Development of Scheduled Tribes in India and Its Relationship With Indigenous Knowledge and Ethno Medicinal Practices

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DEVELOPMENT OF SCHEDULED TRIBES IN INDIA AND ITS RELATIONSHIP

WITH INDIGENOUS KNOWLEDGE AND ETHNO-MEDICINAL PRACTICES
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DEVELOPMENT OF SCHEDULED TRIBES IN INDIA AND
ITS RELATIONSHIP WITH INDIGENOUS KNOWLEDGE
AND ETHNO-MEDICINAL PRACTICES
DEVELOPMENT OF SCHEDULED TRIBES IN INDIA AND
ITS RELATIONSHIP WITH INDIGENOUS KNOWLEDGE
AND ETHNO-MEDICINAL PRACTICES
EDITED BY
Arun Kumar Mandal

Jayanta Mete
S W E D E N
REDMAC.Se
DEVELOPMENT OF SCHEDULED TRIBES IN INDIA AND ITS RELATIONSHIP
WITH INDIGENOUS KNOWLEDGE AND ETHNO-MEDICINAL PRACTICES
Edited by Arun Kumar Mandal & Jayanta Mete
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Cover page © RED'MAC, Inc, 2022
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ISBN: 978-91-987980-7-4
ISBN-10: 91-987980-7-3
DIP: 18.10.9198798073
DOI: 10.25215/9198798073
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Printed in Stockholm | Title ID: 9198798073

FOREWORD
It is a matter of immense pleasure for me to learn that the book

entitled ‘Development of Scheduled Tribes in India and Its Relationship
with Indigenous Knowledge and Ethno - Medicinal Practices’ jointly
edited by Dr. Arun Kumar Mandal, Assistant Professor, Union Christian
Training College, Murshidabad, West Bengal, India and Prof. Jayanta
Mete, Faculty of Education, Department of Education, University of
Kalyani, Kalyani, West Bengal, India is ready for publication. The research
papers published in this edited volume intend to discuss various aspects
like (i) Problems and Remedial Measures of Tribal Education in India, (ii)
Communication process of Tribal Education, (iii) Indigenous knowledge
of Tribal people proposed by NEP-2020, (iv) Ethno-Medicinal Practices of
Scheduled Tribes proposed by NEP-2020, (v)Role of Various Schemes
and Scholarships for Students of Scheduled Tribes, (vi)Policies and
Strategies of Tribal Development in India, (vii) Tribal Health, Nutritional
and disease, (viii)Socio-Economic Transformation of Tribal People, (ix)
Tribal Artisans and Entrepreneurship, (x)Environment and Forest
Management, (xi) Cultural Dimension of Scheduled tribes and (xii)
Gender Issues .
The content of this volume suggest that it will be very helpful for
students and teachers of the social sciences with particular reference to
issues related to Scheduled Tribes Communities. The contributors of this
volume, who have disseminated their valuable knowledge reflected in
their articles. I appreciated the commitment of Dr. A. K. Mandal and Prof.
Jayanta Mete for their conscientious and dedicated commitment which
made the publication possible.
Shilma, 2022 Professor (Dr.) Manoj kumar Saxena

Dean, School of Education
Central University of Himachal Pradesh
Himachal Pradesh, Shimla, India
EDITOR’S NOTE
The Ministry of Tribal Affairs has identified 75 tribal groups which

