The tribes of India are a numerically small minority, constituting about 9 percent of the total population. But their range is vast, and their cultural imprint on Indianism is far deeper than the rest – many of them are seen as descendants of the original inhabitants of the subcontinent. Spanning the length and breadth of the landmass, mostly forest and mountainous country, they are a heterogeneous group, vastly different in language, culture, means of primary livelihood and development status.
About 80 percent of them are concentrated in nine states- Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Odisha and Andhra Pradesh. About 12 percent live in the northeastern states, five percent in the south and three percent in the northern region. Of the more than 700 recognized tribes, only two have populations of more than 10 million and 30 with more than 500,000.
When India adopted its constitution in 1950, the communities identified and counted as tribes by the British government were named Scheduled Tribes (STs). No criteria were defined for recognition of STs. Later, the Lokur Committee of 1961–62 recommended five criteria for their identification—primitive traits, distinct culture, geographic isolation, shyness of contact with the community at large, and backwardness—what now appear to be remnants of colonial anthropology. Despite the reliance on tropical regions that fit with contemporary understanding, those criteria remain in formal terminology because the idea of ’tribal’ marks not only a socio-cultural unit but also a politico-administrative category: it refers to these On the grounds that administrative and political concessions are given to them. Including reservation in education and employment. Indeed, when the Gujjars a few years ago agitated for tribal status, they were refused because – after weeks of halting trains and other forms of public protest – the courts called them the ‘shame of contact’. had got!
TeaThe Constitution provides for two separate administrative arrangements for the tribal population of India in the form of the Fifth and Sixth Schedules, applied in principle to places where they are numerically dominant. The Fifth Schedule provides constitutional protection to tribals living in “scheduled areas” in 10 states—Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, MP, Maharashtra, Odisha, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and Rajasthan. The President may declare an area ‘Scheduled’ on the basis of certain criteria: high proportion of tribal population, social and economic backwardness, and the possibility of a compact administrative unit. The discretionary powers of the governor play an important role in 
The Sixth Schedule covers the administration and control of 10 autonomous tribal areas in Assam, Tripura, Meghalaya and Mizoram. Here, greater powers have been given to Autonomous District Councils (ADCs), which have significant legislative, judicial and administrative autonomy. Since the Sixth Schedule has been more forceful than the Fifth, many other regions, including parts of Chhattisgarh, Arunachal Pradesh and Ladakh, are demanding this provision.
Of course, everywhere the major concern is people-oriented development. There are many welfare programs in India for the socio-economic upliftment of the tribals. About 40 central ministries and departments earmark 4.3 to 17.5 per cent of their total plan allocation every year as Tribal Sub Plan or Scheduled Tribe Component Fund. Between 2017-18 and 2020-21, these allocations increased by 50 per cent from Rs 22,906.54 crore to Rs 34,492.87. The Ministry of Tribal Affairs provides additional funding for these initiatives to bridge the gap. Its budget grew 53 percent from Rs 5,494.51 crore in 2020-21 to Rs 8,451.92 crore in this fiscal. Apart from these, the Pradhan Mantri Adi Adarsh Gram Yojana (PMAGY) aims to provide infrastructure to 36,428 villages with significant tribal population. and the Prime Minister’s Tribal Development Mission (PMJVM), with a total outlay of Rs 1,612.27 crore for five years (2021-26), is designed to facilitate tribal entrepreneurship initiatives and livelihood opportunities.
On almost all health indicators, tribals have fared worse than the general population
Despite all this, socio-economic indicators show that tribals are among the poorest and most marginalized sections of India. According to the 2011 census, some 90 per cent live in rural areas – which is natural given their old life patterns. But in terms of poverty, there is a huge disparity between tribals and the rest—45 percent of rural tribals were in the BPL category in 2011-12, compared to 26 percent of all rural Indians. Their literacy rate in 2011 was just 59 percent compared to India’s 74 percent. On almost all health indicators, such as infant mortality, low birth weight and anemia among women, tribals perform much worse than the rest. This contrasting disparity further alienates many tribals, human development is nowhere near official spending. A focused, inclusive approach is clearly imperative. With a tribal now as the first citizen, this could be the beginning of a new era.