National Commission for Scheduled Tribes- UPSC Notes

National Commission For Scheduled Tribes

The National Commission for Scheduled Tribes (NCST) was added to the Constitution under Article 338A by the 89^th Constitutional Amendment Act, 2003, to safeguard the rights of the Scheduled Tribes.

Scheduled Tribes:

Under Article 366, the Constitution prescribes that scheduled Tribes are such Tribes or tribal communities as are given under Article 342.

Article 342: The President, with the consultation of the Governor of the State, may specify the tribes or tribal communities or any part of or groups within tribes or tribal communities as a scheduled Tribe.

• Parliament may, by law, include or exclude scheduled tribes from the list of Scheduled
• Over 700 tribes have been notified under Article 342 of the Constitution of India. It spread over different States and Union Territories of the country.
• The largest number of tribal communities (62) has been specified in the State of Orissa. The Scheduled Tribes have been identified in all the States and Union Territories except Punjab, Chandigarh, Haryana, Delhi, and Pondicherry.

How Schedule Tribe is recognized?

Difference from Scheduled Castes:

• The Scheduled Tribes are distinct from Scheduled Castes regarding geography and culture. Tribal communities live in different geo-climatic and ecological conditions that include plains, forests, hills and inaccessible areas. Some tribal communities have adopted a mainstream way of life.
• The Scheduled tribes are the most underprivileged section of society, and the problems of Scheduled caste and scheduled tribes are distinctly different and need a separate strategy for the identification of gaps and disparities amongst them.
• Further, some tribal communities known as PVTGs (Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups) are still characterized by using pre-agricultural technology, extremely low literacy, declining population and subsistence level of technology.