are classified as Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (VTGs) taking into
consideration of following criteria as (i) A pre-agricultural level of
technology, (ii) A stagnant or declining population and (iii) A
subsistence level of economy. The population of Scheduled Tribes (STs)
in the country as per Census 2011 is 10.45 crore. STs constitute 86
percent of the country’s total population and 11.3 % of the total rural
population. It is imperative to promote socio-economic status of tribal
people as they are the part of human resource taking into consider of
social progress, formation of human capital and economic development
of the country. In this connection extension of education does have
pivotal role for development of tribal community. The resource
mobilization is lagely made possible through extension of education
which may lead to creation of employment as well as self-employment
opportunities in making the path of sustainable development of the
tribal community. On the other hand, extension of education creates
more opportunities for actively participation of socio-economic and
political fields which may accelerate their empowerment as well as
sustainable development. NEP-2020 highlights that tribal communities
and children from scheduled tribes also face disadvantages at multiple
levels due to various historical and geographical factors and various
programmatic interventions need to assure that tribal children belonging
to tribal communities attain the benefits of these interventions. This
educational policy also proposes the specific courses in tribal ethno-
medicinal practices using their indigenous knowledge and skills. So,
present edited book has attempted modestly to investigate various
aspects of “Development of Scheduled Tribes in India and Its
Relationship with Indigenous Knowledge and Ethno-Medicinal
practices”. For this purpose the following thirty chapters have be
incorporated in this edited book.
Dr. K. Jayaraman and R. Rajesh analyze in their research article
about various problems in the progress of children in general and tribal
children in particular. These problems are related to schools, economic,
society and policy framework. Ruchika Sharma and Bindu Dua in their
paper throw light that education of girls should be given due
encouragement in rural areas. To bring more girls, especially from
marginalized families the government should provide a bundle of
incentives in the shape of free books, uniforms, boarding and
accommodation, clothing and mid-day. Dr. Lakshman Pal in his research
paper throws light on the fact that the tribes have their own traditional
system of living. So, they should be allowed to develop according to their
own genius without disturbing their social and cultural institutions. Control
over forest products through different forest acts since the colonial period
deprives the tribes and other indigenous people of the forest from their
rights from the forest resources. Arnab Chowdhury, Dr. Sushanta Kumar
Roul and Dr. Jayanta Mete find out that tribal girls' social, economic, and
political empowerment begin with education. In order to achieve financial
independence, women can participate in the workforce and ascend to
positions of economic power through economic empowerment. The
research article conducted by Dr. Prosenjit Saha shows that majority of
the tribal population exhibit low level of educational status, per-capita
income, and purchasing power, standard of life and in overall social-
economic status also. Educational status of the tribal communities mainly
in the remote rural parts is quite disappointing. Dr. Sanjay Sarkar and Dr.
Jayanta Mete in their research article explore that male and female ST
students have different to different determiners of met-cognitive
strategies, rural and urban ST students have different to different
determiners of meta-cognitive strategies, Bengali and English medium ST
students have to different determiners of meta-cognitive strategies. The
research article carried out by Bapan Mondal, Najmatunnessa Khatun
and Jayanta Mete expatiate thematically that according to NEP 2020,
special attention will be given in reducing inequality in the educational
development of SCs and STs. NEP 2020 envisages ensuring equitable
access to quality higher education for all students with special focus on
SEDGs. Piyali Bose and Jayanta Mete through their research paper
attempt to examine about various reasons for drop-out among tribal
students taking into consideration of extreme level of poverty, deprivation
and vulnerability, high levels of exclusion, developmental, social and
economic, extremely low level of empowerment w.r.t political, social and
economic and indifferent attitude of tribal students. The research paper
undertaken by Sumantra Chakraborty and Tapas Jana find out that
several tribes show enriched Indigenous knowledge system (IKS) which
may run parallel with the mainstream knowledge system. This paper also
attempts to analyse the situation of tribal people and their indigenous
knowledge in the context of West Bengal as well as in the context of recent
education policy. Ananya Acherjee in her research article tries to explain
thematically about that the benefits of the various and fellowships for girl
students of STs may be realized in accordance to the changes introduced
by the NEP 2020. By dint of these benefits, tribal women and children will
be emancipated and be able to overcome their socio-economic
constraints largely.
Rimmi Datta and Dr. Jayanta Mete conduct their research article
following a simple random sample technique find out that there are % of
different types barriers w.r.t 5-points scale giving emphasis on the opinion
of strongly agree like medium of instruction, inadequate number of teachers,
and absence of teachers in remote areas and indifferent attitude of tribal
parents. Anasuya Adhikari and Dr.Birbal Saha in their research article
attempt to expound thematically the important fact that the most
prevalent theme in mining ethnographies today is indigenous tribal rights to
resources and territories, which is merged with identity politics and sub-
nationalism. Dr. Sarmila Das and Tirtha Pratim Mal undertake their
research article to study the socio-economic status of tribal children and
highlight that education may be regarded as an effective instrumental in
removing economic backwardness and social deprivation of tribals in the
present modern society. Tribal children were irregular in schools due to
problems of food, clothing and shelter. Soumyashree Sarkar and
Sharmistha Chanda have put forward their views thematically though
research paper and highlight that Care has to be taken to ensure that
school dropout rates of tribal school girls should be reduced. Tribal women
must be made equal shareholders as much as they are stakeholders of the
production and income generation systems. The research article undertaken
by Rini Basu finds out the reasons for dropout among the tribal children
and shows that there is decline in the percentage of school dropouts and
out of school children among the tribals, but to further reduce the number,
the curriculum should be prepared in their mother tongue. There can be mid-
day meal, night school, adult education centres etc. Dr.Sarita Singh and Dr.
Gyanendra Kumar Rout in their study throw light about the fact that
empowering women not only create positive influence and efforts in the
lives of women but also the lifestyle of every human being. The status of
tribal women in Indian society is very low in terms of education,
employability, & health as compared to men. The study conducted by
Sriparna Mallick and Dr. Kartick Chandra Pramanik expatiates
thematically that the development process of tribal is very slow and
unsmooth. Government agencies and Tribal Development Department
should undertake notable works for the proper implement of the policies,
plans schemes and strategies. There are some negligence at the field level
to develop tribal community. Planners, administrators, social workers and
non-governmental organizations should be concerned about the cause of
failure to implement the plans and policies. Dr. Diptansu Bhusan Pati and
Dr. Minati Mohanty in their study focus that poor economic condition of
the family for which children are supporting their parents in collecting forest
products and agriculture and indifferent attitude of the parents towards
education due to illiteracy. Sabin Sahari and Dr. Jayanta Mete in their
research paper try to examine the role and contribution of Pandit Raghunath
Murmu for the implementation of Ol-Chiki Language in modern education
system taking into consideration of Odisha's Santali language movement
has its roots in the teachings of Pandit Raghunath Murmu, a native Santali
speaker. The Study of Arnab Chowdhury, Dr. Sushanta Kumar Roul and
Dr. Jayanta Mete focus on the socioeconomic background and family
features of tribal women beneficiaries as well as the income and savings
patterns of tribal women members of Self-Help Groups. There is a strong
correlation between tribal income and indebtedness, family size, and length
of employment. Rahul Das and Dr. Jayanta Mete in their study highlight
that Eklavya Model Residential Schools are being developed to impart
quality education to tribal students, with an emphasis on not only academic
education but all-round development of tribal students.
Nilufa Yasmin & Dr. Debashis Mridha undertake the study to
explain the challenges in educational status of Scheduled Caste and
Scheduled Tribe women in India. The main reason for the backwardness of
the women is lack of education. Gender discrimination begins at an early
age of their life. Education is the only way through which Scheduled Caste
and Scheduled Tribe women can promote in their life. Anwesha Mondal
expounds her study that in India tribal women face gender discrimination in
almost all dimensions of their life such as occupation, education, healthcare,
and political representation. There is a need for special efforts to implement
the scheme and program especially for women and more important proper
education for tribal women. Pramita Mallik Halder and Dr. Debashis
Mridha in their study attempt to bring out the importance of Indigenous
Knowledge of Tribal among Indian Knowledge System (IKS) prescribed in
the curriculum of secondary and according to NEP 2020 Ayurvedic treatment
will play a pivotal role in health care system of modern medical Education,
many parts of the Ayurvedic treatments are based on the ethno-medicinal
practices. The study of Ratna Garai in his study examines the educational
facilities available to the tribal students in higher education and drop-out
among them in West Bengal. Reasons for Drop-out include (i) extreme
level of poverty, deprivation and vulnerability, (ii)high levels of exclusion,
developmental, social and economic, (iii) Extremely low level of
empowerment-political, social and economic, (iv) low level of access to
entitlement etc. Sunny Baskey in his study attempts to investigate
different types of social and environmental factors are the causes of dropout
of which family environment and lack of motivation to continue schooling
the major causes of dropout. He suggests that he tribal student’s need
quality education, quality teachers, motivation of teachers, interaction of
teachers and parents, quality school infrastructure, quality contents of
curriculum, quality education environment, quality family life, social and peer-
group acceptance as well as positive family attitude about their education.
Chhandabani Chakroborty in her study highlights that education is an
important avenue for upgrading the economic and social conditions of the
Scheduled Tribes. Education is in fact, an input not only for economic
development of tribes but also for inner strength of the tribal communities
which helps them in meeting the new challenges of life. Still in 21st century,
Scheduled Tribe in West Bengal are marginalized in all sphere-Socially,
economically, educationally and politically despite of various progress and
advancement, most of them are completely dependent on cultivation, forest
product and haunting etc. Kiran Haldar in his research article emphasizes
that the government should provide more education and other facilities to
the people of Scheduled Tribes along with the people of other communities
find out some measures to solve the educational Problems of Scheduled
Tribes: Dr. Arun Kumar Mandal in his study attempts to investigate that
forest products and benefits involving indigenous knowledge and skills
may be classified as (i) job opportunities with income, (ii) household
income and (iii) environmental benefits. Indigenous Knowledge attempts
to supply problem-solving techniques for local communities in respect of
poor tribal people. Some tribal households belonging to the members of
FPCs are used to collect common medicinal plants deploying their
indigenous knowledge, skills and attitudes for different medicinal use.
The study conducted by Saswati Roy attempts to identify the significant
gender issues that have considerable implications on the social life of
tribal women where the GDI indicators have been extensively observed
and indicated as the primary cause of these issues is prevailing
inequalities in the tribal communities, lack of awareness, illiteracy, land
alienation, and being isolated from the outer world.
Finally, we are thankful to all contributors and publisher for
rendering their sincere efforts in bringing out such piece of edited book.
Research findings and suggestions may throw light in the path of tribal
development in India. It is expected that this book will be much
conducive to the teachers, academicians, researchers, students, policy
makers of both State Governments and Central Government for Tribal
development in India
Dr. Arun Kumar Mandal

Dr. Jayanta Mete
ABOUT THE BOOK
The edited book “Development of Scheduled Tribes in India and

Its Relationship with Indigenous Knowledge and Ethno-Medicinal
practices” has been undertaken to enlighten various aspects like (i)
Problems and Remedial Measures of Tribal Education in India, (ii)
Communication process of Tribal Education, (iii) Indigenous knowledge
of Tribal people proposed by NEP-2020, (iv) Ethno-Medicinal Practices
of Scheduled Tribes proposed by NEP-2020, (v) Role of Various
Schemes and Scholarships for Students of Scheduled Tribes, (vi)
Policies and Strategies of Tribal Development in India, (vii) Tribal Health,
Nutritional and disease, (viii) Socio-Economic Transformation of Tribal
People, (ix) Tribal Artisans and Entrepreneurship, (x)Environment and
Forest Management, (xi) Cultural Dimension of Scheduled tribes and
(xii)Gender Issues. This book focuses on the basic principle that
educational development plays an important role in the socio-economic
development of tribal people. They have inherited indigenous knowledge
and ethno-medicinal practices through cultivation of informal
experiences and deep understanding of environment that attempts to
carry out their livelihood sustainability giving emphasis on protection of
forest resources. The views, analysis, interpretation and suggestions
following above mentioned aspects have been placed properly by the
contributors of research paper in this book. It is expected that this book
will be much conducive to the teachers, academicians, researchers,
students, policy makers for both State Governments and Central
Government for Tribal development in India. Given research findings and
suggestions may play a pivotal role for tribal development programmes
in India. Any kind of feedback/ suggestion for improving the quality of
this book is sincerely accepted.
CONTENTS
CHAPTER CHAPTERS AND AUTHORS PAGE

