Lesson 9 Scheduled Tribe/Tribal Development and Displacement Important Notes

Lesson 9 Scheduled Tribe/Tribal Development and Displacement

Scheduled Tribe/Tribal Development and Displacement

Both development and displacement are different concepts but are related to each other. When it comes to development, it is often given importance in the context of economic development. After independence, India also gave more importance to dams, mining, industries, factories etc. through a five-year plan for economic development. But the point to be considered here is the kind of people and their concepts of development which have been promoted for a long time.

This article is divided into several parts. Firstly, it has tried to understand the tribes from a different point of view. After this, what development means for the tribe is examined. In the other part, what are the provisions for tribal development in international law and the process of disappearing traditional rights of tribes are analysed. The last part of this article deals with the problem of decentralization and displacement of tribes.

Scheduled Tribe: An Understanding

There is no consensus on the definition of the tribe or tribal in India. Here the term Scheduled Tribe is mainly used in administration to refer to those sections which have been historically, socially, economically and culturally backwards. But different thinkers have given different views on this.

On this basis, they can’t be termed as a complete Hindu community. Another reason for this is also that the tribes have expressed their faith in many Hindu religions by adopting the beliefs and customs, but never fully accepted the religious and cultural supremacy of the priests of Hinduism. Before the advent of British rule, the social structure of the tribal community was not based on a gradation of religious legitimacy, rather it lived its life in isolation from the society.

Andre Bettelli points out in the Indian context that a tribe is a group that has been living its life in isolation from the rest of the society for a long time. Because the social, cultural way of living of these tribal communities are different from the other people. Due to which these groups do not accept the interference of outside people in their lives.

According to B.D. Sharma the tribal community in India can be those people who lead their livelihood through their own occupation in a common social structure and live their lives in solitude by establishing a very limited amount of relationship with other communities to live their own lives. But with this B.D. Sharma also believes that this is the definition of an ideal tribal community.

The word tribe has not been defined in the Indian Constitution as well. Scheduled Tribes are described in the Constitution as part of a tribal community and group that comes under the Scheduled Tribes in Article 342(1). According to Article 342(2), After the consultation with the Governor of the State, the President can include any particular tribe or tribal group in the Scheduled Tribes by public notification and the list of these tribes can only be amended by Parliament.

 

Scheduled Tribe and Development

Tribal development is associated with the idea of their self-government. There is no general definition of tribal development or self-government, it means to provide social and cultural rights to the tribes through limited sovereignty, which in a way is associated with their development and self-government.

These classes have been using forests, land and other resources through traditions and customs for a long time. Therefore, they must get the right to develop according to their culture and beliefs. Amartya Sen has described development primarily as the process of expansion of actual freedom, which should benefit all sections of society. He also describes five types of freedom that are associated with the process of development.

(1) Political Freedom

(2) Economic facilities

(3) Social opportunity

(4) Guaranteed Transparency

(5) Protective Protection

Apart from this, local self-government or development can also be understood mainly in three forms–(1) Political self-government, (2) Financial autonomy, (3) Administrative self-government. The problem of political self-government at the local level can be solved by providing certain political power and decision-making authority at the lower level so that the institutions here can make their own decisions independently.

The makers of the Indian Constitution were also not ignorant of the idea of tribal self-government and development. Therefore, considering the traditional values of the tribal community as the national goal in the Constitution, it has been given a higher place than the politics of political parties. Under the national objective, special provisions have been made for the establishment of peace and self-government in the tribal areas.

The international laws have also supported the idea of self-government to the tribes. ‘International Labor Organization’ has supported their right and control over the land and resources of the tribals in Rule 169 of its treaty. This right has been implemented in place of Rule 107 of the 1957 treaty1 . Special efforts have been made to give the tribal community their traditional rights over water, forest and land through self-government.

 

Tribal Development and Self-Government in International Law

India is a democratic country that believes in international law and rules. India has supported the idea of self-government and development established by these institutions for tribals, even though the concept of indigenous people is different from international organizations (International Labor Organization, World Bank and United Nations).

