Yojana Summary : July 2022

1. Policies on Scheduled Tribes

Topics covered from the Syllabus:

Context

• The Indigenous communities around the world are known for their socio-cultural tradition and their deep relation to the nature. They are dependent on nature for their daily needs and only extract natural resources sustainably forging strong nature-culture bonds. They generally worship nature and live closer to it.

Characteristics of Tribal Society

• Tribals in India: Indigenous people constitute 6.2% of the world population. In 2007, UN recognized rights of Indigenous people in its ‘Declaration on the Right of Indigenous people’. The Indigenous people have distinct socio-economic and political traditions. In India, they form 8.6% of population. Tribal areas in India are concentrated in central India, north east India and the forest areas of eastern and western Ghats. 
• Religious beliefs: Tribal societies demonstrate a special connection with the environment as compared to the other societies. They identify with nature readily. Experts on tribal affairs have documented their inseparability with nature in body, mind and spirit. Organized religion is generally absent, though it may be prevalent in some societies as a result of propagation by religious preachers.
• Community: At the same time, tribals show coexistence, amity and empathy with other living beings. They have not changed their way of living for centuries. In their day-to-day living, we see a respect for plants and animals, unlike urbanized societies which are more concerned with consumption of the natural resources.
• Economy: Unlike urban societies which have growth and development as the mainstay of socio-economic life, tribals focus on collective living or collective subsistence and the principle of ‘sharing’. A level of social security is seen in such tribal societies as they share the food, land and forest resources, apart from sharing the seeds, labor, hardship, misfortunes and risks in living in mountains and forests.

• Private Property: The concept of private property is mostly non-existent in tribal societies and accu-mulation of wealth is frowned upon. Sustainability and simple living are the objectives of tribal life.

• Grievance redressal: Despite their portrayal as violent beings with a plethora of primitive weapons, tribals generally demonstrate restraint and resolve disputes by withdrawal. The tribal people seldom encroach on others’ land. Rather they have been the historical victims of encroachment on their own lands. They generally withdraw in face of aggression and try to avoid conflicts.

Indicative list of Constitutional Safeguards for Tribals

• Historical Analysis: Historically, Scheduled Tribes have had socio-political autonomy over their own affairs. However, the British rule disrupted the existing model of land ownership, forest rights and criminal justice system in tribal society. To overcome this interference, post-independence constituent assembly provided special safeguard for tribal people and they were given power to control their own affairs. 

Protective Safeguards:

• Educational safeguards- Article 15(4) and 29
• Safeguards for employment– Articles 16(4) and 320(4)
• Territorial safeguards- Article 19
• Abolition of bonded labor– Article 23
• Protection from social injustice and all forms of exploitation- Article 46

Political Safeguards

• Reservation of seats for ST in Lok Sabha and Legislative Assemblies of States- Article 330 and 332
• Appointment of Minister in charge of Tribal Welfare– Article 164
• Special provisions in respect of Nagaland, Assam and Manipur– Articles 371, 371(A), 371(B)
• Developmental Safeguards
• Promoting the educational and economic interests of the Scheduled Tribes-Articles 46
• Grants from Central Government to the states for welfare of Scheduled Tribes and raising the level of administration of Scheduled Areas- Article 75
• Prohibition on discrimination on the grounds of religion, race, caste, sex or place of Birth- Article 15
• Provision for special provisions for the advancement of any socially and educationally backward classes of citizens or for the scheduled castes and tribes- Article 15 (4)
• National Commission for Scheduled Tribes (NCST): It came into existence through the Constitution (89th Amendment) Act, 2003. NCST is a constitutional body which derives its power from Article 338A of the Constitution.
• Problems of Scheduled Tribes: Earlier, National Commission for Scheduled Castes (NCSC) looked into the issues related to Scheduled Tribes (STs). However, understanding that the problems of STs are different from the ones being faced by SCs, a separate commission was created.
• Structure: NCST has a Chairperson, Vice-chairperson and three members, who are appointed for a tenure of three years each. The Chairperson has the rank of Union Cabinet Minister, Vice-chairperson has the rank of Minister of State and the three members hold the rank of Secretary to the Government of India.
• Functions: The Commission looks into the constitutional and legal safeguards, rights and planning process related to the socio-economic development of STs. Also, it looks into the matters related to minor forest produce, rights of tribals over mineral and water resources, viable livelihood of tribals, relief and rehabilitation of displaced tribals, alienation of land, elimination of shifting cultivation and implementation of laws like PESA Act, 1996 for the welfare of tribals.
• Powers: NCST has the power of a civil court and has the authority to summon any person, receive evidence on affidavits, requisition of public records as well as discover and produce any document related to investigation and inquiry of any matter concerned with welfare of Tribals.