NO. NO.
1. SCHOOL EDUCATION AMONG SCHEDULED 1
TRIBE’S CHILDREN OF TAMILNADU STATE IN
CURRENT STATUS
Dr. K. JAYARAMAN & R. RAJESH
2. FEMALE EDUCATION IN INDIA: ISSUES AND 6

CHALLENGES
Ruchika Sharma & Bindu Dua
3. CHANGING STATUS OF TRIBAL FOREST RIGHTS 14

IN INDIA: AN OVERVIEW
Dr. Lakshman Pal
4. ATTITUDE OF TRIBAL PARENTS TOWARDS 30

THEIR GIRLS' EMPOWERMENT: A STUDY IN
WEST BENGAL
Arnab Chowdhury , Dr. Sushanta Kumar Roul &
Dr. Jayanta Kumar Mete
5. INDIGENOUS PEOPLE OF INDIA AND THEIR 41

EDUCATIONAL STATUS: A REVIEW
Dr. Prosenjit Saha
6. EFFECT ON METACOGNITIVE STRATEGIES 57

AMONG SCHEDULE TRIBE STUDENTS AT
HIGHER EDUCATION IN WEST BENGAL
Dr. Sanjay Sarkar & Dr. Jayanta Mete
7. CHALLENGES OF TRIBAL EDUCATION IN WEST 70

BENGAL AND NEP 2020
Bapan Mondal , Najmatunnessa Khatun &
Jayanta Mete
NO. NO.
8. STUDY ON EDUCATIONAL STATUS AND DROP 80
OUT RATE OF SCHEDULED TRIBES IN WEST
BENGAL
Piyali Bose & Jayanta Mete
9. A STUDY ON INDIGENOUS KNOWLEDGE SYSTEM 93

AND TRIBAL EDUCATION IN WEST BENGAL IN
THE LIGHT OF NEP-2020
Sumantra Chakraborty & Tapas Jana
10. VARIOUS SCHEMES AND SCHOLARSHIPS FOR 105

GIRL STUDENTS OF SCHEDULED TRIBES: THEIR
ROLES AND CONTRIBUTIONS
Ananya Acherjee
11. A STUDY FOCUSED ON SCHEDULED TRIBE 112

STUDENTS FACING CHALLENGES IN HIGHER
EDUCATION IN HOOGHLY DISTRICT IN WEST
BENGAL
Rimmi Datta & Dr. Jayanta Mete
12. OBJECTIFYING HISTORICAL APPROACH TO 124

MINING ETHNOGRAPHY: STUDY OF TRIBES IN
INDIA
Anasuya Adhikari & Dr. Birbal Saha
13. EDUCATIONAL SCENARIO AMONG THE TRIBAL 141

CHILDREN: A STUDY
Dr. Sarmila Das & Tirtha Pratim Mal
14. FROM ISOLATION TO INTEGRATION: A CRITICAL 152

OVERVIEW OF THE DEVELOPMENT
MILESTONES OF EDUCATION OF TRIBAL
WOMEN
Soumyashree Sarkar & Sharmistha Chanda
NO. NO.
15. TRIBAL EDUCATION IN WEST BENGAL: STATUS, 168
GOVERNMENT INITIATIVES & CHALLENGES
Rini Basu
16. EMPOWERMENT OF TRIBAL WOMEN: 185

PROBLEMS, POSSIBILITIES AND POLICY
PERSPECTIVES
Dr. Sarita Singh & Dr. Gyanendra Kumar Rout
17. POLICIES AND STRATEGIES OF TRIBAL 204

DEVELOPMENT IN INDIA
Sriparna Mallick & Prof (Dr.) Kartick Chandra
Pramanik
18. PROBLEMS AND CHALLENGES OF TRIBAL 220

EDUCATION IN INDIA- A DISCUSSION
Dr. Diptansu Bhusan Pati & Dr. Minati Mohanty
19. OL-CHIKI LANGUAGE AND ITS HISTORY OF 227

IMPLEMENTATION IN MODERN EDUCATION
SYSTEM: AN EXPLORATIVE STUDY
Sahin Sahari & Jayanta Mete
20. SOCIO ECONOMIC BENEFITS AVAILED FOR 234

TRIBAL WOMEN DEVELOPMENT IN INDIA: A
REVIEW
Arnab Chowdhury , Dr. Sushanta Kumar Roul &
Dr. Jayanta Kumar Mete
21. ROLE OF EKLAVYA RESIDENTIAL SCHOOL IN 252

TRIBAL EDUCATION: A REVIEW
Rahul Das & Prof. (Dr.) Jayanta Mete
NO. NO.
22. EDUCATION AS CHALLENGES OF SCHEDULED 268
CASTE AND SCHEDULED TRIBE WOMEN IN
INDIA
Nilufa Yasmin & Dr. Debashis Mridha
23. TRIBAL WOMEN AND GENDER DISPARITY IN 281

INDIA
Anwesha Mondal
24. IMPORTANCE OF TRIBAL INDIGENOUS 288

KNOWLEDGE AS AN INTEGRATED SKILL WITHIN
CURRICULUM AS PER RECOMMENDATION OF
NEP 2020
Pramita Mallik Halder & Dr. Debashis Mridha
25. EDUCATIONAL STATUS AND DROP OUT RATE 300

OF SCHEDULED TRIBE IN WEST BENGAL
Ratna Garai
26. A STUDY OF THE CAUSES OF SCHOOL DROP 313

OUT IN HOOGHLY DISTRICT WITH SPECIAL
REFERENCE TO THE SCHEDULED TRIBE
STUDENTS
Sunny Baskey
27. SCHEDULED TRIBE STUDENTS FACED 325

PROBLEMS IN HIGHER EDUCATION IN WEST
BENGAL: A STUDY
Chhandabani Chakroborty
28. EDUCATION OF SCHEDULED TRIBES: PROBLEMS 334

& SOLUTION
Kiran Haldar
NO. NO.
29. FOREST RELATED INDIGENOUS KNOWLEDGE OF 340
TRIBAL PEOPLE AND ITS RELATIONSHIP WITH
ETHNO-MEDICINAL PRACTICES: A CASE STUDY
IN THE DISTRICT OF BIRBHUM IN WEST BENGAL
Dr. Arun Kumar Mandal
30. TRIBAL WOMEN IN INDIA: THE GENDER 354

INEQUALITIES
Saswati Roy
DEVELOPMENT OF SCHEDULED TRIBES IN INDIA AND ITS RELATIONSHIP WITH INDIGENOUS KNOWLEDGE AND
ETHNO -MEDICINAL PRACTICES
CHAPTER 1
SCHOOL EDUCATION AMONG SCHEDULED TRIBE’S

