17 Tribal absorption/ assimilation/integration

Kiran Singh

Contents:

1. Tribes Definition

2. The approaches

2.1. Policy Of segregation.

2.2. Assimilation.

2.3. Integration of tribes

3. In anthropological perspective

4. Criticism

5.Summary

Objective of the study:

To know the various approaches to put tribes with main stream of the society.
To know the Anthropological perspective.
To know the criticism put forwarded by the various thinkers.

Tribes Definition: The term “tribe” to describe people who were different from those of the mainstream civilization has been viewed as a colonial construction (Beteille 1995; Singh 1993).The term Scheduled Tribes first appeared in the Constitution of India. Article 366 (25) defined scheduled tribes as “such tribes or tribal communities or parts of or groups within such tribes or tribal communities as are deemed under Article 342 to be Scheduled Tribes for the purposes of this constitution”. The criteria for Schedule tribes are following:

Primitive Traits.
Distinctive Culture.
Geographical Isolation.
Shyness of Contact with Community at large.
Backwardness.

2. The approaches has been made:

2.1. Policy Of segregation.

2.2.Assimilation.

2.3.Integration Of tribes.

Policy of Segregation is divided into:

2.1.1. Pre-Independence.

2.1.2. Post-Independence.

2.1.1.Pre-independence: Before Independence in India there was existence of Zamindari System, Moneylender, Contractor led. These all people exploit to the outsider like Tribes. They much exploited to tribes. Britisher During pre-independence time led the administration policy and separated the tribals area from the normal population administration and this system led to exploitation to the Tribal area. This policy affected was deliberately to not get in touch the Tribal area not to develop communication which resulted purely cutoff from the Normal population. In isolated tribal only few govt. officer can entered with the permission from the govt.

2.1.2. Segregation in Post-Independence: Verrier Elwin was an advisor on Tribal affair to Govt. of Assam recommended isolation of Tribal Groups in extreme cases. The colonial system ended the relative isolation of the tribal society; bought it into the mainstream of the new administrative programs; put an end to the political dominance of the tribes region; and roped the tribal communities which had been spared the strain of surplus generation by their states into a new system of production relations. The colonial system, where, followed strengthening the feudal crust of tribal .societies, formed by chiefs and zamindars and simultaneous- unlike Africa indirect part Indian Resident kept tribal states situated regions. That the normal laws should automatically apply to the tribal areas was the principle passage of the Scheduled Districts Act (1874) and shaped the concept of the backward areas in the Government of India Act of 1919. Whether or not this principle should continue to applied was a matter that figured in a most lively debate in the early 1930s. While one school contended that aborigines formed in India and should be placed charge of the British government, the nationalists saw in this proposition the continuation all the imperial policy of divide and rule. However, the tribal and non-tribal areas were both partly and fully ‘excluded’ in the Government of India Act of 1935. Gandhi reacted sharply to the segregation of various communities, clearly the tribal, under the dangerous spell of the policy of the ‘isolation and status quo’. The Act would recall, separated the rest of the inhabitants. The ‘Excluded Areas’ were placed under governments direct the Adivasi were put into watertight compartments and classified as tribal people by the government. While including Welfare as the fourteenth Mahatma said: Adivasi have become tenth item in the construction program. But they are not the least in point of importance. Try is so vast find the races are so varied that the best of us, in spite of every effort, cannot there is to know of man and their As one comes upon layer condition. after layer of things one ought to know as a national realizes how difficult it is to make good our claim to be one whose every unit has a living consciousness of being one with another.” On the eve of the transfer of power the most scathing indictment colonial policy of isolation and status for tribal came from “Irish Governor, T G Rutherford conditions in which and political there weresystem not that underlay the be the a distinct element in partition of 1935, tribes he from the administration: “It was a treated In 1946, “it was should an inalienable Adivasi item the for Our country. While we the in power we have not done much for them beyond a certain amount of protective legislation which functions effectively responsible are and largely with the aid of missionaries to educate them. The whole has been to treat them as delightful simplicity and customs are a welcome relief from the so did details of administration among the ordinary Hindus and Muslims.” The tendency on primitives whose the need ‘ provide adequate safeguards for the tribal was again extensively discussed in the Assembly, and the nationalist opinion favored incorporation of far radical provisions for the of the tribal’s’ interests in the forms of the V and VI Indian Constitution. This was an index of the profound come over the nationalist opinion in regard to the tribal question owing to the efforts of Gandhi and Bapa, among others, the unfolding of the profound humanism of the “dom” movement, and the liberalism of the tribal leaders themselves. This appreciation of the uniqueness of tribal factor within the framework of Indian nationalism and political rights to tribal’s were beyond the expectations of the colonial administrators and anthropologists. Constituent more safeguards schedules of the change that had Thakkar free be extension Short of protection for tribal in middle India under .lie Fifth autonomy in the North-East under the Sixth Schedule, it was neither possible nor practicable to create a state out of the adjoining tribal majority areas of the provinces at (he time of the transfer of power. inherited the boundaries of the provinces fixed with an eye on administrative convenience. not ethnicity determined the reorganization of states in the 1950s. It was within ; the political and cultural system km of the states that the tribal’s in middle India were sought to be integrated, even though they were divided between more than Ethnicity influenced the formation the states in the North East in .1960s and 1970s, even though certain •ethnic areas are still to be integrated. However, the application of die principle of tribal ethnicity elsewhere in middle India is in with difficulties because nowhere districts and a few taUikas are iiihals in majority. Providing a measure of Schedule and of tribal India had administrative Language and one state.