Acts related to Tribals

• Forest Rights Act, 2006: The main objective of FRA, 2006 is empowerment of forest-dwelling schedule tribes. The act recognizes and vests the forest rights in the tribals who have been residing in such forests for generations, but whose rights could not be recorded. It provides a framework for recording the forest rights so vested in tribals and the nature of evidence required for such recognition in respect of forest land.
• Protection of Civil Rights Act, 1955: It is an act to abolish the concept of ‘untouchability’ from Indian society. It prescribes punishment for preaching or practicing untouchability in any form.
• SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989: It seeks to prevent the commission of offenses or atrocities against the members of the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes. It also provides for Special Courts for the trial of such offenses, and for the relief and rehabilitation of the victims of such offenses.
• Panchayats (Extension to Scheduled Areas) Act, 1996: PESA is a law enacted by the Government of India to cover the ‘Scheduled areas’, which are not covered under the Panchayati Raj, i.e. 73rd amendment of the Indian Constitution. Under the provisions of the Act, state legislatures have been empowered to frame the laws concerning the extension of the provisions of Part IX of the Constitution to the Fifth Schedule Areas.

Tribal Sub-Plan

• Need for special intervention: An overwhelming majority of Scheduled Tribes continue to live below the poverty line and have poor literacy rates. Apart from that, they suffer from malnutrition and diseases. They are also vulnerable to displacement. Despite multiple efforts at constitutional, policy and program level, the tribals are still on the bottom of ladder as far as socio-economic development is concerned. These efforts need redesigning, reframing and implementation with a will to gain results.
• Tribal Sub Plan: It is a plan or strategy which was introduced by the Indian government to ensure the socio-economic development of the tribal people of the country. Tribal Sub-Plan (TSP) aims to bridge the gap between the Schedule Tribes (STs) and the general population with respect to socio-economic development indicators in a time-bound manner. It is a part of the annual plan of a State or Union Territory.

Objectives: The objectives of TSP are as given below:

• To eradicate the exploitation of tribals and enable the development of remote tribal areas.
• To reduce poverty and unemployment prevailing among the tribals.
• To provide physical and financial security against any kind of oppression and exploitation.
• To improve the life of tribal people by providing adequate health and educational services.

Key features: 

• Concerned ministries in center, states and UTs are allocated funds under TSP. Share of central ministries in TSP is decided by the Ministry of Finance. On the other hand, the State governments are allocated funds according to the proportion of ST population in the state. TSP is only applicable to the states where tribal population is less than 60%. Tribal Sub Plan funds cannot be diverted to any other head and are non-lapsable.
• Monitoring of TSP: Ministry of Tribal Affairs (MoTA) has been mandated to monitor TSP as per the framework and mechanism designed by NITI Aayog.

Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs)

• PVTGs: Scheduled Tribes (STs) are indigenous, geographically isolated groups that have their own distinctive culture. Most of the Schedule tribes have low literacy and economic backwardness. However, some of these tribes are even more marginalized than others. Such tribes have been classified by the Indian government as Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Group (PVTG). It should be noted that there is no mention of PVTG in constitution and the classification of STs into PVTGs is only for policy purposes. PVTGs are identified on the basis of factors like:

• use of pre-agriculture level of technology;
• stagnant or declining population;
• extremely low literacy; and
• subsistence level of economy.