CHILDREN OF TAMILNADU STATE IN CURRENT STATUS
Dr. K. JAYARAMAN 1 & R. RAJESH 2
Abstract
The study examines the school educational condition of the scheduled
tribe’s children in Tamilnadu sate. The scheduled tribes group is one of
India’s most disadvantaged populations. The scheduled tribe’s children
literacy rate is relatively lower than that of the other children’s. The
present paper examines the different determining factors responsible for
their inaccessibility to education in India in general and Tamilnadu State
in particular.
Keywords: School Education, Scheduled Tribes, Literacy Rate,

Tamilnadu.
INTRODUCTION
E
ducation is the process by which a society transmits its
accumulated knowledge skills and values from one generation to
another. Education must provide the means and opportunities to
enhance the Childs creative expression and the capacity for aesthetic
appreciation. Education gives knowledge about the world around us. It
makes children capable of interpreting things in the right perspective
(DoSE).
The educational needs of tribal children are primarily addressed
through residential schools called ashram schools. There are 892
centrally-sanctioned ashram schools spread across the country. They are
1
Professor, Dept. of Educational Technology, Bharathidasan University, Khajamalai Campus,
Tiruchirappalli - 620023, Tamilnadu.
2
Research Scholar in Education, Dept. of Educational Technology, Bharathidasan University,
Khajamalai Campus, Tiruchirappalli - 620023, Tamilnadu.
1
considered socially backward by society as a whole and also

economically and educationally backwards compared to other Indian
communities recognized by the constitution of India. Historically,
‘Tribal’ groups had no access to formal education. The tribal students are
living in socially impoverished and lead a helpless life. Educational
backwardness was the main reason for their social and economic
backwardness. Their educational development is entirely different form
the non- tribal students. This article examines the school educational
aspects of the scheduled tribe’s children of Tamilnadu and analyses
several possible problems of this community.
OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY

1. To find out the current school educational status of scheduled
tribe’s children in Tamilnadu.
2. To find out of problems faced by scheduled tribe’s children of
Tamilnadu in school education.
RESEARCH QUESTIONS
1. What is current school educational status of scheduled tribe’s
children in Tamilnadu?
2. What is different kind of problems faced by scheduled tribe’s
children of Tamilnadu in school education?
SOURCE OF DATA
All the data in this article have been collected from the Census
of India 2011, District Information System for Education (DISE) and
Department of School Education Statistics (DSES), School Education
Management Information System (SEMIS) books 2015, Department of
Adi-Dravidar and Tribal Welfare (ADTWD-TN) Policy 2018-2019,
National Family Health Survey-2019-2021, and various published
research articles.
BASIC EDUCATIONAL DATA

Table: 1 - Number of Schools
S. No Category Government Private Aided Private Unaided Total
1 Primary Schools 23522 5071 1608 543
2
2 Middle Schools 7651 1044 6278 710

3 High Schools 2844 1780 2128 34871
4 Hr. Sec. Schools 2488 9969 5167 5660
Total 36505 8266 10896 55667
Source: DISE and SEMIS
Table: 2 - Number of Students

S. No Category Government Private Aided Private Unaided Total
1 Primary Schools1463767 847432 868772 3179971
2 Middle Schools 1383756 576183 192703 2152642
3 High Schools 720381 292370 903997 1916748
4 Hr. Sec. Schools2284992 1585860 2385582
6256434
Total 5852896 3301845 4351054 13505795
Source: DISE and SEMIS
Table: 3-Status of Tribal Schools and Students in Tamilnadu

S. No Classification of schools No. of Schools No. of Students
1 Government Tribal Residential School (GTR) 30826, 388
2 Eklavya Model Residential School (EMRS) 7 1, 553
Total 315 27, 941
Source: 2018-2019 ADTWD Policy
Table: 4-Current Status of Literacy Rate (India & Tamilnadu)

S. No Literacy Rate India Literacy Rate Tamilnadu
Tribal people Literacy Rate in India Tribal People Literacy Rate in
Tamilnadu
1 National Average 74.04%State Average- 80.33%

70.6%
27.9%
2 Male- 82.14% Male-86%

3 Female-65.46% Female-73.86%
Source: Census 20211
3
Figure: 1- Literacy Rate of Bar graph (India & Tamilnadu)

COUNSELING TO THE SCHEDULED TRIBE’S CHILDREN
AND MOTHERS
Source: Field Work
PROBLEMS FACED BY SCHEDULED TRIBE’S CHILDREN

The challenges by scheduled tribe’s children in school are still
under research. Here are some critical school educational current
problems. The reasons are collected from the tribal school children’s in
the form of an interview for dropping out from the school. The following
are the causes for drop out from the school.
• Negative attitude towards education
• Linguistic Problems
• Fear about the teachers and their teaching methods.
• Problems of learning English
• Indifferent attitude of tribal parents
• Migration of parents
• Poor economic condition
• Punishment given in schools
• ill health of children
• Due to puberty of girl’s students
• Discrimination in educational places
• Wildlife threat and others
CONCLUSION
Article gives detailed information of status scheduled tribes
children in school education and gives a clear picture of low enrolment
of scheduled tribe’s children at every level in school education. This
chapter also dealt with various problems in the progress of children in
general and scheduled tribe’s children in particular. These problems are
related to schools, economic society and policy framework. The
challenges in schooling for scheduled tribes, the literacy rate is rising
steadily. Education for all will fail if the scheduled tribe’s people are not
included. Along with this the government should raise awareness among
the scheduled tribe’s children in general and rural scheduled tribe’s
children particular to access them in school education.
4
REFERENCES
Choudhary, Sujit Kumar (2016). “Educational Status of Tribals of
Jharkhand: A Comparative Study of Oraon and Santhal”, Madhya
Pradesh Journal of Social Sciences, Vol. 21, No. 1 (June), pp. 120-
132.
Department of Adi-Dravidar and Tribal Welfare (ADTWD-TN) Policy
2018-2019.
District Information System for Education (DISE) - 2012-2014
Department of School Education Statistics (DSES) – 2012-2013
Government of India, Census of Report-2011
Kingdon, G G (2007) “The Progress of School Education in India”
Oxford Review of Economic Policy, 23 (2): 168-195.
Kumar, Vivek (2005). “Situating Dalits in Indian Sociology”,
Sociological Bulletin, 54(3), September-December, pp. 514-532
Kumar Krishna (2008) Partners in Education, EPW, January 19, 2008.
Mishra, S., (2010) “Right to Education and the Tribal of Odisha”, The
Indian Journal of Political Science, Vol. 71, Issue No. 3, (July-
Sept. 2010), pp. 859-868, 2010.
Murthy A Somashekara (2000), An investigation into the problems of
Educational Instiututions run by SC/ST Managements in
Karnataka. Ph.D (Edu), Bangalore University.
National Family Health Survey - 2019-2021
Rana, K. (2008). “Problems of Dalit Emancipation in West Bengal”,
Voice of Dalit, 167–180.
Rao V.S (2009), Lack of Community Participation in the Sarva Shikaha
Abhiyan: A Case Study, EPW February 21, 2009.
School Education Management Information System (SEMIS) -2012-
2015
S. K. Sundar, R. P. Mishra, Literacy and Their Differential in West
Bengal, International Journal of Science and Research. Vol. 3(6)
2014, 1537-1545.
5
CHAPTER 2
FEMALE EDUCATION IN INDIA: ISSUES AND CHALLENGES
Ruchika Sharma 3 & Bindu Dua 4
Abstract
Female education is a must if they want to change their social status.
Educated women can play a critical role in the socioeconomic growth of a
society. Educating girls saves lives and strengthens families, communities,
and economies by allowing them to make more informed decisions from a
wider range of options. Females who receive an education will be more
informed about their rights, will have a better understanding of what is
required to promote their health and well-being, and will have more
opportunity to find meaningful work and reach their full potential. It is the
most important factor for women. Empowerment, prosperity, progress, and
well-being are all words that come to me when I think about Women gain
increased strength as a result of their education. Such fortitude stems from
the process of empowerment, and education will lead to empowerment.
Education is important. In India, women play a crucial role in women's
empowerment, inequality, and vulnerability. This paper is an effort to
capture the emerging picture with respect to female education in India its
issues and challenges. The paper focuses on the various obstacles which
come in the way of achieving female education in India.
Key words: Female education, Empowerment, inequality,
INTRODUCTION
F
emale education, along with men's, is required for success in the
country. Women who have received an education are the real
deal. A source of joy in the family because education is one of the
pillars of women's empowerment, they play most important part of our
3
Assistant Professor, PG Department, MIER College of Education
4
Assistant Professor, PG Department, MIER College of Education
6
country for its development. Female permits individuals to adapt to

