Tribes Of India Research Articles

Postcolonial Trauma in the Lives of Indian Tribes

India is a country that is home to 1.4 billion people. These people are part of wide and intricate groups, communities, castes and tribes. While close to 91.4% of the Indian population has progressed into the colonial standard of civilization, according to the Census Report 2011, about 8.6% of people are still living in their original and natural way of life. These people are the tribes of India whose way of life has been romanticized as the ‘Indian Culture’. A section of tribal people continues to live in mountains, and forests and construct only mud houses or huts. They have little access to basic amenities like healthcare, education, electricity and water. While few tribes have moved out of their original ways of life by converting to other religions, certain tribes are still governed by their respective leaders, following the religions and customs that were taught to them centuries ago. It is at times difficult for the State Governments to reach the tribes since most of them resist any such advancements. European Colonization of India led to the discovery of several tribes that were until that point in time living in harmony with nature and forests. This paper will analyze through literature the pre-colonial and post-colonial lives of certain Indian tribes living in the mountains of Kerala and Tamil Nadu.

Promotion of Sustainable Livelihood through Skill Development of Dongria Kondh Communities During Lockdown

A tribe is a group of people who are residing within their group in a specific geographical area. India has approximately 700 distinct tribes that are notified under the Article 342 of the Constitution of India. Each tribe differs from each other in terms of language, ethnicity, history, etc., but all tribes have a same thread of customary practices. Schedule Tribe (ST) is cited as categorical indigenous people whose status is recognized by national legislation with some formal degree and due to the most vulnerable category, the government has made several plans for the upliftment of inaccessible people of the society. There are 75 vulnerable tribal communities in India. Dongria Kondh or Dangaria Kandha is one of the vulnerable tribes in India. Dongria Kondh is the sub-section of the Kondh tribal community and is a PVTG section of the tribe. Dangaria is only found in Odisha and is residing around the Niyamgiri Hill to which they worship as their God. During the pandemic, they came up with their signature tag handwoven embroideries Kapdagonda work with new ideas in the form of a "cultural" mask under the guidance of Dongria Kondh Development Agency (DKDA) of Rayagada district of Odisha. It was a step ahead skill development work of Dongria Kondh women that went beyond the normal fabric working to revive their income during the lockout. The objective of the paper is to cover the status of the Dangaria Kandha or Dongria Kondh tribe and how the skill development programme of women SHGs during the lockdown helped to revive their income. It is necessary to frame a skill development pick of Dongria Kondh tribal. The paper is a qualitative in nature and also follow the available literatures as well as a grassroot study to make this paper as a valid content study.

Becoming a Scheduled Tribe in India: The History, Process and Politics of Scheduling

Scheduling a community as a Tribe in India is a complex process. Controversies generated by such processes have given rise to a number of ethnic-identity movements across the country. The latest is in the State of Manipur. What is the history of scheduling, who can be and cannot be a Scheduled Tribe in India, what are the legal procedures for applying for such a status, what are the critical cases that have come to the Supreme Court of India and what decisions have been made by the said court pertaining to claims and counterclaims. This article engages with these questions both from a historical and political perspective.

Higher Education and Empowerment of Scheduled Tribes in India – An Analysis

Higher Education and Empowerment of Scheduled Tribes in India – An Analysis

Traditional healing practices for treatment of animal bites among tribes of India: A systematic review

Traditional healing practices for treatment of animal bites among tribes of India: A systematic review

Alleviating Poverty for Empowerment of Scheduled tribes in India: Issues and Challenges

"This paper discusses poverty alleviation for the Empowerment of Scheduled Tribes in India. Poor education, health, and poverty are grave challenges for their development. The various policies and programmes of the governments towards reducing poverty have not resulted satisfactorily. Currently, tribal people continue to be poor, and malnourished in India. Hence this study is attempted. This paper is based on secondary sources like volumes, articles, journals, and e- sources. The study reveals that the poverty ratio of STs is narrowing down in both rural and urban areas, but as compared it to the general population there is a widening gap. Hence to minimize this gap, Government should implement effective Poverty Alleviation Schemes at the grassroots and the NGOs should come forward to create awareness about Poverty Alleviation and employment creation schemes for the Empowerment of Scheduled Tribes in India."

