TRIBAL MOVEMENTS AND TRIBAL

PROBLEMS

Submitted To:
Dr. Ayan Hazra
(Faculty Of Sociology)

Submitted by:

Sakshi Gandhi
Semester-III B.A. L.L.B
(Hons.) Roll no.123
Section : C

Date of submission: 03-9-2019

HIDAYATULLAH NATIONAL LAW UNIVERSITY,

Post Uparwara, Atalnagar -493661 (chattisgarh)
 Declaration

I hereby declare that this research work titled ‘Tribal Movements and Tribal
Problems’ is my own work and represents my own ideas and where others’ ideas
or words have been included, I have adequately cited and referenced the original
sources. I also declare that I have adhered to all principles of academic honesty
and integrity and have not misrepresented or fabricated or falsified any
idea/data/fact/source in my submission.

Sakshi Gandhi
Sem –III
B.A.L.L.B (Hons.)
Section C
Roll no. 123

i
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

Thanks to the almighty who gave me the strength to accomplish the project with
sheer hard work and honesty. This research venture has been made possible due
to the generous cooperation of various persons . To list them all is not practical,
even to repay the in words is beyond the domain of my lexicon.
This project wouldn’t been have possible without the help of the my teacher ,
Dr. Ayan Hazra , Faculty of sociology at HNLU , who had always been there at
my side whenever I needed some help regarding any information .I am highly
obliged for his guidance in doing all sorts of researches, suggestion and
discussion regarding my project topic by devoting his precious time.
I am thankful to the library staff as well as the conveniences they have provided
me with, which have played a major role in the completion of this project.
Last but definitely not the least. I am thankful to my seniors for all their support,
tips and valuable advice whenever needed. I present this project with a humble
heart.

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 CONTENTS

Introduction ........................................................................................................ 1
Objectives of the study ...................................................................................... 2
Scope of the study ............................................................................................. 2
Research of the study ........................................................................................ 2
Organisation of the study ....................................................................................3
Geographic Division of Tribal Community … ................................................... 5
Features of Tribal Communities ......................................................................... 7
Tribal Movements ............................................................................................ 10
Tribal Problems .................................................................................................. 12
Constitutional Safeguards .................................................................................. 14
Approaches to solve Tribal Problems…………………………………………
Conclusion ......................................................................................................... 17
References .......................................................................................................... 18

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 Introduction

If looked into clearly the tribal movements were the result of tribal problems. The tribal
movements may also be classified into: movements seeking political autonomy and formation of
a state (Nagas, Mizos, Jharkhand), agrarian movements, forest-based movements, and 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). Issues of tribal development, integration and autonomy have confronted the
Indian society right from the British rule in India. Complexity of Indian tribal population made
the task of integration and autonomy even difficult. Ethnic tribal sub nationalism posed serious
challenges and hampered the progress of the communities over the time. Autonomy is desired so
that development policies are evolved to suit the tribal culture and lifestyle. On the other hand
leaving the tribal in their own state will deepen the developmental divide between the
mainstream and the tribals even deeper. Post independence the basic issue is that the integration
is largely directed from above and not from below. Integration of tribes has neglected their own
needs and desires. Integration has been on the terms of the mainstream society and it is also
accused of benefitting the mainstream society only. The government monopoly over forests
continued. The exploitation of forests accelerated as most of the mineral resources fall in forest
and tribal areas. The policy of capital intensive industrialization adopted by the Indian
government required mineral resources and power generation capacities that were concentrated
in the tribal areas. Tribal lands were rapidly acquired for new mining and infrastructure projects.
In the process tribals were displaced without any appropriate compensation or rehabilitation
justified in the name of economic growth. These policies were often seen subjugating tribals and
causing the degradation of the resources upon which they depended.

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 Objective Of Study

The primary objectives of the Study are to find

1) Meaning and Definition

2) Geographical Distribution of Tribals
3) Tribal Movements and their Reasons
4) Tribal Problems and their Solutions

Scope of the study

The scope of the study in this project is confined to India Tribes, their lives ,movements, issues arising in
their lives, solutions to the tribal problems.

Methodology
This study has been carried out using descriptive method as the topic is descriptive. My
study is largely based on secondary sources of data like books, articles and electronic
media like internet and other references as guided by faculty of Sociology were primarily
helpful for the completion of this project. The project format and citation system used is
according to Harvard Blue Book system. The design framework on topic Society is as –
meaning, origin, different views, characteristics to better comprehend the topic in a
systematic way.