difficulties, face their customary role, and modify their way of life (Bhat,
2015). In India, female literacy rates are lower than male literacy rates.
Compared to boys, there are fewer girls enrolled in schools, and a large
number of them drop out. “Empower a Nation by Educating a Girl.”
Women have an important role. In this century, a country's economic
wealth is determined by more than just its natural resources. In this
century the economic wealth of the country not only in the hands of
males, but also in the hands of women. The administration focused
mostly on women's education and creating employment options in order
to improve their role in society. Improvements in gender equality,
literacy, and women's empowerment in every corner of the country. The
Indian government has responded by launching a slew of programmes
and plans to help people achieve their goals. Women's engagement in
India's freedom movement was extensively recognized after the country's
independence. When the Indian Constitution was written, it gave women
the same rights as males. They are considered legitimate citizens of the
country, with similar rights to freedom and opportunity as men.
Unrestricted and the right to compulsory education for children aged 6 to
14 is a fundamental right of Indian people. According to the 86th
Amendment of the Indian constitution. Indian government has taken
some measures, like as the "Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan" (whose principal
goal is to provide primary education), education, notably for girls from
impoverished rural communities). Despite these efforts, there remain still
barriers to women's education. As a result, the focus is on female
education in India. In India, education is very important. In India, female
education plays a critical role in the country's overall growth. It's not just
that half of the human resources are developed, but the quality of living
at home and abroad is improved. (2011, Suguna). The Indian educational
system has two major structures: one that is formal and the other that is
informal. Formal education is a term used to describe a type of
educational programmes has also been developed to encourage women
to pursue higher education. The primary goal of the educational
programme is to make every girl child to educate. This low level of
literacy not only shows a negative impact on women's lives but also on
their families and country's economic development. Hence it is of
7
foremost importance to raise the level of education amongst women.

There are an estimated 33.3 million Indians enrolled in higher education
courses in India, according to the HRD ministry's All India Survey on
Higher education report for 2015. (AISHE,2015). On these, 17.9 million
are boys and 15.4 million are girls as of 2014-2015. Fundamental Rights
of women are equality, freedom to religion, educational rights, cultural
and educational, against exploitation, freedom. Improving girls'
educational levels has been demonstrated to have clear impacts on the
health and economic future of young women, which in turn improves the
prospects of their entire community. After the Universal Declaration of
Human Rights, Basic education is more than an end in itself; it is the
foundation for lifelong learning and human development
(Ramachandran, 1998).
IMPORTANCE OF FEMALE EDUCATION IN INDIA

In plain terms, education is a fundamental human right that every
individual, regardless of gender, is entitled to. However, certain people
in our culture do not grasp this and make even the most basic of tasks
incredibly difficult. We must keep in mind that if she is uneducated,
nearly half of the nation is also uneducated. Educating a woman entails
educating the entire family as well as the entire country.
‘Education for all’ is one of the major tasks being carried out by
the Indian government but still we have the lowest female literacy rate in
Asia. India is working but the pace is slow as we haven’t achieved what
we should have been so far. At the start of British Raj till independence
just 2-6% of females were literate. The percentage went up to 15.3% in
1961 and 28.5% in 1981. Literacy rate crossed 50% in 2001. By 2011
female literacy rate in India stood at 65.46%. So there is an obvious
increase in the female literacy rate but India is far behind as compared to
other countries at global level. Female illiteracy rate varies with the state.
In Kerala 86% of women are literate whereas literacy rate in Bihar and
Uttar Pradesh is just between 55-60%. Shockingly the rural areas of
India have the lowest female literacy rate. Rural Rajasthan has less than
12% female literacy rate. Discrimination based on gender is common in
India. As a result, you've probably noticed or heard that many parents,
particularly those from lower socioeconomic backgrounds, send their
8
male children to school but not their female children. This is one issue
that arises when parents refuse to send their daughters to school. Second,
especially in urban areas, it is typical to see parents sending their male
children to better schools. Even when girls enter, they have a significant
dropout rate. Why are girls treated in this way? We must comprehend the
ramifications of failing to educate our female children. When a woman is
uneducated, it has ramifications for her whole family as well as the
country. Illiterate women have a high fertility rate as well as a high death
rate, according to several researches. When comparing illiterate women
to women who have acquired elementary education, it has been found
that the newborn death rate falls by half. Aside from that, illiterate
women's children are malnourished. Illiteracy also affects a family's total
economic potential. Women must be educated for a healthy and a happy
life. An educated woman can be a better human being, successful mother
and a responsible citizen Educating woman will undoubtedly raise living
standards both inside and outside the house. A well-educated mother will
encourage her children to continue their education and wish for them to
have a better life than she had. Educating women promotes self-respect
and aids in the advancement of women's standing. A well-educated lady
is aware of her legal rights. She is capable of combating social ills such
as domestic abuse, dowry demand, and low earnings, among others.
ISSUES AND CHALLENGES OF FEMALE EDUCATION IN

INDIA
The role of women in the development of citizens' character,
economic rehabilitation, and social transformation is becoming apparent.
In recent years, due to the rapidly changing conditions in the country,
more emphasis has been placed on their education. Even if various
Commissions and (Committees appointed at various times have
proposed solutions to the problems of women's education and its
extension, certain problems still exist in that subject.
1. Poverty: The poor economic status of parents is the most major
hindrance to the development of women's education in developing
countries like India. The cost of education has risen to an
unaffordable level. Education should be tailored to the demands
9
and opportunities that develop as closely as feasible. It is one of

our country's biggest challenges.
2. Illiteracy: The reality that the majority of our country's parents are
illiterate and uneducated is undeniable. Such parents are oblivious
to the importance and value of education. Due to their illiteracy
and ignorance, the parents were unable to send their daughter to an
educational institution.
3. Lack of female instructors: There is a paucity of skilled female
teachers, and the lack of female teachers discourages girls from
attending school.
4. Wastage Problem: We see a lot of wastage in girls' education. It
could be due to parents' negative attitudes about females'
education or capitation fees, as well as the growing unemployment
situation. Wastage Problem is one of the challenges which we are
facing in the way of achieving objectives of female education.
5. Inappropriate curriculum: Inappropriate curriculum is one of our
country's major challenges, and female education and growth are
critical.
6. Development of immorality: Another difficulty in our country is
the development of immorality.
7. Appropriate Curriculum for Girls' Education: Inappropriate and
unsuitable curriculum for girls' education in our country is another
difficulty in our educational system, which does not meet the
demands and requirements of the objectives of girls' education.
8. Women's lack of social awareness: Another issue in our country is
women's lack of awareness. Women suffer from illiteracy and
ignorance at a higher rate than men. Illiteracy and ignorance is
prevalent more in women folk than in men-folk and this evil is
rampant especially in rural areas and backward communities.
Female education is an important aspect of national development.

