Sunday, February 5, 2012

Tantya Bheel महानायक टंटया भील

महानायक टंटया भील


Tantya Bheel. He was a freedom fighter. Alongwith his folks, he had put very strong resistance against the British forces during India's freedom struggle.


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मध्य प्रदेश के स्कूली बच्चे गीतासार पढेंगे, क्योंकि गीतासार को स्कूली पाठ्यक्रम में शामिल किया जाने वाला है, इतना ही नहीं उन्हें शहीदों की गाथाएं भी पढ़ाई जाएंगी।  स्कूली पाठ्यक्रम में गीतासार, खेती बाड़ी का पाठ शामिल करने केअलावा टंटया भील, नायक शंकर शाह, रघुनाथ शाह जैसे शहीदों की गौरव गाथाएं पढ़ाई जाएं, जिससे बच्चों में अपना मध्य प्रदेश का भाव मजबूत हो। 

स्कूली शिक्षा विभाग की समीक्षा करते हुए मुख्यमंत्री शिवराज सिंह चौहान ने निर्देश दिए कि अनाथ एवं शिक्षा से वंचित बच्चों को शिक्षा के लिए छात्रावासों में पांच प्रतिशत स्थान आरक्षित किए जाएं, ताकि कोई भी बच्चा शिक्षा से वंचित न रहे।

ऐसा माना जाता है कि 1824-27 के आस-पास टंटया का जन्म हुआ। टंटया वास्तव में डाका डालने वाला डकैत नहीं था वरन् एक बागी था जिसने संकल्प लिया था कि विदेशी सत्ता के पांव उखाड़ना है। वह युवाओं के लिए एक जननायक का काम कर रहा था। तात्या टोपे ने टंटया भील को शिक्षा दी थी कि हमशक्ल रखना कितना फायदेमंद होता है। इतिहास गवाह है कि हमशक्ल रखने से कितनी तत्परता से अपने मकसद में कामयाब हुआ जा सकता है। टंटया भी अपने दल में हमशक्ल रखता था। पुलिस को परेशान करने के लिये टंटया एक साथ पांच-छह विपरीत दिशाओं में डाके डलवाता था। उस समय भील विद्रोहियों में जो टंटया के साथ थे उनमें से महादेव शैली, काल बाबा, भीमा नायक आदि थे।

इनके पास बड़ी-बड़ी टोलियां थीं। बांसवाड़ा, भीलवाड़ा, डूंगरपुर, बैतूल, धार में टंटया को भीलों का प्रमुख दर्जा था। लूटमार करके वह होलकर रियासत राज्य में जाकर सुरक्षित हो जाता था। अपनी वीरता और अदम्य साहस की बदौलत तात्या टोपे इतने प्रभावित हुए कि उन्होंने टंटया को गुरिल्ला युद्ध में पारंगत बनाया। इसी वजह से वह पकड़ा नहीं जा सका। पुलिस खोजती रहती पर उसे पकड़ने में असमर्थ रहती। लोग उसे डाकू कहते थे पर क्रांतिकारी बनकर जो कुछ भी वह लूटता उसे वह अंग्रेजों के विरुद्ध ही उपयोग में लाता था। वह निमाड़ का पहला विद्रोही भील युवक था। वह बड़ा ही बलशाली युवक था। उसमें चमत्कारिक बुद्धि शक्ति थी। उसे अवतारी व्यक्ति तक कहा जाने लगा। वह किसी स्त्री की लाज लुटते नहीं देख सकता था। टंटया के बारे में कहते हैं-

तांत्या बायो, टण्टया खड माटवो।

घाटया खड धान, भूख्या खडं बाटयो॥

    

जब टंटया भील को पुलिस द्वारा पकड़ा गया तो वह थानेदार का हाथ छुड़ाकर बाढ़ में नर्मदा में कूद गया। पीछे लगे थानेदार से कहा कि मार गोली मैं टंटया हूं। मुझे पकड़ो मैं भागूंगा नहीं। टंटया ने गिरफ्तारी दी। बाद में कुछ और लोगों को पकड़ा गया। तीन महीने जेल में रहकर वह सोच रहा था कि वह चाहता तो नर्मदा से निकलकर भाग जाता। वह क्यों पुलिस के हाथ पड़ता। सहयोगी पोपली, जसुधि ने समाचार भेजा कि जेल तोड़कर भाग निकलो।

संग्राम नाम का एक व्यक्ति जेल में डयूटी पर तैनात था। वह टंटया का हितैषी था। उसे वह सही सूचनाएं मुहैया कराता था। जेल से उसे खन्डवा ले जाया जा रहा था। वहां वह एक सिपाही की बंदूक लेकर कूद पड़ा और फिर फायर होने पर भी बच गया। एक बार जंगल में घुस जाने पर उसे कोई पकड़ नहीं सकता था।

बाद में पुलिस ने जालसाजी से उसे घेर लिया। मुखबिर को टंटया ने मार डाला। फांसी की सजा निर्धारित हो गई। शहादत 4 दिसम्बर 1889 को हुई। निमाड़ अंचल की गीत-गाथाओं में आज भी टंटया मामा को याद किया जाता है।


 आदिवासियों के इन विद्रोहों की शुरुआत प्लासी युद्ध (1757) के ठीक बाद ही शुरू हो गयी थी और यह संघर्ष बीसवीं सदी की शुरुआत तक चलता रहा।

आदिवासियों के इलाके में बाहरी मैदानी क्षेत्रों के लोग यानि साहूकार, व्यापारी और ठेकेदार घुसते रहे। इन्हें दिकू कहा जाता था और ये संथालों के शोषक थे तथा उनकी घृणा के पात्र थे। ब्रिटिश शासन इनके संरक्षक के रूप में काम करता था। इसके अलावा आदिवासियों में प्रचलित सामूहिक स्वामित्व की अवधारणा को मान्यता न देकर ब्रिटिश कानून व्यवस्था में निजी स्वामित्व को ही मान्यता दी गयी थी जिससे आदिवासी समाज में तनाव की स्थिति पैदा होते देर न लगी। ईसाई मिशनरियों को भी आदिवासियों ने अपना विरोधी समझा। क्योंकि, वे आदिवासियों के धार्मिक विश्वास पर चोट पहुंचा रहे थे। अंग्रेज सरकार के वन कानूनों ने भी आदिवासियों को अंग्रेजी शासन का विरोधी बना दिया। यह स्थिति देश के सभी आदिवासी इलाकों में एक सी थी। फल यह हुआ कि शुरू से ही छिटपुट हिंसक विद्रोहों के रूप में आदिवासियों की नाराजगी प्रकट होने लगी।

पूर्वी भारत के आदिवासी समुदायों ने लम्बा संघर्ष किया। मोआमारिया विद्रोह 1769 में शुरू होकर तीस साल तक चलता रहा। इसी प्रकार चकमा लोगों ने भी उसी दौरान विद्रोह किया। हो, खसिया, सिंगफो और अका जनजाति के लोगों ने उन्नीसवीं सदी के तीसरे दशक में ब्रिटिश शासकों की नाक में दम कर दिया। असम के वनांचल के गारों, अबोरों और लुशाइयों ने भी उन्नीसवीं सदी के मध्य में अंग्रेजों के खिलाफ विद्रोह किया। असम में कछार इलाके में 1882 में नागाओं ने अंग्रेजों पर आक्रमण किया। उड़ीसा में गंजम के आदिवासियों ने और कटक के पाइकों ने विद्रोह किया। 1885 में पश्चिम बंगाल, झारखण्ड और कटक के संथालों ने जबरदस्त विद्रोह किया। उसके बाद खेरवाड़ अथवा सफाहार आन्दोलन उठा जो अंग्रेजों के राजस्व बन्दोबस्त कानून के खिलाफ था।

उधर पूर्वी समुद्र तट में स्थित विशाखापट्टनम एजेन्सी में कोरा मल्लया नाम के व्यक्ति के नेतृत्व में लोग उठ खड़े हुए। गोदावरी एजेन्सी की पहाड़ियों में 1879-80 में रम्पा विद्रोह हुआ, जिसका केन्द्र था चोडावरम का रम्पा क्षेत्र। यहां के पहाड़ी मुखियों याने मुट्टादारों ने अपने स्वामी मनसबदार के खिलाफ विद्रोह कर दिया और बाद में यह अंग्रेजों के विरुद्ध संघर्ष में बदल गया। क्योंकि, अंग्रेजी शासन मनसबदार को सहायता दे रहा था। दक्षिण भारत के अन्य हिस्सों में और महाराष्ट्र के वनांचल में भी आदिवासियों ने ब्रिटिश प्रशासन के विरुद्ध संगठित विद्रोह किये।

रांची के दक्षिणी इलाके में 1899-1900 में हुए बिरसा मुण्डा के प्रसिद्ध विद्रोह को कौन नहीं जानता। बिरसा मुण्डा के नेतृत्व में मुण्डा आदिवासियों ने जो विद्रोह किया वह भारत के आदिवासी विद्रोह में सबसे प्रखर माना जाता है। मैदानों से आए व्यापारियों, साहूकारों और ठेकेदारों ने मुण्डा समुदाय में प्रचलित सामूहिक भू-स्वामित्व की पारंपरिक व्यवस्था को जिसे खूंटकट्टी भू-व्यवस्था कहा जाता था। उसे ध्वस्त कर दिया था। इन बाहरी लोगों की बेगारी से मुक्त होने के लिये मुण्डा लोगों ने अदालत का दरवाजा खटखटाया। लेकिन, काम नहीं बना, उल्टे ब्रिटिश शासन ने शोषकों का ही पक्ष लिया। तब मुण्डा लोगों ने विद्रोह की शरण ली।

मध्यप्रदेश में भी गोंड और भील आदिवासियों ने अंग्रेजी शासन के विरुद्ध शस्त्र उठाए। 1842 के बुन्देला विद्रोह के समय उन्होनें लोधियों और बुन्देला ठाकुरों का सहयोग किया। इसके पन्द्रह साल बाद जब 1857 का विद्रोह हुआ तब नर्मदांचल में शंकरशाह गोंड और उसके बेटे रघुनाथ शाह को उनकी विद्रोहात्मक गतिविधियों के कारण 1857 में जबलपुर में तोप से उड़ा दिया गया। इसके बावजूद उस इलाके में गोंडों की हिम्मत नहीं टूटी और जबलपुर जिले के मदनपुर के मालगुजार ढिल्लनशाह गोंड, भुटगांव के महिपाल सिंह गोंड, मानगढ़ के राजा गंगाधार गोंड, और नन्नी कोंडा के देवीसिंह गोंड ने विद्रोह किया। सागर के कुनोर गांव के भगवानसिंह गोंड ने भी ऐसा ही किया। उधर मध्यप्रदेश के पश्चिमी हिस्से में बड़वानी के इलाके में खाज्या नायक, भीमा नायक, सीताराम कंवर और रघुनाथ मण्डलोई ने भी भीलों को बड़ी तादाद में एकत्र करके ब्रिटिश अधिकारियों की नाक में दम किया।

जनजातीय विद्रोहों की यह सूची सिर्फ एक बानगी है। असल में पूरे भारत में अंग्रेजी शासन की रीति-नीति के कारण आदिवासियों ने विद्रोह किया। अपने सीमित साधनों से वे लम्बे समय तक संघर्ष कर पाए। क्योंकि, वनांचल में गुरिल्ला युद्ध प्रणाली का उन्होंने उपयोग किया। सामाजिक रूप से उनमें आपस में एकता थी और अपनी संस्कृति को बाहरी प्रभाव से बचाने की उन्हें चिन्ता भी थी। इन बातों ने उनमें एकजुटता पैदा की और वे शोषण तथा विदेशी हस्तक्षेप के खिलाफ उठ खड़े हुए।

संगठन और साधनों की कमी के कारण हालांकि ये विद्रोह कामयाब नहीं हुए। लेकिन, इनका सुदूरगामी प्रभाव पड़ा और ब्रिटिश शासन को यह सोचने के लिए विवश होना पड़ा कि आदिवासियों के हितों और उनकी पारंपरिक संस्कृति की उपेक्षा करना महंगा पड़ सकता है। विदेशी ताकत के खिलाफ होने वाले भारतीय स्वाधीनता संग्राम में इन आदिवासियों की भूमिका को रेखांकित किया जाना जरूरी है जिससे आने वाली पीढ़ी उनके उत्सर्ग से प्रेरणा ले सके।


Tantya Mama, Tantia Bhil or Tantya as he is called in the Oral Tradition of the Bhils, is a great unknown saint of the Bhils or the ancient indigenous peoples of India Tantia Bhil was a selfless leader, Indigenous hero and dauntles freedom fighter of the national rank who fought against the British Powers, in his own way organising the local armies of the Bhils, This great hero today who deserves to be nationally honoured by placing this honourable leader's life size portrait, in the Central Hall of the Indian National Parliament. Tantia hails from the illiterate Bhil society of Nimar. Some centuries back the whole region of Malwa, Nimar, Khandesh, Nagar, Gujarat was densely populated by great Bhils who had encounters with Marathas, Britishe peoples and others They were local powers, hence proved to be imminent threatsor threats to the emerging powers as in many walks being seen even today and hence as a consequence in the past centuries, suffered suppressions alll through in the history. A fact visible even today in the different Bhil regions even in the working of the NGOS But Tanya Bhil and his patriotic Bhil companions, over looking over looking his own resources and the histoical enemity with the rest of the castes and folks in the nation, saw the foreign enemy as a threat to the country and battled fearlessly all through his shorlt lived life. Even though he was illiterate but whad great vision and daring.

Madhya Pradesh Government has rightly recognised his worth and brought out much literature both on audio-video and in print as well. Many schoars have paid attention to this forgotten but significant personality of the indigenous people in the nationa, as a national hero. Today a lots of literature is availabe on Tantia Bhil in Hindi, English, Marathi and Gujarati including in the oral tradition of the Bhils. And much more is in preparation. A good feature film in Hini, English, Marathi, and Gujarati awaits to inspire and awaken, affirm and encourage, also associate with the patriotic values found in the indignous populations of India for the youth of today Tantia Bhil needs to be introduced as a National and indigenous hero in the school and college text books. His spirituality to be introduced to the nation which exceeds even many of the political leaders and even christian missionaries of today in tribal region espcially in the Bhil regions. What has been done for Tantya Mama or Tantya Bhil today is only a drop in the ocean and not enough for honouring Tantya the Great Bhil and recognising indigenous peoples of India namely SC, ST & OBC and in particular context the Bhils. Important roads, building, markets, valleys, schools, colleges, research institutes, games awards, tribal olympics, copetitions, must be named instituted and initiated in justice and equality to perpetuate the rightful memory of Tanya Bhil including his his self sacrificing cmpanions. He was the father of the indigenous peoples as a whole. And much more remains to be done locally for Tantia Bhil and other Bhil or Indigenous heroes from Rajasthan, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra.This fact also equally applies to the other tribal or the indignous peoples heroes in India who are unjustly ignored by the other peoples in the indigneous peoples area. A great injustice is being done this way to the lacking social, cultural and psychological affirmation. Only this way we can restore the dignity to the indignous peoples and harm done tothem in the past. This will pave way to restore partially the cultural and historical rights of the Bhils, SC, ST & OBC. Also this will be perfect model of the national integration of the indignenous communities in India. Will the present national political parties give hid to the human, social and cultural rights of the indignous peoples of India in this way......?


TANTYA BHEEL – A story of forgotten martyr of independence war

Today we know many martyrs who fought against Britishers for Independence but tragedy is we do not know about many whose names are not in the History. One of them is Tantya Bheel, a fighter from Madhya Pradesh. Britishers were scared of him. He used to rob them and then was helping the poor people. That is why he was named Indian Robinhood.

But there is one person whose hero was Tantya Bheel from childhood. He is none other than ace producer-director Mukesh R. K. Chouksey. Now he has made the film TANTYA BHEEL which is unsung story of the martyr.

After graduation Mukesh came to Mumbai and assisted N. Chandra for his film ANKUSH. Then he assisted many directors like Keshav Matharu, Sudhanshu Kukku, Sanjeev Kolte etc. He produced and directed serial BHAGWAN SHREE SAHASTRA BHAU ARJUN for Doordarshan. He produced and directed RAAT EK ANHONI, HUM MILKAR DIKHAYENGE, YOUNG THE POWERFUL BLOOD in Hindi, KHOONI KAUN in Marathi and GUJARATNO SHURVEER in Gujarati. He made first film of Malwa language MHARO ANADI PIYA.

Talking to GLAMGOLD Mukesh said, "My grandfather had written about Tantya Bheel in 1950. After reading that I have decided to make a film on him so that today's generation can know about him. I told my cousin Dr. Shivkumar Chouksey who stays in London to collect information about Tantya Bheel from British Library. I started working on the script with Sudarshan Azad and Yashwin Khadiwala."

How tough it was to make a periodic film? Answers Mukesh, "It was really tough as such film can't be made with small budget. Plus it needs lots of artists. After few days I started shooting with digital camera and casted few newcomers. One day chief minister of Madhya Pradesh Mr. Shivraj Chauhan heard about the film. So he called me and offered help whatever I need. When I met distributor of CIA, Sharad Yadav he also associated with the project. Because of his efforts I got producer Parmanand Sisodiya who decided to finance the film."

http://glamgold.com/?p=20339


Tableau of Madhya Pradesh
Tantya Bhil, the "Indian Robin Hood"

Bhopal : Wednesday, January 21, 2009


 Dinesh Malviya

Tantya Bhil, the "Indian Robin Hood"

It is an indisputable fact that freedom fighters have all along been termed as rebels by the powers that be it the Mughal Empire of Aurangzeb or the British Rule. Tantya Bhil was one of the greatest revolutionaries who waged an armed struggle against the British Rule for twelve years and endeared himself to the masses by virtue of his indomitable courage and passion to uproot the foreign rule. Political parties and educated class launched forceful movement for ending the British Rule. But much before these movements, tribal communities and revolutionary like Tantya Bhil raised a banner of revolt against the British rule. Tantya Bhil became a symbol of the feelings of tribals and general people.

About one hundred twenty years ago Tantya Bhil emerged as a great hero of the masses and became since then a long cherished pride of Bhil tribe. He epitomized the indomitable courage, exceptional agility and organizing skill.

Tantya Bhil used to plunder the government treasuries of the British government and wealth of their sycophants used to distribute it among the poor and needy. In fact, he was the Messiah of the have-nots. He was popularly called Mama by people of all age groups. This address of Tantya became so popular that the Bhills still feel proud in being addressed as Mama. He used to reach out to those who were in need of financial help in a miraculous manner.

The news of the arrest of Tantya Bhil was prominently published in November 10, 1889 issue of the New York Times. In this news he was described as Robin Hood of India.

Tantya Bhil was born at village Badada in Pandhana tahasil of East Nimar (Khandwa) of erstwhile Central Provinces. He wanted to teach a lesson to the British and to realize Bhils' dream of socialist society. He was fired with a passion to free India from British subjugation. He broke the jail many times. He was skillful in Guerilla warfare. He was also a great shooter and proficient in traditional archery. "Dava" or Falia was his main weapon. He had also learnt to handle gun.

Right from his young age he lived in dense forests, valleys, ravines and mountains all his life measuring swords with the British and Holkar State's armies. He inflected reverses on the police of mighty British Empire and eluded them for many years. Thousands of people were arrested and hundreds of them were thrown behind bars on the charge of helping Tantya.

Ultimately, Tantya was arrested due to treachery of Ganpat, the husband of his formal sister. He was kept in the Central India Agency jail in the British Residency area at Indore. Later, he was taken to Jabalpur under strict police guard. He was heavily chained and kept in Jabalpur jail where the British officers tortured him inhumanly. All types of atrocities were perpetrated on him. The Sessions Court, Jabalpur sentenced him to be hanged till death on October 19, 1889. The British government was so scared that even today it is not known as to when and on which date he was hanged. It is generally believed that after hanging him his body was thrown near Kalapani railway station on Khandwa rail route near Indore. The spot where his wooden effigies were placed is considered to be the Samadhi of Tantya Mama. Even today all the train drivers stop the train for a moment as a mark of respect to Tantya Mama.