• History of PVTGs: Dhebar commission (1960-61) identified that there is inequality among tribal communities in terms of socio-economic development. In 1975, acting on the Dhebar Commission report, the government identified Primitive Tribal Groups (PTGs) as a separate category and listed 52 tribal groups as PTGs. Later, in 1993, more tribal groups were added to the list, taking the tally to 75 PTGs. In 2006, PTGs were renamed as Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs).

Major PVTGs:

• The Saharia tribe of Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan is the largest among PVTGs, with a population of more than 4 lakhs. The smallest population size among the PVTGs is the Sentinelese with less than 50 people remaining.
• Siddi: Siddis known for their Dhamal dance reside across many States of India, especially Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, and Kerala.
• Padhar: They are majorly present in the State of Gujarat. They live in houses, made of clay, grass, and wood, known as Kuba.
• Kotwalia: They are also PVTGs of Gujarat and are majorly found in the Surat region. They are known for their bamboo work. They consider bamboo as kalpavriksha. Kalpavriksha is a tree in Hindu mythology that fulfils all wishes).
• Kathodi: Kathodis of Gujarat believe themselves to be heirs of the deity Hanuman. They are also known as Katkari. This name has been derived from their occupation of preparing Catechu.
• Mankedia: They are semi-nomadic hunters and gatherers of Odisha. They undertake the profession of monkey catching in urban areas. Therefore, they are in particular demand in areas suffering from the menace of monkeys.
• Irula: They are tribes residing in Nilgiri region of South India. Their main occupation is catching snakes and rats and extracting honey from the beehives. Some members of the Irula community were hired by the state of Florida (USA) to tackle the menace of invasive Burmese pythons in Florida. They speak the Irula language which is closely related to Tamil.
• Chenchu: They are hunters of Nallamala forest of Andhra Pradesh. They live in temporary huts. Their settlement is called penta or gudem. They speak chenchu language, which is part of the Dravidian language family. They make mahua liquor and use it for daily consumption. 

Conclusion

• PVTGs are one of the most vulnerable sections of the country. They suffer from historical injustice, comprising land alienation as well as other forms of exploitation by the outsiders. Therefore, there is a need for taking steps for the empowerment of such tribal groups. However, it needs to be kept in mind that while taking such steps, the autonomy of the tribes is not disturbed and affirmative action is taken while keeping their uniqueness in mind.

Practice Question

• What are Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs)? Discuss the need for creation of a separate category among the tribals, despite the existence of various welfare schemes for STs.

UPSC PYQs

• Performance of welfare schemes that are implemented for vulnerable sections is not so effective due to absence of their awareness and active involvement at all stages of policy process. Discuss. (GS2: 2019)
• Whether National Commission for Scheduled Castes (NCSCJ) can enforce the implementation of constitutional reservation for the Scheduled Castes in the religious minority institutions? Examine. (GS2: 2019)

Topics covered from the Syllabus:

Context: Recently, India has shown a commendable performance in sports events including Tokyo Olympics as well as Paralympics. Among these successful players, many are from the tribal-dominated regions, like Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Odisha, Haryana and North Eastern States, among others. They bear the double brunt of inhospitable terrain as well as poor sporting facilities.

Contribution of Tribals to Sports

• Major Sports: The tribals have shined in almost every sport. However, their talent has been more visible in Hockey and Archery. Though the government has clarified in an RTI that India does not have any national sports, India dominated world hockey in six consecutive Olympic Games from 1928 to 1956.

