu Castes and Communities;
Ø Backward Non-Hindu Communities.
• “After giving a good deal of thought, the commission has evolved the following
rough and ready criteria for identifying Non-Hindu communities who deserve
affirmative action.
Ø All untouchables converted to any non-Hindu religion; and
Ø Such occupational communities which are known by the name of their
traditional hereditary occupation and whose Hindu counterparts have been
included in the list of Hindu OBCs. (Examples: Dhobi, Teli, Bheemer, Nai,
Gujar, Kumhar, Lohar, Darzi, Badhai etc.)”
• It is, thus clear that the SC, ST, OBC and minority are not closed categories.

6.3. DEVELOPMENT OF NATIONAL FOREST POLICY AND TRIBALS

COLONIAL FOREST POLICIES

(I) Indian forest act 1865 & 1878: For the first time the state authority was
officially extended over the forests to meet the growing need for timber. Certain
activities like grazing in the forests were considered offences.

(II) National Forest Policy of 1894

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• Forests situated on the hill slopes should be maintained for climatic

conditioning, and to protect cultivated plains that lie below them from the hill
torrents.
• Forests which are reservoir of valuable timbers should be managed on the
commercial lines as a source of revenue to the state.
• Shift cultivation should not be permitted.

(III) INDIAN FOREST ACT, 1927:

Ø The Indian Forest Act, 1927 was largely based on previous Indian Forest Acts
implemented under the British.
Ø The first and most famous was the Indian Forest Act of 1878.
Ø Both the 1878 act and the 1927 one reserve the areas having forest cover, or
significant wildlife, to regulate movement and transit of timber and other forest
produce.
Ø It also defines the procedure to be followed for declaring an area to be a
Reserved Forest, a Protected Forest or a Village Forest.
Ø It defines what is a forest offence, what are the acts prohibited inside a Reserved
Forest, and penalties on violation of the provisions of the Act.

• Forests were divided in to 3 types, Reserved, protected and village forests.

Rights of the tribals were completely restricted. Most importantly the act
created powerful forest bureaucracy, The act remains active to date.

• Reserved Forest is an area mass of land duly notified under the provisions of
India Forest Act or the State Forest Acts having full degree of protection. In
Reserved Forests all activities are prohibited unless permitted. Reserved Forest
is notified under section 20 of the Indian Forest Act, 1927
• Protected Forest having limited degree of protection. In Protected Forests all
activities are permitted unless prohibited. Protected Forest is an area or mass of
land, which is not a reserved forest, and over which the Government has
property rights, declared to be so by a State Government under the provisions of
the section 29 of the Indian Forest Act, 1927.
 103

• Village Forest is constituted under section 28 of the Indian Forest Act, 1927.
The Government may assign to any village community the rights over a land
which may not be a part of a reserved forest for use of the community.
• Thus, the British forest policies dispossessed tribals of their community
properties and forest lands.

POST INDEPENDENT FOREST PLICIES

(I) The National Forest Policy 1952
Classified the forests of the country into four categories
(i) Protected forests essential for physical and climatic needs.
(ii) National forests to be utilised for the economic needs of the country.
(iii) Village forests to meet the fuel and domestic needs of villages and
neighbouring towns.
(iv) Tree lands.

• The National Forest Policy 1952 lays emphasis on :

(i) Weaning the tribal people from shifting cultivation.
(ii) Implementation of forest laws more effectively.
(iii) To control grazing of cattle, sheep and goats in forest areas.
(v) Providing fuel-wood to rural areas.
(vi) To improve the availability of timber wood for industrial purposes.
(vii) To increase the area under social forestry.
(viii) To promote research in forestry.
• Thus, it is on the foundation laid by the British forest policy

(II) The National Forest Policy 1988

• The basic objectives that govern the 1988 National Forest Policy are:
• Maintenance of environmental stability through preservation and, restoration of
the ecological balance
• Conserving the natural heritage of the country by preserving the natural
forests.
 104

• This is the currently active forest policy. It marked a shift in forest management
in India.
• For the first time recognised the requirements of fuelwood, fodder, minor forest
produce and small timber of the rural and tribal population.
v Gave importance to Involvement of tribal people in forest management under
joint forest management (JFM), which emphasises development of partnerships
with forest fringe people and tribals.
• Started Integrated Forest Protection Scheme (IFPS).
• Recognised the relation between tribals and forests.
• Stated that tribal rights should be protected.

(III) FOREST CONSERVATION ACT 1980:

• To check indiscriminate deforestation and diversion of forest land for industrial
or construction work the Forest Conservation Act was enacted in 1980.
• The Act was amended in 1988 to further facilitate prevention of forest
destruction.
• To put a check on the indiscriminate diversion of forest lands.
• prior approval of the Central government is required for diversion of forest
land to non-forest purposes.
• Since the enactment of the Act, the rate of diversion of forest land has come
down.
• Permission under this Act is difficult to obtain.
• The rare exceptions carry stipulations for compensatory afforestation and
other conditions as laid down in the Act and in the National Forest Policy,
1988.
(IV) INDIA’S FOREST RIGHTS ACT OF 2006
Background:
• Tabling in the parliament on 13 December 2005, the Scheduled Tribes
(Recognition of Forest Rights) Bill, 2005 which was re-named as “The
Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest
Rights) Act, 2006” was passed in the parliament
• The Draft Scheduled Tribes (Recognition of Forest Rights) Bill, 2005 faced
stiff opposition from two quarters.
 105

• First, Environmentalists advocated management of forest, wildlife and other

bio-diversity with complete exclusion of tribal people, local communities or
forest dwellers contrary to the Rio Declaration decisions of the Conference of
Parties of the Convention on Biological Diversity and recommendations of the
United Nations Forum on Forest.
• (Indigenous people have a vital role in environmental management and
development because of their knowledge and traditional practices. States
should recognise and duly support their identity, culture and interests and
enable their effective participation in the achievement of sustainable
development),
• Second, the Ministry of Environment and Forest had opposed the Bill on the
ground that implementation of the bill will result in the depletion of the
country's forest cover by 16 per cent.
• Following objections to the 2005 Draft Bill, it was referred to the Joint
Parliamentary Committee (JPC) headed by V. Kishore Chandra. Some of the
committee’s recommendations were against the intended beneficiaries i.e.
tribals importantly inclusion of all forest dwellers under its purview which may
dilute the rights of scheduled tribes.

Types of rights offered by the act:

• Title rights - i.e. ownership - to land that is being farmed by tribals or forest
dwellers as on 13 December 2005, subject to a maximum of 4 hectares;
ownership is only for land that is actually being cultivated by the concerned
family as on that date, meaning that no new lands are granted.
• Use rights - to minor forest produce (also including ownership), to grazing
areas, to pastoralist routes, etc.
• Relief and development rights - to rehabilitation in case of illegal eviction or
forced displacement; and to basic amenities, subject to restrictions for forest
protection.
• Forest management rights - to protect forests and wildlife..

