Tribal Communities in India

Definitional Problems

Academics have been making their efforts to define tribe. Tribes have been defined as a group of indigenous people with shallow history, having common name, language and territory, tied by strong kinship bonds, practising endogamy, having distinct customs, rituals and beliefs, simple social rank and political organisation, common ownership of resources and technology. Such definitions are not very helpful because when the situation of tribes is examined carefully not only do we find a lot of variations in their life styles but also many of these features are shared by the caste people. This raises the problem as to how to distinguish them from castes. There have been other conceptual attempts to define tribes. They have been considered as a stage in the social and cultural evolution. Some others have considered that the production and consumption among the tribes are household based and unlike peasants they are not part of a wider economic, political and social network. Bailey (1960) has suggested that the only solution to the problem of definition of tribes in India is to conceive of a continuum of which at one end are tribes and at the other are castes. The tribes have segmentary, egalitarian system and are not mutually inter-dependent, as are castes in a system of organic solidarity. They have direct access to land and no intermediary is involved between them and land. Sinha (1965) too thinks of tribe and caste in terms of a continuum but his ideas are more elaborate and he brings in the concept of civilisation. For him, the tribe is ideally defined in terms of its isolation from the networks of social relations and cultural communications of the centres of civilisation. In their isolation the tribal societies are sustained by relatively primitive subsistence technology such as shifting cultivation and hunting and gathering, and maintain an egalitarian segmentary social system guided entirely by non-literate ethnic tradition. It has been suggested that wherever civilisations exist, tribes can be described, defined and analysed only in contrast to that civilisation which it may fight, serve, mimic or adopt but cannot ignore. In India, there are numerous examples of tribes transforming themselves into the larger entity of the caste system; others have become Christian or Muslim. They also join the ranks of peasantry and in modem times become wage-labourers in plantations, mining and other industries. Thus, in our concept of tribe we should not overlook these changing aspects.

While some tribal communities have adopted a mainstream way of life at one of the spectrum, there are 75 Primitive Tribal Groups (PTGs) back in in 17 states and union deities of Andaman and Nicobar Islands , who are characterised by: a pre-agricultural level of technology, a stagnant or declining population, extremely low literacy and a subsistence level of economy.

Geographical spread
Indian tribes constitute roughly 8 percent of the nation's total population, nearly 68 million people according to the 1991 census. One concentration lives in a belt along the Himalayas stretching through Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, and Uttar Pradesh in the west, to Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura, Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram, Manipur, and Nagaland in the northeast. Another concentration lives in the hilly areas of central India (Madhya Pradesh, Orissa, and, to a lesser extent, Andhra Pradesh); in this belt, which is bounded by the Narmada River to the north and the Godavari River to the southeast, tribal peoples occupy the slopes of the region's mountains. Other tribals, the Santals, live in Bihar and West Bengal. There are smaller numbers of tribal people in Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, and Kerala, in western India in Gujarat and Rajasthan, and in the union territories of Lakshadweep and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. The extent to which a state's population is tribal varies considerably. In the northeastern states of Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Mizoram, and Nagaland, upward of 90 percent of the population is tribal. However, in the remaining northeast states of Assam, Manipur, Sikkim, and Tripura, tribal peoples form between 20 and 30 percent of the population. The largest tribes are found in central India, although the tribal population there accounts for only around 10 percent of the region's total population. Major concentrations of tribal people live in Maharashtra, Orissa, and West Bengal. In the south, about 1 percent of the populations of Kerala and Tamil Nadu are tribal, whereas about 6 percent in Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka are members of tribes. Some of the tribes with their geographical location are mentioned below: Santhals are the third largest tribe in India. They are mostly found in the states of West Bengal, Bihar, Orissa, Jharkhand and Assam. They belong to the pre- Aryan period and have been the great fighters from the time of Britishers. Munda tribe mainly inhabit in the region of Jharkhand, although they are well spread in the states of West Bengal, Chhatisgarh, Orissa and Bihar. Munda generally means headman of the village. Hunting is the main occupation of the Mundas tribe Khasi tribe is mainly found in the Khasi Jaintia hills in Meghalaya and in the states of Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Manipur, West Bengal and Jammu and Kashmir. They forms the large part of the population in the state of Meghalaya. Angami tribe belongs to the extreme north eastern part of the country, in the state of Nagaland. The total population of the Angamis is around 12 million. They are quite popular for their woodcraft and artwork. Sekrenyi is the main festival celebrated among the Angamis in Nagaland. Bhils are popularly known as the bow men of Rajasthan. They are the most widely distributed tribal groups in India. They forms the largest tribe of the whole South Asia. Bhils are mainly divided into two main groups the central or pure bills and eastern or Rajput Bhils.

Bhutia tribes are of the Tibetan origin. They migrated to Sikkim around 16th century. In the northern part of the Sikkim they are known as the Lachenpas and Lachungpas. Bhutias forms 14% of the total population of Sikkim. Chenchu inhabit in the Nallamalai hills, which have been the part of the Nagarjuna Sagar Tiger Sanctuary for centuries in Andhra Pradesh India. They are mainly found in the districts of Mahabubnagar, Nalgonda, Praksham, Guntur, and Kurnool. The Gonds are the tribal community mostly found in the Gond forests of the central India. They are one of the largest tribal group in the world. Gonds have been largely influenced by the Hindus and for the long time have been practicing the Hindus culture and traditions. Great Andamanese is the negrito tribe inhabitant in the the Andaman group of Islands. They form the largest population among the other tribes found in these islands. According to the census the population of Great Andamanese is now limited to few individuals.