This ILO agreement (Rule 107 in 1957) was replaced by Rule 169 in 1989, which was passed to give more social, cultural and land rights to the tribals, for more self-government. India has supported both the agreements (107 and 169) of the indigenous people but has not signed them. India believes that there is sufficient provision for tribal development in our country.

Upholding its view, India refused to implement the 1989 agreement. But India has supported their idea of development based on its constitutional and domestic laws such as the fifth and sixth schedule of the constitution and the PESA law, etc. which are important for tribal development. Later, India had voted in favour of the United Nations ‘Declaration of Rights of Indigenous Peoples’ in 2007. This declaration is mainly related to tribal autonomy, in which it has supported giving them internal autonomy.

Vanishing Traditional Rights of Tribals

Some main problems exist among them in the development of tribal self-government and autonomy, such as their exploitation by outsiders by eviction from their land, slow process of development, encroachment of their forests for mining, the problem of displacement etc. The idea of development and self-government is still far away. Many programs have been made for the welfare of tribal people, but they didn’t get much success.

In the constitution also, special responsibility has been assigned to the state for the protection of tribal society. Special arrangements have been made to fulfil this responsibility. It includes making laws and protection rules, the constitution of departments and the appointment of officers. Due to the ineffectiveness of this system, the tribal society is being snatched away from its environment and resources.

The forest laws in India can be divided into three classes, first, Reserved Forest, second, Protected Forest and third, Rural Forest.2 Here the rural forest included those forests under which the villagers could use them for their subsistence. But the forests from which a large number of resources are obtained have been kept under the government. The government can also decide which type of forests should come under which list.

The Land Acquisition Act, 1894 has given recognition to this, which has been running since colonial times. In 1996 PESA Act was brought under the Fifth Schedule Section 4(1) of this law also provides easy access to the land of tribal people through the legal process for the public interest.

A similar provision was retained in the present-day Land Acquisition Bill, which is not mandatory to take the permission of the Gram Sabha for acquiring land belonging to the tribal community in the name of public interest. Thus, despite the Fifth Schedule and the PESA Act, the rights of the tribals on their resources are being exhausted. Violation of tribal rights is not only a big threat to the survival of the tribal community, but it is also an insult to the judgement of the Supreme Court that had given in the ‘Samatha Case’ in 1997 that the land of tribals would not be transferred to the non-tribal community.

 

Tribal Development and Decentralization Policy

Tribal local government can function successfully only when it gets the freedom to work in the decentralisation process. Article 1 of the Indian Constitution refers to India as a ‘Union of States’ instead of a federalist state. There are more provisions for centralization than decentralisation (Constitution of India, 2011).

The lower-level institutions (local government) have to rely on the central and state governments for powers (such as the power to make laws, receive and spend tax proceeds) and authority. Granville Austin has addressed this process in strict terms as the traditional protection of provincial autonomy.

In India, the policy of decentralized governance has been adopted for tribal self-government, which is traditionally associated with the top-down system of administration, government and financial power. Therefore, the principle of decentralization is not entirely beneficial for tribal development and self-government. There are five centres of governance, Central Government, State Government, District Panchayat, Block Samiti and Gram Sabha.

Therefore, for tribal development and self-government, the government must develop the fundamental political, administrative, and financial structure to promote the bottom-up method by identifying the tribal class. Apart from this, self-government is the only way for tribal representation in the political system and the development of decision-making power under their values.

Similarly, the ‘Santhal’ tribe in Madhya Pradesh believes that Panchayat elections have no role in their welfare and development. The ‘Ghond’ and ‘Bhil’ tribals are also having an opinion that the Panchayat system has ended the important role of their traditional council. As a result of this centralization trend in the name of decentralization, the tribal-dominated states like Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh are running the Pathalgarhi movement to demand their traditional rights.