Tantya Bhil is a cult figure in tribal belts of Nimar, Malwa, Dhar-Jhabua, Betul, Hoshangabad, Maharashtra, Gujarat and Rajasthan. Maximum stories and songs about his life and deeds were composed in Nimar region. Poems and songs eulogizing him are also popular in Malwi, Marathi, Gujarati and Rajasthani.

With a view to encouraging tribal talents Madhya Pradesh government has instituted a Rs one lakh Jannayak Tantya Bhil Award after this great tribal hero. The annual award will be given to a tribal youth in recognition of his or her achievements in education and sports.

http://www.mpinfo.org/mpinfonew/english/articles/2009/210109lekh06.asp

The Adivasis of India -
A History of Discrimination, Conflict, and Resistance

-- By C.R. Bijoy, Core Committee of the All India Coordinating Forum of Adivasis/Indigenous Peoples

The 67.7 million people belonging to "Scheduled Tribes" in India are generally considered to be 'Adivasis', literally meaning 'indigenous people' or 'original inhabitants', though the term 'Scheduled Tribes' (STs) is not coterminous with the term 'Adivasis'. Scheduled Tribes is an administrative term used for purposes of 'administering' certain specific constitutional privileges, protection and benefits for specific sections of peoples considered historically disadvantaged and 'backward'.

However, this administrative term does not exactly match all the peoples called 'Adivasis'. Out of the 5653 distinct communities in India, 635 are considered to be 'tribes' or 'Adivasis'. In comparison, one finds that the estimated number of STs varies from 250 to 593. 

For practical purposes, the United Nations and multilateral agencies generally consider the STs as 'indigenous peoples'. With the ST population making up 8.08% (as of 1991) of the total population of India, it is the nation with the highest concentration of 'indigenous peoples' in the world!

The Constitution of India, which came into existence on 26 January 1950, prohibits discrimination on grounds of religion, race, caste, sex or place of birth (Article 15) and it provides the right to equality (Article 14), to freedom of religion (Articles 25-28) and to culture and education (Articles 29-30). STs are supposedly addressed by as many as 209 Articles and 2 special schedules of the Constitution - Articles and special schedules which are protective and paternalistic.

Article 341 and 342 provides for classification of Scheduled Castes (the untouchable lower castes) and STs, while Articles 330, 332 and 334 provides for reservation of seats in Parliament and Assemblies. For purposes of specific focus on the development of STs, the government has adopted a package of programmes, which is administered in specific geographical areas with considerable ST population, and it covers 69% of the tribal population. 
Despite this, and after the largest "modern democracy" of the world has existed for more than half a century, the struggles for survival of Adivasis - for livelihood and existence as peoples - have today intensified and spread as never before in history.

Over centuries, the Adivasis have evolved an intricate convivial-custodial mode of living. Adivasis belong to their territories, which are the essence of their existence; the abode of the spirits and their dead and the source of their science, technology, way of life, their religion and culture. 

Back in history, the Adivasis were in effect self-governing 'first nations'. In general and in most parts of the pre-colonial period, they were notionally part of the 'unknown frontier' of the respective states where the rule of the reign in fact did not extend, and the Adivasis governed themselves outside of the influence of the particular ruler. 

The introduction of the alien concept of private property began with the Permanent Settlement of the British in 1793 and the establishment of the "Zamindari" system that conferred control over vast territories, including Adivasi territories, to designated feudal lords for the purpose of revenue collection by the British. This drastically commenced the forced restructuring of the relationship of Adivasis to their territories as well as the power relationship between Adivasis and 'others'. The predominant external caste-based religion sanctioned and practiced a rigid and highly discriminatory hierarchical ordering with a strong cultural mooring.

This became the natural basis for the altered perception of Adivasis by the 'others' in determining the social, and hence, the economic and political space in the emerging larger society that is the Indian diaspora. Relegating the Adivasis to the lowest rung in the social ladder was but natural and formed the basis of social and political decision making by the largely upper caste controlled mainstream. The ancient Indian scriptures, scripted by the upper castes, also further provided legitimacy to this.

The subjugated peoples have been relegated to low status and isolated, instead of either being eliminated or absorbed. Entry of Europeans and subsequent colonisation of Asia transformed the relationship between the mainstream communities and tribal communities of this region. Introduction of capitalism, private property and the creation of a countrywide market broke the traditional economy based on use value and hereditary professions.
All tribal communities are not alike. They are products of different historical and social conditions. They belong to four different language families, and several different racial stocks and religious moulds. They have kept themselves apart from feudal states and brahminical hierarchies for thousands of years. 
In the Indian epics such as Ramayana, Mahabharata and Puranas (folklores) there are many references to interactions and wars between the forest or hill tribes and the Hindus.

Eminent historians who have done detailed research on the epic Ramayana (200 B.C to 500 B.C) have concluded that 'Lanka', the kingdom of the demonic king Ravana and 'Kishkinda', the homeland of the Vanaras (depicted as monkeys) were places situated south of Chitrakuta hill and north of Narmada river in middle India. Accordingly, Ravana and his demons were an aboriginal tribe, most probably the Gond, and the Vanaras, like Hanuman in the epic, belonged to the Savara and Korku tribes whose descendants still inhabit the central Indian forest belt. Even today, the Gond holds Ravana, the villain of Ramayana, in high esteem as a chief. Rama, the hero of Ramayana, is also known for slaughtering the Rakshasas (demons) in the forests!

The epic of Mahabharata refers to the death of Krishna at the hands of a Bhil Jaratha. In the ancient scriptures, considered to be sacred by the upper castes, various terms are used depicting Adivasis as almost non-humans. The epics of Ramayana and Mahabharata, the Puranas, Samhitas and other so-called 'sacred books' refer to Adivasis as Rakshasa (demons), Vanara (monkeys), Jambuvan (boar men), Naga (serpents), Bhusundi Kaka (crow), Garuda (King of Eagles) etc. In medieval India, they were called derogatorily as Kolla, Villa, Kirata, Nishada, and those who surrendered or were subjugated were termed as Dasa (slave) and those who refused to accept the bondage of slavery were termed as Dasyu (a hostile robber).

Ekalavya, one of their archers was so skillful that the hero of the Aryans, Arjuna, could not stand before him. But they assaulted him, cutting his thumb and destroying his ability to fight - and then fashioned a story in which he accepted Drona as his Guru and surrendered his thumb as an offering to the master! The renowned writer Maheshwata Devi points out that Adivasis predated Hinduism and Aryanism, that Siva was not an Aryan god and that in the 8th century, the tribal forest goddess or harvest goddess was absorbed and adapted as Siva's wife. Goddess Kali, the goddess of hunters, has definitely had a tribal origin.

History of the Adivasis

Little is known about the relationship between the Adivasis and non-Adivasi communities during the Hindu and Muslim rules. There are stray references to wars and alliances between the Rajput kings and tribal chieftains in middle India and in the North-East between the Ahom Kings of Brahmaputra valley and the hill Nagas. They are considered to be ati-sudra meaning lower than the untouchable castes. Even today, the upper caste people refer to these peoples as jangli, a derogatory term meaning "those who are like wild animals" - uncivilised or sub-humans. 

The Adivasis have few food taboos, rather fluid cultural practices and minimal occupational specialization, while on the other hand, the mainstream population of the plains have extensive food taboos, more rigid cultural practices and considerable caste-based occupational specialisation. In the Hindu caste system, the Adivasis have no place. The so-called mainstream society of India has evolved as an agglomeration of thousands of small-scale social groups whose identities within the larger society are preserved by not allowing them to marry outside their social groups.

The subjugated groups became castes forced to perform less desirable menial jobs like sweeping, cleaning of excreta, removal of dead bodies, leather works etc - the untouchables. Some of the earliest small-scale societies dependent on hunting and gathering, and traditional agriculture seem to have remained outside this process of agglomeration. These are the Adivasis of present day. Their autonomous existence outside the mainstream led to the preservation of their socio-religious and cultural practices, most of them retaining also their distinctive languages. Widow burning, enslavement, occupational differentiation, hierarchical social ordering etc are generally not there. Though there were trade between the Adivasis and the mainstream society, any form of social intercourse was discouraged. Caste India did not consciously attempt to draw them into the orbit of caste society.

But in the process of economic, cultural and ecological change, Adivasis have attached themselves to caste groups in a peripheral manner, and the process of de-tribalisation is a continuous one. Many of the Hindu communities have absorbed the cultural practices of the Adivasis. Although Hinduism could be seen as one unifying thread running through the country as a whole, it is not homogenous but in reality a conglomeration of centuries old traditions and shaped by several religious and social traditions which are more cultural in their essence (and including elements of Adivasi socio-religious culture). 

Adivasis at the lowest rung of the ladder
Adivasis are not, as a general rule, regarded as unclean by caste Hindus in the same way as Dalits are. But they continue to face prejudice (as lesser humans), they are socially distanced and often face violence from society. They are at the lowest point in every socioeconomic indicator. Today the majority of the population regards them as primitive and aims at decimating them as peoples or at best integrating them with the mainstream at the lowest rung in the ladder. This is especially so with the rise of the fascist Hindutva forces.

None of the brave Adivasi fights against the British have been treated as part of the "national" struggle for independence. From the Malpahariya uprising in 1772 to Lakshman Naik's revolt in Orissa in 1942, the Adivasis repeatedly rebelled against the British in the north-eastern, eastern and central Indian belt. In many of the rebellions, the Adivasis could not be subdued, but terminated the struggle only because the British acceded to their immediate demands, as in the case of the Bhil revolt of 1809 and the Naik revolt of 1838 in Gujarat. Heroes like Birsa Munda, Kanhu Santhal, Khazya Naik, Tantya Bhil, Lakshman Naik, Kuvar Vasava, Rupa Naik, Thamal Dora, Ambul Reddi, Thalakkal Chandu etc are remembered in the songs and stories of the Adivasis but ignored in the official text books. 

The British Crown's dominions in India consisted of four political arrangements:

  1. the Presidency Areas where the Crown was supreme,
  2. the Residency Areas where the British Crown was present through the Resident and the Ruler of the realm was subservient to the Crown,
  3. the Agency (Tribal) areas where the Agent governed in the name of the Crown but left the local self-governing institutions untouched and
  4. the Excluded Areas (north-east) where the representatives of the Crown were a figure head.

After the transfer of power, the rulers of the Residency Areas signed the "Deed of Accession" on behalf of the ruled on exchange they were offered privy purse. No deed was however signed with most of the independent Adivasi states. They were assumed to have joined the Union. The government rode rough shod on independent Adivasi nations and they were merged with the Indian Union. This happened even by means of state violence as in the case of Adivasi uprising in the Nizam's State of Hyderabad and Nagalim. 

While this aspect did not enter the consciousness of the Adivasis at large in the central part of India where they were preoccupied with their own survival, the picture was different in the north-east because of the historic and material conditions. Historically the north-east was never a part of mainland India. The colonial incorporation of north-east took place much later than the rest of the Indian subcontinent. While Assam ruled by the Ahoms came under the control of British in 1826, neighbouring Bengal was annexed in 1765. Garo Hills were annexed in 1873, Naga Hills in 1879 and Mizoram under the Chin-Lushai Expeditions in 1881-90. Consequently, the struggles for self-determination took various forms as independence to greater autonomy.

A process of marginalization today, the total forest cover in India is reported to be 765.21 thousand sq. kms. of which 71% are Adivasi areas. Of these 416.52 and 223.30 thousand sq. kms. are categorised as reserved and protected forests respectively. About 23% of these are further declared as Wild Life Sanctuaries and National Parks which alone has displaced some half a million Adivasis. By the process of colonisation of the forests that began formally with the Forest Act of 1864 and finally the Indian Forest Act of 1927, the rights of Adivasis were reduced to mere privileges conferred by the state.

This was in acknowledgement of their dependence on the forests for survival and it was politically forced upon the rulers by the glorious struggles that the Adivasis waged persistently against the British. The Forest Policy of 1952, the Wild Life Protection Act of 1972 and the Forest Conservation Act of 1980 downgraded these privileges of the peoples to concessions of the state in the post-colonial period. 

With globalisation, there are now further attempts to change these paternalistic concessions to being excluded as indicated by the draft "Conservation of Forests and Natural Ecosystems Act" that is to replace the forest act and the amendments proposed to the Land Acquisition Act and Schedule V of the constitution. In 1991, 23.03% of STs were literate as against 42.83% among the general population. The Government's Eighth Plan document mentions that nearly 52% of STs live below the poverty line as against 30% of the general population.

In a study on Kerala, a state considered to be unique for having developed a more egalitarian society with a high quality of life index comparable to that of only the 'developed' countries, paradoxically shows that for STs the below poverty line population was 64.5% while for Scheduled Castes it was 47% and others 41%. About 95% of Adivasis live in rural areas, less than 10% are itinerant hunter-gatherers but more than half depend upon forest produce. Very commonly, police, forest guards and officials bully and intimidate Adivasis and large numbers are routinely arrested and jailed, often for petty offences.
Only a few Adivasi communities which are forest dwellers have not been displaced and continue to live in forests, away from the mainstream development activities, such as in parts of Bastar in Madhya Pradesh, Koraput, Phulbani and Mayurbanj in Orissa and of Andaman Islands. 

Thousands of Korku children below the age of six died in the 1990s due to malnutrition and starvation in the Melghat Tiger Reserve of Maharashtra due to the denial of access to their life sustaining resource base. Adivasis of Kalahandi-Bolangir in Orissa and of Palamu in south Bihar have reported severe food shortage. According to the Central Planning Committee of the Government of India, nearly 41 districts with significant Adivasi populations are prone to deaths due to starvation, which are not normally reported as such. 
Invasion of Adivasi territories The "Land Acquisition Act" of 1894 concretised the supremacy of the sovereign to allow for total colonisation of any territory in the name of 'public interest' which in most cases are not community notions of common good. This is so especially for the Adivasis. The colonial juristic concept of res nullius (that which has not been conferred by the sovereign belongs to the sovereign) and terra nullius (land that belongs to none) bulldozed traditional political and social entities beginning the wanton destruction of traditional forms of self-governance.

The invasion of Adivasi territories, which for the most part commenced during the colonial period, intensified in the post-colonial period. Most of the Adivasi territories were claimed by the state. Over 10 million Adivasis have been displaced to make way for development projects such as dams, mining, industries, roads, protected areas etc. Though most of the dams (over 3000) are located in Adivasi areas, only 19.9% (1980-81) of Adivasi land holdings are irrigated as compared to 45.9% of all holdings of the general population. India produces as many as 52 principal, 3 fuel, 11 metallic, 38 non-metallic and a number of minor minerals.

Of these 45 major minerals (coal, iron ore, magnetite, manganese, bauxite, graphite, limestone, dolomite, uranium etc) are found in Adivasi areas contributing some 56% of the national total mineral earnings in terms of value. Of the 4,175 working mines reported by the Indian Bureau of Mines in 1991-92, approximately 3500 could be assumed to be in Adivasi areas. Income to the government from forests rose from Rs.5.6 million in 1869-70 to more than Rs.13 billions in the 1970s. The bulk of the nation's productive wealth lay in the Adivasi territories. Yet the Adivasi has been driven out, marginalised and robbed of dignity by the very process of 'national development'.

The systematic opening up of Adivasi territories, the development projects and the 'tribal development projects' make them conducive for waves of immigrants. In the rich mineral belt of Jharkhand, the Adivasi population has dropped from around 60% in 1911 to 27.67% in 1991. These developments have in turn driven out vast numbers of Adivasis to eke out a living in the urban areas and in far-flung places in slums. According to a rough estimate, there are more than 40,000 tribal domestic working women in Delhi alone! In some places, development induced migration of Adivasis to other Adivasi areas has also led to fierce conflicts as between the Santhali and the Bodo in Assam.

Internal colonialism Constitutional privileges and welfare measures benefit only a small minority of the Adivasis. These privileges and welfare measures are denied to the majority of the Adivasis and they are appropriated by more powerful groups in the caste order. The steep increase of STs in Maharashtra in real terms by 148% in the two decades since 1971 is mainly due to questionable inclusion, for political gains, of a number of economically advanced groups among the backwards in the list of STs.

The increase in numbers, while it distorts the demographic picture, has more disastrous effects. The real tribes are irretrievably pushed down in the 'access or claim ladder' with these new entrants cornering the lion's share of both resources and opportunities for education, social and economic advancement. 
Despite the Bonded Labour Abolition Act of 1976, Adivasis still form a substantial percentage of bonded labour in the country. 

Despite positive political, institutional and financial commitment to tribal development, there is presently a large scale displacement and biological decline of Adivasi communities, a growing loss of genetic and cultural diversity and destruction of a rich resource base leading to rising trends of shrinking forests, crumbling fisheries, increasing unemployment, hunger and conflicts. The Adivasis have preserved 90% of the country's bio-cultural diversity protecting the polyvalent, precolonial, biodiversity friendly Indian identity from bio-cultural pathogens. Excessive and indiscriminate demands of the urban market have reduced Adivasis to raw material collectors and providers. 

It is a cruel joke that people who can produce some of India's most exquisite handicrafts, who can distinguish hundreds of species of plants and animals, who can survive off the forests, the lands and the streams sustainably with no need to go to the market to buy food, are labeled as 'unskilled'. Equally critical are the paths of resistance that many Adivasi areas are displaying: Koel Karo, Bodh Ghat, Inchampalli, Bhopalpatnam, Rathong Chu ... big dams that were proposed by the enlightened planners and which were halted by the mass movements.

Such a situation has risen because of the discriminatory and predatory approach of the mainstream society on Adivasis and their territories. The moral legitimacy for the process of internal colonisation of Adivasi territories and the deliberate disregard and violations of constitutional protection of STs has its basis in the culturally ingrained hierarchical caste social order and consciousness that pervades the entire politico-administrative and judicial system. This pervasive mindset is also a historical construct that got reinforced during colonial and post-colonial India.

The term 'Criminal Tribe' was concocted by the British rulers and entered into the public vocabulary through the Criminal Tribes Act of 1871 under which a list of some 150 communities including Adivasis, were mischievously declared as (naturally) 'criminal'. Though this shameful act itself was repealed in 1952, the specter of the so-called 'criminal tribes' continue to haunt these 'denotified tribes' - the Sansi, Pardhi, Kanjar, Gujjar, Bawaria, Banjara and others. They are considered as the first natural suspects of all petty and sundry crimes except that they are now hauled up under the Habitual Offenders Act that replaced the British Act! Stereotyping of numerous communities has reinforced past discriminatory attitudes of the dominant mainstream in an institutionalised form.

There is a whole history of legislation, both during the pre-independence as well as post-independence period, which was supposed to protect the rights of the Adivasis. As early as 1879, the "Bombay Province Land Revenue Code" prohibited transfer of land from a tribal to a non-tribal without the permission of the authorities. The 1908 "Chotanagpur Tenancy Act" in Bihar, the 1949 "Santhal Pargana Tenancy (Supplementary) Act", the 1969 "Bihar Scheduled Areas Regulations", the 1955 "Rajasthan Tenancy Act" as amended in 1956, the 1959 "MPLP Code of Madhya Pradesh", the 1959 "Andhra Pradesh Scheduled Areas Land Transfer Regulation" and amendment of 1970, the 1960 "Tripura Land Revenue Regulation Act", the 1970 "Assam Land and Revenue Act", the 1975 "Kerala Scheduled Tribes (Restriction of Transfer of Lands and Restoration of Alienated Lands) Act" etc. are state legislations to protect Adivasi land rights. 
In Andhra for example, enquiries on land transfer violations were made in 57,150 cases involving 245,581 acres of land, but only about 28% of lands were restored despite persistent militant struggles. While in the case of Kerala, out of a total claim for 9909.4522 hectares made by 8754 applicants, only 5.5% of the claims have been restored. And this is happening in spite of favourable judicial orders - orders which the state governments are circumventing by attempting to dismantle the very protective legislation itself.

The callous and casual manner with which mainstream India approaches the fulfillment of the constitutional obligations with reference to the tribes, and the persistent attempts by the politico-administrative system to subvert the constitution by deliberate acts of omission and commission, and the enormous judicial tolerance towards this speak volumes on the discriminatory approach that permeates the society with regard to the legal rights of the Adivasis.

