WORLD ARCHAEOLOGY OVERVIEW

Evolution of stone tools:

• Archaeologists classify stone tools into industries (also known as complexes or
technocomplexes) that share distinctive technological or morphological characteristics.
• In 1969 in the 2nd edition of World Prehistory, Grahame Clark proposed an
evolutionary progression of flint-knapping and assigned to them relative dates:
o Modes 1 and 2 to the Lower Palaeolithic,
o 3 to the Middle Palaeolithic,
o 4 to the Advanced and
o 5 to the Mesolithic.
• They were not in effect in different regions simultaneously. Mode 1, for example, was
in use in Europe long after it had been replaced by Mode 2 in Africa.
• Consequently, in the literature the stone tools used in the period of
the Palaeolithic are divided into four "modes", each of which designate a different
form of complexity, and which in most cases followed a rough chronological order.
Pre-Mode I
Kenya
• Stone tools found from 2011 to 2014 at Lake Turkana in Kenya, are dated to be 3.3
million years old, and predate the genus Homo by about one million years.
• The oldest known Homo fossil is about 2.4-2.3 million years old compared to the 3.3
million year old stone tools.
• The stone tools may have been made by Australopithecus afarensis, the species whose
best fossil example is Lucy, which inhabited East Africa at the same time as the date
of the oldest stone tools, or by Kenyanthropus platyops (a 3.2 to 3.5-million-year-
old Pliocene hominin fossil discovered in 1999).
• Dating of the tools was by dating volcanic ash layers in which the tools were found
and dating the magnetic signature (pointing north or south due to reversal of the
magnetic poles) of the rock at the site.
Ethiopia
Grooved, cut and fractured animal bone fossils, made by using stone tools, were found
in Dikika, Ethiopia near (200 yards) the remains of Selam, a young Australopithecus
afarensis girl who lived about 3.3 million years ago.

1
Mode I: The Oldowan Industry / Abbevillian / Chopper – chopping tools/ Homo
habilis:

A typical Oldowan simple chopping-tool. This example is from the Duero

Valley, Valladolid.
• Abbevillian is a currently obsolescent name for the tool tradition that is now being
called as Oldowan. The name Abbevillian prevailed until Leaky family (Mary and
Louis Leaky) discovered older, yet similar tools at Olduvai Gorge. The term
Abbevillian is now restricted to Europe.
• The earliest stone tools in the life span of the genus Homo are Mode 1 tools, and come
from Oldowan Industry, named after the type of site found in Olduvai
Gorge, Tanzania, where they were discovered in large quantities.
• Oldowan tools were characterised by their simple construction, predominantly
using core forms.
• These cores were river pebbles, or rocks similar to them, that had been struck by a
spherical hammerstone to cause conchoidal fractures (Fractures in brittle stone)
removing flakes from one surface, creating an edge and often a sharp tip. The blunt
end is the proximal surface; the sharp, the distal.
• Oldowan is a percussion technology.
• The earliest known Oldowan tools yet found date from 2.6 million years ago, during
the Lower Palaeolithic period, and have been uncovered at Gona in Ethiopia.
• After this date, the Oldowan Industry subsequently spread throughout much of Africa,
although archaeologists are currently unsure which Hominin species first developed
them, with some speculating that it was Australopithecus garhi, and others believing
that it was in fact Homo habilis.

2
• Homo habilis was the hominin who used the tools for most of the Oldowan in Africa,
but at about 1.9-1.8 million years ago Homo erectus inherited them.
• The Industry flourished in southern and eastern Africa between 2.6 and 1.7 million
years ago, but was also spread out of Africa and into Eurasia by travelling bands of H.
erectus, who took it as far east as Java by 1.8 million years ago and Northern China by
1.6 million years ago.
Mode II: The Acheulean Industry

A typical Acheulean handaxe; this example is from the Douro valley, Zamora, Spain. The
small chips on the edge are from reworking.
• Eventually, more complex Mode 2 tools began to be developed through the Acheulean
Industry, named after the site of Saint-Acheul in France.
• The Acheulean was characterised not by the core, but by the biface, the most notable
form of which was the hand axe.
• The Acheulean first appears in the archaeological record as early as 1.7 million years
ago in the West Turkana area of Kenya and southern Africa.
• In contrast to an Oldowan tool, which could have been made by chance, an Acheulean
tool is a planned result of a manufacturing process. The manufacturer begins with a
larger stone knocked off a rock, to be used as a core. Standing a core on edge on an
anvil stone, he or she hits the exposed edge with centripetal blows of a hard hammer
to roughly shape the implement. Then the piece must be worked over again, or
retouched, with a soft hammer of wood or bone to produce a tool finely chipped all
over consisting of two convex surfaces intersecting in a sharp edge.

3
• Some Mode 2 tools are disk-shaped, others ovoid, others leaf-shaped and pointed, and
others elongated and pointed at the distal end, with a blunt surface at the proximal end,
obviously used for drilling. Mode 2 tools are used for butchering; not being composite
(having no haft) they are not very appropriate killing instruments. The killing must
have been done some other way.
• Mode 2 tools are larger than Oldowan.

Clactonian:
• An industry of European flint tools, named after Clacton- on – Sea in the English
country of Essex.
• The technique involves striking thick irregular flakes from a core of flint, used as a
chopper, the flakes would have been used as crude knives or scrapers.
• Preceded by Acheulean, followed by Mousterian.

Mode III: The Mousterian Industry / Levalloisian industry:

4
A tool made by the Levallois technique. This example is from La Parrilla (Valladolid,
Spain).
• Eventually, the Acheulean in Europe was replaced by a lithic technology known as
the Mousterian Industry, which was named after the site of Le Moustier in France,
where examples were first uncovered in the 1860s.
• Evolving from the Acheulean, it adopted the Levallois technique to produce smaller
and sharper knife-like tools as well as scrapers. Also known as the "prepared core
technique," flakes are struck from worked cores and then subsequently retouched.
• The Mousterian Industry was developed and used primarily by the Neanderthals, a
native European and Middle Eastern hominin species, but a broadly similar industry is
contemporaneously widespread in Africa.
Mode IV: The Aurignacian Industry – Long blades
• The widespread use of long blades (rather than flakes) of the Upper Palaeolithic Mode
4 industries appeared during the Upper Palaeolithic between 50,000 and 10,000 years
ago, although blades were still produced in small quantities much earlier by
Neanderthals.
• The Aurignacian culture seems to have been the first to rely largely on blades.
• The use of blades exponentially increases the efficiency of core usage compared to the
Levallois flake technique, which had a similar advantage over Acheulean technology
which was worked from cores.
Mode V: The Microlithic / Magdalenian Industries
• Mode 5 stone tools involve the production of microliths, which were used in
composite tools, mainly fastened to a shaft.
• Examples include the Magdalenian culture(named after the type site of La
Madeleine, a rock shelter located in the Vézère valley
in France's Dordogne department).
• Such a technology makes much more efficient use of available materials like flint,
although required greater skill in manufacturing the small flakes.
• Mounting sharp flint edges in a wood or bone handle is the key innovation in
microliths, essentially because the handle gives the user protection against the flint
and also improves leverage of the device.

5
Neolithic industries – Ground / Polished stone tools:

• In prehistoric Japan, ground stone tools appear during the Japanese Paleolithic period,
that lasted from around 40,000 BC to 14,000 BC.
• Ground stone tools became important during the Neolithic period beginning about
10,000 BC.
• These ground or polished implements are manufactured from larger-grained materials
such as basalt, jade and jadeite, greenstone and some forms of rhyolite which are not
suitable for flaking.
• The greenstone industry was important in the English Lake District, and is known as
the Langdale axe industry. Ground stone implements included adzes, celts, and axes,
which were manufactured using a labour-intensive, time-consuming method of
repeated grinding against an abrasive stone, often using water as a lubricant.
• Because of their coarse surfaces, some ground stone tools were used for grinding plant
foods and were polished not just by intentional shaping, but also by use.
• Manos are hand stones used in conjunction with metates for grinding corn or grain.
Polishing increased the intrinsic mechanical strength of the axe.
• Polished stone axes were important for the widespread clearance of woods and forest
during the Neolithic period, when crop and livestock farming developed on a large
scale. They are distributed very widely and were traded over great distances since the
best rock types were often very local.
• They also became venerated objects, and were frequently buried in long
barrows or round barrows with their former owners.
• During the Neolithic period, large axes were made from flint nodules by chipping a
rough shape, a so-called "rough-out". Such products were traded across a wide area.
The rough-outs were then polished to give the surface a fine finish to create the axe
head. Polishing not only increased the final strength of the product but also meant that
the head could penetrate wood more easily.
6
 INDIAN ANRCAHOLOGY

1. Archaeological Anthropology. (10M,2015)

2. Give an account of the field methods in Archaeological anthropology (15M, 2018)

GATHERING DATA

First, archaeologists must gather data on the topic they wish to further research. Oral
history or written history provides clues about the suitable site for excavation.
Field surveys are another common method to determine where excavations should be
done. Surveying is done through the use of evidence, sampling, GPS, transects, and
other techniques, to determine where archaeological research should be done.
Excavations are how material remains are found by archaeologists, and involve the
digging, exposure, and recovery of material data. This data could include artefacts
(objects from the past), Eco facts (biological information from the past), or landscape
alterations that can provide clues about past cultures.
When conducting excavations, stratigraphy is an important idea used by archaeologists.
Since it's known that the newest matter will lie closer to the top of the soil, stratigraphy
is the idea that knowing the location of different remains in soil can help us to
understand the different ages and contexts of these remains.
In ethnoarchaeology, living people are observed and joined by means of participant-
observation and conversation in order to learn how artifacts are made and disposed.
Discarded objects and the processes involved in the formation of archaeological sites, or
taphonomy, are also observed to learn how to interpret the archaeological record.

ARCHAEOLOGICAL ANALYSIS

Radiocarbon dating, often simply called carbon dating, is one of the most well-known
techniques of analysis in archaeology. Radiocarbon dating helps archaeologists
determine the age of different artefacts. If an artefact has organic material, and thus the
radioactive element of radiocarbon, then this method can be used. Since radiocarbon
decays over time, determining its structure in an artefact gives archaeologists clues about
the potential age of that object.
Another established method of dating is potassium-argon dating. While radiocarbon
dating is limited to more relatively recent remains, potassium-argon dating can be used
in objects over hundreds of thousands of years old. Similarly to radiocarbon dating,

7
potassium-argon dating looks at radioactive decay to determine the age of material
remains.

I. PALAEOLITHIC CULTURE IN INDIA

3. Differentiate between Lower Paleolithic culture and Middle Paleolithic culture

with suitable examples. (15M,2020)
4. Palaeolithic culture. (10M,2015)
5. South Indian Paleoliths (10M,2015)
6. Give a broad outline of Patheolithic culture emphasizing upon its tool technology.
(20M,2013)
7. Indian Paleolithic culture can neither be conceived chronologically homogeneous
nor as a unfiorm cultural phase.-Discuss. (15M,2013)
Ø At Attirampakkam near Chennai, Lower Palaeolithic is dated to 1.5 million
years
Ø At Isampur in Karnataka date for the same culture is estimated to be 1.2
million years.
Ø In Maharashtra, Bori and Moregaon are two lower Palaeolithic sites which
have dates beyond 600,000 years.

8. discussed the typology and distribution of upper palaeolithic cultures in India

(20M,2012)
9. Palaeolithic Art (12M,2012)
10. Compare the salient features and distribution of middle Palaeolithic and upper
Palaeolithic cultures in India. And add a note on tools traditions of upper
Palaeolithic period. (20M,2012)
11. Soan culture (12M,2012)
12. Differentiate between lower palaeolithic culture and middle palaeolithic culture
with suitable examples (2020,20M)

• The Palaeolithic Age in India is divided into three phases in accordance with the type
of stone tools used by the people and also according to the nature of climatic change.

(a) Early or Lower Palaeolithic (between 500,000 and 100,000 BCE):

(b) Middle Palaeolithic (between 100,000 and 40,000 BCE):

8
 (c) Upper Palaeolithic (between 40,000 and 10,000 BCE):

Prehistoric Geochronology/ Type of tools / Tool Technique Material

period Geological time tradition used used
scale

Lower Middle Core tools, Direct Quartzite

Paleolithic Pleistocene (Abbevillian/ percussion like
Oldowan & stone hammer
Acheulean).

Middle Middle Flake tools like Direct chert and

Paleolithic Pleistocene scrapers and points percussion like jasper,
were much frequent stone hammer besides
than cores. and pressure continuing
(Levalloisian / flaking for with
Mousterian) retouching quartzite

Upper Upper Blade tools, Parallel Stone hammer, Quartz and

Paleolithic Pleistocene sided blade tools along indirect bone
with bone tools percussion &
(Aurignasian) cylinder
hammer

Note: Cenozoic era, Quaternary period, Pleistocene epoch

1. EARLY / LOWER PALAEOLITHIC

• The Early or Lower Stone Age in India may be associated with the people of the
Homo sapiens group.

LOWER PALEOLITHIC PERIOD IN INDIA: THE SOAN AND MADRAS

CULTURE
• The lower paleolithic culture of India has two distinct cultural traditions
(A) The Soan culture or the chopper chopping tool tradition in the Punjab and
9
 (B) The Madras culture or Hand-axe tool tradition in peninsular region.
• H. De Terra, T.T. Paterson, V.D. Krishnaswami suggested that Soanian and
Madrasian were two independent cultural traditions.

A.THE SOAN CULTURE (LOWER PALEOLITHIC)

• The discovery of stone tools from Soan Valley was first made by Dr. D. N.
Wadia and thereafter by Dr. Helmut de Terra in 1928 and 1932 respectively.
But the credit of excavation goes to H. De Terra and T.T. Paterson who
undertook this important work in 1935. Later, V.D. Krishnaswami, D. Sen and
O. Menghin had studied the assemblages of tools.
• The river Soan is a tributary of the great river Indus that flows through the city
of Rawalpindi in Potwar region.
• Dates: 500000-125000
• Preceded by Acheulean , followed by Mousterian.

Climate: Being located near Himalayans, Soan valley witnessed Glaciation and
interglaciation.

1. Surface of the River (To/TD)/ pre soan (During 2nd Glaciation):

• Situated about 400 feet above the present riverbed. Tools found are Split pebbles
with small bulb of percussion

2. Terrace-1 (T1)/ Early Soan (during the second inter-glacial phase):

• This is 220 feet high from the present riverbed.

10
 • The ‘Early Soan’ is primarily a pebble-tool industry (Oldest lithic industry of
early man) as most of the tools are made on rounded pebbles, mainly chopper-
chopping tools made by direct hammer technique.
• Other tool-types include scrapers, borers and other pebble flakes.
• The materials are mostly the fine-grained quartzite of different variety.

3. Terrace -II (T2) / ‘Late Soan Industry’ (During the third glacial phase):
• Height of this Terrace is about 120 feet from the present day riverbed.
• Late Soan is majorly flake dominated industry. The technique of detaching
flakes from a prepared core may be synonymous with the Levalloisian
technique.
• Chopper chopping and flake tools were found. Flakes increased in number and
they are lighter and neater.
4. Terrace-III (T3) During third inter-glacial period:
• This Terrace is situated at 80 feet above the present day riverbed.
• It is very interesting that no tools of man have come out from this Terrace.

5. Terrace-IV (T4)/ ‘Evolved Soan’ During the last glacial phase: (Dates to
middle palaeolithic)
• Upper Pleistocene.
• Height of the Terrace is 40 feet from the present day riverbed.
• The ‘Evolved Soan Industry’ has been reported from two sites, namely, Pindi
Gheb and Dhok Pathan.
• The tools are not much different from the Early and Late Soan, but
technologically they are much developed. The Levalloisian technique that
appeared in Late Soan had shown a further refinement in the Evolved Soan.
• As the flakes of this level are much thinner and slender they look like a blade. A
new type of tool, an awl has been discovered here.

Terrace-V (T5) during post-glacial period: This is the lowest Terrace. Height of this
Terrace is about 20 feet above the present stream.

Social life: The stone tools suggest that the Soan valley people were primarily hunter-
gatherers.

11
ACHEULIAN CULTURE
Acheulian culture was named after the French site of St. Acheul, which was first
effective colonization of the Indian subcontinent and is almost synonymous with
the lower Palaeolithic settlements in India. Most of the sites in India including those in
peninsular India, Deccan, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Maharashtra, East and North East have
been categorized in Acheulian culture.

B. THE MADRAS CULTURE: (LOWER PALAEOLITHIC)

Father of Indian Pre-history Robert Bruce Foote had discovered hand axes near
Chennai and called it Madrasian culture. Presently the lower palaeolithic sites of
Peninsular India are collectively referred to as Madras culture.

Climate: Experienced pluvial and interpluvial periods.

• In South India there are abundant evidences of core culture. Core tool industry of
South India is known Madras Industry. Attirampakkam and Vadamadurai are
the two important sites in the Kortalayar valley of Madras.

Material culture:

• The most common and characteristic tool-type of Madras Industry’ is hand-axe.

These hand- axes are typically pear-shaped or oval, flaked on both faces to
produce a continuous cutting edge.
• Some pebble tools (Chopper-chopping) are also found in association with hand-
axes.
• In technique the Madras Industry is also known as ‘Abbevellio-Acheulean’.
• Hand-axe suggests tropical forest and woodland environment; it is widespread
in the tropical peninsular area.
• Technologically, these tools are more evolved than the chopping tools as they
show multi-directional flaking and symmetry of form.
• Cleaver is often found associated with hand-axe in peninsular region. and
denotes Abbevellio-Acheulean tradition. (Oval or pear-shaped hand axes
associated with early humans, lasted longer than any other tradition)

12
• A cleaver usually suggests a tropical woodland environment where it is used for
cutting and shaping of wood and for skinning and flaying of animal carcass.
• Early man in India also made lighter and smaller tools on flake. At first the
flakes were detached and worked by a simple technique Clactonian (Clactonian
= Striking thick irregular flakes from a core of flint, used as a chopper, the
flakes would have been used as crude knives or scrapers) and later on by a
more refined technique of core preparation, Levalloisian.
• As hand- axe became a characteristic core tool of peninsular India, chopper type
became an important element of northern Indian tool tradition. In Central India, a
fusion of technology (between two main traditions) has been observed.
• The characteristic flake tools are knife, point, scraper, awl, (LIKE POINT) etc.
• Quartzite has been used.
• However, the tools of Madras industry are also found in other places of India like
the valley of river Cauveri and Vaigai, in the West around Mumbai and
North of the Narmada, and further North-East as far as the upper reaches of
the Son.
• In Vadamadurai, findings have been categorized into three groups –on the basis
of patination as well as typology.
Ø The first group is the earliest group where the tools are heavily rolled and
show the signs of intensive patination. The core tools include hand-axe,
cleaver etc. while the flake tools comprise of scrapers, awl etc. These tools
resemble the Abbevillian-Acheulean tool types.
Ø The second group Most of the tools of this group are pear-shaped and ovate
hand-axes. An advancement of typology is indicated with the adoption of
Levalloisian technique.
Ø The third group includes neatly worked hand-axes and cleavers. These
tools show little patination (Brown colored layer on rock with time due to
oxidation). The technology went towards more perfection. True
Levalloisian flakes and cores characterize this group.
• The Gudiyam site (in Thiruvallur district, 60km from Chennai), first identified
by Robert Bruce Foote also reveals early Paleolithic tools of Acheulean
tradition. In a similar way, the industry is divided into three phases—Phase-I,
Phase-II and Phase-III. Similar improvement of typology and technology has
been recorded from phase to phase. Basic tools are hand-axe, cleaver, point and
awl. In 2011, a team from Madras university claimed to have found 1.5 million

13
 years old microliths from Gudiyam caves. If the dates are confirmed they will be
the oldest microliths in the world.

OTHER LOWER PALEOLITHIC SITES IN INDIA

Bhimbetka (Madhya Pradesh):

• Discovered by V.S. Wakankar (1957). It has more than 500 painted rock shelters.
• One of the largest Rock-shelters, III F-23 at Bhimbetka in Madhya Pradesh was
excavated by V.N. Misra between 1973 - 1976.
• It preserved 4 m thick cultural deposit containing Acheulian, Middle and
Upper Palaeolithic, and Mesolithic levels.
• The 2.5 m thick Acheulian level consisted of lower palaeolithic.
• This shelter yielded 8 layers of cultural deposits, out of which the bottom three
represent lower palaeolithic period.

Didwana (Rajasthan): It was excavated by V.N.Misra. Mostly choppers and hand axes
were found.

• Bori in Maharashtra is considered to be the earliest Lower Palaeolithic site.

People use hand axes, cleavers, and choppers.
• Lower Palaeolithic tools have also been found in the Belan valley in UP
• Chirki-Nevasa in Maharashtra has yielded as many as 2000 tools
• Nagarjunakonda in Andhra Pradesh is also an important site
• Certain stone industries from Kurnool in the Deccan and near Mumbai represent a
new type of tool tradition, based not on the massive flake but on the slender blade
detached from a core.

2. THE MIDDLE PALAEOLITHIC CULTURE OF INDIA:

It is the second subdivision of Palaeolithic culture, spans 100,000 BCE to 40,000 BCE.
The Middle Palaeolithic sites are also found extensively at different regions of India.

Climate: This culture developed during the Upper Pleistocene geological period which
was characterised by intense cold and glaciations in the northern latitudes and the areas
bordering glaciated regions experienced strong aridity, which might have affected the
Middle Palaeolithic population.

14
Material culture: Parth Chauhan (2006) suggests four features that distinguish Middle
Palaeolithic assemblages from the Lower Palaeolithic types:

Ø A decrease in size of the artefacts

Ø A noticeable shift from large Acheulian bifaces to smaller, specialized tools
Ø An increase in the prepared core technique. (Levalloisian / Mousterian)
Ø A preference for fine grained raw material (such as chert, jasper,
chalcedony, flint, cryptocrystalline silica, and so forth).

Some of the new types within Middle Palaeolithic toolkits are cores, discoids, flakes,
flake-scrapers, borers, awls, blades, and points.

The Middle Palaeolithic tools are primarily made on flakes and blades and comprised
side scrapers of various types, end scrapers, denticulates, notches, points and borers.

• In this stage, as compared to the preceding Acheulian phase, tools became

smaller, thinner and lighter.
• In terms of technology, improvements in the techniques of removing flakes from
cores such as Levallois and discoid core can be seen.

Significant changes in the choice of raw material for making tools also occurred in this
period as the Middle Palaeolithic population started using fine-grained siliceous rocks
like chert and jasper, besides continuing with quartzite, quartz and basalt.

Social life: Hunting gathering economy, Burials found with implements at some sites
indicate belief in life after death and some sort of rituals.

Sites: Middle Palaeolithic artefacts have been found in

1. Nevasa (Maharashtra): It was excavated by H.D.Sankalia (1956), near river

Pravara in Nevasa. Nevasian culture also includes the sites along river
Godavari, Soan & Krishna.

Climate: The region experienced Pluvial and interpluvial phases.

Material culture:

• Nevasa has yielded several Levallois-bases flake tools prepared on Jasper. Leaf
shaped points and borers were found.
• The tools were made by direct hammer technique and retouching by pressure
flaking.
15
 • The stones tools found were comparable to Mousterian tools of European middle
palaeolithic.
• The stone tools found in Nevasa were typo-morphologically and technologically
distinct. This uniqueness compelled the earlier workers to attribute a formal name
to some distinct assemblages from the type-site of Nevasa, Maharashtra as the
‘Nevasian’ industry.
• However, later on, Sheila Mishra (1995) found the ‘Nevasian’ industry to be a
part of the Late Acheulian assemblages.

2. Bhimbetka (Madhya Pradesh):

• It has more than 500 painted rock shelters.
• One of the largest cave shelters, III F – 23 was excavated by V.N.Misra.
• This shelter yielded 8 layers of cultural deposits, out of which fifth layer from
the top represents middle paleolithic period.
• The material used was mostly quartzite.

3. Luni valley (Rajasthan): Excavated by VN. Misra, it is different and richer in

tools than Nevasian industry. Contains convex, concavo- convex sidescrapers and
points of various types.

4. South India: In Karnool, Chittoor, Nalgonda, tools like in Bhimbetka, made of

quartzite were found.

Around Didwana, and at Budha Pushkar, all in western Rajasthan; at numerous sites in
the valleys of the Belan; at Son and Narmada and their tributaries in central India, in the
Chota Nagpur plateau, the Deccan plateau and the Eastern Ghats.

3. UPPER PALAEOLITHIC CULTURE OF INDIA

• The Upper Palaeolithic culture developed during the later part of the Upper
Pleistocene.
• Climate: Witnessed the last phases of glaciation and pluviation that
characterized the Pleistocene climate.
• Archaeological evidence of this period comes from the Belan and Son valleys in the
northern Vindhyas, Chota Nagpur plateau in Bihar, Upland Maharashtra, Orissa and
from the Eastern Ghats in Andhra Pradesh.

Material culture:
16
• Upper Palaeolithic tool assemblages are essentially characterized by blade and burin
tools and show a marked regional diversity with respect to the refinement of
techniques and standardization of finished tool forms.
• The principal artefact forms are scrapers, flake-blades, blades and cores; backed
blade, burins, unifacial, bifacial and tanged points and choppers.
• The tools can be categorized as Aurignasian tools.
• The various types of scrapers were probably used for wood and bamboo work.
Simple blades and backed blades could have been used as inserts for spear points,
arrow points, barbed fishhooks, slicer knives and daggers.
• Social life: Tools suggest Hunting gathering economy. First evidences of cave art
were that of upper palaeolithic culture. The cave paintings suggest some sort of
social organization. The shorter span of this phase suggests quicker advancement to
the next stage.

Regional diversity / Sites:

Bhimbetka (Madhya Pradesh)

• Discovered by V.S. Wakankar (1957).
• It has more than 500 painted rock shelters.
• One of the largest cave shelters, III F – 23 was excavated by V.N.Misra.
• This shelter yielded 8 layers of cultural deposits, out of which fourth layer from
the top represents upper paleolithic period.

Belan valley (Uttar Pradesh): It was surveyed by G. R. Sharma. Along with stone
tools, an artificial stone structure called Shrine and a female figurine on bone were
found.

Renigunta: It was excavated by M.L.K. Murthy. It is considered as the finest Indian

upper paleolithic site. A large variety of blades were found.

Ethnoarchaeological studies related to Upper Palaeolithic culture:

• On the basis of ethnoarchaeological research among the tribal populations of

central India and the Eastern Ghats on the food procurement technologies and
behaviour it can be argued that that prototype of traps, snares and nets must have
been used during the Upper Palaeolithic period.

17
• Bored stones, similar to the Upper Palaeolithic ones, are being used by the
Yanadi (Andhra Pradesh) fishermen as net sinkers in riverine fishing and
the heavier ones are used by the Vada Balija (Andhra Pradesh) and other
groups for marine fishing. (Ethnoarchaeology, parallel)

II. MESOLITHIC CULTURE

The Mesolithic period coincides with the onset of milder, warmer climatic conditions
with the commencement of the Holocene Period (10,000 BC). It also affected the flora
(vegetation) and fauna (animals). Man too reacted positively to these changes for his
survival. This resulted in

1) Modification of his tool equipment and

2) modification of his living pattern.

18
19
Till recently the very existence of the Mesolithic culture in India was in doubt because
of the paucity of stratified evidence. But the discoveries in Belan valley, Chittor
district, Shorapur doab in Karnataka, Rajasthan and Gujarat has provided enough
gleanings to reconstruct Mesolithic evidence in India.

Depending on the evidence from different sites, Mesolithic culture can be divided into
four distinct phases.

1. Non-geometric tools (epi-palaeolithic) 12,000-8,000 BC.

2. Geometric pre-pottery stage (Early Mesolithic-I) 8,000-2,000 BC.

3. Geometric tools with pottery (early Mesolithic-II) 5,000-1,500 BC;

4. smaller microliths with precision (Advanced Mesolithic or Proto- Neolithic)

2,000-1,000 BC.

The above division is based on the sequence observed primarily at Chopani Mando and
attested at other places.

THE TOOLS:
The stone tools prepared in Mesolithic period are very small and hence known as
‘microliths’ meaning ‘tiny stones’. Some of the forms which could be identified
amongst these tools are the blades, points, lunates, trapezes, scrapers, arrowheads,
geometric and non-geometric tools. For the production of these tools fine-grained
material like chert chalcedony, agate, jasper, etc was utilized. Often these microliths
were used as combination tools by fixing several of them in curved wood or bone or to
produce a barbed arrowhead.

Life and subsistence pattern:

• Hunting and gathering vegetable foods are the two main occupations of the
Mesolithic people.
• More and more dependence on the vegetal food was probably one of the reasons
behind forcing the human communities to have fixed settlements from Mesolithic
period onwards.
• In this connection the example of Mahadaha in the Ganga valley is worth
mentioning. Here it was noticed that very large number of quern, muller, anvil,
hammer, etc. have been found which indicate that the people exploited fully the
vegetal products.
20
• The microlithic tools like blades and scrapers are well suited for processing
vegetables.
• The presence of hearths in the habitations point to consumption of roasted food.
The evidence points out that man depended more on vegetal food rather than on
animal meat.

Hunting methods:

• The use of composite tools revolutionized hunting, fishing and food gathering.
The Mesolithic paintings at Bhimbetka throw interesting light on the contemporary
hunting practices and the kinds of weapons used in hunting.
• The bow and arrow, barbed spears and sticks were used in hunting.
• Ring stones were used as stone clubs.
• Masks in the form of animal heads such as of rhinoceros, bull, deer and monkey
were used as disguises to deceive the game.
• In one of the scenes animals are shown falling down a cliff. Probably animals were
driven down a cliff and done to death.
• The paintings show men carrying dead animals suspended on a wooden bar.

Domestication of animals: Bones of domesticated animals like cattle, sheep and goat
have been reported from almost all the excavated sites of the Mesolithic settlements.
Indicating pastoralism.

Agriculture: The full-fledged agricultural activity witnessed in Neolithic period must

have had its roots in the Mesolithic period itself. It can be considered as incipient
stage of food production. The storage pits of this period probably indicate some
incipient form of agriculture. Seeds of wild variety of rice have been found embedded in
the lumps of burnt clay at Chopani Mando.

Structural activity:

• Evidence of structural activity in the form of huts, paved floor or wind screens
come from a number of Mesolithic sites.
• The houses were roughly circular or oval on plan with postholes around them.
Some hutments had stone paved floors. Paved floors and wattle have been noticed
at Bagor.
• The Mesolithic folk at Bhimbetka too made floors with flat stone slabs.

21
Pottery:

• Pottery has been reported from a number of excavated sites like Langhnaj,
Bagor, Nagarjunakonda, Chopani Mando, etc.
• Pottery came to be associated with the Mesolithic culture after the introduction of
geometric tools.
• Pottery was wholly hand-made and usually coarse grained with incised and
impressed designs rarely.

Clothing and ornaments: The human figures in the rock shelter paintings are shown
wearing a loin cloth. Some of the figures are elaborately decorated with ornaments,
headgear, feathers and waistbands, shell, ivory and bone beads also are evident
from sites.

Recreation: Mesolithic man in rejoicing moods is to be seen in the paintings at

Bhimbetka. Some of the dances may be of ritual significance. The musical
instruments depicted are the blowpipes and horns.

Burials and spiritual practices: The spiritual side of the Mesolithic man is very well
represented by a rock-painting of a family mourning the death of a child at Bhimbetka.

• The dead were very carefully buried.

• At Langhnaj human skeletons were associated with quartzite pebbles which
are not locally available. These were probably brought from the bed of
Sabarmati 15 to 20 kms away.
• Mesolithic burials have been excavated at Dorthy Dweep and Jambudweep
Rock shelters in the Mahadeva hills in MP. Langhnaj, Baghai Khor and
Lekhahia in the Mirzapur dt. UP and Sarai nihar Rai and Mahadaha UP.
• The evidence from different sites indicates that four types of burials were
prevalent.
Ø Extended burial (lying flat, arms and legs stretched)
Ø Flexed (folded) burial
Ø Fractional burial (a burial in which only part as the head)
of a body is interred.)
Ø Double Burials.
Multiple burials were witnessed at Sarai Nihar Rai and Mahadaha. Mesolithic
people interred objects like microliths, animal bones and beads along with the dead.
Probably the double burials indicate the development of family units, consisting of male
22
and female. In that case family set-up is one of the most important contributions of the
Mesolithic period to the modern world.

Aesthetic activities: The Mesolithic folk had left behind good evidence of their artistic
pursuits in the form of painted rock-shelters. Such rock paintings were noticed in the
Mirzapur district UP. And at Bhimbetka near Hoshangabad in MP. The paintings
deal primarily with animals which are shown standing, moving, running, grazing, etc.
The paintings are generally executed in red ochre but sometimes bluish green,
yellow or white color also have been used.

Name of Location Characteristics Excavated by

Mesolithic
Sites
Bagor Rajasthan It had a microlithic industry. V.N. Misra (1967)
Thousands of microliths found. They
are considered smallest across Indian
sites. Other features include stone
paved habitaional floors, human
burials and bones of wild animals. Its
people lived on hunting and
pastoralism.
Adamgarh Madhya It shows the earliest evidence for the
Pradesh domestication of animals.
Bhimbetka Madhya It has more than 500 painted rock Discovered by V.S.
Pradesh shelters. This shelter yielded 8 Wakankar (1957)
cultural formations, out of which first One of the largest
3 belong to Mesolithic period. Rich cave shelters, III F
geometric microlith industry is – 23 was excavated
present. by V.N.Misra.
Langhnaj Gujarat • Shows presence of geometric H.D. Sankalia
microliths. (1944-63)
• Human skeletons found buried in
crouching position indicate some
ritual & the earliest evidence of
burial of the dead.
• Presence of wild and domestic
animal bones indicate some
degree of pastoralism

23
 • Tools include geometric
microliths like lunates, Trapezes
and some other types of blades.
Mohrana Mirzapur, Provides the earliest evidence of
Pahara Uttar Pradesh burial.
Teri Tamil Nadu It is a group of 11 sites of microlithic
clusters, especially in the tradition of
bifacially pressure flaked points.
Sarai Uttar Pradesh • Dated around 8000 BCE. Oldest
Nahar Rai Mesolithic site.
Important findings:
• Living floor with hearths
• Human burials in specific posture
with one skeleton having
microliths pierced in a bone
suggesting war between groups.
• Domesticated animal bones were
found.

13. Elucidate Mesolithic culture and associated rock art with examples from India
(15M, 2019)
14. Examine the regional variations of Mesolithic cultures of India. (20M, 2018)
15. Discuss salient features of Mesolithic culture in India with special reference to
western India. (10M,2013)
16. What stage is known as incipient stage of food production? Point out major
cultural features of this cultural stage. Illustrate your answer with suitable examples
from specific area in the world.

III. NEOLITHIC CULTURE

17. Discuss the characteristic features of ‘Neolithic culture’ in India. (15M,2020)
18. Distribution of Neolithic sites in India (10M,2019)
19. Give an account of the consequences of food production in Neolithic cultures
(15M, 2018)
20. Neolithic Cultures of India. (10M,2016)
21. Describe the Neolithic culture of India. (15M,2014)
22. Neolithic cultures of N-E India(10M,2014)

24
23. Which stage of prehistoric culture is known as the cultural revolution? Why?
(2010)
24. Discuss the characteristic features of “Neolithic culture” in India (2020,15M)

The term Neolithic refers to the last stage of the Stone Age. The period is significant for
its megalithic architecture, spread of agricultural practices, and use of polished stone
tools. Agricultural economies developed while hunting and gathering activities were
reduced.

A Revolution?

In order to reflect the deep impact that agriculture had over the human population, an
Gordon Childe popularized the term “Neolithic Revolution” in the 1940s CE.
However, today, it is believed that the impact of agricultural innovation was exaggerated
in the past: the development of Neolithic culture appears to have been a gradual rather
than a sudden change. Moreover, before agriculture was established, archaeological
evidence has shown that there is usually a period of semi-nomadic life, Agriculture and
foraging are not totally incompatible ways of life. This means that a group could
perform hunter-gatherer activities for part of the year and some farming during the rest,
perhaps on a small scale. Rather than a revolution, the archaeological record suggests
that the adoption of agriculture is the result of small and gradual changes.

25
26
Origin of Neolithic Age
The Neolithic Age started in 9,000 B.C. in world context but in Indian context it was
varying from 7,000 B.C. to 1,000 B.C. In South India, the Neolithic settlements are
generally considered to be around 2,500 B.C. old while the Neolithic sites discovered on
the northern spurs of the Vindhyas are not older than 5,000 B.C. Some Neolithic sites
found in parts of Eastern India and South India are only 1,000 B.C. old.
Characteristics of Neolithic Age
The Neolithic Age saw the man turning into food producer from food gatherer. It also
witnessed the use of pottery for the first time. People used microlithic blades in addition
to tools made of polished stone. The use of metal was unknown.
1. Agriculture: The people of Neolithic Age cultivated ragi, horse gram, cotton, rice,
wheat, and barley and hence were termed as food producers. They domesticated cattle,
sheep, and goats.

2. Tools: The people used microlithic blades in addition to tools made of polished
stones. They used stone hoes and digging sticks for digging the ground. The ring stones
of 1-1/2 kg of weight were fixed at the ends of these digging sticks. They also used tools
and weapons made of bone; found in Burzahom (Kashmir) and Chirand (Bihar).

3. Weapons: The people primarily used axes as weapons. The North-western part of
Neolithic settlement used rectangular axes having curved cutting edge. The Southern
27
part used axes with oval sides and pointed butt while polished stone axes with
rectangular butt and shouldered hoes were use in the north-eastern part.

4. Housing: The people of Neolithic Age lived in rectangular or circular houses which
were made of mud and reed. The people of Mehrgarh lived in mud-brick houses while
pit-dwelling is reported from Burzahom, the Neolithic site found in Kashmir.

5. Pottery: With the advent of Agriculture, people were required to store their food
grains as well as to do cooking, arrange for drinking water, and eating the finished
product. That’s why pottery first appeared in the Neolithic Age. The pottery of the
period was classified under grey ware, black-burnished ware, and mat-impressed ware.

6. Architecture: The Neolithic Age is significant for its Megalithic Architecture.

7. Technology: In the initial stage of the Neolithic Age, hand-made pottery was made
but later on the foot-wheels were used to make pots.

8. Community Life: Neolithic people had common right over property. They led a
settled life.

9. Geographical Location of Neolithic people

The Neolithic people did not live far away from the hilly areas. They habited mainly the
hilly river valleys, rock shelters, and the slopes of the hills since they were entirely
dependent on weapons and tools made from stone.
List of Neolithic sites, their locations, and characteristics
Name of Neolithic Location Time Span Characteristics
Site
Mehrgarh Baluchistan, 7,000 B.C. • Excavated by Jarrige (1974-86)
Pakistan • Produced cotton and wheat and
lived in mud-brick houses.
Evidences of wheat, barley
cultivation and cattle rearing
marks one of the oldest farming
and herding.
• Wheel made pottery and trade
make Mehrgarh a precursor to the
Indus valley civilization.
Burzahom (the place Kashmir 2,700 B.C. • Excavated by archeological
of birch) survey of India (1960-71).
• The people lived on a lake side in
pits.
28
 • A variety of celts (Axe or Adze
like tool) and bone tools were
found, along with handmade
coarse pottery.
• Domestic dogs were buried along
with their masters in their graves.
• Used tools and weapons made of
polished stone as well as bone.
Gufkral Kashmir 2,000 B.C. • Practiced both agriculture &
domestication of animals.
• Used tools and weapons made of
polished stone as well as bone.
Chirand Bihar 2,000 B.C. • Used tools and weapons made of
bone and antlers found.
• Chirand is also noted for
terracotta objects, especially
snake figurines that represents
some serpent related rituals.
Pikilihal, Karnataka 2,000 B.C. • Shows a mixture of Neolithic and
Brahmagiri, Maski, to 1,000 chalcolithic traits.
Hallur, Takkalakota, B.C. • The people in Piklihal were cattle-
T. Narsipur, herders. They domesticated sheep,
Kodekal, goats, and cattle.
Sanganakallu • Ash mounds (Burnt heaps of cow
dung) have been found, indicating
some unique ritual.
Paiyampalli Tamil Nadu 2,000-1,000
B.C.

Utnur Andhra 2,000-1,000

Pradesh B.C.

Daojali Hading Assam • Excavated by T. C. Sharma.

• Daojali Hading revealed a 45
cm thick occupational deposit.
• The site has yielded neolithic
stone and fossil wood axes,
adzes, hoes, chisels, grinding
slabs, querns, mullers, hand
made grey to dull red cord
29
 marked pottery as well as dull
red stamped pottery and plain
red pottery.
• No domesticated cereals have
been recovered but the
presence of mullers and querns
establishes the practice of
agricultural activity.
Considerable progress was made in Neolithic Age in terms of technology. The people
developed the practices of cultivation, domestication of animals, building houses,
pottery, weaving, and writing. This revolutionized man’s life and paved the way for the
beginning of civilization.

Neolithic and modern Axe and Adze

Neolithic chisel Modern chisel

30
The End of the Neolithic

Towards the end of the Neolithic era, copper metallurgy is introduced, which marks a
transition period to the Bronze Age, sometimes referred to as the Chalcolithic or
Eneolithic Era. Bronze is a mixture of copper and tin, which has a greater hardness
than copper, better casting properties, and a lower melting point. Bronze could be used
for making weapons, something that was not possible with copper, which is not hard
enough to endure combat conditions. In time, bronze became the primary material for
tools and weapons, and a good part of the stone technology became obsolete, signalling
the end of the Neolithic and thus, of the Stone Age.

Regional Distribution of Neolithic Cultures

1. Northwest India: Mehrgarh, Kili Gul Muhammad, Rana Ghundai, Rehman
Dheri, Hakra ware sites

2. North India: Burzahom, Gufkral

3. Central India & mid-Gangetic basin: Koldihawa, Chirand, Lahuradeva

4. Eastern India: Kuchai, Golbai Sasan, Pandu Rajar Dhibi

5. North Eastern India: Daojali Hading

6. South India: Sangankallu, Piklihal

IV. CHALCOLITHIC OR
COPPER AGE CULTURE
25. Delineate the salient features of Chalcoloithic cultures (20M, 2016)

The term Chalcolithic is a combination of two words- Chalco+Lithic was derived from
the Greek words "khalkos" + "líthos" which means "copper" and "stone" or Copper Age.
It is also known as the Eneolithic or Aeneolithic (from Latin aeneus "of copper") is an
archaeological period that is usually considered to be part of the broader Neolithic
(although it was originally defined as a transition between the Neolithic and the Bronze
Age). It spans around 4500 to 1000 BCE in the Indian context.

31
Chalcolithic Culture Sites of Chalcolithic Culture
1. Ahara - Banas Culture • Aahar (Rajasthan), balathal, Gilund etc.
• Settlements of Ahar culture were larger than the
settlements of kayatha culture.
• The distinctive feature is black and red ware. Pottery
is characterized by black and redware, painted in
white on exterior.
2. Kayatha Culture • Located in Rajasthan near Chambal and its
tributaries.
• The sturdy red slipped ware with chocolate coloured
designs is main feature.
• Red painted buff ware, and a combed ware bearing
incised patterns were found.
3. Malwa Culture • Sites are located near Narmada & its tributaries in
Gujarat. One of the largest Chalcolithic settlements.
Characterized by orange slipped pottery painted black
or dark brown.
• The three best known settlements of Malwa culture
are at Navdatoli, Eran, and Nagada.
• Navdatoli was one of the largest Chalcolithic
settlements in the country. It was spread in almost 10
hectares. Some of these sites were fortified.
• Eran had a fortification wall with a moat.
• Nagada had a bastion of mud-bricks.
4. Svalda Culture • Dhulia district of Maharashtra.
5. Jorwe culture • More than 200 settlements of Jorwe culture are
known. Greater number of these settlements are
found in Maharashtra.
• The best known settlements of Jorwe culture
are Prakash, Daimabad, and Inamgaon.
Daimabad was the largest one that measured almost
20 hectares.
• The pottery is called Lustrous Red Ware because of
their glossy surface.
5. Prabhas & Rangpur • Very few not more than half dozen settlements
Culture of Prabhas culture are known.

32
 • The settlements of Rangpur culture are located
mostly on Ghelo and Kalubhar rivers in Gujarat.
• Both of them are derived from the Harappa culture.
The polished red ware is the hall mark of this culture.
The pottery is called Lustrous Red Ware because of
their glossy surface.

Chronology of Chalcolithic Settlement

• The first metal age of India is called Chalcolithic Age which saw the use of
copper along with stone. It was also called Stone-Copper Age. Along with the
use of copper and stone these people also used low grade bronze to make tools
and weapons.
• Chronologically, there are several settlements. Some are Pre-Harappan or early
Harappan (Kalibangan in Rajasthan and Bhanawali in Haryana) and some are
Harappan and Post-Harappan.
• The Chalcolithic culture mainly had farming communities and they existed
between 2000 BC and 700 BC. In India it was mainly found in South-Eastern
Rajasthan, Western part of Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra, and in South and
East India.

CHARACTERISTICS OF CHALCOLITHIC AGE

Main occupations were hunting, fishing and farming.

1. Agriculture and Animals
• People of Chalcolithic Age survived on hunting, fishing, and farming. Hunting
was one of the important occupations
• Animals such as sheep, buffalo, goat, cattle, and pig were reared and killed for
food
• Remains of camels are also found. People ate beef but no traces of eating pork are
found
• People of Navdatoli grew ber ( Plum) and linseed
• Cotton was produced in black cotton soil
• Traces of rice cultivation are also found. This shows that their food included fish
and rice. Eastern India produced rice and Western India produced barley. The
major crops cultivated were barley and wheat, lentil, bajra, jowar, ragi millets,
green pea, green and black gram.
33
2. Tools and Weapons
Metals such as copper and its alloys were used to make knives, axes, fishing hooks,
chisels, pins, and rods

3. Houses
• Use of bricks was extensive during the Chalcolithic people of Harappa but there
are no traces of burnt (baked) bricks.
• The planning of the houses was simple which was either rectangular or circular.
• The walls of houses were made from mud and plastered with cow dung and lime.
• The houses mostly had only one room, but sometimes multi-roomed houses were
also seen.
• For influential people, large mud houses with 5 rooms, 4 rectangular and 1
circular in centre of the settlement are found.
• In Inamgaon, ovens and circular pit houses are found.

4. Pottery
Different types of potteries were used by the people of the Chalcolithic phase. The
Black-and-Red pottery among them was quite common. The Ochre-Coloured Pottery
(Made of clay, porcelain etc, gave ochre colour on hands of archaeologists) was also
in use.

5. Burials
• People buried the dead in the floors of their houses in the North-South direction
along with pots and copper objects.
• In Nevasa, children were buried with necklaces around their necks or with pottery
of copper. These children were mainly from affluent families.
• In Kayatha region; bodies were found with 29 bangles and 2 unique axes.

6. Art and Craft

• The specialty of the Chalcolithic culture was wheel made pottery mostly of red
and orange colour.
• Pottery was painted in linear designs, mainly in black pigment and was decorated
with different shapes.

34
 • Designs of flowers, vegetation, animals, and birds were used.
• The Black-and-Red pottery came into existence for the first time.
• People from Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, and Bihar produced channel-spouted
pots, dish-on-stands, and bowls-on-stand.
• The people of Chalcolithic Age were expert coppersmiths, ivory carvers, lime
makers, and terracotta artisans.
• Ornaments were made from semiprecious stones and beads such as agate, jasper,
chalcedony, and carnelian were used.
• People had knowledge of spinning and weaving. Flax, cotton, and silk thread is
found from sites in Maharashtra

Importance of Chalcolithic Phase

• They knew the art of smelting.
• They used painted pottery for the first time. Mostly all used black and red, wheel
turned pots. These pots were used for cooking, storing, drinking, and eating.
• Use of lota and thali is seen.
• Chalcolithic people were colonizers.
• In Peninsular India there were large villages and a large amount of cereal cultivation
is known/seen.
• They grew wheat, barley, lentils, and rice.
• Fish and rice were the important foods.
• People from Kayatha, Inamgaon, and Eran were well-off while the people from
Chirand and Pandu Rajar Dhibi were poor.
• In Maharashtra, the dead were buried in north-south direction while in South India in
the east-west direction.

