Tribal Development in India - Status and Strategies

India has the worlds' second largest tribal population next only to the African continent.As per the census of 2001, Scheduled Tribes population constitute 84.32 million which is about 8.2 percent of India's population.There are 664 tribal communities of which 75 are categorized as primitive Tribal Groups.The tribal communities speak in about 105 native languages.It is estimated that the tribals inhabit in about 15% of the geographical area of the country.A vast majority of the tribal population of the country is concentrated in eight states viz., Madhya Pradesh, Orissa, Andhra Pradesh, Maharastra, Bihar, Gujarat, Rajasthan and West Bengal.The principal goal of tribal development policy is to create sustainable improvement in the quality of life among tribal people.Much emphasis is given to beneficiary oriented programmes to facilitate increase in per capita income of tribal families.Attempts are also made to reduce economic disparities, increase education levels and also expand accessibility to health services.Inspite of all these attempts, tribal people continue to earn their livelihood by practicing traditional professions viz., sale of minor forest produce, grazing of livestock, sale of agricultural and household implements, dispensation of herbal medicines, rendition of folk arts, singing devotional songs etc. Problems of TribalsTribal communities in India are geographically isolated, economically weak, socially ignorant, politically indifferent, culturally rich, behaviourally simple, trust worthy and leading their life in the lap of nature.They encounter difficulties/problems in the context of socio-economic, cultural and political development.They are considered as weaker sections of the society and lead a life at bare subsistence level.They exist in a situation featured with poverty, deprivation, disadvantages etc., which can not be tackled effectively on their own ; hence there is a need for the Government and the society to intervene for mitigating their miseries and facilitating development process.Land occupied by tribals constitutes about 20 percent of the area of the country.Availability of precious minerals in different tribal regions causes exploitation of tribal land for commercial purposes leading to serious repercussions for socio-economic organization of tribal communities.The land hungry non-tribal money lenders, liquor contractors, merchants who buy forest produce and sell domestically are exploiting tribals and extract forced labour by paying insignificant or no wages.This results in limited access to means of livelihood and in effect tribals have no access to their land and land -based resources.Further, the problem of land alienation is very serious in tribal communities.The rich and powerful forcibly occupy their land on the pretext of environmental conservation; thus denying them the genuine land rights.Another serious problem is indebtedness among tribal communities due to illiteracy, poor or no knowledge in handling money, ignorance and backwardness.In several cases even the institutional mechanisms evolved to provide loans, with low rates of interest and easy installments, are also not of much help.Education and health are major parameters in the development of tribal communities.Education is not only the indicator of development but also a process of empowerment and participation in development.Change in dietary habits and declining forest food resources result in malnutrition.Inaccess to modern health care and superstitions lead to diseases and death which need to be paid immediate attention and emphasise to the tribal people. Development: Policies and ProgrammesDevelopment activities for the tribal communities received priority and special attention.Different approaches were used for the welfare and development for safe -guarding their interest, ameliorate their conditions and bring them into the manifold of national life.These provide equal opportunities to the disadvantage section of the society and access the development process and its fruits.Two different approaches were suggested on the policy for the development of schedules tribes.On one land, the policy of segregation was suggested wherein the tribal identity and heritage should not be disturbed leaving them alone with minimal interventions ; on the other the policy of integration/assimilation was suggested wherein they should be integrated into the main stream of the national life.However, a middle path has been