SCHEDULED TRIBES IN INDIA
1. Context
- Kudmis claim that during the British colonial rule, they were considered a primitive tribe like Mundas, Oraons and Santhals.
- But when the ST list was prepared after 1950, they lost out on the ST status and were put in the OBC category.
- The Kudmi community which is currently listed in the Othe Backward Classes (OBC) category, plays a significant role in every election in tribal-dominated Junglemahal districts of Paschim Medinipur, Jhargram, Bankura and Purulia.
2. Definition of Scheduled Tribes
- The term Scheduled Tribes first appeared in the Constitution of India.
- Article 366 (25) defined scheduled tribes as "such tribes or tribal communities or parts of or groups within such tribes or tribal communities as are deemed under Article 342 to be Scheduled Tribes for this constitution".
3. Article 342
- The President may, concerning any State or Union territory and where it is a state, after consultation with the Governor thereof by public notification, specify the tribes or tribal communities or parts of or groups within tribes or tribal communities which shall, for this constitution, is deemed to be scheduled tribes about that state or Union Territory, as the case may be.
- Parliament may be law included in or exclude from the list of Scheduled tribes specified in a notification issued under clause (1) any tribe or tribal community or part of or group within any tribe or tribal community, but save as aforesaid, a notification issued under the said clause shall not be varied by any subsequent notification.
- Thus, the first specification of Scheduled Tribes about a particular State or Union Territory is a notified order of the President, after consultation with the State Governments concerned.
- These orders can be modified subsequently only through an Act of Parliament.
- The above Article also provides for listing of scheduled tribes State or Union Territory wise and not on an all-India basis.
4. The criterion for the specification of a community as Scheduled tribes
- The criterion followed for the specification of a community, as scheduled tribes are indications of primitive traits, distinctive culture, geographical isolation, shyness of contact with the community at large and backwardness.
- This criterion is not spelt out in the Constitution but has become well established.
- It subsumes the definitions contained in the 1931 Census, the reports of the first Backward Classes Commission 1955, the Advisory Committee (Kalelkar), on Revision of SC/ST lists (Lokur Committee), 1965 and the Joint Committee of Parliament on the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes Orders (Amendment) Bill 1967 (Chanda Committee), 1969.
- In the exercise of the powers conferred by Clause (1) of Article 342 of the Constitution of India, the President, after Consultation with the State Governments concerned has promulgated so far 9 orders specifying the Scheduled Tribes about the state and union territories.
- Out of these, eight are in operation at present in their original or amended form.
- One order namely the Constitution (Goa, Daman & Diu) Scheduled Tribes order 1968 has become defunct on account of the reorganization of Goa, Daman & Diu in 1987.
- Under the Goa, Daman & Diu Reorganization Act 1987 (18 of 1987) the list of Scheduled Tribes of Goa has been transferred to part XIX of the Schedule to the Constitution (Scheduled Tribes) order, 1950 and that of Daman & Diu II of the Schedule of the Constitution (Scheduled Tribes) (Union Territories) order, 1951.
- No community has been specified as a Scheduled Tribe in the State of Haryana and Punjab and the Union Territories of Chandigarh, Delhi and Puducherry.
5. Declaration as a Scheduled Tribe
- Article 342 provides for the specification of tribes or tribal communities or parts of or groups within tribes or tribal communities which are deemed to be for the constitution of the Scheduled Tribes about that State or Union Territory.
- In pursuance of these provisions, the list of Scheduled Tribes is notified for each State or Union Territory and is valid only within the jurisdiction of that State or Union Territory and not outside.
- The list of Scheduled Tribes is State or UT-specific and a community declared as a Scheduled Tribe in a State need not be so in another State. The inclusion of a community as a Scheduled Tribe is an ongoing process.
The essential characteristics of these communities are:
- Primitive Traits
- Geographical isolation
- Distinct culture
- Shy of Contact with the community at large
- Economically backward
6. Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups
- Tribal communities live, in various ecological and geo-climatic conditions ranging from plains and forests to hills and inaccessible areas.
- Tribal groups are at different stages of social, economic and educational development.
- While some tribal communities have adopted a mainstream way of life, at the other end of the spectrum, there are certain Scheduled Tribes, 75 in number known as Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs), who are characterised by
- Pre-agriculture level of technology
- Stagnant or declining population
- Extremely low literacy
- Subsistence level of economy
7. Distribution of Tribes
- The Scheduled Tribes are notified in 30 states and UTs and the number of individual ethnic groups, etc. notified as Scheduled Tribes is 705.
- The tribal population of the country, as per the 2011 census, is 10.43 crores, constituting 8. 6 per cent of the total population. 89.97 per cent of them live in rural areas and 10.03 per cent in urban areas.
- The decadal population growth of the tribal from the Census 2001 to 2011 has been 23. 66 per cent against the 17. 69 of the entire population.
- The sex ratio of the overall population is 940 females per 1000 males and that of Scheduled Tribes is 990 females per thousand males.
Image Source: Vikaspedia
- Broadly the STs inhabit two distinct geographical areas Central India and the North Eastern Area.
