Tribal Marginalisation and Empowerment

Tribes constitute about 8% of India’s population and are often located in remote, forested, or hilly areas, largely remaining outside the mainstream socio-economic framework.

Colonization, industrialization, and mainstream development have marginalised them. Recognizing that modern India has deep tribal roots calls for respect, protection, and empowerment of these communities in the national framework.

To address this, tribal empowerment focuses on ensuring their constitutional rights, including Scheduled Tribe (ST) status, reservation in education, jobs, and politics, and protection under laws like the PESA Act, Forest Rights Act (2006), and SC/ST Prevention of Atrocities Act.

Tribal marginalisation

Tribal marginalisation arises due to historical neglect, displacement from ancestral lands, exploitation, lack of access to education, healthcare, and infrastructure, as well as cultural alienation.

Lessons of Integrated society from the past

In the Ayodhya Kanda of the Ramayana, when Lord Rama is exiled from the kingdom of Ayodhya and reaches the northern bank of the Ganga at Sringaverapura, he is received by the king of the neighbouring kingdom of Nishadha, Guha and treated as his own conscience. In the Mahabharata, Arjuna’s travels in the Northeast lead to his encounter with Ulupi, the princess of the Naga tribe, who he marries and has a son with, Iravan.

Colonial Injustice:

The Tribes of India have sustained over the natural landscape in harmony for thousands of years.

Tribal communities in India reflect ancient ways of life, often in harmony with nature and governed by customary laws and kinship systems. They often also lived in harmony with the communities in the nearby settled areas.

However, the British Empire completely disregarded their claims on their land and created several laws that created disharmony and marginalisation.

• Criminal Tribes Act, 1871 by the British government, branded various tribes as criminals. With its racist overtones and the stereotyping of tribes as uncivilised, this Act aimed to create a sense of fear against tribal communities.
• Plantation Act, 1859: Various tribes from Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh were taken to hill tracts of Darjeeling and then this act was imposed which took away their freedom to leave the plantations.
• Indian Forest Act, 1878: It divided the forests into Reserved, Protected and Village The best ones were reserved and villagers couldn’t take anything from it. It made the logging of trees by the villagers difficult for building houses or fuel. Only Protected or village forests were left for such activities.

Affect on Conolial the Lives of People:

Foresters and villagers had very different ideas about what a good forest looks like. Villagers wanted forests with a mixture of species to satisfy needs such as fuel fodder and leaves.:

• Fruits and tubers are nutritious to eat, especially during monsoons, before the harvest has come in.
• Herbs are used for medicine, wood for agriculture implements like yokes and ploughs, and Bamboo makes excellent fences, baskets and umbrellas.

• A dried Scooped-out gourd (fruit): Used as a portable water bottle. Etc…
• Saidi creeper for robe and thorny bark of semur (silk-cotton) tree to grate vegetables.
• Oil for cooking and lighting lamps.

Now, during the colonial rule, they were left at the mercy of forest guards who would take bribes. Women who collected fuelwood were especially worried because the foresters wanted forests for building ships and railways. They wanted Hardwood trees, which were tall and straight. Thus, Teak, Sal was promoted.

Reaction by the tribes:

Various tribes across India resisted British rule vehemently and these law was aimed at dealing with these tribes with an iron fist.

• From Birsa Munda and Tantia Bhil in the north and central parts, Komaram Bheem and Thalakkal Chandu in the south to the likes of Rani Gaidinliu in the northeast, tribal movements in different regions of the country waged spirited battles against the British colonial rule.
• Bhagwan Birsa Munda was only 25 when he died in prison (1900). He fought bravely against the exploitative system of the British Raj and spearheaded a movement against the British colonial oppressive system.
• Other tribal freedom fighters include those of tribal women freedom fighters such as Rani Gaidinlu, Jhano Murmu, and Helen Lepcha. A lot of their contributions today are either not known or not fully appreciated.

The colonisers were not only brutal in their response, but they also passed acts like the criminal tribes Act of 1871 that declared several tribes as criminals.

This was the primary reason for the alienation and marginalisation of the tribes in India.

Tribal museums

There are records of over 200 tribal freedom fighters across India who participated in about 85 instances of revolts and uprisings against colonial rule. To recognise this, 10 tribal freedom fighter museums are being set up in the States of Andhra Pradesh (Lambasingi), Chhattisgarh (Raipur), Goa (Ponda), Gujarat (Rajpipla), Jharkhand (Ranchi), Kerala (Kozhikode), Madhya Pradesh (Chhindwara), Manipur (Taminglong), Mizoram (Kelsey) and Telangana (Hyderabad) will showcase the contribution of tribal freedom fighters and are at different stages of construction and completion.