Limitations of Chalcolithioc Phase

• Chalcolithic people could not make full use of domestic animals as they used them
only for food and not for milk (they thought that milk is for animals’ young ones).
• They did not do much of cultivation. They lived in black cotton soil area which
required iron tools for cultivation and there are no traces of plough or hoe.
• Chalcolithc phase did not show longevity. There are traces of a large number of
children buried which indicate lack of nutrition and outbreak of epidemics.
• People had no knowledge of mixing two metals so they could not use the stronger
metal bronze nicely. Copper had its own limitations and its supply was also less.
35
Chalcolithic Sites in Indian Sub-Continent:

1. Indus Region: Mohenjodaro, Harappa, Ropar, uratgarh, Hanumangarh, Channudaro,

Jhukar, Amri, Jhangar

2. Ganges Region: Kausambi, Alamgirpur

3. Brahmaputra Region

4. Mahanadi Region

5. Chambal Region: Pseva, Nagda, Paramar kheri, Tungini, Metwa, Takraoda,

Bhilsuri, Maori, Ghanta Bilaod, Betwa, Bilawati, Ashta

6. Saurashtra Region: Rangpur, Ahar, Prashas Patan, Lakhabawal, Lothal, Pithadia,

Rojdi, Adkot,

7. Narmada Region: Navdatoli, Maheshwar, Bhagatrav, Telod, Mehgam, Hasanpur

8. Tapi Region: Prakash, Bahal

9. Godavari-Pravara Region: Jware, Nasik, Kopergaon, Nivasa, Daimabad

10. Bhima Region: Karegaon, Chandoli, Umbraj, Chanegaon, Anacji, Hingni,

Nagarhalli

11. Karnataka Region: Brahmagiri, Piklithal, Maski

1.1.2. PROTO HISTORY, INDUS CIVILIZATION (PRE

HARAPPAN, HARAPPAN AND POST HARAPPAN
CULTURES)

Indus Valley Sites

There were many sites discovered and are still being discovered. We will look only at
some of the important sites of IVC

Year Site Location Excavated by Major findings

36
 Montgomer • Sandstone statues of
y District of Human anatomy
Daya Ram
1921 Harappa Punjab in • Bullock carts
Sahini
the banks of • Granaries
Ravi
• Coffin burials
• Great bath
Larkana • Granary
District Of • Bronze dancing girl
Mohenjo- • Seal of Pasupathi
1922 Sind on the R. D Banerjee
Daro Mahadeva
bank of
Indus • Steatite statue of beard
man
• Bronze buffalo
Baluchistan
1929 Sutkagendor on Dast Stein • Trade point between
river Harappa and Babylon

Sind on the • Bead makers shop

1931 Chanhudaro N G Majumdar • Footprint of a dog
Indus river
chasing a cat
On the bank
1935 Amri of Indus N G Majumdar • Antelope evidence
river

Rajasthan
on the bank • Fire alter
1953 Kalibangan Ghose • Camel bones
of Ghaggar
river • Furrowed land

Gujarat on • First manmade port

Bhogva • Dockyard
1953 Lothal river near R. Rao • Rice husk
Gulf of
• Fire alters
Cambay • Chess playing

1964 Surkotada Gujarat J P Joshi • Bones of horses

• beads

37
 Hissar • Bones of horses
1974 Banawali district of R S Bisht • Beads
Haryana • Barley
Gujarat in
1985 Dholavira Rann of R S Bisht • Exclusive water
Kutchchh management

HARAPPAN CIVILIZATION:

Pre-Harappan – Mehrgarh : Mehrgarh is a Neolithic (7000 BCE to c. 2500 BCE) site

to the west of the Indus River valley.

• "the earliest evidence of cattle herding in south Asia comes from the Indus River
Valley site of Mehrgarh and is dated to 7,000 YBP."
• while there is a strong continuity between the neolithic and chalcolithic (Copper
Age) cultures of Mehrgarh, dental evidence shows that the chalcolithic
population did not descend from the neolithic population of Mehrgarh.

Early Harappan

• The Early Harappan Ravi Phase, named after the nearby Ravi River, lasted from
c. 3300 BCE until 2800 BCE.
• The beginning of Indus valley Civilization (3300-1700 B.C) or Harappan
Culture coincided with the Bronze Age around 3300 B.C. The Bronze Age
literally referred to the times when most advanced metal working used Bronze (an
alloy of tin and copper).
• By this time, villagers had domesticated numerous crops, including peas, sesame
seeds, dates, and cotton, as well as animals, including the water buffalo.
• Early Harappan communities turned to large urban centres by 2600 BCE, from where
the mature Harappan phase started. The latest research shows that Indus Valley
people migrated from villages to cities.

Mature Harappan (2600BCE – 1900BCE): According to Giosan et al. (2012), the

slow southward migration of the monsoons across Asia initially allowed the Indus Valley
villages to develop by taming the floods of the Indus and its tributaries. Flood-supported
38
 farming led to large agricultural surpluses, which in turn supported the development of
cities.

• Brooke further notes that the development of advanced cities coincides with a
reduction in rainfall, which may have triggered a reorganisation into larger urban
centers.
• urban centres include Harappa, Ganeriwala, Mohenjo-daro in modern-day
Pakistan, and Dholavira, Kalibangan, Rakhigarhi, Rupar, and Lothal in
modern-day India.
• In total, more than 1,052 cities and settlements have been found, mainly in the
general region of the Indus Rivers and their tributaries.

Features of Harappan civilization:

Ø Indus valley civilization is also called Harappan Civilization as Harappa was first site
discovered.
Ø IVC is also called Bronze Age Civilization as Bronze was the most prominent metal
used.
Ø Harappa was discovered by excavator “Dayaram Sahni” in 1921
Ø 2nd site discovered was Mohenjo-Daro, by “RD Banerjee” in 1922
Ø The excavation was led by Sir John Hubert Marshall.

Agriculture and Domestication

• Main food crop/staple food crop: Wheat and Barley
• Rice husk found in Lothal and Rangpur which proves growth of Rice as well
• First people in the world to grow cotton
• Sheep, goats, buffaloes, oxen, dogs were domesticated
• No remains of Cow and lion were found.

Cities (Town planning)

• The quality of municipal town planning suggests the knowledge of urban planning
and efficient municipal governments which placed a high priority on hygiene.
• This urban plan included the world's first known urban sanitation systems
• Within the city, individual homes or groups of homes obtained water from wells.
From a room that appears to have been set aside for bathing, waste water was
directed to underground covered drains with manholes.
• The advanced architecture of the Harappans is shown by their impressive dockyards,
granaries, warehouses, brick platforms, and protective walls. The massive walls of
39
 Indus cities most likely protected the Harappans from floods and may have dissuaded
military conflicts.
• In sharp contrast to this civilisation's contemporaries, Mesopotamia and ancient
Egypt, no large monumental structures were built. There is no conclusive evidence of
palaces or temples—or of kings, armies, or priests.
• Most city dwellers appear to have been traders or artisans
• Materials from distant regions were used in the cities for constructing seals, beads
and other objects.
• Among the artefacts discovered were beautiful glazed beads.
• Seals have images of animals, people (perhaps gods), and other types of inscriptions,
including the yet un-deciphered writing system of the Indus Valley Civilisation.
• Some of the seals were used to stamp clay on trade goods and most probably had
other uses as well.
• At the western end of the site is an area known as the Citadel. This area of the city
was built on top of a mound of bricks almost 12 metres high. A large staircase ran up
the side of this mound.
• Several large public buildings and structures like Great bath (Enormous, well-built
bath), Granary and assembly halls on the Citadel mound suggest that this area may
have been used for public gatherings, religious activities or
important administrative activities. Small buildings which were probably homes do
exist on the Citadel mound, however, they are not common.

40
• Most of the houses were located in the lower town. Arrangement of the houses
followed a grid system.
• Lamp posts at regular intervals indicate street lighting.
• houses were 1 to 2 storied, made of burnt bricks, size of brick was in ratio 1:2:4
• Although some houses were larger than others, Indus Civilisation cities were
remarkable for their apparent egalitarianism.
• All the houses had access to water and drainage facilities. This gives the
impression of a society with relatively low wealth concentration.
• Toilets that used water were used in the Indus Valley Civilisation.
• The cities of Harappa and Mohenjo-daro had a bathroom and flush toilet in almost
every house, attached to a sophisticated sewage system.
• Main roads were in North-south Direction while the alleys were in the East-west
direction.
• Doors opened in alleys and not on the mainroads.
• The town planning in IVC was much ahead of its times.

Authority and governance

• Given the similarity in artefacts, the evidence for planned settlements, the
standardised ratio of brick size, and the establishment of settlements near sources of
raw material suggests effective governance.
• There was no single ruler but several cities like Mohenjo-daro had a separate ruler.
• Harappan society had no stern rulers, and everybody enjoyed equal status.

Technology

• The people of the Indus Civilisation achieved great accuracy in measuring length,
mass, and time. They were among the first to develop a system of uniform weights
and measures.

41
• A comparison of available objects indicates large scale variation across the Indus
territories. Their smallest division, which is marked on an ivory scale found in
Lothal in Gujarat, was approximately 1.704 mm, the smallest division ever
recorded on a scale of the Bronze Age.
• Harappan engineers followed the decimal division of measurement for all
practical purposes, including the measurement of mass as revealed by their
hexahedron weights.
• Harappans evolved some new techniques in metallurgy and produced copper,
bronze, lead, and tin.
• The engineering skill of the Harappans was remarkable, especially in building docks.
• In 2001, archaeologists studying the remains of two men from Mehrgarh,
Pakistan, discovered that the people of the Indus Valley Civilisation, from the early
Harappan periods, had knowledge of proto-dentistry. Later, in April 2006, it was
announced in the scientific journal Nature that the oldest (and first early Neolithic)
evidence for the drilling of human teeth in vivo (i.e., in a living person) was
found in Mehrgarh.
• Eleven drilled molar crowns from nine adults were discovered in a Neolithic
graveyard in Mehrgarh that dates from 7,500–9,000 years ago. According to the
authors, their discoveries point to a tradition of proto-dentistry in the early farming
cultures of that region.
• A touchstone bearing gold streaks was found in Banawali, which was probably used
for testing the purity of gold (such a technique is still used in some parts of India).

Arts and crafts

• Various sculptures, seals, bronze vessels pottery, gold jewelry, and anatomically
detailed figurines in terracotta, bronze, and steatite have been found at
excavation sites.
• A number of gold, terracotta and stone figurines of girls in dancing poses reveal
the presence of some dance form.
• The terracotta figurines: Made by fire baked clay included cows, bears, monkeys,
and dogs. The animal depicted on a majority of seals at sites of the mature period has
not been clearly identified. Mother goddess figurines have been recorded from
various sites. Terracotta female figurines were found (ca. 2800–2600 BCE) which
had red colour applied to the "manga" (line of partition of the hair).

42
• Unicorn seal: Part bull, part zebra, with a majestic horn, it has been a source of
speculation. The prevalence of the image raises the question of whether or not the
animal in image is a religious symbol.

• Dancing girl in Mohenjo-Daro: Sir John Marshall reacted with surprise when he
saw the famous Indus bronze statuette of a slender-limbed dancing girl in
Mohenjo-Daro, "When I first saw them I found it difficult to believe that they were
prehistoric”. In the statuette, the girl is wearing several bangles and necklace and is in
tribangha posture.

•
43
• Pottery: Very fine, wheel made pottery were found. Plain pots made of red clay and
painted black and redware were the two notable types.
• Stone statuettes: Priest king Statuette made of steatite depicting a bearded man
with half closed eyes, draped in a shawl coming under the right arm and covering the
left shoulder, and a male torso made of red stone.

• Many crafts including, "shell working, ceramics, and agate and glazed steatite bead
making" were practiced and the pieces were used in the making of necklaces,
bangles, and other ornaments from all phases of Harappan culture.
• Some of these crafts are still practiced in the subcontinent today. Some make-up and
toiletry items, a special kind of combs (kakai), the use of collyrium ( Eye shadow)
and a special three-in-one toiletry gadget that were found in Harappan contexts
still have similar counterparts in modern India.
• Seals have been found at Mohenjo-daro depicting a figure standing on its head,
and another sitting cross-legged in what some call a yoga-like pose
• This figure, sometimes known as a Pashupati, has been variously identified.
• Sir John Marshall identified a resemblance to the Hindu god, Shiva. If this can
be validated, it would be evidence that some aspects of Hinduism predate the
earliest texts, the Veda.
• A harp-like instrument depicted on an Indus seal and two shell objects found at
Lothal indicate the use of stringed musical instruments.
• The Harappans also made various toys and games, among them cubical dice
(with one to six holes on the faces), which were found in sites like Mohenjo-Daro.
44
Trade and transportation

• The IVC may have been the first civilisation to use wheeled transport.
• These advances may have included bullock carts that are identical to those seen
throughout South Asia today, as well as boats.
• Most of these boats were probably small, flat-bottomed craft, perhaps driven by sail,
similar to those one can see on the Indus River today; however, there is secondary
evidence of sea-going craft.
• Archaeologists have discovered a massive, dredged (clearing by scooping out mud
and weeds) canal and what they regard as a docking facility at the coastal city of
Lothal in western India (Gujarat state).
• An extensive canal network, used for irrigation, has however also been discovered by
H.-P. Francfort.
• During 4300–3200 BCE of the chalcolithic period (copper age), the Indus Valley
Civilisation area shows ceramic similarities with southern Turkmenistan and northern
Iran which suggest considerable mobility and trade.
• During the Early Harappan period (about 3200–2600 BCE), similarities in pottery,
seals, figurines, ornaments, etc. document intensive caravan trade with Central Asia
and the Iranian plateau.
• There is some evidence that trade contacts extended to Crete and possibly to Egypt.
• There was an extensive maritime trade network operating between the Harappan and
Mesopotamian civilisations as early as the middle Harappan Phase. Such long-
distance sea trade became feasible with the development of plank-built watercraft,
equipped with a single central mast supporting a sail of woven rushes or cloth.
• Several coastal settlements like Sotkagen-dor (astride Dasht River, north of Jiwani),
Sokhta Koh (astride Shadi River, north of Pasni), and Balakot (near Sonmiani) in
Pakistan along with Lothal in western India, testify to their role as Harappan trading
outposts.
• Shallow harbours located at the estuaries of rivers opening into the sea allowed brisk
maritime trade with Mesopotamian cities.
• In the 1980s, important archaeological discoveries have been made at Ras al-Jinz
(Oman), demonstrating maritime Indus Valley connections with the Arabian
Peninsula.
• Tin and precious stones: imported from Iran and Afganistan
• Gold imported from Karnataka
• Copper from Rajasthan and Oman
45
Language

• It has often been suggested that the bearers of the IVC corresponded to proto-
Dravidians linguistically, the break-up of proto-Dravidian corresponding to the
break-up of the Late Harappan culture.
• Finnish Indologist Asko Parpola concludes that the uniformity of the Indus
inscriptions precludes any possibility of widely different languages being used, and
that an early form of Dravidian language must have been the language of the Indus
people.
• Today, the Dravidian language family is concentrated mostly in southern India and
northern and eastern Sri Lanka, but pockets of it still remain throughout the rest of
India and Pakistan (the Brahui language), which lends credence to the theory.
• According to Heggarty and Renfrew, Dravidian languages may have spread into the
Indian subcontinent with the spread of farming. According to David McAlpin, the
Dravidian languages were brought to India by immigration into India from
Elam (In Iran).
• Heggarty and Renfrew note that "McAlpin's analysis of the language data, and thus
his claims, remain far from orthodoxy." Heggarty and Renfrew conclude that several
scenarios are compatible with the data.

Possible writing system:

• Between 400 and as many as 600 distinct Indus symbols have been found on seals,
small tablets, ceramic pots and more than a dozen other materials, including a
"signboard" that apparently once hung over the gate of the inner citadel of the
Indus city of Dholavira.
• Typical Indus inscriptions are no more than four or five characters in length, most of
which (aside from the Dholavira "signboard") are tiny; the longest on a single
surface, which is less than 1 inch (2.54 cm) square, is 17 signs long; the longest on
any object (found on three different faces of a mass-produced object) has a length of
26 symbols.
• While the Indus Valley Civilisation is generally characterised as a literate society on
the evidence of these inscriptions, this description has been challenged by Farmer,
Sproat, and Witzel (2004) who argue that the Indus system did not encode language,
but was instead similar to a variety of non-linguistic sign systems used extensively

46
 in the Near East and other societies, to symbolise families, clans, gods, and religious
concepts.
• Others have claimed on occasion that the symbols were exclusively used for
economic transactions, but this claim leaves unexplained the appearance of Indus
symbols on many ritual objects, many of which were mass-produced in moulds.
No parallels to these mass-produced inscriptions are known in any other early
ancient civilisations.
• In a 2009 study by P. N. Rao et al. published in Science, computer scientists,
comparing the pattern of symbols to various linguistic scripts and non-linguistic
systems, including DNA and a computer programming language, found that the Indus
script's pattern is closer to that of spoken words, supporting the hypothesis that it
codes for an as-yet-unknown language.
• Farmer, Sproat, and Witzel have disputed this finding, They conclude that the
method used by Rao et al. cannot distinguish linguistic systems from non-linguistic
ones.
• Photos of many of the thousands of extant inscriptions are published in the Corpus of
Indus Seals and Inscriptions (1987, 1991, 2010), edited by Asko Parpola and his
colleagues.
• Edakkal caves in Wayanad district of Kerala contain drawings that range over periods
from as early as 5000 BCE to 1000 BCE. The youngest group of paintings have been
in the news for a possible connection to the Indus Valley Civilisation.

Religion:

• An early and influential work in the area that set the trend for Hindu interpretations
of archaeological evidence from the Harappan sites was that of John Marshall, who
in 1931 identified the following as prominent features of the Indus religion
• A Great Male God and a Mother Goddess; deification or veneration (Person treated
as god) of animals and plants; symbolic representation of the phallus (linga) and
vulva (yoni); and, use of baths and water in religious practice. Marshall's
interpretations have been much debated, and sometimes disputed over the following
decades.
• One Indus Valley seal (Shiva / Pashupati seal) shows a seated figure with a horned
headdress, possibly tricephalic and possibly ithyphallic, surrounded by animals.

47
• Marshall identified the figure as an early form of the Hindu god Shiva (or
Rudra), who is associated with asceticism, yoga, and linga; regarded as a lord of
animals; and often depicted as having three eyes.
• The seal has hence come to be known as the Pashupati Seal, after Pashupati
(lord of all animals), an epithet of Shiva.

• While Marshall's work has earned some support, many critics and even supporters
have raised several objections.
• Doris Srinivasan has argued that the figure does not have three faces, or yogic
posture, and that in Vedic literature Rudra was not a protector of wild animals.
• Herbert Sullivan and Alf Hiltebeitel also rejected Marshall's conclusions, with
the former claiming that the figure was female, while the latter associated the figure
with Mahisha, the Buffalo God and the surrounding animals with vahanas (vehicles)
of deities for the four cardinal directions.
• Writing in 2002, Gregory L. Possehl concluded that while it would be appropriate to
recognise the figure as a deity, its association with the water buffalo, and its posture
as one of ritual discipline, regarding it as a proto-Shiva would be going too far.
Despite the criticisms of Marshall's association of the seal with a proto-Shiva icon, it
has been interpreted as the Tirthankara Rishabhanatha by Jains and Vilas
Sangave or an early Buddha by Buddhists.
• Historians such as Heinrich Zimmer and Thomas McEvilley believe that there is
a connection between first Jain Tirthankara Rishabhanatha and the Indus
Valley civilisation.

48
• Marshall hypothesised the existence of a cult of Mother Goddess worship based
upon excavation of several female figurines and thought that this was a
precursor of the Hindu sect of Shaktism.
• In contrast to contemporary Egyptian and Mesopotamian civilisations, Indus Valley
lacks any monumental palaces, even though excavated cities indicate that the society
possessed the requisite engineering knowledge. This may suggest that religious
ceremonies, if any, may have been largely confined to individual homes, small
temples, or the open air. Several sites have been proposed by Marshall and later
scholars as possibly devoted to religious purpose, but at present only the Great Bath
at Mohenjo-daro is widely thought to have been so used, as a place for ritual
purification.
• The funerary practices of the Harappan civilisation are marked by their diversity,
with evidence of supine burial (Corpse lying on its back) fractional burial (in which
the body is reduced to skeletal remains by exposure to the elements before final
interment), and even cremation.

Late Harappan

Around 1800 BCE signs of a gradual decline began to emerge, and by around 1700 BCE
most of the cities had been abandoned. Recent examination of human skeletons from
the site of Harappa has demonstrated that the end of the Indus civilisation saw an
increase in inter-personal violence and in infectious diseases like leprosy and
tuberculosis.

"Aryan invasion":

• In 1953 Sir Mortimer Wheeler proposed that the invasion of an Indo-European

tribe from Central Asia, the "Aryans", caused the decline of the Indus
Civilisation. As evidence, he cited a group of 37 skeletons found in various parts
of Mohenjo-daro, and passages in the Vedas referring to battles and forts.
• However, scholars soon started to reject Wheeler's theory, since the skeletons
belonged to a period after the city's abandonment and none were found near the
citadel. Subsequent examinations of the skeletons by Kenneth Kennedy in 1994
showed that the marks on the skulls were caused by erosion, and not by violence.
• The Cemetery H culture has the earliest evidence for cremation; a practice dominant
in Hinduism today. The Cemetery H culture was located in and around the Punjab
region in present-day India and Pakistan. It was named after a cemetery found in
49
 "area H" at Harappa. Remains of the culture have been dated from about 1900 BC
until about 1300 BC. The Cemetery H culture was located in and around the Punjab
region in present-day India and Pakistan. It was named after a cemetery found in
"area H" at Harappa. Remains of the culture have been dated from about 1900 BC
until about 1300 BC.

Climate change and drought: Suggested contributory causes for the localisation of the
IVC include tectonic disturbances, earthquakes, changes in the course of the river, and
climate changes, changes in patterns of rain fall.

As of 2016 many scholars believe that drought and a decline in trade with Egypt
and Mesopotamia caused the collapse of the Indus Civilisation.

According to Giosan et al. (2012), the IVC residents did not develop irrigation
capabilities, relying mainly on the seasonal monsoons leading to summer floods. As
the monsoons kept shifting south, the floods grew too erratic for sustainable
agricultural activities. The residents then migrated towards the Ganges basin in the
east, where they established smaller villages and isolated farms. The small surplus
produced in these small communities did not allow development of trade, and the cities
died out.

Post-Harappan:

• Previously, scholars believed that the decline of the Harappan civilisation led to an
interruption of urban life in the Indian subcontinent.
• However, the Indus Valley Civilisation did not disappear suddenly, and many
elements of the Indus Civilisation appear in later cultures.
• In the aftermath of the Indus Civilisation, regional cultures emerged, to varying
degrees showing the influence of the Indus Civilisation. For instance, the Ochre
Coloured Pottery culture expanded from Rajasthan into the Gangetic Plain.
• David Gordon White, among others "have emphatically demonstrated" that Vedic
religion derives partially from the Indus Valley Civilisations.
• As of 2016, archaeological data suggests that the material culture classified as Late
Harappan may have persisted until at least 1000–900 BCE and was partially
contemporaneous with the Painted Grey Ware culture.

50
 • Harvard archaeologist Richard Meadow points to the late Harappan settlement of
Pirak, which thrived continuously from 1800 BCE to the time of the invasion of
Alexander the Great in 325 BCE.

26. What kind of society may be reconstructed from the archaeological evidences of
Harappan culture? (20M, 2019)
27. Town planning in Harappan culture (10M, 2018)
28. Discuss the significance of Harappan Civilization sites from India. (15M,2015)
29. Describe what is known of Harappan Religion. Have some of its elements
continued into later Hinduism? Discuss. (20M,2014)

PREHISTORIC ROCK ART

• The distant past when there was no paper or language or the written documents is
called as the Prehistoric period.
• Piecing together of information deduced from old tools, habitat, bones of both animals
and human beings and drawings on the cave walls scholars have constructed fairly
accurate knowledge about what happened and how people lived in prehistoric times.

Prehistoric Period: Paleolithic Age, Mesolithic Age, and Chalcolithic Age

The drawings and paintings can be categorized into historical periods.
Ø Period I- Upper Paleolithic
Ø Period II - Mesolithic and
Ø Period III - Chalcolithic.

PREHISTORIC ROCK ART BASED ON THE STUDY OF BHIMBETKA

PAINTINGS

Paleolithic Age Art

• The prehistoric period in the early development of human beings is commonly known
as the ‘Old Stone Age’ or ‘Palaeolithic Age’.
• The Paleolithic period can be divided into three phases:
Lower Palaeolithic
Middle Palaeolithic
Upper Palaeolithic
• We did not get any evidence of paintings from lower or middle paleolithic age yet.
51
• In the Upper Palaeolithic period, we see a proliferation of artistic activities.
• Subjects of early works confined to simple human figures, human activities, geometric
designs, and symbols.
• Continuous occupation of the caves from more than 60,000 to 1000 years ago
• Thus, it is considered as an evidence of long cultural continuity.
• Consists of nearly 500 painted rock shelters in five clusters.
• These rock shelters were discovered in 1957.
• One of the oldest paintings in India and the world (Upper paleolithic). Bhimbetka

(1) UPPER PALAEOLITHIC PERIOD:

• Paintings are linear representations, in green and dark red, of huge animal figures, such
as Bisons, Tigers, Elephants, Rhinos and Boars beside stick-like human figures.
• Mostly they are filled with geometric patterns.
• Green paintings are of dances and red ones of hunters.

(2) Mesolithic period Art:

• The largest number of paintings belongs to this period.

• Themes multiply but the paintings are small in size.
• Hunting scenes predominate
• Hunters in groups armed with barbed spears pointed sticks, arrows, and bows.
• Trap and snares used to catch animals can be seen in some paintings.
• Mesolithic people loved to paint animals.
• In some pictures, animals are chasing men and in others, they are being chased by
hunter men.
• Animals painted in a naturalistic style and humans were depicted in a stylistic manner.
• Women are painted both in nude and clothed.
• Young and old equally find places in paintings.
• Community dances provide a common theme.
• Sort of family life can be seen in some paintings (woman, man, and children).

One of the most spectacular images from this period is that of a large animal with an
enormous face, horns like a bull and hair on its back in shelter III- F19 on bull rock.
According to archeologist V.N. Misra, it is probably a mythological scene.

(3) Chalcolithic period Art:

• Copper age art.

52
• The paintings of this period reveal the association, contact and mutual exchange of
requirements of the cave dwellers of this area with settled agricultural communities of
the Malwa Plateau.
• Pottery and metal tools can be seen in paintings.
• Similarities with rock paintings: Common motifs (designs/patterns like cross-
hatched squares, lattices, waves etc)
• Men are seen grazing animals which is an evidence of domestication of animals.
• The difference with rock paintings: Vividness and vitality of older periods disappear
from these paintings.

Some of the general features of Prehistoric paintings (based on the study of

Bhimbetka paintings)

• Used colours, including various shades of white, yellow, orange, red ochre, purple,
brown, green and black.
• But white and red were their favourite.
• The paints used by these people were made by grinding various coloured rocks.
• They got red from haematite (Geru in India).
• Green prepared from a green coloured rock called Chalcedony.
• White was probably from Limestone.
• Some sticky substances such as animal fat or gum or resin from trees maight be used
while mixing rock powder with water.
• Brushes were made of plant fiber.
• It is believed that these colours remained thousands of years because of the chemical
reaction of the oxide present on the surface of rocks.
• Paintings were found both from occupied and unoccupied caves.
• In many rock art sites, the new paintings are overlapped on top of an older painting.
• In Bhimbetka, we can see nearly 20 layers of paintings, one on top of another.
• It shows the gradual development of the human being from period to period.
• Scenes were mainly hunting and economic and social life of people.
• The figure of flora, fauna, human, mythical creatures, carts, chariots etc. can be seen.

30. OLDUVAI GORGE (2019,10M)

• The Olduvai Gorge or Oldupai Gorge in Tanzania is one of the most important
paleoanthropological sites in the world. A steep-sided ravine in the Great Rift
Valley that stretches across East Africa, it is about 48 km (30 mi) long, and is
located in the eastern Serengeti Plains within the Ngorongoro Conservation Area
about 45 kilometres (28 miles) from Laetoli, another important archaeological site
of early human occupation.
• Olduvai Gorge is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
53
• The area preserves a nearly continuous record of human evolution and climate
change between 2 and 1 million years.
• It creates a complete history of biological and cultural evolution of humans. Acts as
a classic site for the whole world as an index to understand biological and cultural
evolution of man.
• The Olduvai Gorge is an area where several important hominid fossils and Stone
Age tools were discovered, indicating that at least three distinctly different ancestors
to humans had once coexisted in the area.
• Man is considered to have evolved in Africa and one site we can narrow down
as the site of human evolution is Olduvai Gorge.
• The British/Kenyan paleoanthropologist-archeologist team Mary and Louis Leakey
established and developed the excavation and research programs at Olduvai Gorge
which achieved great advances of human knowledge and world-renowned status.
• Homo habilis, probably the first early human species, occupied Olduvai Gorge
approximately 1.9 million years ago (mya); then came a contemporary
australopithecine, Paranthropus boisei, 1.8 mya, followed by Homo erectus, 1.2
mya. Our species Homo sapiens, which is estimated to have emerged roughly
300,000 years ago, is dated to have occupied the site 17,000 years ago.

31. DISCUSS WITH EXAMPLES THE MEGALITHIC CULTURE OF INDIA

IN ARCHAEOLOGICAL CONTEXT (2019,20M)
• Megaliths, derived from Latin meaning large stones, are monuments which lasted
from the Neolithic Stone Age to the early Historical Period (2500 BC to AD 200).
Constructed either as burial sites or commemorative (non-sepulchral)
(Sepulchral=sad/gloomy) memorials, these structures are the earliest surviving
man-made monuments we know of.
• The burial sites are of different types such as dolmenoid cists (box-shaped stone
burial chambers), cairn circles (stone circles with defined peripheries) and
capstones (distinctive mushroom-shaped burial chambers found mainly in
Kerala).
• The urn (Rounded vase) or the sarcophagus (coffin) containing the mortal
remains was usually made of terracotta.
• Non-sepulchral megaliths include memorial sites such as menhirs (Long standing
stone). “Constructing a menhir is one of the simplest things man could have done.
54
 • In India, the majority of the megaliths belong to the Iron Age (1500 BC to 500
BC), though some sites precede the Iron Age, extending up to 2000 BC.
• Around 2200 megalithic sites are found in the Indian peninsular, concentrated in
the states of Maharashtra (mainly in Vidarbha), Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Kerala,
Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.
• Even today, a living megalithic culture endures among some tribes such as the
Gonds of central India and the Khasis of Meghalaya.
• Korisettar, a retired professor of archaeology at Karnatak University says the
megaliths were built for the elite or the ruling class and that the very idea of
burying the dead along with burial goods indicates a strong belief in life after
death and possibly rebirth among megalithic people. Paddy husk found in burial
sites shows the commitment of the people towards ensuring the dead a
comfortable afterlife. They also believed in some idea of a soul.
• Gond people used to connect the past and the present. Their beliefs and traditions
help in creating a clear picture of the megalithic culture. “The Gond people
believe in life after death, they believe that every human being has two souls: the
life spirit and the shadow. The life spirit goes to bada devta but the shadow still
stays in the village after the erection of the stone memorial. Gond people believe
that the first and foremost duty of the shadow spirit is to watch over the moral
behaviour of the people and punish those who go against the tribal law,” notes a
paper by S. Mendaly on the living megalithic culture of the Gonds of Nuaparha in
Odisha.
• The massive endeavour of constructing megaliths required the active involvement
of the community, “Experiment on the reconstruction of a burial from Vidarbha
suggests that 70 to 80 individuals were required to construct a burial having
13.5m diameter with a deposit of 80 to 85 cm in two and a half to three days
without any leisure… Participation in construction by the community members
could be social norm without labour charge. If not by any labour charge, a feast
was probably prepared to honour the labour force provided by community
members.

32. NATUFIAN CULTURE (2020,10M)

55
Discovery: Dorothy Garrod coined the term Natufian based on her excavations
at Shuqba cave (Wadi an-Natuf), the type site of Natufian culture, in the western Judean
Mountains.

Time span: It is a Late Epipaleolithic, or Mesolithic archaeological culture of

the Levant, dating to around 15,000 to 11,500 years ago.

(Note: Mesolithic is an intermediate period followed by Neolithic, some authors prefer

the term Epi-Palaeolithic for hunter gatherer cultures that are not succeeded by
Agricultural traditions / Neolithic revolution. E.g., Natufian culture)

Tools and technology: The Natufian had a microlithic industry centered on

short blades and bladelets. The microburin technique was used. Geometric microliths
include lunates, trapezes, and triangles were used.

Culture and lifestyle:

• People were mainly hunters.

• The culture was unusual in that it supported a sedentary or semi-sedentary

population even before the introduction of agriculture.

• The Natufians supplemented their diet by gathering wild grain; they likely did
not cultivate it.

• Some evidence suggests deliberate cultivation of cereals, specifically rye, by the

Natufian culture, at Tell Abu Hureyra, (One of the major sites of Natufian culture)
the site of earliest evidence of agriculture in the world.

• They had sickles of flint blades set in straight bone handles for
harvesting grain and stone mortars and pestles for grinding it.

• Some groups lived in caves, others occupied incipient villages.

• They buried their dead with their personal ornaments in cemeteries. Carved bone
and stone artwork have been found.

(The terms paleolithic and Neolithic were introduced by John Lubbock in his work
“Pre-Historic times”)

56
1.1. CONTRIBUTIONS OF TRIBAL CULTURES

TO INDIAN CIVILIZATION

• Adivasi traditions and practices pervade all aspects of Indian culture and
civilization, yet this awareness is often lacking in popular consciousness.
• Gautam Buddha looked for a model for the kind of society he wished to
advocate. The early Buddhist Sanghas were modelled on the tribal pattern
of social interaction that stressed gender equality, and respect for all
members.
• In the Adivasi traditions, ancestor worship, worship of fertility gods and
goddesses , totemic worship - all played a role. And they all found their
way into the practice of what is now considered Hinduism.
• Bhils claimed to be descendents of Ekalavy, they are also good
archerers.
• One of the communities of Nagas called Angami Nagas clamins that
Bhim, one of the Pandavas married an Angami girl.
• Mahashweta Devi has shown that both Shiva and Kali have tribal
origins as do Krishna and Ganesh.
• Ganesh owes his origins to a powerful tribe of elephant trainers whose
incorporation into Hindu society.
• According to GS.Bhatt 1963, Forms of gotra in Hinduism are more
totemistic than vedic.
• Kosambi points that Brahmin gotras such as Kashyapa arose from tribal
totems such as Kachhapa (tortoise).
• India's regional languages such as Oriya, Marathi or Bengali developed as a
result of the fusion of tribal languages with Sanskrit or Pali and virtually all
the Indian languages have incorporated words from the vocabulary of
Adivasi languages.
• Adivasis knowledge of various plants and their medicinal uses played an
invaluable role in the development of Ayurvedic medicines.
• Adivasi musical instruments such as the bansuri (flute) and dhol (drum),
folk-tales, dances and seasonal celebrations also found their way into Indian
traditions as did their art and metallurgical skills.
• Rani Durgavati of Jabalpur ( Gond heritage) acquired a reputation when she
died in battle defending against Mughal incursions.
• The city of Nagpur was founded by a Gond Raja in the early 18th century.

Adivasis and the Freedom Movement

 • The Tamar, Munda revolts, great Kol Risings of 1832 and the Khewar
and Bhumij revolts (1832-34). In 1855, the Santhals waged war against
the permanent settlement of Lord Cornwallis, and a year later, numerous
adivasi leaders played key roles in the 1857 war of independence.
• But the defeat of 1858 only intensified British exploitation of national
wealth and resources.
• Write BRITISH FOREST POLICY
• As punishment for Adivasi resistance to British rule, "The Criminal
Tribes Act" was passed by the British Government in stigmatizing Adivasis
as congenital criminals.
• Adivasi uprisings in the Jharkhand belt were quelled by the British through
massive deployment of troops across the region. Munda rebellion, Birsa
Munda.
• Tana bhagat movement
• During British rule, several revolts also took place in Orissa which naturally
drew participation from the Adivasis. The significant ones included the
Paik Rebellion of 1817, the Ghumsar uprisings of 1836-1856, and the
Sambhalpur revolt of 1857-1864.
• In the hill tribal tracts of Andhra Pradesh the revolt Alluri Sitarama Raju,
the Adivasis of the Andhra hills succeeded in drawing the British into a full-
scale guerrilla war.

As the freedom movement widened, it drew Adivasis into all aspects of the
struggle. Unfortunately, even many years after independence, Dalits and Adivasis
have benefited least from the advent of freedom.

1.2 PALAEO - ANTHROPOLOGICAL EVIDENCES FROM INDIA WITH

SPECIAL REFERENCE TO SIWALIKS AND NARMADA BASIN
(RAMAPITHECUS, SIVAPITHECUS AND NARMADA MAN).

RAMA PITHECUS
• There are at least two dozen fossils specimens that have been identified as
belong to Ramapithecus. Most of these specimens consist of teeth and jaws
and they principally come from two areas – the Siwalik Hills in India and
Fort Ternan in Kenya.
• The first discovery of Ramapithecus fossils was made by G.E. Lewis in
1932 in the Siwalik hills regions of India. He assigned one of the fossils, an
 upper jaw, to a new genus and species he named Ramapithecus
brevirostris.
• The generic name simply means Rama’s ape’ Rama being the mythical
prince who is the hero of Indian epic poem. The species name that Lewis
chose was more meaningful for it is the Latin word for ‘short snouted’.

ANATOMICAL CHARACTERISTICS OF RAMAPITHECUS

➢ Incisors and canine are inserted vertically and no prognathism as in apes.
➢ Little or no canine diastema.
➢ The canines of the Ramapithecus are not projected.
➢ The dental arcade is rounded.
➢ The palate of the Ramapithecus is arched as in man.
➢ Flattened and thick enameled premolars and molars that appear to be adapted
for heavy chewing and processing of hard food stuffs.
➢ The molars possess the Dryopithecus Y-5 cusps pattern. ( 5 cusps, 3 on buccal
side, 2 on lingual side, they are well separated and the teeth look like Y )
➢ Slightly divergent tooth rows. The tooth rows have been identified as parabolic
by some and V-shape by some others.
➢ Reduction of size of third molar as compared to first and second molar.
➢ The ratio between the sizes of front tooth (incisors and canine) and those of
cheek teeth (premolars and molars) is roughly the same as humans.
➢ Large inferior torus on mandible.
➢ Short maxilla that would indicate a placement of the chewing muscles that
increase the chewing pressure brought to bear on the food being eaten.
➢ Facial profile is orthognathous, indicating that it did not use teeth as weapons
and therefore must have used hands for hunting and defense, suggesting that it
is an erect biped and therefore assumed earlier as an ancestor of
Australopithecus and thus humans.

DEBATES ON PHYLOGENETIC POSITION OF RAMAPITHECUS

• Ramapithecus, fossil primate dating from the Middle and Late Miocene
epochs (about 16.6 million to 5.3 million years ago).
• For a time in the 1960s and ’70s, Ramapithecus was thought to be a distinct
genus that was the first direct ancestor of modern humans (Homo sapiens)
before it became regarded as that of the orangutan ancestor, Sivapithecus.
• The first Ramapithecus fossils (fragments of an upper jaw and some teeth)
were discovered in 1932 in fossil deposits in the Siwālik hills of northern
India.
• No significance was attached to those fossils until 1960, when American
anthropologist Elwyn Simons of Yale University began studying them and
fit the jaw fragments together.
• On the basis of his observations of the shape of the jaw and of the
morphology of the teeth—which he thought were transitional between those
of apes and humans—
• Simons advanced the theory that Ramapithecus represented the first
step in the evolutionary divergence of humans from the common
hominoid stock that produced modern apes and humans.
• Simons’s theory was strongly supported by his student English-born
American anthropologist David Pilbeam and soon gained wide acceptance
among anthropologists.
• The age of the fossils (about 14 million years) fit well with the then-
prevailing notion that the ape-human split had occurred at least 15 million
years ago.
• The first challenge to the theory came in the late 1960s from American
biochemist Allan Wilson and American anthropologist Vincent Sarich,
who, at the University of California, Berkeley, had been comparing the
molecular chemistry of albumins (blood proteins) among various animal
species.
• They concluded that the ape-human divergence must have occurred much
later than Ramapithecus. (It is now thought that the final split took place
some 6 million to 8 million years ago.)
• Wilson and Sarich’s argument was initially dismissed by anthropologists,
but biochemical and fossil evidence mounted in favour of it.
• Finally, in 1976, Pilbeam discovered a complete Ramapithecus jaw, not
far from the initial fossil find, that had a distinctive V shape and thus
differed markedly from the parabolic shape of the jaws of members of the
human lineage. He soon repudiated his belief in Ramapithecus as a human
ancestor, and the theory was largely abandoned by the early 1980s.
• Ramapithecus fossils subsequently were found to resemble those of the
fossil primate genus Sivapithecus, which is now regarded as ancestral to the
 orangutan; the belief also grew that Ramapithecus probably should be
included in the Sivapithecus genus. – Encyclopaedia Britannica.

SIVAPITHECUS (SHIVA'S APE)

Name: Sivapithecus.
Named By: Pilgrim - 1910.
Synonyms: Ramapithecus.
Classification: Chordata, Mammalia, Primates, Anthropodea, hominoidea,
Hominidae, Ponginae.
Diet: Herbivore.
Size: 1.5 meters tall when bipedal.
Known locations: China, India, Nepal, Pakistan & Turkey.
Time period: Serravallian to Messinian of the Miocene.
Fossil representation: Partial, fragmented remains of numerous individuals.

• Although best known from the Sivalik Hills, Sivapithecus seems to have had
a much broader geographical distribution.
• One genus in particular called Ramapithecus was previously heralded as
an ancestor of humans, but as more and more fossils were found it
became clear to palaeontologists, anthropologists and primatologists
that it was almost identical to Sivapithecus.
• Then geneticists (Sarich and Wilson) came along, and declared that the
genetic divergence between chimps and humans is so low that the split had
to be way later than Ramapithecus.
• There was a lot of fuss over this. Paleoanthropologists didn’t like geneticists
telling them their job.
• Paleoanthropologists found some new fossils. These showed in particular
that the line of Ramapithecus‘s jaw was not arch-shaped, like a human’s, but
more U-shaped, like a non-human ape’s.
• So later paleoanthropologists decided that Ramapithecus (now part
of Sivapithecus) looked more like an orangutan relative.
• The only real difference between the remains is that fossils originally
assigned as Ramapithecus are smaller, possibly because of sexual
dimorphism with Ramapithecus being females, although ideas that it being
a smaller species of Sivapithecus have also been considered.
• Despite the history associated with Ramapithecus that is now widely
considered a synonym to this genus, Sivapithecus was not an ancestor of
modern humans. Instead it’s more likely that Sivapithecus was an ancestor to
 the orangutan, although some parts of the body appear to be more
chimpanzee-like.
• The body proportions and particularly the form of the wrists supports the
idea that Sivapithecus spent a greater amount of time on the ground than in
the trees.
• Despite this, skull remains and subsequent reconstructions based upon these
have revealed that Sivapithecus was much more orangutan-like in its facial
appearance.
• There is also a real possibility that aside from being an ancestor to modern
orangutans, Sivapithecus was also related to the giant ape Gigantopithecus,
the larger species of which were easily double the size of Sivapithecus.

• In 1982, David Pilbeam published a description of a significant fossil find,

formed by a large part of the face and jaw of a Sivapithecus. The specimen
bore many similarities to the orangutan skull and strengthened the theory
that Sivapithecus was closely related to orangutans.

Description
Sivapithecus was about 1.5 metres (4.9 ft) in body length, similar in size to a
modern orangutan. In most respects, it would have resembled a chimpanzee, but its
face was closer to that of an orangutan. The shape of its wrists and general body
proportions suggest that it spent a significant amount of its time on the ground, as
well as in trees. It had large canine teeth, and heavy molars, suggesting a diet of
relatively tough food, such as seeds and savannah grasses.

Species
Currently three species are generally recognized:

• Sivapithecus indicus fossils date from about 12.5 million to 10.5 million years
ago.
• Sivapithecus sivalensis lived from 9.5 million to 8.5 million years ago. It was
found at the Pothowar plateau in Pakistan as well as in parts of India. The
animal was about the size of a chimpanzee but had the facial morphology of an
orangutan; it ate soft fruit (detected in the toothwear pattern) and was probably
mainly arboreal.
• Sivapithecus parvada described in 1988, this species is significantly larger and
dated to about 10 million years ago.
NARMADA MAN
• December 5, 1982. On the banks of the Narmada at Madhya Pradesh’s
Hathnora village, geologist Arun Sonakia discovered Narmada man, the
discovery of the century.
• The discovery not only put India on the world fossil map, it proved the
presence of early humans in the subcontinent and filled a gap in our
knowledge about human evolution, says D. K. Bhattacharya, former head
of anthropology department at University of Delhi.
• “The discovery opened a new chapter in terms of hard evidence of evolution
in south Asia,” he says. “Unlike Africa, where stone tools were found along
with human skeletons, all over India we were finding prehistoric stone tools,
but there was no fossil evidence.”
• Narmada Human, initially named Narmada Man, belongs to the category of
Homo erectus, preceding Homo sapiens sapiens, the modern human species.
• Homo erectus are believed to have inhabited the planet 1.8 million to
200,000 years ago.
• “On the basis of associated fauna, palaeomagnetic dating studies by the
Geological Survey of India (GSI) and morphological features compared with
other fossils of known antiquity, the Narmada fossil could be 500,000 to
600,000 years old,” says Sonakia.
• The fossil could be of an individual aged between 25 and 30 years.
• Antiquity of fossils has always been controversial. Some think the Narmada
fossil may belong to the late Homo erectus category. Many believe the fossil
could be of a female. “The evidence is not even a full skull. It is rather, a
skull cap with a little bit of orbital roof,” says Bhattacharya. The finding has
been scientifically analysed. “We think it represents a human form that had
colonised India at least 400,000 years ago,”
• Homo erectus had successfully adapted to savannah grasslands, says
Bhattacharya.
• They had domesticated fire, did group hunting and used stone tools.
• One fossil can never tell the full story.
Why we did not get more fossils from India?
• In some regions presence of fossils depends on preservation conditions such
as soil chemistry and erosion rates, says Parth Chauhan, research associate
with US-based non-profit Stone Age Institute, and with the anthropology
department at Indiana University, US. In other regions, either enough
systematic survey has not been done or potential hominid fossil material has
been overlooked. In India, palaeoanthropology or study of human origins is
in a very neglected state, he says.
• Developmental projects such as dams on the Narmada, mining and oil
drilling activities, intensive agriculture and population pressure have taken a
toll on fossil study. “Hundreds of paleoanthropological and stone age sites
are getting destroyed across the subcontinent,” says Chauhan.
• Bhattacharya says India still follows the archaic 18th century mode of
palaeontology. The country does not even have a national palaeontology
institute. Guidance, experience and trained expertise are also lacking, says
Chauhan.
• Palaeoanthropology is rarely practised in India in its pure form through
multi-disciplinary approaches as in other regions such as Africa. Barring
some exceptions, most studies in India have been non-systematic and not
comprehensive, he says.
Narmada man

1.3 ETHNO-ARCHAEOLOGY IN INDIA: THE CONCEPT OF ETHNO-

ARCHAEOLOGY; SURVIVALS AND PARALLELS AMONG THE
HUNTING, FORAGING, FISHING, PASTORAL AND PEASANT
COMMUNITIES INCLUDING ARTS AND CRAFTS PRODUCING
COMMUNITIES.

