Cultural Identity of Tribals in India: Its Contribution for the Welfare of

Tribals
Globalization, Identity and Cultural Dynamics: Tribal Movements &
Development Issues in India
V. Rama Krishna,*
Today, tribal socio-cultural traditions, whether in South Africa, Nigeria, or north east
ndia are dee!ly threatened by the su!!osedly su!erior hegemonic mainstream cultures.
"Age-#rades$ remar%ably egalitarian community welfare organi&ations found in almost
all tribal orders are fast 'anishing as are the 'astly tolerant, reconciliatory traditional law
courts. As!ects of culture such as indigenous %nowledge systems are being undermined.
Tribal languages both oral and with distinct scri!ts are fast eroding. n this bac%dro! it is
necessary to %now the globali&ation im!act on the tribal cultural identity and dynamics
how the (olonialism with its im!osition of alien e)!loitati'e !olitico-administrati'e
su!er structures onto traditional orders, aided and abetted by an ambitious religion
doggedly determined to win more and more con'erts shredded the 'ery matri) of tribal
societies. And neo-colonialism consumerism co'ertly !ac%aged in glossy terminology
e)uding a heady fragrance of easy money has wrec%ed ha'oc with all !syches and
identities world o'er, whether tribal or mainstream.
*owe'er it is not too late to rise abo'e the !olitics of e)clusion and marginali&ation, to
unearth and mainstream fast 'anishing tribal traditions, whether in ndia, Nigeria or
South Africa. +erha!s its time to am!lify long marginali&ed 'oices and awa%en
contem!orary nation states to the reali&ation that only through the reestablishment of
such democratic, reconciliatory, gender friendly grass root tribal traditions could one
create a more e,uitable, more -ust society and world order. n this bac%dro! it is
necessary to understand the dynamics of tribal culture what are the im!acts of
globali&ation in the welfare of tribals as the constitution of ndia !ro'ides e,uality and
socio-economic and !olitical de'elo!ment of all !eo!le and tribals who are concentrated
only some !oc%ets of ndia.s geogra!hical distribution of resources of land, water and
natural resources.
Key Words: Globalisation, Exclusive Policies, Culture, Identity, Nomadic, Development
*Assistant +rofessor, /e!artment of +olitical Science, Tum%ur 0ni'ersity, Tum%ur, 1-
mail2 rahul3r%45567yahoo.co.in
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Globalization: Impact on Tribal Community
#lobalisation is ma%ing a considerable im!act on all the as!ects of human life in
all the countries in the world. t is im!erati'e to understand this !rocess and study the
nature of the im!act on 'arious communities. t is ma%ing its im!act e'en on de'elo!ed
countries. The im!act is social, economic, !olitical, cultural and e'en moral in nature.
Since the globali&ation is truly uni'ersal in nature, it naturally in'ol'es com!etition and
,uality. No indi'idual would esca!e from these. And there is no !oint in a'oiding these.
9uality and com!etition are the watchwords in the age of globali&ation. :ortunately
ndian society has all the !otentialities of these two. ;oreo'er unli%e the 0nited Nations,
the <T= e)!ects the members to acce!t at !resent any one ser'ice to be thrown o!en to
all the members in the world. Therefore, there is no alternati'e to com!etition. And
without ,uality, com!etition would ha'e no meaning. *ere the other !rocesses of
liberali&ation and +ri'atisation are going to !lay an im!ortant role. Therefore, what is
necessary> ndia is a !lural society ha'ing many sections based on religion, caste, class
etc. These sections ha'e different ty!es of im!act at different le'els. t will be
academically unfair to thin% about the im!act of globali&ation unilaterally. /ifferent
sections or grou!s in a heterogeneous society ha'e different !roblems ?Suresh Ka%de@
455AB. 1'en after si)ty years of inde!endence 'arious social grou!s are not em!owered
to face the challenge of com!eting e,uality. 1'en now they need the !ositi'e su!!ort of
the welfare State. n 'iew of this what is necessary is to ha'e a rational balance between
em!owerment of wea%er sections and the achie'ement of ,uality to face the com!etition.
nclusi'e #rowth Vision and Strategy ?455CB ndia has entered the 1le'enth +lan
!eriod with an im!ressi'e record of economic growth. After a lac%luster !erformance in
the Ninth +lan !eriod ?8CCDECA to 4558E 54B, when gross domestic !roduct ?#/+B grew
at only F.FG !er annum, the economy accelerated in the Tenth +lan !eriod ?4554E5H to
455IE5DB to record an a'erage growth of D.DG, the highest in any +lan !eriod so far.
