India is home to nearly 122 Crore people right now. People of different cast, religions and ethnic groups live in India. So, we find a diverse culture that varies from region to region in India. So, it means India is also an abode of tribal communities as well. According to the census report of 2011, approximately 104.2 million of India’s population is ‘Adivasi’ or tribal people; among those, 8.6% are Indian and 1.1% Bangladeshi.
With more than 700 tribal groups, India is known for having the second-largest tribal community in the world. The major tribes in India are mostly found in the eastern, central, and western parts of the sub-continent which consists of these nine states such as Odisha, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Gujrat, Rajasthan, Andhra Pradesh, and West Bengal. Santhal, Bhils, Khasi, Garo, Munda, etc. are the recognized tribes in this country.
Since the 18th century, the British colonizers cornered the tribals and grabbed their lands, and used them for their reasons in the name of civilization and development. we here talk about some major problems which the tribals used to face in India still in the contemporary period.
Adivasis
The word “tribe” or Adivasi brings to our mind a picture of half-naked men and women, with arrows and spears in their hands, feathers, in their heads, and speaking in unintelligible language. Even when the majority of the communities in the world kept changing their lifestyles very quickly to pace with the “progress” of the world, these were communities still living in line with their traditional values, customs, and beliefs. The tribal communities or the “Adivasi” are scheduled tribes in Schedule 5 of the Indian Constitution.
1. Santhals
According to the Census report of 2011, Santhal is the third largest tribe group in India. The phrase ‘Santhal’ is derived from two different words ‘Santha’ which refers to ‘calm’ and ‘ala’ which stands for ‘man’. If we compile these two words the meaning of ‘Santhal’ would be ‘quiet and serene people’. This tribe community is usually known for being the worshipper of mother nature. Santhals can mostly be found in the eastern region of India which means in the states of West Bengal, Odisha, Jharkhand, and Assam.
Source: Youngisthan
Santhals tribe is also known for their colorful culture and unique dancing style. Santhals follow the Sarna religion and they have gods like Marangburu, Jaheraera, and Manjhi. The tribe enjoys and loves to dance, it is in their blood. Even in the fairs around the villages of Birbhum, Bankura, and other states of Bengal, the Santhals perform with the light music of Madols. Both women and men are skillful dancers in this community.
They mainly revolve around the forests in which they reside. But nowadays they came to the suburbs for education purposes and some of them are quite successful in their lives in modern society. Draupadi Murmu, our honorable President of India belongs to a Santhal family as well.
2. Bhil
The largest tribe community in India is Bhil. Around 40% of the tribal population is constituted in this tribe community. The tribe resides mainly in Maharashtra, Chattisgarh, Gujrat, Rajasthan, and some parts of Tripura. The Bhil tribe is popularly known for their marvelous creative art skill. The Bhil art form is famous all around the country.
Source: Medium
The Bhil art form mainly focuses on the daily lives of the people in the tribe community. According to an article by BYJU, “they create their art using the materials collected from the woods they live. They make various items using twigs and branches of the Neem trees as bushes and natural color pigments derived from different leaves and flowers.”
The art form of Bhil is also incomparable in the way how they depict their deities and ancestors in form of dots painted over the background in the painting in various colors and patterns, giving it a unique look.
3. Gond
The ‘Gond’ tribe is the second largest tribal community in India according to the Census report of 2011. Gond primarily refers to the group of scheduled tribal people who live in the states of Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Odisha, and a few parts of West Bengal means the South-Central part of India. With a population of 5.01 million, the Gond tribe is one of the most ancient tribal communities in India and the world.
Source: Travanya
Gond people use to live in the villages and they speak Marathi, Hindi, and Odia. The Gonds are also known for their artworks and fabulous future. There is a rich tradition of Bhils in and around the country. They paint to portray gossip with pots on their heads, and cows.
Issues They Use to Face
The Adivasis in India have been facing a lot of problems since the beginning of British rule in this country after colonization in the 18th century. Their suffering and struggle of them have been still going on and it has been quite increasing because of a few reasons.
Depriving the Lands and Resources
From the beginning of the colonization, the British rulers always had eyes for the lands of the tribal people. Most importantly, the bio-resources of those places like different kinds of spices or coal mines were deprived by the Britishers. That continued even after independence, the government or the people who worked for the government used to take away their lands and woods for selfish reasons.
Displacement
The tribal people have always been treated like they are not part of this “civilized society”. So, over time, the governments forced them to migrate to different places for some projects or mining. Because of this, many people lost their lands and become refugees in the country.
Lack of Basic Needs
In a society, there are three types of primary basic needs and they are food, clothes, and a place to live. The Adivasis cannot access all these things as they are considered backward people of society.
They cannot even access any kind of education or medication to save their lives.
Concluding, I want to say that we are all human beings. And we should embrace all the people in our society. No matter who and how they are. In 2006, India made a law to “undo the historical injustice” committed to the Adivasis, and we as people should respect the law and love those people. We should try to educate them and help them to come forward in society. If we treat them better, that will make us beautiful from a humanistic perspective.
Written by - Joy
Edited by - Kritika Sharma
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