Tribal Development In India

 Tribal Development in India is a subject which is being discussed among

personnel of higher ranks, statesmen, academists and scholars for over six
decades.
 In fact the tribal areas constitutes a very noteworthy part of backward areas
of the country and the areas covered by the tribal sub-plan consists of 15% of
the total area of the country and 7.63% of the total population.
 India has been described as a melting pot of races and tribes. India has the
second largest concentration of tribal population in the world next to Africa.
 In India primitive tribes have lived for thousands of years in forests and hills
without any type of contacts with centers of civilization.
Isolationist Approach
 During the British rule in the pre-independence period, most of the tribal
communities in India remained isolated from the mainstream of national life.
 The policy of the British government was solely directed and dominated by the
colonial interests and based on isolation and exploitation of the tribals.
 the policy of isolation and neglect encouraged the vested interests namely
landlords, contractors and moneylenders to exploit, the tribesmen had to remain
at the mercy of the officials.
 The Government of India Act 1935 provided for the creation of 'excluded' and
'partially excluded' areas with separate political representation for the tribes.
 Verrier Elwin, the renowned anthropologist and the Advisor on tribalbal affairs to
the Government of Assam, recommended the isolation of tribal groups
 The Government of India after independence also continued with the policy of
isolation, of course, in a slightly modified form.
 The demand for an independent Naga State and an autonomous Jharkhand.
Assimilation Approach

 Govind Sadashiv Ghurye in book ‘The Scheduled Tribes’ 1959 describes

nature of assimilation of tribes in wider Hindu society.
 The ultimate incorporation of Tribals into the mainstream of society.
 This results when groups of individuals having different cultures come into
continuous first hand contact with subsequent changes in the original cultural
patterns of either or both groups.
 Many of these tribes, though they have preserved their tribal languages, can
and do employ Indo-Aryan languages of surrounding people in their routine
intercourse.
 If section of tribes gets assimilated in Hindu fold they are ushered into an
altogether strange social world.
Integration Approach

 The concept is mainly influenced and drawn from his panchsheel principle,
integration of the tribes with the regional and national setting.
 the first Prime Minister of India “to develop the tribals along the lines of their
own genius",''to call some people primitive and to think of ourselves highly
civilised.”
 According to Nehru isolation approach to treat tribal as ‘museum specimen to
be observed and written about’ signifies insult to them.
 Policy of integration consists of two types of measures for tribal development.
These are Protective measure and Promotional measure.
 Nehru points out disastrous effect of ‘so-called European civilisation’ on tribal
people of other parts of the world which has put to an end of their arts and
crafts and simple way of living.
GENERAL PERSPECTIVES ON DEVELOPMENT
 Earlier , Tribals were themselves seen as hindrance to
development.
 Their traditional socio-economic and cultural systems blamed.
 Tribals represented as backward, ignorant, superstitious.
 Hence, the emphasis has been on introducing values attitudes, and
institutions that would help them take advantages of fruits of
development.
 This strategy, of late has been changed and it is now recognized
that development would be more effective if it is in line with
traditional values of tribals.
 Development without or at minimal cost to ecology and
environment.
 Tribes are now seen as ‘alternate’ in which a solution lies.
 Realization that conservation is not possible without participation
of rural and tribal communities.
 TRIBALS v/s DEVELOPMENT

 But, the approach adopted has  Historically, Tribals have always

been quite the contrary. been in a continuous process of
 Tribal interests and welfare integration with ever larger
often was at loggerheads with economies.
imperatives of national  Food gathering to peasants.
development.
 Communal ownership to private
 Development was seen as a ownership of land.
important tool to bring tribals
into societal mainstream.
 Infrastructure, industries, dams,
mines etc .
 Mineral and forest resources
were exploited
 Much of India's mineral and
forest wealth lay in tribal areas,
leading to an inevitable conflict.
 TRIBALS v/s DEVELOPMENT
 After independence numerous measures were taken
to ensure tribal development.
 To ensure spread of education, medical facilities,
bringing them into mainstream society.
 Broadly divided into three categories 1)
Mobilizational 2) Protective
3)Developmental
 Worldwide experience of modern development
process often leading to conflict and destruction of
tribal lifestyle( in America, Africa, Australia) was
kept in mind, and a slow process directed by
Panchsheel principle was to be adopted.
 The customary rights of the tribals over resources
were to be honored.
 PRE-INDEPENDENCE FEATURES
 Before independence, tribe's had a history of  This dispossession from land and restriction of
common ownership of land, forest resources and control over forest during colonial era pushed
the produce. Economic autarky.
tribals into labor market.
 Inequality in tribal societies was not as striking as
non-tribal caste societies.  By the beginning of 20th century they were
 They were, over the centuries, systematically pushed into plantation sector and newly coming
dominated by rulers who claimed sovereignty over industries in Bengal, Assam and Bihar.
their lands and controlled them often ruthlessly
from far off areas.  They mostly did low or unskilled jobs getting
 Slowly, non-tribal started to settle on tribal land, very little economic compensation as they had
and when British rule made land a saleable
property vast amount of land was passed into non- little access to modern education.
tribal hands.
 Classes emerged among tribal.
 They were declared encroachers on the very same
land that they had lived on for centuries.
 Development in the colonial period
-The British tried to bring tribals to the mainstream culture through
certain policies
-Engaged revenue collectors, forest officials, and local people to
collect data pertaining to these people
-The Forest Act 1927, meant to protect forests, went against the
tribal as well as non-tribal communities dependent on the forests for
their livelihood.
 FOREST RIGHTS ACT (2006)
 The law concerns the rights of forest dwelling
communities to land and other resources, denied to
them over decades as a result of the continuance of
colonial forest laws in India.
 Supporters of the Act claim that it will redress the
"historical injustice”.
 It will provide a legal right for communities
themselves to protect the forest.
 Opponents of the law claim it will lead to massive
forest destruction and should be repealed.
 They see it as a ‘land redistribution exercise’.
 The Law as passed in 2006 has the following basic
points. 1) Types of Rights 2) Eligibility Criteria
3) Process of Recognition of Rights 4)
Resettlement for Wildlife Conservation
 Any corresponding law for mineral and rights over
other kind of resources yet to be formulated.
 Mechanism needed to divert benefits to people
rather than government machinery or private sector.
 THE PRESENT SCENARIO
 India is not the only country where mining and
industrialization in tribal areas is linked with
retarded economic performance.
 Resource curse.
 Blame on institutional weakness and political
economy.
 People embrace Naxalism due to present model of
development.
 It gains popularity by focusing on attainment of
tribal self determination and control over local
resources.
 Crisis of political empowerment.
 Naxalites have attacked both private companies
and government institutions.
 The government has acted in a stubborn manner,
myopically seeing it as only a ‘internal security
threat’.
 Need to recognize the failure of governance,
understand the basic reasons and to have political
will to institutionalize alternative policies.
 To give people and communities the right to say
‘no’ to a developmental project.
 Part II
IMPACT OF THE PRESENT MODEL OF DEVELOPMENT