Jesides, there was acceleration e'en within the Tenth +lan !eriod and the growth rate in
4
the last four years of the +lan has a'eraged A.DG, ma%ing ndia one of the fastest growing
economies in the world. These !ositi'e factors notwithstanding, a ma-or wea%ness in the
economy is that the growth is not !ercei'ed as being sufficiently inclusi'e for many
grou!s, es!ecially Scheduled (astes ?S(sB, Scheduled Tribes ?STsB, and minorities.
#ender ine,uality also remains a !er'asi'e !roblem and some of the structural changes
ta%ing !lace ha'e an ad'erse effect on women. The lac% of inclusi'eness is borne out by
data on se'eral dimensions of !erformance.
uman !i"hts, #ducation for Dalits and Tribals
+radthee! + S., ?4585B before the era of #lobalisation, there e)isted local,
autonomous, distinct and well-defined, robust and culturally sustaining connections
between geogra!hical !lace and cultural e)!erience. #lobalisation is not merely a
,uestion of marginali&ation for indigenous !eo!les it is a multi-!ronged attac% on the
'ery foundation of their e)istence and li'elihoods. New trade and in'estment agreements,
has forced indigenous !eo!les to defend their homelands under an in'asion of
un!recedented rate and scale. The new economic regime has led to !ri'ati&ation and
mar%etisation of economy and thus it as been treated as !owerful threat to the sur'i'al of
tribal communities. Vast indigenous %nowledge, rich culture and traditions, and any ho!e
of !reser'ing the natural world, and a sim!ler, more holistic way of life for future
generations.
Sa'ita Jhatt ?4588B *uman rights are one crucial as!ects being !rominently
discussed these days. t is more critically con'ersed in the wa%e of growing atrocities
against the historically de!ri'ed grou!s li%e dalits and tribals. Although the !ractice of
(0K+ untouchability (0 was abolished in 8CF5, it remains and is 'ery much ali'e in
ndia. The caste still o!erates as a defining condition in establishing marriages, social
relations and access to em!loyment, millions of /alits and other former low-caste !eo!le
remain behind in education, em!loyment and access to wealth. n recent years an
increasing number of human rights organisations and bodies are coming to recognise
untouchability and caste discrimination as a gross human rights 'iolation. /alit human
rights has become an international issue and organisations li%e *uman Rights <atch,
H
Amnesty nternational, ;inority Rights #rou! and Anti-Sla'ery nternational are ma%ing
/alit *uman Rights a !riority issue and are concerned to raise the issue internationally in
0N bodies, go'ernments and the !ublic-at-large.
;eghara- et. al., ?4585B 1conomic de'elo!ment of any nation de!ends u!on
a'ailable natural and man made resources. <orld famous economist /r. ;arshal has
been recogni&ed education as national in'estment and has been said that human resource
in'estment is the most !recious ca!ital. =n the other side /r. Jabasaheb Ambed%ar has
said that education is the mil% of tigress and also. <ell %nown economist and Noble
award ?8CCAB winner Amartya Sen has cleared that human resource de'elo!ment is
!ossible because of education and due to de'elo!ment of human resource economic
de'elo!ment of nation is !ossible. Andre #under :ran%, an economist associated with
de!endency theory argued that a form of #lobalisation has been in e)istence since the
rise of trade lin%s between Sumer and the ndus Valley (i'ili&ation in the third
millennium J.(. ?:ran%, 8CCAB. m!act of #lobalisation, both theoretically and
!ractically, can be obser'ed in different economic, social, cultural, !olitical, finance, and
technological dimensions of the world. #lobalisation is the !rocess of ra!id integration
of countries and ha!!enings through greater networ% of connections and interconnections
'ia trade. t also refers to increased !ossibilities for action between and among !eo!le in
situations where latitudinal and longitudinal location seems immaterial to the social
acti'ity at hand as !er the definition of social theorists. #lobalisation is a three
dimensional term, encom!assing !olitical, economical and cultural as!ects.
6
Source2 (ensus of ndia 4558
Source2 (ensus of ndia 4558
Identity and Cultural Dynamics of Tribals
The ndian (onstitution, ado!ted soon after inde!endence, defines the rights and
!ri'ileges of castes, minorities, tribal grou!s and the wea%er sections of society. Sub-ect
to legislation by +arliament, the !ower to declare any area as a KScheduled Area. is gi'en
to the +resident LFth Schedule, !aras. I-DM and the +resident has made the Scheduled Area
=rder, 8CF5, in !ursuance of this !ower ?Jasu, 8CC4B. The constitution !ro'ides for the
F
a!!ointment of a (ommission to re!ort on the administration of the Scheduled areas and
the welfare of the Scheduled Tribes in the State ?Jasu, 8CC4B. The Scheduled Tribe.s
?ST.sB constitute A !ercent of the total !o!ulation of the country. n 4558, their number
was around A45 la%h !ersons. They can be di'ided into two categories2 ?8B frontier tribes,
and ?4B non-frontier tribes. The former are inhabitants of the northeast frontier states-
Arunachal +radesh, Assam, ;eghalaya, ;ani!ur, ;i&oram, Nagaland and Tri!ura. They
constitute 88 !ercent of the total tribal !o!ulation. The non-frontier tribes, constituting AC
!ercent of the total !o!ulation, are distributed among most of the States. They are
concentrated in large numbers in ;adhya +radesh ?4H !ercentB, =rissa ?44 !ercentB,
Ra-asthan ?84 !ercentB, Jihar ?A !ercentB, #u-arat ?86 !ercentB, /agra Nagar *a'eli ?DC
!ercentB, and Na%shadee! islands ?C6 !ercentB ?Shah, 4556B.