Players from tribal areas have played a special role in this domination:

• Jaipal Singh Munda was the captain of the team, which won India’s first Olympic gold.
• Sylvanus Dung Dung, is another Olympic gold medalist who made a major contribution to Hockey. In fact, he was also the coach of male hockey team which won bronze medal in the Tokyo Olympics, 2021.
• Birendra Lakra is from Odisha’s tribal-dominated district of Sundergarh. He was a part of the hockey team which won gold medal in Asian games.
• Michael Kindo was a hockey player from Simdega, Jharkhand. He won Olympic medal in 1972, besides being a part of three-time medal winner team of hockey world cup. Due to its contribution to sports, Simdega is known as the hockey hub of Jharkhand.
• Nikki Pradhan: She was a part of Women hockey team for Tokyo Olympics 2021, which narrowly missed the bronze medal.
• Dilip Tirkey: He is a former hockey captain of India, hailing from Odisha. He represented India in three Olympics. He was part of team that won gold in Bangkok Asian games 1998 and a silver medal in Busan in 2002. He was conferred Padma shri and Arjuna awards. Also, he became a member of Rajya Sabha in 2012.
• Sumati kumari: She is a hockey player from Jharkhand. She represented India in AFC women Asia cup and other international events.

Contribution to other games:

As stated above, tribals have contributed to India’s progress in games like Archery. Some of the players include:

• Deepika Kumari: She is one of the best archers in the world. She has been conferred with Padma Shri and Arjuna Awards. She represented the country in London Olympics 2012, Rio Olympics 2016 and Tokyo Olympics 2021.
• Sanjeeva Kumar Singh is a famous archer from Jharkhand. He was conferred with the Arjuna Award as a player and Dronacharya Award as coach of Archery team.
• Supriti Kachhap: She is from Gumla, Jharkhand. She is one of the youngest athletes of India.
• Kartik Oraon, Mamta and Barkha: They are Football players from Gumla, Jharkhand. The trio was a part of khelo India games.

Sports Initiatives in India

• Khelo India: Central government has started ‘Khelo India’ games at school and university level to provide an opportunity for identification of sporting talent at a young age. They are all India sporting events and a chance for the young athletes to make a mark on the national stage.
• Target Olympic Podium Scheme (TOPS): This a program to identify potential medal winners and provide them with scholarship, adequate facilities and training, so that India’s performance in the Olympics medal tally is commensurate to the potential of its sportspersons.
• National Sports university: To encourage sports culture in the country, the government has approved opening of multiple national sports universities. For instance, the first sports university in India was opened in Manipur. Similarly, PM Modi inaugurated first sports university of Uttar Pradesh in Meerut district.
• Sports policies: Many states like Haryana, have taken special efforts to establish sports facilities at the district level. Similarly, states like Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Odisha have come up with their sports policies to promote sports in schools, as well as to provide adequate sports opportunities in tribal dominated areas.

Problems of Sports Person in Tribal Areas

• Poverty: Tribal areas are one of the poorest areas in India. Lack of livelihood and quality education makes it difficult for children to choose sports as a career. Their focus remains on earning enough to feed the members of their families, thus, hindering their career prospects.
• Infrastructure: Tribal dominated areas do not have adequate infrastructure, such as play grounds, sports stadia, equipment, coaches and medical facilities. This translates to lack of interest among students, leading to loss of good talent to lack of opportunity.
• Language problems: National coaches and training staff are unable to converse with the tribal athletes in their local language, creating a communication barrier. Therefore, young athletes are often not comfortable during their training period.
• Lack of Research in Kinanthropology (see inset): The tribals have different bone structure. Therefore, they require special equipment, designed according to their body requirements, to perform at their full potential. However, a lack of research and study in this direction leads to deficiency for the tribals and hinders their chances at excelling in sports.

Conclusion

• India has had many tribal sports persons who have represented India on the world stage. Therefore, the efforts of the Union and States governments to identify sporting talents from tribal areas are in the right direction. Tribals have a robust culture of sports. The need is to provide them with proper training, state-of-the-art equipment and other infrastructure facilities. Moreover, sports can be a way of assimilating tribal people into the mainstream, if the people successfully establish a connection with the tribals. 

Practice Question

• Discuss the contribution of people from scheduled tribes to the development of sports in India. Also, analyze the issues faced by them during their preparatory stages.

