Tribal Communities

Answer : The tribal people have been considered as a primitive segment of Indian society. They have remained deprived and exploited. They have been living in forest and hills without having contact with so called civilised and advanced neighbours. There is no population pressure, and there was no attempt to penetrate their areas and impose alien values and belief on the tribals. The British introduced the system of landownership and revenue. Annual tax was levied on tribal cultivators. Under the increasing pressure on the population, many tribals are being exploited by the moneylenders and landlords. The economic and later, social and cultural exploitation aroused the tribal leaders to follow agitation. Sociologists of tribal studies have assumed that some of the main factors of tribal unrest are: (i) Lethargy, indifference, and lack of sympathy from administrators and bureaucrats in dealing with tribal grievances. (ii) Harshness of forest laws and regulations. (iii) Lack of legislation to prevent the passing of tribal land into the hands of non-tribals (iv) Ineffective government measure to rehabilitate tribal population. (v) Lack of interest and dynamism among the political elite to solve tribal problems (vi) Delay in implementation and recommendation made by high level bodies. (vii) Discrimination and implementation of reformatory measures.

Answer : Tribal communities suffer a lot of problems in all of world but in the case of Indian Societies they are marginalized in all works of life. The major problems of tribal communities are land alienation, poverty and indebtedness, health and nutrition and educational depravation.

Land is very important from the tribal point of view. In the tribal areas, industries are not very developed and the tribal mainly derive their living from agriculture. In many places, tribal lands have been occupied by money lenders, zamindars and traders by advancing loans to them etc. Opening of mines in the heart of tribal habitat and even a few factories provided wage labour as well as opportunities for factory employment.

But establishment of factories and mines did not always bring increased, more secure and paying employment, on the other hand, destitution and displacement. On the legal fiction that the land not settled belonged to the Government and shifting cultivation land was traditionally occupied and owned by villagers or clans without specific recognition by the Govt. Mines could be opened on Government land without compensation and rehabilitation, and even without warning. The fate of those loses without compensation and rehabilitation, and even without warning. The fate of those who lost settled lands to factories is not less worse but only differently affected. In Rourkela area, 1231 families were disposed of their house site and agricultural land.

Poverty and Indebtedness: The tribal people are economically the poorest people of India. Majority of them live below the poverty live. The tribal economy depends on agriculture. The tribal people follow shifting cultivation which is highly uneconomic. Their per capita income is very much less than the Indian average. Most of them live in debt. In order to repay the debt they often sell or mortgage their land to the money lenders.

Indebtedness is almost universal and inevitable. The demands of the supernatural, sometimes too insistent to be neglected, especially in times of family crisis, and those of the creditors quite out of proportion to the principal advanced and the demands of the petty officials, not to speak of those of the close relatives, do not leave much for the household after what was saved from the wild animals, rates and weeds. Even the festivals and occasional celebrations in honour of guests eat heavily into their loan resources.

The local creditors have no hesitation in advancing loans, for not only heavy compound interest, but also pre-emptive rights to purchase the standing crops at rock-bottom prices as their privilege. However, pressing the claims of others may be, the creditor knows that the Adivasi will honour his word. And, the Adivasi having no arithmetic knowledge always leaves comfortable arrear in favour of the creditors. Thus the victims circle becomes in inseparable. One way to break this vicious circle was to go for alternate employment, another to sell and repay the outstanding debt as the creditors demanded, and the third way led to virtual serfdom known as debt bondage or bonded labour.

This is a system of labour whereby a person on receiving some advance in money or kind engages himself to be a labourer of his creditor for agricultural and domestic purposes as long as the loan together with the interest remains unpaid.

The indebtness of tribes multiplied at an exorbitant rate through the cunning ways of the sahukars, often resulting in the transfer of tribal land to the moneylenders. Indebtness eroded the economic base of the tribal family, even as the very reason for indebtness was snatched away, and thus they were bound to
lose their land and access to land. Consequent erosion of their earning power led them to seek loans from the money lending communities. Illiterate tribal were exploited. A Study Points out that 61 per cent of the households from the total loans only one-fourth of the amount is advanced by the officials and governmental agencies.