Significance:
• It tries to undo the historical injustice done to the forest-dwelling communities,
whose claims over their resources were taken away during 1850s.
• The act also has potential of sustainably protecting forest through traditional
ways along with providing tribes, means of livelihood.
 106

• It expands the scope of the Fifth and the Sixth Schedules of the Constitution
that protect the claims of indigenous communities over tracts of land or forests
they inhabit.
• The alienation of tribes was one of the factors behind the Naxal movement,
which affects states like Chhattisgarh, Odisha and Jharkhand. The act may
reduce this impact by preventing land alienation.
• It has the potential to democratise forest governance by recognising community
forest resource rights over an estimated 85.6 million acres, thereby empowering
over 200 million forest dwellers in over 1,70,000 villages.
• The act will ensure that people get to manage their forest on their own which
will regulate exploitation of forest resources by officials & forest governance.

Issues in implementation:

• Low levels of awareness and information among the tribals about the provisions
of the act.
• Rejection of Tribal community claims in sanctuaries and protected areas.
• XAXA committee report pointed out that the rejections of tribal claims are not
being communicated to them, and their right to appeal is not being explained.

Criticism:

• The law has diluted the interests of the forest dwelling Scheduled Tribes with
the inclusion of the “Other Traditional Forest Dwellers”. The forest dwelling
Scheduled Tribes no longer remain the focus of the law contrary to what it
originally envisaged.
• It failed to address charges/ prosecution pending against the tribals under the
Forest Conservation Act of 1980 and Indian Forest Act of 1927, for accessing
minor forest produce, though the Act ensures tenurial security and legitimizes
the scheduled tribes' ownership over the minor forest produce and their role in
the conservation of forest.

The Land Acquisition Act of 1894:

 107

• Is a law in India and Pakistan that allows the government to acquire private
land in those countries.“Land Acquisition” literally means acquiring of land
for some public purpose by government/government agency, as authorised
by the law, from the individual landowner(s) after paying a government fixed
compensation in lieu of losses incurred by land owner(s) due to surrendering of
his/their land to the concerned government agency.
• Draw backs: Difference between govt rates and market rates. Inability of the
tribal to make proper use of the money.
Q. Examine the advancement made in the land acquisition and rehabilitation
act of 2013 over the land acquisition act of 1894. (2018, 15M)

The right to fair compensation and transparency in land acquisition, rehabilitation

and resettlement act 2013 came into force from 1/1/2014. It replaced the 120 year
old land Acquisition act 1894.

Parameter LAA 1894 RFCT LAR &R RFCT LAR & R

(Land 2013 ( Right to 2015 (Right to
acquisition act fair fair
1894) compensation compensation
and transparency and
in land transparency in
acquisition, land acquisition,
rehabilitation rehabilitation
and resettlement and resettlement
act 2013) bill 2015)

Public Includes No change as Excludes

purpose several uses such acquisition of
such as land for private
infrastructure, hospitals and
development private
and housing educational
projects. Also institutions.
includes use by
companies
under certain
 108

conditions.

Consent No such clause Consent of 80% Consent for five

From applicable of displaced categories of
affected people required projects is
people in case of exempted
acquisition for `1.defence
private
companies and 2.Affordable
70% for public- Housing
private 3.Rural
partnerships. Infrastructure
4.Industrial
Corridor
5.Infrastructure
The consent for
the other
projects remains
same as that of
2013 ACT.

Social No Provision SIA has to be Exemption of

Impact undertaken in SIA for above
Assessment every acquisition mentioned five
(SIA) categories of
consent and also
limits on
irrigated land.

Compensat Based on the Two times of Same as 2013

ion market value market value for Act.
urban areas &
four times of
market value in
rural areas.
 109

Rehabilitat No provision R&R necessary R&R award for

ion And for all affected each affected
Resettleme families. family included
nt Minimum R&R mandatory
entitlements to be employment to
provided to each atleast one
family. With member of such
employment to an affected
the members of family of a farm
the affected labourer.
family.

Food No Provision Multi-crop land No limit on

Security to be acquired multi-crop land
only as a last to be acquired
resort. for above said
States to impose five categories.
limits on the area
of agriculture /
multi-crop land
that can be
acquired in a
state.
If agriculture
,the state has to
cultivate an
equivalent area
of land
elsewhere.

V) National Forest Commission:

The National Forest Commission, the first of its kind, was set up in 2003. It
submitted its report in March 2006.
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Some of the commission’s recommendations are:

i. Emphasis on the need to undertake scientific research to assess the optimum
forest/tree cover according to forest type and topography to meet the intended
objectives.
ii. Amendment of the Indian Forest Act, 1927.
iii. The forest department should implement the Biological Diversity Act, 2002
and Environment Protection Act.
iv. Re-scheduling of species under Wildlife Protection Act to avoid man-animal
conflict.
v. No further amendment and dilution of Forest Conservation Act, 1980.
vi. No change in the National Forest Policy of 1988.

• Tribals were forbidden to take even enough wood to build their huts or fashion
their ploughs, they saw contractors from the lowlands felling hundreds of trees and
carting them off, usually with the help of labour brought in from outside.
• Where tribals were allowed access to some of the forest produce, such as grass or
dead wood for fuel, this was considered a "concession" liable to be withdrawn at any
time.
• The traditional de facto ownership of tribal communities was now replaced by
the de jure ownership of the state, which ultimately led to the exploitation of forest
resources with total disregard for the needs of the tribal economy.
• In recent years many projects have been started which change the character of
forests in such a manner that they serve exclusively commercial interests and no
longer benefit the original forest dwellers.
• The natural mixed forests, which provided the tribesmen with the raw materials
for many of their household implements, cane and bamboo for baskets, and such
items of food as mangoes, tamarinds, jack fruits, mahua corollae , and edible berries,
are being replaced by plantations of teak, eucalyptus, and various coniferous trees.
• An extreme example of such a commercialization of forests at the expense of the
local tribal population is a project in Madhya Pradesh where Rs 46,000,000 are to
be spent on converting 8,000 hectares of forest in the Bastar Hills to pine forests
to feed the paper pulp industry.
• In a recent symposium on "Forests, Tribals and Development," Dr. B. D.
Sharma, who is Tribal Development Commissioner, Government of Madhya
Pradesh, stated the position very clearly when he said:
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• special relationship of the tribals with the forest is not appreciated.

• Their rights are viewed as a 'burden' on the forests.
• Since the forest produce is treated as nature's gift, the State stakes its full claim
over it.
• the de-facto and conventional command of the tribal over resources denied
• he is reduced to the status of merely a casual wage-earner.”
• It is clear that the development of the people and development of the forests, as
two co-equal goals, are fully consistent.
• The plan for tribal development must take the forest resources as the base on
which tribal economy can progress with greatest confidence
• The tribal should become a co-sharer in the new wealth created in these areas
and should become an active participant in their management.”

6.3. IMPACT OF URBANISATION &INDUSTRIALISATION ON TRIBAL

POPULATIONS
• Define ST
Ø The Scheduled Tribes account for 84.32 million representing 8.2 percent of the
country’s population.