UPSC PYQs

• Do government’s schemes for up-lifting vulnerable and backward communities by protecting required social resources for them, lead to their exclusion in establishing businesses in urban economics? (GS2 – 2014)
• The Central Government frequently complains on the poor performance of the State Governments in eradicating suffering of the vulnerable sections of the society. Restructuring of Centrally sponsored schemes across the sectors for ameliorating the cause of vulnerable sections of population aims at providing flexibility to the States in better implementation. Critically evaluate. (GS2 – 2013)

Topics covered from the Syllabus:

Context: Every tribe in the country has some uniqueness that makes it special. In the words of ex-vice president M. Venkaiah Naidu, “We shall first have to give up this hubris of considering tribes backward. Every tribe has a rich and living cultural tradition and we must respect them.”

Gonds

• Gonds: The Gonds are the largest tribal group in India. For centuries, Gond kings have ruled their area, and preserved their culture and society. As per Christoph von Haimendrof, the renowned Austrian ethnologist, “No aboriginal people of India have attained greater prominence on the political scene of past centuries than the group of tribes commonly known as Gond”.
• Society: Gonds have a vivid social structure which is believed to have been established by their chief preceptor Pahandi Pari Kupar Lingo. Gonds have 750 paadings (clans) and 2250 paadi (totems). The Gond society is divided into various caste groups such as Pardhans, Ojhas, Nagarchis, Dholis, Raj Gonds, Khatola Gonds, Madia Gonds, Dhur Gonds, Dadve Gonds, Mokashi Gonds, Gaita Gonds, Koyas, etc.Despite having different names, different Gond groups have similar rituals and belief system.

• Family: The Gond family consists of parents and children. It is the smallest social unit of Gond society. After marriage, the daughter becomes part of her husband’s family. The Gond society is patrilineal and patrilocal. Patrilineal refers to the system in which ancestry is traced through male members of family. Patrilocal means that the bride moves to house of bridegroom after marriage.
• Kinship: The kinship relations are important as they decide the rituals, privileges and duties of a member of family and society. Many families form a clan or Pari. All members of the clan bear the same clan name. They trace themselves to a common ancestry.
• Patriarchal Society: Gond society is patriarchal in nature. Women do household chores, raise children and participate in agricultural activity. Although they are part of decision making, women are prohibited from participating in rituals.
• Marriage: Gonds marry within their tribe. Cross cousin marriage and parallel cousin marriage are also prevalent. Love marriages are allowed with the consent of the family. Widows can also remarry. Marriages are performed by a person called Doshi or Baiga. Due to influence of Hindu customs, many Gond tribes like Raj Gonds, have adopted the practices of Hindu marriage system.
• Training: Gonds have a youth dormitory inside every village known as Ghotul. The purpose of these youth dormitories is to train young boys and girls. Youth of the village gather inside the youth dormitory at night, where they play and learn together. The senior members train younger ones by sharing their experiences and stories. The skills of hunting and fishing are also taught inside ghotul.

• Religious beliefs: Gonds have animistic belief system. They worship plants and animals. The spirits of ancestors are considered sacred. Gond religious ceremonies include sacrifices of animals, including buffaloes, cows, pigs, goats, and fowls. They believe that sickness is due to the curse of spirits and sacrifices would lead to the spirits helping them in removing sickness.

• Rituals: They give importance to good and bad omen. Both, burial system as well as cremation system, are used to perform last rites. The person who performs rituals is known as Pujar, Bhagat, Baiga, Gunia, or Panda. 