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 Meaning and definition
According to Merriam Webster, tribes are a social division in a traditional society
consisting of families or communities linked by social, economic, religious, or blood ties,
with a common culture and dialect, typically having a recognized leader.1

Article 366 (25) of the Constitution of India refers to Scheduled Tribes as those
communities, who are scheduled in accordance with Article 342 of the Constitution. This
Article says that only those communities who have been declared as such by the President
through an initial public notification or through a subsequent amending Act of Parliament
will be considered to be Scheduled Tribes.

Article 342 provides for specification of tribes or tribal communities or parts of or groups
within tribes or tribal communities which are deemed to be for the purposes of the
Constitution the Scheduled Tribes in relation to that State or Union Territory. In pursuance
of these provisions, the list of Scheduled Tribes is notified for each State or Union
Territory and are valid only within the jurisdiction of that State or Union Territory and not
outside.

The list of Scheduled Tribes is State/UT specific and a community declared as a Scheduled
Tribe in a State need not be so in another State. The inclusion of a community as a
Scheduled Tribe is an ongoing process. The essential characteristics, first laid down by the
Lokur Committee, for a community to be identified as Scheduled Tribes are –

a) indications of primitive traits;

b) distinctive culture;

c) shyness of contact with the community at large;

d) geographical isolation; and

e) backwardness.

1
CN Shankar Rao, Sociology of Indian Society, S Chand Publications

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 Geographic Distribution of Tribal Community

The tribal population in India is dispersed all over the country, though there are some pockets of
their concentration. There are in all 571 tribes included in the Schedule. Of these, 108 tribes are
to be found in the Northeastern region, 28 in the Northwestern region, 176 in Central India, 95 in
Western India, 143 in the South, and 12 in different islands. The North and Northeastern zone
harbours tribes like the Garo, Khasi, Naga, Bhotia, Tharu, Lauholese, Lepcha, Gaddi, Dafla,
Abor-Miri, Mikir, and the Gurung.

The Central zone of India has a major concentration of tribal’s covering the states of West
Bengal, Bihar, Orissa, Madhya Pradesh, Southern Uttar Pradesh, and Maharashtra

The Western zone, comprising Rajasthan, Gujarat, and parts of Maharashtra, has tribals such as
the Bhil, Meena, Mahadeo Hill Koli, Garasia, and the Warli.

According to census of 2011

The Scheduled Tribes are notified in 29 States/UTs and the number of individual ethnic
groups, etc. notified as Scheduled Tribes is 705. The tribal population of the country, as
per 2011 census, is 10.43 crore, constituting 8.6% of the total population. 89.97% of them
live in rural areas and 10.03% in urban areas. The decadal population growth of the tribal’s
from Census 2001 to 2011 has been 23.66% against the 17.69% of the entire population.
The sex ratio for the overall population is 940 females per 1000 males and that of
Scheduled Tribes 990 females per thousand males. 2
Broadly the STs inhabit two distinct geographical area – the Central India and the North-
Eastern Area. More than half of the Scheduled Tribe population is concentrated in Central
India, i.e., Madhya Pradesh (14.69%), Chhattisgarh (7.5%), Jharkhand (8.29%), Andhra
Pradesh (5.7%), Maharashtra (10.08%), Orissa (9.2%), Gujarat (8.55%) and Rajasthan
(8.86%). The other distinct area is the North East (Assam, Nagaland, Mizoram, Manipur,
Meghalaya, Tripura, Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh).3
More than two-third of the ST population is concentrated only in the seven States of the
country, viz. Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Orissa, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Jharkhand and
Chhattisgarh. There is no ST population in 3 States (Delhi NCR, Punjab and Haryana) and
2 UTs (Puducherry and Chandigarh), as no Scheduled Tribe is notified.

According to the 2011 Census of India, Bhil is the most populous tribe with a total
population of 4,618,068, constituting 37.7 per cent of the total ST population. Gond is the
second largest tribe, with a population of 4,357,918 constituting 35.6 per cent.

2
StatisticalProfileofSTs2013.pdf, www.tribal.nic.in
3
Yogesh Atal, Changing Indian Society, Rawat Publications

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Features of Tribal Communities

(1) Common name: Each caste has a distinct name of its own through which it is
distinguished from others.
(2) Common territory: Tribes generally occupy common geographical areas.
(3) Common language: Members of one tribe speak the same language. Each tribe has its
own dialect, if not the script.
(4) Common culture: Each tribe has prescribed patterns of behaviour and festivals and deities
to worship.
(5) Endogamy: Each tribe has the practice of marrying members within their own tribe.
(6) Political organisation: All tribes have their own political organisation. They have
councils of elders which control members.

