21 Scheduled and Non –Scheduled Categories of Tribe

Sangeeta Dey

Contents:

1. Introduction.

2. Definition of Scheduled tribes.

3. Procedure for declaration as Scheduled Tribes (ST).

4. Scheduling and De- Scheduling of Tribes

5. The problems of scheduled tribes as well as scheduled tribes.

6. Tribal Social Movement

7. The integration of the Scheduled Tribes with the Non – Scheduled Tribes

8. Conclusion

Learning objectives:

– Students will be able to define schedule tribes.

– Students will be able to understand the problems faced by the scheduled tribes of India.

– Students will be able to explain about the various tribal social movements.

– Students will be able to justify about the integration of the scheduled tribes with the non – scheduled tribes.

1. Introduction:

The TRIBES of India are varied in terms of their socio-economic and political development. Some of them have changed through Hinduisation, through conversion to Christianity or through some other route. Some tribal people are in transitional phase, while others are adhering to their old life styles to a large extent. This shows an uneven process of change and development among the tribal people in India. Only a small number of tribal people have been benefited by the policies and programmes meant for their development.

According to the 1971 census, the tribal population is 38,015162, that is, 7 percent of the total population of India. Madhya Pradesh, Orissa and Bihar have 8,387,403; 5,071, 937 and 4,932,767 respectively. Gujarat and Rajasthan have over 3 million each. Maharashtra has 8 percent, Assam 6.84, West Bengal 6.81 and Andhra Pradesh 4.39 percent tribal population. Lakshadweep islands have 97.03 percent, Nagaland 93.09, Arunachal Pradesh 88.59, and Dadra and Nagar Haveli 88.43 percent. Uttar Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh have a negligible number of tribals.

According to 1981 census, the percentage of Schedule tribe population is 7.7. Madhya Pradesh, Orissa, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Maharashtra and Bihar have the scheduled tribe population ranging from 22.97 percent in Madhya Pradesh to 8.31 percent in Bihar. In the smaller states like Mizoram, Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland and Meghalaya more than 80 percent of their population is tribal.

L.P. Vidyarthi classifies the tribal people into Himalayan, middle India, western India and southern India regions. These tribes numbering about 450, belong to various racial, linguistic, economic, social and religious categories. There are numerous differences between these tribes because they are at different levels of development and participation in national life. However, in general terms tribes are economically, educationally and politically backward compared to the non-tribal groups.

2. Definition of Scheduled Tribes

G.S. Ghurye, in the revised edition of his book The Scheduled Tribes (1959) writes :

“The Scheduled Tribes are neither called the Aborigines, nor the „Adivasis‟, nor they are treated as a category by themselves. By and large they are treated together with the scheduled castes and further envisaged as one group of the backward classes.” This is the constitutional viewpoint about the scheduled Tribes.

The Constitution of India, under Article 342, states that the president may “by public notification specify the tribes or tribal communities or parts of or groups within tribes or tribal communities which shall for the purposes of this constitution be deemed to be Scheduled Tribes …” The tribes of India prior to independence were considered animistic by the census authorities. Distinction was made between those who made were Hinduised and those who follow their own religion. However, some scholars have opined that no sharp line of demarcation can be drawn between Hinduism and animism. There is no uniform pattern of religion among the tribal among the tribal people of India.

Variation among the tribes can be seen in terms of the areas they live in, such as the Aravali Hills, the Vindhyas, the Satpuras, the Mahadev hills, the Chhotanagpur plateau and several other areas. Numerically the most preponderate tribe are : Gond, Santhal, Bhil, Oraon, Kond, Munda, Bhuiya, Ho, Savara, Kol, Korku, Maler, Baiga and Meena.

Some of these tribal people share Huiduism along with Hindus, and speak the languages spoken by Hindus. They are not the exclusive groups in spatial terms. Some authors do considered the tribals as autochthons, the earliest and the aboriginal inhabitants of the country, who were pushed to forests and hills by the invaders.

3. Procedure for declaration as Scheduled Tribes (ST)

The term “Scheduled Tribes” is defined in the Constitution of India under Article 366(25) as “such tribes or tribal communities or parts of groups within such tribes or tribal communities as are deemed under Article 342 to be Scheduled Tribes for the purposes of this Constitution”.