The essential characteristics of these communities are

Ø Primitive Traits
Ø Geographical isolation
Ø Distinct culture
Ø Shy of contact with community at large
Ø Employed mostly in primary sector
Ø High levels of poverty and illiteracy, low nutritional levels.
• Before independence, tribals had a history of common ownership of land,
forest resources and the produce. Economic autarky. Tribal societies were
egalitarian in nature.
• Class stratification emerged among tribals due to industrialisation and
subsequent monetisation of tribal economy.
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• They were declared encroachers on the very same land that they had lived
on for centuries.
• This dispossession from land and restriction of control over forest during
colonial era pushed tribals into labor market.
• By the beginning of 20th century they were pushed into plantation sector and
newly coming industries in Bengal, Assam and Bihar.
• They mostly did low or unskilled jobs getting very little economic
compensation as they had little access to modern education
• After independence numerous measures were taken to ensure tribal
development in a slow process directed by Panchsheel principle.
• But, the approach adopted has been quite the contrary.
• Development was seen as an important tool to bring tribals into societal
mainstream.
• Infrastructure development , construction of industries, dams, mining etc
became mandatory with the world wide trend of industrialization .
• Much of India's mineral and forest wealth lay in tribal areas, leading to an
inevitable conflict of interest between tribals and non tribals.
• The tribal occupation changed from food gathering to peasants.
• Communal ownership changed to private ownership of land.
• The Developmental policies drastically altered the relationship of tribes with
natural environment and resources. Changed the pattern and methods of
land ownership and usage.
• Land and forest most exploited due to industrialisation, fundamentally altering
the tribal way of life.
• Land made a saleable private property.
• Unscrupulous methods used for bringing forest resources into global market.
Modern communication and transport technologies hastened the process.
• High migrations and uprooting of tribals from their native land .
• The dissatisfied tribals are attracted towards Naxalism / left wing extremism.
• Forest resources got depleted, Natural forests are replaced by commercial
plantations.
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• Furthermore, developmental projects have seen large scale immigration of

people from outside, in search of employment, thus distorting demographics.
• Often tribals become minorities in their own traditional living areas.
• The benefits of large scale expansion of industries and infrastructure, never
reached these tribals .
• Employment opportunities are denied to them.
• Tribals Were seen as hindrance to development.
• Their traditional socio-economic and cultural systems were blamed and
treated as forest offences.
• Tribals were represented as backward, ignorant, superstitious.

Jharkhand, a rich state with poor people:

Jharkhand is a tribal dominated state having rich mineral resources. It is having
40 percent minerals of the country. It ranks 1st in the production of coal, mica,
kainite and copper in India. It produces approx. 25 percent steel of the country.
This is why state becomes the vanguard of industrialization among Indian states.
It has a wide range of industrial plants both public undertakings and private
limited. Despite all, Jharkhand still remains one of the poorest Indian states.
Industrialisation, internal colonialism and ethnoregionalism: the Jharkhand,
India, 1880–1980

7.2 SOCIAL CHANGE AND CONTEMPORARY TRIBAL

SOCIETIES:
Several factors which have brought about changes in the tribal culture are:
• Measures undertaken by the government,
• Communication facilities,
• Spread of education,
• Process of urbanisation, industrialisation and globalisation.
• Construction of dams, mining, developmental projects, national parks,
sanctuaries etc in the tribal areas
• Occupational mobility,
• Developmental programmes and policies
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• Frequent contacts with the neighbouring Hindus and the people of other
religions,
• Impact of Christianity,
• Facilities of bank credit,
• Modern medicare,
• Cooperative societies,
• Cash and market economy, and
• Reformist movements.
• Constitutional safe guards, the policy of protective discrimination.
• Impact of modern democratic institutions like Panchayati raj institutions.

7.2. IMPACT OF MODERN DEMOCRATIC

INSTITUTIONS

The tribal traditional panchayats are closely knit groups like own brothers. The
traditional councils are known with different names in different parts of the
tribal areas.
Ø Among Gonds of Adilabad of Andhra Pradesh it is known as ‘Rai
Sabha’
Ø Among tribal communities of Visakhapatnam district of Andhra Pradesh
it is known as ‘Panch bai’ or ‘Borobai’,
Ø ‘Beromanosam’ among Yerukulas,
Ø ‘Nanger’ among Lambadas, and
Ø ‘Kula Panchayat’ among other tribal groups.
Ø “The Parha is a confederacy of anything between 5-25 neighbouring
villages with a central organization called Parha Panch comprising the
headman of each member village; that elects its own head or Raja. A
hereditary post that is handed down the male line, the Parha Raja’s clan
enjoys tremendous respect and he commands absolute obedience,”
Ø The Manki-Munda (Self governing system) system in the state of
Jharkhand, for instance, competes with state laws enacted to enforce
PESA because the tribes prefer their traditional law’s emphasis on
collective and consensual decision-making. In many places, the tribals
are both incapable and reluctant to participate in modern electoral system.
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Ø the tribal traditional councils or panchayats became more organised and

efficient in the places where they are compatible to the PRIs and other
such councils suffered a decline in authority due to PRIs.
Ø The Kamar tribal community of Madhya Pradesh is fully guided by their
customary practices for dispute resolutions by traditional leaders in
village panchayats. Punishment varies according to the type and
seriousness of the deviations and wrong acts. Many of the offences in the
Kamar society are considered sins which can be compensated by giving
community feast to the village leaders and to the kith and kin of both the
parties.
Ø The Kharia of Odisha and Bihar is a food gathering and primitive
agriculture based tribal community. Their village council is popularly
known as the village panchayat under the leadership of village leaders
and seniors who deal with the violations of socio-cultural incidences. The
deviants are normally asked to give feasts to panchayat leaders to relax
their punishments.
Ø The Juangs and Bhuiyans of Keojhar district of Odisha traditionally
follow the traditional political system popularly known as ‘Pirha’ (An
administrative unit consisting of few contiguous villages) which looks
after the socio-cultural and administrative management of people and the
resources, dispute resolutions giving punishment and rewards etc.
Ø Due to state interventions like PRIs, administrative and development
packages uniform Penal codes like Indian Penal Code (IPC) and Criminal
Procedure Code (CrPC), customary practices of many tribal communities
have been largely weakened; as a result, the control of customary
practices on tribal people has been replaced by state formed laws.