The Study also points out of the debt traps. Their wages are so low that they can not clear off their debts. The Studies on the Minimum Wage Policy also suggest that while laws exist. The statute books, they are not even enforced. The low wages account for their poor standards of living, they cannot afford even their minimum needs like food, health and education.

Health and Nutrition: The health of a society is intimately related to its value system, its philosophical and cultural traditions and its social, economic and political organization. The health problems need special alternation in the context of tribal communities of India. Available research studies point out that the tribal people have destructive health problems which are mainly governed by their habitat, difficult terrains and ecologically variable niches. There are more than 400 tribal groups in India who are exposed differently to the various climatic and environmental stresses/strains and are characterized by their individual socio-economic, socio-cultural and socio-biological set-up. The widely varying prevalent health practices, use of indigenous herbal drugs, taboos and superstitious are also responsible for determining the health behaviour and health status of the tribal groups.

The health and nutrition problems of the vast tribal population of India are as varied as the tribal groups themselves who present a bewildering diversity and variety in their socio economic, socio cultural and ecological settings. The nutritional problems of different tribal communities located at various stages of development are full of obscurities and very little scientific information on dietary habits and nutrition status are available due to lack of systematic and comprehensive research investigations. Malnutrition is common and has greatly affected the general physique of the tribes. Malnutrition lowers the ability to resist infection, leads to chronic illness and in the post-wearing period leads to permanent brain impairment.

Answer : During recent years. Migration of tribals has drawn the attention of several scholars. It is estimated that development schemes like dams, mines, industries and various projects have resulted in the displacement of about 40 per cent tribals between 1951 and 1991. The illiterate and powerless tribals have been compelled to leave their resource-rich regions and migrate to other places. This has resulted in the problem of their resettlement. One estimate is that about 20 per cent of the STs have been rehabilited. In Maharashtra and Gujarat under the 'land for land' scheme, only 15 per cent of about 10,000 eligible tribal families were granted land. This has resulted in impoverishment and marginalisation of tribals.

Another fact related to migration and tribal communities is the process of industrialisation. It is because of rapid changes in our day-to-day life that are related to the development of new techniques, new inventions and new modes of production. The application of modern technology in industry has influenced not only our economic life but also our social and cultural system. The process of industrialisation has affected the life of tribal people in general and migration in particular. Because of the process of industrialization, various tribals groups have been migrated from one place to another. For instance, the tribals of Chotanagpur has been migrated to industrial area such as Bokaro steel industry, Tata steel industry and so on.

Answer : Despite equality in power and wealth, there is inequality in prestige among tribes. A.R. Radcliffe-Brown reports on the Andaman Islands that they accord honour and respect to three kinds of people (i) older people (ii) people endowed with supernatural powers (iii) people with certain personal qualities.

Because personal characteristics are so important, systems of stratification in these groups have an openness about them not often found in more advanced societies. Almost no organizational or institutional barriers block the rise of tabulated individuals. For e.g. even where the office of headman is inherited, as it is in many societies, others can surpass the headman in achieving honour and he may fail to win even a medium of it. The importance attended to age also contributes to the openness of the system. Almost anyone who lives long enough usually ends up with a fair degree of honour and respect.

In some simple societies, Shamans also serve as headmen or chief because of the awe or respect in which they are held. The other basis of political power is membership in a large and prosperous in group. The senior member or leader of the largest, most powerful or most respected clan often becomes the village head with support of his kinds men and that is a substantial political resource in this kind of society.

Social inequality is generally rather limited in most tribal societies of the modern era. Although extremes of wealth and political power are absent substantial differences in prestige are not uncommon. Political and religious leaders usually enjoy high status, but this depends far more on personal achievements than on mere occupancy of an office. Other bases of status include military process, skill in oratory, age, kinship ties and in some cases wealth in the form of wives, pigs and ornaments. Each society has its peculiar combination of these criteria.

The more advanced the technology and economy of one of these groups, the greater social inequality within it tends to be. Societies that practice irrigation, own domesticated animals, or practice metallurgy for ornamental and ceremonial purposes are usually less egalitarian than groups without these characteristics.