Colonial policies and tribes and issues of integration and autonomy

AR Desai indicates that colonial tribal policy was a systematic form of economic exploitation of the forest area and massive mineral deposit that were exploited through the use of tribal labour. Contractors and money lenders were permitted by the colonial rule to exploit these resources located within tribal pockets for economic gains. Any tribal protest was ruthlessly suppressed and many tribes in different parts of the country who refused to cooperate with the colonial policies were labeled as criminal tribes e.g. Mina Tribes. He considers that colonial tribal policy is largely responsible for de-tribalisation and depeasntisatio. The tribes were labeled as criminals just for asking for justice and freedom. The criminal tribes are not criminal because of the fact that they go for crime by force and not by choice. Their habitat is altered, they are livelihood is taken away from them and their self-respect is undermined. Labeling them as criminal tribes, the state got legitimacy to imprison and even kill innocent tribesmen to generate fear in the mass mind for the accomplishment of their economic goals. Mahatma Gandhi reflecting on the limitation of colonial tribal policy, indicated that rise of Hindu militantntism is a reaction to the conversion policy accelerated by Christian missionaries in tribal pockets under the patronage of British administration. Whereas another view considers that Christian missionaries took tribals away from the world of darkness to the world of enlightenment, spreading education, health care and glorified the unity among the tribes. During 1871 Government Of India act was introduced which was further provided tooth by the act of 1891. These acts laid down provision for the creation of Partially Secluded Areas (tribal population at least 50%) and Fully Secluded Areas (tribal population more than 80%). Without official permission outsiders were not allowed to enter into these areas, developmental activities in these areas can only be initiated through the endorsement of state, the governor will be in charge of these areas. Therefore these areas were converted into tribal islands completely controlled by the state. This colonial policy led to the distinction between caste society and tribal society. The tribals in these areas realised caste as their prime exploiters and identified them as Dikus (Dacoits). Colonial rule permitted traders, forest contractors to commercially exploit the resources and that subsequently led to the hostility between caste and tribe. Colonial tribal policy was extremely divisive because it created a body of hostile militant tribal leader who considered caste groups as their perpetual enemies. Tribe caste divide has resulted into secessionist movement in different pockets of tribal India which can be traced back to the faulty colonial policy. After India's independence Jawahar Lal Nehru introduced Panchsheel policy for tribal development which talked about:

tribal development should take place respecting to their own genius. Tribal development should be evaluated not in terms of amount of money spent but in terms of how many national characters have been developed.

Tribals should not be kept in a state of isolation. Many developmental projects should not be introduced in tribal areas to accelerate the process of development.

Tribal development should take place on the basis of potential needs of the tribal people. Veerrier Elwin suggested an isolation approach to tribal development. He indicated that

tribes must be kept away from their progressive counterparts because if they are exposed to market economy and modern culture without adequate preparation, they would simply die out suffering from cultural shock. This approach was termed as Museumology approach by his critics. GS Ghurye rejecting this approach indicated that tribal development does not mean we should go for national parks. He indicated that social evolution should take place in phases i.e. first from tribe to caste and ultimately to class. Therefore tribes must be exposed to caste, live in caste villages and take up caste occupation so that tribe caste differences can be minimised and both can enter into modern society eventually contributing to the nation building process. LP Vidyarthi was the chief architect of Tribal Development Programme in India. On the basis of his suggestions multiple tribal development projects were introduced in India since fourth plan period. He mooted the idea of developing Tribal Development Areas on the lines of Community Development Areas where schools, hospitals, irrigation, vocational training centre, agriculture facilities should be extended to the tribal communities. Abandoning their traditional mode of livelihood, tribes can participate in new system of production and tribal economy can be linked up with the national economy efficiently. He further suggested special rehabilitation schemes for tribal communities displaced by industrialisation and development projects. Therefore these tribal groups instead of becoming victims of development must be benefiting from development programmes. It will also lead to their integration with the larger economy and society. He also said that tribes who are on the verge of extinction must be identified, segregated and taken care of by the government and once their life is secured they can be trained to integrate with the larger society. He concluded that the problem of integration of tribes with larger society can be effectively addressed through a viable, people centric tribal development policy and its successful implementation. However, unfortunately today, volumes are written by various sociologist indicating that how the worst victims of development programmes have been the tribal people. During colonial period tribal staged protest against taxation policy, right over land and political autonomy. After India's independence tribals are reduced into submerged humanity. They have been the worst victims of land alienation, deforestation, powerlessness and marginalisation ,therefore in contemporary times instead of integration

with larger society ,tribes are asking for political and economic space that they genuinely deserve but systematically denied to them. Due to these reasons tribal resentment is manifested in the form of protest in search of statehood status (Bodo Movement) and at times cultural protection movement (Manipuri Movement), sometimes protest against the excesses of the state (Narmada Bachao Andolan). Thus it will be premature to conclude that tribes of India are effectively integrated with the larger society, glorifying the intervention policy of the state in terms of reservation, creation of tribal states. Tribes of India are confused, shattered, disillusioned and at the same time volatile and going for protest and movement with different intensity in various parts of the country. This rebellion some may consider as the manifestation of cultural myopia of the tribes but many consider such reaction as a tribal search for the appropriate space in the social life which has been historically denied to them.