IMPACT OF LEFT WING EXTREMISM ON INDIAN TRIBES :

• The price of government neglect: The map shows that the Naxals are successful
in the poorest districts of India. Eg: The rural tribal villagers in Chhattisgarh
(where Naxalism thrives) one of the poorest states in the country.
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• The Naxals are making hay in the north-east too. Why, tea-estates in
Assam have become breeding grounds for the Naxals!
• Orissa seems to be in a bad shape.
• The spread of Naxalism is an indication of the sense of desperation and alienation
• the central Indian adivasis have been described as “the original autochthonous
people of India” meaning that their presence in India pre-dated the Dravidians, the
Aryans and whoever else settled in this country.
• Unfortunately like indigenous people all over the world, the India’s adivasis too
have been savaged and ravaged by later people claiming to be more ‘civilised’.
More hard facts:
• At the national level 45.86 percent of all adivasis (tribals) live below the
poverty line.
• Several anthropometric studies have revealed that successive generations of
adivasis are actually becoming smaller unlike all other people in India who benefit
from better and increasingly nutritious diets.
• Adivasis are just one group of people being targeted by the Naxals for
recruitment. Overall, all poor people are being targeted, including Dalits.
• Poverty, lack of land reforms, caste discrimination and oppression and denial of
access to justice push the Dalits closer to the Naxals. The concentration of Dalit
populations in the Naxalite affected areas in India is quite high.
• As the agenda of the Naxals is typically pro-poor, They get attracted.
the government has proposed a three-pronged strategy to combat Naxalism:
1. Gain confidence of local people by taking up more welfare related activities.
2. Build up infrastructure in naxal-affected areas and generate employment.
3. Launch joint security operations with neighbouring states to eliminate left wing
extremists.
Here are some of the initiatives taken by the individual states:
• States of Bihar, Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal will share
information and coordinate with one another in adjoining border areas (to stop the
Naxals from escaping across the borders after launching attacks).
• The Jharkhand government is setting up a state industrial security force on the
lines of the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) to protect industries as the
Naxalites (who operate in 18 of the 24 districts in the state) often destroy
equipment of business establishments if they are not given extortion money.
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• The Orissa State government will be getting 10000 extra personnel for fighting
the Naxals – long term deployment of two battalions of CRPF in Orissa and an
additional five India Reserve Battalions.
• In Tamil Nadu, a 10-day guerilla warfare training programme has begun for
320 cops in the seven districts falling under the Central Zone. The commandos of
the elite STF will provide specialised training such as (1) sophisticated arms training
(2) combing operations in reserve forests (3) setting up of temporary tents and
bunkers to the 320 cops.
• The Kerala govt is now surveying labourers from other states as the Maoists are
using the state as a hide-out.
• The Maharashtra government and the state police is setting up with a special
force.
While the Centre has ruled out deployment of the Army as the forces’ hands are
already full, the government has the following plans:
• The central government will be investing Rs 500-crore to fight the Naxals. This
money will be used to provide (1) critical mobility to the police (2) secure camping
grounds and helipads at strategic locations, (3) build basic roads for the forces so
they have mobility in otherwise inaccessible areas.
• India’s Interior Ministry has set up an anti-rebel cell to ensure periodic review
and close monitoring of rebel activities.

Case study:
• Salwa Judum ( "Peace March" or "Purification Hunt" in Gondi language) is a
militia mobilised and deployed as part of anti-insurgency operations
in Chhattisgarh, India, aimed at countering Naxalite violence in the region. The
militia, consisting of local tribal youth, received support and training from
the Chhattisgarh state government.
• On 5 July 2011, the Supreme Court of India declared the militia to be illegal and
unconstitutional, and ordered its disbanding. The Court directed the Chhattisgarh
government to recover all the firearms, ammunition and accessories. The use of
Salwa Judum by the government for anti-Naxal operations was criticised for its
violations of human rights and poorly trained youth for counter-insurgency roles. It
also ordered the government to investigate all instances of alleged criminal
activities of Salwa Judum.
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• On 25 May 2013, its founder Mahendra Karma, who had become a senior Indian
National Congress party leader was killed in a Naxalite attack along with other party
members in Darbha Valley of Chhattisgarh, 400 km south of Raipur and 50 km
from Jagdalpur.

9.3. REGIONALISM:

• The lack of a commonality of ideals, aspirations, of shared emotional bonds and

values.
• It is the anti-thesis of nationalism
• Regionalism emerges when nationalism is not seen as a force for the good of
all.
• Regionalism in India is rooted in the structure of its society and geography.
Human Diversity:
• India has a plurality of caste, religion, race, region, language and class.
• Even within the apparently large homogeneous groups, there is clear stratification
for e.g., the Hindus are a majority in Indian constituting around 82%of the
population, and is divided into numerous castes.
• Tt is difficult to designate a caste or community as a majority or a minority.
• The parsis and jains are very small minorities but they enjoy certain economic
and social privileges, which even caste Hindus, the Scheduled Castes, the Scheduled
Tribes, and Muslims do not.
Linguistic diversity:
In a multi lingual society like India, All languages are regional in scope.
• Accepting hindi as a national language is perceived as suppression of Dravidian
and other languages or, is seen as the cultural hegemony of Hindi speakers of the
North.
• The growth of regional sentiment based on language and culture lead to regional
parties like the DMK, TDP, Shiv Sena, whose declared aim is to protect the regional
culture and, who attempts to establish the supremacy of regional cultures over
national values.
Economic Roots of Regionalism:
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• Differential level of economic development in different regions. Eg: The

Jharkhand demand is due to the underdevelopment of the tribal tract of Santhal
Paragans and Chotanagpur region of Bihar;
• On the contrary, the separatist and even secessionist movement in Punjab is
because of the over development of the region. The result is that the dominantly
Sikh population of Punjab is reluctant to share prosperity with other regions of the
country.
• Inadequate development and exploitation of tribals are at the root of development
of regional sentiment as manifest in Gorkhaland, Bodoland, and in Assam.
Social Roots:
• The feeling of alienness leads to the growth of a strong regional sentiment and
can manifest in anti migrant, “sons of the soil” movement in Telangana,
Assam, Bengal and Karnataka, Orissa Maharashtra.
• It is the view that a state specifically belongs to the main linguistic group who are
the ‘sons of the soil’ or the ‘local’ residents.
• Main demand was preference in jobs and small business to local people.

Political and Administrative Factors:

Political parties and politicians divide the society and mobilize the people by
appealing to pre-modern units like caste and religion for narrow political purposes.
Geographic Roots:
• The inaccessibility of the northeast isolated it from mainstream India,
preserving the regional ethnicity for a long period of time.
• Its hilly terrain has made economic development of the region a little difficult.
• As a result, isolated from mainstream India the region has come to have its own
regional personality and hence the development of a strong regional sentiment.
• Similarly, the underdevelopment of Kashmir is partly because of its geographic
setting.
Historical factors:
• The colonial policy of dividing the people is one factor that created hostility
between Hindus and Muslims that continued even after independence.
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9.3. COMMUNALISM:

• Communalism or communal ideology consists of three basic stages.