Race, religion and language
The absence of neat classifications of Adivasis as a homogenous social-cultural category and the intensely fluid nature of non-Adivasis are evident in the insuperable difficulty in arriving at a clear anthropological definition of a tribal in India, be it in terms of ethnicity, race, language, social forms or modes of livelihood. 

The major waves of ingress into India divide the tribal communities into Veddids, similar to the Australian aborigines, and the Paleamongoloid Austro-Asiatic from the north-east. The third were the Greco-Indians who spread across Gujarat, Rajasthan and Pakistan from Central Asia. The fourth is the Negrito group of the Andaman Islands - the Great Andamanese, the Onge, the Jarawa and the Sentinelese who flourished in these parts for some 20,000 years but who could well become extinct soon. The Great Andamanese have been wiped out as a viable community with about only 30 persons alive as are the Onges who are less than a 100.

In the mid-Indian region, the Gond who number over 5 million, are the descendants of the dark skinned Kolarian or Dravidian tribes and speak dialects of Austric language family as are the Santhal who number 4 million. The Negrito and Austroloid people belong to the Mundari family of Munda, Santhal, Ho, Ashur, Kharia, Paniya, Saora etc. The Dravidian groups include the Gond, Oraon, Khond, Malto, Bhil, Mina, Garasia, Pradhan etc. and speak Austric or Dravidian family of languages. The Gujjar and Bakarwal descend from the Greco Indians and are interrelated with the Gujjar of Gujarat and the tribes settled around Gujranwala in Pakistan.

There are some 200 indigenous peoples in the north-east. The Boro, Khasi, Jantia, Naga, Garo and Tripiri belong to the Mongoloid stock like the Naga, Mikir, Apatani, Boro, Khasi, Garo, Kuki, Karbi etc. and speak languages of the Tibeto-Burman language groups and the Mon Khmer. The Adi, Aka, Apatani, Dafla, Gallong, Khamti, Monpa, Nocte, Sherdukpen, Singpho, Tangsa, Wancho etc of Arunachal Pradesh and the Garo of Meghalaya are of Tibeto-Burman stock while the Khasi of Meghalaya belong to the Mon Khmer group. In the southern region, the Malayali, Irula, Paniya, Adiya, Sholaga, Kurumba etc belong to the proto-Australoid racial stock speaking dialects of the Dravidian family.

The Census of India 1991 records 63 different denominations as "other" of over 5.7 million people of which most are Adivasi religions. Though the Constitution recognises them as a distinct cultural group, yet when it comes to religion those who do not identify as Christians, Muslims or Buddhists are compelled to register themselves as Hindus. Hindus and Christians have interacted with Adivasis to civilize them, which has been defined as sanscritisation and westernisation. However, as reflected during the 1981 census it is significant that about 5% of the Adivasis registered their religion by the names of their respective tribes or the names adopted by them. In 1991 the corresponding figure rose to about 10% indicating the rising consciousness and assertion of identity!

Though Article 350A of the Constitution requires primary education to be imparted in mother tongue, in general this has not been imparted except in areas where the Adivasis have been assertive. NCERT, the state owned premier education research centre has not shown any interest. With the neglect of Adivasi languages, the State and the dominant social order aspire to culturally and socially emasculate the Adivasis subdued by the dominant cultures. The Anthropological Survey of India reported a loss of more than two-thirds of the spoken languages, most of them tribal. 

Fragmentation Some of the ST peoples of Himachal Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, W. Bengal, Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Manipur and Mizoram have their counterparts across the border in China (including Tibet), Bhutan, Myanmar and Bangladesh. The political aspirations of these trans-border tribes who find themselves living in different countries as a result of artificial demarcation of boundaries by erstwhile colonial rulers continue to be ignored despite the spread and proliferation of militancy, especially in the north east, making it into a conflict zone.

The Adivasi territories have been divided amongst the states formed on the basis of primarily the languages of the mainstream caste society, ignoring the validity of applying the same principle of language for the Adivasis in the formation of states. Jharkhand has been divided amongst Bihar, West Bengal, Madhya Pradesh and Orissa though the Bihar part of Jharkhand has now become a separate state after decades of struggle. The Gond region has been divided amongst Orissa, Andhra, Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh. Similarly the Bhil region has been divided amongst Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat and Rajasthan. 

In the north-east, for example, the Naga in addition are divided into Nagaland, Manipur, Assam and Arunachal Pradesh. Further administrative sub-divisions within the states into districts, talukas and panchayats have been organised in such a way that the tribal concentration is broken up which furthers their marginalisation both physically and politically.

The 1874 "Scheduled District Act", the 1919 "Government of India Act" and later the "Government of India Act" of 1935 classified the hill areas as excluded and partially excluded areas where the provincial legislature had no jurisdiction. These formed the basis for the Article 244 under which two separate schedules viz. the V Schedule and the VI Schedule were incorporated for provision of a certain degree of self-governance in designated tribal majority areas. However, in effect this remained a non-starter. However, the recent legislation of the Panchayat Raj (Extension to the Scheduled Areas) Act of 1996 has raised hope of a radical redefinition of self-governance.

By not applying the same yard stick and norms for Adivasis as for the upper caste dominated mainstream, by not genuinely recognizing the Adivasis' traditional self-governing systems and by not being serious about devolving autonomy, the Indian State and society indicates a racist and imperialist attitude.
The call for a socially homogenous country, particularly in the Hindi Hindu paradigm have suppressed tribal languages, defiled cultures and destroyed civilisations.

The creation of a unified albeit centralised polity and the extension of the formal system of governance have emasculated the self-governing institutions of the Adivasis and with it their internal cohesiveness.

The struggle for the future, the conceptual vocabulary used to understand the place of Adivasis in the modern world has been constructed on the feudal, colonial and imperialistic notions which combines traditional and historical constructs with the modern construct based on notions of linear scientific and technological progress. 

Historically the Adivasis, as explained earlier, are at best perceived as sub-humans to be kept in isolation, or as 'primitives' living in remote and backward regions who should be "civilized". None of them have a rational basis. Consequently, the official and popular perception of Adivasis is merely that of isolation in forest, tribal dialect, animism, primitive occupation, carnivorous diet, naked or semi-naked, nomadic habits, love, drink and dance. Contrast this with the self-perception of Adivasis as casteless, classless and egalitarian in nature, community-based economic systems, symbiotic with nature, democratic according to the demands of the times, accommodative history and people-oriented art and literature. 

The significance of their sustainable subsistence economy in the midst of a profit oriented economy is not recognised in the political discourse, and the negative stereotyping of the sustainable subsistence economy of Adivasi societies is based on the wrong premise that the production of surplus is more progressive than the process of social reproduction in co-existence with nature. 

The source of the conflicts arises from these unresolved contradictions. With globalisation, the hitherto expropriation of rights as an outcome of development has developed into expropriation of rights as a precondition for development. In response, the struggles for the rights of the Adivasis have moved towards the struggles for power and a redefinition of the contours of state, governance and progress.

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http://www.pucl.org/Topics/Dalit-tribal/2003/adivasi.htm

The tableau of Madhya Pradesh entitled "Indian Robin Hood" is being displayed in the Republic Day Parade-2009 on the Rajpath in Delhi.

The tableau has been created for the Public Relations Department of Madhya Pradesh government by M/s R.S. Bhatnagar & Sons, New Delhi.


शिवराज सरकार को आदिवासियों के मान सम्मान का मितना ख्याल है....?
जनसुनवाई में बैतूल कलैक्टर ने जिला जन सम्पर्क अधिकारी का किया अपमान और दे डाली धमकी 
बैतूल। एक ओर मध्यप्रदेश के मुखिया शिवराज सिंह आदिवासी के मान सम्मान के लिए टंटया भील के परिवार के पास जाकर उसके त्याग और बलिदान का यशगान करके स्वंय को आदिवासी समाज का सच्चा हितैषी बताते है वहीं दुसरी ओर प्रदेश सरकार के अधिकारी आदिवासी समाज का अपमान करने में कोई कसर नहीं छोड़ रहा है। कितनी शर्मसार घटना है कि बैतूल जिले में बीते साल के आखरी सप्ताह में सत्ता पक्ष एवं वपक्ष के एक नहीं बल्कि दो आदिवासी समाज का प्रतिनिधित्व करने वाले आदिवासी विधायको को एक अपमानित किये जाने की घटना घटित हुई। नेशनल हाइवे 69 पर आयोजित देश के पहले बहुउददेशीय आर टी ओ बेरियर के सरकारी कार्यक्रम के आमंत्रण कार्ड में दोनो आदिवासी समाज के नेता एवं विधायको में भाजपा की श्रीमति गीता रामजी लाल उइके घोडाडोंगरी विधानसभा क्षेत्र एवं कांग्रेस के धरमू सिंह सिरसाम भैसदेही विधानसभा क्षेत्र का नाम न छाप कर उन्हे अपमानित करने का घृणित कृत्य किया गया। अभी इस शर्मनाक प्रकरण की स्याही सुख भी नहीं पाई थी कि साल के प्रथम सप्ताह में जिले के जन सम्पर्क अधिकारी गुलाबसिंह मर्सकोले को जिला कलैक्टर बैतूल द्वारा कथित एवं व्यथित कर देने वाले अपशब्दो का प्रयोग करके उसे अपमानित करने का निदंनीय कार्य किया गया । इस साल के प्रथम मंगलवाल को जिला कलैक्टर कार्यालय परिसर में आयोजित जिला स्तरीय जनसुनवाई में ्रजिला कलैक्टर बैतूल विजय आनंद कुरूील ने अपनी दंबगता दिखाते राज्य सरकार के सूचना प्रचार तंत्र प्रमुख आधार बिन्दु कहे जाने वाले जिम्मेदार अधिकारी एवं आदिवासी समाज से आये अधिकारी को सरेआम अपमानित करते हुये उसका सर्विस रिकार्ड से लेकर उसके तबादले तक करवाने डालने की धमकी दे डाली। पूरे जिले भर के अधिकारियों एवं कर्मचारियों के बीच कलैक्टर बैतूल आप खो गये और उन्होने एक आदिवासी प्रथम श्रेणी अधिकारी  के मान सम्मान को अपने पैरो तले कुचल डाला। अपशब्दो के साथ कलैक्टर द्वारा अपमानित अधिकारी को उसका सर्विस रिकार्ड तथा उसके तबादले तक करवा देने की धमकी देकर उसे मानसिक आघात पहुंचाने का कृत्य किया जिसकी सर्वत्र निंदा की जा रही है। बैतूल आये विजय आनंद कुरील अपनी पदस्थाापना के पूर्व से ही विवादो में अकसर घिरे रहते चले आ रहे है। बैतूल के भूमाफिया के दबाव में आकर उक्त अधिकारी द्वारा चिटनीस बंगला जिसमें जिला जन सम्पर्क कार्यालय चल रहा है उसे खाली करने के लिए जिला जन सम्पर्क अधिकारी बैतूल पर दबाव बनाया जा रहा था । बताया जाता है कि पूर्व कलैक्टर अरूण भटट् के समय भी करोडो की बहुमूल्य कीमत वाले चिटनीस बंगले को खाली करवाने के लिए भूमाफिया द्वारा पच्चीस लाख रूपये की सुपारी दिये जाने की अटकलो के बीच दुसरे कलैक्टर द्वारा जब बार - बार उक्त कार्यालय में बरसो से संचालित जन सम्पर्क कार्यालय को खाली करवाने के लिए अनाधिकृत रूप से जन सम्पर्क अधिकारी बैतूल पर दबाव डाला गया लेकिन जन सम्पर्क अधिकारी ने पत्रकारो के बीच विवाद का केन्द्र बने सासंद निधि से बने मीडिया सेंटर में अपना कार्यालय को स्थान्तरीत करने से मना किये जाने तथा अपने बडे अधिकारियों से मार्गदर्शन लेने के लिए पत्राचार किया गया तो अपना कथित आपा खो गये जिला कलैक्टर द्वारा जिला जन सम्पर्क अधिकारी को डराने - धमकाने एवं अपमानित किये जाने का घृणित कार्य किया गया। सारे मामले के पीछे की कहानी कुछ इस प्रकार की बताई जाती है कि जिले के पूर्व सासंद असलम शेर खान द्वारा दी गई सासंद निधि से बनवाये गये मीडिया सेंटर का पूर्व सासंद स्वर्गीय विजय कुमार खण्डेलवाल ने शुभारंभ किया था लेकिन पत्रकारो के बीच स्वामीत्व की लड़ाई के चलते विवादो का केन्द्र रहे मीडिया सेंटर में कलैक्टर द्वारा कथित भूमाफिया को लाभ पहुंचाने की मंशा से उक्त किराये का भवन खाली करवा कर उसे मीडिया सेंटर में लाने के लिए अनाधिकृत रूप से दबाव बनाया गया। इस कार्य को लेकर जन सम्पर्क अधिकारी द्वारा आयुक्त जन सम्पर्क कार्यालय भोपाल को अवगत करवाया गया लेकिन जब उनकी ओर से कोई लिखित आदेश न आने पर साल के आखरी सप्ताह में चिटनीस बंगला खाली नहीं हो सका जिसको लेकर भूमाफिया के दबाव में आकर जिला कलैक्टर द्वारा आदिवासी अधिकारी के साथ वह सब कुछ कर डाला गया जो कि प्रदेश सरकार के मुखिया एवं सरकार की मंशा के विरूद्ध है। अपने अपमान से दुखी जन सम्पर्क अधिकारी ने आयुक्त अनुसूचित जन जाति आयोग से लेकर सभी आला अफसरो को पत्र लिख कर न्याय की मांग की है। इधर घटना की जानकारी मिलते ही जिले भर के पत्रकारो ने इस घटना की निंदा करते हुये जिला कलैक्टर के तबादले एवं उनके विरूद्ध कार्यवाही की मांग प्रदेश सरकार से की है। जिले भर के पत्रकारो ने सर्व सम्मति से निर्णय लिया है कि इस मामले पर कार्यवाही न होने की स्थिति में शासकीय योजनाओं के एवं कार्यक्रमो का पत्रकार समाज बहिष्कार करेगा। 


भील जनजाति के गौरव : टंटया मामा PDF Print E-mail
THURSDAY, 15 SEPTEMBER 2011 16:03
अपनी शोध यात्रा के दौरान जब में खण्डवा जिले की पंधाना तहसील के ग्राम विरहा में जन नायक टंटया मामा के वंशज से मिला तो उनके बारे में जानने की इच्छा वलवती हुर्इ वे कौन थे?, कैसे थे? उन्होने कैसे कार्य किये? किस प्रकार अंग्रेजों से लोहा लिया और उन्हें इंडियन रोबिनहुड क्यों पुकारा गया?टंटया मामा ने  किस प्रकार लोगों के मन में क्रांति की अलख जगार्इ इत्यादि प्रश्नों के उत्तर मन में उठरहे थे। और मन इन प्रश्नों का जबाब जानने के लिये आतुर था।
इस दौरान टंटया मामा के संबंध में खण्डवा जिला पंचायत अध्यक्ष राजपाल सिंह तौमर, नबल जी, दिनेश जयसवाल, पंधाना विधायक अनार सिंह पंधाना जनपद पंचायत अध्यक्ष अशीष मालवीय, चुन्नीलाल नेवलानी, सुभाष दसौरे, मिश्रीलाल पटैल,वंशीलाल पटैल,प्रमिला राजेश पटैल, पुष्पा जयसवाल,अमर सिंह झाला, भवंर सिंह गौंड़, श्याम गंगराढे़ , दीपेन्द्र चौहान एवं विरहा गांव के लोगों से महत्वपूर्ण जानकारी प्राप्त हुर्इ। बातचीत के दौरान ज्ञात हुआ कि- ' सावले रंग की, लंबी और दुबली लेकिन लोहे सी मजबूत काया बाले टंटया का जन्म सन 1824 से 1827 के मध्य खण्डवा जिले की पंधाना तहसील के छोटे से गांव विरहा में हुआ था। इनके पिता का नाम भाउसिंह ओर मां का नाम जीवणी था। इनके बचपन का नाम टुंडरा था। जो आगे चलकर संभवत: बगावत करने के कारण टंटया पड़ा। निशानेवाजी, घुड़सवारी,डाव,गौफंण चलाने में उनका कोर्इ मुकाबला नहीं था। टंटया के पिता पटैल के यहां चाकर थे पटैल वेहद क्रूर और अत्याचारी था गांव के गरीब आदिवासियों पर वह तरह तरह के जुल्म ढाता, उनकी जमीन हड़प कर उनसे चाकरी कराता था। लेकिन गांव वाले उसका विरोध करने की हिम्मत नहीं जुटा पाते थे। टंटया की मां जीवणी एवं पिता भाऊसिंह की हत्या भी पटैल और उसके आदमियों ने की। जब किशोर टंटया ने विरोध किया तो पटैल ने आदिवासियों की बसितयां जला दीं। बचपन से ही स्वाभीमानी और निर्भीक टंटया आतंक और अत्याचार से तकं आकर असहाय लोंगों, महिलाओं और बच्चों की रक्षा करने की कसम खार्इ ओर पटैल जैसे हर उस व्यकित से बदला लेने की ठानी जो अपनी ताकत के बल पर गरीबों से पशुओं जैसा अत्याचार करते थे। 
स्वाधीनता संग्राम में राजनैतिक दलों और शिक्षित वर्ग के वि्रटिश हुकूमत को समाप्त करने के लिये किये गये आन्दोलन के पूर्व ही टंटया मामा जैसे आदिवासी क्रांतिकारियों ने अंगे्रजी सम्राज्य के खिलाफ आम लोगों की आवाज बुलन्द कर देश को गुलामी से मुक्त कराने का शंखनांद कर दिया था। टंटया अब ऐसे जन यौद्धा बन गये थे जो आम जन को न्याय दिलाने के लिये अंगे्रजों से, तत्कालीन व्यवस्था से, समाज से लड़ने लगे टंटया अंग्रेजों के सरकारी खजानों एवं अंगे्रज परस्त जमीदारों व साहूकारों, चाटूकारों  के धन को लूट कर उसे जरूरत मंदों और गरीबों में बांट देते थे वह गरीबों के मसीहा थे। वह अचानक ऐसे समय लोगों की सहायता के लिये पहुंच जाते थे जब किसी आर्थिक सहायता की जरूरत होती थी अंगे्रज उन्हें इन्हीं कारणों से इंडियन रोबिनहुड कहते थे। इसकी पुषिट द न्यूयार्क टाइम्स के 10 नवम्बर 1889 के अंक में टंटया भील की गिरफ्तारी के संबंधित  खबर के प्रकाशन से उठी है।
जन यौद्धा टंटया के बहादुरी के चर्चे दूर-दूर तक फैलने लगे थे उनकी बीरता और साहस से प्रभावित होकर 1857 की क्रांती के नायक तात्या टोपे ने उन्हे गौरिल्ला युद्ध में प्रशिक्षण दिया टंटया ने अपनी टोली के साथ छापा मार युद्ध तकनीकि एवं सूझ-बूझ भरी रणनीति से अंगेंजों व रियासत के जमीदारों को खूब छकाया। वह भेष बदल कर घूमते थे। उन्होने कर्इ अपने हम सकल भी तैयार कर लीये थे। संभवत: टंटया पहले ऐसे व्यकित थे जिनके आतंक से निपटने के लिये अंगे्रजो को टंटया पुलिस विग्रेड बनानी पड़ी। होलकर महाराज को भी टंटया मामा से संधि करने पड़ी इसके पश्चात टंटया ने होलकर रियासत में लूटपाट बन्द कर दी। होशंगावाद,धार,निमाड़,बैतूल, मालवा, राजस्थान के बंशबाड़ा, भीलबाड़ा, डूंगरपुर, खानदेश,होलकर स्टैट और आस पास के इलाकों तक उनका प्रभाव था। अंगे्रजों के जब टंटया को पकड़ने के सारे प्रयास विफल हो गये तब पुलिस और माल गुजार हिम्मत ने मिलकर टंटया को चोरी के झूंठे आरोप में फसा दिया। टंटया से पुलिस का झूंठा आरोप बर्दाशत नहीं हुआ और बे उनसे भिड़ गये पुलिस ने बंदी बनाकर उन्हें खण्डवा जेल भेज दिया किन्तु अपनी सूझ-बूझ से वे जेल से भाग निकले और जंगल पहुच गये। वह 1857 के स्वाधीनता संग्राम के बाद जंगल में आये सैकड़ों स्वतंत्रता संग्राम सेनानियों के आश्रय दाता बने। 21 नबम्बर 1858 को स्वतंत्रता संग्राम सेनानियों द्वारा खरगौन के किले की विजय का श्रेय टंटया और उसकी टोली को ही जाता है। तात्या टोपे के साथ खानदेश की लड़ार्इ में महत्वपूर्ण भूमिका निभाने और रघुनाथ मंडलौर्इ के साथ जबलपुर जेल पर धाबा बोलकर बंदियों को छुड़ाने में टंटया मामा की विशेष भूमिका रही। लेकिन तात्या टोपे के समान टंटया मामा के साथ भी विश्वास घात हुआ। 11 अगस्त 1889 का रक्षाबंधन के अबसर पर मुँह बोली बहन के घर जीजा गणपत द्वारा उन्हें धोखे से गिरफ्तार कर लिया गया। टंटया को बि्रटिश रेजीडेन्सी के सिथत  सेन्ट्रल इंडिया जेल इंदौर में रखने के बाद जबलपुर भेजदिया गया जहां बि्रटिश हुकमरानो ने उन्हे भीषण नारकीय यातनाएं दी और उनपर अमानवीय अत्याचार किये । टंटया को 19 अक्टूबर 1889 को सेशन  न्यायालय जबलपुर ने फांसी की सजा सुनार्इ जन विद्रोह के डर से टंटया को कब कहां किस तारीख को फांसी दी गर्इ फासी उन्हें या उनके हम सकल को दी गर्इ। यह आज भी अज्ञात है। निमाड़ी जन का कहना है कि फांसी के बाद टंटया के शब को इन्दौर के निकट खण्डवा रेल मार्ग पर सिथत पाताल पानी (काला पानी) रेल्वे स्टेशन के पास लेजाकर फैंक दिया गया था। वहां पर बनी हुर्इ एक समाधी स्थल पर लकड़ी के पुतलों को टंटया मामा की समाधी माना जाता है। आज भी सभी रेल चालक पाताल पानी पर टंटया मामा को सलामी देने कुछ क्षण के लिये रेल को रोकते हैं।
टंटया मामा के बारे में लिखने के लिये तो बहुत है किन्तु इस लेख में इनके सम्पूर्ण कृत्यों को समाहित करना संभव नहीं है। निश्चय ही टंटया निमाड़ी क्षेत्र जाबाज यौद्धा स्वतंत्रय समर के क्रांतिकारी सपूत एवं एक किवदंती पुरूष थें। स्वतंत्रता संग्राम में बि्रटिश हुकूमत को कमजोर करने और अंग्रेजों सेठ, साहूकारों, व जमीदारों के शोषण अन्याय व अत्याचारो से लोगो को मुक्त कराने के लिये 12 वर्षों तक सतत संघर्ष किया और अपने प्राणों का बलिदान दिया। जनजातिये समाज एवं अंचल के लोग  उन्हे देवता की तरह पूजते है, अन्य स्वतंत्रता संग्राम सेनानियों के समान उनका सम्मान करते हैं, टंटया के नाम की शपथ लेकर विवाद अथवा मुकदमें में सच झूंठ का फैसला तक होता है। इनकी बहादुरी के किस्से लोक गीतों, लोक कथाओं में आज भी जीवन्त हैं। आजादी के इतने वर्षों बाद भी शहीद टंटया को कभी वह गौरव और सम्मान नहीं मिला जिसके वह हकदार थे। आदिम जाति कल्याण मंत्री विजयशाह ने हर संभव प्रयास कर शहीद टंटया मामा को बीरोचित सम्मान दिलाया म0प्र0 सरकार ने जनजातीये प्रतिभाओं को  प्रोत्साहित करने के लिये 1 लाख रूपये का जन नायक टंटया भील सम्मान स्थापित किया मुख्यमंत्री शिवराज सिंह चौहान ने शहीद टंटया भील के स्मारक की स्थापना कर निश्चय ही स्वतंत्रता संग्राम के जनवादी इतिहास को स्वर्णिम रूप देने का कार्य किया है।
•इन वीर क्रांतिकारी टंटया मामा के स्वतंत्रता संग्राम में महत्वपूर्ण अवदान को अधिक से अधिक प्रचारित करने हेतु लोक पंचायत ने एक महत्वपूर्ण पहल की है। ंजिसके तहत आपके विचार एवं सुझाव सादर आमंत्रित हैं। इस प्रयास को सफल बनाने के लिये सभी लोगों से निवेदन है कि वे टंटया मामा के संबंध में अपने विचार संबंधित स्मृति चिन्ह एवं इस प्रयास को सफल बनाने हेतु सुझाव लिखित रूप में अथवा र्इ-मेल के माध्यम से मुख्यालय(दिल्ली) एवं राज्य व्यूरो (म0प्र0) को भेजें। इसमें अपने नाम व पते का उल्लेख अवश्य करे ताकि उन्हें यथा स्थान प्रकाशित किया जा सके।