The tribal !olicy of the #o'ernment has consistently aimed at encouraging their
autonomous growth with !rotection to their local cultures. To !rotect their rights in land
in and forest resources, etc., the law !rohibits outsiders from !urchasing estates, which is
their !reser'e. There is an inner line !rotection !olicy !ursued by the go'ernment, which
!rotects tribals from intrusion by outsiders from other States or the foreigners.
(onstitutionally, they en-oy !ri'ileges in running their own educational, cultural and
social institutions. These measures ha'e, howe'er, been less successful in maintaining the
autonomy of the tribal local cultures. *ere is e'idence that outside entre!reneurs, traders
and influential !eo!le ha'e succeeded in alienating the land and natural resources meant
for the tribals by surre!titious means. n s!ite of the !rotection gi'en to the tribal
!o!ulation by the (onstitution of ndia ?8CF5B, educational standard, economic status and
!olitical em!owerment of the tribal communities still remained bac%ward in ndia.
*owe'er, as the functioning of the democratic forces has become stronger, a resentful
local leadershi! has emerged among these communities s!onsoring mo'ements for either
a se!arate State, or !olitical autonomy or e'en se!aration from the 0nion ?=ommen,
8CCDB. (ultural moderni&ation, s!onsored by the forces of globalisation, is resented if it
encroaches u!on or does not !romote the core cultural 'alues of society, its language,
social !ractices and styles of life. The 'igour of the renewed sense of self-awareness
generated among the members of the local cultures and communities and regions in ndia,
I
which ha'e e)isted historically, reinforce instead of threatening the national identity.
These bonds seem to become stronger as ndia encounters the forces of moderni&ation
and globali&ation. According to one estimate, irrigation !ro-ects, mines, thermal !ower
!lants, wildlife sanctuaries, industries, etc., between 8CF5 and 8CC5 in ndia, dis!laced
48H la%h !ersons. AF !ercent of them are tribals ?:ernandes@ +aran-!e, 8CCDB. The
go'ernment is aware of ?aB the eroding resources base and socio-cultural heritage of tribal
!o!ulation through a combination of de'elo!ment inter'entions, commercial interest, and
lac% of effecti'e legal !rotection of tribal and ?bB the disru!tion of life and en'ironment
of tribal !o!ulation owing to unimaginati'e, insensiti'e !ac%age of relief.
Tribal Movements in India
Tamar Re'olts ?8DAC-8AH4B
The Kherwar ;o'ement of the Santhals ?8AHHB
Santhal Re'olt of 8AFF
Jo%ta Rising, Sardari Narai or ;u%ti Narai ;o'ement of 8AFA-CF
Jirsa ;unda Re'olt ?8ACF-8C58B
/e'i ;o'ement in #u-arat ?8C44-4HB
Tribal ;o'ement in ;idna!ur ?8C8A-8C46B
Oitu SanthalPs ;o'ement in ;alda ?8C46-H4B
Tribals and National ;o'ement in =rissa ?8C48-HIB
Tribal ;o'ement in Assam ?the then Assarn, Nagaland, ;eghalaya and ;i&oramB
Tribal $tru""les
Numerous u!risings of the tribals ha'e ta%en !lace beginning with the one in
Jihar in 8DD4 followed by many re'olts in Andhra +radesh, Andaman and Nicobar
slands, Arunchal +radesh, Assam,;i&oram and Nagaland. The im!ortant tribes in'ol'ed
in re'olt in the 8Cth century were ;i&os ?8A85B,Kols?8DCFQ8AH8B, ;undas ?8AACB,
/aflas ?8ADFB, Khasi and #aro ?8A4CB, Kacharis ?8AHCB, Santhals ?8AFHB, ;uria #onds
?8AAIB, Nagas ?8A66 Q 8ADCB and Konds ?8A8DB.