Ethno archaeology: It is the ethnographic study of the peoples for archaeological

reasons. Ethno archaeology aids archaeologists in reconstructing ancient life ways
by studying the material and nonmaterial traditions of modern societies. Ethno
archaeology also aids in the understanding of the way an object was made and
what it is being used for.
Ethnographic insights are very useful in explaining archaeological data. This idea
gave rise to a new branch of archaeology called Ethno archaeology. In 1970s the
term gained momentum. This field blends archaeology and ethnographic insights.
The major difficulty in Ethno archaeology is to integrate the contemporary data
and the archaeological data of the past societies. Ethno archaeologists tried to
resolve it by developing two concepts, survivals and parallels.
• Carol Kramer conducted archaeologically oriented ethnographic research on
Hindu and Muslim traditional earthenware potters located in two urban
centers in the state of Rajasthan, Northwest India.
• Ceramics similar to the contemporary products have been made in the region
since the emergence of Harappan culture in the third millennium BCE.
• Published in the book “Pottery in Rajasthan: Ethnoarchaeology in two
Indian cities”
Brian Hayden’s work on the manufacture of Mesoamerican quern stones,
providing valuable insights into the manufacture of prehistoric quern stones. Many
other studies have focused on the manufacture and use of ceramics, architecture,
food, fiber and other types of material culture. In the best cases these studies have
involves long term ethnographic field work.
Survivals, in anthropology, cultural phenomena that outlive the set of conditions
under which they developed. The term was first employed by the British
anthropologist Edward Burnett Tylor in his Primitive Culture (1871). Tylor
believed that seemingly irrational customs and beliefs, such as peasant
superstitions, were vestiges of earlier rational practices. He distinguished between
continuing customs that maintained their function or meaning as parallels
and those that had lost their utility and were poorly integrated with the rest of
culture as survivals. Tylor later expanded the notion of survivals to include
material culture.
There is thin line of difference between survivals and parallels because the
principle of continuity and principle of similarity are inter changeable depending
on the strength of evidence. The following examples attempt to explain the
difference between the two concepts of survivals and parallels. Some of the
hunting and gathering, foraging communities reflects the idea of survivals.
Example 1:
Juang tribe of Keonjhar district of Odisha: Their economy revolves around
hunting and gathering and shifting cultivation. For hunting , they go in bands of
kin members. The kin members generally constitute primary and secondary
cousins majorly youth. The animals which they hunt are divided among the team
members on the basis of their relative contribution. Individuals can belong to
different categories on basis of their knowledge of hunting. There is a Youth
Dormitory or a separate hut for boys locally known as “Majang” at the entrance of
the village. At the center of Majang , a huge wooden log is kept burning. This is
regarded as sacred fire. On important ritual occasions the members form every
household would take fire from the wooden log. On the occasions of marriage,
ancestor worship etc, taking fire from this wooden log is a ritual practice. Juangs
believed that this fire is the important possession of the community. Their folk
tales, folk songs and myths revolve around this fire. Archaeologists conclude that
this practice of maintaining fire at Majang is an example of cultural survival that
continued from the initial days of the discover of fire.
Example 2:
Among of tribes of Andaman: In the tribal communities in Andaman Islands like
Sentinelese of Sentinel Island and the neighboring communities like
Shompen and Onges, there is a practice of decorating the body. Different forms of
body art are made by using very fine variety of stones which are Microliths. The
stone age moniker, so regularly applied to the islanders , refers to the fact that the
Sentinelese have lived in isolation for 60,000 years. Thus there is a direct link
between them and their pre Neolithic ancestors . Thus the body art using microliths
can be a parallel but the chance of this practice being a survival that continued
from pre Neolithic people cannot be ruled out.
Example 3:
Some of the fishing communities from Andhra Pradesh and Odisha like Nolia
community studied by Surya Narayana. The Nolia are fishermen they carry out
deep sea fishing. They worshipped the Bay of Bengal as mother. The popular term
they used to refer to the sea is Ganga Matha. Their huts are built in circular manner
with burnt bricks, Thatched roof and they used to burn the floor to make it tough.
They use wooden boats or canoes. Interestingly no iron is used to make the boat.
They believe it to be inauspicious if the boat or Teppa have at least some iron nails
in it. It may not give them a good catch of fish or may cause misfortune like
drowning. They use a fishing net made by the women in their community but the
day before fishing women are not supposed touch the net or teppa (ritual
prohibition). Archaeologists conclude that Nolia lifestyle carries many parallels
with that of pre-Iron age culture. The circular huts with burnt floor also resemble
continuity of some of the pre-historic practices.
Example 4:
In excavated groups of habitational centers, many artifacts like Grinding mills and
Bow and Arrow were found . Scientists have ananlysed how different kinds of
Grinding mills and different varieties of bow and arrow were distributed in
different Habitational sites. The Grinding mills exhibited greater diversity and bow
and arrow exhibited relative uniformity. This indicated that the women came from
different regions, but the men always stayed at the villages. This observation
indicates patrilocal residence. As the cultural survivals and parallels of
contemporary indigenous societies indicate the culture, lifestyle and values of the
past societies, the archaeological excavations also indicate the culture of the past
societies.
The Archaeological survey of India and Indira Gandhi rashtriya manav
sangrahalaya (Bhopal) formerly known as Museum of man under took ethno
archaeological studies in and around the famous site of Bhimbetka. The dwellers
of Bhimbetka are known for their creativity. Their cave paintings depict symbolic
motifs, collective activities and many beautiful pieces of arts and crafts. This
initiative was taken by K.K Basa, former director (IGRMS) and continued by his
successor K.K.Mishra. this work collected art pieces, artifacts, crafts from the local
tribal communities and they also collected the information about the associated
rituals and taboos connected with craft making so as to understand the larger
context of producing art. Many parallels are been discovered between the aesthetic
practices of the local tribal’s and Bhimbetka cave paintings.

2. DEMOGRAPHIC PROFILE OF INDIA - INDIAN

POPULATION - FACTORS INFLUENCING ITS
STRUCTURE AND GROWTH.

DEMOGRAPHIC PROFILE OF INDIA

Population 1,281,935,911 (July 2017 est.)

Age structure 0-14 years: 27.34% (male 186,087,665/female

164,398,204)
15-24 years: 17.9% (male 121,879,786/female
107,583,437)
25-54 years: 41.08% (male 271,744,709/female
254,834,569)
55-64 years: 7.45% (male 47,846,122/female
47,632,532)
65 years and over: 6.24% (male 37,837,801/female
42,091,086) (2017 est.)

Median age total: 27.9 years

male: 27.2 years
female: 28.6 years (2017 est.)

Population growth rate 1.17% (2017 est.)

Birth rate 19 births/1,000 population (2017 est.)

Death rate 7.3 deaths/1,000 population (2017 est.)

Net migration rate 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2017 est.)

Urbanization urban population: 33.5% of total population (2017)
rate of urbanization: 2.28% annual rate of change
(2015-20 est.)

Major cities - NEW DELHI (capital) 25.703 million; Mumbai

population 21.043 million; Kolkata 11.766 million; Bangalore
10.087 million; Chennai 9.62 million; Hyderabad
8.944 million (2015)

Sex ratio at birth: 1.12 male(s)/female

0-14 years: 1.13 male(s)/female
15-24 years: 1.13 male(s)/female
25-54 years: 1.06 male(s)/female
55-64 years: 1.01 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.9 male(s)/female
total population: 1.08 male(s)/female (2016 est.)

Infant mortality rate total: 39.1 deaths/1,000 live births

male: 38 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 40.4 deaths/1,000 live births (2017 est.)

Life expectancy total population: 68.8 years

male: 67.6 years
female: 70.1 years (2017 est.)

Total fertility rate 2.43 children born/woman (2017 est.)

Contraceptive 53.5% (2015/16)

prevalence rate

Drinking water source improved:

urban: 97.1% of population
rural: 92.6% of population
total: 94.1% of population
unimproved:
urban: 2.9% of population
rural: 7.4% of population
total: 5.9% of population (2015 est.)

Sanitation facility improved:

access urban: 62.6% of population
 rural: 28.5% of population
total: 39.6% of population
unimproved:
urban: 37.4% of population
rural: 71.5% of population
total: 60.4% of population (2015 est.)

Major infectious food or waterborne diseases: bacterial diarrhea,

diseases hepatitis A and E, and typhoid fever
vectorborne diseases: dengue fever, Japanese
encephalitis, malaria & Covid19
water contact disease: leptospirosis
animal contact disease: rabies (2016)

Nationality Indian(s)

Ethnic groups Indo-Aryan 72%, Dravidian 25%, Mongoloid and

other 3% (2000)

Religions Hindu 79.8%, Muslim 14.2%, Christian 2.3%, Sikh

1.7%, other and unspecified 2% (2011 est.)

Languages Hindi 41%, Bengali 8.1%, Telugu 7.2%, Marathi 7%,

Tamil 5.9%, Urdu 5%, Gujarati 4.5%, Kannada 3.7%,
Malayalam 3.2%, Oriya 3.2%, Punjabi 2.8%,
Assamese 1.3%, Maithili 1.2%, other 5.9

Literacy definition: age 15 and over can read and write

total population: 71.2%
male: 81.3%
female: 60.6% (2015 est.)

Maternal mortality rate 174 deaths/100,000 live births (2015 est.)

Children under the age 35.7% (2015)

of 5 years underweight
DEMOGRAPHIC TRANSITION IN INDIA

The Demographic Transition Theory seeks to explain how all the developed
countries have more or less gone through 5 similar stages of population growth.
Stage 1- Before economic modernization, all countries had a stable population
which was characterized by a high birth rate as well as a high death rate. These
countries had stable or a low growing population. Ex- Somalia.
Stage 2- With economic development came higher income & improved health
care. This led to a declining death rate which resulted in an increase in life
expectancy. However, the decline in death rate wasn’t accompanied by a decline in
birth rate. Ex- Pakistan, Afghanistan.

Stage 3- The death rate continues to fall but this time, it is accompanied by a
decline in birth rate. India seems to be in this stage. There are several reasons
behind it:-

1. Increase in cost of living.

2. Social trends.
3. Affordable health care.
4. Low Infant Mortality Rate.
5. More women in the work force.

Other examples- Indonesia, Philippines, Mexico.

Stage 4- The birth rate and death rate continue to fall. There is minimal
fluctuation. Ex- China, United States of America, Germany.
Stage 5- The death rate exceeds birth rate and the population starts declining. Ex-
Japan.

INDIAN POPULATION - FACTORS INFLUENCING ITS STRUCTURE

AND GROWTH
India’s population increased rapidly in the post-independence period. Since 1951,
it has been taking place after every decade.

Size and growth of India’s population till 2011 are indicated in the following
table:

Table : Growth of Population of India

Year Population (Crore) Increase in Population

(Crore)

1951 36.11 4.24

1961 43.92 7.81

1971 54.82 10.90

1981 68.33 13.51

1991 84.63 16.30

2001 102.90 18.27

2011 121.00 18.10

Period of population Explosion (1951-1981):

In this period population increased at a very high rate. This period is called period
of population explosion.

1951-1961: In this period growth rate was recorded to be 21.6 per cent.

1961-1971: This period witnessed an increase in population by 10 crore 90 lakh.

Growth rate was 24.8 per cent.

1971-1981: During this period population in India rose to 68 crore 33 lakh. Thus,
13 crore 51 lakh persons were added to the total size of India’s population.

Period of High Growth but with signs of slowing down:

In this period, birth rate has started slowing down. But because of fall in death rate,
population growth rate has not shown much decline.

i. 1981 to 1991: In this period, population went upto’84 crore 63 lakh making
addition of 16 crore in 10 years.
ii. 1991 to 2001: In 2001, the population went up to 102.90 crore. Thus, between
the period 1991-2001, the population of India increased by about 18.07 crore.
iii. 2001-2011: In this period India’s population has crossed 1.21 billion (as per
Census of 2011).
India is only the second country in the world after China to cross the one billion
mark. (India is the 2nd most populated country in the world).
The main cause of this excessive rise in population in sixty years was the slow
decline in birth-rate and substantial decline in death rate because of expansion of
medical facilities’.

REASONS FOR INCREASE IN POPULATION:

(1) BIRTHRATE RELATED REASONS:

(a) Poverty:
As explained by many demographic theories, poor people tend to have more
fertility and poverty in India is one reason for higher birth rate.

(b)Cultural beliefs:
A lot of families prefer having a son rather than a daughter. As a result, a lot of
families have more children than they actually want or can afford, resulting in
increased poverty, lack of resources, and most importantly, an increased
population.
Another one of India’s’ cultural norms is for a girl to get married at an early-age.
In most of the rural areas and in some urban areas as well, families prefer to get
their girls married at the age of 14 or 15.
Due to the young age of these girls they start bearing children at a very early-age,
they can have more children throughout their lifetime. Since these girls get married
at a very early-age, they do not have the opportunity to get educated, Therefore,
they remain uneducated and teach the same norms to their own children, and the
tradition goes on from one generation to the other.

(2) DEATH RATE RELATED REASONS:

Improvements in medical facilities have been tremendous. This development is
good for the economy and society of India, but strictly in terms of population, this
advancement has further enhanced the increase in population.
The average life expectancy of people in India has increased from 52.9 in 1975-30
to 62.4 in 1995-00. Although our near and dear ones would live longer, due to the
increase in the population; the resources available per person would be much less,
leading to a decrease in the curvature of the slope of development instead of a
higher gradient. In addition, abortion is not allowed by several religions that are
followed in India. In Islam, one of the leading religions of India, children are
considered to be gifts of God, and so the more children a woman has, the more she
is respected in her family and society.

(3) MIGRATION RELATED REASONS:

In countries like the United States (US), immigration plays an important role in the
population increase. However, in countries like India, immigration plays a very
small role in the population change. Although people from neighbouring countries
like Bangladesh, Pakistan and Nepal migrate to India; at the same time Indians
migrate to other countries like the US, Australia, and the UK. This makes the net
migration negligible. This is definitely good for India. This way, the population
might eventually come close to being under control and more people may get
better job opportunities and further education.
SEX RATIO IN INDIA:

• Sex ratio is used to describe the number of females per 1000 of males.
• The sex ratio in India 2011 is 940 females per 1000 of males.
• The Sex Ratio 2011 shows an upward trend from the census 2001 data.
• Census 2001 revealed that there were 933 females to that of 1000 males.
• Since decades India has seen a decrease in the sex ratio, but since the last two of
the decades there has been in slight increase in the sex ratio.
• The major cause of the decrease of the female birth ratio in India is considered
to be the female foeticide and infanticide.
• The Sex Ratio in India was almost normal during the phase of the years of
independence, but thereafter it started showing gradual signs of decrease.
• There are some states where the sex ratio is low and is a cause of concern for
the NGO organizations.
• There are also states such as Puducherry and Kerala where the number of
women is more than the number of men. Kerala houses a number of 1084
females to that of 1000 males.
• Chandigarh, Delhi, Haryana are the states (UT) with very low sex ratio.
• While Puducherry and Kerala are the only two states where the number of
females is more than the number of men.
• There are also states in India like that of Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and
Maharashtra where the sex ratio 2011 is showing considerable signs of
improvement.

2011 Census 2001 Census

State Sex Ratio Child Sexratio Sex Ratio Child Sexratio
#
- India 943 919 933 927

1 Kerala 1084 964 1058 960

2 Puducherry 1037 967 1001 967

 2011 Census 2001 Census
State Sex Ratio Child Sexratio Sex Ratio Child Sexratio
#
3 Tamil Nadu 996 943 987 942

4 Andhra Pradesh 993 939 978 961

5 Chhattisgarh 991 969 989 975

6 Meghalaya 989 970 972 973

7 Manipur 985 930 974 957

8 Haryana 877 834 861 819

9 Delhi 868 871 821 868

10 Chandigarh 818 880 777 845

NATIONAL POPULATION POLICY

The national population policy 2000 envisages population stabilization in India.
Objectives of national population policy:

➢ The short term objective of the policy is to fill the gaps in availability,
awareness and preparedness for contraception.
➢ The medium-term objective of the policy is to bring the Total fertility
rate(TFR) to replacement levels by 2010.
➢ The long-term objective is to achieve a stable population by 2045 at a level
consistent with the requirements of sustainable economic growth, social
development and environmental protection.
(Note: Total Fertility Rate (TFR) / Replacement level fertility: The
average no. of children born to a woman, the rate at which a population
exactly replaces itself from one generation to the next, without migration. It
is roughly 2.1 in most of the countries. In India, TFR decreased from 3.6 in
1991 to 2.3 in 2013, India is yet to achieve replacement level of 2.1)
The steps taken by the Government under various measures/programmes:
❖ Scheme for Home delivery of contraceptives by Accredited social health
activists (ASHAs) at doorstep of beneficiaries
❖ Compensation for sterilisation acceptors has been enhanced for 11 High Focus
States with high TFR.
❖ Scheme for provision of pregnancy testing kits at the sub-centres as well as in
the drug kit of the ASHAs for early detection and decision making for the
outcome of pregnancy.
❖ Celebration of World Population Day 11th July & a fortnight of mobilization
followed by a fortnight of family planning service delivery starting from
27th June each year.
➢ Mission parivar vikas: To increase access to contraceptives and family
planning services in the high fertility districts.
➢ Prerna Strategy:- "Jansankhya Sthirata Kosh", JSK (National Population
Stabilisation Fund) has launched this strategy for helping to push up the age of
marriage of girls and delay in first child and spacing in second child the birth
of children.
➢ Santushti Strategy:- Under this strategy, Jansankhya Sthirata Kosh, invites
private sector gynaecologists and vasectomy surgeons to conduct sterilization
operations in Public Private Partnership mode..
➢ National Helpline: - JSK also running a call center for providing free advice
on reproductive health, family planning, maternal health and child health etc.

Success achieved:

• The Total Fertility Rate (TFR) has declined from 2.9 in 2005 to 2.2 in 2017.
(Sample registration system (SRS) that provides annual estimates of population
composition, fertility, mortality etc)
• 25 out of 37 States/UTs have already achieved replacement level fertility of 2.1
or less.
• The Decadal growth rate has declined from 21.54% in 1999-2000 to 17.64%
during 2001-11.
• The Crude Birth Rate (CBR) has declined from 23.8 to 20.2 from 2005 to 2017
(SRS).
• The Teenage birth rate has halved from 16 % to 8 %.
Recent developments:
The Population Control Bill, 2019 (or, Population Regulation Bill, 2019) is a
proposed bill introduced in the Rajya Sabha in July 2019. The purpose of the bill is
to control the population growth of India.
Inspired by this bill, On 7 February 2020, the Constitution (Amendment) Bill, 2020
was introduced in the Rajya Sabha by Anil Desai, a Shiv Sena MP. Desai proposed
to amend the Article 47A ( Add 47A to 47) of the Constitution of India, Which
reads
The State shall promote small family norms by offering incentives in taxes,
employment, education etc. to its people who keep their family limited to two
children and shall withdraw every concession from and deprive such incentives to
those not adhering to small family norm, to keep the growing population under
control.
The 2020 bill proposes to introduce a two-child policy per couple and aims to
incentivize its adoption through various measures such as educational benefits,
taxation cuts, home loans, free healthcare, and better employment opportunities.
The 2019 bill talks about introducing penalties for couples not adhering to the two-
child policy such as debarment from contesting in elections and ineligibility for
government jobs.

2. ETHNIC AND LINGUISTIC ELEMENTS IN THE

INDIAN POPULATION AND THEIR DISTRIBUTION.

CLASSIFICATION BY SIR HERBERT HOPE RISLEY (1915):

Sir Herbert Hope Risley tried to classify the Indian population on the basis of
anthropometric measurements and published the results in 1915 under the title
‘The People of India’. He identified three principal racial types in India viz. The
Dravidian, the Indo-Aryan and the Mongoloid. These three types were again got
mixed in varying degrees in different provinces (States).
On the whole, Risley distinguished seven different ‘physical types’ in the
Indian population in the following way:

1. The Dravidian type:

• Short stature, dark complexion,
 • Dark, curly or wavy hair, Dark eyes, long head, broad nose
• Distributed in southern part of India, which especially includes the Western
Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh (Hyderabad), Central India and
Chotonagpur.
• Eg: Paniyans of Malabar (South India) and the Santhals of the Chotanagpur.

Risley believed these people as original inhabitants of India who are found to be
modified at present by the infiltration of the Aryans, the Scythians and the
Mongoloids.

2. The Indo-Aryan type:

• Tall stature, fair complexion, dark eyes,
• Longhead (dolichocephalic),
• Narrow and long (leptorrhine) nose.
• The type is confined to Punjab, Rajasthan and Kashmir
• Eg: Kashmiri Brahmins, Rajputs, Jats and the Khatris.

3. The Mongoloid type:

• Broad-head, dark complexion with yellowish tinge, broad head, short
stature, Flat face.
• Eyes are oblique with epicanthic fold.
• Found along the Himalayan region, especially in the regions namely North
East Frontier, Nepal and Burma.
• Eg: Kanets of Lahaul and Kullu Valleys, Lepchas of Darjeeling and Sikkim,
the Limbus, the Murmis and the Gurungs of Nepal and the Bodo of Assam.

4. The Aryo-Dravidian type:

• This type is known as the Hindustani type.
• Long to medium head, Light brown to dark complexion, medium to broad
nose. Shorter than Indo Aryans.
• The type is considered as an intermixture of the Aryans and the Dravidians
in varying proportions.
 • The people of this type are found in Uttar Pradesh, in some parts of
Rajasthan and in Bihar.

5. The Mongolo-Dravidian type:

• This type is known as the Bengali type.
• Broad and round head, medium nose,
• Medium dark complexion, short to medium stature.
• Such people are found in Bengal and Orissa.
• Eg: Bengali Brahmins and Bengali Kayasthas. According to Risley this
type is not only an admixture of the Mongolians and the Dravidians,
some blood strains of Indo-Aryan type are also mixed with it.

6. The Scytho-Dravidian type:

• Medium to broad head, Short to medium stature
• Fair complexion, medium nose
• It is held that the type has been evolved by the intermixture of two distinct
racial strains—the Scythians and the Dravidians. (Scythia was a region of
Central Eurasia).
• Typical example of this type is found in Western India comprising the
Maratha Brahmins, the Kunbis and the Coorgs, who are distributed in
the tracts of Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra-Gujrat border region upto
the Coorg.
• The Scythian element is more prominent in higher social groups of these
regions while the Dravidian features predominate among the lower
social groups in the region.

7. The Turko-Iranian type:

• Broad head, Fairly tall, dark to grey eyes, fair complexion,
• Fine to medium nose, which is long and prominent.
• The type includes the inhabitants of Afghanistan, Baluchistan and
Northwest Frontier Provinces (now in Pakistan) who are represented by
the Balochis, Brahai, Afghans and some other people of NWFP.
• In the view of Risley, this type has been formed probably by the fusion of
Turki and Persian elements in which the former’s features predominate.
Criticism:
• The Indo-Aryans are distributed only in Punjab, Rajputana and the Kashmir
Valley according to Risley. But the speakers of Aryan languages actually
occupy a vast area in Indian subcontinent.
• Risley had given much importance in Scythian elements though the Scythian
invaders stayed so short that they hardly get any opportunity to spread.
• He used the names of language families for ethnic elements.
• Risley also had mentioned a vast area of South India as the land of the
Dravidians, but in reality many of these people do not speak Dravidian
language and some of them exhibit such physical features which are quite
different from the proper Dravidian characters.
• Risley did not mention anything about the Negrito element in India.

CONTRIBUTIONS OF H.H.RISLEY TO ARYAN DEBATE: (10M,2014)

• As an exponent of race science, he used the ratio of the width of a nose to its
height to divide Indians into 7 racial groups.
• Risley used the ancient Rig Veda text, which he interpreted as speaking of
Aryan invaders coming into India from the northwest and meeting with
existing peoples.
• He saw a linkage between the nasal index and the definition of a community
as either a tribe or a Hindu caste and believed that the caste system had its
basis in race rather than in occupation, saying caste as “community of
race”, and not, as has frequently been argued, “community of function”, is
the real determining principle, the true causa causans, of the caste system.
• He found a direct relation between the proportion of Aryan blood and
the nasal index, along a gradient from the highest castes to the lowest.
This assimilation of caste to race proved very influential.
• He noted that ‘Caste has a racial basis and the social position of a caste
stands in inverse ration with the average nasal index of their members”.
• This means that longer noses go with higher castes and broader noses go
with lower castes.
 • According to Risley, Indo-Aryans were dolicocephalic-leptorrhine and he
found that traditional indo-aryans to exist in North India.
Criticism:
B.N.Dutta enumerated the nasal index values according to their increasing
order. According to Hindu social order, the serial order of these castes ought to
be: Rajputs, Khatri (Higher caste in Punjab like Brahmins and Rajputs), Jats
(OBC in some states/ considered as degraded kshatriyas), Chura (Bhangi /
Balmiki / SC), Mina (ST). If Risley’s hypothesis is true we would find Rajputs
as having the lowest nasal index and Mina to be highest in the list. But it is not
so.

CLASSIFICATION BY B.S. GUHA (1937):

Dr. B. S. Guha’s racial classification is based on anthropometric measurements,
which were collected during his investigations from 1930 to 1933. Guha traced
six major racial strains and nine sub-types among the modem Indian
population.

1. The Negrito
2. The Proto-Australoid
3. The Mongoloid
a) Palaeo-Mongoloid
i) Long-headed
ii) Broad-headed
b) Tibeto-Mongoloid
4. The Mediterranean
a) Palae-Mediterranean
b) Mediterranean
c) Oriental
5. The Western Brachycephals
a) Alpinoid
b) Armenoid
c) Dinaric
6. The Nordics

1. The Negrito:
• These people are considered as the first comers and the true autochthones
of India.
• Short stature, dark complexion, and frizzly hair with spirals, brachycephalic
head.
• Flat and broad nose, thick everted lips.
• Eg: Kadars, Irulas, Paniyans, etc. of South India, tribes living in the Rajmahal
Hills & tribes in Andaman islands Great Andamanese, Jarawa, Onge,
Sentinelese.

2. The Proto-Australoid:
• This group is considered as the second oldest racial group in India.
• Short stature, dark complexion, dolichocephalic head
• Broad and flat nose (platyrrhine nose).
• The hair is wavy or curly.
• Supraorbital ridges are prominent.
• These features are found among almost all the tribes of the Central and
Southern India. The best examples are the Oraons, the Santhals, and the
Mundas of Chottanagpur region; the Chenchus, the Kurumbas, the Yeruvas
and the Badagas of Southern India; and the Bhils, Kols of Central and
Western India.

3. The Mongoloid:
• This group can be divided into two sub-groups, such as Palaeo-Mongoloid
and the Tibeto-Mongoloid. The former one is further sub-divided as
long headed and broad-headed.
• The Longheaded palaeo-mongoloid: Long head, medium stature, and
medium nose. Their cheekbones are prominent and skin colour varies from
dark to light brown. The face is short and flat. They are the inhabitants of the
sub-Himalayan region; the concentration is most remarkable in Assam and
Burma Frontier. The SemaNagas of Assam and the Limbus of Nepal are
the best examples.
• The broad- headed palaeo-Mongoloid: Broad head with round face, dark
skin colour and medium nose. The eyes are obliquely set and epicanthic fold
is more prominent than that of the long-headed type. This type has been
 identified among the hill tribes of Chittagung, e.g. the chakmas, the
Maghs, etc.
• Tibeto-Mongoloids: Broad and massive head, tall stature, long and flat face,
and medium to long nose. The eyes are oblique with marked epicanthic fold.
Hair on body and face is almost absent. The skin colour is light brown. The
best examples are the Tibetans of Bhutan and Sikkim.

4. The Mediterranean:
This group is divided into three distinct racial types, which are as follows:

a) Palaeo-Mediterranean:
• Long head with bulbous forehead, medium stature, small and broad nose,
narrow face and pointed chin, dark skin.
• These people probably introduced megalithic culture to India. The
Dravidian speaking people of South India exhibit the main
concentration of this type. The Tamil Brahmins of Madurai, Nairs of
Cochin, and Telugu Brahmins are the examples.

b) The Mediterranean:
• Long head with arched forehead, Narrow nose, medium to tall stature and
light skin colour.
• Their chin is well developed, hair colour is dark, eye colour is brownish to
dark.
• These people live in the regions like Uttar Pradesh, Bombay, Bengal,
Malabar, etc.
• The true types are the Numbudiri Brahmins of Cochin, Brahmins of
Allahabad and Bengali Brahmins.
• It may be assumed that probably this type was responsible for the
building up of Indus Valley civilization.

c) The Oriental:
These people resemble the Mediterranean in almost all physical features except the
nose, which is long and convex in this case. The best examples are the Punjabi
Chattris (Rajputs and doubtful or no Aryans), the Bania ( money lenders) ,
and the Pathans.

5. The Western Brachycephals

This racial group is divided into three types

a) The Alpenoid:
• Broad head with rounded occiput, medium stature, prominent nose and
rounded face, fair skin complexion,
• This type is found among the Bania of Gujarat, the Kathi of Kathiawar and
the Kayasthas of Bengal,

b) The dinaric:
• Broad head, rounded occiput and high vault.
• The nose is very long and often convex, long face, very tall stature, dark
skins, dark hair and eyes,
• The representative populations are found in Bengal, Orissa and Coorg. The
Brahmins of Bengal and Mysore are the best examples.
• The presence of this type has been noted in the Indus Valley site and
Hyderabad.
c) The Armenoid:
• This type shows a resemblance with the Dinarics in physical characters.
• Only difference is that, among the Dinarics the shape of occiput is much
developed and the nose is very prominent.
• The Parsis of Bombay exhibit typical Armenoid characteristics.
• The Bengali Vaidyas and Kayasthas sometimes show the features of this
type.

6. The Nordics:
• The people are characterized by long head, protruding occiput and arched
forehead.
• The nose is straight and high bridged.
• All are tall statured with strong jaw and robust body built.
• The eye colour is blue or grey.
 • The body colour is fair which is reddish white. This element is scattered in
different parts of Northern India, especially in the Punjab and
Rajputana ( Place of Rajputs, present day Rajastan).
• The Kho of chitral ( Kho tribe live in chitral district of Pakistan and in
Jammu and Kashmir).
• The Nordics came from the north, probably from Southeast Russia and
Southwest Siberia, thereafter penetrated into India through Central Asia.

Criticism of Guha’s Classification:

• Guha’s classification also meets criticism at some points. Firstly, Guha’s
findings regarding the Negrito element have been opposed by almost all-
leading anthropologists.
• Secondly, Guha tried to prove that all racial elements in India are of
foreign origin. Keith strongly opposed this view. Because, Keith believed
in a racial evolution that has taken place in India and so he took India an
evolutionary field of different races.
• Further, Guha had shown the people of India as Mongoloid and
Brachycephalic. He proposed a sweeping distribution of Brachycephals. Dr.
Sarkar has strongly opposed the proposition of Guha. In his opinion the
brachycephalic population of India does not show a sweeping distribution as
has been described by Guha.

THE PYGMOID-NEGRITO PROBLEM IN INDIA:

One of the most complicated problems in Indian ethonology is the controversy
about the presence of pygmoid (Oceanic and Asiatic pigmies) / negrito elements
within the Indian population.
Characters:
• Dark complexion, frizzly hair with spirals.
• Flat and broad nose, thick everted lips, brachycephalic head.
• Very short stature, the term pygmoid is used when the stature in the males is
around 1500mm.
• Little or no brow ridges and short broad face.

Distribution: The pygmy population is found only in Congo, but the pygmoids
are found in many parts of the world like Malay peninsula, Melanesia,
Polynesia, Australia, New Guinea, India etc. Problem arises when different
tribes show only one or two characters of pygmoids.
In India, Onges of Andaman island are definite pygmoid. The important
tribes like Kadars of Coimbatore, Paniyan of Wyanadu, Kurumbas and
Irulas of Nilgiri Hills are closely related to Pygmoids.
It is possible that they had a wide distribution in prehistoric time in India and
extended towards North and East, probably occupying whole of the Asian land
mass.
As we trace the history of Negrito racial strain in India, we find that it was DE
QUATREFAGES who used the word “Negrito” in the context of Indian
population for the first time in the year 1977. He assumed the Negrito as an
indigenous element in India.
J.H.Hutton has also given attention to the Negrito problem of India. He has
referred to the presence of woolly and frizzy hair among the Angami Nagas of
Manipur and Cacher hills. Hutton has given a number of evidence in support
of the Melanesian physical and cultural traits in the population of India. He has
suggested that the Negrito people may be responsible for the introduction of
cults like the disposal of the dead by exposure and the separation of the skull,
head hunting, etc in India. But the different authorities on Indian ethnography
do not accept such hypothesis. According to Sarkar, the distribution of these
types of cultural traits in India is limited.
Majumdar is also of the opinion that the exposure of the dead, cult need not
necessarily be Melanesian in origin.
B.S. Guha has traced the Negrito element among the Kadars based on the
presence of woolly or frizzly hair, but Sarkar opposed this stating that a single
trait is not sufficient to categorize them as Negrito.

GENETIC STUDY OF THE NEGRITO ELEMENTS:

The abnormal hemoglobin HBs (hemoglobin polymorphism due to sickle cell
trait) is widespread in black African population and in many parts of India. The
gene may have arisen in Saudi Arabia and spread into Africa and India
subsequently. However, HBs appears to be relatively infrequent among the
Kadars.
A specific black Africans allele, such as the P-2 allele in the acid phosphatase
system, is not present in the Kadars not in any other Indian population so far
tested. Its absence does not rule out possible African admixture in the Kadars,
but its presence would have made the argument for such admixture more
convincing.
The incidence of B blood group is high among Negritos but low among the
Indian tribes claimed to be Negrito.
ARYAN MIGRATION GENETICS

• mtDNA (transmitted only from mother to daughter) suggested that there was
little external infusion into the Indian gene pool over the last 12,500 years or
so. New Y-DNA data has disproved it
• Peter Underhill, published a massive study mapping the distribution of
R1a, a haplogroup on Y chromosome , which is today spread across Central
Asia, Europe and South Asia.
• Pontic-Caspian Steppe is seen as its region of origin. He found that R1a
had two sub-haplogroups, one found primarily in Europe (Z 282) and the
other confined to Central and South Asia (Z93).
• The two groups diverged from each other only about 5,800 years ago.
• Dr. Underhill’s research showed that within the Z93 that is predominant in
India, there is a further splintering into multiple “star-like branching”
indicative of rapid growth and dispersal.
• The study of David Poznik & Dr. Underhill found that “the most striking
expansions within Z93 occurring approximately 4,000 to 4,500 years ago”.
This is when roughly 4,000 years ago is when the Indus Valley civilization
began falling apart.

7/9/19 news: ( Published in the journal “Cell”)

• 4600 years old female genome derived from a Harappan site in

Rakhigarhi
( and also DNA from 61 skeletal samples from Rakhigarhi cemetery) had
little if any Steppe pastoralists derived ancestry.
• According to Tony Joseph, author of “Early Indians : The story of our
ancestors and where we came from” said that , “It means West Asians
migrants (From Iran) , mixed with the First Indians formed the population
that spread agriculture in north west India and built the Harappan
 civilisation. And Steppe pastoralists who brought Indoaryan languages to
India were not present in the region then”.
• Author and Historian DN Jha stated that “ Any one questioning the
Aryan migration theory is clearly ignorant of historical processes”

14/9/19 News: ( Published in the journal “Science”):

• An International team of scientists analysed the genomes of 524 ancient

Indians and compared them with the people who live there today.
• Out of the 140 present day south Asian populations analysed in the study, a
handful has a remarkable similarity with the Steppe people, and all but one of
these steppe enriched populations are priestly groups / Brahmins.

Conclusion: Study published in the journal, “Cell” co authored by 28 scientists

including some co authors of the study published in “Science”, such as
Thangaraj, Reich, Narasimhan, and Rai with Shinde being the lead author
, the title of the study seemed straightforward , “ An ancient Harappan
genome lacks ancestry from steppe pastoralists or Iranian farmers” . This
made some journalists jump to the conclusions that it meant there was no Aryan
migration either.
Note : Aryan migration from Steppe was claimed to happen around 2000 BCE.
And the skeleton in Rakhigarhi is from 2600 BC
LINGUISTIC ELEMENTS IN INDIA
The languages spoken in india belong to four distinct types as under:
Austro-Asiatic family (Nishada)
Tibeto-Chinese / Sino Tibetan family (Kirata)
Dravidian family (Dravida)
Indo-European family (Indo Aryan)

I. THE AUSTRO-ASIATIC LANGUAGE FAMILY (NISHADA)

1. MON-KHEMER BRANCH: This includes the two groups-

a. Khasi group of languages of Assam, and

b. Nicobarese of the Nicobar Islands.

2. MUNDA BRANCH (Munda Group)

Speakers belonging to the Central and Eastern regions of India. In Hills and
jungles of Bihar, Chota Nagpur, Orissa and Central India. Larger in number is
Santhali speakers.

Munda branch consists of languages, Kherwari, Santhali, Mundari, Bhumij, Birhor,

Koda / Kora, Ho etc.

II. THE TIBETO-CHINESE / SINO TIBETAN LANGUAGE FAMILY

(KIRATA)

1. SIAMESE CHINESE SUB-FAMILY (Tai group of language represented by

One language i.e. Khamti)

2. TIBETO-BURMESE SUBFAMILY

a. TIBETO-HIMLAYAN BRANCH

(i) Bhotia Group (Tibetan Group): Languages include, Tibetan, Balti,

Ladakhi, Lahauli, Spiti, Jad, Sherpa, Sikkim, Bhotia, Bhutani, Kagate.

(ii) Himalayan Group: Languages include Lahauli of Chamba, Kanashi,

 Kanauri, Jangali, Dhimal, Limbu, Khambu, Rai, Gurung, Tamang, Sunwar,
Mangari, Newari, Lepcha, Kami, Toto.

b. NORTH-ASSAM BRANCH: Languages: Aka, Dafla, Abor/Adi, Miri,

Mishmi.

c. ASSAM-BURMESE BRANCH: Languages include Bodo, Naga, Kachin,

Kuki-chin, Burma (Myanmar) groups.

DISTRIBUTION OF TIBETO-CHINESE LANGUAGE FAMILY IN INDIA:

The Tibeto- Himalayan branch is spoken in Ladakh and parts of Himachal Pradesh
and Sikkim. The Assam- Burmese Branch is concentrated in the states of North-
east India along the Indo-Burmese border. Among these, Naga dialects are spoken
in Nagaland; Lushai is concentrated in Mizo Hills, Garo in Garo Hills and Meithei
in Manipur.

III. THE DRAVIDIAN LANGUAGE FAMILY (DRAVIDA)

Dravidian culture: Dravidian is the name given to a linguistically related group of

people in India. They are said to be the first original settlers of ancient India.
Dravidian culture is very diverse, with some groups maintaining more traditional
customs such as totemism and matrilinealism, while others have developed the
lifestyles of a modern technological society.
Dravidian language has remained relatively intact despite a considerable amount of
contact and intermarriage with other people in the Indian subcontinent. Today with
more than one hundred seventy million speakers, the Dravidians make up the
fourth largest linguistic group in the world.
It is often presumed that Dravidians were the creators of the Indus River Valley
Civilization and that they were occupying all of the Indian subcontinent when the
Indo-Aryans invaded from Afghanistan (ca2000 BCE). The Dravidians were
probably subjected by the Indo-Aryans and are the dasas of Vedic scriptures. Other
Dravidians remained in a tribal state in central and southern India. Dravidians in
general were gradually Hinduized, but retained their languages. The Tamil
language is the first of the Dravidian languages to reflect the influence of
Hinduism

(i) South Dravidian Group: It consists of the speeches: Tamil, Malayalam

Kannada, Coorgi/Kodagu, Tulu, Toda, Kota, Telugu.
(ii) Central Dravidian Group: It includes Kui, Kolami, Gondi, Parji, Koya
Khond/Kondh, Konda.

(iii) North Dravidian Group: It includes 1. Kurukh / Oraon and 2. Malto.

DISTRIBUTION OF DRAVIDIAN LANGUAGE FAMILY: Languages of the

Dravidian family are concentrated in the plateau region and the adjoining coastal
plains. Telugu is spoken in Andhra, Tamil in Tamil Nadu, and Kannada in
Karnataka and Malayalam in Kerala. The Tribal groups include the Gonds of
Madhya Pradesh, Central India and the Oraons of Chota Nagpur Plateau.

IV. THE INDO-EUROPEAN LANGUAGE FAMILY (ARYAN):

1. Aryan Sub-Family
The Aryan sub-family is further divided into:

(a) Dardic (or Pisacha) Branch: It is represented by following groups of

languages:

(i) Kafir Group: Wai Ala.

(ii) Khowar Group: Khowar.
(iii) Dard Group: Dardi, Shina, Kashmiri, Kohistani.

(b) Indo-Aryan Branch: The Indo-Aryan Branch can be divided into two sub-
branches as follows:

(i) Outer Sub-Branch: This consists of the following

• North-Western Group: Lahnda or Western Punjabi Dialects and Sindhi.

• Southern Group: This group includes Marathi; Konkani.
• Eastern Group: This includes Oriya; Bihari with sub-groups- Bhojpuri,
Maghi/Magadhi, Maithili; Bengali; Assamese.

(ii) Mediate Sub-Branch/Inner Sub-Branch

• Mediate Group/Central Group: This includes—Hindi; Hindustani; Urdu;

Punjabi; Gujarati; Bhili; Khandeshi; Rajasthani.
• East - central: Avadhi, Chhattisgarhi
Old Middle-Indo-Aryan Languages: Ardhamagadhi; Pali; Prakrit; Sanskrit.

Hindi is the most spoken language in India (41.4%)

DISTRIBUTION OF INDO-EUROPEAN LANGUAGE FAMILY: Uttar

Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Rajasthan, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and the
Union Territory of Delhi. The Himalayan and the sub-Himalayan areas are
inhabited by the speakers of the various forms of Pahari speeches.

Disadvantages of linguistic diversity:

• Regionalism
• Secessionism
• Conflicts on linguistic basis. Creating oneness among the people belonging
to different languages is difficult.
• Giving more importance to linguistic identity than national identity is
harmful to national unity.

➢ More than 200 languages are spoken in India

➢ Half of them are spoken by less than 10,000 people
➢ 23 languages constitute 97% of total population
➢ 22 languages in 8th schedule

The Eighth Schedule to the Constitution of India lists the official languages of the
Republic of India. The Government of India is now under an obligation to take
measures for the development of these languages, such that "they grow rapidly in
richness and become effective means of communicating modern knowledge. In
addition, a candidate appearing in an examination conducted for public service is
entitled to use any of these languages as the medium in which he or she answers
the paper.
As per Articles 344(1) and 351 of the Indian Constitution, the eighth schedule
includes the recognition of the following 22 languages: Assamese, Bengali, Bodo,
Dogri, Gujarati, Hindi, Kannada, Kashmiri, Konkani, Maithili, Malayalam,
Manipuri, Marathi, Nepali, Odia, Punjabi, Sanskrit, Santali, Sindhi, Tamil, Telugu,
Urdu.
3.1 THE STRUCTURE AND NATURE OF TRADITIONAL INDIAN
SOCIAL SYSTEM - VARNASHRAM, PURUSHARTHA, KARMA, RINA
AND REBIRTH.

3.1. CHARACTERISTICS OF VARNA

Introduction:

• The Varna system was based on colour and therefore it was known as “Varna”
system. It was intended to distinguish the fair - skinned Aryans from the dark
skinned dasas.
• According to Prof. Rapson, Originally the indian society was divided into
two parts, the Aryans and non-aryans.
• Later, there came to be three varnas only i.e, Brahman, Kshatriya and
Vaisya. Finally, the non- Aryans were termed as Sudras and allotted
physical labour.
• A hymn ( Sloka) in Purusha Sukta of the Rig Veda reads;
“Brahmanasya mukham aseed
Baahoo raajanya krutha
ooru tadasys yad vaisya
Padabhyo sudro aajayatha”

• Bhagavadgita says:
“Chaturvarnam Mayasrishtya, Gunakarmavibhagasah”
• Triguna theory says varnas were allotted based on the guna or nature of the
people “sattva, rajas, and tamas”.
• Karma theory says a person will be born in a lower varna due to his papa
karma in the last life.
• The varna system was not rigid during the Vedic Period.
• In the Vedic times the Varna system was not hereditary.
• During the Sutra Period , the varna system turned hereditary and therefore rigid.

Characteristics:

• Universality: everywhere in India except the tribal belts, it is called

universal.
• Stratification: On the basis of varna, society is stratified as lower and
higher castes.
• Ekaja and Dvija divisions: Brahmins, Kshatriyas and Vaisyas are
permitted to undergo upanayana which is considered as second (Ritual) birth
and hence are called Dvijas (Twice born) and sudras who are not permitted
to undergo upanayana are called ekajas (Once born).
• Uniform Hierarchy: The order of superiority or purity is Brahmins,
Kshatriyas, Vaisyas, Sudras throughout India.
 • Limited choice of occupation: Each varna has a characteristic occupation
changing which is possible and such incidents were mentioned in puranas
but very rare and socially not much accepted.
• Hypergamy and Hypogamy: Inter varna marriages were mentioned in
puranas. A marriage in which boy belongs to higher varna is called
hypergamy and a marriage in which boy belongs to lower varna is called
hypogamy.

Hypergamy (anuloma): A man of higher varna marries women of lower varnas

as shown below.
Boy Girl
Brahmin Kshatriya, Vaisya and Sudra.
Kshatriya Vaisya and Sudra.
Vaisya Sudra

• There is ample evidence in Indian epics and other literature to show the
prevalence of hypergamous marrigaes.
• In 160 BC king Agnimitra of the shunga family (brahmin) wedded a
Kshatriya princess Malavika.
• Yagnyavalkya permits the Brahmin or Kshatriya to marry a Kshatriya or
Vaisya girl but he does not permit them to marry a Sudra girl.
• Manu and Yagnavalkya have written on the inheritance of sons born to
a Brahmin by a Sudra wife. From this it is evident that such marriages
did take place.

In hypogamy (partiloma), a man of lower varna marries women of superior

varnas as shown below
GIRL BOY
Brahmin Kshatriya, Vaisya and Sudra.
Kshatriya Vaisya and Sudra.
Vaisya Sudra

Though less frequent we still find such incidents. A Brahmin king named
Kakustha Varma gave his daughters in marriage to Gupta king.
Open class character:
The varna system is a flexible and changing open system. There are many
examples of change in varna, and inter-varnamarrages, during and even after the
vedic period.
• The Kshatriya Vishvamitra became a Brahmin on the basis of his
penance.
• Parashurama was Brahmin by birth but Kshatriya by action.
• The same thing happened to Indra.
• In the Mahabharata, there is a mention of Devapi, Sindhudip and
Vaitahavya becoming Brahmins
• Kshatriya king yayathi married the Brahmin girl devayani
• Brahmin Ravan with Kshatriya princess Mandodari.
• Sage Jamadagni married kshatriya princess Renuka.
• Dushyant married Sankuntala (Daughter of Vishwamitra and menaka).
• Although shantanu was a Kshatriya, he married a low born Satyavati.
• There are similar instances in Bhagavata Purnana and Padmapurana.
In the Padmapurana there is a mention of low born vyasa becoming
Brahmins.
Thus the varna system permitted social mobility from one system to another
system.

Cosmological Homologies:
An important characteristic of Varna system is homologisation of functional
interdependence of Varnas in terms of sacrifice, colour, point of the compass, time
period and divinities:
(i) The Brahmin performed the sacrifice, but he performed it for the king.
The components of the sacrifice were provided by the vaisyas, and the
sudras were necessary for performing certain impure acts associated with
the sacrifice. Each varna had a role in the sacrifice, the sacrifice
symbolise the ritual interdependence of varnas.
(ii) Corresponding to these ritual roles, each varna was assigned a colour
brahmans with white, kashtriyas with red, vaisyas with yellow. The
sudras were associated with black.
(iii) Similarly, each varna was assigned a point of the compass; brahmans to
the north; kshtriyas to the east (toward the rising sun, symbolizing the
victory gods of light over the powers of darkness); vaisyas to the south;
 and Sudras to the west (toward the setting sun, symbolizing the darkness
and death)
(iv) Thirdly, each varna was assigned a Yuga or a period of time. The age of
the Brahman was the Krita/ satya Yuga or the golden age with Dharma at
its fullest power. In each subsequent age the power of Dharma declines
and morality, strength, and happiness, progressively diminish until the
cycle begins again with a new golden age. Thus the period of time
allotted to the Kshatriya was the treta Yuga, the period allotted to the
vaisyas was the Dwapara Yuga, and the period of the Sudras was the Kali
Yuga.
(v) Finally, series of cosmic homologies symbolized varna
interdependence. The Brahman was associated with the divine priest
Brhaspati, and in his role as intermediary between gods and men, he was
identified with agni, the messenger of the gods. The Kshatriya,
corresponded to Indra, lord of the gods, lord of law, guardian of order
and punisher of evil doers. Vaisyas were homologized to classes of lesser
deities such as the maruts, who were assistants of the high gods. The
sudras were associated with the demons, the powers of darkness.