(7) As against the national average of 43 per cent, 57 per cent of the tribals are economically
active.

(8) As regards the nature of work, against 73 per cent national average, 91 per cent tribal
workers are engaged in agriculture. About 3 per cent tribals are engaged in manufacturing
(against 11% of general population) and 5 per cent in servicing (tertiary) sectors (against
16% average of general population). About 1 per cent tribals are engaged in forestry and
food-gathering.4

Some other features of the tribals are: most of them live in isolated terrains; the main sources of
their livelihood are agriculture and gathering of forest produce; they do not cultivate for profit;
they still largely rely on barter system; they spend a greater part of their earnings on social and
religious ceremonies; and a large number of them are illiterate and are victimised by
unscrupulous forest contractors and moneylenders.

4
TK Oommen and CN Venugopal, Sociology, Eastern Book Company

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 Tribal Movements

Numerous uprisings of tribals have taken place beginning with one in Bihar in 1772,
followed by many revolts in Andhra Pradesh, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Arunachal
Pradesh, Assam, Mizoram and Nagaland.
The important tribes involved in revolt in the nineteenth century were Mizos (1810), Kols
(1795 and 1831), Mundas (1889), Daflas (1875), Khasi and Garo (1829), Kacharis (1839),
Santhals (1853), Muria Gonds (1886), Nagas (1844 and 1879), Bhuiyas (1868) and
Kondhas (1817).

When tribals were unable to pay their loan or the interest thereon, money-lenders and
landlords usurped their lands. The tribals thus became tenants on their own land and
sometimes even bonded labourers. The police and the revenue officers never helped them.
On the contrary, they also used the tribals for personal and government work without any
payment.
The courts were not only ignorant of the tribal agrarian system and customs but also were
unaware of the plight of the tribals. All these factors of land alienation, usurpation, forced
labour, minimum wages, and land grabbing compelled many tribes like Munda, Santhals,
Kol, Bhils, Warli, etc., in many regions like Assam, Orissa, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh,
Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, and Maharashtra to revolt.
The management of forests also led some tribes to revolt, as forests in some regions are the
main sources of their livelihood. The British government had introduced certain
legislations permitting merchants and contractors to cut the forests. These rules not only
deprived the tribals of several forest products but also made them victims of harassment by
the forest officials. This led tribes in Andhra Pradesh and some other areas to launch
movements.5
Some studies on tribal movements have been conducted and reported in North-East and
Central India. However, there were an insignificant number of movements or none at all
among the tribals of the southern states. This is so because the tribes down south are too
primitive, too small in numbers, and too isolated in their habitat to organise movements, in
spite of their exploitation and the resultant discontent .

5
Yogesh Atal, Changing Indian Society, Rawat Publications

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Some of the most important tribal movements in India are as follows:

1. The Santhal Insurrection:

The Santhals are an agricultural tribal group who are mainly concentrated in Bihar. The first
peasant insurrection took place in 1855-1856, which arose due to the establishment of the
Permanent Land Settlement of 1793. Following this settlement the Britishers took away all the
lands from the Santhals. The zamindars took these lands on auction from the Britishers and gave
them to the peasants for cultivation.

The zamindars, the moneylenders, and the government officers hiked the land tax and also
oppressed and exploited the common peasants. Though the Santhals tolerated the injustices to
some extent, later on they decided to raise in revolt against the zamindars, moneylenders, and
traders.

The following were some of the main causes of the revolt:

i. There was a combined action of extortions by the zamindars, the police, the revenue, and the
court. The Santhals had no option but to pay all the taxes and levies. They were abused and
dispossessed of their own property.

ii. The Karendias who were the representatives of the Zamindars made several violent attacks on
the Santhals.

iii. The rich peasants confiscated all the property, lands, and cattle of the Santhals

iv. The moneylenders charged exorbitant rates of interest. The Santhals called the moneylenders
exploiters and were known as “dikus”.

v. For the railroad construction, the Europeans employed the Santhals for which they paid
nothing to them. The Europeans often abducted the Santhal women and even murdered them.
There were also certain other unjust acts of oppression.