After inde!endence the tribal struggle may be classified into three grou!s2
D
8. Struggles due to e)!loitation of the outsiders.
4. Struggles due to economic de!ri'ations
H. Struggle due to se!aratist tendencies
The tribal mo'ements may also be classified on the basis of their orientation into four
ty!es2
8. ;o'ements see%ing !olitical autonomy and formation of se!arate state
4. Agrarian mo'ement
H. :orest -based mo'ements
6. Socio-religious mo'ements
;ost of the tribal mo'ements were result of o!!ression and discrimination, neglect and
bac%wardness and a!athy of go'ernment towards tribal !roblems.
Tana %ha"at Movement
n the Tana Jhagat mo'ement an attem!t was made to emulate the way of life of
the *indu higher castes. t emerged among the =raon of (hotanag!ur@ Jihar.t tried to
raise the status of its members in the eyes of the surrounding *indu society and was
characteri&ed by a large scale incor!oration of *indu belief-!ractices into its ideology.
%irsa Munda Movement
/uring the second half of the 8Cth century the whole of (hotanag!ur underwent a
tremendous change. The old ;unda system of Khunta%atti tenure ga'e way to a new and
alien system of e)!loitation by the landlords %nown as -agirdar and thi%adar.n 8ACF
Jirsa ;unda of (hal%ad started a mo'ement. n him the ;unda found the embodiment
of their as!iration. *e ga'e them leadershi!, a religion and a code of life. *e held before
them the !ros!ect of ;unda Ra- in !lace of foreign rule.
Tribe &aces #'tinction
Se'eral tribal grou!s s!read o'er the 1astern #hats across the southern and
eastern region of the ndian sub-continent. n =rissa, a tribal grou! named /ongria
Kondh !eo!le who inhabit the Niyamgiri *ills now faces e)tinction. According to the
(ensus, there are only D,CF4 sur'i'ing members of the /ongria, a sub-sect of the Kondh
!eo!les, who ha'e inhabited the forests of eastern ndia for thousands of years. =n one
side sits the state and (entral go'ernment and the ndian subsidiary of Vedanta Resources
A
+lc, a Jritish mining cor!oration. They are a!!lying for !ermission to dig u! the
Niyamgiris-rich n bau)ite, used in the manufacture of aluminium-at the rate of three
million tonnes a year and then !our them into a huge alumina refinery, which has already
been constructed at the foot of the hills ?:oster, 455A, ;ay 8AB. The /ongria are the ne)t
casualities of the headlong rush for industrial de'elo!ment.
(ara)a Tribes
Oarawa tribals, an ethnic grou! in Andamans, also faced e)tinction due to 'arious
reasons. An a!!ro)imate number of Oarawa tribals were F55. =f these 4I5 were re!orted
to ha'e sur'i'ed the de'astating tsunami by hanging on to the trees. According to the
4558 census figures, there were around 4F5 Oarawas inhabiting the middle-south
Andaman slands. These !eo!le are still li'ing in !rimiti'e stage of the society in
isolation.
Chen"ara *and $tru""le
/uring the last two years, (hengara in Kerala had become the symbol of a silent
war for land. 0nli%e in Singur or in Nandigram, it was not against e'iction. nstead, it
was the fight of those who toiled in land but ne'er !ossessed any culti'able land asserting
their right to own sustainable land in a society that !rofesses e,uality and fraternity. The
agitation at (hengara in +athanamthitta district had commenced on August 6, 455D, when
H55 families from 'arious !arts of the state belonging to /alits, Adi'asis and other
landless communities con'erged on the rubber estate owned by *arrison.s ;alayalam
+lantations Ntd and !itched u! thatched sheds and started li'ing there. Their demand was
fi'e acres of land for culti'ation and Rs F5,555 as financial assistance !er family. The
demand was later reduced to one acre of land. After DC5 days, the struggle has been
Ksettled. at a discussion con'ened by the (hief ;inister V S Achutanandan with Naha
#o!alan and others of the Sadhu Oana Vimochana Samyu%ta Vedi ?SOVSVB, which
s!earheaded the agitation. 86H4 families out of the 8DHA families who had started li'ing
on the rubber !lantation of *arrison.s will get land and financial assistance to build
houses, as !art of the settlement.
