Events & Issues

New Delhi, 26 April 2010  

Tribal Plight

GROWTH PLANNING CRITICAL

By Dhurjati Mukherjee

The sufferings of tribals, who mostly reside in the backward districts of the country, have over the decades been a subject of research and analysis. But the problem has become acute and taken centre stage with the Centre waging a battle against naxals in these tribal areas. The identified areas include parts of Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, north eastern Bengal and north Orissa – all of which are very backward. Living in extreme poverty and squalor with very little health and education facilities, the tribal population has not benefited from the developmental process or from the wealth generated by the reform process.      

It is indeed a matter of grave concern that though the GDP growth rate has been remarkable, the incidence of poverty in the tribal-dominated areas has remained more or less the same. A tour of these areas would reveal the sorry and shocking state of affairs of these people, who claim to be the citizens of this country and worse that both the Centre and the State governments have done precious little to improve their living process.      

Sadly, it is a matter of great concern that there has been what can be called ‘protective discrimination’ for the uplift of the Scheduled Tribes ever since Independence.  Reservation in educational institutions and services, introduction of such schemes as the Integrated Tribal Development Projects (IRDP), the tribal sub-plan under the Modified Area Development Approach (MADA) and the Special Central Assistance for tribes have not yielded any satisfactory results.

In fact, the first ever UN State of the World Indigenous People’s Report (2010) finds that indigenous people across the world  suffer disproportionately high levels of poverty, illiteracy, poor health and human rights abuse. The poverty levels of India’s tribals have remained persistent over time and are lower than those of Scheduled Castes, on a par with sub-Saharan countries, the report released this January has rightly pointed out.  

It also sharply criticized the influence of the free market ideology on policy decisions of “privatization of State activities and an increased role for the free market, flexibility in labour markets and trade liberalization frequently fail to reach the indigenous people of the world, who acutely feel their costs such as environmental degradation and loss of traditional lands and territories”.     

Over the years, large dams and other big infrastructure projects have displaced indigenous people across the world and more so in India. The displacement of tribals in Manipur for the construction of hydro-electric dams and of Santhal adivasis in Jharkhand by mining companies has been highlighted in the report. In fact, the report is a testimony of the exploitation of the indigenous population which should have been brought out much earlier.        

In India, planned development since Independence has displaced large number of persons because of various infrastructure projects. But though the right to life has been enshrined in the Constitution as a fundamental right, the country has had no national rehabilitation policy to resettle the evictees, mostly tribals, in a proper and judicious manner. As a result, the uprooting and displacement of tribals has continued over the years for projects which mainly benefited the rich and the middle income sections of the society.         

The National Rehabilitation & Resettlement Policy was announced only in October 2007, three decades after Independence, when there were violent protests all over the country from Niyamgiri Hills and Kalinganagar in Orissa to Baster in Chhattisgarh, from Punjab and Haryana to Maharashtra and West Bengal over huge industrial projects and creation of the special economic zones (SEZs). The Policy clearly stated that “the aim of land acquisition should be to minimize large-scale displacement as far as possible”. But even after announcement of the Policy, large-scale displacement has been taking place as the State governments have been vying with each other to attract industries with various incentives, displacing tribals and other backward sections of the society.        

Clearly, the tribals have been unable to earn their livelihood as their traditional occupations include hunting, food gathering, shifting cultivation and procurement of forest produce has been badly affected.  The Employment & Unemployment Survey 1999-2000 brought by NSSO showed that 46 per cent of the tribes were either landless or had land up to one acre.  And though the report did not mention anything about the quality of the land, it is well-known that most of these lands were not quite fertile and/or fit for cultivation.        

The process of alienation of tribal land has not stopped despite constitutional protection. It is a well known fact, that land on which tribal families have depended got classified as forest land. There are also cases where tribals are forced to sell off their land at below market rates to unscrupulous business houses though the papers may show the selling rates at very high prices. What is common in almost all these cases is that without land and alternate sources of livelihood, they are exposed to hunger and deprivation.   

The need for looking into tribal welfare has unfortunately not been considered a prerequisite to development. The result has been the spurt in violence and terrorist activities demanding the right to livelihood. While grass-root development and providing the essentials of life to the tribal population has been virtually ignored, the reservation policy has only helped a small segment of the Scheduled Tribe community who are educated and relatively well-off. It is thus quite appropriate that these measures have to be viewed in proper perspective so that the community at large – and not just a small minority -- could benefit and join the mainstream of life and activity.

In fact, forestry could help in a big way to uplift the conditions of the tribal people and ensure for them a better livelihood. The whole strategy of opening up opportunities for them in forest areas would not only help this community but go a long way in gearing up the process of rural development in the backward regions of the country. On the other hand, it is through the tribal community that regeneration of forests could be ensured as the State could stop illegal felling while promoting self-help groups for afforestation activities of long, medium and short-term diverse species. 

Apart from forestry, typical types of cultivation will have to be encouraged. Shifting cultivation known as jhum or podu is a form of agriculture, practiced by this community in areas where no other mode of cultivation may be feasible. The practice is prevalent mainly in the North East and in states such as Orissa, Andhra Pradesh and Jharkhand. This could be encouraged as such cultivation practices (mostly in fallow land) protects and supports collective ownership of natural resources.

A point that may be mentioned here is that only one member of the Lok Sabha is returned from Nagaland while two members are returned from Arunachal Pradesh, which is just 1000 ha. smaller than West Bengal. If these States had adequate representation the tribal voice could have been heard more effectively. It has been argued that in a just confederation of States, all should have equal representation and the population logic of colonial times may not be quite valid. 

The economic condition of the tribal community has to be reversed so that they could be ensured a dignified existence in an era where the growth of the economy has been quite fast. Moreover, for peace and harmony to reign in there is need for a balanced regional development, affecting all segments of the population. All types of reservations (including the present one for OBCs in educational institutions) have no meaning if the grass-root population are not ensured better livelihood, obviously through better employment opportunities and steady incomes. Thus, a new orientation and approach needs is critical to look into issues concerning the livelihood needs to the tribal population.  --INFA

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