• Language: Gonds speak Gondi, which comes under the central Dravidian language system. Due to cross cultural influence, many Hindi words are used in Gondi language. 
• Food: A typical Gondi meal consists of broth of millet and boiled rice. Gonds also eat non-vegetarian food, but killing of totem (sacred animal) is forbidden. Gonds are fond of dishes made from mahua including liquor. Mahua liquor is used as a celebratory drink in ceremonies and community gatherings.
• Clothes: Males wear dhotis, vest, shawl and turban along with silver bangles, earrings and neck locket. Women wear saris, tied with a belt, along with jewelry. Gonds are fond of tattoos. They believe that tattoo remains even after death and pleases gods in heaven.
• Culture of Gonds: The Gond folk songs are both seasonal and occasional. The songs are based on common observation and narration of Gond life. The main dances are Karma, Ri-na, Ri-lo, Re-la, Sela-Danda (stick), Mandari, Hulki, Suwa, etc. Musical instruments like drums, kikir, flute, cymbals are played during singing and dancing. 

• Paintings: Gonds are experts in wall paintings and floral design. Designs consist of figures of animals and plants, along with geometric patterns. These paintings are made on walls of houses to invite good omen inside the house. The household items are also decorated with these designs.
• Festivals: Gonds celebrate both local festivals and Hindu festivals. Most of the festivals are to celebrate the harvest. The festivals are celebrated with the community and the whole village participates in them. The festivals include Akhari, Jiwati, Pola, Diwali Nawo tindana, Dussera, and Phag (or Shimga).

• Effect of Outside Influence: The forces of modernization, westernization and sanskritization are rapidly changing the Gond society. Celebration of Hindu festivals is now prevalent among the Gonds. Institutions of family, kinship and marriage have started to follow the practices of modern society. Despite these changes, the Gonds have preserved the uniqueness of their rituals and value system to a large extent.

Kalbelia of Rajasthan

• Kalbelia: Kalbelia are indigenous community living in areas of Rajasthan. They trace their ancestry from Navnath yogis, who are nomadic yogis, traveling from place to place, although some people believe that Kalbelia have ancestral ties to the Romans, most of whom had migrated and settled down in America and Europe decades ago.
• Profession: Kalbelias are snake charmers by profession. The word Kalbelia traces its origin to ‘Kal’, which means death, and ‘belia’ which refers to friendship. Therefore, Kalbelia refers to one who has made friendship with death. Kalbelia catch venomous cobra that may cause death.
• Culture: Kalbelia have a rich culture that is transferred from generation to generation by oral recitation. They are known for music, songs, dance and handicrafts (embroidery and ethnic jewelry. Women wear black dresses with bright color patterns in them.

• Dance: Kalbelia are known for their dance. Men and women from the community participate in the dance, in which men play pungi or been and dafli, while women perform the dance. Kalbelia dance movements resemble cobra snakes. The song is mainly based on the stories of Lord Krishna dancing over a snake called kaliya, in hindu mythology.
• Recognition: Due to their energetic performance and vibrant music, the Kalbelia dance has been recognized by UNESCO as intangible cultural heritage. It has also featured in countless bollywood movies. Kalunath Kalbelia, Appanath Kalbelia, Asha Sapera, Suwa Devi, and Samda Sapera are some of the internationally recognized artists of the community.

• Issues: The Kalbelia community is socially and educationally marginalized. Snake charming is now prohibited under the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972, so, nowadays, dance and crafts are the only source of livelihood for the community.

Adis of Arunachal

• Adis: Adis are an indigenous community of Arunachal Pradesh. In Sino Tibetan language. Adi means hill top. The Adi trace their ancestry from people of the north, who settled in Arunachal.
• Religion: Adis follow the worship tradition of Donyi polo and worship nature. They are totally dependent on nature for all their basic needs. They consider nature as their life source and protect it from any harm.
• Construction: Adis are expert hut builders. They build rectangular huts on stilts. Adis use plant material, such as bamboo, wood and cane leaves, in construction of houses. The floor is made up of bamboo. The house is designed to accommodate natural sunlight and ventilation. The completion of the house is celebrated with traditional rice beer.

Tangsas of Arunachal

• Tangsa: The Tangsa community resides in the river valley of Noa-dihing river of Patkai hills, in Changlang district of Arunachal Pradesh. 
• Culinary Tradition: The Tangsas are known for their rich cultural heritage, especially cooking and preservation of food. They extensively use bamboo to cook rice, meat and fish. They use different types of local bamboo and its leaves, and other products extracted from local biodiversity for food and the items of daily use.