Efforts to improve and broaden their education will not be pushed to the
background owing to a lack of funds. It should be recalled that there is
still a significant educational disparity between males and girls, and she
is the mother, center of family life in India. Everyone should be trained
to make an adequate living and to fill effectively her appropriate place in
life.
10
MEASURES TO PROMOTE FEMALE EDUCATION IN INDIA

Various measures have been suggested by the ‘National
Committee on Women’s Education’ for the improvement of Female’s
education.
(i) Providing school facilities, opening of new schools, bringing
schools within easy reach of the children, starting girls’ section in
boys’ schools, and condensed course for adult women etc.
(ii) Improving the existing schools: Appointment of more qualified
and adequate staff including a large number of women teachers;
school mothers in mixed schools; provision of better building and
educational equipment and along with it a wide choice of subjects
(iii) Making education free: Granting concession in the form of
scholarships to poor and meritorious girl students;
(iv) Effective enforcement of compulsory education and creation of
social climate among the village community to enroll all girls of
school going age;
(v) Educating public opinion: Teacher-parent co¬operation,
Education of adult women;
(vi) Providing other convenience and inducement. Such as adjustment
of school timings and vacation to suit local needs and conditions,
free mid-day meals, free medical and health facilities for the
school children, establishment of crèches etc.
(vii) Female inspecting officer: bringing education under the charge of
women as far as possible both in regard to teaching as well as
inspection and administration.
(viii) Shift system: Where co-education is not acceptable, an alternative
is to start separate shifts for boys and girls in the same school
building, so as to avoid duplication of buildings and equipment’s.
(ix) Guidance service: In order to make the education of girls more
purposive and practical effective guidance services should be
provided in all schools as possible;
(x) Appointment of school mothers in mixed schools;
(xi) Establishment of nursery and pre-primary schools;
(xii) Public co-education: Direct co-operation of the public should be
encouraged in the following fields:
(a) Establishing private schools;
11
(b) Putting up school buildings;

(c) Contributing voluntary labour for construction of school
buildings;
(d) Providing suitable accommodation for teachers and
students, particularly in the rural areas;
(e) Popularizing co-education at the primary stage;
(f) Creating public opinion in favour of the teaching profession
and to give greater respect to teacher in the community;
(g) Encouraging married women to take up at least part time
teaching in village schools and to work as school mother
and provision of special incentive to teachers:
(h) Initiating action and participating in educative propaganda
to break down traditional prejudices, against girls’
education;
(i) Organizing school improvement conferences, supplying
mid-day meals, uniforms, free textbooks and writing
materials to needy children.
CONCLUSION
Furthermore, the central and state governments should work
together to expand female education in every corner of the country,
enlisting the help of various non-governmental organisations. This
should be viewed as a high-priority educational programme. The central
and state governments should give priority to the education for girls. For
proper education of girls, Co –education should be properly organized at
the higher level of education. In the first phase of development, provision
of free education should be made for girls up to class 8. Facilities in
choice of optional subject should be made available for girls. Education
of girls should be given due encouragement in rural areas. To bring more
girls, especially from marginalized families The government should
provide a bundle of incentives in the shape of free books, uniforms,
boarding and accommodation, clothing for hostilities and mid-day
meals, scholarships, free circles, and so on in order to entice more
females into mainstream school, particularly from BPL families.
The Education for All (EFA) programme, as well as many other
educational programmes, should provide numerous facilities to boost
12
female education in India. Besides, the central and the state governments
should join hand and seek the co-operation of different voluntary
organisations for the expansion of girls’ education in every nook and
comer of the country. This should be considered on a priority programme
of education
REFERENCES
Abishek, P., & Gayathri, J. (2018). A critical analysis of status of women
in India. International Journal of Pure and Applied Mathematics,
120(5), 4853-4874
Bhat, R. A. (2015) Role of Education in the Empowerment of Women in
India. Journal of Education and Practice, 6(10), 188-191.
Palanithurai, G. (2002). Impediments to Empowerment of Women:
experiences of elected women representatives in Panchayats in
Tamil Nadu. The Indian Journal of Political Science, 37-49.
Sifuna, D. N. (2007). The challenge of increasing access and improving
quality: An analysis of universal primary education interventions
in Kenya and Tanzania since the 1970s. International Review of
Education, 53(5), 687-699.
13
CHAPTER 3
CHANGING STATUS OF TRIBAL FOREST RIGHTS IN INDIA:

AN OVERVIEW
Dr. Lakshman Pal 5
Abstract
Tribes are the indigenous people of India. From time immemorial, they
reside in the forest or in the vicinity of the forest lands and depend solely
on the forest for their living and sustenance. Their entire existence orbits
around the forest. They are culturally and traditionally inseparable and
are interlinked with each other. They conserve the forest and the bio
diversity as the source of their food, fodder, fiber and medicines by their
own style. In this way, a symbiotic relationship has been evolved
between the tribes and the forest and so they have right on the forest and
the forest products. But the government of India always tries to lay its
control over the forests and regulates their rights over forestlands and
minor forest products through different forest acts since the colonial
period. This deprives the tribes and other indigenous people of the forest
from their rights from the forest and forest resources.
Keywords: Forest, Forest tribes, Forest rights, Minor forest product,

Forest Act, Government
Introduction-
A
tribe is a collection of families bearing a common name,
speaking a common dialect, occupying or professing to occupy
a common territory and is not usually endogamous though
originally it might have been so (The Imperial Gazetteer of India -1911).
Officially the tribal people in India are termed as Schedule Tribe or STs.
In different parts of the country, they are known as ADIVASI (meaning
5
Assistant Professor, Geography, Bidhan Chandra College, Rishra, Hooghly, West Bengal
14
original inhabitants). According to the Indian culture, the tribal people

fall outside the four-fold JATI system of the society. They are the
indigenous people of the country and long settled in different parts of the
sub-continent before the Aryans invaded India.
Indian tribes have homogenous political and social organizations
which have their own tradition, laws and justice but have different
historical and social backgrounds, language families, racial stocks,
cultural heritage and religious moulds. Eachtribe in this country claims
descent from a common ancestor which may be real or mythical. All the
tribal groups have a chief or headman who commands the tribe and
whose decisions are final.
The tribes like to live in the forest or in its vicinity and so they
are popularly known as forest tribes. Forest is their native land. They
have been living in the forest ecology which has shaped their life and
their society. They are dependent on hunting, fishing, gathering and
shifting cultivation for their sustenance. They collect minor forest
product(MFP) like MAHUYA flowers, SAL seeds, TENDU leaves, wild
fruits, varieties of edible and herbal roots, creepers, leaves etc. So, forest
plays a vital role in the socio-economic and cultural life of the tribal
people in India. They believe that, the forest is their own land and so
have the right to live and to plough the forest land and to have the share
of forest product especially MFP.
The tribes and the forest are inseparable. They live in harmony
with nature. They developed a way of life which, on one hand, knit
around forest ecology and forest resources and on the other hand, protect
the forest against degradation by evolving their own and unique
conservative systems. They protect forest and bio diversity for their
habitat, economy and society (Rai R and Nath V, 2011). They worship
the tree and the forest. So, a symbiotic relationship has been evolved
between the tribal people and the forest (Saha, M. and Sengupta, S.
2014). It is about to impossible to distinguish between the forest rights of
the government and the indigenous people. But this traditional right to
the tribes over the land occupied by them were not effectively
documented and recorded during the consolidation of state forests in the
colonial period and subsequently, after the independence too.
Particularly, after the establishment of the forest department, the debate
15
over the ownership of forests emerged. This type of progressive avowal

of state monopoly over the forests gradually declining their right on the
forest, the forest land and the forest MFP which has resulted in large-
scale removal and uprooting of traditional tribal villages from the forest.
In this context an attempt has been made to review the rights of the tribal
people on the forest through different forest policies.
Objectives
Main objectives of the study are
1. To illustrate the relationship between the tribes and the forest and
2. To study the nature of tribal rights over the forest and the forest
products over time through the implementation of different forest
policies.
Data Base and Methodology