Group Diet Degree of purity

Brahmin Vegetarian Vegetables – pure
Kshatriya Non Vegetarian Meat – impure
Vaishya Vegetarian Vegetables – pure
Shudra Non Vegetarian Meat – impure
Others Non Vegetarian Beef – Highly impure

Principle Brahmin Kshatriya Vaishya Shudra Others

Sacred thread YES YES YES No No
/Upanayana
Veil YES YES YES No No
Widow No No No Some YES
remarriage castes
Preference for YES YES YES YES No
son
Drinking No YES No YES YES
liquor
3.1. VARNASHRAM
BRAHMACHARYASHRAM (LEARN):
• Upanayana sacrament is considered the second birth of the young boy, before
which he is considered as a shudra. Therefore those varnas which have the
eligibility of Upanayana are called the dwijas. With upanayana a person enters
in to the world of activities , duties, responsibilities, expectations and
aspirations.
• The age of upanayana is 8-16 for brahmanas, 11-12 for kshatriyas, 12-24 for
vaishyas. With in this age span if they fail to get Upanayana done, they
permanently loose the right of learning.
• Brahmacharyashram begins with Upanayana.
• Brahmacharyashram is characterized by simples living irrespective of their
status.
• Over eating, Consuming flesh,honey,stale sweet, beetle leaf etc are forbidden.
• During the Brahmacharyashram, a Brahmin boy is supposed to wear a hempen
cloth, Kshatriya boy is supposed to wear a piece of silk cloth, A vaishya boy is
supposed to wear a woollen cloth.
• Higher the varna lesser is the comfort permitted during the brahmacharyashram.
• Getting up before the sunrise, offering prayers, living in the guru’s hermitage
making him the absolute mentor, high reverence towards the teacher, learning
the dharma are expected from a boy in Brahmacharyashram.
• After reaching his home back, a ritual bath symbolizing the completion of
brahmacharyashram is performed .

GRIHASTHA ASHRAM (EARN)

• Accoding to P.H. Prabhu, after bramacharyashram, he takes a bath symbolic of

his completion of that ashrama course; so he now becomes a snataka. He now
becomes fit to enter the Grishathaashrama”. this ceremony is technically called
samavartana.
• This is considered to be the most important period of the life of an individual. It
is believed that the future course of his life depends on this ashrama.
• Gautama -the grihasthashrama is the source of the other ashramas because the
others do not produce offspring.
• Yajanavalkya - this is the only stage in which all of the Purusarthas are jointly
realized.
• Family is basic to the varna system.
• According to Manu Smriti, “as all creatures live by receiving support from the
air, so other Ashramas subsist by relying for support on the householder” and
“just as all big and small rivers find a resting place in the ocean, so men of all
Ashramas find support in the householder and this is the best of all ashramas.

Type of Grihasthas:
(i) The Dharmasastras divide householders into “Salina” and “Yayavara”.
The “Salina” is one who dwells in a house, is possessed of servants and
cattle, has a fixed place and a fixed village and has grain and wealth and
follows the life of worldly people. The “Yayavara” who does not
accumulate wealth.
(ii) According to Yajnavalkya Smriti, Salina is of four varieties viz.,
➢ one who maintains himself by officiating as a priest, teaching veda, accepting
gifts, agriculture, trade and breeding cattle
➢ one who subsists by officiating as a priest, teaching veda, accepting gifts
➢ one who subsists by officiating as a priest and by teaching and
➢ one who subsists by teaching alone.

The Dharmasastras have prescribed three duties to the householder:

a) Nitya karma (the daily duties)
b) Naimittika Karma (the duties on purpose)
c) Kamya Karma ( duties peculiar to one’s own varna).

Yajavalkya Smriti prescribes the following daily duties (Nitya karma) for the
householder;
➢ A householder should perform every day a Smriti rite (i.e. a domestic rite
prescribed by the sacred Smriti) on the nuptial fire or on the fire brought in at
the time of the partition of ancestral property.
➢ Having attended to the bodily calls, purificatory rites, a twice- born (Aryan)
man should offer the morning prayer.
➢ Having offered oblations to the sacred fire, becoming spirituality composed he
should chant the sacred verses addressed to the sun god.
➢ He should also learn the meaning of the Veda and various sciences.
➢ He should study according to his capacity the vedas, the puranas, together
with the Itihasas.
➢ Offering of the food oblation with the proper utterance, performance of Vedic
sacrifices study of the sacred texts, and honoring of guests.
➢ He should offer the food oblation to the spirits (by throwing it in the air).
➢ He should also cast food on the ground for dogs, untouchables and crows.
➢ He should continuously carry on his study. He should never cook for himself
only.
➢ Children, married daughters living in the fathers house, pregnant women, sick
persons, girls, guests and servants only after having fed these should the
householder and his wife eat the food that has remained.
➢ Having risen before dawn the householder should ponder over what is good for
the self.

Purposive and desired duties: The purposive and desired duties of a house
holder are concerned with his ethical awareness, values, knowledge, and social
purpose.
➢ His values are concerned with three cardinal aims; Dharma, Artha and Kama.
While Manusmriti overlooks Kama, Yajanavalkya Smriti gives it equal
value along with Dharma and artha. Thus it presents a more integral outlook.
➢ Several Dharmasastras proclaimed Artha as the highest value for the
householder, while some other give first place to dharma. Even Dharma at
every stage required Artha, at least for social purpose.
➢ Yajanavalkya smriti has given a detailed description of the householder’s
duties to his wife. He must be solely devoted to her, having become one
through sacramental bonds, he must satisfy her sensuous yearning, only
refraining from sexual intercourse on inauspicious days. Care of the wife is
essential because through her the householder begets sons whereby the family is
continued both in time and in eternity.
➢ The purposive and desired duties include homa, japa, Maha yajna etc. among
mahayajnas are included

• Brahma yagna: Honoring rishis

• Pitri yagna: Sacrifice to the spirits of ancestors (Shraddha)
• Deva yagna: Sacrifice to god (Homa)
• Bhuta yagna: Sacrifice to spirits that are supposed to influence the human
life (Bali)
• Nriyajna or maushyayajna : Honoring of guests.

Thus Yajna has a humanistic meaning. Universal kindliness is the general attitude
towards the guest. Another significant prescription is concerning Dana or gifts. It is
a special feature of Grihastha Ashrama.
VANAPRASTHA ASHRAM (TURN)

This period began when one's skin began wrinkling and one became a grand father.
During this period a person was expected to move away from worldly matters and
get himself ready for his spiritual journey to attain moksha (the fourth
purushartha). He was to do this by delegating his duties to his children, leaving his
family and possession behind and moving into a secluded place such as a
hermitage or the forest . There he should live like an ascetic and spend his time
practicing austerities, offering oblations, reciting the Vedas and the metaphysical
treatises, and in the acquisition of the knowledge of the self. He should wear a
garment made of cloth, skin or bark to cover his nakedness, wear his hair in braids,
remain chaste, restrain his speech, actions and senses, subsist on wild growing
roots, fruit and vegetables, honor the guests who visited his hermitage, give gifts
but not receive any, bathe three times a day, promise safety to all beings and
animals, sleep on the ground and so on. These observations were aimed at
controlling one’s mind, overcoming passions and developing detachment from the
sense objects and preparing oneself for a more rigorous life as an ascetic (sanyasi).
During this period a person might take his wife along with him only if the latter
agreed to accompany him.

SANYASA ASHRAM (RETURN)

This is the final phase of human life during which a person should devote his life
and activities in the pursuit of moksha (the fourth purushartha) or final liberation.
Regarding the ascetic life, the following verses are quoted from the Vashista
Sutras.

• Let him wear a single garment,

• Or cover his body with a skin or with grass that has been nibbled at by a cow.
• Let him sleep on the bare ground.
• Let him frequently change his residence,
• Dwelling at the extremity of the village, in a temple, or in an empty house, or at
the root of a tree.
• Let him constantly seek in his heart the knowledge (of the universal soul).
• Let him be an ascetic who lives constantly in the forest,
• Shall not wander about within sight of the village-cattle.
• 'Freedom from future births is certain for him who constantly dwells in the
forest, who has subdued his organs of sensation and action, who has renounced
all sensual gratification, whose mind is fixed in meditation on the Supreme
Spirit, and who is wholly indifferent to pleasure and pain.'
• Let him, though not mad, appear like one out of his mind.

3.1. PURUSHARTHAS / TRIVARGAS

INTORDUCITON:
Dharma:
Dharma stands for right action or righteousness. It is law of every being and as
such every living society has its own Dharma. No society can live and work
without Dharma. It regulates human life and determines as to what is right and
what is wrong. Dharma is the determining factor about future conduct and course
of all human beings. According to Dr. S. Radhakrishnan, “It stands both for the
Satya or the truth of things as well as the Dharma or the law evolution”.
Artha:
Artha is another purushartha which stands to express human prosperity. It implies
that a person should earn wealth for the maintenance of his family and also for
giving that in charity. Yajna and sacrifices can also be possible only with the help
of wealth. Upanishads make it clear, that those who only care for the other world
and do not care for this world or for earning the wealth are in absolute darkness.
Wealth is also needed for attaining knowledge and immortality. Artha is thus
needed for the maintenance of life as well as happy life. What, however, Hindu
philosophy stresses that wealth should be earned by righteous and reasonable
means. Wealth earned by illegal or unconstitutional means is not allowed under
Hindu social system. It is always believed that good means should be adopted for
earning wealth. Wealth earned by deceit has all along been condemned.
Kama:
Hindu social thinkers have always fully appreciated the place of kama in human
life. According to them kama is the urge for human life and it must be satisfied.
They believe that it is essential both for the production of children and for
continuity and perpetuation of the human race. They believe that urge for sex is
unavoidable and must be satisfied.
Moksha:
It is ultimate aim of every human being to get salvation. Perfection and spiritual
attainments are not only desirable but the end of human life. Some of the thinkers
believe that it is the most important Purushartha and the remaining three are only
means while this Purushartha is end of all these means. Leaving that apart, all our
sages and saints have always aimed at achieving Moksha.
Trivargas:
Trivargas are Dharma, Artha, and Kama. Where as Moksha is considered to be the
end of life and ultimate goal of every human activity in Hindu society, the other
three Purusharthas namely Dharma, Artha and Kama combined together are called
Trivargas. The trivargas discuss the three main aspects of human life namely,
material, moral and biological. The Kama discusses about biological, Artha
material and Dharma moral aspect of the life of a Hindu. Since Hindu society is by
and large a religion dominated society, in the Trivarga, Dharma plays a more vital
and important part than the other two components namely, kama and artha. It is
moral aspect, i.e, dharma of life which regulates two other aspects namely Artha
and Kama or what can be said as material and moral aspects of life. All the three
components of human life, i.e., Dharma, kama and Artha are supposed to work in
close cooperation with each other for achieving the ultimate objectives of life
namely Moksha the arbitrator shall be the Dharma because that is supposed to
provide right guidance. According to P.H. Prabhu, ‘as has been pointed out by
Manu, the management and conduct of life should be coordination, or the
proportionate aggregate of these three (Trivarga) classes of life needs, or the urges
or the principal motives”.
3.1. RINAS
1) PitriRina (obligations towards parents)
2) Rishi Rina (obligations towards the teachers and saints)
3) Deva Rina (obligations towards the gods goddesses)
4) ManushaRina (Obligations towards guests)

It is enjoined upon all the Hindus that throughout their life. The obligations can
best be discharged by studying vedas, by begetting children in accordance with
provisions of Dharma and also by performing duties as a Grihastha.
Pitri Rina: Pitri Rina can be discharged by way of having children because they
alone will continue the race which otherwise will come to an end, it is also in the
discharge of Pitri Rina that they should treat the children very nicely and extend
their guidance, love and affection to them. The children are equally expected not to
forget that the parents suffer for them when they are not capable of holding
themselves.
Rishi Rina:
Similarly, each and every individual is required to always remember of his teachers
and saints as they are the makers of his life and can mound future course of his
action in the way they like. It is, therefore, very essential that all respect should be
shown to Rishis and Teachers. Rishi rina can be discharged by studying Vedas
following the rules laid down for the study.
Deva Rinas:
Similarly, respect should be shown to gods and goddesses who will receive them at
the end of his life. Deva Rina can be discharged by having performing and giving
sacrifices as provided in the Dharma.
Conclusions:
According to P.H. Prabhu, “it is opined that the man who fails to carry out any of
these obligations during the first three Ashramas is not entitled even to try to attain
Moksha, and Manu says that he who seeks Moksha without fulfilling his duties in
the first three ashramas will sink low….”

3.1. KARMA THEORY AND REBIRTH

The doctrine of Karma is the ethical background of Indian social organization. This
doctrine was propounded for the first time under the Upanishads. It has become the
meeting point of Hinduism, Buddism and Jainism.
The word Karma has been derived from its Sanskrit root “Kra” which implies all
kinds of actions which can be classified into three categories; “physical”,
“mental” and “verbal”. This is the general sense of the word Karma is
performed, according to the rules (Dharma), it becomes “duty”.
Elements of Karma:
According to the Upanishads and Bhagavad-Gita, Karma has five elements:
i) Adistana (circumstance in which Karma works)
ii) Kartha (doer; one who does Karma through his activity)
iii) Karma (instrumentation of the doer)
iv) Cheshta (inspiration for Karma)
v) Daiva (fate; this is the power of powers)

Kinds of Karma:
Different sages and scholars have classified karma into several types. Yajanvalkya
classified karma into good action (dharma) and bad action Adharma. Manu
classified karma in three ways:
a) Yajnavalkya classified karma in to Dharma karma and Adharma karma

b) Manu classified karma in to

• Pravritti Karma (actions done with a view to achieve some results)
• Nivritti karma: Actions done with prejudice ( preconceived notion
that is not based on reason or actual experience) to achieve some results.
• Satvic Karma (that action which is prescribed by scriptures and which is done
without the sense of doership, without passion or prejudice and without seeking
fruits of results)
• Rajasic Karma (that action which involves much strains and is done by own
who seeks enjoyment and is prompted by egoism), and
• Tamasic Karma (that action which is undertaken through ignorance, without
considering the result, loss to oneself and injury to others and one’s own
capacity).
• Papa karma (sinful action)
• punya Karma (incritorious/righteous/virtuous action)

c) Patanjali classified Karma into four kinds

• Asarasi Karma ( giving too much importance to self)

 • Raga Karma (inclination towards enjoyment of worldly things)
• Didhesha karma (hateful renunciation of painful things) and
• Abhinivesa karma (karma done due to love of life and fear of death)

d) According to Karma Vipak (the results of the action), there are three kinds
of Karmas.
• Sanchita Karma (accumulated Karma) comprise the actions performed in
earlier life.
• Prarabdha Karma (destined karma) the accumulated actions can be either
good or bad. Hence, the results of the actions, which the man has to face,
comprise destined Karma.
• Aagama Karma (accumulating Karma) the actions, which are being
performed in the present and those actions, which are to be performed in
future, are called accumulating actions.

Rewards of Karma:
The rewards of Karma have four major elements;
i) Karmaphal (results of action)
ii) Punarjanma (rebirth), soul (atma) upon the death of the body. Soul (atma)
is immortal and indestructible. When the body perishes, it enters another
body. The soul during the evolution of birth and rebirth accumulates Karma.
Thus enormous and ever increasing credit and debt accounts in the Karma
bank. Action, good or bad, brings on its trail, reward and punishment and
there is no escape form it”. Thus soul is inevitably tied to the wheel of
Samsara and helplessly turns over successive rebirths, reaping in fruits of
past Karma and perpetually sowing more seeds of Karma and thus
perpetuating itself. This is same as “Samsara” or the “cycle of births”.
Thus Karma and Punarjanma are inextricably interwoven with each others.
iii) Poorvajanamaphala (results of the action of previous births)
iv) Atmanitya (immortality of the soul)

Ways to escape form Karma:

According to Upanishads and bhagvad-gita:
1) Realization of immortality of the soul:
2) Right to action: according to Gita your right is to work only but never to the
fruit,
 3) Detachment and disinterested action:
4) Karma and the four orders of society; he who performs his own duty
does not incur sin(Papa Karma).
5) Karma and Knowledge: there are different kinds of knowledge; Satvika-
Jnana, Rajasika-Jnana and Tamasika - Jnana. The knowledge that one
possesses depends upon the results of Karma in previous births.

Importance of doctrine of Karma:

From the social point of view, the doctrine of Karma is most important. This
doctrine is most useful to the society.
i) Inspiration for good actions:
ii) Inspiration to attain moral life:
iii) Preaching self-control:
iv) Inspiration for welfare works: Works of welfare for others are, in fact,
performed by Karma Yogis.

Criticism: A . B. Keith bolds the doctrine of Karma encourages fatalism and

hinders moral progress. However, critics of Keith say that Keith has distorted
the doctrine and misinterpreted it. Mac Donell says that this doctrine minimizes
the important of the present life which is determined from the point of view of
social progress.
According to many western scholars, this doctrine limits the efficiency and
aptitude of individuals. On one hand higher castes establish their authority in
the social organization; on the other hand, it inspires inactivity and cowardice
among the lower castes. This doctrine supports the maintenance of social
discrimination and adopts the basis of the feeling of religion for its justification.

3.2 CASTE SYSTEM IN INDIA- STRUCTURE AND CHARACTERISTICS,

VARNA AND CASTE, THEORIES OF ORIGIN OF CASTE SYSTEM,
DOMINANT CASTE, CASTE MOBILITY, FUTURE OF CASTE SYSTEM,
JAJMANI SYSTEM, TRIBE-CASTE CONTINUUM.

3.2. CASTE SYSTEM IN INDIA – STRUCTURE AND

CHARACTERISTICS
INTRODUCTION

The caste system is one of the unique features in Indian Society. Its root can be
traced back to thousands of years.

Jana → Jati → Caste

The word caste derives from the Spanish and Portuguese “casta”, means “race,
lineage, or breed”. Portuguese employed casta in the modern sense when they
applied it to hereditary Indian social groups called as ‘jati’ in India. ‘Jati’
originates from the root word ‘Jana’ which implies taking birth. Thus, caste is
concerned with birth.

Caste has been defined in several ways.

Herbert Risley defines caste as “a collection of families bears a common name,

claiming a common descent from a mythical ancestor, human or divine, professing
to follow the same hereditary calling and is regarded by those who are competent
to give an opinion as forming a single homogeneous community.”

In the words of M.N. Srinivas, “Caste is a hereditary, endogamous, usually

localised group, having a traditional association with an occupation and a
particular position in the local hierarchy of castes. Relations between castes are
governed, among other things, by the concepts of pollution and purity and
generally, maximum commensality occurs within the caste”.

Caste system entails a number of characteristics. They are as follows:

❖ Hierarchy: D.C. Bhattacharya rightly observes that “not only do the various
castes form a hierarchy but the occupation practised by them, the various
items of their diet and the customs they observe all form separate
hierarchies.”
❖ Endogamy/ Restrictions on marriage: Caste is a closed group where
intercaste marriages are strictly prohibited.

Westermark regards endogamy as the essence of the caste system.

Marriage within the Gotra or clan is prohibited. This rule of exogamy is
observed strictly in the rural setting.
❖ Fixity of occupation: Every caste has a fixed occupation.
❖ Restrictions on Commensality and food: Commensality refers to the
beliefs, practices, rules and regulations that determine inter-caste
relationships that are observed with regard to the kind of food and water
taken.

➢ The members of a caste can accept pakka food (cooked in ghee) from
some castes lower than his own but ‘kachcha food’ (cooked in water)
only from either their own caste or castes ritually higher than their own.
➢ They are also required to observe certain restrictions while accepting
water from members of other castes. The Brahmins do not eat onions,
garlic, cabbage, carrot, beat root etc. Eating beef is not permissible
except for the untouchables.
➢ The members of a caste also observe certain restrictions pertaining to
social intercourse. There are certain castes whose touch is considered to
be a pollution and hence they are regarded as ‘untouchables’. For
example, in Kerala, a Nayar can approach a Nambudri Brahmin but
would not touch him. A Tiyan was expected to keep himself at a
distance of 36 steps from a Brahmin. A puliyan (Harijan) should
maintain a distance of 96 steps. In Tamilnadu, shanar, toddy tapper
was expected to keep a distance of 24 feet from Brahmins.
➢ During Peshwa rule in Maharashtra, Mahars and Mangs
(Untouchable castes) were not permitted with in the main gates of
Poona before 9 am and after 3 pm. As their bodies caste very long
shadows in those timings which may fall on the Brahmins and defile
them.

❖ Purity and Pollution: Caste system is characterized by purity and pollution.

❖ Unique culture: Every caste has a unique culture, food habits, dressing and
behavior. According to Professor Ghurye, “Castes are small and complete
social worlds in themselves, marked off definitely from one another, though
subsisting within the larger society.” Every caste has a distinct culture,
customs and traditions which distinguish it from those of the other castes.
❖ Caste Panchayat: Each caste has its own panchayat. There are 5 members in
a panchayat. The caste panchayat looks after the caste matters and settles
the internal disputes.
 ❖ Caste is a closed group: Caste of a person donot change in his/her life span
and caste is endogamous. According to Max Weber, “Caste is doubtlessly a
closed status group.” The reason why caste is a closed status group is that all
the obligations and barriers that membership in a status group entails also
exist in a caste where they are intensified to the higher degree.
❖ Every caste has a particular name
❖ Caste system creates civil and religious disabilities: Untouchables are not
allowed in to the temples or public places.
❖ Caste system is rooted in the divine plan: The caste system is believed to
have been ordained by God and is supported by religion.
❖ Intra-village and inter- village mechanisms: Last but not least, castes
have, intra-village and inter- village mechanisms of social control and
conflict resolution.
❖ Caste membership is by ascription: Caste is an Ascribed status of an
individual which he gets by birth.

Ghurye explains caste in India on the basis of six distinctive characteristics:

1. Segmental division of society;

2. Hierarchy;
3. Civil and religious disabilities and privileges;
4. Lack of unrestricted choice of occupation;
5. Restriction on food, drinks and social intercourse;
6. Endogamy.

APPROACHES TO STUDY THE CASTE SYSTEM:

Indological approach:

Indological approach explains the caste system in terms of origin, structure, and
functions based on Hindu sacred texts. It explains caste system as a system of
stratification and highlights the importance of religious sanctions in the moulding
of caste system. According to Indologists like Ghurye, caste system is an
ascriptive system based on endogamy, occupation, interdependence, purity,
pollution and hierarchy.

Attributional approach:
Studies about the attributes (Conditions / characteristics) of the caste system.
Louis Dumont followed this approach in his analysis of the caste system. For him,
“Caste is set of relationships of economic, political and kinship systems,
sustained by certain values which are mostly religious in nature”.
In his book, Homo hierarchicus: The caste system and its implications , he
expands upon his fieldwork on the Piramalai Kallars of South India in 1949
Dumont says that caste is not a form of stratification but a special form of
inequality, whose essence has to be deciphered by the sociologists.
Here, Dumont identifies ‘hierarchy’ as the essential value underlying the caste
system, supported by Hinduism.
Dumont starts with Bougie’s definition of caste and says that it divides the
whole Indian society into a larger number of hereditary groups distinguished
from one another and connected together by three characteristics:

(a) Separation on the basis of rules of the caste in matters of marriage and contact
(b) Interdependent of work or division of labour, each group having, in theory or
by tradition, a profession from which their members can depart only within certain
limits; and
(c) Finally, gradation of status or hierarchy, which ranks the groups as relatively
superior or inferior to one another.
Dumont explains that hierarchy is the “principle by which the elements of a
whole are ranked in relation to the whole.” Dumont later expands upon the idea
of the hierarchy and relationship to the whole in his example of the jajmani system.
Dumont describes the jajmani system not as economics, but as a hereditary system
of labor and relationships, of prestations and counter-prestations.
His analysis of caste system is based on a single principle-the opposition of pure
and impure. This opposition underlies hierarchy which means superiority of the
pure and inferiority of impure. This principle also underlies separation which
means pure and impure must be kept separate.
According to him, Religious authority rests within the hands of the Brahmans and
temporal authority in the hands of kings & judges. Furthermore, the unit of the
village has intricated, plural forms of authority rather than simply linear.
According to Dumont the study of the caste system is useful for the knowledge of
India and it is an important task of general Sociology.
He advocated the use of an Indological and structuralist approach to the study of
caste system and village social structure in India.
Interactional approach:
The interactional approach deals with the behavior patterns amongst various castes.
It examines the operation of the caste system in the actual social scenario.

• M.N. Srinivas, S.C.Dube, Bailey, A.C.Mayer, McKim Marriot, and

Kathleen Gough studied the operation of the caste system at village
level.
• A.C.Mayer studied the working of caste in Ramkheri village of Madhya
Pradesh.
• Kathleen gough analysed the interaction among the castes in
Kumbapetai in Tamilnadu.
• McKimMarriot analysed the network of intercaste relations in Kishan
gahri in Uttar Pradesh.

According to their studies, the two principles of interaction are commensality

(Higher castes do not accept certain types of food from lower castes) and proximity
(Castes of same rank inter dine).

3.2. VARNA - CASTE – DIFFERENCES

Varna and caste (Caste) are two different concepts, though some people wrongly
consider it the same. Louis Dumont in his book Homo hierarchicus, stated that
Varna is an early vedic concept while caste is a post vedic concept.

Varna Caste
Literally ‘Varna’ means colour and
originates from the world ‘Vri’ meaning Caste or ‘Jati’ originates from the root
the choice of one’s occupation. Hence word ‘Jana’ which implies taking birth.
Varna is concerned with one’s colour or Thus, caste is concerned with birth.
occupation.
Castes are very large in number. Castes
Varna’s are only four in number i.e.
also have many subdivisions known as
Brahmin, Kshatriya, Vaishya and Sudra
sub-castes.

It is an all-India phenomenon. The
hierarchy of the 4 varnas is uniform
through out India.
Varna system is relatively flexible with It is based on rigid principles and
one’s talent, knowledge and marriage , change of caste is not possible with
one’s varna can be changed. It is an
open type of stratification.
It was partly an achieved status.
Varna system is free from socio-
economic and political disabilities
Varna-class correlation is mostly
positive
In varna model, there is no confusion
about the position of each group,
Brahmins are always at the top followed
by Kshatriyas, vaishyas and shudras in
that order.
Inter varna marriages like hypergamy
and hypogamy were permitted to some
extent
Varnas are only reference categories
In varna model ranks are purely based
on ritual and religious purity with
priestly class on the top
Presence of regional variations mostly
based on linguistic differences.Eg:
Lingayats occupy a prominent position
in the social hierarchy of Karnataka but
do not enjoy the same position in
neighboring states.
talent, knowledge or marriage. It is a
closed type of stratification.
It is purely an ascribed status.
Imposes many restrictions on the
members.
Caste-class correlation is not always
positive, There may be variations in the
placement due to economic, political
arid educational status of various
groups.
Many dominant castes do not fit in to
either shudra position of kshatriya
position. It leads to confusion.
Inter caste marriages are more strictly
avoided. (Ignoring the impact of
modernization and westernization)
Castes or jatis are operational
categories. (Even in the modern
societies due to caste-based
reservations)
Various castes are ranked based on
secular factors like economic, political,
numerical aspects in addition to the
ritual and religious purity.
 Many jatis have improved their position
or moved upward in the social ladder.
In varna model, the position of each
Eg: Toddy tappers castes like Idigas in
varna is fixed and is not subject to
Karnataka, Izhavas in Kerala & Pasis in
change.
Orissa moved up particularly after the
government introduced excise policy.

Thus, Varna and caste are two different systems of stratification, but Varna system
over a period of time evolved into the caste system.

3.2. THEORIES EXPLAINING THE ORIGIN OF

CASTE SYSTEM IN INDIA:

Some of the main theories regarding the origin of caste system in India are: (i)
racial theory, (ii) political theory, (iii) occupational theory, (iv) traditional theory,
(v) guild theory, (vi) religious theory and (vii) evolutionary theory:

(i) Racial Theory:

According to D.N. Majumdar, Risley, Ghurye the caste system took its birth
after the arrival of Aryans in India. In order to maintain their separate existence the
Indo-Aryans used the word ‘varna’, ‘colour’. Thus they spoke of the ‘Dasa varna’,
or more properly the Dasa people.

Rig Vedic literature stresses very significantly the differences between the Arya
and Dasa, not only in their colour but also in their speech, religious practices, and
physical features. The three classes, Brahma, Kshatra and Vis are frequently
mentioned in the Rig Veda. The name of the fourth class, the ‘Sudra’, occurs only
once in the Rig Veda.

The first two classes, i.e., Brahma and Kshatra represented broadly the two
professions of the poet-priest and the warrior-chief. Vis comprised all the
common people. The Sudra class represented domestic servants approximating
very nearly to the position of slaves. On the relations subsisting between the four
classes the Rig Veda has little to say. However, the Brahmin is definitely said to be
superior to the Kshatriya.
Criticism: Failed to explain the fact that racial intermixing is a very common
phenomena while caste system is a rare and almost unique form of social
stratification in India.

(ii) Political Theory:

According to this theory, caste system is a clever device invented by the Brahmins
in order to place themselves on the highest ladder of social hierarchy. Dr. Ghurye
states, “Caste is a Brahminic child of Indo-Aryan culture cradled in the land
of the Ganges and thence transferred to other parts of India.”

The Brahmanic literature of the post-Vedic period mentions certain mixed classes
(Sankara jati) and also a group of outcaste classes (Antyavasayin). Among the four
varnas, the old distinction of Arya and Sudra now appears as Dvija and Sudra, The
first three classes are called Dvija (twice born) because they have to go through the
initiation ceremony which is symbolic of rebirth. “The Sudra was called “ekaja”
(once born).

The word “jati” is hence forward employed to mean the numerous sub-divisions of
a “varna”. However, this demarcation is not rigidly maintained. The word “jati”, is
sometimes used for “varna”. In the Brahmin period the position of the Brahmins
increased manifold.

The three lower classes are ordered to live according to the teaching of the
Brahmin, who shall declare their duties, while the king also is exhorted to regulate
his conduct accordingly. The pre-eminence of the Brahmin had secured him many
social privileges sanctioned by the law givers. The statement that God created
the Sudra to be the slave of all is repeated and he is given the name of
“padaja” (born from the feet).

As the priestly influence grew in India, complicated rules of ritual and conduct
were built up and incorporated into the religious books. The Brahmins closed their
ranks and tried to maintain their superiority over the other classes.

It is true that in the beginning there were no rigid restrictions but slowly and
gradually the idea of separation stiffened. It was first the ritual and ceremonial
purity which as time went on took an exaggerated aspect. Distinction began to be
made between things that are pure and impure. Restrictions were imposed on food
and drink. When the Brahmins closed their ranks, it was but natural that other
classes also should follow suit.

(iii) Occupational Theory:

According to this theory, the origin of caste system can be found in the nature and
quality of social work performed by the various groups of people. Those
professions which were regarded as better and respectable made the persons who
performed them superior to those who were engaged in dirty professions.

According to Newfield, “Function and function alone is responsible for the origin
of caste structure in India.” With functional differentiation there came in
occupational differentiation and numerous castes such as Brahmin ( Priest),
Lohar (Blacksmith), Sonar (Goldsmith), Chamar (Tanning, trating the skin of
animals), Bhangi (Sweeping). Barhai ( Wood carvers), Teli (Oil pressers), Nai
(Barbers and midwives), Tamboli (Retailing pan), Gadaria ( Gadar means
sheep, pastorals), Mali (Gardeners/ Florists), Dhobi ( washerman) etc. came
into existence.

(iv) Traditional Theory:

According to this theory, the caste system is of divine origin. There are some
references in Vedic literature wherein it is said that castes were created by Brahma
the supreme creator, so that human beings may harmoniously perform the various
social functions essential for the maintenance of society. According to D.N.
Majumdar, “if, however we take the divine origin of the Varna’s as an allegorical
explanation of the functional division of society, the theory assumes practical
significance.”

(v) Guild Theory:

According to Denzil Ibbetson, castes are the modified forms of guilds.

In his opinion, caste system is the product of interaction of three forces:

(i) tribes,
(ii) guilds, and

(iii) religion.

The tribes adopted certain fixed professions and assumed the form of guilds. In
ancient India, the priests enjoyed greater prestige. They were a hereditary and
endogamous group. The other guilds also adopted the same practices endogamy
and in course of time became castes. (Note: Guild is a medieval association of
crafts men or merchants often having considerable power/ An association of
people for mutual aid or pursuit of common goal)

(vi) Religious Theory:

Hocart and Senart are the two main advocates of religious theory. According to
Hocart, social stratification originated on account of religious principles and
customs. In ancient India religion had a prominent place. The king was
considered the image of God. The priest kings accorded different positions to
different functional groups. Senart has tried to explain the origin of caste
system on the basis of prohibitions regarding sacramental food.

He holds that on account of different family duties there grew up certain

prohibitions regarding sacramental food. The followers of one particular deity
considered themselves the descendants of the same ancestor and offered a
particular kind of food as offering to their deity. Those who believed in the
same deity considered themselves as different from those who believed in
some other deity.

(vii) Evolutionary Theory:

According to this theory, the caste system did not come into existence all of a
sudden or at a particular date. It is the result of a long process of social evolution.
A number of factors played their part in the development of the present caste
system.

Among these factors we may enumerate the following ones:

❖ Hereditary occupations;
 ❖ The desire of the Brahmins to keep themselves pure;
❖ The lack of rigid unitary control of the state;
❖ The unwillingness of rulers to enforce a uniform standard of law and custom
and their readiness to recognize the varying customs of different groups as
valid;
❖ Beliefs in rebirth and the doctrine of Karma;
❖ Ideas of exclusive family, ancestor worship, and the sacramental meal;
❖ Clash of antagonistic cultures particularly of the patriarchal and the
matriarchal systems;
❖ Clash of races, colour prejudices and conquest;
❖ Deliberate economic and administrative policies followed by the various
conquerors particularly by the British;
❖ Geographical isolation of the Indian peninsula;
❖ Static nature of Hindu society;
❖ Foreign invasions;
❖ Rural social structure.

All the above factors conspired to encourage the formation of castes.

3.2. DOMINANT CASTE:

The concept of dominant caste has been used for the first time in sociological
literature by an eminent sociologist, Prof. M.N. Srinivas in his essay “The Social
System of a Mysore Village”, which was written after his study of village
Rampura. Rampura village is a little away from Mysore city of Karnataka.

Dumont and Pocock believed that Srinivas has adopted the term from the study of
African society where the concepts of dominant clan and dominant lineage
were used. The term dominant caste is used to refer to a caste which wields
economic or political power and occupies a fairly high position in the hierarchy.

Srinivas says that the existence of dominant caste is not particular to Rampura
village only. It is also found in other villages of the country.

Here is a list of dominant castes:

Other examples are Baniyas ( Commercial castes) in northern states, and vellala
in Tamilnadu.
Definition of Dominant Caste:

“A caste may be said to be dominant when it preponderates numerically over other

castes and when it also wields preponderant economic and political power. A large
and powerful caste group can be more easily dominant if its position in the local
caste hierarchy is not too low.” —M.N. Srinivas

The four elements of dominance according to M.N. Srinivas are

• Numerical preponderance of the caste over the other castes.

• Wielding of predominant economic and political power.
• Not too low in the caste hierarchy.
• Had western or non traditional education

A caste having all the 4 features is called a Decisive dominant caste. Such castes
are found in very few villages. But castes having some of these fetures are
common.

McKim Marriott viewed that the concept of dominant caste in various studies
of anthropological research lies on the political power which traditionally called
as juridical power in village community and at times yields religious and quasi-
divine power and the power to employ physical force.
“A caste to be dominant, it should own a sizable amount of the arable land
locally available, have strength of numbers and occupy a high place in the local
hierarchy. When a caste has all the attributes of dominance, it may be said to
enjoy a decisive dominance.” —M.N. Srinivas

Dimension of Functions of Dominant Caste:

1. The dominant caste often acts as a reference model to the lower caste group.
The lower caste people imitate their behaviour, ritual pattern, customs etc. In
this way, they help in cultural transmission.
2. A Dominant caste is not a dominant caste in all the places and in all the
times but if a caste is a dominant caste in one village, they try to uplift their
members even in the neighboring village make make them a domionant
caste evemn in the neighboring village as well.
3. The dominant castes of a particular locality act as watch dogs of pluralistic
culture and system. They set norms and regulations for social life. Anyone
who violates the norms Is severely punished. Anil Bhatt has pointed out that
the leaders of the locally dominant caste may arbitrate in village disputes.
They decide the mode of rewards and punishment. They may determine
civic and economic privileges. Eg: In Ramnad (in Ramanatha puram
district, Tamilnadu) , Kallars are the dominant caste. There was a
conflict between Kallars and harijans in 1930. They imposed several
prohibitions on them.

• Harijans should not wear silver and gold jewellary

• Men should not have clothes above the waist
• Men should not wear coats or vests
• They can use only the earthen made pots.
• Women should not cover the upper part of the body with cloth or blouse.
• Women should not keep flowers and apply sandal to their body.
• Men should not use umbrella or sandals

4.Dominant clastes sets as a model for sanscritisation of the lower castes.

• Brahmin model- Lingayats
• Kshatriya model- Gulzars, Patidars, Jats.
• Vaishya midel – Telis of Orissa
 • Sudra model – Laundrymen in western UP.

5. Dominant castes secure economic benefits to its members and followers and
uplift them.
6. Dominant castes often exhibit greater concern for its social superiority even
though it is not so in the caste hierarchy.
7. Dominant castes are the main power holders. They establish contacts with the
outside government officials, elected representatives and political leaders. They
influence the political process.
8. Dominant castes because of their dominant position exploit all the
developmental sources in their favour. They act as agents of rehabilitation
programmes. They accelerate the process of socio-economic developments.
9. The Dominant castes set values and norms for the community. Traditionally, its
primary functions were Judicial, executive and legitimacy. They form the vital link
between the villages and the other world. They also help in the socialisation
process.
10. Due to dominant position in rural society, they control the rural economy in
various ways and means.
11. Dominant castes play a greater role in the process of modernisation.
12. Dominant castes influence the decisions of panchayats and caste councils of the
village.
13. They indulge in sexual relations with women of minority or lower castes.
14. Dominant castes patronises in elections. The biggest patron comes from the
decisive dominant caste of the village.

There are four basic levels of dominant castes:

1. The ruler
2. The regionally dominant caste
3. The locally dominant caste
4. The village level landed pattern of dominant caste.

Criticisms:

➢ A.C. Mayer (1958) has questioned the stress on numerical dominance. He

has also pointed out to the failure of the concept to deal with the fact that
 power and prestige are often in the hands of few individuals. He has also
pointed out to the need to recognise that dominance is not simply a one way
affair since dominance is an object of emulation for the caste beneath it in the
hierarchy.
➢ Louis Dumont has claimed that dominance should be considered as a purely
secular phenomenon distinct from hierarchy which is purely ritual.
➢ M.G.Pradhan who studied jat clans in UP and Robin Fox who studied
Rajput clans in eastern Up said that it is not the whole castes but certain
clans are dominant.
➢ Gardener reviewed that “dominance” should not be conceptualized in the
form of caste only.
➢ S.C Dube studied Shamirpet in AP and B.R.Chauhan studied a village in
Rajasthan. Both villages were jagirdar communities. Jagirdar families were
dominant in bothe the villages but not the whole castes.
➢ With the land reforms, big landowning class has ceased to be an important
element of dominance. Andre Beteille observes that in place of big
landowning class, the strength of numerical support has become a decisive
factor in the formation of a dominant caste.
➢ Dominant caste is not always numerically a preponderant caste. D.N.
Majumdar observes that the scheduled castes preponderate in many villages.
But the people belonging to the upper caste exercise power and authority in
such villages.

3.2. CASTE MOBILITY & FUTURE OF CASTE SYSTEM:

Factors that favor caste system in India:

➢ Constitutional safeguards, though based on the degree of development (Not
purely on the grounds of caste), are safeguarding interests of lower castes in
the policy of protective discrimination.
➢ Electoral politics indirectly favor caste system as a caste as group works as a
vote bank.
➢ Sanskritization is only a Change in structure not change of structure. It can
only change the relative statuses of the castes but cannot weaken the caste
system
➢ No change in the caste of wife or husband or child due to inter caste
marriages even if they occur occasionally. (Exception, A Case study:
 Sabbella Siri Manjoosha Reddy, had approached the AP High Court
challenging the decision of University which denied her admission to under-
graduate medical courses under the quota reserved for Scheduled Castes,
even though she possessed a community certificate by the Tahsildar stating
that she belongs to SC community. The Division Bench comprising of
Justices V. Ramasubramanian and Anis referring to Apex Court decision
in Rameshbhai Dabhai Naika Vs. State of Gujarat observed: “It is clear
that the Supreme Court did not say that a child born to a couple, who
married transgressing the barriers of Caste, would take the community of
his or her father and not that of his or her mother. On the contrary, the
Supreme Court categorically pointed out that the answer to the question
would depend upon the circumstances in which the child was brought up
and that the same was primarily one of facts.” The High Court also
observed that University cannot disregard certificate issued by competent
authority and cannot question its validity. The Court added: “In so far as the
case on hand is concerned, the petitioners mother has sworn to an affidavit
in support of the writ petition claiming that after her marriage, she stayed
only with her family in her Village and that the children were brought up by
her, according to the customs and practices prevailing in the community. It
is, perhaps, on the basis of such a claim that the Revenue Department chose
to issue the community certificate to the petitioner.”)

Factors that negatively impact caste system:

➢ Jajmani system that had been a system based on inter-caste relations
deteriorated due to market economy.
➢ Caste councils lost the powers.
➢ Modern education & modern occupations made the caste based division of
labor impossible.
➢ Globalization and modernization weakened the caste system as there is no
caste system in other parts of the world.
➢ Industrialization, urbanization made restrictions on commensality
between the castes impossible.

Some historical facts:

 • Mahatma Gandhi’s stand on Caste changed from critical to radical over
years. He always tried to remove untouchability but in the later years also
spoke about abolition of caste system.
• G.S. Ghurye stated that caste is a hindrance to progress, and it should be
uprooted.
• D.N. Majumdar opined that only evils like untouchability should be
abolished but not the entire system.

Conclusion: The net impact on the caste system is commensality aspect of the
caste system changed drastically but connubium (Right to intermarry) is not
changing at the same rate and caste continues to be a closed system of stratification
in India. M.N. Srinivas and Andre Beteille have concluded that the caste system
is embedded in the psyche of Indians and caste system is here to stay till it
continues to be a part of the psyche.

3.2. JAJMANI SYSTEM

Jajmani system is a socio-economic institution of the pre-industrial self-subsistent

village economy. The term ‘jajmani’ is derived from a Vedic term ‘Yajman’
which means a patron, who employs the services of a Brahmin for the performance
of sacrifices or other religious ceremonies? The jajmani system is essentially
based on caste system.

Each caste has a specialized occupation. Such specialization leads to the exchange
of services in the rural society.

The relationship between the ‘served’ castes and the ‘serving’ castes was not based
on contract, nor was it individual and temporary. It is a permanent relationship,
which is caste-oriented. This system of durable relation between a landowning
family and the landless families, which supply them with goods and services, is
called the ‘jajmani system’.

In the jajmani system, the high caste landowning families are rendered services and
products by the lower castes. The serving castes are called kamins, whereas the
served castes are known as jajmans. The kamins are paid in cash or kind for their
services (Ram Ahuja, Indian Social System).
Harold Gould has described the jajmani system as an inter-familial, inter-caste
relationship pertaining to the patterning of superordinate-subordinate relations
between patrons and suppliers of services.

Yogendra Singh describes jajmani system as a system governed by a relationship

based on reciprocity in inter-caste relations in villages.

Jajmani system is a patron-provider system, in which landholding patrons

(jajmans) are linked through exchanges of food for services with Brahmin priests,
artisans (blacksmiths, potters), agricultural labourers, and other workers.

The jajman-kamin relationship involves religious, social and economic aspects.

This is because the kamins services are needed during the performance of religious
rituals, they are provided with the social support by their jajmans and get financial
(or in kind also) benefits for their services from jajmans.

The kamins, who provide services to jajmans also, need the services of other
castes for themselves. According to Harold Gould, in such a situation, the
lower castes make their own jajmani arrangements either through direct
exchange of labour or by paying in cash or kind. The middle castes also, like the
lower castes, either subscribe to each others’ services in return for compensation
and payments or exchange of services with one another.

The kamins are meant not only to provide goods to the jajmans, but they are also
expected to do those tasks, which are considered impure by jajmans, for
instance, cutting of hair by Nais, washing dirty clothes by Dhobis, cleaning of
toilets by Bhangis, etc. Though these castes are considered to be lower castes,
they do not provide their services to the Harijans. Even the Brahmins do not
accept these lower castes as their jajmans.

According to Vidya Bhushan and Sachdeva,

i. Jajmani Relations are Permanent

ii. Jajmani System is Hereditary
iii. Barter System: The exchange of services is not based on money but on barter
system. The serving family gets things in exchange for the services rendered by it;
though in some cases they may also get money. As a matter of fact, the relationship
between the ‘jajman’ and parjan is not one of the employer and servant. The
jajman looks after all the needs of his ‘parjan’ and helps him whenever it is
required.

Some of the advantages of jajmani system are as follows:

a. The occupation being hereditary, it provides security of occupation to the kamin.

b. It provides economic security as the ‘jajman takes care of all the needs of kamin.

c. It strengthens the relationship between jajman and kamin, which is more per-
sonal than economic.

Functions, Roles, Norms and Values Involved in the Jajmani System: The
significance in this jajman-kamin relationship is that the jajman is expected to give
concessions in the form of free food, free clothing, rent-free lands, etc., during
various emergencies. The jajmani system is not reciprocal in all the villages.
Disintegration of the Jajmani System:

❖ Industrialization—
❖ The rigidity in the caste system decreased, which made possible for kamins
to take up new opportunities of employment.
❖ Spread of education.
❖ Losing of powers by the caste councils and Village Panchayats. The Village
Panchayats are deprived of their traditional roles.
❖ Abolition of Jagirdari system and introduction of land reforms have also
contributed to bringing about a change in the jajmani system.
❖ The improved means of transport and communication has helped in making
the market transactions easier.
❖ Most of the artisans prefer to get money for their goods. Cultivators also
prefer to buy articles for their daily needs, from the market, by paying cash.
Thus monetisation of Indian economy deteriorated the Jajmani system.
❖ The jajmans, in the present day, prefer to have more political support than
depending on their kamins.
 Due to the above-mentioned factors, the jajmani system is deteriorating day-
by-day. Thus, most of the village communities are not dependent on the
jajman-kamin arrangements

3.2. TRIBE - CASTE CONTINUUM

F.G. Bailey in his book, Tribe, Caste and Nation (1960) proposed that there
exists a continuity between tribes and castes of India.
Anthropologists have differed on the question relating to tribe and caste.
According to Ghurye tribal people are backward Hindus differing only in degrees
from the other segments of Hindu society. Elwin argued for the recognition of
separate social and cultural identity of tribal people.
According to Andre Beteille there are certain commonly observed differences
between tribes and castes.
• The tribes are isolated both Geographically and socially, i.e. A tribe is a
world within itself having few external ties. Whereas every caste is a part of
a larger whole being linked by multifarious ties with other castes.
• Tribes speak a variety of languages and dialects which separates them from
non tribes.
• They follow their own religion and practices which are not common in
Hinduism.
• According to D.N Majumdar the tribe looks upon Hindu ritualism as
foreign and extra -religious even though indulging in the worship of Hindu
Gods and Goddesses whereas in the caste these are necessary part of the
religion.
• The individuals of each caste generally pursue their own definite occupation,
because functions are divided under the caste system. Tribes indulge in the
occupation suitable to their ecological conditions and the material sources
available, as there is no fixed relation between tribe and occupation.

Other differences:
Economic factors: Tribals have substantive or system oriented economy thus give
less importance to surplus, where as castes have formal or actor oriented economy,
thus give utmost importance to surplus.
Ritual/ religious factors: Tribal religion tends to be less systematized; less
elaborate and less specialized when compared to that of the Hindu castes
Psychological factors: Tribal people take direct satisfaction from the senses like
food, sex, drinks etc., but castes tend to be ambivalent about such pleasures and
surround them with elaborate rituals.
Social factors: Tribals are egalitarian whereas in the caste system there is
inequality.
According to N.K Bose there are many similarities between tribes and castes.
• Marriage within the clan is forbidden both in the tribe Sagotra marriages in
the caste. (Note: some gotras: Kashyapa, Bharadvaja, Vyasa, Kaushika,
Surya vanshi- Rama’s descendents, Chandra vanshi- Krishna’s
descendents, etc)
• Caste and tribe both are endogamous units.
• Max Weber writes in Social Structure that when an Indian tribe loses its
territorial significance it assumes the form of an Indian caste.

