Tribal communities have been residing in India since the past and even in the present existence there are tribal groups throughout the country. They are spread out mainly across the state of Maharashtra, Gujarat, Rajasthan and Madya Pradesh. Bhil is the 3rd largest tribe in India.
Tribals survived on the basis of hunting and the gathering of wild fruits, tubers, and edible roots. The only traces left by these early food gatherers are simple stone instruments found on the exterior of many parts of the Deccan; so far there has been absence of skeletal remains of the early races have been brought into the present.Here are no people in India who are backward in their materialistic possessions, in substance and education than the tribal people. The objects such as bows and arrows, a dagger, an axe, a digging stick, some pots and baskets, and a few tattered rags constitute most the belongings of the tribal people. Their dwellings are normally made of a thatched hut in one of the minor arrangements where they reside during the monsoon rains and during the winter season.
The tribal groups are characterized by a strong sense of independence and personal freedom. No tribal group, in any part of the country feels bound to any particular region, and they possess the ability to transfer from one group to another; the men and women are free to select their companions with whom they desire to be part of their day to day lives. Marriage rules are based on the exogamy of patrilineal clans; as long as they examine the rules of clan exogamy young people have the right to choose their own life partners.
The scheduled tribes are identified in 30 States and Union Territories and the number of individual ethnic groups that are identified as scheduled tribes is 705.The tribal population of the country,s per 2011 census, is 10.43 crore, constituting 8.6% of the total population, 89.97% of them reside in rural areas and 10.03% in urban areas. The decadal population growth of the tribal’s from Census 2001 to 2011 has been 23.66% against the 17.69% of the complete population. The sex ratio for the overall population is 940 females per 1000 males and that of scheduled tribes 990 females per thousand males. From 30.1 million in 1961, the scheduled tribes population has increased to 104.3 million in 2011 (Statistical Profile of Scheduled Tribes in India, 2013).
Tribal communities reside in different kinds of ecological and geo-climatic conditions ranging from plains and forests to hills and inaccessible areas; the social, economic and educational development states amongst the tribal groups vary in accordance with the areas, regions, their way of life and occupations that they carry out. While some tribal communities have implemented a normal way of life.
They are very simple in their living and are even secluded from the other groups of people; at the other end of the continuum, there are certain scheduled tribes, 75 in number known as Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs), these are differentiated by the following factors: a) pre-agriculture level of equipment, knowledge and machinery; b) immobile or declining population; c) extremely low level of literacy; and d) subsistence level of economy (Statistical Profile of Scheduled Tribes in India, 2013).
The percentage of tribal population to total population has increased only 3.31 percent from 1951 to 2011. The forest area absorbs an important place in the existence of the tribal groups as well as the economy of the country. The tribal way of life is very much influenced by the forests areas right from their birth to death. It is ironic that the tribal groups of India, who are considered to be the poorest groups, are dwelling in the areas where the richest natural resources are found. Past history of the country illustrates that, tribal groups have been derived to the places due to the trade, industry and cost-effective concerns of different governing groups.
Tribal population of India constitutes around 8.6 percent of the total population of the country which is greater than any other country in the world. The total tribal population in India is 104,281,034; amongst this, the rural population is 93,819,162 while the urban population is 10,461,872. The tribal population is growing along with the Indian population but its rate is lower as compared to that of the total population. The total population of India from 1951 to 2011 has increased by 849.46 million; the tribal population from 1951 to 2011 has augmented by 85.1 millions. Even when the tribes had an extent of cost-effective autonomy, there were certain things such as salt, some types of grain, pieces of cloth, metallic objects etc. for which they had to depend upon their neighbors. In lean seasons, they moved to multi-caste villages to acquire jobs as agricultural laborers. Tribal women were often seen and are still seen in the caste villages of Rajasthan selling toys for children; earlier they exchanged goods in return for clothes and cups of grain, but in the present existence they generally take money. Similarly, the men are seen selling medicines which are of both faunal and floral origin, honey along with the comb, and charms of amulets and talismans.
Though Indian tribes have their own areas and spaces where the tribal communities reside, this prevents them from being secluded; they and their neighboring communities are mutually dependent and have had long term communications for dealings, as a result of which their social and cultural aspects have often been a subject matter of exterior pressures. Even those communities that are now remote, for instance in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, were not so in the past. In fact, the seclusion of the tribes increased when the colonial powers began.