Major Tribal Issues

• Land Alienation: In the past, Tribal lands were occupied by moneylenders, zamindars and traders by advancing them loans etc. Opening of mines in the heart of tribal habitat, and the classification of forests into Reserved, Protected and Village forests has led to an accelerated encroachment of Tribal land. Therefore, the tribes have been alienated from their lands.
• Poverty and Indebtedness: The majority of tribes live under the poverty line. The tribes follow many simple occupations based on simple technology. Most of the occupation falls into the primary occupations such as hunting, gathering, and agriculture.
  • 6% of tribals live below the poverty line vis-a-vis 20.5% of non-tribals.
  • The 2011 census data shows that access to tap water, sanitation facilities,
  • The penetration of clean cooking fuel is much lower among the tribal population.
• Health and Nutrition: In many parts of India tribal population suffers from chronic infections and diseases of which waterborne diseases are life-threatening. They also suffer from deficiency diseases.
  • Himalayan tribes suffer from goitre due to lack of iodine. Leprosy and TB are common too.
  • Infant mortality was found to be very high among some of the tribes.
  • The life expectancy of tribals is 63.9 compared to the national average of 67 years,
  • Under 5 mortality rate is 74 as against a national average of 62
  • 50% of Adolescent ST girls are underweight and BMI of less than 18.5.
  • About 80% of tribal children are undernourished and suffering from anaemia.
  • While 40% of under-five tribal children in India are stunted.
• Education: Educationally the tribal population is at different levels of development but overall formal education has made very little impact on tribal groups. – 41% of STs are illiterate.
• Cultural Problems Due to contact with other cultures, the tribal culture is undergoing a revolutionary change.
  • Influence of Christian missionaries: the problem of bilingualism has developed which led to indifference towards tribal language.
  • Better Sex ratio among tribals: It is 990/1000 as compared to the national average of 933/1000.
• Concept of Private Property: The advent of the concept of private property in land has also adversely affected tribals whose community-based forms of collective ownership were placed at a disadvantage in the new system. Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest’s Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act 2006 popularly known as the Forest Rights Act, 2006 tried to restore this status quo and ownership of the tribals but its implementation is not up to the mark.
• In Migration Many tribal concentration regions and states have also been experiencing the problem of heavy migration of non-tribals in response to the pressures of development. The industrial areas of Jharkhand have suffered a dilution of the tribal share of the population.
• The problem of separatism: The divide-and-rule policy adopted by the British did a lot of damage to the tribal community of India. The Criminal Tribes Act which the British introduced gave an impression that the tribals were either criminals or anti-socialists. All these activities alienated tribals which continued even in post-independent India.

Tribal Empowerment

The term Tribal Empowerment involves preserving tribal culture, promoting inclusive development, enhancing livelihood opportunities, and enabling self-governance through Gram Sabhas. True empowerment requires respecting tribal identity while ensuring equitable access to national growth.

Several steps have been taken to ensure that the tribals are empowered in the Independent India and historical injustices are undone.

Constitutional Provisions and Safeguards:

1. Article 164 provides for a Ministry of Tribal Welfare in each of the State of Bihar, Madhya Pradesh and Orissa which have large concentrations of Scheduled Tribes population. These Ministries are required to look after the welfare of the Scheduled Tribes in their respective States.
2. Article 275 provides for the grant of special funds by the Union Government to the State Government for promoting the welfare of Scheduled Tribes and providing them with a better administration.

 Representation in Legislatures and Panchayats:

1. The Constitution of India prescribes protection and safeguards for Scheduled Tribes with the object of promoting their educational and economic interests. Under Articles 330 and 332 of the Indian Constitution, seats have been reserved for Scheduled Tribes in Lok Sabha and state Vidhan Sabhas.
2. Following the introduction of Panchayati Raj, Suitable safeguards have been provided for proper representation” of the members of the Scheduled Tribes by reserving seats for them in the Gram Panchayats, Block Panchayats, District Panchayats etc.

Reservation in the Service:

1. Meaningful representation: Since Independence, there have been efforts to improve the social, political and economic conditions of the tribal populations. The recent expansion of the Union Council of Ministers led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi saw the inclusion of eight Ministers belonging to the Scheduled Tribes representing the Gond, Santal, Miji, Munda, Tea Tribe, Kokana and Sonowal-Kachari communities from six states.
2. Focused attention: In 1999, former PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee set up a separate Ministry for Tribal Affairs.
3. The government has made provisions for their adequate representation in the services.

Administration of Scheduled and Tribal Areas:

1. Tribes’ Advisory Council: The Fifth Schedule of the Constitution (under Article 244) provides for the setting up of a Tribes’ Advisory Council in each of the States having Scheduled Areas. According to this provision, Tribes’ Advisory Councils have been set up so far in the states of Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Orissa, Punjab, Rajasthan and West Bengal. These Councils must advise the Government on such matters concerning the welfare of Scheduled Tribes and the development of Scheduled Areas.
2. ‘Scheduled Areas’ have been declared in the States of Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Orissa, Himachal Pradesh and Rajasthan. The scheme of administration of’ Scheduled Areas under the Fifth Schedule visualises a division of responsibility between the State and Union Governments.

Tribal Welfare

The major objectives of the tribal development have remained as follows:

1. To takeup family-oriented programmes to raise productivity levels of the beneficiary families in the fields of agriculture, horticulture, animal husbandry, small-scale industries etc.
2. Toliberate tribals from the exploitation of land grabbing, money-lending, debt-bondage, forest-labour etc.
3. Toimprove the quality of life through education and training programmes and
4. Toprovide infrastructural Facilities in tribal areas.