According to Bailey tribe and caste should be viewed as continuum. Bailey's

argument is that a caste society is hierarchical while a tribal society is segmentary
and egalitarian. But in contemporary India both caste and tribe are being merged
into a different system which is neither one nor the other.
Case study: Bailey cites the example of Khonds and the caste Oriyas in
Odisha.
• Khonds are divided into number of clans.
• Each clan is patrilineal and exogamous.
• People of single clan live in single village.
• All members of a clan are equal, and all clans are also equal. Thus, Khonds
are segmentary they have egalitarianism.

• Oriya society is divided into castes.

• The castes are not equal.
• They are hierarchically arranged.
• A number of castes inhabit each village.
• In every village power is concentrated in the hands of dominant caste All the
other castes are subordinate to the dominant caste.
• Oriyas also have economic inequality.
• They have occupational specialization.

Interestingly in every Khond village there are panos. Khonds are agriculturists
but panos remove the dead cattle of the khonds. Since they serve the khonds, the
latter provide a piece of land to them for cultivation. Bailey states that the relation
between Khonds and panos is exactly similar to that of a dominant caste and its
dependent castes among Oriyas.
If we consider all Oriya villages together, the land owning dominant castes in all
villages as one part of the Oriya society and dependent castes in different villages
as the other part of the Oriya society, The relations appear to be segmentary. Thus
there are elements of tribes in caste society (Oriyas) just as there are elements of
caste in tribal society (Khonds) . Hence proves the tribe – caste continuum.
(Note : British disturbed this arrangement by bringing hill areas of Orissa under
the control of Oriya chieftains).
Surajit Sinha’s studies: Being a follower of Redfield, tried to understand the
concept of tribe caste continuum as similar to the Redfield’s concept of Folk-
urban continuum.
Surajit Sinha’s studies: Being a follower of Redfield, tried to understand the
concept of tribe caste continuum as similar to the Redfield’s concept of Folk-
urban continuum.

3.3. SACRED COMPLEX, L. P. VIDYARTHI

• The concept of Sacred Complex was put forth by L.P. Vidyarthi in his book
“The Sacred Complex of Hindu Gaya”.
• L.P. Vidyarthi introduces the term sacred complex to indicate the integrative
pattern envisaging all the sacred elements.

According to L.P. Vidyarthi

• The sacred complex, a Hindu place of pilgrimage reflects a level of continuity,

compromise and combinations between great and little traditions.
• The sacred specialist maintain a distinct style of life and transmit certain
elements of great tradition to the rural population of India by popularizing
certain texts, by organizing pilgrimages and by officiating as the ritual and
temple priests.
• The sacred complex in general and the sacred specialists in particular have been
in the process of modification and transformation as a result of general
development in the Hindu civilization of which they are a part.

Sacred complex of Gaya:

Sacred Geography: L.P. Vidyarthi analysed the sacred complex of Gaya in the
ancient culture of Magadha in Bihar. Vidyarthi calls the entire space occupied by
gaya as Kshetra (ground or region). A sacred centre is simple spot represented by
an image, river, temple or a tree it is the minimum unit of worship it may have a
universal, regional ,or a local importance. When there is a combination of several
sacred centers around a dominant sacred center the term sacred cluster is used.
Two or more clusters form a sacred segment. Several sacred segments togeather
comprise a sacred zone. Two or more zones constitutes a Kshtra.

Sacred performances at Gaya kshetra:

• Puja: Flower worship

• Gaya shraddha: An elaborate form of sacrifices to the ancestral spitits
• Homa( Havan): Fire offerings
• Arghya: Offering of water
• Katha/sankeerthana/Leela/gana: praising god in art forms
• Prarthana/pathana: Reading of sacred texts
• Dhyan: Meditation
• Rituals
• Bath in sacred waters
• Philanthropic activities: offerings to beggars and sadhus, gifts to priests,
presents to specialists, Inviting brahmins to ritual meal etc.

➢ The perfomances include great and little traditional type.

➢ Of all the perfomances the main one for which gaya is revered in the hindu
world is gaya shraddha.
➢ The history of the performances is comensutrate with the history of the
sacred geography.

The sacred specialitsts:

• The sacred specialists are those experts who perform rituals in sacred places.
They are in the form of Gayawal priests, monks, barbers, florists, pilgrim
hunters, staff of Gayawals, sacred singers, reciters, musicians, composers,
Astrologers, Palmists, Shopkeepers and so on.
• Of all the specialists, Ggayawal priests who are Brahmins are most important.
Gayawals may be classified into 3 categories namely the sanskritic, the
feudalistic and the proletarian.
• The sanskritic gayawals practice orthodox life, ceremonialism and strict
adherence to Brahmanic rules as prescribed by the ancient transcript text.
• The feudalist gayawals lead the wealthy and aristocratic life. They also employ
a number of servants to perform their priestly and domestic work.
• The proletarian gayawals show various changes in their behaviours and way of
life. They are ridden with rivalary and group organization and at the same
pretend to maintain presitly life.

The Gayawal priests have Jajmani relationships with well to do patrons located
in various parts in India. The rich patrons from all over India finance the
construction of sacred buildings. They provide a livelihood to the sacred
specialists by holding elaborate sacred performances and giving them valuable
gifts.

The sacred complex of Kashi: A microcosm of Indian civilization.(L.P.Vidyarthi,

Makhan Jha, B.N.Saraswati

Criticism:
1) Bidyanath Saraswathi studied sacred complexs of Nimsar of Gaya and
Kashi and concluded that the sacred complex in the case of Kashi is not
only a Brahmin complex rather it may be a Brahmin - Non Brahmin
complex, as it includes the co-existence of Brahminic temples of
Vishveshwara and the non-Brahminic shrine of Agiyabeer and the scared
performances made by barhmins and non brahimins including untouchables.
This means sacred complex may appear predominatly a Brahmin complex,
but it is indeed a complex of much bigger organization of traditions known
in Indian civilizations.

3.3. NATURE-MAN-SPIRIT COMPLEX - L.P VIDYARTHI

• Lalita Prasad Vidyarthi (28 February 1931 - 1985) was one of the most
renowned Indian anthropologists of the 20th century. He was the Head of the
Department of Anthropology, Ranchi University.
• In 1951 Vidyarthi learned of the Maler tribe which according to him was one
of the few primitive tribes of great anthropological interest in India. When he
got to know about the excessive primitiveness of the isolated Malers he decided
to make them the object of his scientific investigation.
• Vidyarthi explained how the ecological basis of forests and the slash-and-
burn cultivation shaped the socio-economic life of the Maler tribe. He
studied man in relation with nature and the spirit. He presented the four types of
Maler spirits,
• Gossaiyan the benevolent spirits
• Jiwe Urrkya the ancestors
• Alchi evil spirits and
• Chergani spiritual power of a witch or witchcraft

Nature, Man and spirit interaction was the basis of the famous concept of
Nature-Man-Spirit Complex proposed by Vidyarthi.
• The concept of Nature-Man-Spirit complex was put forth by L.P Vidyarthi in
his book “The Maler: A Study in Nature-Man-Spirit Complex in a hill tribe
of Bihar”.
• In the book he describes the culture of a hill tribe the Maler ( also called Souria
paharia) in Rajmahal hills of present Sahebganj district.
• According to Vidyardhi, it is “ A complex araising out of man’s close
interaction with and dependence on nature and his belief in the supernatural and
spirit world”. The three components of the complex , nature refers to
environmnet , man refers to society and the spirit refers to the religious realm.
All the three are intertwined.
• At times are merged in to each other. In Indian tribes there is a relationship and
interaction between social organisation on one hand and religious complex and
ecological conditions on the other. The relation ship is unavoidable and its
avoidance would cause hard ship to the people.
• Both economic necessity and sociophysiological protection have directed man
to keep the closest possible relation with the nature and super natural.
• In certain circumstances it appears that nature and spirit conditions some of the
social ways and practices while in others it sounds as a case of adjustment for
smooth living. But a shift in some of the lifestyles has been reported leading
thereby to the easing of severity traditionally defined in nature-man-spirit
complex.

The book was divided into three parts with Nature, Man and Spirit respectively.

• In the first part he analysed the interaction between Maler and their natural
environment. He demonstrated the ecological basis of Maler culture showing
the importance of hills and forests in the life of Maler. They are dependent on
the forest for their livelihood and survival. They practice shift cultivation
(Khallu) in the forest. They collect roots, fruits, fuel and herbal medicines
from the forest. They gather all those raw material needed for their cottage
industries from the hills and forests. Forests provides hunting grounds to
them. They also believe that diffrent spirits also take abode in and around
the forest. All timber required for constructing their shelters comes from the
forest. Forests provide love-nests and graveyards to the Maler. Thus the
entire Maler life revolved around the forest.
• In the second part dealing with Man he examines the network of
relationships in all its aspects including the structure and organization of the
family, different social institutions, socialisation, personality formation and
lifecycle of a typical Maler. A typical Maler is motivated by two basic needs ,
hunger for food and sex. Their social structure is very simple. They dont
have clan system. Kinship is reckoned through lineage up to 3 generations.
• In the third part on Spirit he describes the religious beliefs in supernatural
beings, sacred centers, sacred performances and sacred specialists. They
believe in the spirits called Gossayians. They believe that one Gossayian is
presiding over the other Gossayians. The Gossayians guide their destiny.The
spirits were classified in to benevolent and malevolent ones. The benevolent
ones are responsible for health, wealth, increased productivity in
agricultureetc. The malevolent ones cause sickness, abortions, death and
natural calamities. They perform many rituals to please their spirits.

Vidyarthi asserted that Maler culture originated, developed and flourished

in the lap of nature. Forests surround the Malers and mainly exiling it in the
 context of its forests can have comprehensive understanding of this culture. In
addition to providing land for slash-and burn- cultivation a main source of
Maler economy the forests provide them with food, drink, shelter, medicine etc.
He discovered that every moment of the Maler life was profoundly influenced
by nature on the one hand and spirit on the other. These two ingredients of the
complex play a paramount role in the life cycle of the Maler people.

Applications of the concept:

• The studies of Korwa by A.N.Sandhwar, Parahiya by R.K.Prasad, Pando by

R.K.Sinha, Nicobarese by V.S.Sahay and Soliga by S.G.Morab clearly
established the significance of this concept.
• It provides a theoretical background for designing the welfare measures and
developmental programs for various tribes.
• It guides the rehablitation planning at times when the tribal displacement is
unavoidable
• It asserts that any developmental scheme that disturbs the equilibrium
between nature, man and spirit will not be accepted by the tribes.

3.4. IMPACT OF BUDDHISM, JAINISM, ISLAM AND

CHIRISTIANITY ON INDIAN SOCIETY

1. IMPACT OF BUDDHISM:
• Buddhism emerged as a challenge to the Brahmanical supremacy and caste
inequality. But it became less popular in India & more popular outside India.
Even though hardly 0.80% of the people in India are Buddhists, the impact
of Buddhism on Hindusim, on the Hindu society and on the Indian culture in
general is very great.

Impact on social life:

• Buddhism granted higher status to Vaisyas.
• Buddhism influenced the lower castes to adopt more honorable occupation
like agriculture.
• Buddhism declared that caste or Varna would not come into the way of
persons seeking to obtain “Nirvana”.
• created a congenial atmosphere for uniting all castes in India.

Impact on Economic Life:

• Buddhism improved agricultural economy.
• Buddhism emphasized that cattle should be protected
• Buddhism even recommends to the kings to supply seeds to the peasants and
cattle and suitable implements
• Buddhism favored increased trade with foreign
• All this gave rise to urbanization.
• Buddhism favored internal trade and the use of money which gave rise to
money-lending.

Impact on Political life:

• Buddhism achieved political peace. “Peace at any cost” and “Compromise
with invaders” had become the guiding principle of some rulers. It provided
advantage to the people of India on one hand and to the invaders of India on
the other.
• Buddhism established intimate contact with foreign countries and good
international relations.
• Buddhism preached Dharma Vijay Rather than Digvijay. This preaching
helped in promoting universal peace.
• Buddhism accommodated the interests of all agricultural castes in village.
• Buddhism inculcated democratic spirit in conflict resolution.

Impact on Religious Life:

• Buddhism introduced idol worship. As Jadunath Sarkar opined “Image-
worship was most probably introduced into India by the Buddhists.” In order
to commemorate the memories of the Buddha as a great master
• Buddhism instituted the monastic orders which made the religious devotees
to constitute a fraternity of monks, obeying a common head and living
together under common disciplinary rules.
• The efforts of the Buddha and his disciples in establishing the Buddhist
Sanghas, Buddhist monastic orders etc., impressed the hidus. Perhaps, the
Buddhist Sangha influenced Sri Adi Shankaracharya in founding the “Mutt”
 became so popular that most of the major castes of India established their
own tradition of the Monastic order.
• Buddhism gave a simple and a popular religion.
• Buddha’s love towards the entire humanity, his compassion towards all the
living creatures, the emphasis he laid on non-violence and peace, have all
made Buddhism to acquire worldwide recognition.
• Buddhism provided cultural contacts between India and other Asiatic
countries. Many Buddhist scholars visited foreign lands to preach Buddhism.
Kasyapa Matanga and Dharmaraksha went to China in the first century
B.C. Santarakshita of Nalanda University went to Tibet,
Kumaraghosha, went to Java.

Impact on Language and Education

• Buddhism encouraged development of regional languages. Buddhist texts
came to be written in a simple language, Pali.
• Buddhism provided plenty of literature on varied subjects. The Buddhist
scholars produced vast literature on varied subjected. Vasubandhu wrote
books on ethics, psychology, and metaphysics. Nagarjuna was an all-round
scholar. He dealt with medicine, chemistry and philosophy.
• The Buddhist writers produced books in the spoken language of the people.
Thus, languages other than Sanskrit began to acquire respectable position in
the country.
• Buddhism gave special importance to education.
• Buddhist monks were also great scholars. Universities such as Taxila of 7th
century Nalanda of 4th Century B.C. had earned a good name in the
ancient world.
• Extended educational opportunity for women & lower sections of the Hindu
society also.

Impact on Art and Architecture:

• Buddhism favoured special type of architecture in the from of stupas,
viharas, chaityas and so on. The early Buddhist monuments chiefly
found at Sanchi, Ajantha, Ellora, Nasik, Amaravathi, and so on.
 Impact on Modern Life:
• The “Panchasheela” which govern the policy of the Government of India is
based on Buddhist teachings.
• Conversion as an escape route from ritual degradation and caste oppression
is not unknown to Indian history. Both Islam and Christianity grew largely
through conversions from low castes. Conversion to Buddhism is distinct in
several ways.
• Buddhist conversions were episode, but not systematic. This is due to the
absence of missionary organization systematically involved in
proselytization.
• Buddhist conversions are largely single caste affair like the Mahars in
Maharashtra and Chamars in Uttar Pradesh etc.

2. IMPACT OF JAINISM:
• Like Buddhism, Jainism also emerged as a protest against brahminic
supremacy and caste system. The first female disciple of Mahaveera is said
to have been a captured slave woman.
• Jainism like Buddhism did not debar the lower castes form acquiring
knowledge.
• Jain monks like the Buddhist monks accepted food from lower class families
including those of weavers.
• Like Buddhism, Jainism also adopted favourable attitude towards traders
and merchant class also.
• Like Buddhism, Jainism tried to improve the position of slaves.
• Apastamba forbids trade in human beings.
• The Digha Nikahaya advises masters to treat their slaves decently.

Impact on Economic Life:

• Jainism, like Buddhism, favoured agriculture.
• It prevented animal scarifies enabling the agriculturists to have adequate
number of cattle for agricultural purposes and for dairy activity. However, it
remained unpopular with the agriculturists because its emphasized on non-
 voilence stood against the agriculturists whose profession necessarily
involved killing of organism for like insects and pests.
• Jainism was unacceptable to artisans and craftsmen. The principle of Ahimsa
became unacceptable to artisans and craftsmen because, their occupations
endangered the plant life and life of other creatures.
• Jainism imposed limitations on land owning. The followers of Jainism
thereby specialized in trade and financial transactions. This explains why
Jains came to be increasingly associated with spread of urban culture and
maritime trade. India’s western coast facilitated foreign trade and therefore
the population in this area is predominantly Jain even today.

Impact on Political and Aspects of Life of Hindus:

• Matter is the same as that pertain to Buddhism.

Modern Position:
• They are not socioculturally distinct from Hindus,
• Jains, although small in size, are divided both on sectarian and caste basis,
hence do not function as unified religious group
• Jainism is no longer a proselytizing (missionary) faith but is socially insulate
• Jains do not identify themselves with any specific territory or language and
are not concentrated in any state.
• The central value of Jains is Ahimsa, and Jains for this reason, initiate,
sponsor and finance many charitable institutions, this invests them with
considerable respectability.

3. IMPACT OF CHRISTIANITY:

Impact on social life:

• Christian religion succumbed to the influences of Varna and Jati. they are
mainly converts from Scheduled castes, Scheduled Tribes and other
Backward Classes.
• Christianity contributed a separate but distinct ethnic group namely Anglo-
Indians. These come under the minority. Their customs, traditions and
values follow a distinct pattern.
• Christianity was able to create a small section of urban middle class by
providing educational facility made available to them by missionaries.
• Christianity failed to remove many disabilities of the Scheduled Castes.
Scheduled caste people converted into Christianity are not treated on Par
with the rest of the Christians
• Christianity inspired social reform movements in India against social evils
like child marriage, taboos against widow remarriage and inter caste
marriage, inter caste dinning, seclusion of women, untouchbility, etc. this
awareness led to the lauching of a series of social reform movements right
form Raja Ram Mohan Roy down to mahatma Gandhiji. Raja Ram’s “Sri
Ramakrishna Mission”, Dr. Annie Besant’s “Theosophical Society”,
Gandhiji’s Sarvodaya” and crusade against Untocuhability and such other
movements not only served to eradicate some of the social evils but also to
enlighten people regarding modern values.

Impact on Economic life:

• Christianity introduced miraculous changes in the field of the technology.
• Christianity created intense desire to increase the standard of living or
material life.
• Christianity spread new life-styles among the Indians. The Christianity made
Indians imitate the British way of life.
• They give up their inhibitions towards meat-eating and consumption of
alcohol. They also adopted British style of dressing and dining. Restrictions
on food habits got relaxed. Carrot, beet-root, onion, garlic, cabbage, radish
and such other vegetables once tabooed, became more acceptable.
• Modern means of transport and communication lessened the social distance
between different castes. Cinemas, hotels, bars and night clubs became
common. Friendly gatherings, marriages, birth-days, wedding anniversaries,
new year day celebrations, felicitation programmes etc, came to be arranged
on the British model.
• Christianity introduced a market system with factory made goods and
destroyed the rural crafts and Jajmani system.

Impact on political life :

• Christianity introduced new political values and ideologies into India like
• Humanitarianism - “an active concern for the welfare of all human beings
irrespective of caste, economic position, religion, age and sex.”
• Egalitarianism upholds the principle of equality, that is quality of sex, caste,
class, color, creed, race, and religion.
• Rationalism upholds “a system of belief regulated by reason, not authority”,
Nor dogma.
• Secularism as an ideology believes “that the state, morals, education, etc
should be independent of religion”
• Monarchic form of government which existed in India for centuries came to
an end.
• Practices of Untouchability became illegal and unconstitutional.
• Social institutions such as marriage, family, caste, property, professions, etc,
had to undergo major changes for the simple fact that the modern law
provides for equality in all the major fields of social life.
• Christianity contributed a uniform legal system to India. In place of the
tradition, caste panchayats, and the village Nyaya Panchayats, the modern
law, legislation, courts police and legal system came to stay.
• Christianity provided inspiration to the Indian to fight for freedom. British
ideas and values inspired a number of freedom fighters such as Gopala
Krishna Gokhale, Tilak, Bipinchandra Pal, Ranade, Gandhiji, Nehru, Sardar
Patel, Subhash Chandra Bose and others.

Impact on Religions life:

• Christianity emphasized materialism. This has diluted spiritualism among
the Indians.
• Christianity favored a communication system which spread information
quickly.
• Christianity introduced a transport system that favored quick travel from one
place to another.

Impact on Language and Education:

• Christianity introduced English as medium of instructions and language
throughout India.
• Christianity introduced formal type of educational institutions in the place of
traditional institutions.
 Impact on Art and Architecture:
• Christianity introduced British art and architectural styles into India.

4. IMPACT OF ISLAM:

Islam is the second biggest religion of humankind. It entered India in the 10th
century A.D. But the Islamic culture started exercising its influence in a serious
manner only after the 15th and 16th centuries.

• Islam is a monotheistic religion. Islam could not make any compromise with
Hinduism. Hence, the absorption of the Indo-Muslims into the fold of
Hinduism by recognizing Allah as another incarnations of Vishnu and
Muhammad as an inspired sadhu, was impossible.
• Islam favoured Muslim society remain mostly urban. They built several
urban centers including Fatehpur Sikri, Auarngabad, Secunderabad,
Allahabad, Ahmedabad, Hyderabad and so on.
• Muslims never showed any interest in purchasing land in rural areas to settle
as agriculturists.
• Islam attempted towards communal harmony. S.C. Dube writes: “Despite
long years of Muslim rule, the overwhelming majority of the people
remained Hindu. This would not have been possible had the requirements of
Islam been strictly carried out.”

Impact on Economic Life:

• Islam favoured the flourishing of urban occupations.
• Islam favored internal and external trade.
• Islam monetized Indian economy.
• Islam neglected agriculture.

Impact on Political Life:

• Islam provided oneness of administrative system to the whole of India.
Especially two hundred years of Mughal ruler gave to the whole of North
India and much of the Deccan also a single system of administration. The
Hindu rules copied down this administration.
• Islam contributed to a uniform legal and judicial system.
• Islam contributed most to the art of war.

Impact on Religion Life:

• Islam contributed to Bhakti tradition. Both the Muslims and Hindu traditions
emphasized that Ram and Rahim are one and the same. All this influenced
Akbar, Nanak and others. As a result, Akbar innovated a new religion
known as Din-I-Ilahi, Kabir foundered Kabirpanth and Nanak founded
Sikhism.

Impact on Language and Education:

• Islam contributed a new language Urdu to India. Urdu is a harmonious
combination of Arabic, Persian, Turkish and Sanskrit.
• Islam enriched Hindi in India.
• Islam introduced Urdu as an official language. In some Hindu Rajput and
Malwa States, the official language even in 1928 was Urdu and the Persian
script was used instead of Devanagari,
• Islam contributed to establishment of libraries.
• Scholarly Muslim Kings got some of the Sanskrit works translated into
Arabic, Persian and Urdu languages. Great Sanskrit works such as
Ramayana, Mahabharata, Upanishads, Bhagavad-Gita, Puranic stories,
Jataka stories, etc, were translated into Arabic language .
• Islam gave importance to education also. Muslim children got education
through “mosque” and Every major mosque had its own educational
institution attached to it. Muslim rulers financed such educational
institutions. Universities of Agra and fatepur Sikri could be regarded as the
great gifts of Muslim culture.
• Islam introduced paper (kagaz) to facilitate recording of events, accounts,
judicial proceedings and history. The use of paper encouraged the art of
writing and the profession of scribing.
• Islam created the habit of writing of history of India.

Impact on Diet, Dress and Decoration:

• Islam influenced the Hindus to adopt Muslim culinary, which included
preparation of Biryani, and sweets such as Gulabjamun, Badusha, Burfi,
Jalebi etc besides several types of Sharbats.
 • Hindus adopted the Muslim custom of wearing Sherwani, Chudidar and
Pyjama and Khurtha.
• The Muslim conquest of India imposed Pardah on Hindu women also. The
Hindu women were compelled to wear Pradah like their Muslim
counterparts mainly to protect themselves from being kidnapped or reduced.
Practice of wearing Pardah further added to the dependence of Hindu
women on their men folk.

Impact on art and Architecture:

The architecture of the medieval period can be divided into two main categories
- Architecture of the Delhi Sultanate or the Imperial Style Eg: Qutb minar
Mughal Architecture.
The Mughal Empire that ruled from 1526-1764 in India evolvedg a rich and
unique architectural style, better known as Mughal architecture that portray a
fine blend of Central Asian, Islamic, Persian, Arabic and Turkish architectural
styles with that of the native architectural styles of India.Eg:
Tajmahal,Redfort, Fatehpursikri, Jama masjid etc.
Impact on Music and Gardening:
• Islam contributed a blend of Persian and Hindustani music.
• Muslims developed new musical instruments such as Sitar, Shahanay, Tabla,
Dilruba, Sarangi and so on. There were expert singers like Surdas,
Keshvadas, Tansen and Abdul Fazal in the court of Akbar.
• Islam contributed devotional music.
• Islam contributed to gardening in India. Mughals took interest in developing
beautiful gardens. They had introduced Persian and Turkish styles in
building gardens. Shalimar gardens, Nishat and Barinag gardens of Kashmir,
and Mughal gardens at Delhi stand as examples in this regard.
• Islam introduced the best medical system of that age using Unani or Greeko-
Arab system of Medicine.

UNIT – 4
CONTRIBUTIONS OF INDIAN ANTHROPOLOGISTS

1. JAMES H. HUTTON : Hutton was well-known as an anthropologist who was

also an administrator. When he was a political agent to the Naga hills among the
tribes there he made thorough studies of the Angami and Sema Nagas. They were
both published as books and became a standard reference work for the region over
the years. As an ethnologist, he studied the entirety of the cultural life of the tribal
communities, including their language and physical characteristics.
The book on the Angamis, published in 1921, described their mythological origin,
law, customs, domestic life, religion, language and folklore, ending with an
appendix on their physical characteristics.

At that time, in England and in other parts of the continent, the trend among
ethnologists was to find the evolutionary origins of various socio-cultural
institutions. This mode was also followed by Hutton. He concludes from his study
that the Nagas must have originated and migrated from somewhere close to China.
He discusses the institution of head-hunting and the Negrito element among the
Angamis. This evolutionary and diffusionist work was also extended to the study
of the caste system, on which Hutton wrote another book. Hutton was also very
much in sympathy with the problems of the tribes. In fact, he was of the opinion
that autonomy could be granted to these tribes for conducting their own affairs.
This stood him in good stead with the local administration and he was appointed
Political Agent to the Naga hills before he became the Census Commissioner. He
was also appointed as the Chairman of Anthropology at Cambridge. He was first to
be appointed the President of the Indian Science Congress in 1921.

2. CHRISTOPH VON-FUHRER HAIMENDORF: Christoph von-Fuhrer

Haimendorf was responsible for many tribal studies. Initially, he began his work in
the Naga hills. He accompanied J. P. Mills on his tours in the region. At the time
Mills was a Political Agent. He wrote a travelogue in 1938 entitled The Naked
Nagas as a result of his tour. In this work, a very subjective account was written
about the Konyak Nagas, about which the world knew very little at the time.

Later, he went on to study the Chenchus of Andhra Pradesh, a hunting-gathering

community. He also went on to make a detailed study of the Gonds of Adilabad.
He described the social life of both these tribal communities and paid special
attention to their problems. He suggested separate development programmes for
them.

He then went on to study the Apatanis of Arunachal Pradesh. He made an

extensive study and was favourably impressed by their stage of development. The
Apatanis were welleducated and were able to compete for posts in the bureaucracy.
Using this comparative background study of the tribes of India, he proposed a
developmental future for these communities based on their isolation from other
communities. This has been called isolationism. In 1984, in a D. N. Majumdar
lecture, he argued that the Gonds were being deprived of their lands and were
becoming poorer due to their contact with outsiders.
The Apatanis were isolated because of their houses being in difficult terrain. This
has resulted in their faster development. Development in this area reached the grass
root level and was not taken over by outsiders. The Indian governmental policy of
not allowing people into this region has also contributed to this state. In fact, by
1985, his book on the Tribes of India clearly states the Indian government policy of
state terrorism against the tribals protesting for their own land to be left to them
instead of being repeatedly usurped by outsiders and taken over.

He has also written on the morals and merits in South Asian societies. Haimendorf
has also worked on communities in Nepal. He retired as a Professor from the
School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), London. In 1976, he retired from
the Chair of Asian Anthropology at the University of London. He is well-known
for his many meticulously detailed ethnographies but is not so well-remembered
for the few theoretical approaches that he used.

3. VERRIER ELWIN: Verrier Elwin came to India as a Christian preacher, but

took up anthropology as a primary interest. He was an ethnographer and in 1932
began to work among the Baiga tribe of Madhya Pradesh. This was later
published as The Baiga in 1939. This was introduced by Hutton. It was cited often
but it contained the first citation of his statement on isolationism for tribals. He had
noted that the Baigas were being destroyed by the landlords and the missionaries.
To protect them from exploitation he suggested that the State should prevent or
control their interaction with outsiders.

Verrier Elwin has always been associated with the issue of the integration of tribal
societies with the greater Indian society. Such an integrationist stance was initially
opposed by him, when he proposed that tribals should be left alone instead of being
constantly interfered with and acculturated. This gave him the reputation of being a
person who advocated separate ‘reserved national parks’ for tribals. Such
national parks he also called ‘Tribal Reserve Area.’ Such a stance was also
being used at the time by the United States government. After this, Elwin went on
to study the Murias of the Bastar region. He devoted one book to the study of the
youth dormitories among the Murias there. It was seen from his work that such
youth dormitories were an indispensable part of many other tribal societies as
well. It was responsible for training the youth in various social activities and
for initiating them into sexual activities. This led others to work on the
activities of the youth dormitories in other tribal societies.
He went on to publish many more works on tribal and other cultures. He published
one on the religion of the tribes, their folklore, myths of origin, etc. In a study of
the Borneo highlanders he again supported isolationism. This was criticized by
several nationalist leaders and pro assimilation anthropologists. Finally, when
Elwin wrote A Philosophy For NEFA he propagated a more assimilationistic
stance in collaboration with the Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru. In his
integrationist model of the tribe, he propagated the idea, following Nehru’s
panchsheel that the tribes should be allowed to develop according to their own
dictates.

Elwin went on to become a member of several committees on tribal affairs and

also an editor of Man in India. His house in Shillong now houses his wife and son,
and a host of memorabilia that exhibit his travels among the tribals of India. Many
of the photographs that he took now adorn the walls of the Museum and
Department of Anthropology, NEHU, Shillong.

4. RAI BAHADUR SARAT CHANDRA ROY (1871–1942): He was a Bengali

speaking Indian scholar of anthropology. He is widely regarded as the father of
Indian ethnography, the first Indian ethnographer, and as the first Indian
anthropologist. He earned a postgraduate degree in English, and subsequently
studied law and worked as a principal at the GEL Mission High School in Ranchi
where he became aware of the plight of the tribals.

Career in anthropology

His interest into the plight of the "tribal" people developed in the course of his
visits as a lawyer, in the interior areas of the Chota Nagpur Division. He was
deeply moved by the plight of the Munda, Oraon and other tribal groups, who were
subjected to the continued oppression by an apathetic colonial administration, and
by a general contempt towards them in courts of law, as "upper-caste" Hindu
lawyers had little knowledge of their customs, religions, customary laws and
languages. Keeping all this in perspective, he decided to spend years and decades
among tribal folks to study their languages, conduct ethnography, and interpret
their customs, practices, religion and laws for the benefit of humanity, and also for
the established system of colonial civil jurisprudence. In so doing, he wrote
pioneering monographs, that would set the ground for broader understanding and
future research. Thus although he was not formally trained in either ethnology or
anthropology, he is regarded the first Indian ethnologist, or ethnographer or an
Indian anthropologist.
In his later years, he spent his time editing Man in India and in other journals,
writing and lecturing at the newly established anthropology department at the
University of Calcutta, and serving as a reader at Patna University.

5. BIRAJA SHANKAR GUHA: Biraja Sankar Guha (Bengali: (15 August

1894 – 20 October 1961) was an Indian physical anthropologist, who classified
Indian people into races around the early part of the 20th century. He was the first
Director of the Anthropological Survey of India (ASI) (1945–1954).

Career

He worked as a research scholar in anthropology in the Government of Bengal in

1917. In 1924, he was awarded a Ph.D. degree in anthropology from Harvard
University, for his thesis on "The Racial basis of the Caste System in India". In
the process he became one of the earliest recipients of the doctorate in that
discipline in the world and certainly, the first Indian citizen to do so.

In 1934, Guha became a Fellow of the Royal Anthropological Institute of Great

Britain and Ireland, and member of the Permanent Council of the International
Congress of Anthropology. In 1936, he founded the Indian Anthropological
Institute in Calcutta (now Kolkata). In 1938, he became the President of the
Anthropology Section of the British Association for the Advancement of Science.

Guha is best known for his work on classification of the Indian people into racial
groups Although the concept of race has been rejected by the evolutionary
scientists, Guha's theories are of historical interest. Apart from Indian tribes, he
also did some research on North American Indians

Publications

➢ Racial elements in the population (1944), published by Oxford University

Press (a digitised version is available from University of Oklahoma)
➢ The racial affinities of the people of India in Census of India, 1931 (1935),
Government of India Press, Simla
➢ A biometric study on the tribes of north-western Himalayan region (with S.
K. Mazumdar)

6. DEWAN BAHADUR L. K. ANANTHAKRISHNA AIYAR:

Lakshminarayanapuram Krishna Ananthakrishna Iyer (1861–1937) was an
anthropologist of British India, who is renowned for his work amongst the hill
tribes of the western part of Madras province.

Early life

Ananthakrishna Iyer was born to a Vedic scholar, L. N. Krishna Iyer, in the village
of Lakshminarayanapuram near Palghat in the then Malabar district of the Madras
Presidency which is in modern day Kerala.

Career

Ananthakrishna Iyer is best known for his books Castes and Tribes of Mysore, and
Castes and Tribes of Cochin. Both are pioneering works on the tribes inhabiting
the west coast of India. He was born in 1861 at Palaghat in Kerala. He passed
matriculation from Palaghat high school in 1878 and passed BA from Madras
Christian college in 1883. Heworked with Revenue Department for some time at
Vayanad, then left to join Victoria College Palaghat. In the year 1896, he became a
headmaster in a Christian school. In 1897, he joined Maharajas College at
Eranakulam as scientific assistant The Log book kept at St Berchmans H S
Changanacherry gives this piece of information: "He took charge of the school as
Headmaster on 22 February 1897 ≥.He was there till May that year and left for
Ernakulam by former Headmaster Thomas K J kallarakavumkal Mammood P O
PIN 686536 Changanacherry Kerala". His son, L. A. Krishna Iyer, was also a
noted anthropologist and a Padma Bhushan awardee.

Works : The Mysore Tribes and Castes, Tribes and Castes of Cochin.
7. GOVIND SADASHIV GHURYE : G. S. Ghurye was born in 1893 and was a
Sanskritic scholar, teaching it in Bombay, before he went on to become a Ph.D.
scholar under the famed anthropologist W.H.R. Rivers and A.C. Haddon, at
Cambridge University in England. He was an evolutionist and he used indological
texts to work on caste and race in India, an interest that continued throughout his
life. He was one of the pioneers of the use of indological texts in sociology. He
was also
known as the father of systematic teaching of Sociology in India.

The work of G. S. Ghurye has been seen by many as having progressed

anthropology greatly in its initial period. However, Ghurye’s work was multi-
disciplinary in nature and he was as important for the scholars of sociology. After
coming back from Cambridge in 1924 he became the first Reader of the
Department of Sociology in Bombay. He was the second Chairman of the
Department of Sociology, Bombay University. He served there till the early
1950s. After retirement he continued on his researches for a very long period. He
worked for over 70 years on classical texts, the study of comparative religion,
survey methods, problems of urban women, bureaucracy, political processes and
elites.

During his work there he wrote Caste and Race in India, which came out in 1932
under the History and Civilisation series edited by C.K. Ogden. It soon became a
basic text. He tried to give a comprehensive picture of castes, along with its origin,
features, function, development, and so on. It was revised in 1950 and came out as
Caste and Class in India. He had added the gently developing system of caste
under the present milieu of political, economic and social change in India. He also
wrote on the tribes of India and gave details of their administration. He was an
assimilationist and wished to incorporate the tribals of India into the ‘mainstream’
of Indian culture. He also showed how the earlier British Administration had
created problems in the administration of the tribes.

This led him to write The Aborigines – ‘so called’ and Their Future in 1943. He
enumerated the problems of the aboriginal tribes of India in a truly anthropological
manner. He was of the opinion that these tribes should neither be called ‘adivasis’
nor ‘aborigines’. They should not be a separate category but should be merged
with castes and should be treated as backward
classes.

Ghurye’s work was textually oriented and did not involve fieldwork. According to
many, including M. N. Srinivas, he was conjectural, historical and indological.
This did not mean that he was unaware of the current context of the castes on
which his researches were based as this following statement shows:

8. DHIRENDRA NATH MAJUMDAR: D. N. Majumdar was born on 3 June

1903 in Patna, He became a Masters in Anthropology from Calcutta University in
1924. D. N. Majumdar, a student of Sarat Chandra Roy from Calcutta University,
went to Cambridge to conduct his Ph.D. under Professor T. C. Hodson in 1933. For
his fieldwork, he selected a tribe called the Ho in the Kolhan region of
Chotanagpur. This study became a basis for the study of society by students in the
future. The approach could be shortened to MARC, or Man, Area, Resource and
Cooperation. The relationship between these four elements guided the existence of
any society. Man here refers to human beings having certain biological needs and
physical properties. Area refers to the spaces which they occupy, the geographical
referent which forms the basis of their existence. Resource signifies the materials
available in the spaces that they occupy. Finally, cooperation indicates the
relationships between the human beings studied. Harmony in all these four
elements leads to a functional unity in society. This unity breaks down due to
external pressures. Using this model Majumdar claimed that the Hos were being
influenced due to external pressures. He saw that primitive tribes were declining
and this was for him a primary concern for anthropologists. An advanced culture
impinging on a simple and passive society, according to him, caused such a
decline. He did not agree that this could be stopped by creating reserves for tribals
so that they may not be influenced, or by including them very closely within the
Hindu fold as a backward form of Hinduism, but that they should be integrated into
Indian society, a form that he called “creative or generative adaptation.” He
believed that dominant groups should give respect to those communities that were
backward or downtrodden. A social change, in his opinion, should not be
disruptive but should be in continuity with existing cultural traditions. Thus, his
work was on culture contact and acculturation among the Ho. His Ph.D. was
awarded in 1935. In spite of his specialization in Social Anthropology, he managed
to keep up with trends in Physical Anthropology and Prehistory.

9. NIRMAL KUMAR BOSE ( 1901 – 1972): was a leading Indian

anthropologist, who played a formative role in "building an Indian Tradition in
Anthropology". A humanist scholar with a broad range of interests, he was also a
leading sociologist, urbanist, Gandhian, and educationist. Also active in the Indian
freedom struggle with Mahatma Gandhi, he was imprisoned in 1931 during the
Salt Satyagraha.

Career in anthropology

His initial work was among the Juang of Orissa, as part of his master's work at
Calcutta University (1924–25). In 1929, he brought out Cultural Anthropology,
presenting a developing world view of anthropology and culture. 1932 saw the
publication of Canons of Orissan architecture, announcing his interest in art and
architecture. His sociological interests were reflected in Some aspects of caste in
Bengal (1958), and his urbanist interests in Calcutta 1964: a social survey (1968)
and Anthropology and some Indian problems (1972).

Among his major works is the study Peasant Life in India (1961), based on a wide
study with data collected from 311 out of 322 districts of India. Here he comments
on the considerable interpenetration in the material culture of rural India, "on the
whole independent of language as well as of physical types". Other important
works include The Structure of Indian Society (1949).

He was also the editor, from 1951 until his death, of the journal Man in India. He
was the director of the Anthropological Survey of India from 1959 to 1964. In
1965, he undertook a survey of the Hill districts of Assam and in the following
year, the tribal regions of Arunachal Pradesh (then NEFA).

10. IRAVATI KARVE: She was born in 1905 in Burma and educated in Pune.
She had a B.A. in Philosophy and then she completed her M.A. in Sociology in
1928 from Bombay University. She then went to Berlin University in Germany
where she was honoured with a D.Phil. for her outstanding research work in 1930.
She had worked under the tutelage of Eugene Fischer at Berlin University. She was
also knowledgeable in both social as well as in physical anthropology. In 1939
when she came back to India she joined the Deccan College Postgraduate and
Research Institute in Pune as Head of the Department of Sociology and
Anthropology. In 1939 she was the President of the Archaeology and
Anthropology section of the Indian Science Congress. By the 1940s she had
worked with the famous H.D. Sankalia on prehistoric cultures and had published
two papers with him. She concentrated on the racial composition of the Indian
population, the kinship organization in India, the origins of caste and sociological
studies of rural and urban communities.

She wrote Kinship Organisation in India in 1953 and Hindu Society: An

Interpretation in 1961. In the former she divided India’s kinship pattern into four
zones – North, South, Eastern and Central. To show the integration of Hindu
society, she gave illustrative examples from various Hindu mythologies, trying to
relate them with modern customs. She tried this again in her work Yuganta in 1967
(in Marathi). It became very popular and won the Sahitya Academy Award for that
year. In this work she studied the cast of players in the Mahabharata, as well as its
society in an anthropological manner.

11. HASMUKH DHIRAJLAL SANKALIA: H. D. Sankalia was born on 10th

December 1908. His parents were upper middle class Gujarati and his father was a
solicitor. In his B.A. he took Sanskrit and then in his M.A. he took History. He
went to England in 1934 to do his Ph.D. in Ancient Indian History at London
University, writing a thesis on the Archaeology of Gujarat, which was published in
1941.

He did Archaeological excavations in the following sites.

Palaeolithic Finds in the Deccan: The historical site of Kolhapur was excavated
in 1945-46 with M. G. Dikshit. His detailed surveys on the banks of Godavari and
its tributaries revealed a flake tool industry.

Maheshwar – Navdatoli: This revealed a full-fledged Chalcolithic culture dated

between the decline of the Harappan Civilisation and the beginning of Early
Historical Period. Thus, the long-perplexing hiatus between the two periods was
largely explained. The culture was interpreted by Sankalia, mainly on the basis of
resemblance between the pottery of this culture and that of Iran, to be of Aryan
origin.

Nevasa: The excavation at Nevasa was motivated to prove or otherwise the legend
of its association with the famous saint Jnaneshvara. Here he discovered human
occupation right from the Lower Palaeolithic phase to the Muslim-Maratha period.

Early Man in Kashmir: Sankalia went to Kashmir to check the geological

deposits and found worked flake with a prominent bulb of percussion; the
existence of Early Man in Kashmir was thus established. He also discovered a
hand axe in the same deposits; the latter belonged to the first Ice Age or little later.
The discovery was later published in the Current Anthropology.

Inamgaon: The site of Inamgaon was well preserved to fulfil the long-cherished
aims of Sankalia. Sankalia after the retirement opted to reside on the campus. He
was appointed Professor Emeritus in the department.

Awards: He was awarded Narmad Suvarna Chandrak in 1976 for his book Akhand
Bharatma Sanskrutino Ushakal

12. DHARANI P. SEN : Dharani Sen was born in September 1910. In 1934, he
completed his Masters degree from the Department of Anthropology, Calcutta
University. He went on to specialize in Prehistoric Archaeology. He then became a
Lecturer at the Department of Anthropology, Calcutta University. He became a
Reader and officiating Head at the Department of Anthropology at Lucknow
University between 1952-53. From 1962-74 he was an extra-mural Lecturer at the
Department of Archaeology, Calcutta University. In 1977 he was a Visiting
Professor at the Department of Anthropology, Dibrugarh University. He retired as
a Reader from the Department of Anthropology, Calcutta University.

He worked on Siwalik and Pleistocene stratigraphy, stone age culture and

chronology, and human environments of West Punjab in Pakistan, East Punjab,
Jammu and Kashmir, Poonch and Madras. He excavated stone age sites in
Mayurbhanj (Orissa), Singhbhum (Jharkhand) and explored sites in Narmada
Valley and Mirzapur. He became a sectional President of the Indian Science
Congress in 1954. He was fluent in Bengali, Hindi and English.

13. MYSORE NARASIMHACHAR SRINIVAS: One of the most well-known

individuals in the history of sociology and social anthropology of India would
remain M. N. Srinivas. He was born on 16 November 1916 in Mysore, and was
educated initially in Karnataka.

He completed his B.A. in Anthropology and Sociology at Mysore University in

1936. Having completed his Masters in Sociology from Mysore University. He
then completed his Ph.D. from Bombay University. Based on the fieldwork among
the Coorgs, he introduced the concept of ‘Brahminisation’ as a mode of caste
mobility for the first time in his Ph.D. work among them.

He was trained by G. S. Ghurye, with whom he often disagreed. He was also very
much a field oriented social anthropologist and was a promoter of the
structural-functional approach. He was strongly influenced by the fieldwork of
both A.R. Radcliffe-Brown and Bronislaw Malinowski. This interest enabled him
to conduct his first fieldwork among the Coorgs of South India. This led to the
publication of Religion and Society among the Coorgs of South India in 1952.

He went on to do a D.Phil. in Social Anthropology from Oxford University, which

he completed in 1947. He worked closely with the anthropologists A.R. Radcliffe-
Brown and E.E. Evans-Pritchard. He Gave more concepts like ‘Sanskritization’

Srinivas’ major fieldwork was conducted in Rampura in Mysore. He exposed the

two kinds of statuses found in such societies – calling them ritual and secular
statuses. To accommodate the two kinds of status the concept of a ‘dominant
caste’ was found to be very useful. He introduced the term Westernization in
1966.

In 1955 he received the Rivers Memorial Medal, in 1958 the S,.C. Roy Memorial
Medal, in 1971 the Dadabhai Naoroji Memorial Prize for Social Science other than
economics, in 1976 the T. H. Huxley Memorial Medal from the Royal
Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland in London, and in 1977 the
Padma Bhushan from the Government of India. In 1957 he was President of the
Anthropology and Archaeology Section of the Indian Science Congress and in
1966-67 was President of the Indian Sociological Society.
14. SHYAMA CHARAN DUBE: S. C. Dube, born on 25 July 1922 in Seoni in
Madhya Pradesh, initially finished a degree in Political Science before he decided
to join Anthropology. The course in Political Science had a special paper in Social
Anthropology. He then conducted a study of the Kamars of Raipur in order to do a
doctoral dissertation in Sociology. They were considered to be an extremely
backward community and before S.C. Dube went to study them, not much was
known about them. Dube studied their society holistically using traditional
anthropological methods.

He studied a village in Hyderabad called Shamirpet. He studied the

interrelationships of Hindus and Muslims in the framework of jati relationships. He
was able to show through his data that communalism was not a major problem in
Indian villages. He showed that a distance was kept between different castes and
different religions in the same village. Both Hindus as well as Muslims followed
many folk customs. These customs united the people into a whole and thus
communal feelings were kept in abeyance. He also worked in West Orissa. After
these studies, Dube became interested in studying the impact of community
development planning on villages.

He conducted fieldwork in Chhattisgarh, Telengana in Andhra Pradesh, West

Orissa and north Madhya Pradesh. In 1962 he went to Pakistan as a UNESCO
consultant to advise on a major study of leadership in that country.

15. SURAJIT CHANDRA SINHA: Surajit Chandra Sinha was born on 1st
August, 1926. In 1956, he completed a Ph.D. in Anthropology from Northwestern
University with a thesis on The Acculturation of the Bhumij: A Study in Inter-
Ethnic Integration and Stratification. Thus, he specialized in cultural
anthropology. He became a Fellow of the American Anthropological Association.

Apart from his visit to the USA as a Fulbright scholar, he was a Visting Assistant
and Associate Professor at various Universities around the world. He went on to
become the Vice- Chancellor of Visva-Bharati University. In 1965-66 he became
Professor of Social Anthropology at the Indian institute of Management, Calcutta.
From 1972 to 1975 he was the Director of the Anthropological Survey of India. He
was President of the section on Anthropology and archaeology, of the Forty-Ninth
Session of the Indian Science Congress.
In his researches Surajit Sinha worked on tribal transformation in India, working
on the integration of the Bhumij tribals within the Hindu caste system. He worked
extensively former south Manbhum, Ranchi, Singhbhum, and Mayurbhanj districts
within West Bengal, Bihar (undivided) and Orissa. He conducted researches on an
anthropological study of Indian civilization and of cultural evolution. He
conducted an All-India survey of the weaker sections of the Indian population.
He studied the organization of the ascetics of Kashi. He did an anthropological
appraisal of Rabindranath Tagore’s ideas on the nature of Indian civilization. He
also worked on the social and cultural transformation of the Rarh region of West
Bengal.