&i"ht for Water
C
The struggle for water in +lachimada, is another e!isode in Kerala, where The
(oca-(ola (om!any bottling !lant has both drained and contaminated groundwater on
which the local farming community de!ends. (oca-(ola came to ndia in 8CCH, loo%ing
for water and mar%ets in a country where one third of all 'illages are without anything
a!!roaching ade,uate water and shortages are growing e'ery day. ndeed ndia is facing a
gigantic water crisis, e'en as (oca (ola and other com!anies haul free water to the cities
from the countryside and water !ar%s and golf courses metastasi&e around cities li%e
;umbai. The bloom was on neo-liberalism bac% then when (oca-(ola came in, with
central and state authorities falling o'er themsel'es to lease, sell or sim!ly hand o'er
ndiaPs national assets in the name of economic RreformR. (oca-(ola had sound reasons
in &oning in on +lachimada. A rain-shadow region in the heart of KeralaPs water belt, it
has large underground water de!osits. The site (oca-(ola !ic%ed was set between two
large reser'oirs and ten meters south of an irrigation canal. The ground water reser'es
had a!!arently showed u! on satellite sur'eys done by the com!anyPs !ros!ectors. The
(o%e site is surrounded by colonies where se'eral hundred !oor !eo!le li'e in crowded
conditions, with an a'erage holding of four-tenths of an acre. Virtually the sole source of
em!loyment is wage labor, usually for no more than 855 to 845 days in the year. <ithin
si) months, the 'illager.s mostly indigenous adi'asis and dalits saw the le'el of their
water dro! shar!ly, e'en run dry. The water they did draw was awful. t ga'e some
!eo!le diarrhoea and bouts of di&&iness. To wash in it was to get s%in rashes, a burning
feel on the s%in. t left their hair greasy and stic%y. The women found that rice and dal
was not coo%ed but became hard. A thousand families ha'e been directly affected, and
well water affected u! to a three or four %ilometers from the !lant. The cruel fact is that
water from our underground sources is !um!ed out free and sold to our !eo!le to ma%e
millions e'ery day, at the same time destroying our en'ironment and damaging the health
of our !eo!le. :or us ri'ers, dams and water sources are the !ro!erty of the nation and
her !eo!le.
+armada ,eople-s $tru""le
Since 8CAF, the adi'asis of the Narmada 'alley ha'e been struggling against
dis!lacement and destruction resulting from the Sardar Saro'ar +ro-ect ?SS+B. Their
united fight re'eals that not only the !olitical and economic as!ects of globali&ation, but
85
also its intellectual re!ression must be resisted. The !eo!le.s %nowledge resulting in their
land must not be ignored. +articularly when go'ernment information is fraught with
consistencies ?Ara'inda, 4555, No'ember 88B. Ni'ing in the mountains and !lains of the
Narmada ri'er 'alley, stretching for 8,H55 %m through ;adhya +radesh, #u-arat, and
;aharashtra communities including tribal !eo!le also %nown as adi'asis ha'e, since
8CAF, mounted a tenacious struggle against dis!lacement, state re!ression, and the
destruction of natural resources resulting from the Narmada Valley de'elo!ment !ro-ects.
The !ro-ects com!rise H5 large dams, 8HH medium si&e dams, and H,555 small dams,
along with DF,555 %m of canal networ%s to direct the waters of the Narmada Ri'er to
where'er the state decrees ?Sang'ai, 4555B. Sardar Saro'ar ta%es u! o'er A5G of
#u-aratPs irrigation budget but has only 8.IG of culti'able land in Kutch, CG of
culti'able land in Saurashtra and 45G culti'able land in North #u-arat in its command
area. ;oreo'er, these areas are at the tail end of the command and would get water only
after all the area along the canal !ath get their share of the water, and that too after 4545
A/.

Tribals into +a'alism
The Nagari%a Se'a Trust ?NSTB, a non-go'ernmental organisation in'ol'ed in the
areas of social em!owerment and en'ironment, has a!!ealed to the /e'elo!ment
(ommissioner, (hiran-ee' Singh, to consider a solution to the !roblems of the tribal
!eo!le in the <estern #hats which does not in'ol'e confrontation. n a !ress statement
here today, the NST !resident, Somanatha Naya%, has said the #o'ernment has declared
a !art of the <estern #hats as a national !ar% to !rotect the en'ironment. Jut there is no
concern for the rights of the tribal !eo!le li'ing in the national !ar% area, he said. 9uoting
a re!ort, R;anagement of national !ar%s and sanctuaries in ndia,$ ;r. Naya% said it has
been found that the :orest /e!artment has failed to ta%e into confidence the !eo!le in
tribal areas, in the s!irit of the new -oint forest management !olicy. *e alleged that the
#o'ernment is insensiti'e to the !roblems of tribal !eo!le. This, he said, is one of the
reasons for the growth of the na)alite mo'ement in the region. The statement said the
#o'ernment could ha'e %e!t aside H,555 hectares of land for tribal !eo!le and 6,555
hectares for iron ore mining. f this was done, about 4,555 tribal families could ha'e
88
remained in the land they consider their own. :amilies li'ing in the interiors of the
national !ar% could ha'e been brought to the fringe areas of the <estern #hats and
allowed to settle. t is wrong to as% them to 'acate and li'e in urban and semi-urban
areas as their li'elihood will be threatened, the statement said.
t said the orders issued by the de!uty conser'ators of forests in Kunda!ur, +uttur
and (hi%magalur to e'ict tribal !eo!le do not ha'e legal sanction under the <ildlife Act -
46?8B. ;oreo'er, the alteration of borders of the national !ar%, sanctuaries and reser'e
forests can be done only on the basis of the Act and not under any other law, it added.