मध्यप्रदेश की जीवन रेखा मां नर्मदा के पावन तट पर होशंगाबाद में भारतीय जनता पार्टी प्रदेश कार्यसमिति की बैठक आयोजित  की गई। पिछले दिनों अयोध्या स्थित राम जन्म भूमि मामले पर इलाहाबाद उच्च न्यायालय के द्वारा दिये गये निर्णय का भारतीय जनता पार्टी स्वागत करती है। सभी तरह की आशंकाओं को पीछे छोड़ते हुए मध्यप्रदेश में शांति और सौहार्द की जो मिसाल कायम हुई है प्रदेष के सभी वर्गो ने भी जिस तरह इसकी सराहना की है वह काबिले तारीफ रहे। उसके लिए प्रदेश के माननीय मुख्यमंत्री शिवराज सिंह चौहान और भाजपा सरकार को बधाई देते हुए मध्यप्रदेश के सभी वर्गो के धर्माचार्यो, प्रदेश की जनता व प्रशासन तंत्र को यह कार्यसमिति धन्यवाद देती है। 
    विगत दिनों उज्जैन नगर निगम में हुए चुनाव में मिली ऐतिहासिक जीत पर उज्जैन के सभी कार्यकर्ताओं व उज्जैन की जनता के प्रति भी यह कार्यसमिति आभार प्रगट करती है।    मध्यप्रदेश के विकास के लिए माननीय मुख्यमंत्री शिवराज सिंह चौहान के नेतृत्व में भाजपा सरकार द्वारा किये जा रहे प्रयासों से प्रदेष में भारी औद्योगिक निवेष, कृषि को लाभकारी बनाने, अधोसंरचना का विकास व हिन्दी विष्वविद्यालय की स्थापना जैसे प्रयासों के परिणामस्वरूप यह प्रदेश देश का अग्रणी राज्य बनने की ओर अग्रसर है। प्रदेश की भाजपा सरकार की जनहित एवं जनकल्याणकारी योजनाओं की न सिर्फ प्रदेश में बल्कि राष्ट्रीय स्तर पर भी सराहना की गयी है। मध्यप्रदेश भारतीय जनता पार्टी इस बात से गौरवान्वित है कि इन योजनाओं व अपनी कार्य क्षमताओं के कारण माननीय शिवराज सिंह चौहान को देश के सर्वाधिक लोकप्रिय मुख्यमंत्रियों की श्रेणी में सम्मिलित किया गया है।
    पं.दीनदयाल के दर्शन को आत्मसात करते हुए मध्यप्रदेश की भाजपा सरकार ने पंडित दीनदयाल की जयंती के अवसर पर ''लोक सेवा प्रदान गारंटी अधिनियम'' प्रदेश में लागू किया है। इस ऐतिहासिक निर्णय ने मध्यप्रदेश की सरकार को देश की ऐसी पहली व एकमात्र सरकार के रूप में स्थापित किया है जो अपनी जनता को उसके अधिकारों के साथ-साथ जनहित और जन कल्याणकारी योजनाओं में उसकी स्पष्ट भागीदारी सुनिश्चित कर रही है। यह अधिनियम प्रदेश की जनता को उसके अधिकारों की गारंटी देता है जिसके अंतर्गत प्रारंभिक रूप से 9 विभागों की 26 योजनाओं के संबंध में आम आदमी को निर्धारित समयावधि के भीतर लाभ उपलब्ध नहीं कराने पर संबंधित अधिकारी और कर्मचारी दोषी माने जायेंगे। उसके लिए निर्धारित दण्ड की राशि भी उन्हें अपने पास से क्षतिपूर्ति के रूप में आवेदक को देनी होगी तथा अनुषासनात्मक कार्यवाही का सामना भी उनको करना पड़ेगा। 
    प्रदेश में अनुसूचित जाति व जनजाति के कल्याण की अनेकों योजनायें भाजपा सरकार ने लागू की है। अनुसूचित जनजाति के बहनों व भाईयों को वनाधिकार कानून के अंतर्गत अधिकार पत्र देने में मध्यप्रदेश देश का पहला राज्य बन चुका है। अनुसूचित जनजातियों के हितग्राहियों को शासन की विभिन्न योजनाओं का समुचित लाभ सुनिश्चित कराने, उनकी शिकायतों एवं समस्याओं के त्वरित निराकरण व वनाधिकार अधिनियम के क्रियान्वयन के उद्देश्यों से 28 अक्टूबर 2010 से प्रदेश के माननीय मुख्यमंत्री श्री शिवराज सिंह जी चौहान द्वारा वनवासी सम्मान यात्रा प्रारंभ की जा रही है जो टंटया भील की जन्म स्थली से प्रारंभ होगी। यह वह स्थली है जहां टंटया भील की स्मृति में एक भव्य स्मारक बनाने का निर्णय भी सरकार ने लिया है। यह ऐतिहासिक निर्णय है। क्योकि यह सरकार और भारतीय जनता पार्टी अपने इन भाईयो और बहनों को वनवासी नहीं बल्कि मन का वासी मानती है। ऐसे मन के वासियों के बीच सरकार के मुखिया स्वयं पहुंच रहें हैं। 
    अनुसूचित जाति/जनजाति एवं विभिन्न जनजाति के छात्र-छात्राओं को दी जाने वाली छात्रवृत्ति, शिष्य वृत्ति को महंगाई के आधार पर निर्धारित करने का निर्णय मध्यप्रदेश की भाजपा सरकार ने लिया है। महंगाई के आधार पर छात्रवृत्ति का वितरण करने वाला मध्यप्रदेश देश का पहला राज्य है।   एक नवम्बर 2010 से उपभोक्ता मूल्य सूचकांक के आधार पर छात्रवृत्ति की दरों को बढ़ाकर छात्र एवं छात्राओं के लिए क्रमश: 500 से 675 रू. एवं   525 से 700 रू. कर दिया गया है।
    मध्यप्रदेश देश का ऐसा पहला राज्य है जहां कृषि को लाभकारी बनाने हेतु अधिक कदम उठाये हैं, जिनमें से किसानों को आत्मनिर्भर बनाने हेतु 3 प्रतिशत ब्याज दर पर ऋण तथा फसल पर बोनस बढ़ाने जैसी योजनायें शामिल हैं। मध्यप्रदेश सरकार ने अब किसानों के हित में ऐतिहासिक निर्णय लेते हुए अफलन को प्राकृतिक आपदा घोषित किया है। साथ ही प्राकृतिक आपदा की स्थिति में आर.बी.सी. के अंतर्गत किसानों को दी जाने वाली राशि को महंगाई के आधार पर देने का निर्णय किया है। अभी तक प्राकृतिक आपदा की स्थिति में हानि के प्रतिशत की गणना कुल बोये क्षेत्रफल के आधार पर की जाती थी। अब मात्र नुकसान हुए क्षेत्र में ही हानि का आंकलन कर सहायता प्रदान की जायेगी। किसानों को शोषण से बचाने हेतु प्रदेष सरकार ने यह निर्णय लिया है कि कृषि कार्यो हेतु दी जाने वाली सबसिडी सीधे किसानों को दी जायेगी। ताकि सबसिडी का प्रत्यक्ष लाभ उन्हें मिल सके। किसानों के हित में लिये गये यह वे निर्णय है जिनके कारण अब मध्यप्रदेष में किसी गरीब किसान की जमीन कर्ज के बोझ से नीलाम नहीं होगी। प्रदेष की भाजपा सरकार के यह सभी निर्णय केन्द्र की कांग्रेस नीत यूपीए सरकार कांग्रेस शासित राज्यों में जहॉं किसान भूख से आत्म हत्या कर रहा है। वही मध्यप्रदेष की भाजपा सरकार अपने सीमित संसाधनों के बावजूद भी कृषि को लाभकारी बना रही है। 
     प्रदेश में भाजपा की सरकार बनने के पहले तक ऊर्जा का गंभीर संकट हुआ करता था। अब विद्युत उत्पादन के मामले में आत्मनिर्भरता बढ़ी है। लेकिन इससे अभी प्रदेश सरकार संतुष्ट नहीं है। कृषि कार्यों हेतु किसानों को अधिक बिजली मिले और साथ ही बिजली संकट के कारण बच्चों की शिक्षा पर कोई असर न हो इसके लिए सरकार ने प्रदेश में फीडर सेप्रेशन का महत्वाकांक्षी कार्य प्रारंभ कर दिया है और इसके लिए आवश्यक लगभग 5500 करोड़ रूपये की राशि की व्यवस्था अपने बूते पर की है। सरकार का लक्ष्य है कि वर्ष 2013 जनवरी तक गांवों व षहरों हेतु 24 घंटे व कृषि कार्यो हेतु लगातर 8 घंटे तीन फेस बिजली प्रदेश की जनता को दी जायेगी। लगभग 300 फीडरों का सेप्रेशन का कार्य पूर्ण भी हो चुका है जिसकी शुरूआत सागर जिले में माननीय मुख्यमंत्री जी शीघ्र करने वाले हैं। जहां-जहां फीडर सेप्रेशन का यह कार्य पूर्ण होता जायेगा वहां गांवों में 16 घंटे विद्युत प्रदाय की व्यवस्था प्रारंभ कर दी जायेगी। 
    मध्यप्रदेश में सड़कों के निर्माण में पिछले 5 वर्षों में अभूतपूर्व कार्य हुआ है। प्रदेश में पिछले 6 वर्षों में 60 हजार किलोमीटर से अधिक लम्बाई की सड़कें बनी हैं। प्रदेश के संभाग मुख्यालयों को फोर लेन और जिला मुख्यालयों को टू लेन सड़कों से जोड़ा जा रहा है। मध्यप्रदेश की भाजपा सरकार ने ऐतिहासिक निर्णय लेते हुए प्रदेश की समस्त ग्रामीण बसाहटों को बारहमासी सड़कों से जोड्ने के लिए मुख्यमंत्री सड़क योजना का क्रियान्वयन प्रारंभ कर दिया है जिसके अंतर्गत सामान्य क्षेत्र में 500 व आदिवासी क्षेेत्र में 250 से कम जनसंख्या वाले तथा ऐसे ग्राम जो प्रधानमंत्री ग्राम सड़क योजना में सम्मिलित नहीं हो पा रहे हैं इनमें से 19 हजार कि.मी. लम्बाई की ग्रेवल सड़कों का निर्माण 3 चरणों में लगभग 3200 करोड़ रू. की लागत से किया जायेगा। 
    मध्यप्रदेश में पिछले 5 वर्षों में औद्योगिक विकास की दृष्टि से अनेक महत्वपूर्ण कार्य किये गये हैं। वर्ष 2003 में भाजपा की सरकार बनने से पूर्व प्रदेश में निवेश करने से बड़े औद्योगिक घराने शंकित रहते थे। प्रदेश की भाजपा सरकार द्वारा औद्योगिक वातावरण के निर्माण के साथ-साथ देशी व विदेशी निवेशकों को आर्कषित करने के लिए प्रदेश में अलग-अलग स्थानोंं पर लगातार इन्वेस्टर्स मीट का आयोजन किया गया। अभी-अभी 22-23 अक्टूबर 2010 को खजुराहो में ग्लोबल इन्वेस्टर्स मीट टू का आयोजन किया गया जिसमें विश्व के 17 देशों से 70 प्रतिनिधियों ने और भारत के विभिन्न क्षेत्रों के प्रमुख उद्योगपति एवं निवेशकों ने भाग लिया जिसमें कुल दो लाख पैतीस हजार करोड़ रू. के 107 एमओयू हस्ताक्षरित किये गये। महत्वपूर्ण बात यह है कि एमओयू इससे कहीं अधिक राषि के हस्ताक्षरित हो सकते थे किन्तु गंभीर जांच पड़ताल के उपरांत ही एमओयू हस्ताक्षरित किये गये। मध्यप्रदेष में निवेष हेतु बड़े उद्योगपति कितने गंभीर है यह इससे ही स्पष्ट हो जाता है कि खजुराहो में हस्ताक्षरित एमओयू के अतिरिक्त देष के प्रमुख उद्योगपति अनिल अंबानी ने अगले पांच वर्षो में मध्यप्रदेष में 75 हजार करोड़ रूपये के निवेष की घोषणा की हैं। प्रदेश में विदेश व देश के बड़े उद्योगपतियों की निवेश हेतु बढ़ती हुई रूचि यह साबित करती है कि मध्यप्रदेश अब निवेष के लिए उद्योगपतियों का पसंदीदा राज्य बन चुका है। प्रदेष सरकार द्वारा 1 नवम्बर 2010 से नई उद्योग नीति प्रारंभ की जा रही है जिसमें अनुबंधों में 50 प्रतिशत रोजगार स्थानीय लोगों को देने का प्रावधान है तथा 90 प्रतिषत से अधिक स्थानीय लोगों को रोजगार देने वाले उद्योगो को विषेष पेकेज देने की योजना है रोजगार को बढ़ावा देने के लिए यदि कम पूंजी वाले उद्योग भी एक हजार स्थानीय लोगों को सीधे रोजगार देते है तो उन्हें भी विषेष पैकेज दिया जायेगा। इसके अतिरिक्त बीमार उद्योगो के पुर्नवास एवं अंधोसंरचना निर्माण पर व्यय की 50 प्रतिषत राषि देने जैसी ऐतिहासिक योजनाऐ भी इस नई नीति में शामिल है। 
    हमारे देश की मातृभाषा हिन्दी है लेकिन आजादी के पश्चात् मातृभाषा के सम्मान एवं उसे अधिक प्रभावी बनाने की दिशा में जिस तरह से कार्य होना चाहिए था वह नहीं हुआ। लेकिन मध्यप्रदेश की भाजपा सरकार ने हिन्दी को प्रोत्साहन देने व देश की संस्कृति व परम्परा का सम्मान करते हुए 14 सितम्बर 2010 को हिन्दी दिवस के अवसर पर हिन्दी विश्वविद्यालय की स्थापना करने का निर्णय लिया है। माननीय मुख्यमंत्री का यह निर्णय इस कड़ी प्रतिस्पर्धा के दौर में प्रदेष के युवाओं को कम्प्युटर, इंटरनेट सहित आधुनिक विज्ञान को अपनी मातृभाषा में समझने में मील का पत्थर साबित होगा। 
    प्रदेश में युवाओं के कौशल विकास, कार्य क्षमता एवं रोजगार पाने की क्षमता में वृद्धि करने हेतु मध्यप्रदेश शासन द्वारा उच्च गुणवत्ता युक्त व्यवसायिक शिक्षा पाठ्यक्रम प्रारंभ किये जायेंगे। निजी क्षेत्र की भागीदारी से जिलों में आई.टी.आई व पॉलिटेक्निक जैसी संस्थायें प्रारंभ की जायेंगी ताकि कुशल कारीगरों की मांग को पूरा करने के साथ- साथ अनौपचारिक व संगठित क्षेत्र के श्रमिकों को कुशल प्रशिक्षण प्रदान करने का कार्य भी किया जा सके। प्रतिभावान विद्यार्थियों को उच्च शिक्षा के लिए प्रोत्साहित करने हेतु 
श्यामा प्रसाद मुखर्जी छात्रवृत्ति योजना के अंतर्गत 500 से 1000 रू. की मासिक छात्रवृत्ति प्रदान करने की योजना प्रारंभ की जा रही है।