Population, health and nutrition profile of the Scheduled Tribes in India: a comparative perspective, 2016–2021

Population, health and nutrition profile of the Scheduled Tribes in India: a comparative perspective, 2016–2021

Reading Mahasweta Devi’s Aranyer Adhikar Ecocritically

The novel Aranyer Adhikar by Mahasweta Devi is well-known due to its highbrow status of ecological consciousness. This study tries to scrutinize the novel Aranyer Adhikar from an ecocritical perspective. The researcher has deployed a close textual analysis approach to conduct this qualitative study. This novel incorporates and highlights the political struggles of the “de-notified” Munda tribes of India based on ecology. Ecocriticism challenges the anthropocentric attitude of human beings. The Indian Munda tribes relinquish their land due to the anthropocentric attitude of the colonizers and the local authorities. They have suffered environmental ruination as a consequence of colonial violence and exploitation. Moreover, the tribals face the threat of losing the traditional household wisdom of living pleasantly with nature. Additionally, in Aranyer Adhikar, Devi brings out the sufferings of the different tribes, such as Kol and Santhals, who have been socio-politically pauperized by the loss of forest land. It can be pointed out that Aranyer Adhikar is about striving for the social, economic and political freedom of the different tribes in India. Substantially, Mahasweta Devi records the “voices of tribal history” and offers “striking narratives” of the tribal rights over the forest

A case study of three communities – Indigenous Women, jurisprudence and Climate Justice

abstract The women of the Ogoni Tribe in Nigeria, those of the Dongria Kondh tribe in India, and the Ogiek women from Kenya could perhaps not be more distant geographically. However, the underlying threads of courage, the determination to fight for social justice and the resistance to depredation and attacks on their ways of life weave them together. These economically vulnerable communities have been systematically discriminated against by the state and neglected by the larger society. Furthermore, their lands and livelihoods have been increasingly subject to unrelenting attacks from the ever pervasive “development”. Their resilience in the face of systematic oppression may hold relevance and important lessons for us too, as the world around becomes more complex and vulnerable, due largely to economic greed and social inequality; the effects of which are seen in and in turn hastened by climate change and environmental degradation. This article attempts to identify the common threads in the struggles of these communities and the lessons that their experiences of social and political mobilisation offer to us. Specifically, the article will focus on the role women have played and will also look to underpin these struggles and responses theoretically so their exemplary successes may be replicated to inspire similar movements across the world. In essence, the authors study commonalities intertwined between climate and social justice movements spearheaded by vulnerable women in the global South to understand and highlight their contribution to the jurisprudence of evolving movements across the world.

Optimization of Extraction Process and Anti-Hemorrhoidal Activity of Blumea lacera (Burm.f.) DC. Leaves in Croton Oil-induced Hemorrhoid Model

Background and Objectives Blumea lacera (Burm.f.) DC. (Family—Asteraceae) is widely used for treating hemorrhoids by several ethnomedicinal practitioners and tribes in India. Thus, the main objective of the present investigation was to evaluate the potential of B. lacera leaf extract in the treatment of hemorrhoids using a croton oil-induced hemorrhoid rat model. Materials and Methods Ethanol extract of B. lacera (EBL) leaves was prepared using Soxhlet extraction, optimized using Box–Behnken design (BBD), and quantified using high-pressure liquid chromatography (HPLC). Furthermore, the vasoactive ions were estimated using ion-exchange chromatography. Hemorrhoids were induced in the recto-anal portion of experimental rats, followed by treatment with EBL (100, 200, and 400 mg/kg; par oral (p.o.)) and Pilex granules as a standard anti-hemorrhoid drug for 7 days. The anti-hemorrhoid potential was evaluated on the eighth day by assessing the severity of hemorrhoids, biochemical parameters, and histology of recto-anal tissue. Results Upon treatment with EBL and Pilex, there was a significant ( p < 0.05) reduction in the inflammatory severity index, concentration of Evans blue dye, recto-anal coefficient (RAC), elevated cytokines level, and restoration of altered antioxidant status. Furthermore, the histopathological results revealed a marked reduction in the inflammatory zones along with minimally dilated blood vessels. Conclusion The present study confirmed the traditional claims of the plant B. lacera in the treatment of hemorrhoids, which may be attributed to its anti-inflammatory and antioxidant potential in EBL, where quercetin could be considered the main contributor.