As investigations of the forests and hill territories began, tribal people moved to non-investigated regions to get away from the oppression of mistreatment and restraint. The neighbors of tribes belonged to different enriching and religious categories, varying from other.Hills and forests are considered to be the habitats of divine powers and spirits that get involved in human situations and concerns, thus it is thought that those dwelling in such regions can master the knowledge required to pacify the territory of the supernatural or bring it under power.
There are many supernatural specialists in tribal areas, as a result of which the local term used for a magical curer may be used for the whole tribal community. For example, the terms baiga and panda, which are also the names of a tribe from Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh, both mean priest, and the members of this community are supposed to be the best shamans and spirit-mediums in their regions. In rural Rajasthan, it is said that every tribal household has a bhopa which is a supernatural expert. The general belief is that tribes persons obtain the awareness of magico-religious cures because they dwell in the forests and hills, who reside closer to the nature than any other groups.
New progressions in technology, the reorientation toward export-led development, and the main areas of satisfying global financial markets are all driving forces in the extinction of countless number of native communities which are positioned in their path. Traditional sovereignty over the hunting and gathering rights of the tribals has been a question of concern as there has been development of new global economic agreements.Tribals are regarded as the most isolated and secluded groups of population; international trade, decisions made regarding the export development strategies and rules regarding investment are not discussed with them and the native communities. National governments make the decisions without consulting them.Agreements regarding new trades, agreements, constructions and investments have permitted the extraction of natural resources, has forced the native dwellers to move out of their dwellings and areas. The construction of big dams, pipelines, mines, roads, energy developments, military invasions have resulted in extinction of the tribal communities.
Tribal groups largely depend upon the biological diversity, the knowledge and the information regarding their dependence and how to effectively make use of biodiversity in a commercial way has generated global rules on the patenting of generic resources. Native population throughout the world live upon the impacts of the expansion of globalization; they dwell in the last perfect regions, where resources are still plentiful and rich, such as forests, minerals, water, and genetic diversity. All the resources are intensely sought by worldwide corporations; they are attempting to eliminate the long-established societies from their area.
As it has been understood regarding the tribal communities that they reside in secluded areas, in forests and hills; they are normally isolated and do not render any kind of participation in the outside world.
They look out towards conducting some business or work in order to earn money, they are normally engaged in minority jobs such as agricultural laborers or sell products such as ornaments, medicines or toys. The level of education amongst the tribals is low, they do not recognize the significance of education and even if their children attend schools, they normally drop out at an early stage before adequately honing their educational skill.There are 573 tribal communities in India with diverse socio cultural lives that are at various stages and levels of socio-economic development. Most of the tribal areas lack the basic infrastructure such as roads, transport, communication facilities, electricity, medical facilities and so forth.
The literacy skills amongst the tribals are low and a significant number of tribal children are outside the education system. There has to be formulation of norms, rules, procedures and policies regarding the system of education not only amongst the tribals but also amongst other groups of the population. The national and the provincial governments of India have distinguished the special features of the tribal groups and they have adopted the approaches and norms that are essential for the tribal groups. There has been establishment of community schools in accordance with the norms and policies.
Dropping maternal under nutrition; before formation and during pregnancy and improving quality and frequency of feeding complementary foods – Community nutrition, day care centers and creches are required to be open up for the tribal children. Making nutrition of tribal children a political and bureaucratic concern – Dedicated and concerned support is required on the part of the planning department and Tribal Program Management Unit to improve the quality of nutritional services in tribal areas.
Linking livelihood promotion with nutrition promotion is important – Poverty alleviation measures need to be formulated and implemented because, tribal people are normally in a destitute condition and are dependent upon the forests for their sustainabiliy.Creating tribal nutrition forum – This will include everybody, including media that is working upon the up gradation of tribal nutrition.Forging partnerships and alliances with civil society, faith-based organizations and tribal women self-help group networks – Alliances and federations contribute in the enhancement of livelihood amongst the tribals; in tribal areas, livelihood self-help federations are vigorous, nutrition promotion can be enhanced with their assistance.
Creating visually attractive communication based on the local belief system – The traditions, beliefs, low educational levels, absence of literacy skills and cultural aspects amongst the tribals usually demand for the facilitation of the awareness campaigns.