The oppression by the moneylender, zamindars, and Europeans became unbearable by the
Santhals. In such a situation, they did not have any other alternative indeed and they rose in
rebellion. The leading Santhals began to rob the wealth of the moneylenders and the zamindars,
which was ill-earned by exploiting the Santhals. Initially, the officials ignored the rebellion.
Later on in early 1855, the Santhals started to build their own armies who were trained in guerilla
fighting. This was totally a novel experience to the people of Bihar.

The Santhals can be praised with great honor for building such an organized and disciplined
army without any previous military training. The large army, which exceeded about 10,000
assembled and disassembled at a short notice. The postal and railway communications were
completely broken down by the Santhal army.

The government then realized that the activities of the Santhal army are defying the government.
Though the Santhal insurrection was quite strong it couldn’t succeed against the power of the
government. Thus, the revolt was suppressed. Despite the suppression, the rebelhon was a great
success.

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This was because the Santhals gave a message to the whole country to resist the oppressive
activities of the moneylenders and zamindars.

The Britishers took appropriate measures after the Santhal insurrection. Earlier to the
insurrection, the settlement areas of the Santhals were divided into several parts for
administrative convenience. Due to the Santhal rebellion, the Santhal areas are considered as
Santhal Paragana. Due to the insurrection, the Britishers recognized the tribal status of the
Santhals and now they came under the uniform administration.

2. The Munda Rebellion:

One of the prominent revolts of nineteenth century tribal rebellions in the Indian subcontinent
was the Munda Rebellion. This rebellion was led by Birsa Munda in the south of Ranchi in the
year 1899. The “Great Tumult” aimed to establish Munda raj and independence.
Traditionally, the Mundas enjoyed a preferential rent rate known as the khuntkattidar, which
meant the original clearer of the forest. However, in course of time, the Mundas realized that
this system of khuntkattidar is being corroded by the jagirdars and thikadars who came as
moneylenders and as traders.
This kind of land alienation started before the advent of the Britishers. This, in turn, led to
increase in the practice of forced labor or beth began.

The corrupt contractors have indeed turned the region into a recruiting ground for bonded labor.
Another major change was that a number of Anglican, Lutheran and Catholic missions
established their stand during the British rule. The tribal people became more aware of their
rights due to the spread of education, which was provided by the missionaries.
The social cleavage between the Christian and non-Christian Mundas deepened due to which
the solidarity of the tribals got diluted. Therefore, there were two reasons for the revitalization
of the movement, one was agrarian discontent and the other was the advent of Christianity. The
movement aimed to reconstruct the tribal society from disintegration, which was staring in its
face due to the stress and strains of the colonial rule.

In January 1900, rumors were spread that Birsas followers were attacking Ranchi. However, on
January 9th, the rebels were defeated. Around 350 Mundas were arrested and among them three
were hanged to death and 44 were transported for life. Birsa was also captured and he died in
jail in 1900.

Through the survey and settlement operations of 1902-1910, the government attempted to
redress the grievances of the Mundas. With the passing of the Chotanagpur Tenancy Act, the
Mundas were able to get rid of the beth begari system and attained some recognition to their
khuntkatti rights. The tribals of Chotanagpur also got legal protection for their land rights.

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3. The Bodo Movement:
Bodoland is the name given by the Bodo nationalists in Assam, India, to represent their
homeland. The Bodos exercise a complete control over the Bodoland. The major objective of the
All Bodo Students Union and Bodo Liberation Tigers Force is to have a separate state of their
own. The present demarcation of the Bodoland is the Bodoland Territorial Areas District
(BTAD) which is administered by an autonomous body known as Bodoland Territorial Council
(BTC).

The official movement of the Bodos for an independent state of Bodoland started under the
leadership of Upendranath Brahma of All Bodo Students’ Union (ABSU) on 2 March 1987. The
Plains Tribal Council of Assam (PTCA) had raised their voice to have a separate homeland
called “Udayachal”.

However, the movement was suppressed by the then government. In order to spearhead the
movement, the ABSU created a political organization called the Bodo People’s Action
Committee (BPAC). The movement of ABSU began with the slogan “Divide Assam Fifty-
Fifty”. This movement ended up with the creation of Bodo Accord in 1993. The accord soon
collapsed and there was a split in ABSU and other political parties. This split caused violence in
various Bodo areas and led to the displacement of about 70,000 people.