• Tangsa Tea: Tangsas are famous for their bamboo tea. Historical records indicated that though tea plantation was introduced in India by the British, the Tangsas and Singpo community already had knowledge of tea making before British arrived in India.
• Process of Tea making: The Tangsas pluck tea leaves from village farms and dry them using fire. These leaves are roasted in a fresh bamboo tube. As the leaves become dry, the bamboo tube is cut open to extract the dried tea. To make tea, these dried leaves are brewed in bamboo tubes along with water. Tangsas consume tea as a daily beverage as it is believed to have medicinal properties.

Rajbongshi of North East

• Rajbongshi: Rajbongshi are indigenous tribal community, who inhabit the regions of West Bengal, Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya and other North Eastern parts of India. They are mainly concentrated in Dinapur district of West Bengal. ‘Rajbongshi’ translates to ‘royal community’.

• Ancestry: They trace their ancestry to ancient Koch kingdom. They believe that Rajbongshi once ruled the areas they now inhabit but lost them due to land policies of the British. The primary occupation of Rajbongshi is agriculture.

• Religion: Rajbongshi are animists, which means they worship nature. They believe that natural objects have souls. They also worship goddess ‘Chandi’ and perform rituals to appease her. Due to their religious beliefs, the Rajbongshi preserve local biodiversity and use local resources sustainably. 
• Culture: They have a rich cultural tradition comprising of various art forms such as dance and music. They speak a distinct language which has its own script, making it unique and distinct. Rajbongshi perform a folk dance called Gomira dance or Mukha nach, accompanied by songs sung in local language. The villagers organize dance in the month of Chaitra-Ashad (July to September).

• Use of Masks: The dance is performed by putting a wooden mask on the face. The masks signify surrender of the performer to the character and is a symbol of unity between the performer and the character she is depicting. These masks are made by local craftsmen.
• Components of Dance: The dance starts with a song performance called Vandana, in which songs in praise of goddess Chandi are sung. The dancers seek blessings of Chandi before starting the performance. Various Instruments like Drums, Dhak, Shehnai and metal gong, are used in the performance. Vivid colors are used in costumes, which correspond to the character being played in the dance. Gomira dance is also a source of livelihood for rajbongshi.

• Folk drama: Rajbongshi perform folk drama called Khon. Khon, which translates to ‘moment’ in local language, are unscripted dramas. They are local folktales, performed with elements of comic and satire. The Khon performance includes dialogues, folk songs and dance. The folk songs of Khon are based on the stories of Ramayana and Mahabharata.
• Craft: The Rajbongshi women make jute mat, which is called ‘Dhokra’ in the local language. Jute for Dhokra is extracted from local farms and, processed with hands to separate jute fibers. The separated jute fibers are woven by back-strapped looms at home. These jute mats are one of the major sources of livelihood for Rajbongshi families. Earlier, the mats were sold in local markets, but now they are being sold in cities with design changes, as per the demand of urban consumers.

Conclusion

• Tribal communities have their own distinct features, including arts, crafts, music and dance. At the same time, indigenous traditional knowledge is crucial for conservation of natural and cultural heritage, as well as in understanding and attaining the balance between man, nature, and culture. The lifestyle of tribals demonstrates that the traditional way of life is sustainable and is in harmony with nature. There is a need to revisit the lost traditions in order to understand the importance of sustainability.

Practice Question

• Briefly describe how the way of living of tribals, such as Gonds and Kalbelia, can give lessons to urban population, especially in the context of environmental sustainability.

UPSC PYQs

• Why are the tribals in India referred to as the Scheduled Tribes? Indicate the major provisions enshrined in the Constitution of India for their upliftment. (GS1 – 2016)
• Describe any four cultural elements of diversity in India and rate their relative significance in building a national identity. (GS1 – 2015)