An Assessment of Poverty and Living Standard of the Baigas of Samnapur Block of Dindori District, Madhya Pradesh

Abstract

The present paper elucidates some aspects of poverty and living standard of Baigas of Samnapur block of Dindori district Madhya Pradesh. Baiga is one of the most primitive tribal groups of central India. Out of total Baiga villages of Samnapur block Simardha and Tikariya village were randomly selected for the purpose of study and out of these two villages a total of 100 households comprising of 494 individuals were randomly selected and interviewed. The information was gathered through interview using a pretested structured schedule. The findings reveal that a majority of the population is poor and illiterate. As most of them live in the interior forest areas away from the main stream their living standard also reflects the same. Many of them are not even able to consume the fruits of recent development occurring elsewhere in the world. Agriculture is one of the major sources of income among them but they are required to be trained about new techniques and methods of it which can bring a substantial increase in their yield. Thus there is an urgent need to launch some income generating programmes to improve their economic status by different government and non government organizations. (authors)