Article 342 prescribes the procedure to be followed in the matter of specification of Scheduled Tribes. In terms of Article 342(1), the president with respect to any state or union territory and where it is state, after consultation with the governor thereof, notify tribes or tribal communities as Scheduled Tribes. This confers on the tribe or part of it a Constitutional status invoking the safeguards provided for in the Constitution, to these communities in their respective States/UTs.

Thus in terms of Article 342(1), only those communities who have been declared as such by the president through an initial public notification will be considered as Scheduled Tribes. Any further amendment in the list is to be done through an Act of Parliament [Article 342(2)]. Parliament may, by law, include in or exclude from the list of Scheduled Tribes, any tribe or tribal community or parts of thereof.

It is also worth noting that the above article also provides for listing of Scheduled Tribes state wise/Union Territory – wise and not on an all – India basis. Thus the list of Scheduled Tribes is State – specific. In other words, a community declared as Scheduled Tribe in one State need not be so in another State.

4. Scheduling and De-Scheduling of Tribes

The first specification of Scheduled Tribes in relation to a particular State/ Union Territory is by a notified order of the President, after consultation with the State Governments concerned. The above Article also provides for listing of Scheduled Tribes state wise/Union Territory – wise and not on an all

– India basis. The order can be modified subsequently only through an Act of Parliament. The Criteria generally adopted for specification of a community as a Scheduled Tribes are:

1. Indication of primitive traits;

2. Distinctive culture;

3. Shyness of contact with the community at large;

4. Geographical isolation i.e. backwardness.

These are not spelt out in the Constitution but have become well established. They take into account the definitions in the 1931 Census, the reports of the first Backward Classes Commission (Kalelkar) 1955, the Advisory committee on revision of SC/ST lists (Lokur Committee) 1965 and the Joint Committee of Parliament on the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes Orders (Amendment) Bill, 1967 (Chanda Committee) 1969.

There are over 600 tribes (with many of them overlapping in more than one state) as notified under Article 342 of the Constitution of India, spread over different States and Union Territories of the country. It is worth noting that no community has been specified as a Scheduled tribe in relation to the States of Haryana and Punjab and the Union Territories of Chandigarh, Delhi and Pondicherry.

5. The problems of Scheduled Tribes as well as Non – scheduled Tribes

The tribes were alienated from their own lands. The landlords or the moneylenders of the plains gradually replaced the tribal landlords. There were a number of movements against the British Raj and the Hindu moneylenders and landlords. The tribes were given protection, in view of such an oppressive situation. Ghurye lists a number of socio – cultural and economic problems of the tribes in view of their distinctions. Some tribes represent aristocracy, landlords and noblemen; others consist of the Hinduised sections of tribes men ; and thirdly, there are tribes and some sections from among them who are still largely isolated from the non- tribal population.

Ghurye mentions three views on the solution of the problem of the tribal people:

1. No change and revivalism – This has been supported by Elwin.

2. Isolationalism and preservation – This has been advocated by Hutton.

3. Assimilation – the famous anthropologists S.C. Roy was an assimilationist.

One finds a sort of problem in the present – day situation. Protective discrimination isolates the tribal people from the non- tribesmen, but in course of time this due very policy would bring the tribals at par with the non-tribals. The dominant thinking today is in favour of assimilation of the tribal people into the national mainstream without any disruption.

Since tribal people are at different social, political, economic and ecological levels, their problems also differ in degree from each other. These differences can be seen in terms of hill tribes and plain tribes; and those engaged in forest – based economic pursuits and the ones who are employed as settled as agriculturalists; or those who are Hinduised or converted to Christianity and those who are adhering to an unadulterated tribal way of life. Despite these distinctions some common problems of the tribal people are:

1. Poverty and exploitation

2. Economic and technological backwardness

3. Socio – cultural handicaps

4. Problems related to their assimilation with the non-tribal population.

S.C. Dube‟s five-fold classification of the Indian tribes provides a clear picture of the problem of tribes in India:

1. Aborginals living in seclusion

2. Tribal groups having an association with the neighbouring non – tribal society and also maintaining their distinctiveness

3. Tribes living in villages along with caste groups, sects and religious groups maintaining their identity

4. Tribes who have been degraded to the status of untouchables

5. Tribes who enjoy high social, economic and political status.

Such a classification is basically based on the nature of the culture contact of the tribals with the non – tribals.