 

Tribes and Displacement: Problems, Challenges and Impact

Due to the recent increasing importance of economic development, the most negative impact has been seen on the tribe. The history of tribal movement and struggle in India is old. They started to struggle against the rule for the protection of their rights during the colonial rule, mainly the Santhal Rebellion of 1855, the Kol Rebellion of 1832, the ‘Birsa Munda’ movement of the late 19th century etc.

To suppress these movements, the government enacted the ‘Criminal Tribes Act’ in 1911. By this act, any tribe could be put on the criminal list. Before and after independence, many tribes made movements demanding the creation of autonomous states or districts to take care of their tasks. These groups felt that foreign rulers and outsiders were trying to destroy their culture and tradition.

The process of displacement continued without making complete arrangements for the resettlement of villages and families. In protest against this, social workers like Medha Patkar, B.D. Sharma also started agitations for their rights so that the lower-class community could get their rights.

The Gond tribe of Chhattisgarh demanded the creation of a separate state for the tribes in the 1950s. The tribes of Chota Nagpur have been demanding a separate state since 1983, to protect themselves from the exploitative policies of ‘Diku’. Another important movement is known as Narmada Bachao Andolan, this movement was started in opposition to the construction of the dam, a large number of tribals have been displaced by this dam. Hence these communities have demanded a fair compensation and rehabilitation policy.

The Chipko movement in India, which was carried out for the resources of the forest, has been named ‘Tribal Movement’ by Ramchandra Guha and Madhav Gadgil. Baviskar has studied the tribes of Madhya Pradesh and exposed their relationship with nature and their struggle with the development promoted by the state.

All these movements are mainly the result of an unequal policy of development, due to which they are adopting violent paths to demand and protect their rights. Due to the pressure of these movements, the government passed the PESA Act in 1996 under the Fifth Schedule. As a result, there has been some change in the attitude of society towards the tribals in the last few decades. The concept of colonial times towards them needs to be changed with the democratic values of today.

In the tribal area, a large number of indigenous and foreign companies are being given mining rights. It is visible in most of the present times that their land is acquired in the name of public welfare. Later, this land gets transferred to a private company. For this, neither proper compensation was given nor proper arrangement for displacement was made. For the benefit of the tribe, the land acquisition law must be brought within the limits of national security and public welfare.

Development not only has an economic aspect, but it also has cultural significance for the tribes. Industrial development can enhance the economic process, but it leaves behind some community values. Cultural development for tribals is more important than economic development. The emphasis on economic development only resulted in the dismantling of their traditional cultural bonds, the forest which was their home and later became the mining site for the company.

Traditionally the tribal community has been dependent on forests. Both tribes and forests are closely intertwined. Scheduled Tribes constitute about 8.6% of the total population of the country. But the Scheduled Tribes account for 40 per cent of the people displaced due to development projects.

With the abrogation of tribal rights over their resources, the result is emerging that the tribal classes are attacking the government and private companies to protect their land and resources and freedom from exploitation. At the same time, they have also been running many movements, such as tribals are demanding a separate autonomous state through the movement in Kamtapur of West Bengal, tribals in Orissa are opposing the mining done by private companies.

Report of ‘Bhalchandra Mungekar’ Committee on Tribal Self-government and Development

Even after the fifth and sixth schedule of the constitution and PESA law and other development schemes, the tribal class is deprived of their rights. To solve the development problems related to tribals, the government established the ‘Bhalchandra Mungekar Committee’ in 2009. This committee made many suggestions for tribal development, mainly including: first, the just government should be established at the local level in which the Gram Sabha can get the right to all the main work related to the life of the tribals. Second, according to Article 40, the work of the Gram Sabha should be coordinated regarding the Directive Principles of State Policy, so that these local institutions can develop their identity as ‘rural republic’.

Third, the PESA law should be promoted as a form of self-government in such a way that the tribal class experiences through it the process of ‘Our Raj in our village’. Fourth, the committee also suggested that like the state of Madhya Pradesh, the government of other states should also delegate the power to amend the land tax, make laws and manage small resources to the Gram Sabha. Fifth, the acquisition of land for private development in the scheduled area and control of natural resources is completely violative of the provisions of the PESA Act.