The present work is carried out by collecting data from
secondary sources and studying and reviewing published literature, case
studies and reports of different government organizations, official
websites and Newspapers. The demographic data for the study has been
collected from the Human Development Report, Census Report (2011)
and the Ministry of Tribal Affairs, India-2012. The data regarding state
wise forest cover area has been collected from the website ofForest
Survey of India (FSI) 2017.Lastly, the data and the information relevant
to the study “Changing status of tribal forest right in India: An
Overview” are compiled and analysed for final preparation of the report.
Indian tribes and their spatial distribution
India accommodates nearly 104.5 million tribes which
constitutes 8.6% of its total population (Ministry of Tribal Affairs, India-
2012). According to the notified schedule under Article 342 of the
constitution of India, there are 663 tribal communities living in this
country. Some of them like to live in the dense forest where as some
others live over the forest hills or in the vicinity of the forest. They may
be classified under three sub-headings namely- primitive tribes,
nomadic tribes and semi-nomadic tribes. The primitive tribes
including Chenchu, Kolam, Thoti, Asur, Birhor, Paharia, Siddi, Koraga,
Bharia, Lodha, Bondo, Todas, Toto, Jarawa, Ongietcare more backward
16
of all tribes. According to 1991 census they have 75 communities with

total population of 2412664 and they spread over 17 states and UTs.
Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, Gujarat, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya
Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra, Manipur, Orissa, Rajasthan and
Tamilnadu are their homelands. They have low literacy level, pre-
agricultural level of technology and economic backwardness. Nomadic
tribes are the persons who depend basically on livestock as a source of
their livelihood. They do not settle at a location for a longer period. The
tribes like Gujjars, Kanjars, Birhors, Bhoi, Kadar, Lambaniietc belong to
this group. They mostly live within the forest and hills and earn their
sustenance by means of food gathering, hunting and fishing but who live
in the dense forests usually depend on hunting solely. Semi nomadic
tribes in this country include Akkipikki, Soligas, Bettakurubas and
several other tribes of western and northern India.
Table-1: Distribution of total population and % of tribal population in

some selected states
States Total Total tribal % of tribal
population population population to
(in 000) (000) total population
Mizoram 1097 1036 94.44
Nagaland 1979 1711 86.46
Meghalaya 2967 2556 86.15
Arunachal Pradesh 1384 952 68.79
Manipur 2570 903 35.14
Sikkim 611 206 33.72
Tripura 3674 1167 31.76
Chhattisgarh 25545 7823 30.62
Jharkhand 32988 8645 26.21
Odisha 41974 9591 22.85
Dadra and Nagar Haveli 344 179 52.03
Lakshadweep 64 61 95.31
Kerala 33406 485 1.45
Bihar 104099 1337 1.29
Tamil Nadu 72147 795 1.10
Uttar Pradesh 199812 1134 0.57
Haryana 25351 - -
21 Punjab 24743 - -
Source- Indian Census (2011) and Forest Survey of India (FSI), 2017
17
Distributional pattern of the tribes in India indicates that the

North-Eastern region (NER) including Mizoram, Nagaland, Meghalaya,
Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Sikkim and Tripura states and
Central Tribal Belt (CTB) including Rajasthan, Gujarat, Maharashtra,
Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Andhra Pradesh, Orissa, Bihar,
Jharkhand, West Bengal, Dadra & Nagar Haveli, Daman and Diu and
Himachal Pradesh are rich in different tribal communities (Table-1). In
some other states like Uttarakhand, Karnataka, Jammu &Kashmir, Tamil
Nadu, Andaman and Nicobar Islands and Lakshadweep tribal population
is also noticed but in minor ratio. Percentage share of tribal communities
with more than 50 per cent of the total population is noticed in the states
like Mizoram (highest in the country), Nagaland, Meghalaya, Arunachal
Pradesh, Union Territories of Dadra & Nagar Haveli and Lakshadweep.
Some states like Punjab, Haryana etc. there are no tribes at all.
18
Fig-1:% share of tribal population in Indian states.

Fig-2: Distribution of forest cover area in Indian states
Data source- Indian Census (2011) and Forest Survey of India (FSI), 2017
RELATION BETWEEN FORESTS AND THE TRIBAL PEOPLE

The tribal communities live in the lap of the nature. Forests are
their home lands. It plays a vibrant role in sustaining the life supporting
systems of the tribes. Their economy, society and culture centers on the
forest in which they live. They collect variety of MFP like fodder and
grasses, raw materials like bamboo, canes, TENDU laves, gums, waxes,
resin, dyes and several forms of food including nuts, fruits, honey etc
which supply about 10-15% of their average income (National
Commission on Agriculture, 1976). The states where the tribes are
highly dependent on forest products include Maharashtra, Madhya
Pradesh, Orissa and Andhra Pradesh. Here the tribes like Birhor, Korwa,
Pahariya, Asur, Birjia, Chenchu, Kadar and Paliyan collect about 25-
50% of their total food from the forests (Guha 1983). Large number of
Indian forest tribes is associated with shifting cultivation. As per the
reports of the Forest and Tribals (1982) shifting cultivation is practiced
by at least 109 tribal communities in 233 blocks in 62 districts in 16
19
states over the country. The area covered under their plough is about
17000 hectares in Andhra Pradesh, 92000 hectares in Arunachal Pradesh,
69000 hectares in Assam, 83000 hectares in Manipur and 72000 hectares
in Meghalaya (GOI-1982).
The tribes always interact to the forest for their own need and try
to restore the forests with their traditional conservation systems which
make a symbiotic relationship between them (Saha, M. and Sengupta, S.,
2014). As per the study of the Committee on Forests and Tribal in India
(1982) the tribes have developed a way of life which is woven around
forest ecology and forest resources and ensures that the forest is
protected against degradation by man and nature. They conserve forest
and bio diversity as their natural habitat, as their source of food, as their
antidote of snake bite and scorpion-sting by tribal herbal healers, as their
medicinal herbs, for setting bone fracture and in orthopedic treatment
and so on (Rai R and NathV, 2011). They also follow different measures
like seasonal restrictions, total protection to some selective areas,
protection to some vulnerable species having some religious importance,
cutting or hunting restriction during certain periods in the year etcfor
conservation. They do not cut or clear the species of trees giving fruits
for their survival. They also do not destroy the plants, trees, creepers and
animals that play an important role in their rituals and ceremonies. They
worship different trees, bushes and the animals of the forest. They have
restriction on killing of pregnant animals (Gadgil and Vartax 1976).
They practices fellow in their cultivation system. So tribes have a deep
knowledge and understanding of ecological processes and evolved as
ideal natural resource managers.
So, there is a concrete relation between the distribution of forests
and the tribes in India. The map (no-1&2), the line graph (fig-3) and also
the data in table (no-2) clearly show that, the states where the percentage
share of forest area is large, there the percentage of tribal population is
also larger and vice-versa ie distributional pattern of the tribes is directly
proportional to the availability of the forests in Indian states. As for
example, in Lakshadweep and in Mizoram the percentage of forest cover
area are 90.33% and 95.31% and percentage of tribal population are
86.27 % and 94.44% respectively whereas the same in Haryana is only
3.59 % and 0%.
20
Table-2: Distribution of forest covers area and tribal population in some