     प्रदेश में रोजगार के अधिक अवसर उपलब्ध कराने एवं योजनाओं के प्रभावी क्रियान्वयन हेतु भर्ती एवं नियुक्ति पर प्रदेश सरकार विशेष ध्यान दे रही है जिसके अंतर्गत 1100 से अधिक चिकित्सकों ताकि विशेष रूप से ग्रामीण क्षेत्रों में चिकित्सकों की कमी को पूरा किया जा सके की नियुक्तियां की जायेंगी।  प्रदेश में शिक्षकों की कमी को देखते हुए 1 लाख शिक्षकों को शासकीय सेवा में नियोजित करने का अभूतपूर्व निर्णय लिया जा रहा है। प्रदेश की कानून व्यवस्था को चुस्त बनाये रखने में पुलिस बल की सर्वाधिक आवश्यकता होती है। इस हेतु पुलिस बल की आवश्यकता को जनसंख्या वृद्धि के साथ जोडऩे का निर्णय लिया गया है तथा लगभग 6 हजार पुलिस कर्मियों की नियुक्ति की जायेगी तथा अन्य विभागों में भी रिक्त पदों पर भर्ती के आदेष सरकार के द्वारा जारी कर दिये गये। 
    पर्यटन सम्पूर्ण विश्व में उद्योग का रूप ले चुका है। किसी भी प्रदेश में अधिक पर्यटकों की उपस्थिति समृद्धि व रोजगार के अवसर उपलब्ध कराती है। मध्यप्रदेश में पर्यटन की अपार संभावनाओं को ध्यान में रखते हुए भारतीय संस्कृति और सभ्यता के अनुरूप पर्यटन को बढ़ावा देने की दिशा में नवीन पर्यटन नीति लागू की गयी है। पर्यटन को बढ़ावा देने में प्रदेश सरकार के योगदान हेतु सर्वश्रेष्ठ राज्य का अवार्ड भी मध्यप्रदेश की भाजपा सरकार को प्राप्त हुआ है। 

    मध्यप्रदेश में खेलों को बढ़ावा देने हेतु सरकार ने लगातार बजट में वृद्धि की है जिसके परिणामस्वरूप युवा कल्याण विभाग की विभिन्न अकादमियों में प्रशिक्षित खिलाडिय़ों ने राष्ट्रीय एवं अंतराष्टीऊय प्रतियोगिताओं में 750 से अधिक पदक लेकर प्रदेश का गौरव बढ़ाया है। सरकार द्वारा खेलों के लिए किये गये विशेष प्रयासों के परिणामस्वरूप मध्यप्रदेश को राष्ट्रीय खेल प्रोत्साहन पुरस्कार प्राप्त हुआ है। मध्यप्रदेश देश का एकमात्र ऐसा राज्य है जिसे यह पुरूस्कार मिला है।
    एक ओर जहां प्रदेश की भाजपा सरकार जनहित और जन कल्याण की अपनी योजनाओं के माध्यम से प्रदेश को विकसित राज्य बनाने हेतु लगातार प्रयास कर रही है वहीं दूसरी ओर कांग्रेस की नेतृत्व वाली केन्द्र की यूपीए सरकार मध्यप्रदेश के साथ भेदभावपूर्ण एवं पक्षपातपूर्ण व्यवहार कर रही है, जो प्रदेश की साढ़े छै करोड़ जनता के साथ अन्याय है।
    भारत सरकार द्वारा इंदिरा आवास योजना में मध्यप्रदेश को अत्यंत कम लक्ष्य प्रदान किया जा रहा है। जहां बिहार को 7,59,000 आवासों का भौतिक लक्ष्य दिया गया है वहीं मध्यप्रदेश को मात्र 79,073 आवासों का लक्ष्य दिया गया है। यह प्रदेश के गरीब तथा अनुसूचित जाति तथा अनुसूचित जनजाति वर्ग के लोगों के साथ अन्याय है।

    मान. अटल बिहारी वाजपेई के प्रधानमंत्रित्व काल में केन्द्र की भाजपा गठबंधन सरकार ने प्रधानमंत्री ग्राम सड़क योजना प्रारंभ की थी। मध्यप्रदेश की भाजपा सरकार ने अभी तक 39,398 कि.मी. सड़कों का निर्माण कर 8,867 बसाहटों को पक्की सड़क से जोड़कर इस योजना में देश में सर्वोच्च स्थान अर्जित किया है किन्तु केन्द्र की सरकार ने मध्यप्रदेश की सरकार के साथ भेदभाव करते हुए इस वर्ष के सभी प्रस्तावों को बिना किसी उचित कारण के लौटाकर प्रदेश के ग्रामीण विकास को अवरूद्ध करने का प्रयास किया है।

    मध्यप्रदेश में देश के विकास की जीवन रेखा माने जाने वाले सभी राष्ट्रीय राजमार्ग दुर्दशा के शिकार हैं। सड़कें गड्डों में तब्दील हो चुकी हैं। जिनके रखरखाव का जिम्मा पूर्व में राष्ट्रीय राजमार्ग परिक्षेत्र द्वारा किया जाता था उन्हें अब राष्ट्रीय राजमार्ग प्राधिकरण को सौंप दिया गया है जिसके पास रखरखाव हेतु पर्याप्त अमला ही नहीं है। प्रदेष की भाजपा सरकार इस बात के लिये भी तैयार है कि या तो केन्द्र सरकार राष्ट्रीय राजमार्गो को ठीक करें अन्यथा डीनोटीफाईड कर राष्ट्रीय राजमार्गो की सूची से इन्हें अलग कर मध्यप्रदेष षासन को सौंप दें। प्रदेष सरकार स्वयं इन मार्गो को उच्च गुणवत्ता युक्त आधुनिक सड़कों के रूप में विकसित करेंगी। सड़कों के मामले में किसी भी तरह का समझौता स्वीकार नहीं होगा।  
    केन्द्र सरकार मध्यप्रदेश के साथ खाद्यान्न वितरण के मामले में एपीएल योजना व बीपीएल योजना दोनों के साथ ही लगातार भेदभाव कर रही है। अन्य राज्यों की तुलना में जानबूझकर मध्यप्रदेश को कम अनाज उपलब्ध कराया जा रहा है।
    देश में पं. अटल बिहारी वाजपेई जी के नेतृत्व वाली केन्द्र सरकार ने  सफल विदेश नीति के कारण जहां भारत का मस्तक पूरी दुनिया के सामने ऊंचा उठा था वहीं आज केन्द्र की यूपीए सरकार की कमजोर विदेश नीतियों के कारण भारत चारों तरफ से घिरा हुआ दिखायी दे रहा है। स्थिति इतनी विषम है कि भारतीय वायु सेना के प्रमुख को सार्वजनिक रूप से यह कहना पड़ा कि देश आज ज्वालामुखी के मुहाने पर है। जम्मू-कश्मीर के मुख्यमंत्री का बयान कि ''जम्मू कश्मीर के बारे में कोई निर्णय करने से पहले पाकिस्तान को विश्वास में लेना चाहिये'' यह बयान जम्मू कश्मीर में सरकार को समर्थन कर रही केन्द्र की कांग्रेस सरकार की विश्वसनीयता पर प्रश्न चिन्ह है वहीं उन वीर बलिदानियों का अपमान भी है जिन्होंने कश्मीर को भारत का अभिन्न अंग बनाये रखने के लिए अपने प्राण गवायें हैं। भारत की लोकसभा ने यह संकल्प पारित किया था कि पाकिस्तान अधिकृत कश्मीर हमारा है, हम उसे लेकर रहेंगे। लेकिन कांग्रेस के नेतृत्व वाली यूपीए सरकार ने आज अपनी तुष्टिकरण एवं दिशाहीन नीतियों के चलते अपनी भूमिका को ही संदेहास्पद बना लिया है। इसका दुष्परिणाम यह है कि भारत का अभिन्न अंग माने जाने वाला जम्मू-कश्मीर आज अशांति के चरम पर है और अलगाववादियों द्वारा उसे पाकिस्तान को सौंपने की बात की जा रही है जिसे भारतीय जनता पार्टी और इस देश की जनता कभी स्वीकार नहीं करेगी। 
    भ्रष्टाचार के मामले में केन्द्र सरकार ने लगातार नये-नये कीर्तिमान स्थापित किये हैं और स्थिति यहां तक विषम हो चुकी है कि खेल जैसे स्वतंत्र एवं गैर राजनैतिक क्षेत्र में भ्रष्टाचार का बोलबाला है। अभी-अभी सम्पन्न हुए कामन वेल्थ गेमों में 70 हजार करोड़ रू. का घोटाला सामने आया है जिसमें आयोजन समिति, केन्द्र की कांग्रेस सरकार के प्रतिनिधि व दिल्ली सरकार स्पष्ट रूप से दोषी दिखायी दे रही है। भाजपा के राष्ट्रीय अध्यक्ष मान. नीतिन गडकरी  ने प्रमाणों के साथ यह कहा है कि कामन वेल्थ गेमों में इस लूट के लिए प्रधानमंत्री और उनकी पूरी केबिनेट, खेल आयोजन समिति के सदस्य होने के नाते कांग्रेस महासचिव राहुल गांधी और केंद्रीय मंत्री ज्योतिरादित्य सिंधिया भी इसके लिए जवाबदेह हैं।
        देष में जहॉं एक ओर कांग्रेस षासित राज्यों में किसान भूख से आत्म हत्या कर रहा है वही केन्द्र के गोदामों में अनाज सड़ रहा है। 60 हजार टन से अधिक अनाज सडऩे के लिये जिम्मेदार केन्द्र सरकार ने सुप्रीम कोर्ट की यह सलाह भी नहीं मानी की अनाज देष की गरीब जनता में बॉंट दिया जाये। खेल के  नाम पर 70 हजार करोड़ रू. खर्च करने वाली इस सरकार ने मध्यप्रदेष सरकार के इस आग्रह को भी नहीं माना कि प्रदेष में गरीबी रेखा से नीचे जीवन यापन करने वालों लोगों के लिये आवंटित अनाज के कम कोटे में इसे समायोजित कर दिया जाये। केन्द्र की इस गरीब, किसान विरोधी सरकार को अनाज का सडऩा स्वीकार है, देष की भूख से पीडि़त गरीब जनता के लिये उसका उपयोग स्वीकार नहीं है। देष की जनता इसके लिये केन्द्र की कांग्रेस और उसकी यूपीए सरकार को कभी माफ नहीं करेगी। 
    मध्यप्रदेश में कम वर्षा के कारण अनेक जिले सूखे की चपेट में हैं। प्रदेश की सरकार अपने बूते पर राहत पहुंचाने का प्रयास कर रही है लेकिन भारतीय जनता पार्टी यह मांग करती है कि मध्यप्रदेश को सूखा राहत पैकेज भारत सरकार द्वारा दिया जाना चाहिये।
    मध्यप्रदेश के अपेक्षाकृत पिछड़े हुए क्षेत्रों के लिए प्रदेश सरकार ने पूर्व में बुंदेलखण्ड, महाकौशल एवं विन्ध्य क्षेत्र के विकास के लिए विशेष पैकेज की मांग की थी। माननीय मुख्यमंत्री जी द्वारा पत्र के माध्यम से तथा स्वयं प्रधानमंत्री से मिलकर भी इसकी आवश्यकता की जानकारी दी थी किन्तु केन्द्र सरकार ने मात्र बुंदेलखण्ड को 22 हजार 244 करोड़ रूपये की मांग के बदले अत्यंत न्यूनतम एवं अपर्याप्त पैकेज दिया है जिसकी अधिकांश राशि पूर्व से संचालित योजनाओं की है। महाकौशल क्षेत्र जो कि प्रदेश का अत्यंत पिछड़ा हुआ क्षेत्र है पहली बार आजादी के बाद जिसके विकास की चिन्ता मध्यप्रदेश की भारतीय जनता पार्टी की सरकार ने की है। ऐसे क्षेत्र के लिए भी केंद्र सरकार के द्वारा कोई पैकेज नहीं दिया गया है जबकि माननीय मुख्यमंत्री जी द्वारा 19,303 करोड़ के विषेष पैकेज की मांग की गयी थी। इसी तरह विन्ध्य क्षेत्र जो लगातार कम वर्षा के कारण सूखे की चपेट में है। जिसके लिए 17295 करोड़ रूपये क विषेष पैकेज की मांग की गई थी। किन्तु उस क्षेत्र के लिए भी कोई पैकेज केन्द्र सरकार के द्वारा नहीं दिया गया है। कार्य समिति यह मांग करती है कि इन सभी क्षेत्रों के लिए मांग के अनुसार पैकेज की राशि स्वीकृत की जाये।
    मध्यप्रदेष के साथ केन्द्र के द्वारा की जा रही लगातार उपेक्षा एवं भेदभाव के लिए यह कार्यसमिति कांग्रेस के नेतृत्व वाली यूपीए सरकार की निंदा करती है साथ ही भारतीय जनता पार्टी यह चेतावनी देती है कि देष की संघीय व्यवस्था के साथ हो रहे इस खिलवाड़ को रोकते हुए मध्यप्रदेष की साढे छ: करोड़ जनता को उसका अधिकार नहीं दिया गया तो भारतीय जनता पार्टी सड़क पर उतरकर जनता के हित में आंदोलन करेगी। भारतीय जनता पार्टी अपने सभी कार्यकर्ताओं के साथ लोक सेवा प्रदान गारंटी अधिनियम सहित मध्यप्रदेष की जनहित व जनकल्याण की योजनाओं का प्रदेष की जनता को लाभ दिलाने का संकल्प लेती है। 
    मध्यप्रदेष को विकसित राज्य बनाने तथा प्रदेष के आर्थिक, सामाजिक एवं भौगोलिक रूप से पिछड़े क्षेत्र एवं जनता को समाज की मुख्यधारा में लाने के लिए किये जा रहे प्रयासों हेतु यह प्रदेष कार्यसमिति माननीय मुख्यमंत्री षिवराज सिंह चौहान सहित उनकी सरकार तथा भारतीय जनता पार्टी के उन सभी लाखों कार्यकर्ताओं जो सरकार के साथ खड़े है को बधाई देती है।  

Adivasi

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
An Adivasi woman from the Kutia Kondhtribal group in Orissa


Adivasi (SanskritNepaliHindiआदिवासीādivāsī) is an umbrella term for a heterogeneous set of ethnic and tribal groups claimed to be the aboriginal population of India.[1][2][3] They comprise a substantial indigenous minority of the population of India. The word is used in the same sense inNepal as is another word janajati (Nepaliजनजातिjanajāti), although the political context differed historically under the Shah and Rana dynasties.

Adivasi societies are particularly present in the Indian [[States and territories f Tamil Nadu, Orissa,Madhya PradeshChattisgarhRajasthanGujaratMaharashtraAndhra PradeshBihar,JharkhandWest BengalMizoram, and other northeastern states, and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. Many smaller tribal groups are quite sensitive to ecological degradation caused by modernization. Both commercial forestry and intensive agriculture have proved destructive to theforests that had endured swidden agriculture for many centuries.[4] Officially recognized by the Indian government as "Scheduled Tribes" in the Fifth Schedule of the Constitution of India, they are often grouped together with scheduled castes in the category "Scheduled Castes and Tribes", which is eligible for certain affirmative action measures.

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[edit]Connotations of the word 'Adivāsi'

Although terms such as atavikavanavāsi ("forest dwellers"), or girijan ("hill people")[5] are also used for the tribes of India, adivāsi carries the specific meaning of being the original and autochthonous inhabitants of a given region, and was specifically coined for that purpose in the 1930s.[6] Over a period of time, unlike the terms "aborigines" or "tribes", the word "adivasi" has also developed a connotation of past autonomy which was disrupted during the British colonial period in India and has not been restored.[7]

In Nepal, the infiltration of Khas people from west to east through the Middle Hills, then the consolidation of dozens of petty kingdoms by the Shahs followed by the usurpation by the Ranas brought indigenous nationalities under orthodox Hindu rule and then codified inferior social and political status into a corpus of law known as Muluki Ain. Although the Shah kings were restored to power in the revolution of 1950, they still governed mostly for and through high caste BahunsThakurisChhetris and Newars. Enfranchisement of adivasis—except Newars—seldom advanced beyond lip service. This produced grievances that were instrumental in the Nepalese Civil War, where the rank and file of guerilla fighters were largely adivasi. Thus in Nepal, there are no historical parallels to British interference with orthodox Hindu discrimination, nor was there much resembling India's significantly effective post-Independence efforts to improve the lot of adivasis.

In India, opposition to usage of the term is varied, and it has been argued that the "original inhabitant" contention is based on dubious claims and that the adivāsi - non adivasi divide that has been created is artificial.[8] It should also be noted that in Northeast India, the term Adivāsi applies only to the Tea-tribes imported from Central India during colonial times, while all tribal groups refer collectively to themselves by using the English word "tribes".

[edit]Scheduled tribes

The Constitution of India, Article 366 (25) defines Scheduled Tribes as "such tribes or tribal communities or part of or groups within such tribes or tribal communities as are deemed under Article 342 to the scheduled Tribes (STs) for the purposes of this Constitution". In Article 342, the procedure to be followed for specification of a scheduled tribe is prescribed. However, it does not contain the criterion for the specification of any community as scheduled tribe. An often used criterion is based on attributes such as:

  • Geographical isolation - they live in cloistered, exclusive, remote and inhospitable areas such as hills and forests.
  • Backwardness - their livelihood is based on primitive agriculture, a low-value closed economy with a low level of technology that leads to their poverty. They have low levels of literacy and health.
  • Distinctive culture, language and religion - communities have developed their own distinctive culture, language and religion.
  • Shyness of contact – they have a marginal degree of contact with other cultures and people.[9]

[edit]Primitive tribes

The Scheduled Tribe groups who were identified as more backward communities among the tribal population groups have been categorised as 'Primitive Tribal Groups' (PTGs) by the Government at the Centre in 1975. So far seventy-five tribal communities have been identified as 'primitive tribal groups' in different States of India. These hunting, food-gathering, and some agricultural communities, who have been identified as more backward communities among the tribal population groups need special programmes for their sustainable development. The primitive tribes are awakening and demanding their rights for special reservation quota for them.[10]

[edit]Geographical overview

A girl of the Chenchu tribe in theNallamala forestAndhra Pradesh

There is a substantial list of Scheduled Tribes in India recognised as tribal under the Constitution of India. Tribal people constitute 8.2% of the nation's total population, over 84 million people according to the 2001 census. One concentration lives in a belt along the Himalayas stretching through Jammu and KashmirHimachal Pradesh, and Uttarakhand in the west, to Assam,MeghalayaTripuraArunachal PradeshMizoramManipur, and Nagaland in the northeast. In the northeastern states of Arunachal PradeshMeghalayaMizoram, and Nagaland, more than 90% of the population is tribal. However, in the remaining northeast states of AssamManipurSikkim, and Tripura, tribal peoples form between 20 and 30% of the population.

Another concentration lives in the hilly areas of central India (ChhattisgarhMadhya Pradesh,Orissa and, to a lesser extent, Andhra Pradesh); in this belt, which is bounded by the Narmada River to the north and the Godavari River to the southeast, tribal peoples occupy the slopes of the region's mountains. Other tribals, including the Santals, live in Jharkhand and West Bengal. Central Indian states have the country's largest tribes, and, taken as a whole, roughly 75% of the total tribal population live there, although the tribal population there accounts for only around 10% of the region's total population.

There are smaller numbers of tribal people in KarnatakaTamil Nadu, and Kerala in south India; in western India in Gujarat and Rajasthan, and in the union territories of Lakshadweep and theAndaman Islands and Nicobar Islands. About one percent of the populations of Kerala and Tamil Nadu are tribal, whereas about six percent in Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka are members of tribes.