2.2. Assimilation: Assimilation is the process of continuous contact of the culture of one population or group to the another population or group and led to social reforms and create problem because of their isolation and their limited existence to the world view. Kroeber (1948:428) opines that “normally, we may expect assimilation only when the outlook of one society is inclusive and when this society is finitely stronger and its culture is more advanced ”. In India tribal people come in contact with the Hindu population and started to do as everything Hindu people do in their culture this process is called Hinduisation and other converted into Christianity. This Culture contact given rise of different set type of tribes on acculturation level.

Ghurye (1963:23) divided them into three classes:

Members of fairly high status within Hindu society viz., raj Gonds:
Partially Hinduized.
Hill sections.

2.3. Integration policy: Experiences of isolation and assimilation policy (well defined by Ghurye, 1963:59) led to forced thinkers and anthropologist, social reformer to adopt something in midway of isolation and assimilation Because the base of Indian culture is “Unity in diversity” this given importance and so social reformers, politician, anthropologist experts led to develop a new approach called integration approach. Jawaharlal Nehru’s philosophy vision shaped the tribal policy in the 1950s, particularly. He avoided the extremes of the two standpoints; namely, the anthropological approach which sought to treat the tribal’s as museum specimens to kept apart, for study and observation; and the other approach which sought to destroy their individuality, distort the process of their development and absorb them in a culture and way of life that was alien to them. That they should be “engulfed by the masses of Indian humanity” was a prospect that appalled Nehru. I am alarmed when I see not only Authority of retime auto with today. Almost twin develop of the of its in spite of and North-East.be in this country but in their great countries too how anxious people are to shape others according to their own image or aliveness, and to impose on them their way of life. I am not at all sure which a better way of living is. In certain respects I am quite certain theirs is better. Grossly presumptuous on our part to approach them with an air of superiority or to tell them what to do or not to do. There is no point in trying to make rate copy of ourselves. Therefore, while tribal identity should be preserved, tribal’s should in their own way without let or hindrance. As Nehru admitted, these reactions were, to begin with, instinctive and not based on any knowledge experience. Gradually and towards the close of the 1950s, outlines of a policy emerged For this approach Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru (1958:xiii) gave a “Panchsheel”. Panchsheel is the basically the five fundamental principles for the upliftment for tribal.

The principles of Panchsheel:

People should develop in their own genius line. Not impose anything on them and should try to encourage them.
The right on land and forest of tribes should be respected.
We should try to trained and develop the people of their own population for their administration not from outsider and tried to avoid introducing too many people from the outsider into tribal territory.
We should not over administrate these tribes area by running too many scheme. Work into their own social interest and cultural institution.
We should not try to judge the money spent into statistics it should be always in quality has given to them for their necessity of life.