The statement ,uoted a letter written to the NST by the (hief (onser'ator of :orests on
8A ;ay, 8CCC, which said that the areas where tribal !eo!le ?;ale%udiyasB reside in the
Kudremu%h National +ar% could be treated as a buffer &one, and there is no need to e'ict
any indi'idual or grou! residing in the national !ar%. As the #o'ernment wants to e'ict
the tribal !eo!le, na)alites ha'e found it easy to whi! u! an Ru!rising,R the statement
said. The NST alleged that that the #o'ernment has unleashed terror on the tribal !eo!le
after the delineation of the national !ar% boundaries. t has said that the #o'ernment
should gi'e tribal !eo!le the o!tion of li'ing in the !ar% and ta%e ste!s to !rotect their
right to li'elihood.
Mi"ration, $C and $T ,opulation
Scheduled (astes mean such castes, races, or tribes or !arts of grou!s within such
castes, races or tribes as are deemed under Article H68 of the (onstitution of ndia.
Scheduled Tribes means such tribes or tribal communities as deemed so under Articles
H64 of the (onstitution. n 8CDI, the #o'ernment of ndia by an amendment to the
Scheduled (astes and the Scheduled Tribes order !ublished a list of Scheduled (astes
and the Scheduled Tribes for the State of Karnata%a. According to 4558 census there are
858 schedule caste and 6C schedule tribes in Karnata%a. A'ast ma-ority of !eo!le of the
schedule caste and the schedule tribes li'e in rural areas. According to4558 census there
were AF,IH,CH5 Scheduled (astes !eo!le in the State ?I6,8D,46H in Rural and 48,6I,IAD
in 0rbanB which is about 8I.4G of the total !o!ulation of the State and there were
H6,IH,CAI Scheduled Tribes !eo!le ?4C,H6,FH5 Rural and F,4C,6FI 0rbanB which is about
84
I.IG of the total !o!ulation of the State. Joth the (entral and the State #o'ernments
ha'e ta%en u! a number of welfare measures for the u!liftment of Scheduled (astes and
Scheduled Tribes and 'oluntary organisations are also functioning for the benefit of the
wea%er sections of the community ?see (ha!ter S -Social <elfare ;easures for more
detailsB.
Mi"ration
;igration is one of the %ey factors in changing the si&e and structure of the
!o!ulation. t may be tem!orary or !ermanent. Tem!orary migration may be seasonal and
it may be continued to certain !eriods in a year@ generally !eo!le from !lains mo'e to
;alnad districts both during sowing and har'esting seasons and later return to their
houses. The migration of females is mainly due to marriages. =ther socio-
cultural factors li%e education and em!loyment also contribute to the migration of the
!eo!le. The number of immigrants from the neighbouring states of Karnata%a has
increased considerably between 8CD8 and 8CA8 and these figures are as follows2 Andhra
+radesh by I4,555@ Kerala by I5,555@ ;aharashtra by ID,555 and Tamil Nadu by 8.FH
la%hs. There were 88.AA la%h !ersons hailing from other States in ndia, 48,HC6 !ersons
from other Asian countries and 4,AFC !ersons from non-Asian countries as in 8CA8.
SRRA Re!ort ?4585B (ircular migration, or rural-urban migration, and distress
migration are emerging as a dominant form of migration amongst ST.s in ndia as is
e'ident from the four selected States of (hhattisgarh, Ohar%hand, ;adhya +radesh and
=rissa. n s!ite of the great em!hasis laid on women.s education in the last fi'e years
!lan and the facilities and incenti'es gi'en ma-ority the tribal women and girls remained
without education e'en after migration to cities. The main reason for educational
bac%wardness of migrant tribal women and girls was non-a'ailability of sufficient
number of educational institutes in the tribal areas as well as in the slum areas of cities
where ma-ority of the migrant tribal women and girls li'e. 0nem!loyment, !o'erty and
lac% of basic facilities of education, health and hygiene are still a ma-or !roblem in the
tribal areas forcing them for out migration to 'arious towns and cities. The tribal families
are not able to meet their basic needs out of their meagre income from their occu!ations
8H
and are hea'ily indebted to the money lenders. They are !ledging their fi)ed assets li%e
land, mahua and tamarind trees and mobile articles for meeting their daily e)!enses and
occasional functions. There are no !ro!er mar%eting and forward and bac%ward lin%ages
for the forest !roduce and articles being !roduced by the tribals in the interior areas.
1ducation and 'ocational guidance and training for de'elo!ment of their s%ills with a
'iew to im!ro'e their !otential for em!loyment are lac%ing in tribal areas. Tribal
families in the interior tribal areas are being du!ed by false information and false income
!ayment, -obs and are being induced to migrate to the cities and towns. The tribal
families are left to fend themsel'es and are not in a !osition to contact, com!lain and
redress their !roblems. The tribal women and girls migration to cities and towns is
lea'ing them to fend for themsel'es.
