UGC Junior Research Fellow,
Tribes are ethnic groups bound by strong bond of kinship and trust. India is a country of diverse cultures and as a consequence, we find many ethnic tribes. There are debates in about the treatment of such ethnic groups. One group of anthropologists feel that these groups should be allowed to have their own existence in isolation and no interference should be made by the State. Another group opine that these groups are backward and need to be brought into the mainstream society. There is a mid-way approach professed by Nehru who said that the will of these groups should be respected.
As per the 2011 census, there are more than 1 million Scheduled Tribes in India. Certain areas are concentrated with these tribes, especially in the North-Eastern states. In the pre-independence days, these areas were excluded from the British rule. After independence, these areas were declared as ‘Scheduled Areas’ in the Constitution and they have been given autonomy under Article 244 read with Schedule V and VI. The objective of this paper is to analyse the socio-economic conditions; special Constitutional status given to these groups and find out the issues and challenges in developing inclusive policies for these groups.