The U.N. Dhebar Commission recommended that an area be declared „tribal‟ where more than 50 percent of the people were tribals. Economic criteria have also been suggested such as dependence upon forests for food, primitive agriculture, agriculture and forests both as source of livelihood, and modern occupations, particularly employment in industries.

Tribal people had a strong sense of community life before the British rulers and Hindu zamindars and moneylenders intruded into their lives. Exchange of goods and transactions at weekly markets and fairs were the basic mode of economic relations. However the British took over the forests on which they depended for their livelihood. Moneylenders brought them under their control by extending loans, at exorbitant interest rates and then by mortgaging their lands, alienating them from land they cultivated. Indebtedness led to exploitation; as the rituals adopted Hindu ways of life and rituals which forced them to spend as the Hindus did. Tribals occupied a very low rank in Hindu society.

At some places the tribals have been made to serve as bonded labourers. The Doms and Koltas in Uttar Pradesh, serve the upper caste families even today. In Rajasthan, the Sagri system, in Andhra, the Vetti system, in Orissa the Gothi, in Karnataka the Jetha and in Madhya Pradesh the Naukrinama are the examples of the bondedness of the tribals. They have borrowed money from the moneylenders, but have not been able to pay it back and are bound to work till they return the loan. A situation of emancipation does not arise, as a tribal is not able to repay the loan completely and quickly.

K.S. Singh points out those agrarian issues are basic to tribal development in India. The tribal agrarian problem cannot be treated in isolation. Tribal people have to be treated in isolation. Tribal people have to treat along with other weaker sections of Indian society. Keeping the situation of Bihar in view Singh observes that the concept of aliens (dikku) is crucial to the understanding of an agrarian situation where non – tribals outnumber tribals. The class of moneylenders has arisen due to several factors including the agrarian legislation. Alienation of land has resulted from tribal backwardness and indebtedness. Integrated Tribal Development Blocks have not produced the desired results in the tribal areas. Famine and drought has become a recurrent feature. The tribal sub – plan has been introduced to combat problems of famine, drought, illiteracy, indebtedness, exploitation, etc., by taking up special schemes for the development of tribal areas.

A study of the impact of the decentralisation of Minor Forest Produce (MFP) trade on the tribals of Bihar shows that the dominant causality is economic (MFP trade takeover) rather than political and ideological. The study refers to the control of forests produce like bamboo, Kendu leaves, Mahua, Kusum, Karanj and sal seeds, being taken over by the government of Bihar. The MFP contributes about 35 percent of the states revenue from forests. The takeover has adversely affected the institution of Hat (weekly market), where the tribals carried out economic transactions and also performed several social and cultural activities. Forests provided a collective life to the tribals, and this was being denied to them as a result of the MFP trade takeover. The tribals have been agitated over this step taken by the government of Bihar.

Per capita landholding has decreased among the tribals due to three reasons:

1. Alienation of land due to indebtedness and socio – economic backwardness

2. Increase in tribal population

3. Takeover of the tribal land by the government for establishing industries.

Land was alienated much before legislations were passed by the state governments. Today even after passing such legislations, the tribal elite are alienating the tribals from their lands. The tribals have been displaced in parts of Bihar, Orissa and some other states by the taking over of their lands for establishing industries. However, the tribals have not been provided with alternative avenues of employment. The compensation paid to them for their land was quickly spent by them without making any investment in productive and remunerative enterprises.

Some tribals even today are engaged in Jhum (shifting) cultivation which is not only uneconomical, but also causes deforestation and soil erosion. Since the tribals have no alternative source of livelihood, they continue to use shifting cultivation and forest cutting for their basis livelihood necessities. The tribals in protest against the government‟s policy of MFP takeover in Bihar cut down forests on large scale in singhbhum and other districts. Forest cooperatives can do a lot to ameliorate the pitiable plight of the tribals but unfortunately the benefits from these societies have reached only to the well off sections of the Bhils, Meenas, oraons etc.