The Nehru era laid the foundation of tribal policy. The Scheduled Areas and Scheduled mission (1961) evaluated the working of constitutional safeguards tribal’s and tribal programs. It noted the changes of far- reacting character introduced in tribal areas by the development process. The Commission while endorsing Jawaharlal Nehru’s approach made wide ranging recommendations of tribal’s’ land, of their right in forest, their rehabilitation etc, within the framework of the Nehruvian policy. Particular Therefore, it is them a second develop or we into encourage tradition of their and of and develop technical per especially tribal We should rather own social human character was Tribes Come for the pro development involving pro all Nehru. The framework of policy and strategy imbued with Nehru’s Humanism held the ground for about 15 years. It still provides the sheet anchor of India’s tribal policy though years there has been a considerable broadening and deepening structure of the policy and program. We enter upon a more intensive phase from mid60s. The formulation of the Fifth and Sixth Five Year Plans showed perception of:

(a) Effects of the disturbance of the environment consequent upon the intensive exploitation of the natural resources of tribal regions on the tribal com- munities,

(b) the growing incidence of exploitation of the tribal people, their loss of land, their indebtedness, their transformation from peasants into labour, particularly in the zones of intensive industrial activities, and the diversities of tribal which called for a more area specific approach to planning and development. This means a gradual moving from the schematic pattern earlier plan and formulation of a more integrated approach to the tribal problems. More backward have been identified as tribes, Pradesh appeared for the first time on the tribal map of India, and areas of tribal concentration were enlarged to bring within the ambit of planned development the populations from 50,000 to 10,000. Each tribal region prepares its own sub-plan, which forms a part of the plan of the state. Each project in the sub-plan region there are 180 intensive tribal development projects prepares its own project report with reference to the special needs of the areas; these are compiled into the sub-plan, part of plan prep led by the state. A plethora of legislation enacted to prevent alienation of land, regulate money lending, abolish bonded labour system, and organize labour. The new package seeks to tackle more effectively a wide front the credit and marketing, application of a simple and relevant technology to agriculture, development of a program of social forest.Under which the tribal could become rather than remain workers in forests, and further development of communications, health and education, have already made an impact.Resources being mobilized development of the from many sources, state plan, investment of the Central government ministries, in recent of the deleterious

3. In anthropological perspective Bose (1941) drew attention that how tribes get attracted themselves to societies by mixing themselves in production to the non-tribal society which provided them protection and security. According to Bose by this tribes got absorbed to larger Indian society called it “Hindu Mode of absorption”. Srinivasa (1977) talk about sanskritization in which he talked about how lower caste people moving towards uppercaste system by changing their lifestyle of the caste above it. Sanskritization is the process of social mobility.

Surajit Sinha had delineated the process of the assimilation of tribes into caste-peasant base of Indian civilization through the adoption of agricultural technology and linguistic and cultural norms of the peasant castes. The varnajati model of absorption has given way to the search for political status as an ethnic minority within a constitutional framework informed with an egalitarian democratic ideology. This inspired the rise of ethnic-based solidarity movements led by educated elite; there broad correlation between the intensity of the separatist solidarity movements and the degree of spatial and cultural isolation from the regional caste/peasant society.The social historian has seen this process of integration within the framework of the political economy of feudalism and colonialism. Nirmal Kumar Bose described as the Hindu mode of absorption was neither Hindu nor absorption, but a process of integration into the production system of colonialism.This has sometimes been oversimplified: the transition of tribes into peasants and of peasants into depeasantised working class is generally described as a unilinear process. Such studies of a tribe as a class or one ethnic community overlook the complexities of tribal social formations and situations, the pull of ethnicity amidst growing differentiation, etc. G S Ghuriye, who had propounded his anti isolation and probing what secular process assimilation viewpoint regarding tribal’s in 1942, has recently not only reiterated his views but has also questioned the related policy and programmes and the social anthropologists’ commitment to the concept of assimilation of tribes into the larger society.

Isolation approach which was adopted by British and Colonizer. This approach in a Big way in work of Verrier Elwin. His Book Baigas in 1936.It’s basically outline or elaborated on the idea of isolation. Elvin found this people tribal life and Culture was under threat they needed extra case, an effort to preserve and protect their culture from extinction. There wasneeded to keep them a part from the forces of modernization.This force are exploitation in nature. They want to keep them protect and conserve. However this is not to say isolation was purely not Elvin idea. Infact it was a product of intellectual climate of that era. e.g. Of S.C. Roy he’s basically worked among the Birhor’s and Kurbas. What he found was their was drastic decline in the health and nutritional status in this community. Their population was vicinity (this population was reducing in number in drastically way). Roy suggested that there was a need to review the tribal culture and also create awareness among them to educate and man to respect the tribal culture.