[edit]The peopling of India

The concept of 'original inhabitant' is directly related to the initial peopling of India, which, due to the debate on topics such as the Indo-Aryan migration hypothesis, has been a contentious area of research and discourse.[11] Some anthropologists hypothesize that the region was settled by multiple human migrations over tens of millennia, which makes it even harder to select certain groups as being truly aboriginal.[12]One narrative, largely based on genetic research, describes Negritos, similar to the Andamanese adivasis of today, as the first humans to colonize India, likely 30-65 thousand years before present (kybp).[13][14] 60% of all Indians share the mtDNA haplogroup M, which is universal among Andamanese islander adivasis and might be a genetic legacy of the postulated first Indians.[15] Some anthropologists theorize that these settlers were displaced by invading Austro-Asiatic-speaking Australoid people (who largely shared skin pigmentation and physiognomy with the Negritos, but had straight rather than kinky hair), and adivasi tribes such as the Irulas trace their origins to that displacement.[16][17]The Oraon adivasi tribe of eastern India and the Korku tribe of western India are considered to be examples of groups of Australoid origin.[18][19] Subsequent to the Australoids, most anthropologists and geneticists agree that Caucasoids (including both Dravidians and Indo-Aryans) and Mongoloids (Sino-Tibetans) immigrated into India: the Dravidians possibly from Iran,[20][21][22] the Indo-Aryans possibly from theCentral Asian steppes[21][23][24] and the Tibeto-Burmans possibly from the Himalayan and north-eastern borders of the subcontinent.[25] None of these hypotheses is free from debate and disagreement.

Ethnic origins and linguistic affiliations in India match only inexactly, however: while the Oraon adivasis are classified as an Australoid group, their language, called Kurukh, is Dravidian.[26] Khasis and Nicobarese are considered to be Mongoloid groups[27][28] and the Munda andSantals are Australoid groups,[29][30][31] but all four speak Austro-Asiatic languages.[27][28][29] The Bhils and Gonds are frequently classified as Australoid groups,[32] yet Bhil languages are Indo-European and the Gondi language is Dravidian.[26] Also, in post-colonial India, tribal languages suffered huge setbacks with the formation of linguistic states after 1956 under the States Reorganisation Act. For example, under state-sponsored educational pressure, Irula children are being taught Tamil and a sense of shame has begun to be associated with speaking the Irula language among some children and educated adults.[16] Similarly, the Santals are "gradually adopting languages of the areas inhabited, like Oriya in Orissa, Hindi in Bihar and Bengali in West Bengal."[30]

[edit]Disruptions during Mughal and colonial periods

Although considered uncivilized and primitive,[33] adivasis were usually not held to be intrinsically impure by surrounding (usually Dravidian or Aryan) casted Hindu populations, unlike Dalits, who were.[6][34] Thus, the adivasi origins of Valmiki, who composed the Ramayana, were acknowledged,[35] as were the origins of adivasi tribes such as the Grasia and Bhilala, which descended from mixed Rajput and Bhilmarriages.[36][37] Unlike the subjugation of the dalits, the adivasis often enjoyed autonomy and, depending on region, evolved mixed hunter-gatherer and farming economies, controlling their lands as a joint patrimony of the tribe.[33][38][39] In some areas, securing adivasi approval and support was considered crucial by local rulers,[6][40] and larger adivasi groups were able to sustain their own kingdoms in central India.[6]The Gond Rajas of Garha-Mandla and Chanda are examples of an adivasi aristocracy that ruled in this region, and were "not only the hereditary leaders of their Gond subjects, but also held sway over substantial communities of non-tribals who recognized them as their feudal lords."[38][41]

This relative autonomy and collective ownership of adivasi land by adivasis was severely disrupted by the advent of the Mughals in the early 16th century. Beginning in the 18th century, the British added to the consolidation of feudalism in India, first under the Jagirdari system and then under the zamindari system.[42] Beginning with the Permanent Settlement imposed by the British in Bengal and Bihar, which later became the template for a deepening of feudalism throughout India, the older social and economic system in the country began to alter radically.[43][44] Land, both forest areas belonging to adivasis and settled farmland belonging to non-adivasi peasants, was rapidly made the legal property of British-designated zamindars (landlords), who in turn moved to extract the maximum economic benefit possible from their newfound property and subjects without regard to historical tenure or ownership.[45] Adivasi lands sometimes experienced an influx of non-local settlers, often brought from far away (as in the case of Muslims and Sikhs brought to Kol territory)[46] by the zamindars to better exploit local land, forest and labor.[42][43] Deprived of the forests and resources they traditionally depended on and sometimes coerced to pay taxes, many adivasis were forced to borrow at usurious rates from moneylenders, often the zamindars themselves.[47][48] When they were unable to pay, that forced them to become bonded laborers for the zamindars.[49] Often, far from paying off the principal of their debt, they were unable even to offset the compounding interest, and this was made the justification for their children working for the zamindar after the death of the initial borrower.[49] In the case of the Andamanese adivasis, long isolated from the outside world in autonomous societies, mere contact with outsiders was often sufficient to set off deadly epidemics in tribal populations,[50] and it is alleged that some sections of the British government directly attempted to destroy some tribes.[51]

Land dispossession and subjugation by British and zamindar interests resulted in a number of adivasi revolts in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, such as the Santal hul (or Santhal rebellion) of 1855-56.[52] Although these were suppressed ruthlessly by the governing British authority (the East India Company prior to 1858, and the British government after 1858), partial restoration of privileges to adivasi elites (e.g. to Mankis, the leaders of Munda tribes) and some leniency in tax burdens resulted in relative calm, despite continuing and widespread dispossession, from the late nineteenth century onwards.[46][53] The economic deprivation, in some cases, triggered internal adivasi migrations within India that would continue for another century, including as labor for the emerging tea plantations in Assam.[54]

[edit]Tribal classification criteria and demands

Scarification, a traditional symbol of Great Andamanese tribal identity (1901 photo)

Population complexities, and the controversies surrounding ethnicity and language in India, sometimes make the official recognition of groups as adivasis (by way of inclusion in the Scheduled Tribes list) political and contentious. However, regardless of their language family affiliations, Australoid and Negrito groups that have survived as distinct forest, mountain or island dwelling tribes in India and are often classified as adivasi.[55] The relatively autonomous Mongoloid tribal groups of Northeastern India (including Khasis, Apatani and Nagas), who are mostly Austro-Asiatic or Tibeto-Burman speakers, are also considered to be adivasis: this area comprises 7.5% of India's land area but 20% of its adivasi population.[56] However, not all autonomous northeastern groups are considered adivasis; for instance, the Tibeto-Burman-speaking Meitei of Manipur were once tribal but, having been settled for many centuries, are caste Hindus.[57]

It is also difficult, for a given social grouping, to definitively decide whether it is a 'caste' or a 'tribe'. A combination of internal social organization, relationship with other groups, self-classification and perception by other groups has to be taken into account to make a categorization, which is at best inexact and open to doubt.[58] These categorizations have been diffused for thousands of years, and even ancient formulators of caste-discriminatory legal codes (which usually only applied to settled populations, and not adivasis) were unable to come up with clean distinctions.[59]

[edit]Demands for tribal classification

An additional difficulty in deciding whether a group meets the criteria to be adivasi or not are the aspirational movements created by the federal and state benefits, including job and educational reservations, enjoyed by groups listed as scheduled tribes (STs).[60] In Manipur, Meitei commentators have pointed to the lack of scheduled tribe status as a key economic disadvantage for Meiteis competing for jobs against groups that are classified as scheduled tribes.[57] In Assam, Rajbongshi representatives have demanded scheduled tribe status as well.[61] In Rajasthan, the Gujjar community has demanded ST status, even blockading the national capital of Delhi to press their demand.[62] However Government of Rajasthan declined Gujjars demand by saying that they are treated as upper caste and they are by no mean a tribe.[63] In several cases, these claims to tribalhood are disputed by tribes who are already listed in the schedule and fear economic losses if more powerful groups are recognized as scheduled tribes; for instance, the Rajbongshi demand faces resistance from the Bodo tribe,[61] and the Meena tribe has vigorously opposed Gujjar aspirations to be recognized as a scheduled tribe.[64]

[edit]Endogamy, exogamy and ethnogenesis

Part of the challenge is that the endogamous nature of tribes is also conformed to by the vast majority of Hindu castes. Indeed, many historians and anthropologists believe that caste endogamy reflects the once-tribal origins of the various groups who now constitute the settled Hindu castes.[65] Another defining feature of caste Hindu society, which is often used to contrast them with Muslim and other social groupings, is lineage/clan (or gotra) and village exogamy.[66][67] However, these in-marriage taboos are also held ubiquitously among tribal groups, and do not serve as reliable differentiating markers between caste and tribe.[68][69][70] Again, this could be an ancient import from tribal society into settled Hindu castes.[71] Interestingly, tribes such as the Muslim Gujjars of Kashmir and the Kalash of Pakistan observe these exogamous traditions in common with caste Hindus and non-Kashmiri adivasis, though their surrounding Muslim populations do not.[66][72]

Some anthropologists, however, draw a distinction between tribes who have continued to be tribal and tribes that have been absorbed into caste society in terms of the breakdown of tribal (and therefore caste) boundaries, and the proliferation of new mixed caste groups. In other words, ethnogenesis (the construction of new ethnic identities) in tribes occurs through a fission process (where groups splinter-off as new tribes, which preserves endogamy), whereas with settled castes it usually occurs through intermixture (in violation of strict endogamy).[73]

[edit]Other criteria

Unlike castes, which form part of a complex and interrelated local economic exchange system, tribes tend to form self-sufficient economic units. For most tribal people, land-use rights traditionally derive simply from tribal membership. Tribal society tends to the egalitarian, with itsleadership based on ties of kinship and personality rather than on hereditary status. Tribes typically consist of segmentary lineages whose extended families provide the basis for social organization and control. Tribal religion recognizes no authority outside the tribe.

Any of these criteria may not apply in specific instances. Language does not always give an accurate indicator of tribal or caste status. Especially in regions of mixed population, many tribal groups have lost their mother tongues and simply speak local or regional languages. In parts of Assam - an area historically divided between warring tribes and villages - increased contact among villagers began during the colonial period, and has accelerated since independence in 1947. A pidgin Assamese developed while educated tribal members learned Hindi and, in the late twentieth century, English.

Self-identification and group loyalty do not provide unfailing markers of tribal identity either. In the case of stratified tribes, the loyalties of clan, kin, and family may well predominate over those of tribe. In addition, tribes cannot always be viewed as people living apart; the degree of isolation of various tribes has varied tremendously. The GondsSantals, and Bhils traditionally have dominated the regions in which they have lived. Moreover, tribal society is not always more egalitarian than the rest of the rural populace; some of the larger tribes, such as the Gonds, are highly stratified.

The apparently wide fluctuation in estimates of South Asia's tribal population through the twentieth century gives a sense of how unclear the distinction between tribal and nontribal can be. India's 1931 census enumerated 22 million tribal people, in 1941 only 10 million were counted, but by 1961 some 30 million and in 1991 nearly 68 million tribal members were included. The differences among the figures reflect changing census criteria and the economic incentives individuals have to maintain or reject classification as a tribal member.

These gyrations of census data serve to underline the complex relationship between caste and tribe. Although, in theory, these terms represent different ways of life and ideal types, in reality they stand for a continuum of social groups. In areas of substantial contact between tribes and castes, social and cultural pressures have often tended to move tribes in the direction of becoming castes over a period of years. Tribal peoples with ambitions for social advancement in Indian society at large have tried to gain the classification of caste for their tribes. On occasion, an entire tribe or part of a tribe joined a Hindu sect and thus entered the caste system en masse. If a specific tribe engaged in practices that Hindus deemed polluting, the tribe's status when it was assimilated into the caste hierarchy would be affected.

[edit]Religion

The majority of Adivasi practice Hinduism and Christianity. During the last two decades Adivasi from Orissa, Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand have converted to Protestant groups. Adivasi beliefs vary by tribe, and are usually different from the historical Vedic religion, with its monisticunderpinnings, Indo-European deities (who are often cognates of ancient Iranian, Greek and Roman deities, e.g. Mitra/Mithra/Mithras), lack of idol worship and lack of a concept of reincarnation.[74] The "centre of Rig Vedic religion was the Yajna, the sacrificial fire" and there was "no Atma, no Brahma, no Moksha, no idol worship in the Rig Veda."[75] Two specific rituals held great importance and it is known that, "when the Indo-Aryans and the Persians formed a single people, they performed sacrifices (Vedic yajna: Avestan yasna), and that they already had a sacred drink (Vedic soma: Avestan haoma)."[76]

[edit]Hinduism

[edit]Adivasi roots of modern Hinduism

Some historians and anthropologists assert that much of what constitutes folk Hinduism today is actually descended from an amalgamation of adivasi faiths, idol worship practices and deities, rather than the original Indo-Aryan faith.[75][77][78] This also includes the sacred status of certain animals such as monkeys, cows, peacocks, cobras (nagas) and elephants and plants such as the sacred fig (pipal), Ocimum tenuiflorum (tulsi) and Azadirachta indica (neem), which may once have held totemic importance for certain adivasi tribes.[77]

[edit]Adivasi Saints

  • Saint Buddhu Bhagat, led the Kol Insurrection (1831-1832) aimed against tax imposed on Mundas by Muslim rulers.
  • Saint Dhira or Kannappa Nayanar[2], one of 63 Nayanar Shaivite saints, a hunter from whom Lord Shiva gladly accepted food offerings. It is said that he poured water from his mouth on the Shivlingam and offered the Lord swine flesh.[3]
  • Saint Dhudhalinath, Koli, Gujarati, a 17th or 18th century devotee (P. 4, The Story of Historic People of India-The Kolis)
  • Saint Ganga Narain, led the Bhumij Revolt (1832-1833) aimed against missionaries and British colonialists.
  • Saint Girnari Velnathji, Koli, Gujarati of Junagadh, a 17th or 18th century devotee[79]
  • Saint Gurudev Kalicharan Brahma or Guru Brahma, a Bodo whose founded the Brahma Dharma aimed against missionaries and colonialists. The Brahma Dharma movement sought to unite peoples of all religions to worship God together and survives even today.
  • Saint Kalu Dev, Punjab, related with Fishermen community Nishadha
  • Saint Jatra Oraon, Oraon, led the Tana Bhagat Movement (1914–1919) aimed against the missionaries and British colonialists
  • Saint Sri Koya Bhagat, Koli, Gujarati, a 17th or 18th century devotee[79]
  • Saint Tantya Mama (Bhil), a Bhil after whom a movement is named after - the "Jananayak Tantya Bhil"
  • Saint Tirumangai AlvarKallar, composed the six Vedangas in beautiful Tamil verse [4]

[edit]Sages

  • Bhaktaraj Bhadurdas, Koli, Gujarati, a 17th or 18th century devotee[79]
  • Bhakta Shabari, a Nishadha woman that offered Shri Rama and Shri Laxmana her half-eaten ber fruit, which they gratefully accepted when they were searching for Shri Sita Devi in the forest.
  • Madan Bhagat, Koli, Gujarati, a 17th or 18th century devotee[79]
  • Sany Kanji Swami, Koli, Gujarati, a 17th or 18th century devotee[79]
  • Bhaktaraj Valram, Koli, Gujarati, a 17th or 18th century devotee[79]

[edit]Maharishis

  • Maharshi Matanga,[80] Matanga Bhil, Guru of Bhakta Shabari. In fact, Chandalas are often addressed as 'Matanga 'in passages like Varaha Purana 1.139.91
  • Maharshi Valmiki, Kirata Bhil, composed the Ramayana.[35] He is considered to be an avatar in the Balmiki community.

[edit]Avatars

  • Birsa Bhagwan or Birsa Munda, considered an avatar of Khasra Kora. People approached him as Singbonga, the Sun god. His sect included Christian converts.[5] He and his clan, the Mundas, were connected with Vaishnavite traditions as they were influenced by Sri Chaitanya.[6] Birsa was very close to the Panre brothers Vaishnavites.
  • Kirata - the form of Lord Shiva as a hunter. It is mentioned in the Mahabharata. The Karppillikkavu Sree Mahadeva Temple, Kerala adores Lord Shiva in this avatar and is known to be one of the oldest surviving temples in Bharat.
  • Vettakkorumakan, the son of Lord Kirata.
  • Kaladutaka or 'Vaikunthanatha', Kallar (robber), avatar of Lord Vishnu.[7]

[edit]Other Tribals and Hinduism

Some Hindus believe that Indian tribals are close to the romantic ideal of the ancient silvan culture[81] of the Vedic people. Madhav Sadashiv Golwalkar said:

The tribals "can be given yajñopavîta (…) They should be given equal rights and footings in the matter of religious rights, in temple worship, in the study of Vedas, and in general, in all our social and religious affairs. This is the only right solution for all the problems of casteism found nowadays in our Hindu society."[82]

At the Lingaraj Temple in Bhubaneswar, there are Brahmin and Badu (tribal) priests. The Badus have the most intimate contact with the deity of the temple, and only they can bathe and adorn it.[83][84]

The Bhils are mentioned in the Mahabharata. The Bhil boy Ekalavya's teacher was Drona, and he had the honour to be invited to Yudhisthira'sRajasuya Yajna at Indraprastha.[85] Indian tribals were also part of royal armies in the Ramayana and in the Arthashastra.[86]

Shabari was a Bhil woman who offered Rama and Lakshmana jujubes when they were searching for Sita in the forest. Matanga, a Bhil, became a Brahmana.[citation needed]

[edit]Sarna

Some western authors and Indian sociologists refer to adivasi beliefs as animism and spirit worship, and hold them to be distinct fromHinduismChristianity or Islam. In JharkhandChattisgarh and Orissa states, their religion is sometimes called Sarna. The Jharkhand movement gave the Santals an opportunity to create a 'great tradition' of their own.[87] As Orans reported, "The movement is spoken of in the following terms 'we should not leave our religion; we should continue to use rice-beer; we should have our worship at the sacred grove. We will call our religion Sarna Dhorom.'[88] Sarna is the Munda word for 'Sacred Grove' while Dhorom is the Oriya word meaning 'religion'.[89]

Sarna involves belief in a great spirit called the Sing Bonga. Santhal belief holds the world to be inhabited by numerous spiritual beings of different kinds. Santhals consider themselves as living and doing everything in close association with these spirits. Rituals are performed under groves of Sal trees called Jaher (or sacred grove), where Bonga is believed to appear or express himself. Often, Jaher are found in the forests.

According to the mythology of the Santhal community, the genesis of the 'Sarna' religion occurred when the 'Santhal tribals had gone to the forest for hunting and they started the discussion about their 'Creator and Savior' while they were taking rest under a tree. They questioned themselves that who is their God? Whether the Sun, the Wind or the Cloud? Finally, they came to a conclusion that they would leave an arrow in the sky and wherever the arrow would target that will be the God's house. They left an arrow in the sky; it fell down under a Sal tree. Then, they started worshiping the Sal tree and named their religion as 'Sarna' because it is derived from a Sal tree.[citation needed]4 Thus, Sarna religion came into existence. There are priests and an assistant priests called "Naikey" and "Kudam Naike" in every Santhal village.

[edit]Demands for a separate religion code

Some Adivasi organizations have demanded that a distinct religious code be listed for Adivasis in the 2011. The All India Adivasi Conference was held on 01.01.2011 and 02.01.2011 at Burnpur, Asansol, West Bengal. 750 delegates were present from all parts of India and cast their votes for Religion code as follows: Sari Dhorom - 632, Sarna - 51, Kherwalism - 14 and Other Religions - 03 Census of India.[90]

[edit]Tribal system

Tribals are not part of the caste system,[91] and usually constitute egalitarian societies. Christian tribals do not automatically lose their traditional tribal rules.