Answer : The policy of isolation or sergregation gathered strength from the thinking of foreign rulers and some others. It argued that tribals would be safer and happier in isolated packets or ‘parks’ where they could preserve their cultural traits better. But this policy was criticized on the plea that it cannot lead to tribal advancement because of its isolationist nature. Simultaneous to the policy of segregation the social workers, religious reformers and philanthropists were in favour of complete ‘assimilation’ of the tribals into broader socio-religious formations. This meant radical change in tribal life and culture and to assimilate the same into an altogether new cultural order.

The isolation of tribals, it was felt, would keep them away from political infection which was catching momentum at that time. Another assumption was that the tribals were better and happier in their natural surroundings and traditional socio-cultural milieu. It was further realized that isolation would protect the tribals against hostility and exploitation, which they found on the increase. The policy of isolation was supported by the then separatist authropoliogists who advocated for tribal reserves. They sought the plea that in colonial countries many tribals could not withstand the impact of aggressive western culture and became extinct. For them, isolation, broadly speaking, referred to a phenomenon where in a group of people or a community was disconnected from other communities and resided in remote pockets, having its own distinct way of life.

In the post independence period the shift in policy from ‘isolation’ to ‘integration’ of the tribal people has had wider repercussions. Except certain prohibited and Inner Line tribal areas, the rest are completely open to non-tribals.

Answer : A number of thinkers such as Dalton, Risley, Majumdar and Ghurye have argued that the various problems of the tribe may be eliminated with their integration into the Hindu Society. The social integration is uniting a separate group (i.e. tribe) into one group (i.e. Hindu society) by removing the previous social and cultural group differences. Cultural integration is the adjustment of traditional cultural traits by absorbing new cultural traits. Integration of tribe in Hindu society does not involve totally discarding old tribal traits; it implies unity within a system resulting from taking over new traits from the Hindus. Some of the prominent modes or aproach of integration are; Ghurye’s model of labelling tribals as “backward Hindus”, Majumdar’s model of adopting Hindu ideas by tribals through contact with caste Hindus, Srinivas’ model of Sanskritization and Bailey’s model of postulating a continuum at the two ends of which stand tribe and caste. Lutz and Munda criticising Ghurye and Srinivas’ model have suggested ‘modernisation model’ for understanding tribal change. But Varrier Elwin was not in favour of the complete integration of the tribals. He favoured ‘isolationalist approach’, according to which the tribal problem should be resolved by separately maintaing their cultural characteristics outside the Hindu society. But, in spite of all these sociological interpretations, the tribes of India are now following the composite culture of India whether they are becoming Hindus or Christian by conversion.

Answer : Vidyarthi and Rai in "Tribal culture of India" identified three major policies for the development of the tribals. They are the policy of segregation, assimilation and integration. They were advocated by different experts for different reasons.

During the British period the introduction of railways, starting of mining and rise of urban centres pierced the isolation of the tribal population. The contact of the tribals with the outer world was extremely unsavoury experience for them. They had to suffer exploitation, alienation, disease etc. In many cases, they had to resort to violence and rebellion against the local exploitors and the British masters to maintain their self-respect and right to life. The second half of the 19th century is dotted with the examples of tribal uprising like santhal rebellion 1855-57, Kol rebellion 1879-80, Munda revolt 1874-1901 etc.

In the face of these, the British adopted the policy of segregation towards the tribals. The tribals were to live in separate declared tribal areas. In these areas only a few people could enter. The main objective of the British was to cut these people from the general stream of disaffection and to create a separatist minority. As far as exploitation by non-tribal money-lenders, contractors, zamindars and middlemen was concerned, no check was in place. The British in each constitutional amendment created “Scheduled Districts”, “Excluded Areas”, “Partially Excluded Areas”. The academic rationale of this approach was provided by Elwin’s concept of ‘National Park’ where the tribals were to exist in the monolithic form, away from all winds of change.

The policy of segregation was continued in independent India also, though in modified form. Elwin was still advisor to the Government of India on the tribal development. The logic of isolation was that the tribals had right to live according to their cultural pattern and system of organisation. No culture is superior and therefore, the modern way of life should not be imposed upon them. The policy manifested in the declaration of Scheduled Areas and Tribal Areas. The tribal population was enlisted as Scheduled Tribes and special welfare measures sensitive to the distinctiveness was launched.