Influences of Age, Sex and Raised Body Mass Index on Cardiovascular Disease Risk Factors Among Tribal Adults of India

Introduction. Rapid life style changes are leading causes of increased cardiovascular disease (CVD) risks among people in India today. Despite the country’s high ethnic diversity, studies related to physiology and such health risks, particularly among the tribal populations have been limited. Materials and methods. The present cross-sectional study was conducted among 1,434 tribal participants belonging to six tribes from the two states of West Bengal and Odisha. The aim of the present study was to understand the relationship of age (in years), sex and raised Body Mass Index (BMI) (kg/m2) with selected CVD risk factors among the six tribes of India. Results. In the males, raised BMI (kg/m2) was found to influence CVD risks by significantly increasing the blood glucose among the age group (in years) of <40 years (Odds Ratio (OR)= 6.396, p≤ 0.05); isolated systolic hypertension among the age groups <40 years (OR= 2.387, p≤ 0.01) and ≥40 years (OR= 2.123, p≤ 0.05); isolated diastolic hypertension among the age groups <40 years (OR=4.74, p≤0.001) and >40 years (OR= 3.24, p≤ 0.001); hypertensive MAP among the age group <40 years (OR= 5.769, p≤ 0.001) and hypertensive blood pressure among the age groups <40 years (OR= 5.865, p≤ 0.01) and ≥40 years (OR= 3.127, p≤ 0.01). Conclusion. Among females low BMI (kg/m2) was seen to be linked with higher CVD risk. Influence of BMI (kg/m2), age (in years) and sex on CVD risks can explain the increasing health threat among the tribal populations in India. Mean Arterial Pressure (MAP) can be considered to correctly indicate the cardiovascular risks; particularly in case of the younger population. An increasing tendency towards a double burden of disease is evident in the studied populations. @ 2023. This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 license.

Patterns and distribution of tobacco use and its association with oral precancerous lesions among the tribes of Odisha

ABSTRACT Background Both smoked and smokeless tobaccos play crucial roles in forming potentially malignant oral disorders. Studies are scant in India, particularly among vulnerable tribal populations. Odisha, with the highest number of tribes in India, stands at the top in smokeless tobacco use among major states. The present study explores tobacco use status among Indian tribes by evaluating the OPMD risks. . Methods A cross-sectional study was carried out among the tribal populations in Odisha. Data was collected pertaining to sociodemographic profile, tobacco use and prevalence of oral potentially malignant disorders (OPMD). The Fagerstrom Test for Nicotine Dependence (FTND) scale was used to evaluate tobacco dependency.. Results The findings revealed that 75.2% of people are tobacco consumers. Half of the studied population consumes Dukuta and Khaini. Maximum people, including 54.2% of youth, fall in the high nicotine dependence category. Additionally, 45.2% of the participants reported mouth lesions, and 27.1% with potentially malignant disorders (PMD). The incidence of tobacco pouches in the studied population is 22.9%, followed by 12.4% leukoplakia lesions. Conclusion A health policy for community-level intervention toward tobacco cessation and early diagnosis of previously undiagnosed OML (oral malignant lesion) and OPMD would be a positive strategy.

Tribal Migration in Indian Censuses: A Neglected and Litigated Area

Tribe and caste migration in Indian Censuses did not get proper attention during the colonial as well as post-independence periods. Censuses in the post-independence period have followed a conservative approach to enumerating tribes, castes and religions. The migration data on Scheduled Tribes (STs) and Scheduled Castes (SCs) have been presented since the 2001 Census, but its scope is limited. The enumeration of inter-state migration of STs is entangled in legislative jargon. When tribes in India have dipped into severe poverty and unemployment, forcefully alienated from forests and hills, confronted development-induced displacement, and migrated by distress driven to the urban centres in distant places in search of jobs. When the demand for independent territory or statehood, such as Nagalim, Zale’n-gam and many others, consolidating the tribal inhabited areas bifurcated into three to four neighbouring states leads to insurgency and mass cross-border movement of ethnic groups. The presumption of ST migration within the jurisdiction of the State/UT of enumeration in the Censuses during the post-independence period is delusive and very irrational. The study provides insight into such limitations of Census data on tribal migration, legislative jargon and politics involved with it. It also discusses the nature of provided data on tribal migration.