Next study D.N. Majumdar. His study “Ho” Of Central India. He found “Loss of life”. They have loss the desire to live. They were suffering from low self-esteem. Majumdar stated that one reason for this loss of life was the over exposure to industrialization culture. The tribes were feeling low because they were driving the meaning of their existence and life from an alien culture and not from their own culture. Thus the major ethnography works produce during this time promoted the idea of isolation for tribal governance and welfare.

Elvin in his work on Baigas went to extent of saying that Tribes like Baigas who were living in Bastar district of Chhattisgarh needed extra attention and they could lead a life without any difficulty if the state creative national park or protected area in place where this Baigas live. So entry to this area was restricted only government personnel was allow to enter this area. All this found in expression in the govt. of India at 1935 the govt. decided to create protected areas in place where tribal population dominated outsider’s were not allow on the assumption that there entry in this area would lead to exploitative consequence.

Britisher hold heartily accepted the policy of isolation for Tribal governance. This policy has been under severe criticismfrom a section of Anthropologist and social workers. Anthropologists like G.S. Ghuriya said that policy of isolation was not all “Pro-Tribal” instead it was one which facilitated Colonial rule.

4. Criticism: By Forwarded Of nation. It’s basically idea of British idea of Divide and Rule.

S.C.Dubey : In India Tribe has never been isolated .Their has been contact with non-tribal. This policy of isolation is an attempt to create a drift between tribal and non-tribal.

Guriya Consider them backward hindu because of neglected, failure of Govt. That result in Policy Of Assimilation (Tribes should be brought in mainstream.) The main force behind it was man called A.V. Thakkar. He is popularly known as Thakkar Bappa. He delivered a lecture in 1941 in R.R. kale memorial lecture. He died for extensive work among Tribes of Gujarat. He critic the policy of isolation. He delivered a speech in Gujarat Ist part of criticism of isolation. IInd policy of isolation is what about.

Baba said policy of isolation it’s basically favored the Britisher and category of Scholars that is Anthropologist. He said that Policy of isolation was an attempt to keep the distinction between the tribes and non-tribes. So that Tribes remain a viable and separate unit which can be studied in opposition to the non-tribe.

IInd part of his lecture focus on the idea of assimilation. His argument was the assimilation has being going on for a year. It’s spontaneous process. He said that the tribes were not all feature oriented their life style was full of superstitious and this was responsible for their backwardness and Exploitation. He said aim of Social worker was to point out ill effect of their life style and protect them from on slot of exploitation. The policy of assimilation faced criticism on several ground. One major critics was how can the social worker say that the Tribal belonged to the low social order and their social system was of Oddities’ and that it’s only via a culturation that a meaningful system can emerge in Tribal Society.

Pandit Nehru also critiqued the Policy of assimilation. He Said that assimilation would lead to Loss Of identity also it would destroy the Uniqueness of Tribal life. He raised a question? That can we say that we are better off a more development. Then the Tribal. In answer to his question by saying (Tribal life is superstitious. We need to their development what is happening ill effect of them and contact withoutside world.It’s is Ethonocetricisim tribal life have to preserve and identity .but their development should not come under identity cost. This come under integration. That one thing save a certainty the tribal life having its own Characteristics is happier in main ways then our own and this marks the beginning of policy of integration.

Integration Policy: It’s middle part fall between this two approach. Elwin in his works a philosophy for NEFA came up with the idea of integration. Elwin in his book brought out ide policy of integration. This Policy state that the Tribal practice and customs they should preserved the economics rights of this people should be recognized and the tribal’s should be approached with a tribal mindset.(mean acknowledge their culture). Many of idea missing welfare failed because of their customs folklore was not recognized. The core of Tribal development should not be changed. Tribes are distinguished, distinguished is valued a resources, distinction should not be neglected.