After the Bodo Accord, the Bodoland Autonomous Council (BAC) was constituted. Later on, the
BAC was replaced by the BTQ which was established in accordance with the Memorandum of
Settlement (MoS) on 10 February 2003. It consisted of around 46 members of whom 40 were
elected and the rest were nominated.

The BTC consists of 12 executive members who are responsible for the administration of a
specific area of control called somisthi. The areas which come under the jurisdiction of Bodo
Territorial Council is known as Bodo Territorial Autonomous District (BTAD). The council has
autonomy and control over the departments which are specified in the Memorandum of
Understanding, however, it does not control the whole of district administration.

Till now, the BTC seems to have mostly addressed the issues pertaining to Bodo self-
determination. This was indeed the first time when guarantees to all the hill tribes under the Sixth
Schedule of the Constitution of India have been extended to the tribes of the plains. This, in fact,
also has led to some fears that non-tribals in the Bodo Territorial Autonomous District area might
create problems.

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4. Jharkhand Movement:
The Jharkhand region is easy to defend, as it is a dense forest area. It was traditionally
autonomous from the central government until the seventeenth century. The reason why the
region became popular was due to its riches that attracted the Mughal rulers. Eventually,
beginning with the Mughal administration there began more interference of outsiders and there
was also a shift from traditional collective system of land ownership to one of private
landholders.

Such trends continued and were intensified under the British rule and later on resulted in the
development of the system of “bonded labor”, which meant permanent and often hereditary debt
slavery to the employer. In the late eighteenth century, the tribals resorted to rebellions. This
made the government pass a number of laws in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries to restrict
alienation of the lands of the tribals and to safeguard the interests of the tribal peasants.

There were major cultural changes in the year 1845 due to the advent of Christian missions,
which had a major role to play in the Jharkhand movement. The tribals also had to face many
problems due to the mineral wealth of Jharkhand. The region is a rich source of coal and iron.
Apart from these, even bauxite, copper, asbestos, limestone, and graphite are also found. Coal
mining in this region had started in the year 1856 itself. In the year 1907, the Tata Iron and Steel
Factory was established in Jamshedpur.

In 1947, due to independence much emphasis was laid on planned industrialization concentrating
on heavy industries especially on the expansion of mining. The Jharkhand region has much
economic importance as it contributes to 75 per cent of the revenue of Bihar.

The government acquired lands for building dams and reservoirs. According to some observers,
very little of the water and electricity produced were supplied to the region. The forest
department encouraged is replacing the species of trees, which had multiple uses with others that
had only commercial uses.

Shifting cultivation and forest grazing were not allowed. The local people of the region felt that
the price, which the government paid for their forest products, was less. In course of time, these
problems continued and were intensified.

In 1949, in the first general elections, the Jharkhand party under the leadership of Jaipal Singh
secured majority of votes from the tribal districts. Most of the time these movements are banned
by the government as they have the tendency to create law and order crisis rather than
understanding the genuine political and democratic aspirations of the people. The solution is not
suppression but to develop a holistic perspective of the real trouble and make efforts to integrate
the tribes into the mainstream, assuring their identity.6

6
Virginius Xaxa. “Transformation of Tribes in India: Terms of Discourse.” Economic and Political Weekly, vol. 34,
no. 24, 1999, pp. 1519–1524. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/4408077.

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 Tribal Problems

1. The Problem of Geographic Separation:

The tribals of India are in a way geographically separated from the rest of population.
Some of them are living in the unapproachable physical areas such as deep valleys, dense
forests, hills, mountains, etc. It is difficult for them to establish relations with others, and
hence, socially they are far away from the civilised world. This kind of physical as well as
social isolation or seclusion has contributed to various other problems.9

2. Cultural Problems:

The tribal culture is entirely different from the way of life of the civilized people. The
tribals fail to understand the civilised people, their customs and practices, beliefs and
attitudes and so on. They are suspicious towards the civilised people. They are clinging
tenaciously to their customs and traditions.
The cultural gap between the civilised and the tribal people is coming in the way of the
assimilation and integration of the tribal people into the mainstream of the national life of
India.

3. Social Problems:

The tribals have their own social problems also. They are traditional and custom-bound.
The; have become the victims of superstitious beliefs, outmoded and meaningless practices
and harmful habits. Child marriage, infanticide, homicide, animal sacrifice, exchange of
wives, black magic and other harmful practices are still found among them.
They believe in ghosts and spirits. They have keen desire to maintain all these practices in
general, and their individual tribal character. Hence it is said that “the tribals are the
tribesmen first, the tribesmen last and the tribesmen all the time”.