Pichiguntala @ Helava @ Vamsharaj: Genealogical nomadic tribes of India

Pichiguntala are one of the ancient Genealogical Nomadic Tribes in India. Their existence only found in the southern parts of India. The origins of these nomadic tribes are dating back to 8th Century C.E. These people have very meagre in their populations numbering less than 0.05% of the total populations of the southern states. These Pichiguntalas are basically from the Telugu speaking areas of present day divided Andhra Pradesh and Telangana States. They are found to be the heirs of legendary Shaivite religious Hindu leader Kunti Malla Reddy of Srisailam (Nallamala Hills). The word Kunti means to a lame and Pichi means to mad or beggar in Telugu, hence the Pichiguntala means to a lame beggar who do service the cultivating families on their genealogical aspects for alms. It is found that during times of pre-Medieval Period, these people were engaged to record the population studies, keepers of revenue records and recording of census data under the Rashtrakutas, Kakathiyas and Reddy Rulers in India. It is observed that during 12th Century C.E., the religious movements instituted by lengendary Shaivite leader Basavanna @ Basaveshwara (who formed the Lingayuth Community) against the Jain Rulers of Bijjalas of Basavakalyan; had attracted these Pichiguntalas leading mass migrations to non-Telugu speaking areas of Karnataka, Tamilnadu, Maharashtra, Kerala, Goa, Pondicherry, Orissa and other parts in India. Presently, their socio-economic conditions are very pathetic due to their nomadic life styles. They do not have the basic facilities such as food, shelter, housing, schooling, educational and economical avenues, etc. Most of them are either school dropouts or illiterates; and have not entered government jobs or have any political representations. Since, their population size and vote bank is meagre; they are living as numerical minorities without any welfare and developmental interests by the Government. There is need for the safe guarding of their dilutions and extinctions in the society. There exists a threat that these people are slowly opting for religious conversions for their betterment. These Pichiguntalas are also called as Helavas in Kannada, Helavi in Marathi, Vamsharaju in Telangana, Kudi Panians in Tamil, and are referring themselves as Kunti Malla Reddy Reddys in Andhra Pradesh. Here, the author is aiming to bring out the details & socio-economic status on the Pichiguntalas in India with an objective to create a reference for the future researchers and the State Governments.

Decolonizing ethnography and Tribes in India: Toward an alternative methodology

This article unravels the many ways of doing ethnography within the area of Tribal studies in India. Historically (methodologically), studies concerning Tribes in India were dominated by colonial ethnographers and explorers. Subsequently, in post-colonial India, such studies became the field of a dominant male caste. From a similar perspective of dominance, these studies on Tribes in India viewed them as either backward or from the point of view that “civilization” could be achieved only through bringing them into the mainstream. Scholars who followed such frames of reference failed to reflect on their own dominant social positions in engaging in research projects with their Tribal subjects. Moreover, some of them even stated to have been inspired by the studies of Malinowski, whose methodology is considered to be uncritical, non-sensitive, and non-reflexive, especially while relating to Tribal studies. The Tribal people in India, therefore, continued to be framed within such a dominant caste perspective, without the slightest effort to treat them as non-caste societies or as equals within caste societies. Methodologically, by positioning myself against such frames of reference while engaging in research within the context of Tribes in India, I draw my research frameworks from those of indigenous methodologies to explore the possibilities of decolonizing ethnography by recognizing many ways of doing. Empirically, I base my engagement with a specific Tribal group (Tripura Tribe) in Tripura, Northeast India. As an indigenous community within the Indian state of Tripura, Tripura people's epistemology/worldviews differ from that of the majoritarian Savarna caste society. With an intent to decolonize ethnography from an indigenous context, in this article, I demonstrate the many ways of doing ethnography by innovatively engaging with three related methods, namely, the conversational method, engaged observation, and sitting around the fire. This article argues that for any researcher, when engaging in research within the context of Tribes, the methods and frame of reference employed must be congruent with indigenous ways of being, knowing, and doing. Furthermore, it also insists that critical reflexivity, responsibility, and sensitivity are keys to Tribal studies in India.