Alternative to this approach was assimilation move by Ghurye and others like Majumdar, Sinha etc. As a process, assimilation refers to interpenetration and fusion in which subordinate group acquires attitude, values etc. of dominant group and experiences and history of subordinate group are incorporated with the dominant group forming a common cultural life. Ghurye found that this process was on the move. He identified tribes which completely assimilated itself with the Hindu society e.g. Raj Gonds; then tribes which were partially Hinduised and finally the hill sections. Ghurye considered tribals as backward Hindus and argued that any attempt to isolate them from the mainstream of Indian life would be meaningless.

However, assimilation of the tribals into the mainstream life is not the best solution. It smacks of an empty sense of superiority. It is one thing if the tribals identify with and assimilate in Hindu Society, it is quite another thing to impose our cultural and structural complexity on the people who lead simple and pleasant life. In north-eastern states the influence of the mainstream society led to eruption of backlash in the form of several separatist movements.

Then we have the policy of integration. Integration refers to the extent to which an individual experiences a sense of belonging to a social group by sharing its norms, values, beliefs etc. This approach evolved through Jawaharlal Nehru's 'Panchsheel' or five fundamental principles for the tribal uplifment. Panchsheel involved development of people along the lines of their own genius; tribal rights to land and forces; tribal building a team for their development; the area not to be over administered; and the result of programme to be measured in terms of improvement in the quality of human character.

Later the anthropologists endorsed this approach. They found it in tune with the idea of respect of the tribal culture as well as their development for the use of modern facilities. In line with this, Tribal Sub-Plans (TSP) was started in the 5th Five Year Plan. The TSP involved three main projects- (i) Integrated Tribal Development, (ii)Modified Area Development Approach, and (iii) Pockets and Primitive Tribe Project. The aim was to narrow the gap between the levels of development of tribal and other areas and integrate tribals into our society.

The last policy, the policy of integration, is the most suitable for the tribal development. The main reason is that it involves respect for the tribal heritage. It respects the right of existence of culturally different group. It is not based on the faulty assumption that we in the mainstream society are repository of all that is same and superior. It also does not push the tribals to get caught in the psychology of separatism. Simultaneously, this approach is sensitive to the needs of the tribals to benefit from all that the modern civilisation has given us. It is the beauty of balance between these two that makes integration policy the most acceptable.

Answer : According to the 1991 census, the tribes constitute 8.08% of the total population of India. These are the people forming the lowest rung of the society and therefore, Constitution has provided for special provisions, under article 15(4), 16(4) , 19(5), 46, 164, 244, 275(1), 330, 332, 334, 338, 339, 342 and part V and VI schedule. Article 46 enjoins the state should promote with special care, the educational and economic interest of the weaker sections with particular reference to the SCs and STs; as also to protect them from social injustice and exploitation. The approach to tribal development was first laid down by Jawaher Lal Nehru in the form of "Tribal Panchsheel", which besides other things advocated that the tribal should be allowed to develop according to their own genius, that they should be free to posses and promote their own cultural ethos and objects; that they should be integrated into the national maistream with the loss of their identity.

In the second five year plan the multi-purpose Tribal Blocks (TDBs) was started which in the III plan was named Tribal Development Blocks (TDBs). As for the financial aspect, the money spent during the four plans successively was 1.04%, 0.96%, 0.75% and 0.5%, of the total plan outlay. Meanwhile the various agencies kept on reporting about the progress made on the task and two of them in particular- Dhebar Commission and Shilu Committee- were particular in criticising the progress made.

Just before the V plan period, two groups headed by hate Prof L.P. Vidyarthi heading the Task Force on TD and Prof. S.C. Dube chairing the special committee- submitted their report with recommendations and incidentally, most of the recommendations of the two were overlapping. As a whole the task of tribal development, then onwards, is being chiefly guided by the recommendations of these two great anthropologists.