1. The belief that people who follow the same religion have common political,
economic social and cultural interests. This is the bedrock of communal ideology.
2. The interests of the followers of one religion are dissimilar and divergent from
the interests of the followers of another religion.
3. different communities are seen to be mutually incompatible, antagonistic
and hostile.
• Thus, the communalists asserts that Hindus and Muslims or Hindus and Sikhs
’cannot’ have common interests, and that their interests are bound to be
opposed to each other.
• Communal violence is a consequence of communal ideology.
• In this aspect, Hindu, Muslim, Sikh or Christian communalisms are not very
different from each other; they are varieties of the same communal ideology.
• Growth of communalism in India is a relatively recent development.
• Communalism emerged as a consequence of the emergence of modern politics
• Traditionally, Hindus, Muslims, and Sikhs, constituted three important religious
communities in India.
• All throughout the Indian history the average members of hindu and muslim or
hindu and sikh community have lived as good neighbour and maintained cordial
relations.
• Although, in case of Hindus and Muslims there did exist restrictions on
commensality and inter-marriage.
• But such restrictions did not come in the way for co-operation for common
economic, political or social objectives.
• However the situation started changing after 1857. The defeat of the
Mutineers and the establishment of British rule throughout India after 1857 was a
disastrous blow to the position of Muslims in the country.
• They fell from the privileged status of ruling class and rapidly sank into
poverty and backwardness.
• The deliberate British policy of discrimination against the Muslims hastened
their decline.
• On the other hand, the growth of education and the new opportunities in
bureaucracy, trade and commerce benefited the Hindus.
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• The Muslims were deliberately excluded.

• The exclusion of the Muslims was due to two reasons;
1. Muslims were rather slow to take modern education because of the strong hold of
Islamic tradition.
2. There was a policy of systematic suppression of the Indian Muslims by the
British because of the deep distrust which had grown against Muslims due their role
in the 1857 uprising.
• A deep sense of frustration and strong resentment against the British filled the
minds of Indian Muslims.
• Further, the artisans and craftsmen in the urban areas, majority of whom
happened to be Muslims, were ruined by the trade policies of the British.
• However, towards the end of the 19th century, the policy of the British towards
the Muslims changed.
• Fearing the rising tide of Indian nationalism, especially after the formation of
Indian national congress, the British adopted the policy or organizing Muslim
communalism as a counter-weight to Indian Nationalism.
• Thus, the further growth of Hindu and Muslim communalism was to a large
extent the result of the deliberate policy of ‘Divide and Rule’ followed by the
British.
• As Mahatma Gandhi declared at the Second Round Table Conference, the
problem of communalism was co-evil with the British advent.
• Mr.Beck, played an important role in creating a sense of distrust and fear of
Hindu majority in the minds of Muslim leaders.
• He was also instrumental in the establishment of ‘Mohammedan Anglo-
oriental Defence Association’ in 1893 with himself as one of the Secretaries. The
association aimed at protection and promotion of the political rights of the
Muslim community.
• When Bengal was partitioned along religious lines. The western part went to
India (and was named West Bengal) while the eastern part joined Pakistan as a
province called East Bengal (later renamed East Pakistan, giving rise to
independent Bangladesh in 1971). was another step towards creating a divide among
India on communal lines.
• Later on when constitutional reforms were introduced in 1909 the Viceroy Lord
Minto encouraged some of the Muslilm leaders to demand separate electorates.
• in his correspondence with the Secretary of state, Lord Morley, the Viceroy
repeatedly insisted that separate electorates would alone satisfy Muslim interests.
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• Thus, the second stage of communalism, where by different religious

communities view their secular interest as mutually exclusive, was reached by the
time separate electorates were awarded by the Morley-Minto Reforms.
• In 1940, the Muslim league passed a resolution demanding the creation of a
separate nation to be called Pakistan after independence.
• Hindu communalists felt that Hindus were a distinct nation, and that India was the
land of Hindus.
• The Indian nationalists accepted the partition not because there were two nations
in India but because the alternative to partition Was mass killing and barbaric
riots.

ISOLATION VS ASSIMILATION G.S.GHURYE VS VERRIER ELWIN:

• G.S. Ghurye was a typical Maharashtrian Brahmin. He was intensively

oriented to the Hindu way of life. He contested the Elwin theory of 'public
park' or isolation. His argument was that the tribals are a part of Hindu society.
They could be considered as backward caste Hindus. Ghurye was agitated
against Elwin and soon after the latter's book, The Loss of Nerve, he came out
with his own book, The Aboriginals, So-Called and their Future in 1943. The
book is actually a rejoinder to Elwin. Ghurye's argument is that tribals all over
the country are increasingly assimilating themselves into Hindu castes. Actually,
he devoted two long chapters on tribal assimilation in this book. It is here that he
defines tribals as backward caste Hindus. He further says that the problems of
tribals are not specific to tribals only. They are problems of backward caste
peasants. Thus, according to him, the tribals are both backward caste Hindus, and
peasants.
• In the 1940s, Verrier Elwin in his “A Philosophy for NEFA”,he argued that the
tribals should be persuaded to change but 'no imposition' of non-tribal life
should be made on them.
• D.N. Majumdar talked about 'selective integration' for the tribals. He suggested
that the tribals should not be exposed to or their area made 'open' for all aspects of
non-tribal life, but some good and beneficial items of civilization should be
introduced in their life.

PANCHASHEEL:
 123

• Five principles spelt out in 1952, known as Nehruvian Panchasheel, have been
guiding the administration of tribal affairs. They are:
1. Tribals should be allowed to develop according to their own genius.
2. Tribals’ rights in land and forest should be respected
3. Tribal teams should be trained to undertake administration and development
without too many outsiders being inducted
4. Tribal development should be undertaken without disturbing tribal social and
cultural institutions.
5. The index of tribal development should be the quality of their life and not the
money spent.

After the independence of India in 1947, the constitution of India guaranteed

special care of the tribes. The policy promulgated was integrationist without
destroying their identity. The policy of Panchsheel enunciated by Pundit Nehru on
tribal development in consultation with the then noted anthropologist, Verrier
Elwin, remains a memorable framework within which various programs supposed
to be implemented but in fact no government has followed the Panchsheel
principles as a policy in dealing with tribal society in India.

9.1. THE ROLE OF NGOs IN TRIBAL DEVELOPMENT IN INDIA

Nongovernment organizations are viewed as supplementary and complimentary
organizations to deal with the diversified needs of the community (Chand-1991).
The activities of NGOs in tribal affairs are of two types
• To supplement the effort of government in such fields where the government is
unable to reach.
• To launch a crusade against the policies and actions of the government which
result in injustice and exploitation.
Schemes in the Voluntary Sector:
There are four ongoing schemes of the Ministry, which are open to the participation of
voluntary/nongovernmental organizations. These schemes are:
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1. Grant-in-aid to Voluntary Organizations working for the welfare of Scheduled

Tribes including Coaching for Scheduled Tribes and award of special incentive
for improvement of infrastructure.
2. Strengthening education among ST girls in low literacy districts (erstwhile
scheme of educational complex in low literacy pockets for development of
women’s literacy in tribal areas).
3. Vocational training in tribal areas.
4. Development of particularly vulnerable tribal groups - (NGO component)
Established Voluntary Agencies (EVAs): An effort was also made by the Ministry
to identify voluntary organizations/non-governmental organizations which have an all
India character and are known for their selfless service and remarkable achievements.
The Ministry has accordingly categorized a few organizations as “Established
Voluntary Agencies (EVAs)”. These are as follows:
1. Ramakrishna Mission and its affiliated organizations.
2. Akhil Bharatiya Vanavasi Kalyan Ashram and its affiliated organizations.
3. Bharat Sevashram Sangha and its affiliated organizations.
4. Bharatiya Adimjati Sevak Sangh and its affiliated organizations.
5. Seva Bharati and its affiliated organizations.
6. Vidya Bharati and their affiliated organizations.
7. Swami Vivekananda Youth Movement
8. Deen Dayal Shodh Sansthan
9. Servants of India Society
10. Rastriya Seva Samiti
11. Vivekananda Girijana Kalyan Kendra
12. Akhil Bharatiya Dayanand Sevashram Sangh
13. DAV Managing Committee
14. Vinoba Niketan