4. Economic Problem:

The tribal people are economically the poorest people of India. Majority of them live beta
the poverty line. The tribal economy is based on agriculture of the crudest type. The main
economic problems of the tribals are explained below.

(i) Exploitation:

The innocence, illiteracy and helplessness of the tribals are exploited by the
outsiders. The British policy, in particular, had led to ruthless exploitation of the
tribals in various ways as it favoured the zamindars, landlords, money-lenders,
forest contractors and excise, revenue and police officials.

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 (ii) Unprofitable Agriculture:

About 90% of the tribals are engaged in cultivation and most of them are landless
and practise shifting cultivation. They need to be helped in adopting new methods
of cultivation. The tribals possess uneconomic holdings because of which their crop
yield is very less. A very small percentage of the population participates in
occupational activities in the secondary and tertiary sectors.

(iii) Problems of land ownership:

A good portion of the land in the tribal areas has been legally transferred to non-
tribals. Tribals demand that this land should be returned to them. In fact the tribals
had earlier enjoyed much freedom to use the forest and hunt their animals. They
and emotionally attached to the forests for they believe that their gods, spirits live in
forests.10 The tribals who are “deprived’ of their rights to the land and forest
have reacted sharply to the restrictions imposed by the government on their
traditional rights.
(iv) Unemployment and Underemployment:

A large number of tribal young men and women are either unemployed or underemployed.
They are unhappy for they are not able to get jobs that can keep them occupied throughout the
year. They need to be helped in finding secondary source of income by developing animal
husbandry, poultry farming, handicrafts, handloom weaving, etc.

(v) Non-Availability of Banking Facilities:

Banking facilities in the tribal areas are so inadequate that the tribals have mainly to depend on
the money-lenders. The tribals, therefore, demand that “Agricultural Indebtedness Relief Acts”
should be enacted so that they may get back their mort- gaged land.

5. Educational Problems:

Illiteracy is a major problem of the tribals. More than 80% of them are illiterate.
Literacy among them has increased from 0.7% in 1931 to 11.30% in 1970 and to
16.35% in 1981. These shows more than 3/4 of the tribals are illiterate. They have
no faith in formal educational organisation. Many of them do not know anything
about education, schools, colleges, universities, degrees, etc.11
They feel no urge to educate their children. Since most of the tribals are poor,
education appears to be a luxury for them. In the case of those people who are
engaged in agriculture, their minor children are also engaged in it. The illiterate
parents do not consider it as their primary responsibility to give education to their
children.

i. The Problem of Language:

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The medium of instruction is another hindrance to the promotion of education among the tribes.
Most of the tribal languages do not have a script of their own. Hence the children are obliged to
learn things in a language which is foreign to
them. Even in tribal areas the number of tribal teachers is very less and hence communication
problem always arises between the students and the teachers.

ii. The curriculum of education is another main problem:

The existing curriculum, as experts rightly have pointed out, is not suited and has little
relevance to the tribal people.

6. Problem of Health and Sanitation:

Due to illiteracy and ignorance the tribals are not able to appreciate modern concept
of health and sanitation. They do not take much care pertaining to their own health.
They believe that diseases are caused by hostile spirits and ghosts. They have their
own traditional means of diagnosis and cure.
Good number of them fall a prey to the diseases such as skin disease, forest fever,
typhoid, T.B., leprosy, malaria, veneral diseases, small px, etc. Contact with
outsiders further added to a few more diseases in the tribal areas.
Example: It is observed that the Thodas of Niligiri Hills have been suffering from
some modern diseases like veneral diseases, diabetes, blood pressure, etc. after
coming into touch with the British who made Niligiri Hills one of their summer
resorts. These diseases take a heavy toll of tribal life. Their suspicion and lack of
faith in modern doctors have made them not to avail their selves of the modern
medical facilities.12

7. Problem of Separatism:

The “divide and rule” policy adopted by the British did a lot of damage to the tribal
community of India. The British had superimposed their bwn administrative patterns
in tribal areas and deprived the tribals of their traditional methods of interacting with
people. The “Criminal Tribes Act” which the British had introduced gave an
impression that the tribals were either “criminals” or “anti-social beings”.
The tribal groups such as Kolis, Mundas, Khasis, Santals, Naga, etc, who fought
against the British were branded as “dacoits ” and “robbers”. The British government
which wanted to humble these tribals and “correct” them gave direct encouragement
to the foreign Christian missionary activities especially in, the Central and the North-
Eastern

Zone. These activities which went on for more than 200 years alienated many of the
tribals and developed in them separatist tendencies.