Tribal Sub Plans Approach

The Tribal Sub-Plan (TSP), a strategy for tribal development in India, aims to bridge the gap between Scheduled Tribe (ST) populations and the general population by ensuring proportional development benefits and addressing socio-economic disparities.

The Tribal Sub-plan Approach includes:

1. Integrated Tribal Development Projects comprising generally administrative units like sub-divisions / Districts / Tehsils with 50 per cent or more Scheduled Tribe population.
2. Pockets of tribal concentration have a total population of 10,000 or more and an ST population of 50 per cent or more.
3. Primitive Tribal Group Projects.

The Tribal Sub-plan is financed through the resources drawn from:

1. State plans
2. Special Central assistance of Ministry of Home Affairs (now Ministry of Welfare).
3. Central and Centrally sponsored programmes, and
4. Institutional finance

Economic well-being:

• Budgetary support: imbalances in budgetary provisions are being addressed in mission mode. For the year 2021-2022, the Ministry of Tribal Affairs saw a budgetary allocation of ₹7,524.87 crore. This is nearly double the budgetary allocation made in the last UPA Budget of 2013-2014.
• Amendment to Indian Forest Act, 1927: It was amended in 2017 (The Indian Forest (Amendment) Act, 2017).
  • Now bamboo is no longer classified as a tree which has allowed for the economic value of bamboo to be leveraged to its fullest potential and also brought the Act in consonance with the Forest Rights Act of 2006.
  • Also, forest-dwelling tribal communities are now able to use such forest produce to make value-added utility products.
• Tribal marketing development corporations: building market linkages is further increasing the incomes of tribal communities.
• TRIFED – Tribal Cooperative Marketing Development Federation of India Limited, is a national-level apex organization under the Ministry of Tribal Affairs, established in 1987, working for the socio-economic development of tribal communities through marketing tribal products. The lives of tribals depend heavily on these products as they spend most of their time and derive a major portion of their income.

Education:

• The National Education Policy (NEP) acknowledges the additional focus required for tribal communities to address issues such as higher dropout rates. Ensuring that the medium of instruction until at least Class 5 will be the mother tongue or local language of the child. This has ensured that tribal languages are protected and are treated on par with languages mentioned in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution.
• The expansion of the Eklavya Model Residential Schools, from 90 new schools sanctioned in the UPA years to 472 new schools sanctioned since 2014, will ensure that tribal children will see better education outcomes.
• This coupled with health interventions in the form of primary health and wellness centres and nutrition programmes will see improved HDIs among tribal communities in the long run.
• Scholarships: The Central Government awards scholarships to deserving students for higher studies in foreign countries. 17.5% of the merit scholarships are granted by the Centre, to deserving students of lower income groups.

Health

• “Swasthya” Portal – Tribal Health and Nutrition Portal for Scheduled Tribes for Information dissemination; It will curate innovative practices, research briefs etc. collected from different parts of India to facilitate the exchange of evidence, expertise and experiences.
• National Overseas Portal and National Tribal Fellowship Portal to bring greater transparency and easy information to Scheduled Tribe (ST) students.
• Online Performance Dashboard “Empowering Tribals, Transforming India” under Digital India to work towards empowering STs and will bring efficiency and transparency.
• E-newsletter on health and nutrition- ALEKH.

Related FAQs of Tribal Marginalisation and Empowerment

1. Why is tribal empowerment important in India today?

Tribal emp owerment is crucial because tribes make up about 8% of India’s population and have historically faced marginalization due to colonization, displacement, and lack of access to basic rights. Empowering them through education, land rights, and political representation helps create a more inclusive society. For detailed study material, check out our UPSC notes pdf or visit 99notes.

2. What are some major issues faced by tribal communities in India?

Key issues include land alienation, poverty, lack of education and healthcare, cultural erosion, and underrepresentation in governance. Historical injustices like the Criminal Tribes Act and forest laws further worsened their condition. These topics are well-covered in our comprehensive UPSC notes pdf available on 99notes.

3. How has the Indian government addressed tribal marginalization post-independence?

Through constitutional safeguards (Articles 164, 275, 330, 332), reservation in education and jobs, the Forest Rights Act (2006), and schemes like Eklavya Model Schools, the government has taken steps to integrate and empower tribal communities. These points are explained in-depth in 99notes UPSC notes pdf format.

4. What role did tribes play in India’s freedom struggle?

Tribal freedom fighters like Birsa Munda, Rani Gaidinliu, Tantia Bhil, and many others led fierce uprisings against British rule. Their sacrifices are commemorated in tribal museums across India. If you’re preparing for exams, our UPSC notes pdf on 99notes includes detailed case studies and timelines.

5. What lessons can we learn from ancient Indian epics about tribal harmony?

Epics like the Ramayana and Mahabharata reflect strong bonds between mainstream society and tribal communities, such as the friendship between Lord Rama and Guha or Arjuna’s marriage to Ulupi. These stories highlight the deep roots of integration. For cultural insights and ethical dimensions, see our 99notes UPSC notes pdf section.