It is presumed that the
people who are known as ‘adivasi’ (ancient dwellers)
are backward, awkward and not capable of joining the main stream
of national life. In spite of in spending lot of money for their
upliftment these people have progressed little in last six
decades. Many social scientists have devoted lot of their studies
in understanding the life style and nature of the adivasi
otherwise called scheduled tribes. Economists and politicians have
used their specific methods of viewing at these people. But their
aspirations have remained ever eluded. Voluntary social workers,
which actually spend more time in their villages, have their own
bias. Some view them as very innocent simple people, some other
view them as lazy introvert and some view them incapable of
grasping the government sops.
After the end of colonial
rule, the sizable populations of scheduled tribe become voting
citizens. So the politicians wanted them to remain happy in their
own habitat by providing some shorts of facilities like
reservation in jobs, giving soft term loans to meet various
requirements, giving right to cultivate land etc. But their rights
to exploit forest resources were denied. No non-tribal can
purchase their land lest they get cheated. But when the government
or any private company want to acquire their habitat land, these adivasis
have to yield as law abiding citizens, sacrificing for national
development.
Experiences in the industrial
areas established in tribal heartland show that the evicted
families have remained in same darkness of illiteracy and poverty.
Those few who have managed to get salaried job have become regular
labour and imbibed vice of the ‘civilized’ people. They have
abandoned the habit of consuming home brewed liquor but adopted
the habit of taking bottled ‘phoren’ (foreign) alcohol.
The situation is not totally
negative but not desirably positive either. Primary health centers
and primary schools have been running in remove tribal areas.
Statistical account on health, education, land holding, major
occupation, etc. are not satisfactory. Maternal and child
mortality is still very high. In spite of these dismal life
conditions of tribal and other rural poor, the country in patted
on the back by most developed nations as sleeping economic tiger.
Consumerism and flow of
outside capital has become the order of the day. High technology
in meant not for eradicating poor man’s health or ignorance or
poverty. Destruction of forest, taming the rivers or extending
Eco-tourism by the wealthy educated people are done at the expense
of the hill forest dependent adivasis. The politicians and
the extremist insurgents who claim to be pro-adivasi
utilize both these ignorant tribal people.
The historical process of
transformation of human societies from land based economy to
techno-productive economy is uneven. Those who adhered to the
traditional methods and beliefs remained deprived. In community
marked society, some were Hindu Caste, Muslims or tribe. Various
factors were responsible for perpetuation of poverty, superstition
and ignorance. Only community identity for targeting development
will be misleading. Some people of some tribal community are
orthodox and septic about government offer and some are
open-minded.
The national policy makers and implementing
bureaucracy are yet to get at the bottom of the problem of tribal
development. For this reason, some tribal persons have attained
affluence while major mass is sinking in the morass of poverty,
destitution and malnourishment.