The dilemma for the tribal people in India is the choice between isolation and contact. Isolation keeps the tribals away from forces of change and development; and contact with the wider society creates problems of adjustment, cultural stock and disintegration of tribal social organisation and community living. The intrusion of outsiders into tribal life, for example, has adversely affected the institution of weekly markets, dormitory and reciprocal relationships. The institutions of untouchability that is pollution – purity and high and low status have made inroads into tribal life. The tribals to a large extent becomes a „caste‟ or „pseudo – caste‟ by this process of cultural contact. Ignorance, illiteracy, superstition and poverty are the major problems of the tribal people in the Indian subcontinent.

6. Tribal Social Movement

Social movement among tribes aim at collective action to alter, reconstitute, reinterpret, restore and protect social structure, with a view to improve their social, cultural, economic and political conditions. Hinduism, Christianity, British rule, modern education and post – independence legislations have generated a level of consciousness among the tribals, which has in turn encouraged several movements. There have been movements to assert their tribal identity and political solidarity. Ecological – cultural isolation, economic backwardness and a feeling of frustration have been responsible for these movements. Those tribals who are either too isolated or too integrated with the Hindu society are not involved in these socio – cultural movements.

The Unnati Samaj, an organization established in 1912 for socio – cultural reforms, and the Adivasi Mahasabha established in 1938, aimed at revivalism in Bihar. The Jharkhand movement in 1950 was, however, started to fight land alienation, exploitation and for political solidarity among the tribes of Bihar and the adjoining states of Bengal, Orissa and Madhya Pradesh. This movement ultimately made a demand for the formation of a separate state for the Adivasis of these four states.

Tribal movements encompass a very wide arena. The unique geopolitical situation and historical background need to be taken into consideration while analysing movements in the North – East, Manipur, Nagaland and Mizoram. Movements in these areas generally refer to cultural and political revivalism. Political autonomy, control over the forests, socio – religious, cultural and linguistic considerations have been the key factors in other tribal movements. For example, in case of the Jharkhand movement of Bihar, Bengal, Orissa and M.P., the main points are related to historicity, ideology, structure, leadership and sub-regional identity. Socio – cultural movements have given primacy to status – elevation through sanskritisation.

S.M. Dubey provides a classification of tribal movements in North-East India:

1. Religious and social reform movements

2. State formation movements

3. Insurgent movements

4. Culturological movements

K.S. Singh has given detailed accounts of 36 tribal movements in India out of which 14 were in the north-east region alone. Singh classifies the various movements into:

1. Movements for political autonomy

2. Agrarian and forest based movements

3. Sanskritisation process

4. Cultural movements.

A given region may have a particular type of movement because of its specific geographical and political situation in the wider context. An all – India tribal movement has not emerged because ofthe diversity and unevenness among the tribe of India.

7. The integration of the Scheduled Tribes with the Non – Scheduled Tribes

Today, integration of the tribals with the non – tribals is the cornerstone of the policy of the government of India. The constitutional provisions are as follow:

Article 46: “The state shall promote with special care the educational and economical interests of the weaker sections of the people, and in particular, of the Scheduled castes and Scheduled Tribes, and shall protect them for social injustice and all forms of exploitation.”
Article 244: “Empowers the president to declare any areas, where there is a substantial population of tribal people, as scheduled area under the 6th schedule.”
Article 275: “ There shall be paid out of the Consolidated Fund of India as grants-in-aid of the revenues of a state such capital and recurring sums as may be necessary to enable that state to meet the costs of such schemes of development as may be undertaken by the state with the approval of the Government of India for the purpose of promoting the welfare of the Scheduled Tribes in that state or raising the level of administration of the Scheduled areas therein to that of the administration of the rest of that state.”

The Governors of states have been given powers to reserve seats in educational institutions and jobs in government departments and public sectors undertakings. A sum of Rs. 19.83 crores was spent in the First Five Year Plan for the welfare of scheduled tribes. This was raised to Rs. 43.00 crores and 60.43 crores in the second and the third plan respectively. This was a really meagre allocation in the plans for the welfare of the tribal people. The Fifth Year Plan made a separate sub – plan for the tribals to promote Integrated Tribal Development. Tribal Development blocks have been entrusted the responsibility of tribal welfare in Rajasthan, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh and in other states. These provisions have certainty created social and political consciousness among the tribals and have also improved social and economic positions of some sections of the tribal population. A tribal consciousness has emerged; hence a number of tribal movements all over the country.