Challenges of occupational shift before de-notified, nomadic and semi-nomadic tribes in India

Challenges of occupational shift before de-notified, nomadic and semi-nomadic tribes in India

Lifeworlds of female bonded labourers among the Sahariya tribe

ABSTRACT Debt bondage is one of the most widespread forms of unfree labour today. The majority of the existing studies focuses on bonded labourers as a homogenous group rather than examining group dynamics within the population of bonded labourers. This paper tries to overcome these limitations and examines experiences of women bonded labourers from the Sahariya tribe in India. It argues that gendered norms intersect with other patterns of structural violence creating a situation where women are doubly exploited but also opening new (limited) agentic spaces for these women.

Unrest in the Forest and Ethnocide of the Gothi-Koya Tribes in India

The story is of IDP (internally displaced people), particularly of the Gothi-Koya communities, who were compelled to escape from the forests of Chhattisgarh, and are now arbitrarily residing in the deep forests of Telangana State. Their arrival took place specifically during the period of Salva–Judum. Following the debates and demands of human rights activists and intellectuals in connection with the over-violence and illegitimacy of the armed-squad, the Supreme Court of India outlawed it later. The article is based on around a month visit, in the year 2019, to these regions namely Kornapalli, Kristadampadu village of Cherla Block and Pushkunta village of Dammapet Block of Bhadradri Kothagudem District in Telangana. These regions are flanked by dense forests and have been highly sensitive because of their connection with Naxalite movements, and the settlements of the Koyas are scattered, so the researchers had to face various challenges in investigating the issues on a wider scale over there. Researchers made conversation with the displaced people along with the government officials to probe the issue and experienced their plight in their observation.

No association between body height and metabolic risk factors in historically short height Asian Indian tribes

Background: Asian Indians often get predisposed to non-communicable diseases for which the “thin-fat” or “hidden obese” Indian phenotype is usually regarded responsible. In Europe, America and in some low-middle-income countries (LMICs) short height is often associated with a high risk of metabolic syndrome (MetS). Indians and particularly tribal Indian people are relatively short.
 Aim: To assess the associations of height with MetS risk factors among tribal people of India.
 Sample and methods: This study was conducted among tribes of India under life-style transition. The height range was 163.2 cm to 156.5 cm (males) and 151.6 cm to 146.9 cm (females). The participants were 1066 men and 1090 women aged 20 to 60 years. Anthropometric and metabolic markers included in the study were height, body mass index (BMI), waist circumference (WC), skinfolds (biceps, triceps, sub-scapular, and supra-iliacal), fasting blood glucose (FBG), blood pressure (systolic and diastolic) and pulse rate (PR).
 Results: The highest correlation existed between height and WC (male: 0.21; female: 0.15). Correlations of body composition variables (BMI, WC, skinfolds) with MetS risk factors (FBG, SBP, DBP, PR) were not reliable (r < 0.30) among both sexes. St. Nicolas House Analysis revealed WC among males and WC and sub-scapular skinfolds among females sharing more connections with other nodes variables.
 Conclusions: Unlike the people of the wealthy and often obese social strata of low-middle-income countries, and in Europe and North America, height of tribal Indian populations is not associated with metabolic risk factors, such as hypertension, elevated fasting blood sugar, and central obesity. Rather than linked to the phenotype, obesity appears to be associated with an obesogenic environment. Public health policy should focus on problems associated with obesogenic environments.

The Cultural Politics of Storytelling in Tree Matters (2014) by Gangu Bai

The paper attempts to read the children’s picturebook Tree Matters (2014) by Gangu Bai, a Bhil artist, and published by Tara Books, to understand how the cultural politics of storytelling in the book works to underline the complex structure of social injustice and exclusion at play in the right and access to the forest in the case of the Bhil tribe in India. The relationship of the Bhil women with the forest is multidimensional, and the art and narrative by Gangu Bai in the picturebook represents this. The paper argues that the cultural politics of storytelling practiced by the artist reiterates this special relationship with the trees in the forest, and at the same time also makes use of this relationship to assert the unique cultural heritage and identity of the community. The subversive nature of children's books that creatively introduces complex issues of social injustice and environmental politics is also explored.