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 8. Tribal Revolts and Uprisings:

Numerous revolts and uprisings of the tribals have taken place beginning with the
one in Bihar in 1772, followed by many other revolts in Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal
Pradesh, Assam, Mizoram and Nagaland. The important tribes involved in revolt in
the 19th century were Mizos. [1810], Kols [1795 and 1831], Mundas [1889], Daflas
[1875], Khasi and Garo
[1829],Kacharis [1839],Santhals [1853], Muria Gonds [1886], Nagas [1844 and
1879],Bhuiyas [1868] and Kondhs [1817], During the recent tribal uprisings the
Nagas, Mizos and the Bodostook part in them in large number and created serious
law and order problem.
Smuggling, Infiltration and Drug Addiction7
The foreign infiltrators especially from Bangladesh, Pakistan, Burma and China are
entering the borders of India through what are known as “tribal belts” Some of them
take undue advantage of the tribals’ innocence and ignorance for their smuggling
activities.
Prohibited drugs and unlicensed weapons are smuggled inside the land and beyond
the borders of India through the tribal areas. Some of the tribal have been made the
victims of drug addiction. Hence, tribal areas in the borders have become extremely
sensitive areas.

7
CN Shankar Rao, Sociology of Indian Society, S Chand Publications

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 Constitutional safeguards

 Tribes as citizens of free India were extended civil, political and social rights in equal
measure as others. Civil and political rights have been enshrined within the purview of
the Fundamental Rights of the Indian Constitution while social rights have been
envisaged in the Directive Principles of the Indian Constitution. Besides the ones stated
above, tribes were also extended certain special rights as being members of a distinct
community. Such rights, among other things, include provisions for :

statutory recognition (article 342);

proportionate representation in Parliament and state legislatures (articles 330
And 332);
restriction on the right of the ordinary citizen to move freely or settle in particular
areas or acquire property in them (article19(5));
conservation of one’s language, dialects and culture, etc (article 29).

 The Constitution also has a clause that enables the State to make provision for
reservation in general (article 14(4)) and in particular, in jobs and appointments in
favour of tribal communities (article 16(4)).

 A Directive Principle of the Constitution that requires that the educational and
economic interest of the weaker sections of society, including tribes, is especially
promoted (article 46).

 Provisions in the 5th or 6th schedule of the Constitution (Articles 244 and 244(a))
empower the state to bring the area inhabited by the tribes under special treatment of
administration.

 Article 335: The claims of the members of the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled
Tribes shall be taken into consideration, consistently with the maintenance of
efficiency of administration, in the making of appointments to services and posts in
connection with the affairs of the Union or of a State.

 Consequent upon implementation of the provision of the Constitution (89th)

Amendment Act 2003, National Commission for Scheduled Tribes (NCST) came into
being in 2004 directly established by Article 338-A. The Commission’s main
responsibility is to investigate and monitor matters relating to safeguards provided for
STs under the Constitution or under other laws or under Govt. Order, and to evaluate

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 the working of such Safeguards.8

 Sixth Schedule (Articles 244 and 275): The schedule provides for the administration
of autonomous districts through district councils in tribal areas in the states of Assam,
Meghalaya, Mizoram and Tripura.

Approaches to Solve Tribal Problems

Independent India has been paying due attention to the problems of the scheduled tribes
and attempts are being made to deal effectively with those problems. Before the
independence, the British Government was only discussing the issues of tribal development
and practically did nothing either to face them or to solve them.

Three views to Solve Tribal Problems:

Various solutions have been presented for dealing effectively with the tribal problems. The
tribal problems have been approached from three viewpoints. They are as follows:

1. Assimilation:

“Assimilation is the process whereby individuals or groups once dissimilar become similar
and identified in their interests and outlook”. Ogburn and Nimkoff. Assimilation is one of
the ways of dealing with the tribal problems.
According to this solution advocated by the social reformers and voluntary organisations,
assisting and encouraging the tribals to assimilate themselves with the mainstream of
national life, can alone permanently solve the tribal problems.