He was a member of the American Anthropological Association, the Indian

Anthropological Society, the Indian Anthropological Association, Current
Anthropology and the Asiatic Society. He was editor of the famous
anthropological journal Man in India started by S.C. Roy. For a time, he was also
the editor of the Journal of the Indian Anthropological Society.

16. K. S. MATHUR: He was born in 1929 and specialized in Social Anthropology

with a special interest in Religion, Economics and Society. He took up projects
from I.C.M.R. on Growth and Development of Indian Infants and Children, and R.
P. C. Projects on Economic Development and Social Change. Other projects taken
up were on caste, untouchability, occupations, and border hill areas of Uttar
Pradesh. He was employed as a Lecturer from 1951 and as a Reader from July
1964 at Lucknow University. He was Reader and Head of the Department of
Anthropology, Lucknow University. He was a Member of the Ethnographic and
Folk Culture Society, Association of Social Anthropologists, Indian
Anthropological Association and was an Associate for Current Anthropology in
the USA.

17. LALITA PRASAD VIDYARTHI (28 February 1931 – 1985): Vidyarthi

believed that social scientists in India must explore the scriptures, such as the
Vedas, the Upanishads, the Smritis, the Puranas and the Great Epics.

He said of the tribal people: It is for the Indian Anthropologists to take them
seriously and not to be carried away by the voluminous writings of the Western
Scholars who termed them to be 'animist', 'savages' and 'very different form the
Hindus'.

In 1951, Vidyarthi learned of the Maler tribe. Vidyarthi explained how the
ecological basis of forests and the slash-and-burn cultivation shaped the socio-
economic life of the Maler tribe. This was the basis of the famous concept of
Nature-Man-Spirit Complex proposed by Vidyarthi.
The another major concept that Vidyarthi brought into the Anthropological arena
was that of a Sacred complex. His work The Sacred Complex in Hindu Gaya is
considered to be one of the greatest contributions to the field of Anthropology.
Gaya is a sacred city of Hindu pilgrimage. He described Gaya in terms of "a sacred
geography", a set of "sacred performances" and a group of "sacred specialists".
These three concepts are the ones comprising the "Sacred Complex", which is
essentially a 'great tradition' in character. This great tradition is the one which
reflects Hinduism and unites the diverse people of India.

Vidyarthi's study of Hindu Gaya demonstrated that the sacred complex establishes
and maintains continuity and compromise between the traditions of the Hindu
Civilisation.

Books

➢ The Sacred Complex in Hindu Gaya, 1961

➢ The Maler: The Nature-Man-Spirit Complex in a Hill Tribe, 1963
➢ Aspects of Social Anthropology in India (with B. N. Sahay and P. K. Dutta),
1980
➢ Art and Culture of North East India, 1986
➢ The sacred complex of Kashi: a microcosm of Indian civilization (with
Makhan Jha and Baidyanath Saraswati), 1979

18. TRILOKI NATH MADAN: He was born on 12 August 1931. He specialized

in Social Anthropology and engaged in research work. He completed a Masters in
Sociology and Anthropology from Lucknow University in 1951. In 1960 he
completed his Ph.D. from the Australian National University. From 1952 to 1956
and from 1959 to 1962 he was employed as a Lecturer at Lucknow University.
From 1962-63 he was a Lecturer at the School of Oriental and Asian Studies
(SOAS) at London University. Then he became a Reader at Karnataka University.
Then, a Senior Fellow (Sociology) and Head of the Asian Research Centre,
Institute of Economic Growth, University of Delhi. Then he became a Professor at
the Institute of Economic Growth, University of Delhi.

From 1963-66 he was a Reader at Karnataka University. Then became a Senior

Fellow (Sociology) and Head, Asian Research Centre, Institute of Economic
Growth, University of Delhi in 1969. He was a Fellow of the Royal
Anthropological Institute of London. He worked on a project on modern
professions and on kinship, renunciation and family. He has worked on family,
kinship and occupation among Kashmiri Muslims in the Kashmir
valley. He has worked also on the religious ideology of the Muslims and Hindus of
Kashmir, caste, family and development in India and on the magnitude and
structure of the professions in India, among other things.

He is a Fellow of the Royal Anthropological Institute, a Life Member of the Indian

Sociological Society and the Ethnographic and Folk Culture Society, and a
Member of the Association of Social Anthropology of the Commonwealth. He has
been an editor of Contributions to Indian Sociology. He is fluent in English, Hindi,
Kashmiri, Urdu and French. He is still active in academic circles.

19. ANDRE BETEILLE: Prof. Andre Beteille was born on 30 September 1934.
In 1957 he completed his Masters in Anthropology from Calcutta University. In
1964 he completed his Ph.D. from the Department of Sociology, University of
Delhi, on Caste, Class and Power: Changing Patterns of Stratification in a Tanjore
Village. Thus, he specialized in social stratification, inequality, social change and
political sociology. He has been engaged all his life in teaching and research.
Later, he took up a project on agrarian class relations. He was also employed at the
Indian Statistical Institute during 1958-59. From 1959 onwards he has been
employed in Delhi University. He became a Jawaharlal Nehru fellow, a Simon
fellow and a Leverhulme fellow, University of Sydney. Between 1965-66, he
worked at Manchester University.

In 1959, he joined the Department of Sociology, University of Delhi as a Lecturer,

a post he occupied till 1964. He became a Reader and then a Professor at the
Department of Sociology, University of Delhi. He is a Member of the Indian
Sociological Society, Association of Social Anthropologists of Great Britain and
the Commonwealth and the American Political Science Association. He is fluent in
Bengali, Hindi, English and French.

20. GOPALA SARANA: Profesor Gopala Sarana was born on 2nd January 1935.
He completed his M.A. from Lucknow University in 1955. From there, he went to
the USA, to complete his Ph.D. from Harvard University in 1966. His Ph.D. was
on Comparative Methods (Approaches) in Social- Cultural Anthropology: A
Methodological Analysis.

He conducted fieldwork among the Khasa and the Oraon tribals of Berhambe, near
Ranchi, now in Jharkhand. In his theoretical researches he moved from an interest
in Radcliffe-Brown in 1957 to 1959, through to structure and function as stated by
Radcliffe-Brown and Malinowski in 1970. He organized a symposium on
Radcliffe-Brown in 1981 and in 1984 on Malinowski and later on Levi-Strauss
(Misra; 2004).

For many, from a theoretical perspective, the most important set of contributions
which received wide acclaim were his papers and a book on anthropological
comparisons. He also analyzes those who claim that anthropological comparisons
do not yield the basic laws of human society and shows that even these authors
have used comparisons.

Though, cultures are unique and should not be compared to each other, Sarana
claims that the comparison of similar customs having different functions in
different cultures and vice-versa would be fruitful in understanding their nature and
form. Comparing totalities would lead also to large scale generalizations and
understanding.

5.1. SIGNIFICANCE OF VILLAGE STUDY IN INDIA

Importance of Village Studies:
Village studies have its own importance. These have enriched the knowledge of the
Indian Society in general and rural India in particular. These have given great
encouragement to the growth of rural society.

After independence, planners in India realised that unless Indian villages were
properly studied, no real progress could be made.

Scholars now began to pay more and more attention to village studies because,

1. Village studies help in planning rural reconstruction:

According to M.N. Srinivas, village studies provide detailed information
regarding various aspects of rural life. In these studies, either the holistic nature of
the village communities is discussed, or certain specific aspects of rural life are
focused, for example,

➢ The extent of sub-division and fragmentation of land holdings.

➢ Agrarian relations
➢ Family and kinchip
➢ The nature of rural credit
➢ The conditions of landless labourers
 ➢ Intercaste relations
➢ conditions of lower castes and untouchables etc.

It helps in planning rural development and reconstruction. As nearly 70% of Indian

population lives in rural areas, the rural development is very important for India.

2. Village studies provide useful information to other disciplines:

The sociologists and social anthropologists collect data to study different villages –
its several aspects, its problems etc. The collected data are more accurate, reliable
and unbiased. Hence these are highly useful for other social scientists.

3. Village studies provide useful knowledge about Indian social reality:

Village studies have assumed sociological and socio-anthropological Importance.
The Urban areas are more subjected to globalization and therefore do not retain the
unique features of Indian society. Thus Villages are the good source of
understanding the unique features of Indian society like Dominant caste,
Sanscritisation, Universalisation, parochialisation, Tribe caste continuum,
Jajmani system etc.

5. Helps in achieving decentralization in governance through Panchayati raj

institutions.
6. Helps in designing the developmental policies and studying their
implementation.

5.1. TRADITIONAL AND CHANGING PATTERNS OF

INTER-CASTE RELATIONS; AGRARIAN RELATIONS
IN INDIAN VILLAGES

Indian society is a society where about 70 percent of the population lives in

villages, and majority population is engaged in agriculture.
• Agrarian structure means the institutional frame work of agriculture related to:
(a) The distribution of land
(b) The control of land, and
(c) The use of land.

Daniel Thorner defines agrarian social structure as:

“The network of relations among the various groups of persons who draw their
livelihood from the soil and the consequences of their pattern of relationships”.
Thus agrarian social structure of India is the sum total of four elements, village,
caste, class and Jajmani system.

According to A.R. Desai, Daniel Throner, C.B. Mamoria, P.C. Joshi , Andre
Beteille and a few others, the agrarian social structure in India has grown in
different phases: (I) the Pre-British phase, and (ii) the British Phase, (iii) the Post-
Independence phase.

(I) AGRARIAN STRUCTURE IN PRE-BRITISH PERIOD

• Agrarian relations centre around the rulers, their nobles, officers, share
croppers, tenants, peasants, labourers. Rulers had their personal lands known
as crown lands. There were the nobles, officers, scholars, physicians and
experts in various fields who had large estates granted by the rulers.
• These people were Brahmins, Rajputs and Kayasthas in the North,
Brahmin, Nairs , Vellalas, Okkaligas, Reddis and Kammas in the south.
They became land owing castes.

(II) Agrarian structure in British Period: The main objectives of the British land
policy in India were;
(1) To collect the maximum amount of rent from Indian agrarian society.
(2) To introduce international money into agrarian economy to suit their interest.
(3) To introduce free trade in agriculture; and
(4) To make Indian agrarian economy a part of their colonial markets.

Land Revenue Systems in British India : Three major systems of land revenue
collection existed in India. They were – Zaminidari, Ryotwari and Mahalwari.

Zamindari System
• Zamindari System was introduced by Cornwallis in 1793 through Permanent
Settlement Act.
• It was introduced in provinces of Bengal, Bihar, Orissa and Varanasi.
• Also known as Permanent Settlement System.
• Zamindars were recognized as owner of the lands. Zamindars were given the
rights to collect the rent from the peasants.
• The realized amount would be divided into 11 parts. 1/11 of the share belongs
to Zamindars and 10/11 of the share belongs to East India Company.

Ryotwari System

• Ryotwari System was introduced by Thomas Munro in 1820.

• Major areas of introduction include Madras, Bombay, parts of Assam and
Coorgh provinces of British India.
• In Ryotwari System the ownership rights were handed over to the peasants.
British Government collected taxes directly from the peasants.
• The revenue rates of Ryotwari System were 50% where the lands were dry and
60% in irrigated land.

Mahalwari System

• Mahalwari system was introduced in 1833 during the period of William

Bentick.
• It was introduced in Central Province, North-West Frontier, Agra, Punjab,
Gangetic Valley, etc of British India.
• The Mahalwari system had many provisions of both the Zamindari System and
Ryotwari System.
• In this system, the land was divided into Mahals. Each Mahal comprises one or
more villages.
• Ownership rights were vested with the peasants.
• The villages committee was held responsible for collection of the taxes.

Agrarian Classes and Class Relations of the British Period in India:

(i) Landlords:
 (ii) Tenants: They were holding leases under the landlords of various
categories.
(iii) Peasants: Subsistence cultivators by family
(iv) Agricultural Working Class: Worked in the field of others.

(III) AGRARIAN STRUCTURE IN POST-INDEPENDENCE PERIOD

Land reforms: There are six main categories of reforms:

• Abolition of intermediaries (rent collectors under the pre-Independence

land revenue system) E.g. Abolition of Zamindari system.
• Tenancy regulation (to improve the contractual terms including the
security of tenure);
• A ceiling on landholdings (to redistributing surplus land to the landless)
E.g. In order to bring about uniformity between the states, a new policy
was evolved in 1971, lowering of ceiling on land ownership to 28 acres
of wetland and 54 acres of unirrigated land.
• Attempts to consolidate disparate landholdings;
• encouragement of cooperative joint farming;
• settlement and regulation of tenancy.

Changing Class Structure in Agriculture:

(i) Rich Farmers: Very big areas, don’t cultivate directly

(ii) Middle Farmers: Big areas, don’t cultivate directly
(iii) Poor Peasants: They own and control small and marginal areas of
cultivable land. Family members cultivate it.
(iv) Landless Labourers: According to Bardhan and Rudra there are
broadly two types of agricultural labourers.
a. Unattached Labourers: They come into, day-to-day contract with
employers. Their wage rates vary seasonally depending on the seasonal
demand of agricultural operation.
b. Attached Labourers have continuity of association with a particular
employer.
• Extremely attached: they are bonded labourers.
• Fully Attached Labourers: They have usually a contract duration of around
one year.
• Semi-Attached Labourers: they have continuity for more than just a few days
they have the freedom to work for the other employers for a part of the year.

5.1. IMPACT OF GLOBALIZATION ON INDIAN

VILLAGES.

Some sociologists, like William I. Robinson, define globalization as a process that

began with the creation of the capitalist economy, which formed connections
between distant regions of the world as far back as the Middle Ages. In fact,
Robinson has argued that because a capitalist economy is premised on growth and
expansion, a globalized economy is the inevitable result of capitalism.

Positive Impact:

• Increased the awareness of rural mass through faster flow of information

which led to liberalization of attitudes of rural peoples.
• Abolition of intermediaries such as zamindars.
• Development of credit facilities & technology.
• Emergence of various associations and institutions.
• Empowerment of rural women.
• Enhanced the living standards & increased access to better product and
services.
Negative Impact:

• Introduction of cash crops / export crops like cotton, jute, turmeric, chili,
tobacco etc., led to the increase in the prices of food crops.
• The fluctuations in prices in world economy affected the rural economy. For
example the civil war and famine in USA in 1980’s, world war I and world
war II generated a lot of demand for cotton from India. This led to
prosperity of many agricultural families in India. But at the same time fall in
prices in these commodities in international market ruined many farmers. Thus,
Indian village economy was linked to world economy.
• The expansion of market economy led to rapid transformation of agrarian
society from subsistence economy to market economy. This weakened Jajmani
system.
• The government introduced, Modern means of transport and communication.
This led to full-fledged extension of market to villages. Now urban factory
products flooded rural market. This undermined the demand for handicrafts and
traditional services. Many people who lost demand for their crafts or services
adopted agriculture as an alternative. This increased the labor burden on
agriculture.
• Usage of technology in agriculture decreased the demand for labour force. On
the whole agriculture became less remunerative.
• People who got educated migrated to towns for jobs, this increased the problem
of under employment in urban centres.

Case studies:

Chand and Srivastava studied Jamgod village in Madhya Pradesh and noticed
that the traditional agrarian relations that favoured the dominant castes have
changed weakening the hold of Dominant castes on the village.

Dr Alice Tilche studied Patidars of Sundarana village in central Gujarat. In

the 1950s land was central to the ways Patidars thought about society and ranked
one another. However. by the time of this study in 2015, the status calculations and
ranking were primarily based on white collar jobs, urban or international
migration.

A.K. Vasavi said that promotion of commercial agriculture based on utilization of

hybrid seeds, chemical manures, pesticides in semi-arid region has had several
repercussions. He also says that the need to engage in commercial agricultural
forced small farmers to go for credit. It is difficult for them to get credit from
government institutions. So, they take money from private individuals at high rate
of interest. Failure of crops due to unforeseeable conditions made them to fall into
debt trap. This ultimately led them to commit suicide to save themselves from
oppression or social insult.

SOCIAL CONSEQUENCES OF GREEN REVOLUTION:

In 1967-68 and then in 1968-69 India witnessed extraordinary growth which was
termed as Green Revolution. According to those who used this term, India has
entered a stage of agricultural revolution. Agricultural production increased 22.2%
in the first Five Year Plan , while in Second Five Year Plan this increase was only
21.1%. During the Third Year Plan period it fell upto 7.4%.

The most important causes of green revolution are as follow:

• Use Chemical Manure & use of chemical fertilizers:

• Utilization of improved seeds:
• Facilities of irrigation:
• Utilization of modern agricultural implements:
• More crops per year:
• Credit facilities:
• Facilities of distribution: Increase in markets for agricultural production.
• Improved techniques:
• Protection of crops: The government is providing chemical pesticides
• Agricultural Research:
• Soil conversation:

Influences of Green Revolution:

• Steep rise in agricultural production:
• Profit to big cultivators:
• Influence on foreign trade: decreased import
• Industrial development:
• Agriculture became a profitable occupation.
• Due to fast mechanization of agriculture unemployment has increased.
• Check on prices due to more supply
• Self sufficiency of the countre
• Rise in living standard
• Rich became richer and poor became poorer.

Is Green Revolution complete?

The influence of Green Revolution has been limited to Punjab, Haryana , west
UP, Tamil Nadu and some districts of Andhra Pradesh. Again, it has been
limited to some crops like wheat, maize, millet etc. it has not influenced a fast rise
of commercial crops. As it has been particularly useful to bigger cultivators, one
finds a fast-growing conflict between bigger and small farm holders. One
finds black marketing in improved seeds and fertilisers. Even now India is far
from self-sufficiently in food grains.

5.1. TRADITIONAL AND CHANGING PATTERNS OF

SETTLEMENT
8c. Describe the different settlement patterns in rural India.
15m (2020)
Settlement pattern means the shape of a settlement. The shape of early
settlements was usually influenced by the surrounding landcape:

• Dispersed / scattered settlement pattern is where the buildings are spread

out and is often found in upland areas; Primarily due to fragmented nature of
terrain in forests and hilly areas. E.g. Villages in Meghalaya, Himachal
Pradesh, Uttaranchal etc.
• Nucleated / Clustered settlement pattern is where a lot of buildings are
grouped together. Most common rural settlement. Such nucleated settlement
is separated from farms. and is often found in lowland areas, Fertile alluvial
plains. This offers security and organised defence. E.g.: Villages in Kerala,
Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, etc.
• Linear settlement pattern is where the buildings are built in lines and is
often found on steep hillsides.

In Indian villages caste plays an important role Andre Beteille Studied Sripuram, a
village in Tanjore district. Physically the village divides into three well defined
segments, the Agraharam (Brahmin), the Kudiana (Non brahmin) and the Cheri
(Untouchables).

Current trend: Due to increasing population density villages, Construction of

roads, Industrialisation led to the change of scattered and nucleated settlement into
mostly linear settlement.
5.1 INDIAN VILLAGE AS A SOCIAL SYSTEM
➢ Social: Dominant caste & caste system
➢ Economy: Jajmani, Agrarian relations
➢ Family: Patriarchal joint family
➢ Kinship: During strong kinship network, marriage regulations are strictly
followed. E.g. 4 clan rule & Village / territorial exogamy in North Indian
villages.
➢ Political: Panchayati raj
➢ Organization: Settlement patterns

Q. Examine the colonial administrators’ view that Indian villages can be

considered as ‘Little republics’. ( 2018, 15M )

It was “during British rule that India was first essentialised as a “land of village
republics”. In 1832, Charles Metcalfe famously termed Indian villages “little
republics’ that were ‘almost independent of foreign relations”.

Since then this view had distinguished supporters, scholars as well as politicians.
Sir Henry Maine and Karl Mar x supported the idea, and in recent times,
Mahatma Gandhi and his followers not only stated that Indian village was
traditionally self-sufficient but also wanted a political programme which would
restore to these villages their pristine self-sufficiency.
However, it is inappropriate to say that villages are completely independent and are
disconnected from the neighbouring villages. There was exchange of goods and
produce between villages. There were also kinship ties in between the villages,
especially because of the exogamy practiced by the north Indian villages. Caste
system also played a major role in the relationship between the villages. People of
the same caste supported each other though they were in different villages.
Kings in Pre-British India performed several duties towards his subjects. they built
canals and tanks for irrigation, and roads for transportation. Kings were also actively
participated in solving disputes and in gifting the lands to priests.
After Britishers started governing India, they improved the communication facilities
and established administration in villages. Revenue officials and police were
appointed in villages. They also established law courts and implemented uniform
law throughout the British India. This reduced the power of villages and their
panchayats, but increased the integration of Indian villages in the wider society.
Studies:

• Study of an Indian Village by S.C. Dube (1955) devotes one full chapter to
the nature of changes coming in rural life which include increasing
economic ties of Shamirpet village with the city of Hyderabad, even for
groups like the washerman.
• Oscar Lewis studied Ranikhera and other north Indian villages and observed
that the villages were linked to other villages and urban centres.
• Mckim marriot (1955) gives a graphic description of interaction between
the people of different villages around Kishan Garhi in Aligarh district of
Uttar Pradesh. His twin concepts, universalization and parochialisation
serve as evidence for interaction between villages and urban centres.
• M.N. Srinivas (1955) studied Rampura village in Karnataka, and
described that the villagers had “one foot in village and another in the
city”.

Thus it is inappropriate to describe Indian villages as “little republics”.

5.2 LINGUISTIC AND RELIGIOUS MINORITIES AND
THEIR SOCIAL, POLITICAL AND ECONOMIC
STATUS.

Constitutional Provisions for Minorities: The safeguards for the protection of

interests of minorities are mandated in the following provisions of Constitution of
India:

• Article 15 (1) & (2) - Prohibition of discrimination against citizens on

grounds of religion, race, caste, sex or place of birth;
• Article 16(1) & (2) - Citizens’ right to ‘equality of opportunity’ in matters
relating to employment & no discrimination on grounds of religion, race,
caste, sex or place of birth;
• Article 25(1) - People’s freedom of conscience and right to freely profess,
practise and propagate religion – subject to public order, morality and other
Fundamental Rights;
• Article 26 - Right of every religious denomination or any section thereof –
subject to public order, morality and health – to establish and maintain
institutions for religious and charitable purposes, manage its own affairs in
matters of religion, and own and acquire movable and immovable property
and administer it in accordance with law
• Article 28 - People’s freedom as to attendance at religious instruction or
religious worship in educational institutions wholly maintained, recognized,
or aided by the State
• Article 29(1) – Any section of citizens having a distinct language, script, or
culture shall have the right to conserve the same.
• Article 29(2) - Non-denial of admission to any citizen to any educational
institution maintained or aided by the State, on grounds only of religion,
race, caste, language or any of them.
• Article 30(1) – All minorities shall have right to establish and administer
educational institutions of their choice.
• Article 30(2) – The state shall not, in granting aid to educational institutions,
discriminate against any educational institution on the ground that it is under
the management of a minority.
 • Article 347: The President, if he is satisfied that a substantial proportion of
the population of a State desire the use of any language spoken by them to
be recognized, may direct the language to be officially recognized in that
state.
• Article 350A: Facilitates for instruction in mother tongue at primary stage of
education to children belonging to linguistic minority groups.
• Article 350B: There shall be a special officer appointed by the president, to
investigate all matters relating to the safeguards provided for linguistic
minorities.

RELIGIOUS MINORITIES:
Six religious communities viz Muslims, Christians, Buddhists, Sikhs, Zoroastrians
(Parsis) and Jains have been notified as minority communities under Section 2(c)
of the National Commission for Minorities Act, 1992.

The National Commission for Religious and Linguistic Minorities (NCRLM)

constituted under the Chairmanship of Justice Ranganath Misra to
recommend measures for the welfare of socially and economically backward
sections among religious and linguistic minorities submitted its report in 2007.

A High Level Committee, constituted under the Chairmanship of Justice (Retired)

Rajinder Sachar to gather data/information for preparation of a comprehensive
report on the social, economic and educational status of the Muslim community of
India, in its report in 2006 had indicated that the Muslim community lags behind
the mainstream in social, economic and educational sectors.

PROBLEMS FACED BY MINORITIES IN INDIA

Problem of Identity: Because of the differences in socio-cultural practices, history

and backgrounds.

Problem of Security: Different identity and their small number relative to the rest
of the society develop feeling of insecurity about their life, assets and well-being.
This sense of insecurity may get accentuated at times when relations between the
majority and the minority communities in a society are strained or not much
cordial.
Problem Relating to Equity: The minority community in a society may remain
deprived of the benefit of opportunities of development as a result of
discrimination.

Problem of Communal Tensions and Riots: Communal tensions and riots have
been increasing since independence.

Under representation in Civil Service and Politics

Failure to Stick on Strictly to Secularism: Lack of commitment to secularism,

purely religious issues are often being politicised.

SCHEMES / PROGRAMMES / INITIATIVES UNDERTAKEN BY

MINISTRY OF MINORITY AFFAIRS FOR WELFARE OF MINORITIES:

(A) Educational Empowerment:

(i) Scholarship schemes:

(a) Pre-Matric Scholarship

(b) Post-Matric Scholarship
(c) Merit-cum-Means based Scholarship

(ii) Coaching schemes:

(a) Naya Savera – Free Coaching and Allied scheme

(b) Exclusive new component for meritorious students of Science stream

(iii) ‘Nai Udaan’- Support for students clearing Prelims conducted by UPSC,
SSC, State Public Service Commissions, etc., for preparation of Mains
Examination

(iv) ‘Padho Pardesh'- Interest subsidy on educational loans for overseas studies

(v) Maulana Azad National Fellowship (MANF)

(vi) Maulana Azad Education Foundation (MAEF), which implements following
two schemes:

(a) Begum Hazrat Mahal National Scholarship for meritorious girls belonging to
minorities in class XI and XII

(b) Grant-in-Aid to NGOs

(B) Area / Infrastructure Development:

Multi-sectoral Development Programme (MsDP)

(C) Economic Empowerment:

(i) Skill Development:

(a) 'Seekho Aur Kamao' (Learn & Earn) – Skill development initiative for
minorities.

(b) Upgrading Skill and Training in Traditional Arts/Crafts for Development

(USTTAD)

(c) ‘Nai Manzil’- A scheme to provide education and skill training to the youth
from minority communities.

(ii) Concessional loans to minorities through National Minorities Development &

Finance Corporation (NMDFC)

(D) Women Empowerment:

'Nai Roshni'- Scheme for Leadership Development of minority women

(E) Special Needs:

(i) ‘Hamari Dharohar’- To preserve rich heritage and culture of minorities

(ii) ‘Jiyo Parsi’- Scheme for containing population decline of small minority
community
(iii) Waqf Management through:

(a) Central Waqf Council

(b) National Waqf Development Corporation (NAWADCO)

(iv) Haj Management

15 POINT PROGRAMME FOR MINORITIES

Prime Minister Modi’s New 15 point Programme for minorities is a

programme launched by Indian government for welfare of religious minorities in
furtherance of reports by committees such as the Sachar Committee Report that
highlighted that minorities, especially Muslims, in the country were often in a
worse socio-economic and political condition than communities such as
the Scheduled Casts and Scheduled tribes communities that have been oppressed
over millennia through the caste system (also referred to as the varna system). It
pegged the status of minorities on various indicators such as nutrition, health,
education et al. of minorities and specially Muslims at an abysmally poor level.
The 15 point program was the government's response to these finding by laying
down guidelines to target minorities in schemes and entitlements that are already in
place and designing and executing new schemes aimed at the empowerment of
these groups. The programme advocated allocating 15% of plan outlays of welfare
schemes identified under the 15 point programme.

15 Points:

1. Equitable availability of the Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) -

Aims at development of children and pregnant/lactating mothers from
minorities and those living below the Below Poverty Line (India), by providing
services such as better supplementary nutrition, immunization, health check-up
and free education.
2. Improving access to School Education — Implement various Government
schemes like Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan, Kasturba Gandhi Balika
 Vidyalaya scheme and other similar schemes in villages/localities having a
substantial minority communities population.
3. Greater resources for teaching Urdu - Assistance in recruitment and posting of
Urdu language teachers in primary and upper primary schools in
villages/localities where at least one-fourth belong to that language group.
4. Modernizing Madarsa Education — Provide basis educational infrastructure
and resources for the modernization of Madarsa education.
5. Scholarships for meritorious students from minority communities
6. Improving educational infrastructure through the Maulana Azad Education
Foundation.
7. Self-Employment and Wage Employment for the poor — Earmark certain
percentage of Swarnajayanti Gram Swarozgar Yojana scheme for minorities.
8. Upgradation of skill through technical training — Open new ITIs in areas
predominantly inhabited by minority communities and upgrade some ITIs to
‘Centres of Excellence’.
9. Enhanced credit support for economic activities
10.Recruitment to State and Central Services
11.Equitable share in rural housing scheme — Earmark certain percentage
in Indira Awaas Yojana for minorities.
12.Improvement in condition of slums inhabited by minority communities —
Implement Integrated Housing & Slum Development Programme
and Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission in minority populated
regions.
13.Prevention of communal incidents
14.Prosecution for communal offences
15.Rehabilitation of victims of communal riots.

SOCIO-ECONOMIC & POLITICAL CONDITION OF MUSLIMS IN

INDIA
• Minorities are the most vulnerable, in particular, the largest minority
community, Muslims, who constitute 13.4 percent of the total population of
India.
• At present here is an almost universal sentiment of fear and growing despair
among minorities of the country especially Muslims.
• The comprehensive report on the socio-economic, educational and political
representation status of Muslim communities by Justice Rajindar Sachar and
his team constituted by UPA – Government headed by Prime Minister
Manmohan Singh drew the nation’s attention.

The findings of Sachar committee:

• In the field of literacy the committee has found that the rate among Muslims is
very much below than the national average.
• Muslim parents are not averse to mainstream education or to send their children
to affordable Government schools.
• The participation of Muslims in the professional and managerial cadre is low.
• The average amount of bank loan disbursed to the Muslims is 2/3 of the
amount disbursed to other minorities.
• There is a clear and significant inverse association between the proportion of
the Muslim population and the availability of educational infrastructure in small
villages.
• Muslim concentration villages are not well served with approach roads and
local bus stops.
• Substantially larger proportion of the Muslim households in urban areas are in
the less than Rs.500 expenditure bracket
• The presence of Muslims has been found to be only 3% in the IAS, 1.8% in the
IFS and 4% in the IPS.
• Muslim community has a representation of only 4.5% in Indian Railways while
98.7% of them are positioned at lower levels.
• Representation of Muslims is very low in the Universities and in Banks.
• “Muslim population growth has slowed down as fertility has declined
substantially”.
• The recent report from the Ministry of the Minority affairs reveals that the
financial allocations for development minorities have been underutilized. In the
11th National 5 Year Plan the outlay for religious minorities was Rs.1400 crore,
but only 35% of the total amount allocated was used.
• work participation rates for Muslim women is much lower than that for women
belonging to other-caste Hindu households, where there may be socio-cultural
constraints to women’s work.
• The lower participation of women in rural areas is partly explained by the fact
that Muslim households are less likely to be engaged in agriculture.

Educational status of Muslims in India:

• The literacy rate among Muslims in 2001 was 59.1 %. This is far below the
national average (65.1 %).
• Education is not just a social amenity; it is the foundation of socio-economic
development of a country.
• Muslim’s literacy rate is highest (79.67 percent) in Adman and Nicobar Island
but they constitute only 8.22 percent of the total Population.
• Technical education or higher education is meager among the Muslim.

Problem of Muslims as a minority group in India :

• Our national leaders while framing the Constitution, emphasized the doctrine of
unity in diversity.
• The United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Persons Belonging to
National, Ethnic, Religious and Linguistic Minorities says that the promotion
and protection of the rights of persons belonging to such minorities contribute
to the peace, political and social stability of the countries in which they live.
• All developed countries and most developing ones give appropriate emphasis to
looking after the interests of minorities. Thus, in any country, the faith and
confidence of the minorities in the functioning of the State in an impartial
manner is an acid test of its being a just State.

Main Problems Faced by Minorities (Muslims) in India:

• Problem of identity
• Problem of security
• Problem relating to equity
• So far as the problems of Muslims fall into three categories:
(a) Problems those are common to all poor people.
(b) Problems those are common to all minorities.
(c) Problems those are specific to Muslims only.

POLITICAL CONDITIONS OF MUSLIMS IN INDIA:

• Indian Muslims are widely scattered throughout India. they could not
establish a strong and viable political party.
• They are lacking in terms of political activism. This condition was
acknowledged in 2006 in the Sachar Committee report.
• The Muslims lag behind in major areas which, always play a pivotal role in
assuming power.
• Muslims in India have little or no national leadership.
• They are hardly found in country's civil services and public administration.
• They could not establish a strong and viable political party. Therefore, the
Indian Muslims were compelled to choose one of the following three options:
➢ They could join one of the secular political
p a r t i e s w h i c h w e r e m o r e sympathetic to them.
➢ They could work as pressure group that could gain
political benefits.
➢ They might establish their own political party to derive political
gains by holding the balance of power in a coalition government
M u s l i m s a d o p t e d a l l t h r e e a b o v e st a t e d o p t i o n s b u t c o u l d n o t
achieve the desired results.

LINGUISTIC MINORITIES / ENDANGERED LANGUAGES

When renowned literary critic and activist Ganesh Narayan Devy who
documented 780 Indian languages while conducting the People’s Linguistic Survey
of India in 2010, found that 600 of these languages were dying. He added close to
250 languages in India had already died over the past 60 years.
When a language dies, as Devy notes, “a unique way of looking at the world
disappears”.

According to UNESCO, any language that is spoken by less than 10,000 people is
potentially endangered. In India, after the 1971 census, the government decided
that any language spoken by less than 10,000 people need not be included in the
official list of languages. In India, therefore, all the languages that are spoken by
less than 10,000 people are treated by the state as not worthy of mention and
treated by the UNESCO as potentially endangered. As per his survey, there are
close to 780 languages in India, out of which about 600 are potentially endangered.
The census of 1991 and 2001 show not more than 122 languages. So, most others
have to be called potentially endangered.
Examples of such languages would be Wadari, Kolhati, Golla, Gisari. These are
languages of nomadic people in Maharashtra, Karnataka and Telangana. Then
there several tribal languages as well, such as Pauri, Korku, Haldi, Mavchi. In
Assam, there is Moran, Tangsa, Aiton. There seems to be about 250 languages that
disappeared in the last 60 years. There used to be languages called Adhuni, Dichi,
Ghallu, Helgo, Katagi. The Bo language in Andaman disappeared in 2010 and the
Majhi language in Sikkim disappeared in 2015. But we need to remember that it is
impossible to show a language dying in the last moment of its life. A language is
not a single life system. It is a very large symbolic system. When the symbols
collapse they do not do so in a single moment. The collapse is sprayed over a large
time.

What happens when a language dies?

When a language dies, its speakers decide to migrate. First, they migrate to another
language and then they physically start migrating to another region. The second
thing that happens is that their traditional livelihood patterns go down. They may
have some special skills and that disappears. Thirdly, a unique way of looking at
the world disappears. Every language is a unique worldview.

How do we conserve a dying language?

We need to create livelihood support for the speakers of the language. If they have
livelihood available within their language, nobody would want to switch from their
language to any other language.

How do some languages gain popularity while others get marginalised?

Social & political domination (of a group leads to popularity of the language of
that group), use in the marketplace and ease of syntactic structuring are three
reasons why some languages become more popular than other languages.

What is the impact of colonisation on Indian languages?

Quite surprisingly, in other continents, the colonial impact wiped out the native
languages. In India that did not happen. Our languages survived. However, the
colonial times brought us the print technology and only very few of our languages
got printed. The one that got printed eventually got states to themselves since in
India our states are designed in linguistic terms. The other languages did not get
states for them, they did not get official recognition and therefore became
secondary citizens in the language republic of India.

How is the language we speak related to our worldview?

In every manner without any exception, the language we learn or use is the
absolute condition of our narrative of the world and the way we see the world.
There is no escape from it. A given language only has a certain kind of ability to
narrate the world and the consciousness can enter the world only to the extent that
languages can allow it to enter the reality surrounding it. If a language has seven
terms for distributing colors, then the speaker of the language will see the world
only in those colors. But if there is another language which has more color terms,
then the distribution of the world is more multicolored. For instance, in Marathi,
there is a color term called Kirmizi that cannot be translated into any English term
at all. It is brownish, greenish, bluish, it’s almost like the color combination we see
in a firefly. It is impossible to replicate that perception in the English language. But
in the English language, we have navy blue or sky blue and many other languages
might not have the exact color term that translates the same. This is how language
allows or disallows us in interpreting the world.

5.3 INDIGENOUS AND EXOGENOUS PROCESSES OF

SOCIO-CULTURAL CHANGE IN INDIAN SOCIETY

5.3. INTERPLAY OF LITTLE AND GREAT

TRADITIONS

UNIVERSALIZATION AND PAROCHIALIZATION –

Robert Redfield is the first Anthropologist to propose an anthropological
approach to study the civilizations like that of India. He used this approach in his
studies of Mexican communities.
According to Redfield, structure of civilization is an arrangement of great and little
traditions. The great and little traditions are interlinked with each other. The result
is a network of interlinkages, which comprises the structure of civilization.

Mc Kim Marriot and Milton singer applied this approach to Indian civilization
in order to understand the dynamics of social and cultural change in Indian society.
In the Indian context, the festivals, rituals etc., mentioned in vedas, religious epics
like Mahabharata, Ramayana, Gita and Upanishads are part of great tradition. On
the other hand folk lore, magico-religious practices that are orally transmitted
constitute little tradition.
 Great tradition, classic culture, Little tradition, folk culture, low
high culture, learned culture (or) culture, popular culture, lay
hierarchic culture tradition
Elite Laity
National Local
Textual Oral
Unambiguous Ambiguous
Cultivated in schools and temples It works and continues itself
Consciously refined and handed Works unconsciously
down to next generations
Specialists belong to urban class Specialists belong to folk class
Media includes texts, concerts, Media includes folk music, dances
dances and strong narrations and narrations.

Both are two halves of a civilization, one is urban half and the other is rural
half.

Mc Kim Marriott in his "Little Communities in an indigenous Civilization"

gave the concept and definition of Universalization and Parochialization.
Elements of great and little traditions interact to fulfill the needs of the people.

Parochilisation is a flow of great tradition towards the little tradition. “A process

of down wards devolution of great tradition elements and their integration with
little tradition elements. It is a process of localization of great tradition”. (Local
changes to Great tradition)

E.g. Ramayana originally composed by Valmiki gets enacted in several regional

dialects with minor variations.

Universalization- A flow of little tradition towards Great tradition. “The process

of carrying forward of materials which are already present in the little tradition”. It
is a process in which little tradition evolves into great tradition. Little tradition
makes an upward journey and becomes a part of great tradition. (Urban changes to
little tradition)

• E.g. The rural dress patterns, popular folk songs, magico-religious practices like
hanging a painted earthen pot on the exterior of the newly constructed houses to
avoid the evil eye etc. are also practiced in urban areas

Parochialisation is always more common than universalisation.

 According to Marriott, an indigenous civilization is one whose Great Tradition
originates by universalization or a carrying forward of materials which are
already present in the Little Tradition which it encompasses.

To illustrate this twin process of universalisation and parochialisation,

McKimMarriot studied the socio-religious organization in an Indian village
Kishangarhi in Aligarh district of Uttar Pradesh.

• The village kishangarhi contained 24 castes.

• The people of kishangarhi celebrate 19 festivals in a year of which 8 belongs to
great tradition and remain 11 belong to little tradition.

Parochialisation:

1. Go-vardhan pooja Gobar-dhan pooja:

• In the process of Parochialisation , Govardhan pooja has become

Gobardhanpooja. Gobardhan literally means cow dung wealth.
• Gobardhanpooja refers to the worship of the posseser of cows namely lord
Krishna. It is performed to commemorate the great event of lord Krishna lifting
up hill to safe gaurds his followers from the fury of rains unleashed by angry
Indra.
• At the actual hill govardhan in Madhura District about 40km or so from
kishangarhi, people perform a ceremony every year.
• This celebration has taken some details which are not mentioned in
Sanskrit texts.
• The women and children in every family perform the gobardhan pooja. In this
regard they construct a small hill made of cow dung with straw and cotton to
represent trees. Little models of cowboy and cows are made of dung and placed
on the hill. In the evening all agnates in the family worship it jointly.

2. Navarathiri pooja Naurtha pooja:

• Navratri pooja is a great traditional festival. In kishangarhi, navrathripooja

as become naurtha pooja.
• People worship Durga Kali and Amba during navrathri pooja but the people
of kishangarhi worship naurtha a local parochial goddess made of mud for 9
days in 9 forms, naurtha is not mentioned in the great traditional texts. This is
an example of parochialisation of great tradition.

Universalisation:

1. Saluno Raksha bandhan:

• Saluno is universalized into great traditional festival namely rakshabandhan.

• At one point of time saluno was regional festival then it has slowly
transformed into rakshabandhan.
• In kishangarhi, the saluno festival marks the end of that annual fort night during
which most of the newly married women return for a visit to their parents at the
village.
• On saluno day many husbands arrive at their villages to take their wives back.
Before going back with their husbands, the ceremony of Charm-tying is also
held. Sisters tie polychrome thread with tassels to their brother’s wrist.
• Brothers reciprocate with money.
• It can be said that Raksha bandhan had its roots in saluno.
• Thus rakhibandhan, a great tradional festival came into being as a result of
universalization of saluno, a little traditional festival

2. Lakshmi pooja Saurti puja

• Lakshmi pooja, a great tradition is a product of universalization of a little

traditional festival namely Saurti worship.

During the festival people of kishangarhi draw the image of Saurti on the walls
with rice flour to invoke her blessing for health and wealth. This travelled upwards
and universalised in to a great traditional festival called Diwali.

CRITISCISM:

1. Yogendrasingh comments that the concepts of universalization is very close

to sanscritisation thus the contribution of Marriot is very limited in scope.
2. This interplay is similar to diffusionism.
 3. S.C. Dube critised that Indian civilization is not bipolar model but a multi
polar model. In his view, Indian civilization is not a complex of great and little
tradition but a complex of many traditions.

4. Singh and Unithan stated that the great tradition itself varies from one
scared text to other
5. Baidyanath Saraswathi argues it is better to call great tradition as Sasthriya
tradition to separate the great traditions of Muslims & Christians from that of
Hindus.

6. It is not always true that great traditions occur only in urban communities.
For example, caste system belongs to great tradition but in its pure form in
occurs in villages but not in towns and urban areas.

5.3. SANSKRITIZATION

Meaning / Definition:

• The concept ‘Sanskritization’ was first introduced by Prof. M.N. Srinivas

the famous Indian sociologist.
• He explained the concept of Sanskritization in his book “Religion and
society among the coorgs of South India” to describe the cultural mobility
in the traditional caste structure of Indian society.
• In his study of the coorgs of Mysore, he came to know that the lower castes
were trying to raise their status in their caste hierarchy by adopting some
cultural ideals of the Brahmins. As a result they left some of their ideals
which are considered to be impure by the Brahmins. To explain this process
of mobility, Srinivas used the term ‘Brahminization’. Later on he called it
‘Sanskritization’ in a broad sense.
• “Sanskritization is a process by which a lower caste or tribe or any other
group changes its customs, rituals, ideology and way of life in the direction
of a higher or more often twice-born caste.”

Characteristics of Sanskritization:

➢ Sanskritization is a process of cultural change towards twice-born castes.

➢ Sanskritization is helpful in the upward social mobility of lower caste.
 ➢ Sanskritization process also followed by the tribals.
➢ The concept of Sanskritization has also given rise to De-Sanskritization.
E.g. Brahmins consuming meat and liquor in the context of modernisation.
➢ Sanskritization need not take place in same manner in all places.
➢ Sanskritization need not lead to economic betterment.
➢ British rule in India provided a suitable atmosphere for Sanskritization.
➢ Sanskritization is a kind of protection from the hierachic caste system.
➢ It is a gradual and time taking process.

Models of Sanskritization:

Sanskritization may follow any of the following models such as:

1. Cultural model,

2. Varna Model,

3. Local Model.

1. Cultural Model:

Adopting clean occupations and in general practicing better lifestyle and culture
can be called as cultural model.

2. Varna Model:

a. Brahmin model of Sanskritization ( Brahminisation) : Lower groups

emulate the life of brahmins. Which involves

• Imitate their festivals, chanting mantras, pilgrimage, fixing marriages on

advice of purohits, wearing sacred thread, Giving away daughters as kanya
dana in marriage etc.
• Imitating child marriages and prohibition of widow remarriages.
• Started considering women as polluting during menstruation and child
birth.
• Gave up non vegetarian food and alcohol.
 • Started giving traditional names like that of gods or goddesses to the
children.
• Started giving values to the concepts like Karma, papa, punya, maya,
sansara, paramatma, punarjanma etc. Eg: Coorgs in Karnataka call them
selves as “Amma kodavas”.

b. Kshatriya model of Sanskritization ( Kshatriyisation): Lower groups

emulate the life of Kshatriyas. Which involves Giving up widow
remarriages, Putting on sacred thread, worshiping vedic deities, Performing
vedic rituals, adopting dress customs and vaues similar to kshatriyas.

➢ Marathas of Maharashtra were sudras. Sivaji belonged to this caste. As

he came to power, he went through a religious rite of transition in to
kshatriya hood. (Gagga Bhatta performed the ritual) Along with Sivaji, all
his caste people attained the kshatriya status.
➢ Kayasthas of Uttar Pradesh served as scribes ( Keepers of public records
and accounts) for Mughals and British rulers. They were a lower caste in
12th century but by 19th century became Kshatriyas . But Kayasthas in
west Bengal remains to be sudras.
➢ Khatris in Punjab were sudras but got kshatriyised due to their trans
regional trade during Mughal empire.

c. Vaisya model of Sanskritization : Almost like brahmin model but more

oriented to commercial activities. Eg: Telis of Orissa & Patidars imitated
vaisyas.

d. Sudra model of Sanskritization: The castes that imitate the sudra way of
life are untouchables. They adopt less defiling food habits, less defiling
occupations, Adopting vedic rituals, constructing temples to Sanskritic
deities in their localities, visiting to temples, taking daily baths, Keeping the
house and surroundings clean, prohibition of widow remarriage, fasting etc.
Eg: Bhangis ( Sweepers and scavengers) in Delhi were untouchables but
attained the status of sudras.
 Noniyas of Uttar Pradesh were salt makers. In the second half of 19th
century they made money in government contracts, Their local caste ranking
raised from near untouchable to upper sudra level.

Local Model:

In every state, some castes are considered to be more respectful than others on
account of their economic power. This caste may be called the “master caste” or
the “dominant caste”. So the lower caste copies the life style of the local
dominant caste in order to improve their status.

Criticism:

• Sanskritic influence has not been universal to all parts of country. In most of
northern India, especially in Punjab, it was the Islamic tradition which
provided a basis for cultural imitation.
• The “policy of reservation” a politico-constitutional attempt to elevate
the status of lower caste, and class people, presents here a different
picture. Those who avail of the “reservation benefits” have developed a
vested interest in calling themselves “Dalits” or Scheduled Caste people.
• Sanskritisation is only a change in structure but not a change of structure,
despite the process of sanskritisation, the caste hierarchy continues.

5.3. WESTERNISATION
Definition of Westernization
According to M.N. Srinivas, “Westernization” refers to “the changes brought about
in the Indian society and culture as a result of over 150 years of British rule and the
term subsumes changes occurring at different levels – technology, institutions,
ideology and values.”

• It implies “certain value preferences “such as “humanitarianism “irrespective of

caste, economic position, religion, age and sex.
• Westernization not only includes the introduction of new institutions, but also
fundamental changes in old institutions.

Impact of Westernization
 • Opened up the doors of the knowledge –
• Education for all –
• Highlighted evil practices –i.e. un-touch-ability and inhuman treatment to
women, Sati, Polygamy, child marriage etc. prevalent at that time.
• Attracted attention of social reformers – led to the abolition of sati system
and slavery. Female infanticide practice lowered to a great extent.
• Realization of the worth of liberty and freedom –.

Criticisms of Westernization: -
• The Western model which Srinivas has eulogised has its own contradiction
such as racial prejudice, colour segregation and exploitative nature of the
Western economy, etc.
➢ Daniel Lerner criticized that It is too local label, the model which is
imitated may not be western country; but Russia.

Difference between Sanskritization and Westernization

• In comparison with Sanskritization, Westernization is a simpler concept.

