Study of Adivasi or Tribal Communities

• It is said India is home to largest number of adivasi

groups and tribal population
• This group as whole constituting about 8.6% of total
population has been oppressed or subjugated like the
sudras, and dalits
• There have been arguments for tribal transformation
or ‘mainstreaming’ (to make them join main society)
• But they are faced with multiple challenges and
marginalisation despite several socio-political efforts
• Need to understand them better as community and
society
 Terminology: What to call them
• There are varied names and confusion and controversy about the use of
terminologies;
- Tribes (Jati) (British used, but controversial )
- Primitive tribes (British/Government of India)
- Scheduled Tribe (British/ Govt of India)
- Animists (Initially in Census)
- Aboriginals or Aborigines (Scholars)
- Adim Jati (NGOs)
- Indigenous people (global terminology for Natives)
- Adivasi (Many scholars and social activists)
- Sarna (Own terminology/demand by some adivasi groups )
- Vanavasi (RSS)
- Backward Hindus(Ghurey: A sociologist)
• No consensus as such, but many prefer Adivasi or indigenous group
• Terminology becomes important inters of identify and dignity
• Census remove the category tribes under religion
 Who are Adivasis or tribals?
• Conventionally in the context of primitive tribes the
following characteristics are identified though they are not
standard criteria;
- Forest / Hill-dwelling
- Own dialect
- Primitive occupations: hunting& gathering; fishing; animal
husbandry; shifting cultivation by certain groups (subsistence
type)
- Animism: worship of nature, ghosts and spirits
- Carnivorous; alcohol
- Live naked or semi-naked
- Tend to have Nomadic habits
• Only a small section in such primitive conditions; with
majority showing various other non-tribal features, it is not
easy to define tribals now.
 Tribal Groups in Diverse stage of development
• Tribal Groups are in varied stage of development:
Primitive Groups (with hunting &gathering)
Those following Shifting Cultivation
Those following settled Agriculture and common
village life
Those now marginalised and pursuing migration
and labour work with or without some agriculture
Those who are in urban society and in organised
sector
 Some common racial and ethnic features of tribals
• It is identified by anthropologies that the tribal groups in India
belong to 3 racial stocks
- Negritos (Those short and with dark skin)
- Austroloids (Those from Australia)
- Mongolides (Those form East Asia, SE Asia
(But these are racial terms or groupings and are offensive; not to
be commonly)
• Though there is intermixing of the migrants, majority of tribal
groups in India are considered to be native
• Broadly three group of languages or dialects spoken by
adivasis in India :
Munadri / Dravidian / Indo-Aryan (Adoption)
• Religion: Diverse religions are followed by adivasis
- Animists (Believe in spirits and nature)
- Hindusim
- Christianity
 Social and Economic Structure of Tribal groups
• Though basically hilly forested groups ; now many lead village life
• With traditional occupation, the economy was largely subsistence
in nature and considered self-sufficient
• There is less incentive for accumulation of wealth (not hedonistic)
especially those following traditional occupations;
• Society is based on a tribe or sub-tribe group which is
endogamous in a contiguous territory.
• The tribe is further divided into exogamous groups based on clan
and kinship
• Patrilineal descent is followed with village as the territorial unit
• Very little specialisation of social roles and very little rigid
stratification of tribal society.
• There considerable male dominance but women do enjoy many
rights and status.
• Bride price is a common practice (groom pays dowry to bride)
• All these have been changing.
 Religion and Ideology
• Supernaturalism (Animism)
• Worship of sun gods; local deities, spirits, and
ghosts
• No concept of hell or heaven
• Reincarnation into different forms of life (tree etc)
• No temple or idols in well-defined forms (like upper
caste Hindus)
• Animal sacrifice is essential part of rituals along
with magic and witch-craft.
• Human universe is limited to own tribe.
• Collectivist orientation prevailed among tribal
groups
 Issues in Adivasi transformation
• Arguments to ‘mainstream’ (Nehru advocated ‘Panchsheela)
• Approach has been divergent and contentious:
Isolation or Assimilation? (Isolation is leaving them on their own;
assimilation is getting absorbed to main society)
• The British focused on isolation with control over land and forests
• The colonial rule disrupted the Adivasis and their livelihoods;
Many tribal groups rebelled and protested.
• There were social reformers among adivasis; and Christian
missionaries and Hindu groups have been trying to convert
adivasis.
• None of these steps have helped in proper integration of adivasis
• Post-independence Government has tried to absorb them into
mainstream through various measures
• Economically tribal in general have suffered intem loss of forests,
lands, and livelihoods and displacement; tribals are most poverty
stricken group
• Need a very progressive and decentralised approach for tribal
development.