When in 1891 a missionary asked 150 Munda Christians to "inter-dine" with people of different rank, only 20 Christians did so, and many converts lost their new faith. Father Haghenbeek concluded on this episode that these rules are not "pagan", but a sign of "national sentiment and pride", and wrote:

"On the contrary, while proclaiming the equality of all men before God, we now tell them: preserve your race pure, keep your customs, refrain from eating with Lohars (blacksmiths), Turis (bamboo workers) and other people of lower rank. To become good Christians, it (inter-dining) is not required."[92]

However, many scholars argue that the claim that tribals are an egalitarian society in contrast to a caste-based society is a part of a larger political agenda by some to maximize any differences from tribal and urban societies. According to scholar Koenraad Elst, caste practices and social taboos among Indian tribals date back to antiquity:

"The Munda tribals not only practise tribal endogamy and commensality, but also observe a jâti division within the tribe, buttressed by notions of social pollution, a mythological explanation and harsh punishments. A Munda Catholic theologian testifies: The tribals of Chhotanagpur are an endogamous tribe. They usually do not marry outside the tribal community, because to them the tribe is sacred. The way to salvation is the tribe. Among the Santals, it is tabooed to marry outside the tribe or inside ones clan, just as Hindus marry inside their caste and outside their gotra. More precisely: To protect their tribal solidarity, theSantals have very stringent marriage laws. A Santal cannot marry a non-Santal or a member of his own clan. The former is considered as a threat to the tribe's integrity, while the latter is considered incestuous. Among the Ho of Chhotanagpur, the trespasses which occasion the exclusion from the tribe without chance of appeal, are essentially those concerning endogamy and exogamy."

Inter-dining has also been prohibited by many Indian tribal peoples.

[edit]Education

Extending the system of primary education into tribal areas and reserving places for tribal children in middle and high schools and higher education institutions are central to government policy, but efforts to improve a tribe's educational status have had mixed results. Recruitment of qualified teachers and determination of the appropriate language of instruction also remain troublesome. Commission after commission on the "language question" has called for instruction, at least at the primary level, in the students' native tongue. In some regions, tribal children entering school must begin by learning the official regional language, often one completely unrelated to their tribal tongue.

Many tribal schools are plagued by high dropout rates. Children attend for the first three to four years of primary school and gain a smattering of knowledge, only to lapse into illiteracy later. Few who enter continue up to the tenth grade; of those who do, few manage to finish high school. Therefore, very few are eligible to attend institutions of higher education, where the high rate of attrition continues. Members of agrarian tribes like the Gonds often are reluctant to send their children to school, needing them, they say, to work in the fields. On the other hand, in those parts of the northeast where tribes have generally been spared the wholesale onslaught of outsiders, schooling has helped tribal people to secure political and economic benefits. The education system there has provided a corps of highly trained tribal members in the professions and high-ranking administrative posts.

An academy for teaching and preserving Adivasi languages and culture was established in 1999 by the Bhasha Research and Publication Centre. The Adivasi Academy is located at Tejgadh in Gujarat.

[edit]Economy

Most tribes are concentrated in heavily forested areas that combine inaccessibility with limited political or economic significance. Historically, the economy of most tribes was subsistence agriculture or hunting and gathering. Tribal members traded with outsiders for the few necessities they lacked, such as salt and iron. A few local Hindu craftsmen might provide such items as cooking utensils.

In the early 20th century, however, large areas fell into the hands of non-tribals, on account of improved transportation and communications. Around 1900, many regions were opened by the government to settlement through a scheme by which inward migrants received ownership of land free in return for cultivating it. For tribal people, however, land was often viewed as a common resource, free to whoever needed it. By the time tribals accepted the necessity of obtaining formal land titles, they had lost the opportunity to lay claim to lands that might rightfully have been considered theirs. The colonial and post-independence regimes belatedly realized the necessity of protecting tribals from the predations of outsiders and prohibited the sale of tribal lands. Although an important loophole in the form of land leases was left open, tribes made some gains in the mid-twentieth century, and some land was returned to tribal peoples despite obstruction by local police and land officials.

In the 1970s, tribal peoples came again under intense land pressure, especially in central India. Migration into tribal lands increased dramatically, as tribal people lost title to their lands in many ways – lease, forfeiture from debts, or bribery of land registry officials. Other non-tribals simply squatted, or even lobbied governments to classify them as tribal to allow them to compete with the formerly established tribes. In any case, many tribal members became landless labourers in the 1960s and 1970s, and regions that a few years earlier had been the exclusive domain of tribes had an increasingly mixed population of tribals and non-tribals. Government efforts to evict nontribal members from illegal occupation have proceeded slowly; when evictions occur at all, those ejected are usually members of poor, lower castes.

Improved communications, roads with motorized traffic, and more frequent government intervention figured in the increased contact that tribal peoples had with outsiders. Commercial highways and cash crops frequently drew non-tribal people into remote areas. By the 1960s and 1970s, the resident nontribal shopkeeper was a permanent feature of many tribal villages. Since shopkeepers often sell goods on credit (demanding high interest), many tribal members have been drawn deeply into debt or mortgaged their land. Merchants also encourage tribals to grow cash crops (such as cotton or castor-oil plants), which increases tribal dependence on the market for basic necessities. Indebtedness is so extensive that although such transactions are illegal, traders sometimes 'sell' their debtors to other merchants, much likeindentured peons.

The final blow for some tribes has come when nontribals, through political jockeying, have managed to gain legal tribal status, that is, to be listed as a Scheduled Tribe.

Tribes in the Himalayan foothills have not been as hard-pressed by the intrusions of non-tribal. Historically, their political status was always distinct from the rest of India. Until the British colonial period, there was little effective control by any of the empires centered in peninsular India; the region was populated by autonomous feuding tribes. The British, in efforts to protect the sensitive northeast frontier, followed a policy dubbed the "Inner Line"; non tribal people were allowed into the areas only with special permission. Postindependence governments have continued the policy, protecting the Himalayan tribes as part of the strategy to secure the border with China.

Government policies on forest reserves have affected tribal peoples profoundly. Government efforts to reserve forests have precipitated armed (if futile) resistance on the part of the tribal peoples involved. Intensive exploitation of forests has often meant allowing outsiders to cut large areas of trees (while the original tribal inhabitants were restricted from cutting), and ultimately replacing mixed forests capable of sustaining tribal life with single-product plantations. Nontribals have frequently bribed local officials to secure effective use of reserved forest lands.

The northern tribes have thus been sheltered from the kind of exploitation that those elsewhere in South Asia have suffered. In Arunachal Pradesh (formerly part of the North-East Frontier Agency), for example, tribal members control commerce and most lower-level administrative posts. Government construction projects in the region have provided tribes with a significant source of cash. Some tribes have made rapid progress through the education system (the role of early missionaries was significant in this regard). Instruction was begun in Assamese but was eventually changed to Hindi; by the early 1980s, English was taught at most levels. Northeastern tribal people have thus enjoyed a certain measure of social mobility.

The continuing economic alienation and exploitation of many adivasis was highlighted as a "systematic failure" by the Indian Prime MinisterManmohan Singh in a 2009 conference of chief ministers of all 29 Indian states, where he also cited this as a major cause of the Naxaliteunrest that has affected areas such as the Red Corridor.[93][94][95][96][97]

[edit]Participation in Indian independence movement

There were tribal reform and rebellion movements during the period of the British Empire, some of which also participated in the Indian freedom struggle or attacked mission posts.[98] There were several Adivasis in the Indian independence movement including Dharindhar BhyuanLaxman NaikJantya BhilBangaru devi and Rehma Vasave.

[edit]List of rebellions against British rule

During the period of British rule, India saw the rebellions of several backward-castes, mainly tribals that revolted against British rule. These were:.[99]

  1. Great Kuki Invasion of 1860s
  2. Halba rebellion (1774–79)
  3. Chamka rebellion (1776–1787)[100]
  4. Chuar rebellion in Bengal (1795–1800)[101]
  5. Bhopalpatnam Struggle (1795)
  6. Khurda Rebellion in Orissa (1817)[102]
  7. Bhil rebellion (1822–1857)[103]
  8. Paralkot rebellion (1825)
  9. Tarapur rebellion (1842–54)
  10. Maria rebellion (1842–63)
  11. First Freedom Struggle (1856–57)
  12. Bhil rebellion, begun by Tantya Tope in Banswara (1858)[104]
  13. Koi revolt (1859)
  14. Gond rebellion, begun by Ramji Gond in Adilabad (1860)[105]
  15. Muria rebellion (1876)
  16. Rani rebellion (1878–82)
  17. Bhumkal (1910)
  18. The Kuki Uprising (1917–1919)in Manipur

[edit]Some notable Scheduled Tribes

[edit]Gallery

Some portraits of adivasi people.