• Sanskritization process promoted the sacred outlook; while
Westernization process promoted secular outlook.
• Sanskritization is a process of upward mobility by a process of imitation
while Westernization is a process of upward mobility by a process of
development.
• Sanskritization implies mobility within the framework of caste while
Westernization implies mobility outside the framework of caste.
• While Sanskritization puts a taboo on meat-eating and consumption of
alcohol, Westernization promoted meat-eating and consumption of alcohol.
• The increase in Westernization accelerates the process of Sanskritization.
While the higher castes are getting westernized, lower castes are getting
sanskritised.

5.3. MODERNISATION
Definition of modernization:-
 • According to Smelser, “Modernization is a complex set of changes that take
place almost in every part of society as it attempts to be industrialized.
Modernization involves ongoing change in a society’s economy, politics,
education, traditions and religion.”

Criteria of Modernity or Measures of Modernization according to Rustow and

Ward:

• Industrialization of economy and adopting a scientific technology in

industry, agriculture, dairy farming, etc. to make them highly productive.
• Secularization of ideas.
• Remarkable increase in geographic and social mobility
• A spread of scientific and technical education.
• A transition from ascribed to achieved status.
• An increase in material standard of living.
• High proportion of working force employed in secondary and tertiary rather
than primary production.
• Life expectancy of child during birth increased and also the average life
expectancy of people increased due to the availability of drugs.
• Relatively greater measure of public participation in the polity.

Causes of Modernization according to Myron Weiner

1. Education
2. Mass Communication: T.V., radio, telephone, etc.
3. Ideology based on Nationalism
4. Charismatic Leadership
5. Coercive Government Authority

Impact of Modernization
• Development of modern means of transport
• Discredited traditional occupations: –
• Unemployment increased
• Caste more liberal in social sphere
• Spread of literacy and media participation.
 Constitutional and Legislative Effect by Modernization after
Independence:

• Article 15 of the Constitution prohibits any kind of discrimination on

grounds of caste, race, religion, gender or place of birth;
• Article 16gives equality of opportunity in matter of public employment,

Problems of Modernization according to Prof. Ram Ahuja:

• Discrepancy between mass education and employment opportunities.

• Structural changes mostly remain uneven, Industries might be modernized
but religious system, family system, etc. remain conservative.
• Modernization of social and economic institutions may create conflicts with
the traditional ways of life. For example, trained M.B.B.S. doctors may pose
a threat to the traditional medical practitioners.
• Most often roles adopted by the people are modern, but their values continue
to be traditional. For example, new business firms and industrial
establishments and shops etc. are either opened or inaugurated as per the
dictates of traditional “Muhurtam” this can be called “cultural lag”.
• Finally, though the modernization raises the aspirations of people, the social
system does not provide enough chances to materialize them. This creates
frustration, disappointment and social unrest.

Criticism of Modernization:-
• Family values diminished.
• Marriages became more of contractual than pious
• Evil effects on the Environment
• Contrary views among the new and old generations

Difference between Westernization and Modernization:-

• The term Westernization unlike Modernization is ethically neutral, whereas
modernization is normally used in the sense that it is good.
• Westernization as used by Srinivas covers behavioral aspects like eating,
drinking, dressing, dancing, etc., the term Modernization involves a
transformation of social, political and economic organization.
 • Modernization is a broader concept and has a wider range of application,
while westernization characterizes the changes brought about in Indian
society and culture as a result of over 150 years of British rule.
• Westernization is a middle class phenomenon while modernization is a mass
process.

5.3. MEDIA AND SOCIAL CHANGE

Mass media is communication—whether written, broadcast, or spoken—that

reaches a large audience. This includes television, radio, advertising, movies, the
Internet, newspapers, magazines, and so forth.

Role of media in culture change is a highly debated topic, While opinions vary as
to the extent and type of influence the mass media wields, all sides agree that mass
media is a significant force in modern culture. Sociologists refer to this as
a mediated culture where media reflects and creates the culture.

Three main sociological perspectives on the role of media exist: the limited‐effects
theory, the class‐dominant theory, and the culturalist theory.

Limited-effects theory:

The limited‐effects theory argues that because people generally choose what to
watch or read based on what they already believe, media exerts a negligible
influence. This theory originated and was tested in the 1940s and 1950s.

Criticism: This theory came into existence when the availability and dominance of
media was far less widespread. limited‐effects theory ignores the point that when
media is widespread it can frame, tune or indoctrinate certain ideologies in the
minds of common people.

Class-dominant theory:
The class‐dominant theory argues that the media reflects and projects the view of
a minority elite, which controls it. A few people have the ability to manipulate
what people can see or hear. For example, owners can easily avoid or silence
stories that expose unethical corporate behavior or unethical behavior of a political
party they support.
Culturalist theory:
The culturalist theory, developed in the 1980s and 1990s, combines the other two
theories and claims that people interact with media to create their own meanings
out of the images and messages they receive. This theory sees audiences as playing
an active rather than passive role in relation to mass media.

Therefore, culturalist theorists claim that, while a few elites in large corporations
may exert significant control over what information media produces and
distributes, personal perspective plays a more powerful role in how the audience
members interpret those messages.

Positive impact:
➢ Generates awareness on various issues.
➢ Provides a platform for the people to express their opinions and debate on
various topics.
➢ Role of media as a tool of education is increasing.
➢ Makes information on various topics accessible to the people.

Negative impacts:

➢ Sensationalism some times distorts the reality

➢ Can create unrest by spreading fake news
➢ Biased information is possible as few people can control the media

5.3. PANCHAYATI RAJ AND SOCIAL CHANGE

The 73rd Constitutional Amendment passed by the Parliament in the year 1993 was
a pioneering step in decentralising political power in India. It required Indian States
to enact laws for creation of the Panchayat Raj institutions. As a result, Gram
Panchayats (GPs) get constituted after conducting elections more or less on regular
basis in the States, though one or two instances can be found where elections have
been delayed.

• The 2.5 lakh Gram Panchayats in the country have been entrusted to provide basic
services in the villages and plan for local economic development.
• The decision-making process of the panchayats is such that the Gram Sabha (GS)
discusses the development work plans of the GP called Gram Panchayat
Development Plan (GPDP) and the elected representatives execute the plans.
Formulation of GPDP improves efficiency of public services.
• Since all eligible voters of the village can participate in the Gram Sabha, it is a
channel to include the less privileged section of society and ensure their
participation in the village level governance wherein they can advocate their
developmental aspirations. This bottom-up approach is meant to reflect felt need
of various stakeholders.

Reservation for women and social change:

• Participation in rural development: Women are actively participating in rural

development as per their capacity right from labourers to policy- makers.
• Participation in decision-making: The participation of women as elected as
well as non-elected members are rising due to reservation for women. It acts as
pull factor for women to participate in meeting. They give their suggestions for
various works and problems faced by them.
• Agent of social revolution: Women are acting as an agent of change in the
society and raising voice against injustice and atrocities.
• Reducing corruption and violence: Due to women representatives nexus of
officers and male elected representatives are breaking, which has a direct impact
on reducing corruption. The role of local muscle power has substantially reduced
due to active participation and awareness of women about their rights and power.
• Reduction in violence against women: Domestic violence has substantially
declined due to women pradhan or surpanch. These women representatives take
pro-actively take up such violence. The victims also feel free to share their
grievances to women representatives.
• Reduction in violence against Dalits: The dominance of upper caste patriarchs
is substantially declined; hence the shackles of caste is subsiding.
• Practising participatory democracy: Growing participation of marginalised
section in general and women in particular, is transforming our democratic setup
from representative democracy to participatory democracy.

Profile of New Women

Chhavi Rajawat:- Often hailed as the changing face of rural Rajasthan, Chhavi also
addressed delegates at the UN's 11th Info poverty World Conference in 2011.
Arati Devi:- Arati launched a campaign to revive traditional folk art in her village,
and also ensures that the benefits of the various government schemes reach the
people who need it most.
Radha devi dropped out of school when she was in Class 5. But she has ensured a
fall in the dropout rate in the three institutions under the panchayat, and increased
enrollment as well as the literacy rate of Rajasthan

STUDY DONE

• In a survey conducted by ACNielsen ORG-MARG for the ministry of

Panchayati Raj, it was found that the elected representatives of panchayats are
strongly taking up social issues.
• Discouragement of child marriage attracted the highest intervention by 71%
representatives followed by male child obsessions (44%). Problem of
gambling was addressed by 41% and alcoholism by 26% of panchayat leaders.
• Alcoholism was a major problem reported by 40% households.
• On domestic violence, 62% women representatives admitted having come
across these incidents which they tried to reduce while 11% said intervention
was not required.
• School enrolment, particularly for girls, was an area of priority area for many
panchayat leaders and members. Eight out of every ten pradhans (80%) took
initiatives to increase school enrolment. About four-fifths of them, including
78% of female pradhans, claimed to have made special efforts in getting girls
enrolled and encouraging them to study in schools.
• Representatives from Kerala, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Sikkim, Tripura and
Rajasthan could be lauded for initiatives taken to increase school enrolment
while Orissa and Uttar Pradesh, Goa and Uttrakhand were the poor
performers. In Maharashtra 100% men and 81% female pradhans worked to
increase enrolment in schools. In Gujarat this ratio was 73: 90 while in
Rajasthan 97% men compared to 84% women pradhans took initiatives.

What are the issues in Women participation?

Ans: -
• Domestic violence: The issue is in the existing situation in rural areas of the
India, more or less it has connected with an attitude towards the women in
general of the society, in rural areas there are women’s who totally depends
on men in economical matter, family decision matter as well as social
celebration. In the political context there is not enough space to raise such
kind of issues women feels guilty to raise in public because they feel that it's
a personal matter how can raise in public
 Religious reasons:

• Leadership issues: The Society, which is controlled and dominated by

patriarchal values, recognizing the legitimacy of male domination over social
resources, means of production, land and labour etc., turns the gender relation
into a scenario of domination and sub-ordination
• Quality of education and its impact: Lack of training, less theoretical
knowledge in regard to public administration, less understanding about own
roles and responsibilities, minimum ideas for the effective performance these
are the common issues and hurdles makes them difficult to perform better
• Education and women’s status: The condition of uneducated women and
performance of women in local governance is quite shocking because while
we are thinking about the equal participation of women in integrated scenario
of the society we need to focus on their education as well.
• Problems arising due to Alcoholism hinder women’s participation in
governance.
• Elected women representatives are dual mind- family role vs governance role.
• Women are expected to execute 100% value based politics within the existing.
• Self-centered, party focused and valueless context of governance.
• Caste System: Hierarchical caste system in rural India makes it difficult for
women from SC and ST communities to function independently and
effectively. Community or Khap pachayats functions parallel to panchayats
and pressurizes EWRs to act in a particular way.
• Lack of Cooperation from Line/Sectoral Departments: EWRs,
particularly the first timers find it very difficult to deal with officials of
block/district administration and of line/ sectoral departments. Bureaucratic
apathy and corruption is rampant which makes these EWRs demotivated and
disenchanted from the panchayati raj. People’s expectation to deliver coupled
with non-cooperation of administration frustrate these EWRs so much so that
many a times they are unwilling to contest for the next
• Rotation of Terms: Policy of reservation for only one term and rotation of
reserved seats and posts of chairperson also hinders consolidation of
leadership qualities among EWRs as it takes time for them to learn the skills
of handling and negotiating various conflicting interests within the panchayat.
By the time they learn these skill and start functioning effectively, their term
is over.

Case Study:- Muktiben Patel, a backward caste woman who became sarpanch of
Nitaya village of Hoshangabad district, had to face several no-confidence motions
against her by the thakurs (a higher caste) of the village but continues her work like
repair- ing school buildings and getting a pukka road for her village. Kesarbai, a
chamar (a scheduled caste) sarpanch of the Sona Savri gram panchayat also of
Hoshangabad district, had to suffer threats from men belonging to higher castes who
even sent hooligans to attack her house

COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS BETWEEN DIFFERENT CONCEPTS IN

INDIAN VILLAGE AS A SOCIAL SYSTEM

SIMILARITY OR RELATION BETWEEN TRIBE CASTE CONTINUUM

AND SANSCRITISATION:
• Robert Redfield in his work, “The folk culture of Yucatan” projected a
serialised transformation from one cultural form and social system to the other.
Here he adopted Folk- urban continuum model. Some scholars applied this
schematic model to tribe – caste continuum.
• F.G. Bailey , while studying Kondh & caste oriyas, used this concept.
• M.N. Srinivas and Robert Redfield contended that acculturation defines the
tribe - caste mobility in India.
• Commentators on tribe – caste continuum find the presence of the process of
Hinduisation and Sanskritization.
• Sachidanad says that majority of the tribal population in India reported their
religion to be Hinduism.
• The Tribe caste continuum is mainly two types
➢ The Hindu mode of tribal absorption assuming that caste system
protects tribal people. (Assimilation). G.S. Ghurye rejects the view
that social degradation follows Hinduisation. He opines that Status
in Hindu society depends on caliber and temper of the society.
➢ The Sanskritization model emulating brahminical or upper caste
reference.
• Members of many tribes in Bihar and Jharkhand Such as Bhumji, Kherwar,
Chero, Gond etc. have adopted the Hindu faith through they retain their clans,
totems and some elements of their tribal belief.

DIFFERENCES BETWEEN TRIBE CASTE CONTINUUM

AND SANSCRITISATION:
Tribe caste continuum Sanscritisation
It is Hindu mode of tribal It is acculturation and upward social
absorption, i.e. Hindus try to mobility, i.e. Lower caste or varna
absorb and assimilate tribals in to people try to emulate Brahmins or upper
Hinduism. castes.

It is a concept only between tribes It is not only between tribes and castes
and castes but also between lower castes and
higher castes within the Hindu varna &
Caste system.

Proponents: F.G.Bailey, G.S. Proponent: M.N. Srinivas

Ghurye etc.

DIFFERENCES BETWEEN TRIBE CASTE CONTINUUM &

INTERPLAY BETWEEN LITTLE TRADITION AND GREAT
TRADITION

Tribe caste continuum Interplay between Little and

great tradition

It is Hindu mode of tribal It is diffusion of cultural elements

absorption, i.e. Hindus try to absorb between two different cultures
and assimilate tribals in to Hinduism. (Little tradition and great tradition)
& acculturation and upward social
mobility, i.e. Lower caste or varna
people try to emulate Brahmins or
upper castes.

It is a Unidirectional concept It is Bidirectional diffusion of

suggesting that tribes only differ cultural elements between Little and
quantitatively with caste & over a great traditions. (Twin concept of
period of time the tribes evolve to Universalisation & Parochialisation)
become Hindu castes.
 Proponents: F.G.Bailey, G.S. Ghurye Proponents: Robert Redfield,
etc McKim Marriott, Milton Singer

DIFFERENCES BETWEEN TRIBE CASTE CONTINUUM & NATURE

MAN SPIRIT COMPLEX
Nature man spirit complex Tribe caste continuum

supports tribal isolation or supports Hinduisation or

selective integration assimilation of tribes.

IMPACT OF WESTERNISATION, MODERNISATION,

INDUSTRIALISATION, GLOBALISATION ON SANSCRITISATION

• Westernization, Modernization, Industrialization, Globalization promoted or

accelerated Sanskritization as in the pre modern societies lower varna or caste
groups were not permitted to lead a lifestyle similar to that of higher varna or
caste groups.
• Modernization made the society less restrictive.
• Modern education, modern occupations, transport facilities and media increased
the social interaction and commensality between the people of different castes
which further facilitated the Sanskritization.
• However as the lower castes are getting sanskritized, the higher caste people are
getting modernized making the impact of Sanskritization insignificant.

DIFFERENCE BETWEEN WESTERNISATION AND SANSCRITISATION

Sanskritization Westernization

Sanskritization promoted sacred Westernization promoted secular

outlook outlook

Sanskritization is a process of Westernization is not only imitation

upward mobility by a process of it also led to development
imitation
Sanskritization is mobility within Westernization is mobility outside
the framework of caste system the framework of caste system
 Sanskritization puts a taboo in
eating meat and consumption of
alcohol
Sanskritization made the rituals
more elaborate
Westernization promoted meat and
alcohol consumption.
Westernization made the rituals less
elaborate

IMPACT OF WESTERNISATION, MODERNISATION,

INDUSTRIALISATION, GLOBALISATION ON INTERPLAY BETWEEN
LITTLE AND GREAT TARDITIONS
• Westernization, Modernization, Industrialization, Globalization promoted or
accelerated Interplay between Little and great tradition as modernization made
the society less restrictive.
• Modern education, modern occupations, transport facilities and media increased
the social interaction and commensality between the people of little and great
traditions which further facilitated the interplay between little tradition and
great tradition.

5.3. IMPACT OF GLOBALIZATION ON INDIAN

VILLAGES:
Write the impact of Globalization on Agrarian relations, Jajmani, Dominant
caste, Sanskritization, Interplay between little tradition and great tradition,
etc.

INTERCASTE RELATIONS:

Agrarian relations, Jajmani, Dominant caste, Sanskritization, Interplay

between little tradition and great tradition, etc.

Tribe caste continuum Sanskritization Interplay between

Little and great
tradition
It is Hindu mode of It is acculturation and It is diffusion of
tribal absorption, i.e. upward social mobility, cultural elements
between two different
Hindus try to absorb i.e. Lower caste or cultures (Little
and assimilate tribals varna people try to tradition and great
in to Hinduism. emulate Brahmins or tradition)
upper castes.

It is not only between It is Bidirectional

It is a concept only tribes and castes but diffusion of cultural
between tribes and also between lower elements between
Little and great
castes castes and higher castes
traditions. (Twin
within the Hindu varna concept of
& Caste system. Universalization &
Parochialization)

Proponents: F.G. Proponent: M.N.

Proponents: Robert
Bailey, G.S. Ghurye Srinivas
Redfield, McKim
etc. Marriott, Milton
Singer
 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; (&)
9.3. ETHNIC AND POLITICAL MOVEMENTS (POLITICAL
DEVELOPMENTS) (&) SOCIAL MOVEMENTS IN INDIAN
TRIBES
9.1. PVTG (PARTICULARLY VULNERABLE TRIBAL
 2

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
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
 3

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.

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.
 4

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.
• 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.
 5

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.

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.

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.

D.N. Majumdar and T.N. Madan in their book Introduction to Social

Anthropology (1956) have also offered a similar classification.
 6

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.

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.
 7

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

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.
 8

• 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

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
 9

• 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)
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.
 10

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
B) Mediterranean
C) Oriental type
V) WesternBrachycephals
A) Alpinoid
B) Dinaric
C) Armenoid
VI) Nordic
 11

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

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.
 12

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.

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.
 13

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.
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,
 14

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;
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.
 15

• 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:

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
 16

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.
Balak Ram Sansi from Patiala in Punjab, who belongs to the Sansi community,
which is one such denotified tribe, says that he has had to live a life in hiding for
decades. “People see through a different eye when they get to know that we are
denotified tribes,” Sansi says.
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.”

(II) 7.3. PSEUDOTRIBALISM

 17

• 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
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
 18

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.
• Creation of National Parks, resulting in alienation of rights and consequent
displacement and forced migration of tribal people.
 19

• Illegal land alienation, due to participation of revenue functionaries and officials,

and incorrect interpretation of laws, manipulation of records and permission.

Andhra Ø Andhra Pradesh Schedule Areas Land Transfer

 20

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)
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
 21

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
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
 22

• 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
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.
 23

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:
• 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.
 24

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

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.
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.
 25

• 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.

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.
 26

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.
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)
 27

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
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
 28

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
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.
 29

§ 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:

• 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
 30

• 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
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..
 31

• 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.
• 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.
 32

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:
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
 33

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
(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.
 34

(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.
• 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
 35

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:
• 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 &
 36

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
 37

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
 38

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.
 39

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,
 40

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:
• 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
 41

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)
• The scheme covers 24 MFPs in all states.
• Scheme is implemented through state level agency (SLA) appointed by the state
govt.
 42

• 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.

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.
 43

• 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
• Dissemination of information and creation of awareness.
 44

• 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.
 45

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.

OTHER INITIATIVES:
 46

• 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:
 47

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.
 48

• 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
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
 49

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.
• 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:
 50

• 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.
• 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.
 51

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?
• 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.
 52

• “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.
• 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.
 53

• 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
• 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
 54

• 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

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).
 55

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”.
• 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.’
 56

• ‘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.

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
 57

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.

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
 58

• 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
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:
 59

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)

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

1. Religious and social reform movements

2. Movements for separate statehood
 60

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

(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
 61

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.

• Fourth phase After 1970, the movement flourished and recently ended with the
formation of a new, independent Jharkhand state (15/11/2000).
 62

• 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
 64

new life are known as Bhagats. Bhagat needs to abstain from eating meat and
drinking alcohol.
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.
 65

9.1. PVTG (PARTICULARLY VULNERABLE TRIBAL GROUPS)

• 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)”
 66

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,
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,
 67

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:
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
 68

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.

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
15. Birjia
16. Hill Kharia
Bihar & Jharkhand 17. Korwas
18. Mal Paharia
19. Parhaiya
20. Sauria Paharia
21. Savar
 69

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
34. Abujh Maria
35. Baiga
36. Bharia
Madhya Pradesh &
37. Birhor
Chhattisgarh
38. Hill Korwa
39. Kamar
40. Saharia
41. Kathodi
Maharashtra 42. Kolam
43. Maria Gond
Manipur 44. Maram Naga
45. Birhor
Odisha 46. Bondo
47. Chuktia Bhunjia
 70

48. Didayi
49. Dongria Khond
50. Juang
51. Kharia
52. Kutia Khond
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
71. Great Andamanese
Andaman & Nicobar Islands 72. Jarawa
73. Onge
 71

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
• (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.
 72

• 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
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
 73

deemed to be Scheduled Tribes in relation to that State or Union territory, as the case
may be
(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.
• 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
 74

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.
 75

• 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)
 76

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
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)
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.
 77

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,
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.”
 78

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
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
 79

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
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.
 80

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.
• 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.
 81

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
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.
 82

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.
• 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
 83

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
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
 84

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
• Animal husbandry, veterinary training & practice
• Primary and Secondary Education
• Agriculture including farm research and education
• Fisheries
• Social security and social insurance
 85

• 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.
• 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.
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”.
 86

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.
• 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
 87

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
 88

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
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 .
 89

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)

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;
 90

• 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;
• 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
 91

• 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)

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
 92

• 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.
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.
 93

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
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
 94

• 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.
• 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:
 95

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
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
 96

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
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
 97

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
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.
 98

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

NATIONAL COMMISSION ON BACKWARD CLASS

102nd Constitution Amendment Act, 2018 provides constitutional status to the

National Commission for Backward Classes (NCBC). It has the authority to
examine complaints and welfare measures regarding socially and educationally
backward classes.

What is the composition of NCBC and service conditions of the members?

• The Commission consists of five members including a Chairperson, Vice-

Chairperson and three other Members appointed by the President by warrant
under his hand and seal.

• The conditions of service and tenure of office of the Chairperson, Vice-

Chairperson and other Members is determined by President.

Which Constitutional Provisions are relevant?

• Article 340 deals with the need to identify those "socially and educationally
backward classes", understand the conditions of their backwardness, and make
recommendations to remove the difficulties they face.

• 102nd Constitution Amendment Act inserted new Articles 338 B and 342 A.
 99

• Article 338B provides authority to NCBC to examine complaints and welfare

measures regarding socially and educationally backward classes.

• Article 342 A :- 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
concerned state. However, a law of Parliament will be required if the list of
backward classes is to be amended. (Article 342 A)

What are the powers and 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.

What is the Power of NCBC?

It has powers of a civil court:

• 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:
 100

(i) Summoning people and examining them on oath,

(ii) Requiring production of any document or public record, and

(iii) Receiving evidence.

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

• 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.
 101

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.
• 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.
 102

• 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.
• 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.
 103

• 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.
• 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.
 104

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.
• 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.
 105

• 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:

• 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.
 106

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
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
 107

private 2.Affordable
companies and Housing
70% for public- 3.Rural
private Infrastructure
partnerships. 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.
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
 108

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.

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.
 109

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:
• special relationship of the tribals with the forest is not appreciated.
• Their rights are viewed as a 'burden' on the forests.
 110

• 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.
• 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.
 111

• 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.
• 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 .
 112

• 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,
 113

• Developmental programmes and policies

• 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
 114

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.
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.

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.
• 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.
 115

• 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.
• 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
 116

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.
• 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.
 117

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:
• 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.
 118

• 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.

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.
 119

• 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.
• 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.
 120

• 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.
• 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.
 121

• 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:
• Five principles spelt out in 1952, known as Nehruvian Panchasheel, have been
guiding the administration of tribal affairs. They are:
 122

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:

 123

There are four ongoing schemes of the Ministry, which are open to the participation of
voluntary/nongovernmental organizations. These schemes are:

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
 124

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
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:

 125

• 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
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.
 126

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.
• 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
 127

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
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
 128

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
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:

 129

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.
“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
 130

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
• 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
 131

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
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
 132

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.
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
 133

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.

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.
 134

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.

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.
 135

‘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.
• 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:

 136

• 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.
 TRIBAL COMMUNITIES OF INDIA
XAXA COMMITTEE REPORT

In the year, 2013: UPA-II setup Committee under Virginius Xaxa. He was a
member of NAC (National advisory council), to study the socio-economic,
health and educational status of tribals & to suggest policy initiatives and
interventions for tribal-upliftment.

The report was submitted in the year 2014.

Legal and Administrative Framework

1. During the colonial period, tribal communities inhabited areas were

divided into ‘excluded’ and ‘partially excluded’ areas for purpose of
administration. Such administrative arrangements have found continuation
in postindependence India in the form of Sixth and Fifth Schedules of the
Constitution. Laws enacted by the Governor-General in Council or
Governor in Council were not automatically applicable in these areas in
colonial India unless Governor General or Governor thought otherwise. In
postIndependence India, this legal provision has been continued in Sixth
Schedule Areas, but not in Fifth Schedule Areas. Thus, laws passed by the
Parliament or State Legislature are not directly applicable in Sixth
Schedule Areas unless the Governor thinks it desirable. In the Fifth
Schedule Areas, laws passed by these bodies are automatically applicable,
unless the Governor thinks it to be not in the interest and welfare of the
tribal communities of the State.

There have been laws and policies passed by the Parliament and State
Legislatures such as the Forest Conservation Act, 1980, the Wildlife
Protection Act, 1972, the Panchayat Acts (prior to the passing of the 73rd
Amendment in 1992), and so on which have had an adverse and detrimental
impact on tribal communities. Yet the Governors have not exercised their
constitutional power towards the protection and welfare of the tribal
communities. This opens up two possibilities:

(i) Laws and policies enacted by the Parliament and State Legislatures
should not be automatically applied in the Fifth Schedule areas (as was
the case under colonial rule or as is presently the case in the Sixth
Schedule areas). Its applicability should be made contingent on the
discretion of the Governor who would determine its applicability or
non-applicability or applicability with modifications/amendments on
the advice of Tribes Advisory Council and issue a Statement of
 Objectives and Reasons for decisions on both applicability and
inapplicability of laws and policies.
(ii) In case the above is untenable, the Governor should be mandated to take
the advice of the Tribes Advisory Council and examine legislations and
policies (particularly, though not exclusively, those pertaining to issues
such as forests, land acquisition, conservation, mines and minerals,
health and education) passed by the Parliament or State Legislatures
and the implications of the same on tribal welfare. A mechanism for
such examination and action should be clearly stated and established.

2. Actions taken by the Governor for safeguarding the interests of tribal

communities should be clearly mentioned in the annual Governor’s Reports
submitted to the President. The Governors must be mandated to ensure the
timely submission of these reports. To this end, the Governor’s office must be
adequately assisted by specially set up competent and dedicated team in the
form of Governor’s Cell for Scheduled Tribes (as has already been initiated in
some States).

3. The Tribes Advisory Council is an integral part of the administrative

structure of the Fifth Schedule. Currently, the TAC consists of 20 members,
of which two-thirds is comprised of elected members in the State Legislature
belonging to the Scheduled Tribes. The rest are nominated members who
generally tend to be government officials working in Ministries and
Departments associated with tribal development. In this regard, we
recommend that:

(i) There needs to be a radical restructuring of the composition of the TAC.

Instead of two-thirds elected members from the State Legislature, this
should be restricted to half the members of the TAC. Moreover, these
elected representatives must come from different political parties, rather
than only from the ruling party. The remaining one-half should be
comprised of Chairpersons of the district Panchayat bodies (or
chairpersons of the Autonomous Council, wherever established) of the
Scheduled Areas on a rotational basis.
(ii) Tribes Advisory Council should be empowered, made active and
responsible for the tribal affairs in the State through the following
measures:
• The scope and responsibilities of TAC should be widened to transform it
into the Tribes Advisory, Protective and Developmental Council.
Constitutional provisions, laws, policies, and administrative matters
pertaining to the Scheduled Tribes must come under its ambit.
• The tribal development plan of a State and its outlay should be approved
by the TAC before it is placed before the Legislative Assembly.
 • In view of the serious responsibility placed on the TAC, it should be
made compulsory for the Council to meet at least four times a year.
• The Tribal Welfare Department should be made accountable to the TAC.
It should present its annual plan, budget and performance report to the
TAC and receive its approval for the next year.
• The agenda for the TAC meetings should be prepared through due
consultation with the members.
• The Governor should be made responsible for the overall functioning of
the TAC.

4. The provisions of the Sixth Schedule provide considerable space for autonomy
and self-governance. Through the Autonomous Councils, tribals have the
opportunity to enact legislations, execute programmes and adjudicate at a scale
larger than their individual villages. Such a provision has helped tribes of the
Northeast to protect their habitat, land, forests, natural resources, culture and
identity. They have not experienced displacement and land alienation on the scale
that tribes in ‘mainland’ India have. In view of these powers of political
autonomy, the tribal communities in the Northeast region have fared much better
in respect of socio-economic, educational and health status. In contrast, the tribes
in mainland have fared miserably in all these spheres. Hence, there is an urgent
need for extending the pattern of the Sixth Schedule in the form of Autonomous
Councils in the Fifth Schedule areas as has been provided for in the Provisions of
Panchayat (Extension to Scheduled Areas) Act, 1996. The specific provision
notes that, “the State Legislature shall endeavour to follow the pattern of the Sixth
Schedule to the Constitution while designing the administrative arrangements in
the Panchayats at district levels in the Scheduled Areas”.

This pattern would provide tribal areas with an institutional structure that
mediates between the State Government and hamlet-level Gram Sabha. There are
various forms of Autonomous Councils in the Sixth Schedule areas. These are
represented by Meghalaya, Mizoram, Tripura and Assam. On the question of
which pattern would best suit the ‘mainland’ tribal regions should be seriously
deliberated and worked upon by the States with Fifth Schedule areas.

5. There are a large number of States wherein tribes form a sizeable population
in blocks or villages, for example, in States like West Bengal, Kerala, Tamil
Nadu, Karnataka, Goa, etc. Tribal areas in these States must be brought under the
ambit of Scheduled Areas.

6. There are various impediments to the smooth and inclusive working of the
Autonomous Councils in Sixth Schedule areas which must be addressed. In order
to do so, we propose the following:
• Autonomous Councils must be covered under State Finance Commission that
is empowered to review periodically the financial position and lay down
appropriate principles of resource distribution between State and the Autonomous
Council. Funding should not be left to arbitrary discretion of the State
Governments.
• The ADC should be reconstituted within six months of its dissolution.
• There should be provision for reservation for tribal women (one-third) as well
as smaller tribal groups in the ADCs and other political institutions.
• Traditional political institutions at the village/hamlet level should be formally
recognized by the State.

Livelihoods and Employment Status

1. There is a dire need to establish agro-based training institutions and related

labour-intensive processing industries in tribal regions. Terms and quantum of
micro-credit should be made reasonable for individuals, SHGs, cooperative
institutions and Gram Sabhas in Scheduled Areas for the tribes to pursue these
occupations.

2. In order to make use of land available with the tribal farmers, they should be
motivated to undertake organic farming and eco-forestry. This requires concerted
efforts by the Departments of Agriculture and Forest to motivate the tribal
farmers to undertake such activities.

3. Although a majority of Scheduled Tribes have land, and cultivation is their

main occupation, water for agriculture is the greatest impediment in production.
Micro watershed development program with people-centered participatory
approach is a good method for poverty reduction through natural resource
management in tribal regions. Therefore, micro watershed should be given top-
most priority in tribal areas to enhance agricultural productivity.

4. It is imperative to strategize water management in degraded and undulating

land, dependent on erratic monsoon. Water conservation through large dams has
been proved contrary to the interests of the tribes. Therefore, the best strategy
would be to construct water harvesting structures on various small and large water
sources. Even on big rivers, small water harvesting structures could be
constructed, which would be environment friendly.

5. The deprivation of STs of cultivated land adds to their marginalization and

penury. This warrants the prevention of all kinds of tribal land alienation through
strict enforcement of laws and restoration of alienated land to the tribal owners
as per the provisions of the PESA and the confirmatory Acts by various States.
There should be monitoring agencies at the National and State levels to prevent
alienation of tribal land and its restoration.

6. Since tribal inhabited regions have good forest cover (with or without trees
now), they should be allowed to participate in the protection and management of
forests. The newly acquired land under FRA, 2006 could be utilized in eco-
forestry rather than for food grain cultivation, which could give more return to
the ST farmers, in case they want to opt for it.

7. Credit and marketing facilities need to be extended to the STs. Delivery of

social justice must be monitored by the National Commission for Scheduled
Tribes, both at the national and state levels.

8. There is severe under-representation of STs and pending vacancies in Central

Government services. As far as the representation of STs in Public Sector Banks,
Financial Institutions and Insurance Companies, STs accounts for 6.55 per cent,
which is less than the mandatory 7.5 per cent of ST reservations to be followed
by these institutions. Therefore, the Government should follow a transparent
policy with regard to jobs for STs in public sector. No ST candidates who fulfill
the basic eligibility criteria for a specific post should be rejected on the ground of
no suitable candidates found.

9. The discriminatory credit policy of the financial institutions is a major deterrent

in the participation of STs in business. Entrepreneurs among STs must be given
credit facility on par with other social groups. Further, all steps must be taken by
the Government for skill development among the tribal youth to make them
employable or self-employed, according to their aspirations.

10. The participation of STs in MGNREGA has been decreasing from its
inception in 2006. This trend is very disturbing, which should be investigated and
monitored by a special agency under the administrative control of MoTA.

11. Tribals should be encouraged to use their traditional knowledge to meet their
needs by recreating their forest ecosystem and forest-based livelihood.

12. The Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs) among the tribes need
special attention due to their vulnerability in the present situation. Their
customary right to land, forest and sources of livelihood must be respected and
protected. The issue of nomenclature must be addressed by commissioning a
special study. MoTA should ensure that all states having PVTGs should take steps
to have micro-projects for individual PVTGs to utilize the grants received under
SCA. The Project Offices for PVTGs should be made to report to the MoTA about
the development activities undertaken for the PVTGs under their jurisdiction,
rather than submitting allocation and expenditure statements.

13. Data on development parameters with respect to STs are not available for the
purpose of policy planning and implementation. Therefore, a National Institute
of Tribal Development, an autonomous research organization, has to be set up
exclusively for undertaking research on STs.

Education

1. The purpose of education anywhere, including in tribal areas, should be to

provide chidren with an understanding of the environment and society in which
they live and to endow them with the capability to earn a livelihood in the local
society and, for those who have the desire and ability, in the national job market.

2. There is a marked gender gap with respect to education in tribal society. This
is reflected in the disparity in literacy levels, drop-out rates and enrolment in
higher education. Hence, there is a need for greater gender focus and social
mobilization to encourage education of girls. The State must develop certain
mechanisms to this effect.

3. Since the educational scenario in tribal areas is marked by poor infrastructure,

providing adequate infrastructure, such as classrooms, teachers and teaching aids
as well as basic facilities like electricity, water, boundary walls and toilets is
absolutely essential for the proper functioning of these schools and from the
perspective of security and safety of children.

4. In view of the deteriorating condition of elementary education in tribal areas,

where Sarva Siksha Abhiyan has hardly been of help, recourse should be taken
to the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009 which
provides for compulsory enrolment of all children between the age group 6 to 14,
re-enrolment of those who have dropped out with the facility of special coaching
for admission in a class appropriate to his or her age, and admission of a child in
a neighbouring school of his or her choice. The Act should be stringently
implemented.

5. Keeping in view the difficulties of adjusting to a new cultural environment,

teachers for schools in the tribal regions should be recruited locally. Along with
the teaching staff, the administrative staff dealing with tribal education should
have regular orientation courses to appreciate tribal culture and way of life. To
facilitate such training, the centers of training should be located in the tribal areas.
There should be a separate cadre of teaching and administrative staff, who will
serve among the tribal schools over the long run.
6. New teacher training institutions should be opened in the TSP areas to meet
the full requirement of qualified and trained teachers. The curriculum for the
training should be drawn up very carefully, taking into account the sociocultural
milieu, tribal ethos, language etc.

7. The dearth of teachers fulfilling the eligibility criteria set out under the RTE
Act is an impediment to achieving the right to education in tribal areas. For
addressing the current crisis of absence of teachers in tribal areas, special efforts
need to be made to produce more teachers who have qualified the Teachers
Ability Test. This must be done on an emergency basis. In the interregnum,
teachers appointed in educational institutions must be given a term within which
they qualify the Teachers Eligibility Test, and facilities be provided to assist them
in taking this test, including training, courses and access to materials.

8. The State Governments should develop a policy for multilingual education, so

that early learning is conducted in the local language.

9. The experiment with the Model Primer developed in Odisha and other similar
ventures may be worked upon in TSP areas and in tribal languages in other states
as well.

10. Inclusion of local culture, folklore and history in the curriculum can help in
building confidence of tribal children and enhance the relevance of education in
their lives. Music and dance are a central part of tribal life. Therefore, storytelling,
theatre, painting, music and dance performances should be promoted. Similarly,
sports such as football, archery and other popular local sports are extremely
beneficial and therapeutic for children, and should be promoted.

11. Recognizing that the tribal people have certain cultural ‘genius’, different
aspects of ‘indigenous knowledge’ should be documented, researched and
promoted. For developing better understanding of the tribal cultures and their
promotion, there should be appropriate number of tribal cultural academies in
regional centres. An important step in this direction is teaching tribal history and
culture in schools for both tribal and non-tribal children.

12. To address the problem of low representation of the tribals in higher

education, it is necessary to refurbish primary and secondary school education
through special coaching.

13. Institutions of ITDAs/ITDPs and micro-projects support to the tribal schools

should be strengthened for prevention of dropouts.
14. The policy of no-detention needs a review. When the student, teachers, or
parents of the student request for retention of a child to enable him/her to acquire
skills to move to the next class, he/she should be retained.

15. In light of the harsh terrain of tribal inhabitations, norms concerning distance
and Pupil-Teacher Ratio, at all levels of school education, should be reviewed.

16. The policy of vocational education at the secondary and senior secondary
level needs further integration and strengthening.

17. There is a marked absence of quality secondary and higher secondary schools
in tribal areas. The Government needs to establish well-run residential schools
such as Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalayas closer to the habitations (within a radius
of ten kilometres) up to Class XII. These schools must provide comprehensive
facilities for marginalized children including quality education, health care and
academic support classes.

18. Residential schools should be set up specifically for Nomadic Tribes. The
basic principles are:
a. The residential schools should be in places where the weather is least
harsh,
b. there should be special security for the children, including girl
children for whom there should be women wardens,
c. the parents of students should be brought to these institutions so that
they are informed about the education, and quality of life, of their
children,
d. there should be proactive efforts by Tribal Affairs officials of the
State to approach every family to help them make an informed
choice to send their children to the schools,
e. the holidays for these schools should be fixed in such a way that the
children can meet their family, when the family returns to the place
where they celebrate festivals, weddings, etc.

19. In residential schools, which are often in the news for incidents of sexual
abuse of students, strong mechanisms should be put in place to protect the
students from abuse, neglect, exploitation and violence.

20. There is a need to recognise the adverse impact of violence on children’s

education. No schools or areas in the immediate vicinity of schools should be
occupied by security forces or the police, as has been the case in conflict zones
in tribal areas. Demilitarisation of schools is vital in order to restore schools as a
place of safety, security and scholarship for students.
21. Involvement of community in educational interventions through the
Panchayati Raj Institutions needs to be institutionalized. Information on various
schemes and benefits to beneficiaries should be provided to the Gram Sabhas and
Gram Panchayats, which would create transparency and increase awareness about
their entitlements.

22. There is a need for regular social audits to monitor the functioning of schools.
To this end, a monitoring committee at the block level for primary and middle
schools and district level for high and higher secondary schools should be set up.

23. Most of the educational ‘missions’ do not reach the tribal areas and where
they do reach, they are too rare to have any significant impact. The State
educational machinery is largely responsible for this situation. There should be
proper accountability of the State educational administration to end the
longstanding stagnation in education in tribal areas.

24. The scope of education needs to be expanded for the purpose of scholarships
and should include tribal painting, art, craft, song, music and dance, etc. While
the Ministry of Tribal Affairs is now supporting scholarships for students
belonging to Scheduled Tribes, the UGC and the MoTA should support
scholarships for tribal studies for non-tribal students also. A single window
scholarship portal targeting the Scheduled Tribe students should be established
to provide information on different scholarship schemes.

25. Regional Resource Centres in States with significant tribal populations should
be established to provide training, academic and other technical support for
development of pedagogic tools and education materials catering to multilingual
situation.

26. It is suggested that owing to poor condition of the State Tribal Research
Institutes, there is the need to improve the same in terms of infrastructure, quality
of staff, research output and direction for policy. It is also recommended that a
Central Tribal Research Institute, as has been planned by the Central
Government, be launched.

27. It is recommended that a Tribal Chair be established by the UGC in

Universities in every State comprising Fifth Schedule Areas.

Health:

1. The first principle of any policy or program for tribal people is participation.
Tribal people as a population segment are not politically very vocal. However,
they have different geographical, social, economic and cultural environments,
different kind of health cultures and health care needs. Hence their views and
priorities must get due place in any health care program, meant for them. We
suggest making use of three types of existing institutional mechanisms to improve
the programs.
• 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. This can serve as a
model at the local level in other Scheduled Areas. At least one
Gram Sabha meeting annually should be exclusively dedicated to
the purpose of health and related subjects.

• 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. Such councils should be constituted
at the block or ITDP level, district, state and national level. These should
be empowered to shape the health plans and monitor implementation.
These sub-committees of Panchayat level, district level and Zilla Parishad
could function as Tribal Health Councils.

• 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.

2. In view of the enormous diversity among nearly 700 tribes in India, the second
principle to be followed is of area specific and tribe-sensitive local planning. The
PESA provides an institutional basis for this. The three institutional mechanisms
suggested above, when created and made operational at the block, district and
state level, will allow local planning.

3. Social determinants of health – literacy, income, water, sanitation, fuel, food

security and dietary diversity, gender sensitivity, transport and connectivity –
play very important role in determining the health outcomes. Hence, intersectoral
coordination for improvement in other sectors is as important, if not more, as
health care. Some specific suggestions for improving health are:
 • The construction of drainage system, village sanitation infrastructure,
personal toilets and the environmental measures to control
mosquitobreeding can be included in the MGNREGA scheme and
completed on priority basis in Scheduled Areas.
• To reduce the household use of unclean fuels and biomass burning, the
solar energy, especially the solar cooker, water heaters and lights be
promoted in Scheduled Areas. This will also help save trees.
• Improving nutrition of children, adolescents and pregnant and lactating
women is critical for the Scheduled Tribes population. The nutrition
awareness and feeding programs in the Scheduled Areas can be better
implemented in collaboration with the National Rural Livelihood Mission
and the women’s saving groups in the villages.
• Health and income available for family will show improvement by
controlling alcohol and tobacco.

4. Empowerment of the Scheduled Tribe people is another cardinal principle.

Building their capabilities to care for their health is the long term solution far
superior to a perpetual dependence. This however does not mean that the
government or the rest of the society can abdicate their responsibility towards
tribal people. But this responsibility can be better served in long run by building
local capacity. In other words, instead of ‘giving’ health care, the policy should
be to build ‘capacity to care for health’. This principle should guide in planning
health care – especially in the choice of who will provide health care, where,
when and how.

5. To bridge the scientific knowledge gap of centuries, health care for Scheduled
Areas should give paramount importance to spreading ‘health literacy’ by way of
mass educational methods, folk media, modern media and school curriculum.
Enormous scope exists for communication in local dialects and for the use of
technology.

6. A large number of Scheduled Tribe children and youth – more than one crore
– are currently in schools. This provides a great opportunity – both for improving
their health and for imparting health related knowledge and practices. Schools,
including the primary schools, middle schools, high schools, ashram shalas and
also the Anganwadis should become the Primary Health Knowledge Centers.

7. Special attention should be given to women, children, old and disabled people
in the Scheduled Tribe population as these are the most vulnerable.

8. Traditional healers and Dais play an important role in the indigenous health
care. Instead of alienating or rejecting them, a sensitive way of including them or
getting their cooperation in health care, must be explored. Traditional herbal
medicines should be protected through community ownership. The ownership
and intellectual property rights of tribal community over their own herbal
medicines and practices should be ensured.

9. Apart from the physical distance, a huge cultural distance separates the tribal
population from others. Health care delivery to the Scheduled Tribe population
should be culture-sensitive and in the local language in order to overcome this
distance.

10. Health care delivery system for Scheduled Areas must keep as its guiding
principle the Chinese axiom – How far can a mother walk on foot with a sick
baby? Health care must be available within that distance. This, for the tribal
communities living in forests, means health care must be available in their
village/hamlet. Sixty years of failure should teach us that health care from outside
is not a feasible solution. The design of health care in Scheduled Areas should be
such that major share of health promotion and prevention and a sizable proportion
of curative care is generated and provided within the village or hamlet.

11. In light of these principles and in view of the common disease pattern and
needs listed earlier in the conclusions section, we recommend that the Ministry
of Health and Family Welfare should redesign the primary and secondary health
care services in Scheduled Areas. The new pattern should not be enforced as a
top-down, vertical, uniform national program, but should provide a framework
for local planning with local participation. Thus, the ‘Tribal Health Plan’ will
have three feature: one, a process framework about ‘how’ to prepare the local
plan, which will be in the form of guidelines on mechanisms; second, a series of
locally developed need-based contents of the plan and third, a design or structure
of the health care system to deliver such services in all Scheduled Areas. This
‘Tribal Health Plan’ should become an essential feature of the National Health
Mission and of the Tribal Sub Plan. The goals and monitoring indicators of this
plan will be different than the regular MIS of the NHM.

12. Human Resources for Health: The well-known difficulties in deploying

doctors, nurses and other technical personnel from outside, into Scheduled Areas
have made the problem of human resources the Achilles’ heel of health care in
Scheduled Areas. We recommend that, instead of making futile efforts to import
unwilling and unstable personnel from outside, the most feasible and effective
long term solution will be to select, train and deploy local Scheduled Tribe
candidates. This should be done at the following levels:
• Accredited Social Health Activists (ASHA) and Anganwadi workers – from the
same village or the hamlet.
• The ANMs and paramedic workers – from the same block.
• The doctors and public health program managers – to a large extent, from the
same district.

The candidates must be local, belong to Scheduled Tribes, be fluent in local tribal
dialects, be selected on merit and should be committed to serve in the local
Scheduled Area for at least ten years.

The ASHA workers, Anganwadi workers and ANMs will continue to be the
mainstay of health care in rural and tribal areas. Due to the physical isolation of
tribal communities, compounded by a lack of doctors, it will be pragmatic to train,
equip and empower the three ‘As’ – ASHA workers, Anganwadi workers and
ANMs – in tribal areas to a higher level.

Since the selection for medical education is through a statewide and all India
competitive process, the local Scheduled Tribe candidates may not get selected.
Hence, we recommend that separate Medical Colleges for Tribal Areas be opened
in selected scheduled districts, one college per three million Scheduled Tribe
population in the state. All seats are to be reserved for such committed Scheduled
Tribe candidates, to be selected from the respective Scheduled Areas, depending
on the population and need for doctors in each Scheduled Area. The aim should
be to provide, in ten years, the required number of appropriately trained doctors
to serve in these areas. The High Level Expert Group (HLEG) on Universal
Health Care, appointed by the Planning Commission, in its report (2011), has
recommended that the District Knowledge and Training Centers be developed
and made into medical colleges attached to district hospitals, and nearly 187 new
medical colleges should be opened in the country, especially in undeveloped
regions. These recommendations can be used to open Medical Colleges for Tribal
Areas. Approximately 30 new medical colleges for tribal areas, each with 60 seats
per year, will be able to produce nationally about 1800 new doctors per year,
selected from, trained and legally committed to work in the Scheduled Area of
their origin.