The fifth Plan is generally considered as the water-shed in the task of tribal development because some major policy change took place. The plan is famous for the concept of Tribal Sub. Plan (TSP) and Integrated Tribal Development Project (ITDP). Now there was to be a separate budgetary head for the purpose and the Central plan would supplement the state plan instead of replacing it. Activities of different TDBs in an area were to be integrated and coordinated in the form of ITDPs/ITDAs (Integrated Tribal Development Agencies). Now there are 194 ITDPs in the country. In the sixth plan came the concept of MADA (Modified Area Development Approach) whereby the areas (outside the ITDPs) with 10,000 population or more but with at least 50% of the tribals therein were also to be covered. In the seventh plans. MADA was extended to the pockets with a population of 5,000 whereby at least half of them ought to be the STs. During the VI and VII plan 249 MADA pockets were identified. In the 8th plan, three pockets were identified under MADA raising their number to 252. Besides 78 clusters with a total population of 5000 of which 50% are Scheduled Tribe in each cluster and 75 primitive tribal groups (PTGs) have also been identified. In financial terms Rs. 3387.88 crore were spent in the TSP of the VI plan and the figure rose to 7065.50 crore, during VIII plan. The working group on the development of welfare for STs had recommended an amount of Rs. 16,555 crore for the TSP for VIII Plan, but it is likely to exceed the estimates. The TSP strategy worked well and so was continued in the ensuing plans. The allocation of funds under TSP in each successive plans increased substantially. In the VIII plan top priority was given to it. A special emphasis was given to rehabilitation of the tribals displaced under various development projects. In the nineth plan also, adequate attention has been paid to the tribal development.

The major fallacies of the government policy are; firstly in terms of population, the allocation of funds is very poor and there is the lack of targeted planning. Secondly, the erosion of the ecology and economy along with politisation are the severe problems of tribal identity and culture. There is the lack of policy, and if it is, the coordination and implementation are very poor. The tribal elites should be separated and the poorest of the poor should be recognised. The separate policy and developmental programmes should be adopted for the poorest of the tribals. The forest policy of the government has imposed several constraints in the independent movement of the tribal people in the forest which has been their main source of livelihood. The adequate policy has not been formulated to restrict conversion of tribals to other religions.

Answer : The concept of tribal stratification is different from the concept of social stratification in general or modern industrial society. In the tribal society the position of an individual and correlated roles are especially ascribed and traditional in nature. The age, marriage, consanguinity, charismatic power etc. are the basic factors of assigning the roles or position in the social hierarchy. According to Durkheim the tribal society is characterised by mechanical solidarity which lacks high degree of division of labour, specialization, individualism, capitalism, institution etc. But with the contact of the non-tribals and impact of modern and western values the traditional system of stratification have been profoundly changing.

With the emergence of modern education and rationality, the age, charismatic power, kinship, religious rituals etc. are losing as the factors of social stratification. The educational attainment, achievement, accumulated power and prestige are gradually getting their place in the tribals social life. M.N. Srinivas has argued about sanskritiaztion or position change in some tribes of India. For example, in the Meena and Oraon of Rajsthan and Bihar respectively the individual's status and social prestige are evaluated in terms of education, wealth and political powers. Some Meenas who are highly educated, doing bureaucratic job and ranking high in politics, have been assigned high social status in the society. On the other hand those who are still hunting, illiterate and involved in practising magical belief and dogmas are relatively ranked lower in the hierarchy.

The position of tribal chiefstain or Mukhiya who traditionally enjoy high social prestige and power has been disintegrated with the establishment of Panchayati Raj system. Thus, now, the surpunch with the coordination with other members take major decision on various tribal issue in democratic way. The Christian oriented and western educated model which were the exclusive model of leadership for several decades in several tribal areas is now breaking its exclusiveness. For example, the Jharkhand party which had the dominance of Christian adivasi and which was essentially started for the consolidation of Christian converts fastly expanded its scope and the Hindu tribals as well as non-tribal elements got associated with it and it started emphasing the needs and problems of the region. With secularised objectives, political pressures and persuasion and political convenience, there is a marked turning point in the functioning of the leaders.