[edit]See also

[edit]References

  1. ^ Lok Sabha Debates ser.10 Jun 41-42 1995 v.42 no.41-42, Lok Sabha Secretariat, Parliament of India, 1995, retrieved 2008-11-25, "... Adivasis are the aborigines of India ..."
  2. ^ Minocheher Rustom Masani and Ramaswamy Srinivasan (1985), Freedom and Dissent: Essays in Honour of Minoo Masani on His Eigthtieth Birthday, Democratic Research Service, retrieved 2008-11-25, "... The Adivasis are the original inhabitants of India. That is what Adivasi means: the original inhabitant. They were the people who were there before the Dravidians. The tribals are the Gonds, the Bhils, the Murias, the Nagas and a hundred more. ..."
  3. ^ Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (1968), The Selected Works of Mahatma Gandhi : Satyagraha in South Africa, Navajivan Publishing House, retrieved 2008-11-25, "... The Adivasis are the original inhabitants ..."
  4. ^ Acharya, Deepak and Shrivastava Anshu (2008): Indigenous Herbal Medicines: Tribal Formulations and Traditional Herbal Practices, Aavishkar Publishers Distributor, Jaipur- India. ISBN 978-81-7910-252-7. pp 440.
  5. ^ Elst, Koenraad: (2001)
  6. a b c d Robert Harrison Barnes, Andrew Gray and Benedict Kingsbury (1995), Indigenous Peoples of Asia, Association for Asian Studies, ISBN 0924304146, retrieved 2008-11-25, "... The Concept of the Adivāsi: According to the political activists who coined the word in the 1930s, the "adivāsis" are the original inhabitants of the Indian subcontinent ..."
  7. ^ Louise Waite (2006), Embodied Working Lives: Work and Life in Maharashtra, India, Lexington Books, ISBN 073910876X, retrieved 2008-11-25, "... The scheduled tribes themselves tend to refer to their ethnic grouping as adivāsis, which means 'original inhabitant.' Hardiman continues to argue that the term adivāsi is preferable in India as it evokes a shared history of relative freedom in precolonial times ..."
  8. ^ Govind Sadashiv Ghurye (1980), The Scheduled Tribes of India, Transaction Publishers, ISBN 0878556923, retrieved 2008-11-25, "... I have stated above, while ascertaining the general attitude of Mr. Jaipal Singh to tribal problems, his inisistence on the term 'Adivāsi' being used for Schedule Tribes ... Sir, myself I claim to an Adivāsi and an original inhabitant of the country as Mr. Jaipal Singh ... a pseudo-ethno-historical substantiation for the term 'Adivāsi' ..."
  9. ^ [1] Labour Bureau, Government of India (from here)
  10. ^ New Book: Anthropology of Primitive Tribes in India
  11. ^ Edwin Bryant and Laurie L. Patton (2005), The Indo-Aryan Controversy, Routledge, ISBN 0700714626, retrieved 2008-11-25, "... we now exist in an era where one's use of evidence is inevitably suspect of being linked to nationalist, colonialist, or cultural agendas ... No issue is more illustrative of this impasse than the debate about Aryan origins ..."
  12. ^ Ludwig Gumplowicz and Irving Louis Horowitz (1980), Outlines of Sociology, Transaction Publishers, ISBN 0878556931, retrieved 2008-11-25, "... The Negritos were the earliest inhabitants of India ... The Proto-Australoids who followed them had their type more or less fixed in India and therefore may be considered to be the true aborigines. Thereafter the Austro-Asiatic peoples came ... the Indo Aryans came and settled in India; so, too, did the Dravidians ... This being the state of our knowledge regarding the peopling of India, it would be hazardous to look upon one particular section of the population as the aborigines of India ..."
  13. ^ Spencer Wells (2002), The Journey of Man: A Genetic Odyssey, Princeton University Press, ISBN 069111532X, "... the population of south-east Asia prior to 6000 years ago was composed largely of groups of hunter-gatherers very similar to modern Negritos ... So, both the Y-chromosome and the mtDNA paint a clear picture of a coastal leap from Africa to south-east Asia, and onward to Australia ... DNA has given us a glimpse of the voyage, which almost certainly followed a coastal route va India ..."
  14. ^ Jim Mason (2005), An Unnatural Order: The Roots of Our Destruction of Nature, Lantern Books, ISBN 1590560817, "... Australia's "aboriginal" peoples are another case in point. At the end of the Ice Age, their homeland stretched from the middle of India eastward into southeast Asia and as far south as Indonesia and nearby islands. As agriculture spread from its centers in southeast Asia, these pre-Australoid forager people moved farther southward to New Guinea and Australia. ..."
  15. ^ Revathi Rajkumar et al., Phylogeny and antiquity of M macrohaplogroup inferred from complete mt DNA sequence of Indian specific lineages, BMC Evolutionary Biology 2005, 5:26 doi:10.1186/1471-2148-5-26
  16. a b K.V. Zvelebil (1982), The Irula language, O. Harrassowitz,ISBN 3447022477, "... into the low jungles of the Nilgiris (such movement might have been instigated eg by the advancing Australoids pushing out an earlier pre-Australoid ...)"
  17. ^ Stephen Fuchs (1974), The Aboriginal Tribes of India, Macmillan India, ISBN 0333197828, "... Guha thinks that the Negritos were the earliest racial element in India. He believes that the Kadar, Irulas and Panyans of south India have a Negrito strain, even though he admits that they are not pure Negritos ..."
  18. ^ S. Neeta and V.K. Kashyap (January 2004, Volume 49, Issue 1),Allelic variation at 15 microsatellite loci in one important Australoid and two Indocaucasoid groups of Chhattisgarh, India, Journal of Forensic Sciences, ISSN 0022-1198, retrieved 2008-11-25, "... Among the studied population groups, Oraon is a tribal group, conventionally agriculture-based, ethnically Australoid. They are confined to the small villages and do not prefer to marry outside their community maintaining the genetic make-up without any admixture. ..."
  19. ^ N. Saha and H.K. Goswami (1987, Vol. 37, No. 5), Some Blood Genetic Markers in the Korkus of Central India, International Journal of Human and Medical Genetics, retrieved 2008-11-25, "... A sample of 102 individuals from the Korkus tribe, an Australoid race inhabiting Central India, was studied for the distribution of haemoglobin and ten red cell enzyme types ..."
  20. ^ Tamil Literature Society (1963, Vol. 10), Tamil Culture, Academy of Tamil Culture, retrieved 2008-11-25, "... together with the evidence of archaeology would seem to suggest that the original Dravidian-speakers entered India from Iran in the fourth millennium BC ..."
  21. a b Namita Mukherjee, Almut Nebel, Ariella Oppenheim and Partha P. Majumder (December 2001, Vol. 80, No. 3), "High-resolution analysis of Y-chromosomal polymorphisms reveals signatures of population movements from central Asia and West Asia into India" (PDF), Journal of Genetics (Springer India), retrieved 2008-11-25, "... More recently, about 15,000-10,000 years before present (ybp), when agriculture developed in the Fertile Crescent region that extends from Israel through northern Syria to western Iran, there was another eastward wave of human migration (Cavalli-Sforza et al., 1994; Renfrew 1987), a part of which also appears to have entered India. This wave has been postulated to have brought the Dravidian languages into India (Renfrew 1987). Subsequently, the Indo-European (Aryan) language family was introduced into India about 4,000-3,000 ybp ..."
  22. ^ Dhavendra Kumar (2004), Genetic Disorders of the Indian Subcontinent, Springer, ISBN 1402012152, retrieved 2008-11-25, "... The analysis of two Y chromosome variants, Hgr9 and Hgr3 provides interesting data (Quintan-Murci et al., 2001). Microsatellite variation of Hgr9 among Iranians, Pakistanis and Indians indicate an expansion of populations to around 9000 YBP in Iran and then to 6,000 YBP in India. This migration originated in wha was historically termed Elam in south-west Iran to the Indus valley, and may have been associated with the spread of Dravidian languages from south-west Iran (Quintan-Murci et al., 2001). ..."
  23. ^ Frank Raymond Allchin and George Erdosy (1995), The Archaeology of Early Historic South Asia: The Emergence of Cities and States, Cambridge University Press, ISBN 9780521376952, retrieved 2008-11-25, "... There has also been a fairly general agreement that the Proto-Indoaryan speakers at one time lived on the steppes of Central Asia and that at a certain time they moved southwards through Bactria and Afghanistan, and perhaps the Caucasus, into Iran and India-Pakistan (Burrow 1973; Harmatta 1992) ..."
  24. ^ Hermann Kulke, Dietmar Rothermund (1998), High-resolution analysis of Y-chromosomal polymorphisms reveals signatures of population movements from central Asia and West Asia into India, Routledge, ISBN 0415154820, retrieved 2008-11-25, "... During the last decades intensive archaeological research in Russia and the Central Asian Republics of the former Soviet Union as well as in Pakistan and northern India has considerably enlarged our knowledge about the potential ancestors of the Indo-Aryans and their relationship with cultures in west, central and south Asia. Excavations in southern Russia and Central Asia convinced the international community of archaeologists that the Eurasian steppes had once been the original home of the speakers of Indo-European language ..."
  25. ^ Richard Cordaux , Gunter Weiss, Nilmani Saha and Mark Stoneking (2004), "The Northeast Indian Passageway: A Barrier or Corridor for Human Migrations?"Molecular Biology and Evolution (Society for Molecular Biology and Evolution) 21 (8): 1525–33, doi:10.1093/molbev/msh151PMID 15128876, retrieved 2008-11-25, "... Our coalescence analysis suggests that the expansion of Tibeto-Burman speakers to northeast India most likely took place within the past 4,200 years ..."
  26. a b Jim Cummins and David Corson (1999), Bilingual Education, Springer, ISBN 0792348060, retrieved 2008-11-25, "... over one million speakers each: Bhili (Indo-Aryan) 4.5 million; Santali (Austric) 4.2 m; Gondi (Dravidian) 2.0 m; and Kurukh (Dravidian) 1.3 million ..."
  27. a b R. Khongsdier, Nandita Mukherjee (2003, Vol. 122, Issue 2),"Growth and nutritional status of Khasi boys in Northeast India relating to exogamous marriages and socioeconomic classes",American Journal of Physical Anthropology 122 (2): 162–70,doi:10.1002/ajpa.10305PMID 12949836, retrieved 2008-11-25, "... The Khasis are one of the Indo-Mongoloid tribes in Northeast India. They speak the Monkhmer language, which belongs to the Austro-Asiatic group (Das, 1978) ..."
  28. a b Govinda Chandra Rath (2006), Tribal Development in India: The Contemporary Debate, SAGE, ISBN 0761934235, retrieved 2008-11-25, "... The Car Nicobarese are of Mongoloid stock ... The Nicobarese speak different languages of the Nicobarese group, which belongs to an Austro-Asiatic language sub-family ..."
  29. a b Malini Srivastava (2007), "The Sacred Complex of Munda Tribe" (PDF), Anthropologist, retrieved 2008-11-25, "... Racially, they are proto-australoid and speak Mundari dialect of Austro-Asiatic ..."
  30. a b A. B. Chaudhuri (1993), State Formation Among Tribals: A Quest for Santal Identity, Gyan Publishing House,ISBN 8121204224, retrieved 2008-11-25, "... The Santal is a large Proto-Australoid tribe found in West Bengal, northern Orissa, Bihar, Assam as also in Bangladesh ... The solidarity having been broken, the Santals are gradually adopting languages of the areas inhabited, like Oriya in Orissa, Hindi in Bihar and Bengali in West Bengal and Bangladesh ..."
  31. ^ A. B. Chaudhuri (1949), Tribal Heritage: A Study of the Santals, Lutterworth Press, retrieved 2008-11-25, "... The Santals belong to his second "main race", the Proto-Australoid, which he considers arrived in India soon after the Negritos ..."
  32. ^ U. Shankarkumar (1(2): 91-94 (2003)), "A Correlative Study of HLA, Sickle Cell Gene and G6PD Deficiency with Splenomegaly and Malaria Incidence Among Bhils and Pawra Tribes from Dhadgon, Dhule, Maharastra" (PDF), Studies of Tribes and Tribals, retrieved 2008-11-25, "... The Bhils are one of the largest tribes concentrated mainly in Western Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Eastern Gujarat and Northern Maharastra. Racially they were classified as Gondids, Malids or Proto-Australoid, but their social history is still a mystery (Bhatia and Rao, 1986) ..."
  33. a b Aloysius Irudayam and Jayshree P. Mangubhai, India Village Reconstruction & Development Project (2004), Adivasis Speak Out: Atrocities Against Adivasis in Tamil Nadu, Books for Change, ISBN 8187380780, retrieved 2008-11-26, "... uncivilised ... These forests and land territories assume a territorial identity precisely because they are the extension of the Adivasis' collective personality ..."
  34. ^ C.R. Bijoy, Core Committee of the All India Coordinating Forum of Adivasis/Indigenous Peoples (February 2003), "The Adivasis of India - A History of Discrimination, Conflict, and Resistance",PUCL Bulletin (People's Union for Civil Liberties, India), retrieved 2008-11-25, "... Adivasis are not, as a general rule, regarded as unclean by caste Hindus in the same way as Dalits are. But they continue to face prejudice (as lesser humans), they are socially distanced and often face violence from society ..."
  35. a b Thakorlal Bharabhai Naik (1956), The Bhils: A Study, Bharatiya Adimjati Sevak Sangh, retrieved 2008-11-25, "... Valmiki, from whose pen this great epic had its birth, was himself a Bhil named Valia, according to the traditional accounts of his life ..."
  36. ^ Edward Balfour (1885), The Cyclopædia of India and of Eastern and Southern Asia, Bernard Quaritch, retrieved 2008-11-26, "... In Mewar, the Grasia is of mixed Bhil and Rajput descent, paying tribute to the Rana of Udaipur ..."
  37. ^ R.K. Sinha (1995), The Bhilala of Malwa, Anthropological survey of India, ISBN 9788185579085, retrieved 2008-11-26, "... the Bhilala are commonly considered to be a mixed group who sprung from the marriage alliances of the immigrant male Rajputs and the Bhil women of the central India ..."
  38. a b R. Singh (2000), Tribal Beliefs, Practices and Insurrections, Anmol Publications Pvt. Ltd., ISBN 8126105046, retrieved 2008-11-26, "... The Munda Parha was known as 'Manki', while his Oraon counterpart was called 'Parha Raja.' The lands these adivasis occupied were regarded to be the village's patrimony ... The Gond rajas of Chanda and Garha Mandla were not only the hereditary leaders of their Gond subjects, but also held sway over substantial communities of non-tribals who recognized them as their feudal lords ..."
  39. ^ Milind Gunaji (2005), Offbeat Tracks in Maharashtra: A Travel Guide, Popular Prakashan, ISBN 8171546692, retrieved 2008-11-26, "... The Navegaon is one of the forests in Maharashtra where the natives of this land still live and earn their livelihood by carrying out age old activities like hunting, gathering forest produce and ancient methods of farming. Beyond the Kamkazari lake is the Dhaavalghat, which is home to adivasis. They also have a temple here, the shrine of Lord Waghdev ..."
  40. ^ Surajit Sinha, Centre for Studies in Social Sciences (1987),Tribal polities and state systems in pre-colonial eastern and north eastern India, K.P. Bagchi & Co., ISBN 8170740142, retrieved 2008-11-26, "... The way in which and the extent to which tribal support had been crucial in establishing a royal dynasty have been made quite clear ... tribal loyalty, help and support were essential in establishing a ruling family ..."
  41. ^ Hugh Chisholm (1910), The Encyclopædia Britannica, The Encyclopædia Britannica Co., retrieved 2008-11-26, "... The 16th century saw the establishment of a powerful Gond kingdom by Sangram Sah, who succeeded in 1480 as the 47th of the petty Gond rajas of Garha-Mandla, and extended his dominions to include Saugor and Damoh on the Vindhyan plateau, Jubbulpore and Narsinghpur in the Nerbudda valley, and Seoni on the Satpura highlands ..."
  42. a b Piya Chatterjee (2001), A Time for Tea: Women, Labor, and Post/colonial Politics on an Indian Plantation, Duke University Press, ISBN 0822326744, retrieved 2008-11-26, "... Among the Munda, customary forms of land tenure known as khuntkatti stipulated that land belonged communally to the village, and customary rights of cultivation, branched from corporate ownership. Because of Mughal incursions, non-Jharkhandis began to dominate the agrarian landscape, and the finely wrought system of customary sharing of labor, produce and occupancy began to crumble. The process of dispossession and land alienation, in motion since the mid-eighteenth century, was given impetus by British policies that established both zamindari and ryotwari systems of land revenue administration. Colonial efforts toward efficient revenue collection hinged on determining legally who had proprietal rights to the land ..."
  43. a b Ulrich van der Heyden and Holger Stoecker (2005), Mission und macht im Wandel politischer Orientierungen: Europäische Missionsgesellschaften in politischen Spannungsfeldern in Afrika und Asien zwischen 1800 und 1945, Franz Steiner Verlag,ISBN 3515084231, retrieved 2008-11-26, "... The permanent settlement Act had an adverse effect upon the fate of the Adivasis for, "the land which the aboriginals had rested from the jungle and cultivated as free men from generation was, by a stroke of pen, declared to be the property of the Raja (king) and the Jagirdars." The alien became the Zamindars (Landlords) while the sons of the soil got reduced to mere tenants. Now, it was the turn of the Jagirdars-turned-Zamindars who further started leasing out land to the newcomers, who again started encroaching Adivasi land. The land grabbing thus went on unabated. By the year 1832 about 6,411 Adivasi villages were alienated in this process ..."
  44. ^ O.P. Ralhan (2002), Encyclopaedia of Political Parties, Anmol Publications Pvt. Ltd., ISBN 8174888659, retrieved 2008-11-26, "... The Permanent Settlement was 'nothing short of the confiscation ofraiyat lands in favor of the zamindars.' ... Marx says '... in Bengal as in Madras and Bombay, under the zamindari as under the ryotwari, the raiyats who form 11/12ths of the whole Indian population have been wretchedly pauperised.' To this may be added the inroads made by the Company's Government upon the village community of the tribals (the Santhals, Kols, Khasias etc.) ... There was a wholesale destruction of 'the national tradition.' Marx observes: 'England has broken down the entire framework of Indian society ..."
  45. ^ Govind Kelkar and Dev Nathan (1991), Gender and Tribe: Women, Land and Forests in Jharkhand, Kali for Women,ISBN 1856490351, retrieved 2008-11-26, "... of the features of the adivasi land systems. These laws also showed that British colonial rule had passed on to a new stage of exploitation ... Forests were the property of the zamindar or the state ..."
  46. a b William Wilson Hunter, Hermann Michael Kisch, Andrew Wallace Mackie, Charles James O'Donnell and Herbert Hope Risley (1877), A Statistical Account of Bengal, Trübner, retrieved 2008-11-26, "... The Kol insurrection of 1831, though, no doubt, only the bursting forth of a fire that had long been smouldering, was fanned into flame by the following episode:- The brother of the Maharaja, who was holder of one of the maintenance grants which comprised Sonpur, a pargana in the southern portion of the estate, gave farms of some of the villages over the heads of the Mankis and Mundas, to certain Muhammadans, Sikhs and others, who has obtained his favour ... not only was the Manki dispossessed, but two of his sisters were seduced or ravished by these hated foreigners ... one of them ..., it was said, had abducted and dishonoured the Munda's wife ..."
  47. ^ Radhakanta Barik (2006), Land and Caste Politics in Bihar, Shipra Publications, ISBN 8175413050, retrieved 2008-11-26, "... As usually the zamindars were the moneylenders, they could pressurize the tenants to concede to high rent ..."
  48. ^ Shashank Shekhar Sinha (2005), Restless Mothers and Turbulent Daughters: Situating Tribes in Gender Studies, Stree,ISBN 8185604738, retrieved 2008-11-26, "... In addition, many tribals were forced to pay private taxes ... ..."
  49. a b Economic and Political Weekly, Sameeksha Trust, 1974, V.9, No.6-8, retrieved 2008-11-26, "... The Adivasis spend their life-times working for the landlord-moneylenders and, in some cases, even their children are forced to work for considerable parts of their lives to pay off debts ..."
  50. ^ Sita Venkateswar (2004), Development and Ethnocide: Colonial Practices in the Andaman Islands, IWGIA, ISBN 8791563046, "... As I have suggested previously, it is probable that some disease was introduced among the coastal groups by Lieutenant Colebrooke and Blair's first settlement in 1789, resulting in a marked reduction of their population. The four years that the British occupied their initial site on the south-east of South Andaman were sufficient to have decimated the coastal populations of the groups referred to as Jarawa by the Aka-bea-da ..."
  51. ^ Luigi Luca Cavalli-Sforza, Francesco Cavalli-Sforza (1995), The Great Human Diasporas: The History of Diversity and Evolution, Basic Books, ISBN 0201442310, "... Contact with whites, and the British in particular, has virtually destroyed them. Illness, alcohol, and the will of the colonials all played their part; the British governor of the time mentions in his diary that he received instructions to destroy them with alcohol and opium. He succeeded completely with one group. The others reacted violently ..."
  52. ^ Paramjit S. Judge (1992), Insurrection to Agitation: The Naxalite Movement in Punjab, Popular Prakashan, ISBN 8171545270, retrieved 2008-11-26, "... The Santhal insurrection in 1855-56 was a consequence of the establishment of the permanent Zamindari Settlement introduced by the British in 1793 as a result of which the Santhals had been dispossesed of the land that they had been cultivating for centuries. Zamindars, moneylenders, traders and government officials exploited them ruthlessly. The consequence was a violent revolt by the Santhals which could only be suppressed by the army ..."
  53. ^ The Indian Journal of Social Work, Department of Publications, Tata Institute of Social Sciences, 1956, v.59, retrieved 2008-11-26, "... Revolts rose with unfailing regularity and were suppressed with treachery, brute force, tact, cooption and some reforms ..."
  54. ^ Roy Moxham (2003), Tea, Carroll & Graf Publishers,ISBN 0786712279, retrieved 2008-11-26, "... many of the labourers came from Chota Nagpur District ... home to the Adivasis, the most popular workers with the planters - the '1st class jungley.' As one of the planters, David Crole, observed: 'planters, in a rough and ready way, judge the worth of a coolie by the darkness of the skin.' In the last two decades of the nineteenth century 350,000 coolies went from Chota Nagpur to Assam ..."
  55. ^ James Minahan and Leonard W. Doob (1996), Nations Without States: A Historical Dictionary of Contemporary National Movements, Greenwood Press, ISBN 0313283540, retrieved 2008-11-25, "... The Adivasi tribes encompass the pre-Dravidian holdovers from ancient India ..."
  56. ^ Sarina Singh, Joe Bindloss, Paul Clammer and Janine Eberle (2005), India, Lonely Planet, ISBN 1740596943, retrieved 2008-11-25, "... Although the northeast states make up just 7.5% of the geographical area of India, the region is home to 20% of India's Adivasis (tribal people). The following are the main tribes ... Nagas ... Monpas ... Apatani & Adi ... Khasi ..."
  57. a b Moirangthem Kirti Singh (1988), Religion and Culture of Manipur, Manas Publications, ISBN 8170490219, retrieved 2008-11-26, "... The Meiteis began to think that root cause of their present unrest was their contact with the Mayangs, the outsider from the rest of India in matters of trade, commerce, religious belief and the designation of the Meiteis as caste Hindus in the Constitution of India. The policy of reservations for the scheduled castes and tribes in key posts began to play havoc ..."
  58. ^ Man, Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland, 1972, v.7, retrieved 2008-11-26, "... Nor, for that matter, does a traits approach to drawing distinctions between tribe and caste lead to any meaningful interpretation of social or civilizational processes. Social boundaries must be defined in each case (community or regional society) with reference to the modes of social classification, on the one hand, and processes of social interaction, on the other. It is in their inability to relate these two aspects of the social phenomenon through a model of social reality that most behavioural exercises come to grief ..."
  59. ^ Debiprasad Chattopadhyaya (1959), Lōkayata: A Study in Ancient Indian Materialism, People's Publishing House, retrieved 2008-11-26, "... Even the authors of our traditional law-codes and other works did not know whether to call a particular group of backward people a caste or a tribe ..."
  60. ^ Robert Goldmann and A. Jeyaratnam Wilson (1984), From Independence to Statehood: Managing Ethnic Conflict in Five African and Asian States, Pinter, ISBN 0861873548, retrieved 2008-11-26, "... Because the question of what groups are to be given preferences is constitutionally and politically open, the demand for preferences becomes a device for political mobilisation. Politicians can mobilise members of their caste, religious or linguistic community around the demand for inclusion on the list of those to be given preferences ... As preferences were extended to backward castes, and as more benefits were given to scheduled castes and scheduled tribes, the 'forward' castes have ..."
  61. a b Col. Ved Prakash (2006), Encyclopaedia of North-east India, Vol# 2, Atlantic Publishers & Distributors, ISBN 8126907045, retrieved 2008-11-26, "... An angry mob of Koch-Rajbongshis (KRs) ransacked 4-8-03 the BJP office, Guwahati, demanding ST status for the KRs ... the KRs have been demanding the ST status for long, and the Bodos are stoutly opposed to it ..."
  62. ^ "Gujjars enforce blockade; Delhi tense"The Times of India, 2008-05-29, retrieved 2008-11-26, "... Gujjars on Thursday blocked road and rail traffic in the capital and adjoining areas as part of their 'NCR rasta roko' agitation ... The NCR agitation, called by All India Gujjar Mahasabha, is in support of the community's demand for Scheduled Tribe status in Rajasthan ..."
  63. ^ "rajasthan-government-denies-st-status-to-gujjars"merinews
  64. ^ "What the Meena-Gujjar conflict is about"Rediff, 2007-06-01, retrieved 2008-11-26, "... Rajasthan is sitting on a potential caste war between the Gujjars and Meenas with the former demanding their entry into the Schedule Tribes list while the Meenas are looking to keep their turf intact by resisting any tampering with the ST quota ..."
  65. ^ Mamta Rajawat (2003), Scheduled Castes in India: a Comprehensive Study, Anmol Publications Pvt. Ltd.,ISBN 8126113391, retrieved 2008-11-26, "... endogamy is basic to the morphology of caste but for its origin and sustenance one has to see beyond ... D.D. Kosambi says that the fusion of tribal elements into society at large lies at the foundation of the caste system; Irfan Habib concurs, suggesting that when tribal people were absorbed they brought with them their endogamous customs ..."
  66. a b Mohammad Abbas Khan (2005), Social Development in Twenty First Century, Anmol Publications Pvt. Ltd.,ISBN 8126121300, retrieved 2008-11-26, "... in North India, high caste Hindus regard the village as an exogamous unit. Girls born within the village are called 'village daughters' and they do not cover their faces before local men, whereas girls who come into the village by marriage do so ... With Christians and Muslims, the elementary or nuclear family is the exogamous unit. Outside of it marriages are possible ... Lineage exogamy also exists among the Muslim Gujjars of Jammu and Kashmir ..."
  67. ^ Richard V. Weekes (1984), Muslim Peoples: A World Ethnographic Survey, Greenwood Press, ISBN 0313246408, retrieved 2008-11-26, "... The preference for in-marriage produces the reticulated kinship system characteristic of Punjabi Muslim society, as opposed to Hindu lineage exogamy and preference for marriage outside one's natal village ..."
  68. ^ Lalita Prasad Vidyarthi (2004), South Asian Culture: An Anthropological Perspective, Oriental Publishers & Distributors, retrieved 2008-11-26, "... The tribal communities, by and large, also practise clan exogamy, which means marrying outside the totemic division of a tribe ..."
  69. ^ Georg Pfeffer (1982), Status and Affinity in Middle India, F. Steiner, ISBN 3515039139, retrieved 2008-11-26, "... Elwin documents the strict observance of this rule: Out of 300 marriages recorded, not a single one broke the rule of village exogamy ..."
  70. ^ Rajendra K. Sharma (2004), Indian Society, Institutions and Change: Institutions and Change, Atlantic Publishers & Distributors, ISBN 8171566650, retrieved 2008-11-26, "... Among many Indian tribes it is the recognized custom to marry outside the village. This restriction is prevalent in the Munda and other tribes of Chhota Nagpur of Madhya Pradesh ... the Naga tribe of Assam is divided into Khels. Khel is the name given to the residents of the particular place, and people of one Khel cannot marry each other ..."
  71. ^ John Vincent Ferreira (1965), Totemism in India, Oxford University Press, retrieved 2008-11-26, "... there is every reason to believe that the inspiration leading to the formation of exogamous gotras came from the aborigines ..."
  72. ^ Monika Böck and Aparna Rao (2000), Culture, Creation, and Procreation: Concepts of Kinship in South Asian Practice, Berghahn Books, ISBN 1571819126, retrieved 2008-11-26, "... Kalasha kinship is indeed orchestrated through a rigorous system of patrilineal descent defined by lineage exogamy ... Lineage exogamy thus distinguishes Kalasha descent groups as discretely bounded corporations, in contrast to the nonexogamous 'sliding lineages' (Bacon 1956) of surrounding Muslims ..."
  73. ^ Thomas R. Trautmann (1997), Aryans and British India, University of California Press, ISBN 0520205464, retrieved 2008-11-26, "...The radiating, segmentary character of the underlying genealogical figure requires that the specifications be unilineal ... we have in the Dharmasastra doctrine of jatis a theory of ethnogenesis through intermixture or marriage of persons of different varnas, and secondary and tertiary intermixtures of the original ones, leading to a multitude of units, rather than the radiating segmentary structure of ethnogenesis by fission or descent ..."
  74. ^ Todd Scudiere (1997), Aspects of Death and Bereavement Among Indian Hindus and American Christians: A Survey and Cross-cultural Comparison, University of Wisconsin - Madison, retrieved 2008-11-25, "... the Vedic Aryan was not particularly eager to enter heaven, he was too much this-worldly oriented. A notion of reincarnation was not introduced until later. However, there was a concept of a universal force - an idea of an underlying monistic reality that was later called Brahman ..."
  75. a b S.G. Sardesai (1986), Progress and Conservatism in Ancient India, People's Publishing House, retrieved 2008-11-25, "... The centre of Rig Vedic religion was the Yajna, the sacrificial fire. ... There is no Atma, no Brahma, no Moksha, no idol worship in the Rig Veda ..."
  76. ^ Hajime Nakamura and Ronald Burr (1975), Parallel Developments: A Comparative History of Ideas, Kodansha,ISBN 9780870112720, retrieved 2008-12-12, "... even in the prehistoric period when the Indo-Aryans and the Persians formed a single people, they performed sacrifices (Vedic yajna: Avestan yasna), and that they already had a sacred drink (Vedic soma: Avestan haoma) ..."
  77. a b Shiv Kumar Tiwari (2002), Tribal Roots of Hinduism, Sarup & Sons, ISBN 8176252999, retrieved 2008-12-12
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[edit]Further reading

  • Russell, R. V., The Tribes and Castes of the Central Provinces of India, London, 1916.
  • Elst, Koenraad. Who is a Hindu? (2001) ISBN 81-85990-74-3
  • Raj, Aditya & Papia Raj (2004) "Linguistic Deculturation and the Importance of Popular Education among the Gonds in India" Adult Education and Development 62: 55-61
  • Vindicated by Time: The Niyogi Committee Report (edited by S.R. Goel, 1998) (1955)
  • Tribal Heritage of India, by Shyama Charan Dube, Indian Institute of Advanced Study, Indian Council of Social Science Research, Anthropological Survey of India. Published by Vikas Pub. House, 1977. ISBN 0-7069-0531-8.
  • Tribal Movements in India, by Kumar Suresh Singh. Published by Manohar, 1982.
  • Tribal Society in India: An Anthropo-historical Perspective, by Kumar Suresh Singh. Published by Manohar, 1985.

[edit]External links

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