5. Summary:

To sum up, while experiment with tribal has been hailed as unique in the third world perspective of the treatment of the indigenous peoples, one has to take a balanced view of its processes. On the positive side the tribes who are full citizens have, barring a couple of islandic communities, maintained their demographic growth rate. They have also maintained their identity, distinct way of life, although they have not remained unaffected by the storms blowing around their country. have also remained in good parts of the North-East and a large part middle India an agrarian community in possession of their though the incidence of land alienation has sharply increased around urban areas. From almost the zero level in the 1930s progress education and literacy, health and communication mark able, though critical gaps exist in the utilization of these facilities by tribal’s as compared to non-tribal’s. They have also participated in the democratic processes and have a share in the control of the apparatus of political power. Therefore there is no substance in the allegation that their declined and. that they have been prevented from acquiring real powers, On the negative they remain the most backward, underdeveloped and, next only to the Harijans, the most exploited. The since not have been The that the development of the development Indian their They of lands, even in and in care has been population has political side how communities economic Development and Change We now turn to an analysis of the processes of economic transformation. Both economic and non-economic criteria determine the definition of the ‘tribes’, which is a category. The traditional criteria tribal’s’ relative isolation, homogeneity, and settlement in a well-definedhabitat .To these are added criteria influenced by administrative convenience and the compulsions of rural development: primitiveness, backwardness and treating the munity as a whole notwithstanding the levels of advancement of its strata as a unit of development planning. Thus the more primitive groups have been distinguished from the less primitive; the former are characterized by low literacy rate, pre-agricultural techno- logy and small population. Implicit in this two-fold division has been the recognition of the fact that there is not one tribal system but many, that there is not one but several tribal economies. Before we spatial distribution of tribal economies, it should be noted however that except for a few isolated and small communities, no tribe in India today subsists on a single techno-economy of production. The primitive technology of hunting, food gathering, shifting and terrace cultivation is confined to the heavy monsoon zone covered by tropical forests in the North-East, part of Eastern and Central regions, the Nilgiris and the Andaman Islands. While there is historical evidence of the practice of shifting cultivation having prevailed in western India, it is no longer practised in the arid and semi-arid regions. The hunting and food gathering tribes are the Onges and Jarwas of the Andaman and the Shompens of Nicobar Island, the Sulung in the North-East who are now taking to shifting cultivation, the Cholanaikkans in Kerala and the Birhors in Bihar and Orissa. Foodgathering is now generally a subsidiary and, during the lean months, a primary source of food for most of the tribes on the mainland. cultivation is being practiced by 2.6 million tribal’s who constitute 8.7 per cent of the tribal population. A firm indication of the extent of dependence on this mode of production will emerge after the completion of the Anthropological Survey of India’s current project on shifting Wet terrace cultivation has developed in western Himalayas, India and in a couple of pockets in Bihar and Orissa. Pastoral economy which constitutes about 10 per cent of administrative are economic turn to the Islands primitive Shifting cultivation. North-East the tribal population high altitude regions, the arid zones of Gujarat and Rajasthan, and in a small pocket in the Nilgiris. All over settled dry cultivation has emerged as the primary mode of food production involving nearly 60 per cent of the tribals. The major thrust of change has been from tribes into peasants. We are in a position today to trace the process of transfer of technology from scants to tribes in the pro-colonial and colonial societies. By the end of the 18th century communities of peasantries tribal’s had emerged in Assam, Rajasthan, middle India, etc. The colonial period witnessed an accentuation of this trend as movements of into tribal regions The colonial administration built up in a hierarchy of tenures crust of the tribal society which consisted of the tribal chiefs and recognized the occupancy rights of tribal peasants. The colonial system followed the policy of reclaiming the tribes to civilization through the of plough culture and integration into market. The survey and operations introduced tribal regions acted as an instrument for the transformation of tribes into peasants. They identified different categories of land; determined rights in land, fixed rent grafted the concept of private property in land on to the tribal system. Transition to settled agriculture was also helped by the conservation of forests resources for commercial exploitation, which pushed the tribal’s off their land in reserved forests. Survives in the of the sub-Himalayan tribal India continued for the upper adoption settlement in unsurvey tribal’s’ and thus Since Independence this process of transformation has intensified. Sure of tribal population on land has grown as the carrying capacity of land has diminished. There has been fusion of improved agricultural technology by government agency. Of particular interest is the extension of agriculture technology into the tribal economies of the North-East because unlike middle India, there was no transfer of technology from peasant’s tribes, no inter-ethnic participation in production. Separation agriculture occurred within the tribal community itself and its economy was integrated with the across the Inner Line. With introduction of new technology the cultivation is being increasingly combined with terrace and wet cultivation in the foothills and lowlying areas, now they came into main market by selling their craft and their traditional things to maintain their cultural identity alive with modern technology.

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