It
is often discussed among the concerned people that the tribal
culture must be saved from dilution or extinction. Previously the
anthropologists and the national policy makers were leading such
discussions, but now many fora and media people are found to be
highlighting the issue. So far as India is concerned, the issue
has been debated since the mid-twentieth century with Verrier
Elwin in the lead. He had very intimate relation with the tribes
residing in various parts of India, hence his views were given
importance even by Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, the visionary Prime
Minister of nascent India.
The term ‘tribe’ has
been ascribed to some communities, who live with their age-old
tradition unruffled by technological development. As acceptance of
modern technology requires knowledge, skill and money, which such
community could not afford, they continued to live in their own
territories leading a nature-dependent life style. They utilized
natural resources as per their own requirements and remained ‘poor’
or ‘under developed’ or even ‘primitive’ in the eyes of
the other people of the country. As natural population, these
communities were subjected to various types of situations like
high birth rate, low survivality, less nutrition, etc. Many tribal
communities have perished in course of time, many are on verge of
extinction and yet many have thrived.
The invasion on their ancestral territories
by the technologically advanced people has led to the closer
contact, which, in many ways, snatched their autonomy of using
local resources causing threat to their existence. But such
contacts have also given them a taste of ‘developed’ life
style. Culture contact gives scope of acculturation and now we
find many tribal communities are mimicking advanced people in the
manner of observing their rituals. That has been the matter of
consternation for many people. Can one stop a group of people to
introduce change in their life style or observance of rituals to
enhance their satisfaction? Culture is a product of mind. So it
will change as per environmental situation of the people much to
their desire. Of course, at a given time, all members of a society
do not like the change. This happens to all societies whether they
are ‘tribal’ or ‘developed’. If the aim of tribal
development is to induct these people into the main stream of
national life, why one should rue over loss of their age-old
traditions? But if the change is mutilating their basic qualities
of sharing and community feeling, according high status to women,
resistance to subjugation, then such change is a matter of
concern, which no right thinking person can afford to ignore.