The Medical Education for Tribal Areas (META) should be, to some extent,
different from the regular MBBS, and hence, should not entirely follow the
curriculum of the Medical Council of India. Besides the regular medical
curriculum, some modifications are necessary such as:
ii) knowledge of and sensitivity towards tribal culture and language,
iii) methods of communication
iv) training and management of a health team,
v) competencies in preventing and managing health problems
common among the Scheduled Tribe population by way of
clinical, outreach and public health approaches,
 vi) collaboration with other sectors of development affecting health,
eg. sanitation, nutrition, education, forestry. If necessary, the
MCI recognition for this degree may not be sought, or a new
degree different than MBBS be created, with legal permission to
function as a doctor in Scheduled Areas.
13. Addiction has serious effects on the socio-economic fabric of tribal society.
It affects not only health but also productivity, family economy, social harmony
and ultimately, development. Hence,

i) the Excise Policy for Scheduled Areas, approved by the Ministry

of Home Affairs, Government of India, in 1976 and accepted by
the states, should be implemented effectively,
ii) the availability and consumption of tobacco and drugs should be
severely controlled and
iii) the availability and use of alcohol and tobacco products among
the Scheduled Tribe population, and the implementation of
control policies by the states, should be monitored on selected
indicators. These efforts should become a critical part of the
Tribal Sub-Plan.
14. The TSP budget, in proportion to the Scheduled Tribe population, should be
an additional input and not a substitute to the regular budget for routine activities
of the Health Department in Scheduled Areas. At least ten percent of the total
TSP budget should be committed to the health sector, the Tribal Health Plan in
the Scheduled Areas, in addition to the regular health budget for these areas.

15. 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. One percent of the total budget for the Scheduled Tribe
population (TSP) should be allocated to the generation of reliable, timely, and
relevant segregated data on Scheduled Tribes population, from the local to
national level. This will provide the crucial instrument – the facts – necessary to
guide program managers, policy makers and the Scheduled Tribe population
itself. Towards this, the specific measures recommended are:
• Construction of a composite Tribal Development Index (TDI)
• Construction of a composite Tribal Health Index (THI) including the indicators
on health status, determinants and health care.
• Ranking of 151 districts with more than 25 percent Scheduled Tribes population
and of states on these indices.
• Creation of a high power national body under the Ministry of Health and Family
Welfare to facilitate the commissioning and collection of relevant data and
monitoring of the indices and progress. This body should complete the work
through the various existing agencies/surveys such SRS, NSSO, NFHS, DLHS,
AHS, NNMB, the TRTIs in the states, the ICMR institutes network on tribal
health, and finally, the health ministries in the states. Necessary administrative
and financial authority should be provided to this body. Broadly, one percent of
the total health budget for tribal areas (the regular health budget for Scheduled
Areas, including the health component in the TSP) should be devoted for this
purpose.

16. Research: From the public health point of view, certain aspects of tribal health
need research. These are:
• Epidemiology, disease patterns and mortality rates in Scheduled Areas,
• Traditional belief systems and practices, and effective communication
methods,
• Tribal healing systems,
• Methods of health care delivery in Scheduled Areas. The AYUSH
(Ayurveda, Yoga, Unani, Siddha, and Homeopathy) department and the
Indian Council of Medical Research should incorporate these into their
scope of working.

17. The Proposed Goals of the Tribal Health Plan should be:
• To attain the Millennium Development Goals (2015) on health and
nutrition for the Scheduled Tribe population in India by the year 2020,
• To bring the health, sanitation and nutrition status of the Scheduled Tribe
population to the same level as that of the non-Scheduled Tribe
population in the respective states by the year 2025,
• To create the human resources necessary for provision of healthcare in
Scheduled Areas, as per the norms set by the High Level Expert Group
on Universal Health Coverage (2011), by the year 2025,
• To create and make functional the institutions for participatory
governance (Tribal Health Assemblies and Councils) at all levels in the
Scheduled Areas by the year 2016,
• To annually generate Tribal Health Plans at all levels by the year 2017,
• To annually allocate and spend 8.6 percent, in proportion to the
Scheduled Tribes population, of the total Health Sector Plan and Non-
plan budget, plus 10 percent of the TSP for the implementation of the
Tribal Health Plan.

Land Alienation, Displacement and Enforced Migration:

1. Serious effort is required by the State to minimize displacement. There

should be a rights- based approach to comprehensive rehabilitation for
socio-economic reconstitution of victims of development, including for the
backlog of displaced.
2. The problem is with the expansive interpretation that has been given to
the doctrine of ‘eminent domain’ by political and managerial elites. In this
context, it is essential that the whole process of displacement should be
democratic and rights of tribal communities to say ‘no’ to acquisition of their
land and to access and manage forests and other CPRs, be recognised.
3. The new legislation, ‘The Right To Fair Compensation and Transparency
in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation And Resettlement Act, 2013, is
progressive in the sense that it is the first to legally mandate rehabilitation
of PAP. However, it fails to address the need for minimizing of acquisition
of land and resources. This is not surprising, since the objective of the Act,
which seeks to address concerns of those whose livelihoods are affected,
simultaneously aims at facilitating land acquisition for industrialization and
urbanization. This is in keeping with the broader liberalization policies. Such
policies will result in more displacement in Central India for mining and in
the Northeast for dams.
• The 2013 Act already has a provision for safeguarding food security and
states that multi-crop irrigated land will not be acquired, except as a last
resort measure. Further, the State Government is to set limits on the
acquisition of such land under this law. States are also required to set a
limit on the area of agricultural land that can be acquired in any given
district. However, there is no mention of the need to protect tribal land
and community resources. Hence, a suitable provision is required to be
incorporated in the Act, to safeguard tribal land and community resources
in Scheduled Areas and disallow acquisition by a non-tribal, including
private companies.
• The definition of ‘public purpose’ in the new law is very wide and will
only lead to greater acquisition and displacement in Scheduled Areas.
The exercise of ‘eminent domain’ and definition of ‘public purpose’
should be severely limited.
• Government agencies acquiring land with the ultimate purpose to transfer
it to private companies for stated public purpose, should be kept outside
the ambit of the new law, as the Public-Private Partnership mode of
acquiring land is simply a backdoor method of alienating land in
violation of the Constitutional provision to prohibit or restrict transfer of
tribal land to non-tribals in Scheduled Areas.
• It is recommended that, as directed in the landmark Samatha judgment
and the PESA Act, every Gram Sabha should have the power to prevent
alienation of tribal land and further that minerals should be exploited by
tribal people themselves. The stringent provisions of the amended
Andhra Pradesh Scheduled Areas Land Transfer Regulation, 1959,
should be adopted by other States, particularly the provision that
facilitates the formation of Registered Scheduled Tribe Co-operative
Societies, which could take up mining activities in Scheduled Areas. By
 doing so, the Samantha Judgment would hold good for all States with
Scheduled Areas. It should be the responsibility of the State to facilitate
the formation of cooperatives of tribal people for the above purpose.
• Gram Sabha consent should be mandatory for acquisition of land by the
Government for its own use as well.
• The Act does not have a provision to the effect that exploitation of natural
resources in Scheduled Areas must be with the consent of the Gram
Sabha. This should be rectified.
4. In the interest of weaker sections such as tribal communities, the threshold
should be kept very low and R&R provisions of the new law should apply
to all cases.

5. There is plenty of unutilized tribal land available with Central/State/PSUs,

and Central/State Governments which is not being used for the purpose for
which it was acquired. Governments should be legally mandated to return
such land to the original landowner/successors or use the same for
resettlement of displaced tribals. This should not be left to the discretion of
the State Government. One example of this is of HEC, Hatia, Ranchi, where
excess tribal land had been acquired and people are agitating for the return
of the land, but the State wishes to utilize it for other purposes. In such cases,
land should be returned to the original displaced families.

The Vijay Kelkar Committee on Fiscal Consolidation (2012) said, “Over

the next 24-36 months, there is yet another policy instrument for raising
resources for development and that is monetizing the government’s
unutilized and under-utilized land resources. These resources can finance
infrastructure needs, particularly in urban areas. Such a policy has been
effectively utilized in many countries including USA, France, Canada,
Australia and China. For monetizing land resources, the potential is
considerable given the under-utilized prime lands of PSUs, Port Trusts,
Railways, etc. Toward this, we recommend setting up of a group to work out
the policy framework and institutional modalities.”

The suggestion of the Vijay Kelkar Committee on Fiscal Consolidation

(2012) that “unutilized and under-utilized land resources” be used for
“raising resources” to “finance infrastructure needs particularly in urban
areas” is against the purpose and intent of the land acquisition law and
should be roundly rejected, and unused land should be returned to the loser
of the land and to the community.

6. There has been inadequate recognition at the policy level that land
represents an inalienable resource, passed on from generation to generation
in tribal communities, who otherwise have no education and skill
development. Studies have documented that those DPs who got jobs in lieu
of land and whose children did not receive education or training were worse
off after the job-holder retired from service. It is recommended that the
objective of R&R should be to ensure that the socio-economic status of tribal
DPs/PAPs after displacement, should improve positively rather than
deteriorate further. Loss of land and CPR can be compensated only by
proper R&R which envisages restoration of livelihoods, health and
education facilities and skill development for the whole family and
community of tribal DPs/PAPs. There should be provision of ‘land for land’,
in acquisition of tribal lands. Compensatory land provided must be made
cultivable with irrigation and agricultural inputs. Rehabilitation should be
treated as a continuous process to be monitored by the Project Authority and
State until the alternative livelihood becomes economically viable. They
must be given a stake in the assets and economic activities being created on
their acquired land and CPRs (for example, land in command area, irrigation
of tribal land in the vicinity, jobs in industries, or shops/jobs in industrial
projects/townships). An expanding economy, particularly expanding labour-
intensive manufacturing sector together with adequate emphasis on health,
education and skill development, hold the key to humane R&R.

7. The 2013 Act is weak in matters relating to skill development and

provision for livelihood for DPs/PAPs. During a meeting between the HLC
and representatives of displaced tribal people in Bastar, Chhattisgarh, anger
was expressed at the non-fulfillment of promises to give jobs to the educated
displaced persons. They were unhappy with the cash allowance being given
in lieu of jobs. The official response, that there were not enough jobs to
accommodate all displaced people, did not satisfy the aggrieved parties. A
sum of two thousand rupees per month per family as annuity for 20 years,
with appropriate index for inflation in lieu of jobs, as stipulated in the new
Act, is too low. Clearly, more has to be done for skill development and
creation of alternative livelihoods. One of the ways to ensure that jobs are
provided to displaced people, including tribal families, is to create a State
level/National-level Virtual Employment Exchange with complete data of
age, sex, educational qualifications, and skill-set of persons displaced in the
past, present and in near future, for providing them employment and/or
preparing them for employment/self-employment. Global best practices
could be studied for providing alternative livelihoods, which could include
imaginative self-employment schemes with backward and forward linkages
to be provided by Project Authorities.

8. Research studies stress that gross undervaluation of losses, replacement

value of loss and costs of resettlement, has led to inadequate financing of
R&R and externalization of costs of R&R to the displaced and the future
generations. The new law has expanded the definition of ‘displaced’ to
include project-affected persons; however, care has to be taken to ensure that
all genuine cases are included and compensation is properly computed.
• In computing losses, it has to be recognized that there are instances of
tribal DPs who do not have documents to support their genuine claim but
who base their ownership rights on oral tradition. Such claims should not
be rejected.
• Forest rights have been covered under the Forest Rights Act, but other
CPRs such as Government land and Panchayat land has not been covered
by any legislation. This needs to be rectified. Moreover, survey by
Government is incomplete – as a consequence, community land is
recorded as Government land and tribal communities, primarily tribes
who practice shifting cultivation on such land, are denied compensation.
This problem needs to be addressed by measures to include such cases
under R&R provision.
• Women require special consideration and affirmative action. Widows
and unmarried adult daughters should be recognized as a separate unit.
• The principle for working out land compensation has been spelt out. For
all other assets, compensation should be based on replacement value or
net present value of assets lost/destroyed.
• While preparing the project cost estimates, the full cost for R&R should
be included, and no attempt should be made to reduce costs for a
favourable cost-benefit ratio.
• The rehabilitation package and process should take into account, the
cultural displacement, and loss of customs and tradition. For tribal
people, their strength is their community, and therefore, it is imperative
that they be resettled and rehabilitated as a community, if they so desire.
• Infrastructural amenities to be provided in the resettlement area have
been mentioned in the new law, but provision of banking facilities has
been missed out. With primary emphasis on monetary compensation, it
is essential that displaced tribals, who may not have experience in
handling money and understanding of the monetary economy, should be
advised on handling their cash compensation. Banking facilities should
made available for keeping their money safe and credit facilities should
be provided by the State (to avoid exploitation by moneylenders).

9. Land and water sources polluted by industrial and mining projects in tribal
regions require attention and the onus for taking corrective measures should
be on the Project Authorities. The schemes of the Government could be
utilized to treat polluted land and water resources of tribal people.

10. The role of the Governor is crucial for protecting land, community
assets, culture and traditional institutions of tribal people and to ensure that
they are treated fairly. This role extends to ensuring socio-economic
reconstitution of tribal DPs/PAPs. This raises the issue of suitability of
persons who occupy the important position of Governor and other offices,
such as Commissioners, Deputy Commissioners and District Magistrates, in
Scheduled Areas. It is imperative that the antecedents and experience of
persons be taken into consideration by the Government to check whether
they can protect the interest of tribal communities and are suitable for such
appointments, in view of the special role assigned to them in such States.

11. Implementation of the new law will be difficult in the absence of

resettlement and rehabilitation capacities in the local administration, local
community and corporate entities. It is essential that the State and corporate
sector create such capacity by introducing professional training and
orientation courses for following the best R&R practices worldwide and
replicating them in the Indian situation. Offering tribal people monetary
compensation and making promises without attendant capacity to deliver on
them will not resolve the impasse that has brought land acquisition to a
standstill. Sporadic attempts by instruments of the State to use force to
acquire land is unethical and unacceptable. Only a genuine and bonafide
effort at comprehensive and pragmatic R&R can persuade tribal people to
part with their land.

12. The new legislation lays considerable emphasis on consultation and

consent of Gram Sabhas. It is essential that the State be vigilant through
adequate monitoring mechanisms for ensuring that consent is obtained
freely and every displaced person gets adequate and comprehensive R&R in
lieu of land/livelihoods lost. The State must put in place a system to collect
disaggregated data of DPs/PAPs for all social groups. Oversight
mechanisms must be created at the District, State and Central levels,
comprising officials and non-officials with proven competence, integrity
and commitment to public good. There is a view that, though the new
legislation has been enacted by the Centre, R&R is a State subject, which
should continue. However, the Centre has a responsibility along with the
states to ensure comprehensive R&R. The Central Government should
decide on the monitoring mechanism to be put in place. One possibility is to
establish an Authority/nodal agency with a multidisciplinary team under the
Ministry of Land Resources.

13. In view of the large-scale discontent among displaced tribal people

regarding poor R&R, a High-Level Fact-finding Committee/Enquiry
Committee should be set up to investigate the quality of R&R in all medium
and major development projects undertaken in the last fifty years in
Scheduled Areas and tribal-dominated districts of States without Scheduled
Areas. This Committee should be mandated to suggest ways and means to
deliver justice to the displaced families, who have not received any proper
rehabilitation. This is essential, in view of the fact that, the new law has not
taken cognizance of the backlog of displaced people, a majority of whom
are tribal people.

14. Myriad grassroot movements against exploitation of tribal people and

other weaker sections hold the key to greater socio-economic justice. It
would be desirable if the State recognizes this and engages with democratic
grassroot movements, instead of crushing these movements.

15. Tribal people who have been displaced by conflict in Chhattisgarh and
the Northeast should be rehabilitated by the State Government in their
villages and provided facilities of housing, safe drinking water, health and
education, skill development, electricity supply, irrigation facilities, and
agricultural inputs. It is for the State to take preventive action and ensure
safety and prevent tribal land alienation in such areas. During a visit of HLC
to Assam, civil society groups and representatives of Autonomous Tribal
Councils emphasized that influx of outsiders was a real threat to the tribal
communities. They also alleged that inter-tribal conflict was being instigated
by outsiders. It is the responsibility of the State Government to take
measures to prevent such conflicts.

16. Under the ‘Coal Bearing Areas (Acquisition and Development) Act,
1957, pattas/legal titles for houses allotted in resettlement sites are not issued
to the displaced. As a result, the displaced lose their identity and are unable
to access public facilities provided by the local administration, thereby
facing difficulty in obtaining Caste/Tribe certificates. Further, there is no
provision for payment of compensation before taking possession of land.
The provision for returning land to original landholders post-mining is rarely
complied with. Clearly, there is a need to make amendments in the Act.

17. Development projects have opened up tribal areas leading to influx of

people from outside the tribal region, seeking employment in various
sectors. All this has resulted in increasing urbanization of tribal areas and
immigrants, rather than tribals, have benefited from this. Consequently, the
percentage of tribal population in some Scheduled Areas has declined,
although historically, these areas were almost exclusively occupied by tribal
people. Hence, it is recommended that there should be no reduction in the
areas declared to be Scheduled Areas as this will harm the interests of
already deprived tribal communities by diminishing their space and their
resources. Rather, the representation of tribal communities should be
enhanced and strengthened in the politico-administrative institutions within
Scheduled Areas.

18. Tribal people suffer predominantly from the phenomenon of

povertyinduced migration, also known as forced migration. An analysis of
the Census data shows that there has been an occupational change and the
number of tribal cultivators has reduced while the number of tribal marginal
workers has increased. Micro studies indicate the increase in
seasonal/circulatory migration of tribal workers, which may help them to
avoid starvation, but is not enough to improve their standard of living.
Hence, it is recommended that:
• The Census and National Sample Surveys should gather data on the
phenomena of seasonal/circulatory migration, migration of children
across social groups and poverty-induced migration.
• Priority should be given to STs in settlement of ceiling surplus land and
wasteland, investments to improve agriculture, support for high value
horticulture, employment opportunities in rural areas, access to credit
facilities and skill-development to rural youth for employment in labour-
intensive manufacturing sector.
• Complaints have been received that, due to seasonal migration of tribal
people, they are not enumerated in the Census and therefore, Census data
is not a true reflection of tribal population. This grievance requires to be
redressed.
• Apathy and incapacity of the State to implement the Inter-State Migrant
Workmen (Regulation of Employment and Conditions of Service) Act,
1979, has led to exploitation of tribal migrant families. In particular,
tribal women and children suffer greatly. There is a growing demand for
enactment of a comprehensive Migrants Rights Legislation, which
deserves serious consideration.

19. Recommendations for measures to prevent illegal land alienation of

tribal land are as follows:
• In pursuance of the PESA, 1996, Land Transfer Regulations/Tenancy
laws of all Schedule V Areas should be suitably amended to ensure Gram
Sabha participation in the identification, investigation and restoration of
lands to tribal people. Gram Sabhas require to be strengthened by State
Governments to undertake these responsibilities.
• Plenary powers could be given to Gram Sabhas to fight cases of tribal
land alienation collectively, as an individual tribal cannot afford to face
prolonged legal battles, given their socio-economic conditions.
• The Gram Sabha should be empowered to restore the alienated land on
detection, pending the long legal battle, in order to potentially discourage
 a prospective non-tribal buyer of land in Scheduled Areas. This needs to
be legally examined.
• Care has to be taken to ensure that District Councils and Statelevel
Council do not have powers to dissolve Gram Sabhas or to dilute the
powers and functions of the Gram Sabha
• Legal loopholes and ambiguities in all Scheduled Area Land Regulations
and Tenancy laws should be removed. For example, such a removal must
ensure that tribal land is not transferred for purposes such as settlement
of refugees, housing, etc.
• There is a provision in the Andhra Pradesh Act, wherein immovable
property of tribals can be mortgaged to banks and, in case of default, the
property to be sold back only to tribal people or tribal cooperative
societies exclusively formed by tribal people. This provision needs to be
evaluated to explore replication in other Scheduled Area States. There is
an urgency in doing so to meet the financial needs of tribal youth.
• There is a presumption clause in the Andhra Pradesh Act that, until the
contrary is proved, any immovable property in the Scheduled Areas and
in possession of a person who is not a member of a Scheduled Tribe shall
be presumed to have been acquired by the person or his predecessors
through a transfer made to him by a member of a Scheduled Tribe. This
clause should be examined by other States for adoption and inclusion in
their laws.
• Suitable amendments should be made in all land laws for protection of
tribal land in Scheduled Area States to the effect that there should not be
any time limit for restoring tribal land.
• Suitable provision should be made in land laws so as to bring all benami
transfers, transfers in the names of concubines, tribal servants or others
into the purview to prevent fraudulent land transfer in Scheduled Areas.
• The move to notify rural areas as urban areas in order to nullify PESA
provisions should be stopped forthwith. Use of Master Plan in urban
areas to alienate/displace tribal people from their land should be curbed.
• Increased investment is required to be made by State Governments to
provide legal aid to tribal petitioners so that they are in a position to hire
competent lawyers to fight cases. The Government must also provide
legal training, literacy and awareness programs for youth and women on
State and customary laws contextualized with modernity processes, with
the participation of NGOs.
• Ultimately, it is the duty of State Governments, to ensure that all officials
and lower-level functionaries do not connive in defrauding tribal people
of their land. Regular monitoring at the State and Central levels of
disposal of cases and proactive efforts for restoration of tribal land is
required. It is the responsibility of the State to address the problem of
 contradictory judicial pronouncements that jeopardize implementation of
protective land laws by removing ambiguities in all relevant laws.

Legal and Constitutional Issues:

1. The past twenty years have been dramatic in terms of the changes in the
economy, and in the effect that economic policy has had on tribal
communities. This has also been the period when laws, notably the
Provisions of Panchayats (Extension to Scheduled Areas) Act, 1996 and the
Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of
Forest Rights) Act, 2006, have been enacted which recognize autonomy and
rights of tribal communities.

2. The implementation of these laws is, however, sputtering and reluctant.

The FRA framework includes provisions for:
i. recognition and vesting of rights (towards a secure tenure and
livelihood/food security of the Scheduled Tribes and Other
traditional forest dwellers),
ii. protection of the rights till the recognition and vesting process is
completed, and
iii. control over forests of the local community and the Gram Sabhas.
This framework, however, is missing from the process adopted for
implementation of the law and the implementation structure does not
have the necessary mechanisms and the vision to realize the
objectives of the law. What is needed foremost is to strengthen the
institutional system to support the process of implementation,
including strengthening of the Gram Sabhas and FRCs, streamlining
functioning of the sub-divisional and district level committees,
strengthening the functioning of the state level monitoring
committees and a dedicated structure within the nodal ministry
(Ministry Of Tribal Affairs).

3. The implementation of the community forest rights has hardly taken off.
It needs to have a clear mechanism and plan for recognition of various
community forest rights and rights of vulnerable communities such as
PVTGs and pastoralist communities.

4. The implementation of the protective provisions in the law and the process
of recognition and assertion of forest rights is so far largely affected
(obstructed) by contradictory processes like: diversion of forest land which,
among other things, is displacing Scheduled Tribes/OTFDs and alienating
their rights, displacement from the protected areas and Tiger Reserves, and
displacement due to intervention by the Forest Department through forceful
plantation in the forest lands. While the protective clause under FRA is
meant to prevent such cases of violation of forest rights, the implementation
process has almost entirely ignored the protective parts of the law.

5. The democratic structure in forests with the Gram Sabhas as laid out in
the FRA faces great resistance from the current forest regime and the various
forestry institutions and programs implemented by the Forest Department
and the MoEF. In the Joint Forest Management program, for instance, the
operation of working plans are found to be obstructing the process of
assertion of rights by the Gram Sabhas. It is necessary to remodel the entire
structure of forest administration, the Forest Department, the MoEF and its
programs to complement and enable the control and management of forests
by Gram Sabhas and local communities.

6. The changed paradigm has not yet permeated administration, and projects
and plans continue to approach forests as the exclusive domain of the state.
This is resulting in multiple ways and situations in which the laws are
subverted, and the rights of tribal communities denied. The exception to
linear projects and the decisions of the Cabinet Committee on Investment
illustrate the point. Such deliberate flouting of the law currently has no
penalties attaching to it. Such penalties that will deter the breaching of the
FRA need to be introduced.

7. The FRA mandates the representation of women in Gram Sabha and in

the other tiers prescribed by the law. Effective participation has, however,
been elusive. Given the close relationship between forests, forest produce
and women’s lives, there is work to be done to turn this around.

8. The difference between states of poverty and of vulnerability has been

explored in the context of PVTGs. Access to resources in forests makes a
difference in the extent of their vulnerability. Where there has been a
depletion of forest cover, and the emphasis is on timber trees, the effect is to
add to the vulnerability of PVTGs. Where, on the other hand, the resources
are safeguarded and the community has access, the ability to prevent
nutritional distress can be augmented.

9. Displacement for creating Tiger Reserves and Elephant Corridors take

away from the provisions that recognize that tribals need to be asked to be
displaced only if co-existence is impossible and with Gram Sabha consent.
The resettlement experience of those displaced speaks to continued
marginalization of affected communities. This is a common tale, and that is
the way it has largely been through the years. Even where the decision to
displace is taken reasonably and according to the process prescribed, the
inability displayed in effecting rehabilitation has to be acknowledged. There
is an urgent need to review the ability of administrators who are responsible
for rehabilitation, and for revising the rehabilitation process. Failed
rehabilitation has consequences that have been ignored for far too long.

10. The import of PESA has not been internalized into administrative
practice, and government officials including Forest Departments continue to
deny access to tribals to that which is their right. Bureaucracies and judicial
institutions need to be introduced to the changes that PESA has brought into
administration and control in Fifth Schedule areas.

11. An exercise to bring rules made by state governments in conformity with

PESA needs to be undertaken.

12. Government officials who were the agencies to prevent tribal loss of land
are increasingly being seen to be negotiators on behalf of project authorities.
This is a very disturbing trend, where the very authority who had been tasked
with preventing land alienation from a tribal to non-tribals becomes an agent
for effecting such alienation. This must be stopped.

13. There have been recorded cases of Gram Sabha consent being
fraudulently obtained or forged; such conduct must face penalties, and
projects that proceed on the basis of consent so obtained cannot be allowed
to proceed. If such consequences do not flow, there will be no incentive to
refrain from such actions.

14. Given the constitutional provision in Article 243-ZC, the creation of new
Nagar Palikas or the extension of those already in existence in Fifth
Schedule areas and tribal areas, as defined in the provision, must be preceded
by a law made by Parliament, which sets out the exceptions and
modifications from the chapter on Municipalities introduced by the
74thAmendment to the Constitution.

15. The amendments proposed to PESA has an important component of prior

informed consent. This is a necessary condition for the effective
implementation of PESA.

16. There has been a proliferation of MoUs between states and companies
that imposes responsibility on the state to facilitate various aspects of project
clearances including in matters of environmental and forest clearances.
Increasingly, the state undertakes to maintain law and order for the smooth
execution of the project. These MoUs make the state a party to an agreement
and take away the neutrality of the state. The idea such MoUs needs to be
reviewed. Institutions such as the Cabinet Committee on Investment that set
priorities and pursue them even where it is in direct breach of the law
amounts to deliberate flouting of the law and such practices of expediency
need be halted.

17. Public policy and practice must draw on the iconic experience of
Niyamgiri, and the adverse lessons from the Salwa Judum.

18. The encounter of the tribal with criminal law has been one of the
disturbing aspects in the past decade. Large numbers of tribals, men and
women, are in jails for what are termed ‘naxal offences’. There is, of course,
no legal basis for terming anything a ‘naxal offence’. Others are charged in
areas where there is resistance and protest against projects, provoking the
assessment that the criminal law is being used as a tool of the state to
suppress dissent. The acquittal rate is extraordinarily high, raising doubts
about the use of criminal law. Yet, the years spent in jail, multiple charges
that are imposed on the tribals and the charges on tribal leadership and on
supporters have become the new normal. The committee is of the view that
a Judicial Commission needs to be appointed to investigate cases filed
against tribals and their supporters, only this will allay the concerns that have
risen about the misuse of criminal law by the state.

19. De-notified Tribes have been asking that steps be taken to remove stigma
and prejudice from their lives. More specifically, the Habitual Offenders
Act, which has served to continue to attach criminality to them, should be
repealed. Anti-beggary laws render the talents that they possess, such as
juggling and acrobatics, into punishable conduct; there are earnest demands
for the repeal of these provisions in the law. Women bear the brunt of this
attribution of criminality, and whole communities of women find themselves
in prostitution without a choice. Complaints about police brutality including
custodial rape were rife, speaking of lawlessness among the law enforcers.
Such lawlessness is unacceptable and action must be taken in accordance
with law.

20. The Andaman Trunk Road which the Supreme Court ordered to be
closed in 2002 still continues to be open to traffic. Although there are formal
directions against plying commercial traffic on the road, these have been
observed only in the breach. Tourist vehicles including buses and taxis ply
on this road. In the past few years, the exploitation of Jarawas as a tourist
attraction, and the sexual exploitation of the Jarawas has been recorded and
reported on. The problem has however not abated. The Andaman Trunk
Road will have to be closed if the Jarawas are to be protected from such
unwelcome interest. DNA testing on Jarawas has been reported. Efforts to
 get the protocols used to ensure the consent of the indigenous population did
not yield result. This becomes of especial significance in the context of the
Human DNA Bill, 2012, which proposes the creation of DNA data bases.
Informed consent is a necessary part of such exercises, also among the
indigenous population.

21. The persistence of bonded labour, and the trafficking, in large measure,
of women from tribal areas needs a concerted effort to end it. The state has
to take primary responsibility to identify, release and rehabilitate bonded
labour, wherever they are found.

NATIONAL POLICY ON TRIBALS

For the first time after the country became Independent, the Government of
India is proposing the formulation of a National Policy on Scheduled Tribes.
The policy seeks to bring Scheduled Tribes into the mainstream of society
through a multi-pronged approach for their all-round development without
disturbing their distinct culture.

There are 67.8 million Scheduled Tribe people, constituting 8.08 per cent of
India’s population. There are 698 Scheduled Tribes spread all over the
country barring States and Union Territories like Chandigarh, Delhi, Haryana,
Pondicherry and Punjab. Orissa has the largest number – 68--of Scheduled
Tribes.

Scheduled Tribes are those, which are notified as such by the President of
India under Article 342 of the Constitution. The first notification was issued
in 1950. The President considers characteristics like the tribes’ primitive
traits, distinctive culture, shyness with the public at large, geographical
isolation and social and economic backwardness before notifying them as a
Scheduled Tribe. Seventy-five of the 698 Scheduled Tribes are identified as
Primitive Tribal Groups considering they are more backward than Scheduled
Tribes. They continue to live in a pre-agricultural stage of economy and have
very low literacy rates. Their populations are stagnant or even declining.
The Constitution through several Articles has provided for the socio-economic
development and empowerment of Scheduled Tribes. (You may list the
provisions here, if necessary). But there has been no national policy, which
 could have helped translate the constitutional provisions into a reality. 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

Realising that the Nehruvian Panchasheel was long on generalities and short
on specifics, the Government of India formed a Ministry of Tribal Affairs for
the first time in October 1999 to accelerate tribal development. The Ministry
of Tribal Affairs is now coming out with the draft National Policy on Tribals.
Based on the feedback from tribal leaders, the concerned States, individuals,
organisations in the public and the private sectors, and NGOs, the Ministry
will finalise the policy.

The National Policy recognises that a majority of Scheduled Tribes continue

to live below the poverty line, have poor literacy rates, suffer from
malnutrition and disease and are vulnerable to displacement. It also
acknowledges that Scheduled Tribes in general are repositories of indigenous
knowledge and wisdom in certain aspects.
The National Policy aims at addressing each of these problems in a concrete
way. It also lists out measures to be taken to preserve and promote tribals’
cultural heritage.

Formal education:

Formal education is the key to all-round human development. Despite several

campaigns to promote formal education ever since Independence, the literacy
rate among Scheduled Tribes is only 29.60 per cent compared to 52.21 per
cent for the country as a whole (1991 Census). The female literacy rate is only
18.19 per cent compared to the national female literacy rate of 39.29 per cent.
Alienation from the society, lack of adequate infrastructure like schools,
 hostels and teachers, abject poverty and apathy towards irrelevant curriculum
have stood in the way of tribals getting formal education.
To achieve the objective of reaching the benefit of education to tribals, the
National Policy will ensure that:
Tribals are included in the national programme of Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan run
by the Ministry of Human Resource Development.
• Schools and hostels are opened in areas where no such facilities exist.
• At least one model residential school is located in each tribal
concentration area
• Education is linked with provision of supplementary nutrition.
• Special incentives like financial assistance, pocket allowance, free
distribution of textbooks and school uniforms are provided
• Teaching is imparted in tribals’ mother tongue at least up to the primary
level. Educated tribal youth are given employment as teachers,
wherever possible. (This will obviate the need to employ teachers
belonging to far-off places who find commuting is as difficult as staying
in a village with no basic amenities.
• Pedagogy is made relevant so that tribals do not find it as alien.
• Curriculum and cocurriculum include aspects of meta skill upgradation
of tribal children.
• Curricula for meta skill upgradation are to include aspects of tribal
games and sports, archery, identification of plants of medicinal value,
crafts art and culture, folk dance and folk songs, folk paintings etc.
• Emphasis is laid on vocational/professional education. Polytechnics are
set up for studies in subjects like forestry, horticulture, dairying,
veterinary sciences, polytechnics.

Traditional wisdom:

Dwelling amidst hills, forests, coastal areas, deserts, tribals over the centuries
have gained precious and vast experience in combating environmental
hardships and leading sustainable livelihoods. Their wisdom is reflected in
their water harvesting techniques, indigenously developed irrigation channels,
construction of cane bridges in hills, adaptation to desert life, utilisation of
forest species like herbs, shrubs for medicinal purposes, meteorological
assessment etc. Such invaluable knowledge of theirs needs to be properly
 documented and preserved lest it should get lost in the wake of modernisation
and passage of time.

The National Policy seeks to:

• Preserve and promote such traditional knowledge and wisdom and
document it
• Establish a centre to train tribal youth in areas of traditional wisdom
• Disseminate such through models and and exhibits at appropriate places
• Transfer such knowledge to non-tribal areas

Health:

Although tribal people live usually close to nature, a majority of them need health
care on account of malnutrition, lack of safe drinking water, poor hygiene and
environmental sanitation and above all poverty. Lack of awareness and apathy to
utilise the available health services also affect their health status. In wake of the
opening of tribal areas with highways industrialization, and communication
facilities, diseases have spread to tribal areas. Endemics like malaria, deficiency
diseases, venereal diseases including AIDS are not uncommon among tribal
populations. However, lack of safe drinking water and malnutrition are well-
recognised major health hazards. Tribals suffer from a deficiency of calcium,
vitamin A, vitamin C, riboflavin and animal protein in their diets. Malnutrition
and undernutrition are common among Primitive Tribal Groups who largely
depend upon food they either gather or raise by using simple methods. The poor
nutritional status of tribal women directly influences their reproductive
performance and their infants’ survival, growth and development.

Tribal people, who are self reliant and self-sufficient, have over the centuries
developed their own medicine system based on herbs and other items collected
from the nature and processed locally. They have also their own system of
diagnosis and cure of diseases. They believe in taboos, spiritual powers and faith
healing. There are wide variations among tribals in their health status and
willingness to access and utilise health services, depending on their culture, level
of contact with other cultures and degree of adaptability.
Against this background, the National Policy seeks to promote the modern health
care system and also a synthesis of the Indian systems of medicine like ayurveda
and siddha with the tribal system.

The National Policy seeks to:

• Strengthen the allopathy system of medicine in tribal areas with the
extension of the three-tier system of village health workers, auxiliary nurse
mid-wife and primary health centres.
• Expand the number of hospitals in tune with tribal population
• Validate identified tribal remedies (folk claims) used in different tribal
areas
• Encourage, document and patent tribals’ traditional medicines
• Promote cultivation of medicinal plants related value addition strategies
through imparting training to youth
• Encourage qualified doctors from tribal communities to serve tribal areas
• Promote the formation of a strong force of tribal village health guides
through regular training-cum-orientation courses
• Formulate area-specific strategies to improve access to and utilisation of
health services
• Strengthen research into diseases affecting tribals and initiate action
programmes
• Eradicate endemic diseases on a war footing

Displacement and Resettlement:

Displacement of people from traditional habitations causes much trauma to the

affected people. Compulsory acquisition of land for construction of dams and
roads, quarrying and mining operations, location of industries and reservation of
forests for National Parks and environmental reasons forces tribal people to leave
their traditional abodes and land – their chief means of livelihood.

Nearly 85.39 lakh tribals had been displaced until 1990 on account of some mega
project or the other, reservation of forests as National Parks etc. Tribals constitute
at least 55.16 percent of the total displaced people in the country. Cash payment
does not really compensate the tribals for the difficulties they experience in their
living style and ethos.
Displacement of tribals from their land amounts to violation of the Fifth Schedule
of the Constitution as it deprives them of control and ownership of natural
resources and land essential for their way of life.

The National Policy for Tribals, therefore, stipulates that displacement of tribal
people is kept to the minimum and undertaken only after possibilities of non-
displacement and least displacement have been exhausted. When it becomes
absolutely necessary to displace Scheduled Tribe people in the larger interest, the
displaced should be provided a better standard of living.

The National Policy, therefore, mandates that the following guidelines be

followed when tribals are resettled:
• When displacement becomes inevitable, each scheduled tribe family
having land in the earlier settlement shall be given land against land. A
minimum of two hectares of cultivable land is considered necessary and
viable for a family (comprising man, his wife and unmarried children).
• Tribal families having fishing rights in their original habitat shall be
granted fishing rights in the new reservoir or at any other alternative place
• Reservation benefits enjoyed at the original settlement shall be continued
at the the resettlement area.
• Additional financial assistance equivalent to nearly one and a half year’s
minimum agricultural wages for loss of customary rights and usufructory
rights of forest produce shall be given.
• Tribals are to be resettled close to their natural habitat by treating all the
people so displaced as one group to let them retain their ethnic, linguistic
and socio-cultural identity and the network of kinship and mutual
obligations
• Free land is to be provided for social and religious congregations.
• If resettlement is possible only away from the district/taluka, then
substantively higher benefits in monetary terms shall be given.
• When tribal families are resettled en masse, all basic minimum amenities
shall be provided at the new sites. They include roads and passages,
electricity, drainage and sanitation, safe drinking water, educational and
health care facilities, fair price shops, a community hall and a panchayat
office.
Forest villages

Tribal’s age-old symbiotic relationship with forests is well known. Recognising

this fact, even the National Forest Policy committed itself to the close association
of tribals with the protection, preservation and development of forests and
envisaged their customary rights in forests. It is, however, a matter of serious
concern that about 5000 forest villages do not have minimum basic living
conditions and face a constant threat of eviction.

The National Policy suggests that any forceful displacement should be avoided.
Human beings move on their own to places with better opportunities. The forest
villages may be converted into revenue villages or forest villages may be
developed on par with revenue villages to enable the forest villagers enjoy at least
the minimum amenities and services that are available in revenue villages.
The National Policy, therefore, mandates that.

• Educational and medical facilities, electricity and communication,

approach roads and such other basic amenities be provided to forest
villagers.
• Public Distribution System (PDS) and Grain Banks be established to
prevent food problems.
• Advanced agriculture and animal husbandry technologies be introduced so
that forest villagers raise their production, incomes and economic
standards.
• Bank and other institutional loans be made available for entrepreneurs with
viable projects of income generation
• Tribals be given opportunities to partake in joint forest management and
encouraged to form cooperatives and corporations for major forest related
operations
• Integrated area development programmes be taken up in and around forest
areas
• Tribals’ rights in protection, regeneration and collection of minor forest
produce (MFP) be recognised and institutional arrangements made for
marketing such produce
• Efforts be made to eliminate exploitation by middlemen in cooperatives
like Tribal Development Cooperative Corporations (TDCCs), Large Sized
Multi Purpose Societies (LAMPS) and Forest Development Cooperatives
 by introducing minimum support prices for non agricultural produce on the
lines of minimum support prices for agricultural produce.

Shifting Cultivation:

In the evolution of human civilisation, shifting cultivation preceded agriculture

as we know it today. In shifting cultivation, tribals do not use any mechanized
tools or undertake even ploughing. A digging stick and a sickle are the usual
tools. It is widely practised in whole of North- Eastern region besides the States
of Andhra Pradesh, Orissa, Tamil Nadu and to some extent in Chhattisgarh and
Jharkhand. Though the practice is hazardous to environment, it forms basis of life
for tribals. Traditionally, shifting cultivation has been in vogue in hilly terrains
where tribals have had the right on land either individually or on community
basis. Because of poor yields, crops do not meet their food requirement for more
than four months or so in a year.

The tribals involved in shifting cultivation do not seem to have any emotional
attachment to the land as an asset or property needing care and attention as in
non-tribal areas. In shifting cultivation lands, no attention is paid to the
replenishment of soil fertility. Tribals merely believe in harvesting crops
without putting in efforts or investments. Land is just left to nature to recoup on
its own.

To handle the problem of shifting cultivation, the National Policy will focus on
the following aspects:
• Land tenure system will be rationalised giving tribals right to land
ownership so that they will invest their energy and resources in checking
soil erosion and fertility – which have hitherto been neglected as land
belonged to no one but was subject to exploitation by every one.
• Agricultural scientists will be asked to focus on shifting cultivation and
evolve suitable technologies to improve production.
• The shifting cultivators will be ensured sufficient food supply through the
public distribution system and grain banks. Tribals will be encouraged to
raise cash crops and horticultural plantations.
• Training and extension programmes will be organised to sensitise tribals
about alternative economic strategies so that they can come out of shifting
cultivation.
Land Alienation:
Scheduled Tribes being simple folk are often exploited to forgo their foremost
important resource – land – to non-tribals. Although States have protective laws
to check the trend, dispossessed tribals are yet to get back their lands. Yet,
another form of land alienation takes place when States promote development
projects like hydro-electric power stations and mining and industries. These
developmental activities, which do not confer any benefit on tribals directly,
render them landless.

The National Policy for Tribals seeks to tackle tribal land alienation by stipulating
that
• Tribals have access to village land records
• Land records be displayed at the panchayat
• Oral evidence be considered in the absence of records in the disposal of
tribals’ land disputes
• States prohibit transfer of lands from tribals to non-tribals
• Tribals and their representatives be associated with land surveys
• Forest tribal villagers be assigned pattas for the land under their tillage
since ages
• States launching development projects take adequate care to keep tribal
lands intact and when not possible, allot land even before a project takes
off.

Intellectual Property Rights:

Scheduled Tribes are known for their knowledge and wisdom of ethnic origin.
There is, however, no legal and/or institutional framework to safeguard their
intellectual property rights.

The National Policy, therefore, will aim at making legal and institutional
arrangements to protect their intellectual property rights and curtailing the rights
of corporate and other agencies to access and exploit their resource base.

Tribal Languages:

The languages spoken by tribals - tribal languages - are treated as unscheduled

languages. In the wake of changing educational scenario, many of the tribal
languages are facing the threat of extinction. The loss of language may adversely
affect tribal culture, especially their folklore.

The National Policy aims at preserving and documenting tribal languages.

Education in the mother tongue at the primary level needs be encouraged. Books
and other publications in tribal languages will be promoted.

Primitive Tribal Groups (PTGs):

Primitive Tribal Groups (PTGs) are Scheduled Tribes known for their declining
or stagnant population, low levels of literacy, pre- agricultural technology,
primarily belonging to the hunting and gathering stage, and extreme
backwardness. They were considered as a special category for support for the
first time in 1979. There are 75 Primitive Tribal Groups spread over 15 States and
Union Territories. The 25 lakh PTG population constitutes nearly 3.6 per cent of
the tribal population and 0.3 per cent of the country’s population.

PTGs have not benefited from developmental activities. They face continuous
threats of eviction from their homes and lands. They live with food insecurity
and a host of diseases like sickle cell anaemia and malaria.

The National Policy envisages the following steps to tackle PTGs’ problems:
• To boost PTGs’ social image, their being stigmatized as ‘primitive’ shall
be halted.
• Efforts shall be made to bring them on par with other Scheduled Tribes in
a definite time frame. Developmental efforts should be tribe-specific and
suit the local environment.
• Effective preventive and curative health systems shall be introduced.
• PTGs’ traditional methods of prevention and cure shall be examined and
validated.
• To combat the low level of literacy among PTGs, area and need specific
education coupled with skill upgradation shall be given priority.
• Formal schooling shall be strengthened by taking advantage of ‘Sarva
Shiksha Abhiyan’. Trained tribal youth shall be inducted as teachers.
• Teaching shall be in tribals’ mother tongue/dialect
• Considering PTGs’ poverty, school-going children shall be provided
incentives.
 • Emphasis shall be on laid on vocational education and training.
• PTGs shall enjoy the ‘right to land’. Any form of land alienation shall be
prevented and landless PTGs given priority in land assignment.
• Public distribution system (PDS) shall be introduced to ensure regular food
supply. Grain banks shall be established to ensure food availability during
crises.
• PTGs’ participation in managing forests shall be ensured to meet their
economic needs and nourish their emotional attachment to forests.

Scheduled Tribes and Scheduled Areas:

Although the Constitution is clear about the concept and strategy adopted for
defining Scheduled Areas and tribal areas in terms of Fifth and Sixth Schedules
under Articles as 244(1) and 244(2), there is some confusion among those
concerned with implementing them.

The National Policy, therefore, envisages the following steps:

• The regulation making powers of State Governors to maintain good
governance, peace and harmony in tribal areas will be further strengthened.
It will be ensured that Tribal Advisory Councils meet regularly and focus
on speedy developmental works and prohibition of land transfers. Money
lending menace shall be curbed through implementation of money lending
laws.
• Tribal Advisory Councils will be established in States which have
Scheduled Areas and even in States where a substantial number of tribal
people live although Scheduled Areas have not been declared.
• The Autonomous District/Regional Councils in North-Eastern Stateswill
be further strengthened. The Councils are elected bodies having powers of
legislation and execution and administration of justice.

Administration:
The existing administrative machinery in States and districts comprising
Integrated Tribal Development Agencies (ITDA) and Integrated Tribal
Development Projects (ITDP) have not been up in terms of the quality of
performance and development indicators.
The National Policy seeks to revitalise the administration by proposing the
following:
 • Skill upgradation-cum-orientation programmes shall be conducted for
tribal administration officials.
• Infrastructure development shall be given priority to so that officials will
function from their places of posting.
• Only officials who have adequate knowledge, experience and a sense of
appreciation for tribal problems shall be posted for tribal administration.
• As the schemes meant for improving tribals’ condition take time, a tenure
that is commensurate with their implementation shall be fixed for officials.

Research:
The National Policy acknowledges the importance of a good database to deal
with Scheduled Tribes’ affairs. Research on tribals’ ethnic profiles, spectrum
of problems and prospects and developmental constraints and monitoring and
evaluation of schemes and projects needs priority attention.
The National Policy for Tribals proposes that the existing Tribal Research
Institutes located in different States shall be further strengthened for carrying
out purposeful research and evaluation studies and work towards the
preservation of the rich tribal cultural heritage. It also envisages the
establishment of a national-level research institution.

Participatory Approach:
The National Policy recognises the importance of participatory approach to
development. Non- Governmental Organisations (NGOs) and Voluntary
Agencies (VAs) act as catalysts in reaching benefits of Government
programmes and policies to the grass-root level and thus optimise the desired
accomplishment. Such organisations have direct linkages with people and are
conversant with their problems. NGOs can undertake and promote family and
community based programmes and mobilise resources in tribal areas. Some
well-established NGOs are eager to take part in the development of Scheduled
Tribes in general and Primitive Tribal Groups in particular.
The National Policy, therefore, seeks to enlist and encourage NGOs in tribal
development activities. They can play an important role in the opening of
residential and non-residential schools, hostels, dispensaries, hospitals and
vocational training centres, promotion of awareness programmes and capacity
building.
Assimilation:
To bring the tribals into country’s mainstream, the National Policy envisages
the following
• Identification of tribal groups with ‘primitive traits’ shall be done away
with on a priority basis.
• The ‘distinct culture’ of the tribes reflected in their folk art, folk literature,
traditional crafts and ethos shall be preserved. Their oral traditions shall
be documented and art promoted.
• Opportunities shall be provided for tribals to interact with outside cultures.
• Their geographical isolation shall be minimised through development of
roads, transport and means of communication and provision of
concessional travel facility