- More than half of the Scheduled Tribe Population is concentrated in Central India i.e., Madhya Pradesh (14.69 per cent), Chhattisgarh (7.5 per cent), Jharkhand (8.29 per cent), Andhra Pradesh (5.7 per cent), Maharashtra (10.08 Per cent), Orissa (9.2 per cent), Gujarat (8.55 per cent) and Rajasthan (8.86 per cent).
- The other distinct area is the North East (Assam, Nagaland, Mizoram, Manipur, Meghalaya, Tripura, Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh).
- More than two-thirds of the ST population is concentrated only in the seven states of the country, viz. Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Orissa, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh.
- There is no ST population in 3 states (Delhi NCR, Punjab and Haryana) and 2 UTs (Puducherry and Chandigarh) as no Scheduled Tribe is notified.
|
For Prelims: Scheduled Tribes, Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups, Kudmis, Mundas, Oraons, Santhals, Article 366 (25), Article 342, Backward Classes Commission 1955, the Advisory Committee (Kalelkar), on Revision of SC/ST lists (Lokur Committee), 1965 and the Joint Committee of Parliament on the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes Orders (Amendment) Bill 1967 (Chanda Committee), 1969, Goa, Daman & Diu Reorganization Act 1987
For Mains:
1. Who are Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups? Discuss the criterion for the specification of a community as Scheduled tribes. (250 Words)
|
|
Previous Year Questions 1. Consider the following statements about Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs) in India: (UPSC 2019)
1. PVTGs reside in 18 States and one Union Territory.
2. A stagnant or declining population is one of the criteria for determining PVTG status.
3. There are 95 PVTGs officially notified in the country so far.
4. Irular and Konda Reddi tribes are included in the list of PVTGs.
Which of the statements given above are correct?
A. 1, 2 and 3 B. 2, 3 and 4 C. 1, 2 and 4 D. 1, 3 and 4
Answer: C 2. With reference to the history of India, "Ulgulan" or the Great Tumult is the description of which of the following events? (UPSC 2020) A. The Revolt of 1857
B. The Mappila Rebellion of 1921
C. The Indigo Revolt of 1859 - 60
D. Birsa Munda's Revolt of 1899 - 1900
Answer: D 3. When did the Tana’ Bhagat Movement start? (Jharkhand Civil Service 2015)
A. April 1912 B. April 1913 C. April 1914 D. April 1915
Answer: C
4. Consider the following statements about the Santhal Hool of 1855 - 56: (UPSC CAPF)
1. The Santhals were in a desperate situation as tribal lands were leased out
2. The Santhal rebels were treated very leniently by British officials
3. Santhal inhabited areas were eventually constituted separate administrative units called Santhal parganas
4. The Santhal rebellion was the only major rebellion in mid-19th century India.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
A. 1 only B. 2 and 3 C. 1, 3 and 4 D. 1 and 3 only
Answer: D
5. After the Santhal Uprising subsided, what was/were the measure/measures taken by the colonial government? (UPSC 2018)
1. The territories called 'Santhal Paraganas' were created.
2. It became illegal for a Santhal to transfer land to a non-Santhal.
Select the correct answer using the code given below:
A. 1 only B. 2 only C. Both 1 and 2 D. Neither 1 nor 2
Answer: C
6. The National Commission for Backward Classes (NCBC) was formed by insertion of Article ______ in the Constitution of India. (SSC CGL 2020)
A. 328B B. 338A C. 338B D. 328A
Answer: B
7. With reference to the Parliament of India, which of the following Parliamentary Committees scrutinizes and reports to the House whether the powers to make regulations, rules, sub-rules, by-laws, etc. conferred by the Constitution or delegated by the Parliament are being properly exercised by the Executive within the scope of such delegation? (UPSC 2018)
A. Committee on Government Assurances
B. Committee on Subordinate Legislation
C. Rules Committee
D. Business Advisory Committee
Answer: B
8. Justice Madan B Lokur committee was set up to take steps to (Haryana Civil Services 2021)
A. Look into violation of environment rules.
B. Prevent stubble burning
C. Draft new water policy
D. Regulate digital lending
Answer: B
9. Match the pairs - (Committees on Media) (MPSC 2019)
(A) (Name) (B) (Year)
(a) Chanda Committee (i) 1982
(b) Kuldip Nayar Committee (ii) August, 1977
(c) Verghese Committee (iii) March, 1977
(d) P.C. Joshi Committee (iv) 1964
1. (a) – (i), (b) – (ii), (c – (iii), (d) – (iv)
2. (a) – (i), (b) – (iii), (c – (ii), (d) – (iv)
3. (a) – (iv), (b) – (iii), (c – (ii), (d) – (i)
4. (a) – (iv), (b) – (ii), (c – (iii), (d) – (i)
Answer: 3
10. Consider the formation of the following States and arrange these in chronological order : (UPPSC Combined State Exam 2021)
1. Goa
2. Telangana
3. Jharkhand
4. Haryana
Select the correct answer from the codes given below.
A. 1, 2, 3, 4 B. 4, 1, 3, 2 C. 3, 2, 4, 1 D. 4, 3, 1, 2
Answer: 2
|
Source: Vikaspeida