The nature of change is such that the tribes are not losing their identity and also their traditional cultural heritage. They are now being 'Hinduised'. However tribals undergoing the process of Hinduisation have been pointed out by Bose (1953), Dutta Majumdar(1937), Deogaonkar (1990), Raha and Debash Roy (1997), referring to the example of tribes like Pati Rabhas (in Assam), Has and Juang (in Orissa), Santhals (in Bihar), Bhumij, Oraon, Mundas and Karkus (in Maharastra). In some parts of India, the tribals have adopted some traits of Christianity also. Nagas, Mizo, Santhal, Oraon, Munda, Kharia etc. are some tribes in north-East and North-West India in which we find marked imprint of Christianity. The evidence is provided by micro level studies of tribals made by Dutta Majumdar(1956), Sahay (1976), Sachidanand (1969) and Bose (1967). Thus the traditional social and economic structures under which the stratification system operated has undergone remarkable changes.

Factors of changes in the traditional social stratification system may be concluded as Sanskritization, modernisation, Westernization, modern democratic polity, education, industrialisation etc. These factors have initiated the attitudinal change and rationality in the lives of the tribal people. Now political power, wealth and educational attainment are becoming the criterion for the role allocation and status of the individual in the society. Pointing out the rapidly changing system of social stratification Varrier Elvin has advocated that these people should be allowed to maintain their traditional and original tribal life as far as possible. While we do not want tribal life to be destroyed, at the same time, we do not want that the tribes should remain 'backward' and not to be benefited by industrial development, occupational mobility, education and benefit of welfare schemes. The isolated and segregated condition of tribals world which result in their poverty, illiteracy, exploitation etc, cannot be tolerated at this age. Their exposures to justice, enlightenments, help and cooperation are essential.

Answer : A large number of tribes in India have been still living in far flung or disparate jungle with their distinctive pattern of culture and socio-economic system. Since the time of British rule, they have been exploited by the landlord and outsiders or Dikku. They are considered as uncivilised and uncultured by the rest of the society. After independence, under the policy of social justice, these venerated section of the society was provided with special protection and opportunity. Under articles 40, 330, 332, 275, 335 etc. provisions were made for their upliftment . The Central and State Governments are also involved in sponsoring various developmental programmes for them. The reservation of seats in government services and educational institutions are bringing them into the mainstream of the Hindu society. Due to poverty and illiteracy among them, some Christian missionaries have been found to convert their religion. The recognition to the tribal community has been recently affirmed with the creation of tribal dominated states like Jharkhand and Chhatisgarh. To protect the interest of tribals especially in Bihar, Orissa and Madhya Pradesh, a Ministry of tribal welfare has been created. They are gradually integrating into the Hindu society and getting their due recognition. For example, the Meena tribe of Rajasthan are adquately represented in politics, administration, business, higher education and various spheres of life. They are now more civilised with their cultural and regional identity.

Answer : Many scholars have assumed that the gap between the tribals and non-tribals is partially the result of political policy of imperial colonial power and partly because the non tribals considered the tribals ethically and culturally distinct from the rest of the population. According to Ghurye, on cultural and linguistic plane, the tribals are not markedly different from the neighbouring non-tribal or Hindu rural community. Many tribal groups have moved out of their semi-isolated habitats and are entering plain and accepting many norms of Hindu caste system. Some tribes like Mizos, Khasis, Nagas, Munda, Meena, Bhil etc have. become somewhat modernised but some have still remained 'backward'. Their techno-economic backwardness and their sticking to traditional cultural values have remained a barrier to their integration in Hindu society. The various developmental plans and programmes of the government aim at protecting them against social injustice and exploitation and raising of their general way of life. The creation of tribal areas, reservation of seats in the educational institutions and public services, introduction of TMS scheme-all aim at upliftment of the tribals and their social and cultural integration in Hindu society. Tribals are also being integrated in the political system of the country. The introduction of Panchayati Raj has offered them opportunity for an increased involvement in political activities. Referring to the tribal integration in the Hindu society, Ghurye calls them "Backward Hindu". Majumdar has pointed out, the tribal people are gradually integrating into the Hindu society through low caste Hindus. M.N. Srinivas’ model of sanskritization and Bailey's model of postulating a continuum at the two ends of which stands a tribe and a caste are famous model of tribal integration.