Culture and Identity of Tribals in .arnata/a
Tribal communities constitute about se'en !ercent of the total !o!ulation of ndia.
These communities ha'e 'ariety and com!le)ity in the belief systems as well as religious
!ractices. 1'en these religions ha'e historical antecedents which are documented in their
oral e!ics and songs. Tribal communities too ha'e their legends about the birth and
meaning of the uni'erse. According to a scholar, tribal !eo!le belie'e that "The ultimate
!ur!ose of life is the creation of a meaningful order through imitation of the celestial
model transmitted by myths and celebrated in rituals.$ ?Kitagawa@ Oose!h ;.@ 8CIAB.
Karnata%a has a si&able !o!ulation of tribal !eo!le. There are H6.I6 la%hs tribals
distributed in 'arious regions of Karnata%a as !er 4558 census. Raichur
and Jellary contain large number of tribal communities. Toda, Jeda, Soliga, *a%%i-
+i%%i, Konda Ka!u, Koraga, Jhils, (henchu, #onds, mal1ru, ba/aga, hasala, m1da,
iruNiga, -1nu %uruba, era'a and siddis are some im!ortant tribes of Karnata%a. All of
them !rofess some religious beliefs and !ractice many rituals. A series of monogra!hs
!ublished by Karnata%a Sahitya Academy under the stewardshi! of Jaraguru
Ramachandra!!a !ro'ide am!le information about these tribes. Tribal religions and
rituals are under constant !ressure from the ma-or organi&ed religions. Some of this
!ressure is im!osed deliberately and the rest is a conse,uence of e)!osure to the forces of
86
moderni&ation. n general, the tribes that remain geogra!hically isolated are able to retain
their traditional cultures and religions longer. =n the other hand communities that are
either nomadic or li'e in the !eri!hery of ci'ili&ed life are !rone for drastic changes.
;ost of the tribal beliefs and rituals are highly locali&ed and they are not influenced by
the ma-or religions. Attem!ts to influence them are foiled by changing the 'ery fabric of
the legends and stories to suit the tribal world. (onse,uently one finds tribal 'ersions of
Ramayana and ;ahabharata scattered all o'er the country.
;ost of the tribal communities in Karnata%a worshi! their own deities in addition
to the #ods im!osed from the main stream religions. Some of these deities and
corres!onding communities are listed below.
8 %A/u %uruba bomma, mudda!!a, m0ga!!A-i, mAramma, %0/agi tAta
4 %A/u golla -un-a!!a, %yAta!!a, !Ata!!a, siriyaNNa
H gon/a mu/i %amba, mAsti bra, ya%shi, cau/i, nAga
6 gauNiga Kan/=ba, 'iT=ba and bair=ba
F male %u/iya bARAVA, !aN/a'a, J0tas
I mu%ari 'raJadra, -aTiga, mAsti amma and 'en%aTaramaNa
D s=liga biNigiriranga, male mAd1sh'ara, -a/es'Ami
A hAla%%i o%%aliga huli d1'aru, shi'a and nAga
;any a time a time tribal customs and rituals are a!!ro!riated by the established
religion and what emerges is a ci'ili&ed 'ersion of tribal !ractices. ;any #ods now
worshi!!ed by one and all were once the e)clusi'e !ro!erty of the tribals. The attitude of
tribal communities towards nature is now !ercei'ed as eco friendly and regarded highly.
;any tribes worshi! tribal deities as well as the #ods of the *indu !antheon. :or
instance Kadugollas who worshi! gods such as Oun-a!!a, Tatta!!a, +ata!!a, and
(itta!!a, are e,ually de'oted to Si'a, who is a !art of their festi'als and religious
obser'ances. (ult heroes from the !ast are also raised to the le'el of #ods and
worshi!!ed accordingly. Jedanaya%as ?b1/a nAya%aB of Karnata%a, worshi!
+a!anaya%a, a deity su!!osed to ha'e li'ed H55-655 years ago, as a holy man among
them. *e is attributed miraculous !owers. Siddi community of North (anara which
8F
migrated to Karnata%a from Africa has shed most of its original beliefs and ado!ted other
religions. Now there are siddis belonging to *induism, slam and (hristianity.
