CH12. Perspectives on Tribal India: Approaches to Tribal Problems

• For thousands of years, primitive tribes lived in forests, arid hills, and isolated regions, with minimal contact with the populations of the open plains and centers of civilization.
• Occasionally, a military campaign would bring these tribes to the attention of princes and chroniclers, but for long periods, there was frictionless co-existence between tribal communities and Hindu caste society.
• The physical isolation of tribes ended with the introduction of modern means of communication, like railways and roads, in the 19th and early 20th centuries.
• The growth of India’s population led to land-hungry peasants from the plains invading the sparsely populated tribal regions in middle and southern India.
• The extension of law and order to areas previously unadministered allowed traders, moneylenders, and a range of administrators and social workers to settle in tribal villages.
• The influx of moneylenders and traders played havoc with the tribes, causing them to lose their economic independence and large amounts of land within 20-30 years of contact.
• After independence, the plight of tribals has been considered a ‘problem’ for the government and more advanced fellow citizens.
• Administrators, anthropologists, Christian missionaries, and social workers have viewed this problem from various perspectives, which can be categorized into three approaches:
  • (i) No Change Isolationism
  • (ii) Assimilationism
  • (iii) Integrationism
• Tribals have been described as simple, truthful, honest, jovial, colourful, and happy-go-lucky by those who came into contact with them.
• Tribes had their own social organization, which many retained until their contact with the British. After British contact, the tribes’ social organization weakened, especially for those governed through old tribal systems.
• Most of these tribes practiced shifting cultivation, requiring minimal labor, care, and inputs.
• In shifting cultivation, trees and shrubs are felled, burned into ashes, and the seeds are scattered with nature taking care of the yield.
• To supplement their diet, tribes collected edible roots, fruits, and hunted animals.
• Alcohol consumption was common, with tribes like Jounsari, Bhil, and Gond regularly consuming home-brewed liquor made from rice, mahua-flower, and other varieties. Liquor was also part of their rituals and religious practices.
• The influence of Christian missionaries, especially in Bihar and the northeastern region, disrupted the tribal people’s faith in their old gods and led to the view that tribal practices were blasphemous.
• Tribes had diverse customs regarding marriage and inheritance, but these were often misunderstood and punished by regular courts, hurting the tribes’ sentiments.
• The tribal population had been predominantly illiterate. Educational schemes for tribal upliftment often ignored the need for primary education in their mother tongues, even in informal education settings.

• D.N. Majumdar (1938) identified eleven causes for the life-and-death struggle of many primitive tribes in India:

  1. Excise laws have negatively impacted the tribes.
  2. Displacement of tribal officers by administrators disrupted tribal life.
  3. Tribal land used for shifting cultivation has been taken away.
  4. Quarrying on tribal land is now allowed only with a heavy licence fee.
  5. Shifting cultivation is prohibited in most areas, forcing tribes to take up agriculture unsuited to them.
  6. Marriage by capture is criminalized, undermining social solidarity.
  7. Fairs and weekly markets attract tribes but financially ruin them.
  8. Education has been more harmful than helpful, disrupting tribal life.
  9. Judicial officers have failed to deliver satisfactory justice to tribes.
  10. Missionary efforts have caused tribes to loathe their own culture and desire things they cannot obtain.
  11. Contact with outsiders has introduced diseases, and state-provided medical health is insufficient.

• A.V. Thakkar, also known as Thakkar Bapa, analyzed tribal problems from a social worker’s perspective, listing issues such as:

  1. Poverty
  2. Illiteracy
  3. Ill health
  4. Inaccessibility of tribal areas
  5. Defects in administration
  6. Lack of leadership

• Hutton, a defender of British policy towards tribal affairs, argued:

  1. Cruel tribal customs were suppressed, and warfare stopped.
  2. Modern medicine reduced infant mortality.
  3. Arts of reading and writing were introduced, and easier communication was facilitated through roads and post offices.
  4. However, the introduction of an administrative system that failed to meet tribal needs and deliberate measures intended to improve tribal conditions caused three major evils:
     • Loss of land and the replacement of tribal headmen by Hindus from the plains.
     • Loss of means of subsistence and other associated evils.
     • Disintegration of tribal solidarity.

• After analyzing tribal problems, the three major approaches to tribal issues are discussed:

  1. Isolationism: Advocates believe that all alien influences should be removed, and tribes should be allowed to flourish in their primitive environments.
     • The National Park Theory (Verrier Elwin) proposed establishing a National Park where tribes could live freely, with tribal commissioners overseeing them.
     • Critics argue that tribes are equal citizens and should not be isolated; they should be allowed to contribute to the nation’s advancement.
  2. Assimilationism: Advocates argue that tribes should assimilate with non-tribal cultures. However, this policy contradicts Indian history, as India has never been culturally homogeneous.
     • Jawaharlal Nehru condemned the imposition of Hindu ways of life on tribal populations.
     • Forced assimilation or cultural authoritarianism is seen as unfair and futile.
  3. Integrationism: Promoted by anthropologists and Jawaharlal Nehru, this approach supports the integration of tribal populations with the rest of India based on equality and mutual respect.
     • Cultural autonomy should be respected, and tribes should not be forced to abandon their identities.
     • Integration is meaningful when minority groups feel secure and respected.
     • India’s pluralistic society should allow people to maintain their identities as Santhals, Gonds, Tharus, etc.
     • Non-tribals and tribals need education to ensure meaningful integration.
     • Integration can never occur under threat, and a harmonious society cannot be built while keeping disgruntled minorities.