Role of NGOs in tribal development:

All activities of NGOs are aimed at social, economic, political & educational
Development of oppressed people in the area. The activities stated by the respondent
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NGOs are listed below:

1. Comprehensive village development.
2. Education: Balwadi, supplementary classes for school-going children, school at the
brick kilns, hostel for children, motivate children to go to school.
3. Activities related with Women’s development : Formation of Women’s groups,
Saving group of women, training of self-employment, Women’s Co-operative
Society, Income generation for women, Women’s employment, etc.
4. Youth development activities: Formation of Youth groups.
5. Health activities: Primary health care, health education, health project of family
planning, traditional medicines.
6. Provision of food : Nutrition programmes, Grain bank.
7. Political activities: Awareness and training on Panchayati raj , electoral systems,
human rights,
8. Counselling activities: Women’s counselling centre, Family counselling centre,
Legal counselling.
9. Dissemination of information of Government scheme, helping people to secure
benefits of Government scheme.
10. Self employment : Guidance on self occupation , Handicraft development etc.
11. Protecting environment: - Horticulture on the barren land, Watershed
development,
13. Anti liquor movement
14. Fighting on land issues, restoration of land rights.
15. Fighting against injustice.
16. Form co-operative societies of tribals such as fisheries societies, brick societies.

Role of NGO in education:

• Some NGO organizations have started residential schools but the effectiveness
or impact of such schools is debatable.
• Another strategy adopted by a set of NGOs is to set up alternative schools
which provide the education that they consider appropriate for the targeted
tribal group. Since these are not residential schools, they can cater only to a
small set of children who live nearby. It is difficult to cover the millions of
children from the ST community with only a few, NGO-managed private
schools.
• Hence, a sustainable and effective change in the quality of education for social
groups such as the STs can happen only when the public education system
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transforms itself to adopt and integrate these innovative practices. This requires
the NGOs which are interested in the education of STs to work with
government schools and bring about qualitative changes in public education.

A case study:
• Sikshasandhan had developed educational learning materials in tribal
languages (Soura, Desiya, and Juang) during the initial years. It started
mother-tongue based schooling for the children from the Kolha tribe in a block
in the Mayurbhanj district in 2011.
• This kind of adaptation requires not only translation but also making the lessons
relevant to the social context of the specific tribal group.
• Sikshasandhan received some funding for this purpose and could have MLE
(Multi lingual education) teachers or teaching assistants from the tribal
communities to help with the tribal language as part of MLE in a set of schools.
• Some of the MLE teachers recruited by Sikshasandhan were also absorbed into
the initiatives of the district administration and the state government.
• Under the current scheme, an MLE teacher can become a regular teacher after
six years if they pass a test conducted by the government.
• Sikshasandhan has trained MLE teachers and also coached them to pass this
test.

PROBLEMS OF TRIBAL WOMEN

• Tribal women experience multiple jeopardy because of their structural

disadvantage of multiple minority statuses as women, poor and tribal, and
experiences several simultaneous oppressions when they are exposed to the
non tribal society.
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• The status of women in the tribal societies is comparatively better than that of
the women in general society.
• Discrimination against women, occupational differentiation, and emphasis on
status and hierarchical social ordering that characterise the predominant Hindu
culture are generally absent among the tribal groups.
• Tribes too have son preference, they do not discriminate against girls by female
infanticide or sex determination tests.
• Since women in the tribal communities toil hard, they are considered to be
assets. Not surprisingly, the practice of bride price during marriages is quite
common among them. This is in sharp contrast to the general caste-Hindu
population. Sometimes when the prospective groom is not in a position to pay
the bride price, he has to render physical labour and service at the wife’s house.
At times he even stays back at the wife’s house throughout his life.
• In recent years as the capitalist economy is setting in and women are being
deprived of their traditional role, their economic value is decreasing and the
practice of bride-price is giving way to the system of dowry as witnessed in the
general society.
• The status of the tribal women usually depends on the economic roles they play.
The tribals in the past were usually forest dwellers and their livelihood to a
great extent depended on the food-gathering economy. More than the men, the
women walked long distances to fetch wood and fodder. Besides, they also
collected fruits, roots and tubers, lac, gums and leaves for self-con-sumption
and sale. The men also complemented them by collecting timber and logs. They
climbed the trees to shake down the fruits that were gathered on the ground by
women. As there has been large scale deforestation, women have to slog harder
to retain the gathering economy. In the tribal areas of Betul in Madhya Pradesh,
collection and marketing of firewood is generally the domain of tribal women.
They sell it at Sahpur and whatever income they have, they immediately spend
it on meeting the basic requirements such as rice, pulse, edible oil, soap,
detergent powder, tobacco, bidi and so on.
• For quite some time the tribes have been exposed to industries in central
India. There have come many big and small dams and many development
projects as well. The forests being depleted and very little poor quality land to
cultivate on, the tribes are compelled to serve in the industrial sector to work as
coolies. In many parts of Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat and
Rajasthan also the tribes are being forced to work in brick kilns and the
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building sector in cities. Tribal men and women are both exploited by the
contractors and middlemen. The women suffer all the more as they get sexually
abused. Besides, they are paid much less as compared to the men.
• often the Santhal widows are declared as witch and murdered by close
relatives. They are often stoned to death in the process of witch hunting.
• Most of the tribes in India follow a patrilinear system. There are exceptional
cases like the Khasi, Jaintia, Garo and Lalung of Meghalaya in the North-
East who follow the matrilinear system. The Mappilas of Kerala too are a
matrilineal community.
• Not surprisingly, the Khasis are often believed to follow matriarchy. But in
reality though the property is inherited through the mother’s line, the final
authority of the household vests with the mother’s brother.
• The Todas of Nilgiri or the Bhutias of Ladakh and Sikkim are
polyandrous.
• polygynandry. This system is quite common among the Jaunsaris of
Jaunsar Bawar in Uttarakhand. In such marriages the eldest woman usually
wields greater respect and command.
• Among the Jaunsaris, the new husbands have to pay the suit money or the
amount paid as bride-price by the former husband to the girl during earlier
marriage. This amount becomes quite large as interest is also added to it. In
order to repay the money, the wife is often sent away seasonally to the cities
like Dehradun, Meerut, Sahranpur, Moradabad, Lucknow and Delhi to work as
prostitutes. They virtually turn into bonded labourers.
• In many parts of the country, swidden cultivation or slash and burn cultivation
or jhum cultivation, as it is called in the North-East, was in vogue. Swidden
cultivation as a women’s enterprise since it is they who almost entirely
managed the show. While the men mainly felled the trees and spread them
around on the ground to dry before collectively kindling fire, it is the women
who were engaged in broadcasting the seeds, weeding and harvesting. It is the
women who preserved the seeds at home and took the decisions about the crops
to be cultivated every season. The men mostly guarded the crops from wild
animals and trapped wild-life games, big and small.
• In recent years, the jhum cultivation is being replaced by permanent terraced
wet-rice cultivation. Multi-cropping practices too are getting lost and the
emphasis on mono-cropping is being laid. Cash crops and horticulture are also
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being preferred. In the process women are losing their labour work and in
many places of the North-East like Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh,
migrant male labourers are being employed.
• The tribal women in the North-East were famous for their weaving skills.
Almost every tribal girl used to learn weaving at home. They usually used to
weave in their leisure time and for self-consumption. Each textile used to
portray a certain history of the respective tribes. But now with
commercialisation of the products, the women have lost control over it.
• Mizo women in Mizoram that they were extremely discrimi-nated against with
regard to the inheritance of property as they were never given rights over the
landed property. If there is no son in the family, the family property including
ancestral home should go to the nephew of the father.
• Christianity has brought about a significant emancipation of the tribal women.
While earlier the women were restricted from attending schools, it is the
missionaries who opened schools and encouraged the girls to attend them.