The tribals have come under the impact of the dominant cultural stream of India. New divisions have been created among the tribals due to cultural change in their ranks. The Bhils in Rajasthan are divided into Bhagats and non – Bhagats. The Bhagats are further divided into the Kabir – panthis and the Shambu Dal. The Non – Bhagats strive to maintain their traditional way of life. The Bhagats have adopted a Brahmanical way of life such as vegetarianism and teetotalism. The Bhagats consider themselves superior to the non –Bhagats and the Kabir – panthis consider themselves superior to the Shambu Dal. The notions of untouchability, pollution- purity and the rules of marriage such as caste endogamy, clan exogamy, hypergamy, etc have been adopted by Bhagats. Thus there are levels of integration as there are layers of tribes in India. Industrialisation in the tribal areas of Bihar, Bengal, Orissa and Madhya Pradesh has apparently reduced the gap between the tribals and the tribals but it also created new problems. The tribals who have been uprooted from their lands have not been absorbed in the new system. Hence, they are facing a new form of pauperisation without a traditional support base.

8. Conclusion

The constitution of India has scheduled tribes as a weaker section of the society. Tribes in India are not a monolithic lot of people. They have differences in terms of their historical backgrounds, socio – economic and cultural problems and levels of advancement. Some tribes live in forests and on hill tops, whereas others live in the plains. Some are settled agriculturalists whereas others depend upon forest produce. Some have been in close contact with wider society and have adopted the life styles of Hindus, Christians and other communities. 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 the national mainstream by putting checks on land alienation, exploitation, indebtedness and by ensuring their increased participation in the socio – economic and political life of India. Protective discrimination isolates the tribal people from the non- tribesmen, but in course of time this due very policy would bring the tribals at par with the non-tribals. The dominant thinking today is in favour of assimilation of the tribal people into the national mainstream without any disruption.

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References:

Fuchs, Stephen. At the Bottom of Indian Society. Delhi: Munshiram Manoharlal Publishers Pvt. Ltd., 1981.
Furer – Haimendorf, Cristoph Von. Tribes of India. Delhi: Oxford University Press, 1982.
Ghurye, G.S., The Scheduled Tribes (3rd edn.). Bombay: Popular Prakashan, 1963.
Government of India, “Statewise Information on SCs and STs”, Ministry of education, New Delhi, 1985.
Handbook on Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, Office of Commissioner for SC & ST, Govt. of India, Delhi, 1968.
Report of the Scheduled Areas and Scheduled Tribes Commission, Govt. of India, New Delhi, (1960 – 61).
Singh, K.S. (ed.) Tribal Movements in India, Vols. I and II, New Delhi: Manohar Publications, 1982.
Singh, K.S. (ed.), Tribal Situation in India, Simla: Indian Institute of Advanced study, 1972.
Singh, Parmanand. Equality, Reservation and Discrimination in India. New Delhi: Deep and Deep publications, 1982.
Vidyarthi, L.P. “Tribal Ethnography in India”, in A Survey of Research in Sociology and social Anthropology, Vol. III, Bombay: popular Prakashan, 1974.
Vidyarthi, L.P. The Tribal Culture of India. New Delhi, Concept Publishing Company. 1980.
Vyas, N.N. and Mann, R.S. Indian Tribes in Transition. Jaipur: Rawat publications, 1980.

Additional readings:

Bhowmick, K.L. (ed), Development of Scheduled Communities, Inter – India Publications, New Delhi, 1988.
Kabra, G.D., Development of Weaker Sections: Organisational Alternatives, Inter – India Publications, New Delhi, 1984.
Majumadar, D.N., The Affairs of a Tribe, Universal Publishing Ltd., 1950.
Parvathama, C., Scheduled Castes & Tribes: A Socio – Economic Survey, Ashish Publishing House, New Delhi, 1984.
Sharma, B.D., Tribal Development: The Concepts and the Frame, Prachi Prakashan, NDLI, 1978.
Vidyarthi, L.P. “Problems and Prospects of Tribal Development in India”, Indian Anthropology, Vol. II, No. 1, 1972.