Thus, according to this approach, we cannot deal with tribal problems on the basis of tribal
culture and life but by changing them into the frame of new community. The Christian
missionaries on the one hand, and the Hindu social reformers like Thakkar Bapa on the
other, have been trying to assimilate them into Christian and Hindu community
respectively. This approach has its own limitations.

Complete assimilation is a difficult task. The tribals are not prepared to give up all of their
traditional tribal beliefs, practices and ideas. Any attempt to impose the external cultural
practices on them, creates in them guilt feelings, confusions and mental conflicts. This
solution may even create economic, religious and moral degradation among them.

8
Dr.R.Ramdas Rupavath, Approaches to Tribal Development, www.acedemia.edu

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 2. Isolation:

Hutton, who was a commissioner for census of 1931, and Elwin have suggested that the
tribals must be kept at a distance from the rest of the society. Keeping them in isolation in
some “National Parks” or “reserved areas” would solve two problems:

(a) the tribals would be in a position to maintain their independent identity;

(b) they would be free from the exploitation of outsiders.

The champions of this approach are of the view that sufficient time must be given to the
tribals to assimilate themselves with the rest of the community. The limitation of this
approach is that when once the tribals are kept in isolation they are likely to develop vested
interests and keep themselves permanently away from others.15

3. Integration:

The third view, which is actively followed in the recent years, is that of integration. The
policy of isolation is neither possible nor desirable, and that of assimilation would mean
imposition. Hence integration alone can make available to the tribes the benefits of modern
society and yet retain their separate identity.

This view recommends the rehabilitation of the tribals on the plains along with the civilised
people, but away from their native places such as hills, mountains, forests, etc. This
suggestion has also been criticised. It is said that this suggestion has been advocated to
further the interests of industrialists and capitalists.

This solution is not appreciated on the ground that it may create economic and moral
decadence to those who are separated from their beloved land to plains. Still, the policy of
integration which aims at developing a creative adjustment between tribes and non-tribes
has been supported by thinkers and writers like Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru.9

9
ibid

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 Conclusion

Tribal in India are not a monolithic people. They have differences in terms of their historical
background, socio-economic and cultural problems and level of advancement. Some tribes live
in forests and on hill tops, whereas others live in the plains. Some are settled agriculturists
whereas others depend on forest produce. Some have been in close contact with wider society
have adopted lifestyles of Hindus, Christians and other communities. As a result of these
variations tribes are not found at the same level of socio- political awakening and economic
standing. However, in general, all tribes are a weaker section of the society (with exception of
their power elite and economic dominants).
The Constitution of India declares Schedule Tribes as a weaker section of society. Several
provisions have been made for their overall upliftment. Efforts have been made to bring about
socio-economic change to make them a part of mainstream by putting checks on land alienation,
exploitation, indebtedness, and by ensuring their increased participation in the socio-economic
and political life in India. A tribal subplan was introduced in the Fifth Five-Year Plan with a
view to develop tribal areas and to bring them at par with non-tribal areas.
Tribals themselves have started a number of social movements to bring about socio- cultural,
economic and political change. Tribal identity has been asserted for revival of tribal cultures,
scripts, and languages. Demads for control on forests and forest produce, for the formation of
states for tribal people and for the exclusion of non-tribal from tribal areas are some of the issues
taken up by the leaders of various tribal movements. These movements have certainly resulted in
an increased cultural and political consciousness among the tribes in various parts of India.
However, to make these movements more effective it is necessary to reduce intra-tribal economic
distinctions. The constitutional provisions have not been equally shared. Distributive justice has
not been the end result of these provisions and other efforts.

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 Bibliography

Books

1) Ram Ahuja, Society in India, Rawat Publications

2) TK Oommen and CN Venugopal, Sociology, Eastern Book Company
3) Yogesh Atal, Changing Indian Society, Rawat Publications
4) CN Shankar Rao, Sociology of Indian Society, S Chand Publications

Websites

1) Tribe, en.wikipedia.org at 10-08-2018

2) Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, en.wikipedia.org at 11-08-2018
3) StatisticalProfileofSTs2013.pdf, www.tribal.nic.in
4) Problems of tribal communities, Tribal society, www.sociologyguide.com

Articles

1) Dr.R.Ramdas Rupavath, Approaches to Tribal Development, www.acedemia.edu

2)Virginius Xaxa. “Transformation of Tribes in India: Terms of Discourse.” Economic and

Political Weekly, vol. 34, no. 24, 1999, pp. 1519–1524. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/440807

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