HIGH SEX RATIO AMONG TRIBALS:

Yet despite the common belief that education will improve attitudes to female
children, the data shows that India’s least educated social groups are those with
better sex ratios. The child sex ratio (girls for every 1000 boys aged 1-6) is 957 for
STs and 933 for SCs as compared to 910 for “others”. In urban areas, the child sex
ratio of the non-scheduled caste, non-tribal population is just over 900, meaning
there are 100 less girls for every 1000 boys.

Better sex ratios among tribals could reflect a combination of positive and negative
factors; cultural gender parity as well as lack of access to pre-natal diagnostic
technology. Dr. Abhay Bang, the award-winning doctor and social activist from
Gadchiroli in Maharashtra who is a member of the central government’s new High-
Level Committee on Status of Tribal Communities, says that both factors could co-
exist. “It is true that there is no social bias against women in tribal communities such
as there exists among the middle castes, especially landed ones. Women can ask for a
divorce, and in many communities, money is paid to the girl’s family at the time of
marriage,” Dr. Bang told The Hindu. Simultaneously, most tribal communities either
do not know of pre-natal sex determination, or do not have access to it, Dr. Bang said.
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“But among more educated tribals, those who get government jobs, sex selection has
begun,” he said.
Similarly, the female work participation rate – the proportion of women who are in the
workforce – which is considered an indicator of female empowerment, is highest
among STs, followed by SCs and then “others”. In fact, the proportion of female STs
in the workforce is nearly double that of women in the “other” category; 44% as
against 23%.

“Tribes in India are not homogeneous group.” Discuss. (2011)

Heterogeneity in degree of development: tribes, scheduled tribes, pvtg

Heterogeneity in ethnicity
Heterogeneity in language discussed in 6.1
Heterogeneity in economic activities tribal classification
Heterogeneity in religion
Heterogeneity in degree of
incorporation into hindu society

DISTINCTIVE FEATURES OF TRIBES OF ANDAMAN AND NICOBAR /

EXTINCT AND ENDANGERED TRIBES
The inhabitants of these islands are tribes of Negrito and Mongoloid origin.
• There are four surviving Negrito tribes living on the Andaman Islands, whereas
two Mongoloid tribes living on the Nicobar Islands.
• It is thought that the Andaman Islands were separated from Africa and so were
these Negrito tribes, about 60,000 years ago.
• Originally there were five Negrito tribes occupying the Andaman Islands,
• Great Andamanese
• Jarawa
• Onge
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• Jangil or Rutland Jarawa

• Sentinelese
From among these five tribes, only four survive now with the Jangil tribe being
extinct. The Onge and Jarawa exist in pure forms, however, less than a hundred
individuals of Onge are known to be purely Onge, whereas around 250 to 400
individuals of the Jarawa tribe exist in pure form. The pure Great Andamanese are
extinct now and admixed individuals belonging to the tribe are known to be alive.
About only a hundred to two hundred individuals of the Sentinelese tribes are
known to be alive.
The two Mongolian tribes living at the Nicobar Islands are the Nicobarese and
the Shompen. Although the Nicobarese have become adapted to the change, the
Shompen tribe remains unattached with the outsiders.
The Great Andamanese Tribe
Till the late 18th century they strictly avoided contacts with the outside world going
to the extent of killing shipwrecked foreigners. However, by the late 18th century
the British reigned here. There was a sharp decline in their population as they were
also affected by the diseases, introduced in their land by the outsiders, to which
they had no immunity. There were cases of the tribal killing their own members
because they feared that the diseases might be contagious.
In the current times, they are supported by the Indian Government. Much of their
diet includes Indian food although they still go fishing, hunting, and food
gathering. They also have farms now to practice agriculture and a little bit of
animal husbandry.

Jarawa Tribe
Unlike the Great Andamanese, the Jarawa have stayed totally out of contact of the
outside world. Their population has been greatly impacted by the Great Andaman
Trunk road.; both in positive and negative ways. The Calcutta High Court had to
order people to stop traveling via the Great Andaman Trunk road. But there was an
appeal put up by the locals claiming the road to be very important. The court had to
lift its previous order, but a new order was given. According to the court now
vehicles travel only in large convoys, four times a day.

Onge Tribe
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Earlier inhabiting Little Andaman, Rutland Island, and the South Andaman Island,
the Onge tribe inhabit only two reserve camps on Little Andaman after their
population faced a decrease in number. Being semi-nomadic, they hunted for food
instead of farming. Not much of their culture is known and not many of them have
been known to have survived to date. After the tsunami, only 96 of the Onge
individuals were left who had taken shelter on the highland of the island.
They speak what is known as the Onge language. But with increasing interaction
with outsiders Onge speakers have been reduced in number. But the slight increase
in their number has been noticed recently.

Sentinelese Tribe
Sentinelese tribe is the most untouched tribe of the Andaman Islands. They live on
the North Sentinel Island, isolated completely from the other tribes in Andaman
and Nicobar and also from the world. They are still leading the life of hunter and
gatherer as they hunt and gather food, together with fishing. They also seem to
have knowledge of certain beneficial plants. They don’t, however, know about how
to produce fire and cook food.
Their language has not been recognized yet. Their language does not seem much
similar even to the Jarawa tribe who are their nearest neighbor. Although they have
a different language, their physical characteristics are just the same as the other
Negrito tribes of the Andaman Islands. They have short stature and dark skin.
This tribe also seems to be quite tough skinned against the natural calamities. The
impacts of the earthquake or tsunami have not been known if any. There also
seems to be more men than women, although there might be a possibility that
because their population is not accurately measured it seems that the male sex ratio
is greater.