Conclusion
The founders of ndian (onstitution seriously considered the miserable conditions
of the tribals who were segregated from the national mainstream and !ro'ided for s!ecial
measures. /uring these 'arious :i'e Tear +lans, there has been a considerable increase
in the fund allocation for the tribal areas. Jut most of the tribals were not able to draw
benefits from the facilities !ro'ided by go'ernment because of large-scale corru!tion
among officials and im!ro!er im!lementation of tribal de'elo!ment schemes. Therefore,
the ma-ority of the hill tribes suffer from the absence of !ro!er infrastructure and
communication facilities. m!ro!er management of schemes and inefficient
im!lementation of suitable !rogrammes in the tribal region create a ma-or !roblem. The
ma-ority of the tribal !eo!le are not e'en aware of the de'elo!ment schemes
im!lemented by go'ernment agencies. n s!ite of all such efforts discussed abo'e, the
!roblem of tribal de'elo!ment continues to be a ma-or concern. There are 'arious factors
res!onsible for slow de'elo!ment of tribals and tribal areas. :or ma-ority of the tribals,
forest resources are the main source of li'elihood. *owe'er, the forest laws restrict their
de!endence on the forest. Added to this, many forests were declared as +rotected :orests
or Sanctuaries, and threatened their e'iction from their natural habitat. 1'en where the
e'icted tribals are rehabilitated, they are not !ro'ided additional means of li'elihood,
e)ce!t small !iece of land for culti'ation. The tribal areas by and large are remote,
inaccessible and continue to remain isolated due to !oor connecti'ity and other basic
infrastructure.
The most disturbing element in the !rocess of #lobalisation is its relentless dri'e
towards cultural uni'ersalism of tribals culture and associated ideological framewor%s,
and its im!lied disregard and disres!ect for cultural and language di'ersity. There are
some HF5 million indigenous !eo!le in more than D5 countries around the globe,
s!ea%ing autochthonous languages, and who are marginali&ed and fre,uently denied basic
human rights, including their cultural rights. The socio-economic forces of
8I
moderni&ation and de'elo!ment ha'e no doubt brought some benefits to the !eo!le of
res!ecti'e areas, but the benefits accrued to them ha'e been largely out weighted by the
harm more to them. /e'elo!ment induced dis!lacement, in'oluntary migration and
resettlement has cause marginali&ation of tribals and !resented enormous !roblems to
them. The new economic regime has led to !ri'ati&ation and mar%etisation of economy
and thus it has been treated as !owerful threat to the sur'i'al of tribal communities.
!eferences:
8. Jasu, /. /. ?8CC4B. KIntroduction to the constitution of India,. New /elhi2
+rentice-*all.
4. :ernandes, <., Q +aran-!e, V. ?1ds.B. ?8CCDB. KRehabilitation policy and law in
India: A right to livelihood,. New /elhi2 ndian Social nstitute.
H. :ran%, A. #. ?8CCAB. KReorient: Global economy in the Asian age,. 0.(. Jer%eley
+ress.
6. nclusi'e #rowth Vision and Strategy ?455CB, Eleventh Five Year lan!" (ha!ter
8, +lanning (ommission, ndia, !!. 4-6.
F. ;eghara- A. Ka!urderiya, +ra%ash J. Oadha' ?4585B, KGlobalisation and resent
Education #tatus of $awar %ribe in Gadchiroli &istrict!. Shodh, Sami%sha aur
;ulyan%an nternational Research Oournal, Vol. , ssue-88-84, /ec.455CU
Oan.4585, !!. 46-4F.
I. =ommen, T. K. ?8CCDB. K#ocial movement and state response: %he Indian
situation!" n A. ;. Shah, J. S. Ja'is%ar, Q 1. A. Ramaswamy ?1ds.B, Social
structure and change2 /e'elo!ment and ethnicity. New /elhi2 Sage +ublications.
D. +radthee! + S., ?4585B, KGlovalisaiton! Identity and 'ulture: %ribal Issues in
India,. NS(A( 4585 +roceedings, ;ahatma #andhi 0ni'ersity, !!. 8F5-8FA.
A. Sa'ita Jhatt ?4588B, K&alits! %ribals and (uman Rights,. Adhyayan +ublishers,
New /elhi.
C. Shah, #. ?4556B. K#ocial movements in India!" New /elhi2 Sage +ublications.
85. SRRA Re!ort ?4585B, K)igration of %ribal *omen: Its #ocioeconomic Effects +
An in+depth #tudy of 'hhatisgarh,. Ohar%hand, ;.+ and =rissa., Society for
Regional Research and Analysis ?SRRAB #urgaon.
8D
88. Suresh Ka%de ?455AB, KGlobalisation and #cheduled 'astes,. 1dt. Oagan Karade
K/e'elo!ment of Scheduled (astes and Scheduled Tribes in ndia,. (ha!ter-4,
(ambridge Scholars +ublishing, 0K.
84. The *indu ?455FB, K(arrasment of %rible eople fuelled ,a-alite )ovement,. The
*indu, Karnata%a. Accessed on 44 ;ay, 4584-
htt!2VVwww.thehindu.comV455FV54V4HVstoriesV455F544H8HDC5H55.htm
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