Intensity of poverty among Yenadi tribes in Andra Pradesh: A micro level study

The various tribal developmental programs have not created a perceptible impact on the socioeconomic, education and health conditions of tribes. The tribes have participated in various programs as wage earners. There was no coordination among different development departments and the programs were formulated by following the routine mechanism of top-down approach. The concept of sustainable development has to be properly understood and defined in the context of tribal societies. The various indigenous methods followed by the tribes in eking out their lively-hood and their social relationship with the flora and fauna of nature indicate the input and the invisible mechanism for the sustainability of life supporting systems. Thus, the understanding of tribal life and their socioeconomic conditions are crucial for tribal development. Hence, an attempt is made to analyze the socio-cultural dimensions in tribal development. Proper understanding of tribal communities, continuous dedicated fieldwork and guidance, adoption of bottom up strategy with total transparency, participatory management and genuine empowerment of local tribal groups are essential for making tribal communities as partners in prosperity of the nation. In spite of spending large amounts in the tribal areas, the gaps in the levels of development in tribal areas and outside are persisting. In the areas of social, economic, education, health and infrastructure availability, these gaps are very glaring. By keeping the above-cited views in mind, this paper identifies intensity of poverty among Yenadi tribes in the study area.