The Nicobarese Tribe

They are headed by a queen, the first being Islon who was the most prominent
person of the island. The men and women seem to be equally placed in society, and
the women have a lot of liberty too. The Nicobarese women take care of the
households and also farming.
They live in huts having dome-shaped roofs. These huts are at length above the
ground and the inhabitants have to use ladders to go into the house. These ladders
are pulled up at night.
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All the 12 islands have different dialects,Their languages are a part of the Austro-
Asiatic language family.
The inhabitants are mostly Christian. Their traditional religion is animistic,
Their economy runs mainly on horticulture, where they grow plants like coconuts,
pandauns, areca nuts palms, bananas, mangoes and the like. Other occupations in
which they are involved include hunting, fishing, raising pigs, pottery and making
canoes. And since the younger ones of the tribes are receiving free education from
the government they are eligible to receive jobs of teachers and clerks among a few
other job opportunities.

Shompen Tribe
The Shompen tribe is the first tribe that had arrived in the Nicobar Islands. They
were already living here by the time the Nicobarese arrived here. They live on both
sides of the islands; the one living on the eastern side call themselves Keyet, while
the one on the western side calls themselves Kalay. They both call each other
Buavela. The existence of this tribe was acknowledged in the 1840s but after
India’s independence, no close contact was allowed with them. Hence, as a result,
not much information is available about them.
They are the hunting-gathering type of tribe. The men wear a cloth from the waist
made of bark, covering only the genital area. They also wear a necklace made of
beads. The women wear a skirt and a cloth covering them from their shoulders.
They use ahav or ear rings, naigaak or necklaces, and geegap which are the
armbands.
They use tools like the bows and arrows, spears, fire drills, and hatchet are the
main kind of tools used by the Shompen. They hunt and gather food. Their diet
includes pigs, birds and other kinds of small animals. They also eat fruits and other
edible items available in the forest. They also depend on farming where they
cultivate yams, roots, vegetables as well as tobacco.
Their huts are of two types, the lowlands and the highlands having different types
of requirements. Each hut houses about 4 to 5 people. The ones on the lower side
of the land build their houses on raised surfaces, while ones on the higher side
build it on the ground. The roofs are thatched. They cook outside their houses.
There are thought to be two different types of Shompen language, which seems to
be different from the Nicobarese language. Their language is expected to be an
isolated Austro-Asiatic language.
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DISTINCTIVE FEATURES OF TRIBES IN NORTH-EAST INDIA.

Major tribes in Northeast India: North-East tribes constitute a major part of

Indian tribal community. They are all scattered over all the states of North East.
There are 145 tribal communities, constituting 12% of the total tribal population of
India. Some examples of prominent tribes are Garo, Khasi, Jaintia, Adi, Nyishi,
Angami, Bhutia, Kuki, Rengma, Bodo.
Ethnicity: North East Indian tribes have originated from the ethnic groups
of Tibeto-Burmese, proto Austrioloids and some groups of Indo Mongoloids.
The trend can be seen in the looks, traditions that are visibly followed by these
communities.
Religion: Christianity is followed among many of the tribes and some also
Follow Hinduism and Buddhism. The rest still have their indigenous beliefs
and practice animism.

Language: North East makes up one of the richest single linguistic regions with
about a whopping 220 languages in multiple language families (Indo-European,
Sino-Tibetan, Tai–Kadai, Austroasiatic) that share common structural features.
Assamese is the most widely spoken language in North East as it is easily
understood by Bengalis too. The language is developed as a lingua franca for many
speech communities. Assamese-based dialects have developed in Nagaland
(Nagamese) and Arunachal (Nefamese), though their use has been on a decline in
recent times.

Descent and inheritance pattern: Children and women generally are taught to be
self-independent from a very young age. In Meghalaya and Nagaland, there are
societies that are matriarchal which is a rare phenomenon in patriarchal India.
Khasi, Garo, and Jaintia are the three major tribes of Meghalaya. The Khasi and
Garo people practice matrilineality. Indeed it is something the whole country
should follow in the wake of increasing crimes against women and trends like me-
too which reinforce the harsh reality of women abuse.
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9.2 ROLE OF ANTHROPOLOGY IN TRIBAL AND RURAL

DEVELOPMENT.
Escobar (1997) makes a distinction between ‘Development Anthropology’ and
‘Anthropology of Development’. According to Escobar, ‘Development
Anthropology’ accepts mainstream view of development. It involves active
engagement with development institutions on behalf of the poor with the aim of
development according to the western notions of modernity.
‘Anthropology of Development’ prescribes a radical critique of development, and
prefers distancing away from development establishment. ‘Anthropology of
Development’ questions the very notion of development.
Strengths of Anthropology:
• Policy making: The expertise of anthropologists helps in framing of policies,
relevant and meaningful to the people.
E.g. National tribal policy, Forest policy etc.
• Designing the developmental plans, programs and schemes: E.g. During the
middle of fourth 5 year plan, in the year 1972, the planning commission set up a
“task force on development of tribal areas” with L.P. Vidyarthi as the
chairman. Recommendations of this task force and those of an expert committee
under the chairmanship of S.C. Dube led to a new approach towards tribal
development called “Tribal sub plan” during the fifth five year plan.
• Determining criteria: E.g.
Ø Criteria for scheduled tribes
Ø Criteria for Scheduled areas
Ø Criteria for PVTGs
• Providing the theoretical debates like Isolation (Verrier Elwin’s “A philosophy
for NEFA”), assimilation (G.S. Ghurye) or selective integration (D.N. Majumdar)
• Providing the concepts like tribal panch sheel (Jawaharlal Nehru) Nature man spirit
complex (L.P. Vidyarthi’s “The Maler”), Tribe caste continuum (F.G. Bailey’s
“Tribe, caste and nation”) etc.
• Planning the rehabilitation and resettlement of the tribals at times when
displacement is inevitable.
• Social impact assessment due to displacement. E.g. land acquisition and
rehabilitation act of 2013 made social impact assessment compulsory in every
land acquisition.
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• Anthropology highlights the need for tolerance towards cultural variation, and
disapproves ethnocentric imposition of alien ideas and practices in the name of
development.
Limitations / weaknesses of Anthropology:

• Misconceptions exist that anthropologists seek to preserve traditional ways of

life when people seem to seek faster modernisation.
• The adherence to the concept of cultural relativism which lays down that
culture can be understood in its own terms and frame, and the emphasis on the
study of socio-cultural wholes and inter-relationships, leads to a suspicion
that any change coming from outside as potential source of destruction.
• Anthropologists suggest non-interference with value systems, not to
introduce changes at a rapid pace and to take into account the cultural
consequences of innovations may slow down the development process.
• Anthropologists have been kept away from development agencies by labeling
them as isolationists & conservationists.
• Development is a macro-phenomenon, planned and executed in national
contexts, while the expertise of anthropologists is at micro-level.
• Their respect for customs, values and traditions of people sometimes comes in
the way of accepting modern innovations.
• In the context of development, another limitation of anthropology is its
emphasis on qualitative approach, Development is more of a quantitative
exercise, as the focus is on improvement in the measurable development
indices. Anthropological training is deficient in quantitative models.
• Their approach for fieldwork involving long term stay and participant
observation is not popular with development administrators, as they want
feedback and inputs at the earliest.