Contradictions and paradoxes of India:

Firstly, the old India and the new India - The India after Independence, the

old India, was perceived by the Indians, particularly by the tribals, the

peasants, and the marginalized sections of the society, as a socialist state.

- Today’s India seems to be on the side of the rich and the elite.
Secondly, the rich India and the poor India - This is the time when the

country claims to have more than 8% economic growth. The irony, however,

is that majority of the people, especially living in the rural areas, who are

mostly tribals, are not benefiting from the development process. Hence, it

appears as if there are two Indians—one is the India of the rich and the
other

is the India of the poor.

- There is scientific and technological progress on the one hand, however,

very few people are benefiting from the process of development.
Thirdly, the mainstream India and subalternity - The dominant
societies of India, those that are powerful and affluent economically,
educationally, and politically, claim to be the mainstream.
-Minority societies across the country claim that they are the
mainstream and that there is no need for them to be assimilated into
the so-called national mainstream.
- The marginalized groups are the victims of various forms of
violence and hence the claim of the country to be ‘civilized’ can be
contested.
Fourthly, democracy of the rich and the democracy of the poor - India
claims to be the largest democracy in the world but in fact there are two
democracies in India - the democracy of the rich and the democracy of
the poor.
-There are incidences of rampant displacement, migration,
unemployment, land grabbing, and so on account of the so-called
development.
-The worst affected are the women and children. In the last 60 years
more than 60 million people have been displaced due to various
‘development’ projects. Of the total displaced more than 40% are
tribals. Of the total displaced only 24% have been rehabilitated.
Fifthly, consciousness among marginalized people (peasants,
tribals/indigenous peoples) - In the past Tribal/Indigenous
Peoples/Peasant revolted against the British, the landlords, contractors
and exploiters.
- At present, there is extremism/violence in tribal areas known as ‘Red
corridor’ and many believe that this form of violence is the consequence of
lack of development in tribal areas, their exploitation, and alienation of the
natural resources and other means of livelihood.
 THE PROBLEM
-Growing extremism in tribal areas as a result of absence of development.
-The state that used to be perceived as a ‘welfare’ state after
independence has come to be experienced as a ‘terrorist’ state primarily
by the marginalized sections of the society.
-The 'socialist' model of development enshrined in the constitution of
India, implying equality and equity of each and every citizen of India no
matter what caste, religion, and ethnic group one belonged to, has shifted
to 'neo-liberal' model which favors the rich and neglects the poor.
 SOCIAL CONSEQUENCES OF DEVELOPMENT

 Depletion of forest resources.

 Employment opportunities are denied to them.
 Furthermore, developmental projects have seen
large scale immigration of people from outside, in  Overall development of tribal areas has had a
search of employment, thus distorting deleterious effect on tribals. They are increasingly
demographics. subjected to oppression and exploitation.
 Often tribals become minorities in their own  This has contributed to rise of Naxalite movements .
traditional living areas.
 The above policies have also led to environmental
 Sometimes it has also lead to oppression of destruction.
indigenous populations.
 The benefits of large scale expansion of industries
and infrastructure, never reaches these tribals .
 SOCIAL CONSEQUENCES OF
DEVELOPMENT
 The Developmental policies drastically altered
the relationship of tribes with natural
environment and resources.
 Changed the pattern and methods of
ownership and usage.
 Land and forest most exploited,
fundamentally altering the tribal way of life.
 Land made a saleable private property.
 Unscrupulous methods used. Modern
communication and transport technologies
hastened the process.
 High migrations and uprooting.
 The dissatisfied tribals now turn to Naxalites.
Tribal Development: A Issue