selected states
States % of forest cover % of tribal population
area to total population
Lakshadweep 90.33 95.31
Mizoram 86.27 94.44
Nagaland 75.33 86.46
Meghalaya 76.76 86.15
Arunachal Pradesh 79.96 68.79
Dadra and Nagar Haveli 42.16 52.03
Manipur 77.69 35.14
Sikkim 47.13 33.72
Tripura 73.68 31.76
Chhattisgarh 41.09 30.62
Jharkhand 29.55 26.21
Odisha 32.98 22.85
Kerala 52.30 1.45
Bihar 7.75 1.29
Tamil Nadu 20.21 1.10
Uttar Pradesh 6.09 0.57
Haryana 3.59 -
21 Punjab 3.65 -
Source- Indian Census (2011) and Forest Survey of India (FSI), 2017
Comparative distribution of Forest and Forest Tribes
100
% of Tribes/ Forest cover Area
80
60
40
20
0
Forest cover area (%) % of tribal population
Fig-3: % distribution of forest cover area and tribal population in some

selected sates in India
21
Evolution of forest right of the tribal people

Ownership of Forest during Pre-Colonial Period
Before the arrival of the British, the forest dwellers and other
aboriginal communities in India enjoyed freedom to use forest or to
exploit forest resources for their sustenance. The forest was the common
property of the people (Prasad, 2011). The then government never had
attention to the waste lands and to the forests and forest resources.
Within their periphery the villagers owned all the forests (Stebbing I
1926). In South India, community ownership of the forests was the
common practice. It was established and recognized also by the
successive local governments. In the Madras presidency, the rights of
ownership of forest and the forest produce before 1882 were mainly to
i. The village communities, who claimed their right to cut
wood, collect products, graze the cattle and extend their
cultivation into the forestlands.
ii. The Zamindars and other feudal landlords and
iii. The Government
Ownership of Forests during East India Company Rule

During the East India Company rule (1757-1858), free access to
the forests was not withdrawn for the forest dweller but a kind of defacto
ownership of the forests and the wastelands of the country had initiated
by the state. In order to enhance revenue, the British rule facilitated the
extension of cultivation and cultivable lands. So, there was a policy of
encouraging demolition of forests. Also, for construction and
transportation purpose thousands of trees were exploited (Guha, 1983).
Rapid depletion of forests in India began by the middle of the 19th
century during the introduction and expansion of the railway network
(Gadgil and Guha, 1992). Big volume of local timer was used also for
locomotives fuel before the availability of Raniganj coal (Guha 1983).
This type of gradual extinction of forest resulted in great hardship to the
tribes and impacts their livelihood significantly (Siva Prasad and
Eswarappa, 2007). This caused the displacement of tribal population
from their habitats (Siva Prasad and Mishra, 2007).
22
Ownership of Forest during Colonial Period

Forest Act of 1865
Indian Forest Act 1865 is thought to be the first attempt of
asserting state monopoly over the forests. According to this act the sole
responsibility of the management of the forests goes to the state. This act
empowered the government to declare any forest as government property
although it does not affect the existing rights and privileges enjoyed by
the local community in the neighboring forest areas. This was the
introduction of an attempt to regulate the collection of forest produce by
the forest dwellers. In this way socially regulated practices of the forest
peopleare to be controlled by law. From this time, in the name of
scientific management, the act was an effort to obliterate centuries of
customary use of the forests by rural population and forest tribes all over
India(Guha and Gadgil 1989).
Forest Act 1878 and 1894

Through the introduction of forest act 1878, the conventional
activities like invading or pasturing of cattle was prohibited and certain
activities were declared as offences and imprisonment and fines were
also prescribed. This impacted the tribes worryingly. The 1878 act
actually extended the government policy of establishing control over
forests because it empowered the government to acquire land over which
rights were claimed by persons. In this way the colonial state affirmed
control over woodlands of the local communities.
Again, through the Comprehensive Forest Policy of 1894, the
government gradually increased its control over the forests and regulates
people's rights over forestlands and MFP because revenue generation
was the major objective of the then government. This subdued the rights
of local communities.
The forest act of 1927

The 1927 forest Actdivided forests into reserved forests,
protected forests and village forests. It was a very comprehensive act
which attempt to regulate further people's rights especially the tribes over
forest lands and forest products. It deleted the reference to community’s
right over forests. The shifting cultivation was controlled with certain
special provisions. Most serious consequence of colonial forestry was the
23
reduction of people’s usual rights. It also discourages the quarrying of

stones, burning of lime or charcoal, grazing and pasture, grass cutting,
lopping boughs and wood, hunting and clearing for cultivation. It
severely undermined the subsistence economy of the forest people
causing the loss of their livelihood. As a result, they were forced to
explore alternative avenues of engagements. Thousands of tribal people
were forced to migrate from the chhotonagpur plateau area to different
parts of the country in search of alternative source of sustenance.
Outmigration of all tribal communities from the Chotanagpur alone was
330,000 in 1891,707,000 in 1911 and 947,000 in 1921(Sengupta 1988).
This act greatly affected the Chenchus of Hyderabad by making their
hunting activities illegal and by denying their existing domination over
forest produce. Restrictions on hunting led a great fall (from 2340 in
1911 to 1610 in 1921) in the population of Birhortribe in
Chotanagpurarea (Gadgil M., and Guha R. 2012). All these resulted in
great suffering to the indigenous communities as their sustenance from
the forests was sharply squeezed.
Ownership of Forest during Post-Colonial Period

Forest Policy of 1952:
Under this policy the traditional rights of the tribes were no
longer acknowledged as rights. In the policy of 1894, they became
'rights' and 'privileges' and in 1952 they became 'rights' and 'concession'
(GOI 1960). However in this policy, emphasis was laid on raisingvillage
forests exclusively for agriculture purpose. It ensures also to supply the
small timber, fodder and fuel-wood for local populations. The private
forests also come under control in the new policy. It discouraged the
cultivation in the forest lands. In this law, shifting cultivation was
allowed to some extent with prior permission butwas limited to the
minimum. Also, free grazing was restricted and the same had been
practiced minimally by paying a fee. All these drop the tribes to a great
anxiety and hardship.
Forest Act-1988:
This forest act gives importance is on the management of forest
to ensure environmental stability. It controls further the practice of
shifting cultivation. The same was limited to be continuing only for three
24
years. But, this act instructed to all the agencies related with forest
management that, they must favor the tribes and other indigenous people
of the forest in getting employment as they have symbiotic relationship
with the forests. Emphasis was laid also on joint forest management
policy.
Joint Forest Management: A way forward

Joint forest management is a forest management strategy under
which the government and the village community enter into an
agreement to jointly protect and manage forestlands adjoining villages
and to share responsibilities and benefits (Balooni, K et al). Initiating at
ARABARI jungle in West Bengal in 1971-72, it became a government
policy by 1990 and spread steadily across the country (Pattnaik and
Dutta 1997). At present it extends over 27 states, represent 85000 village
communities, and cover more than 17.3 million hectors of forestland. It
incorporates an estimated 8.3 million families, half of which are SC and
ST (Bahuguna, 2004, World Bank, 2006).
This policy aims to maintain environmental stability through
forest preservation, regeneration and bio diversity conservation, check
soil erosion, empower local people, increase productivity, meet the
requirements of fuel wood, fodder, minor forest produce and small
timber of the rural and tribal populations, improve local livelihoods
through sustainable resource utilization and income generation
opportunities. The committees are entitled to have a share (25%) of the
earnings from the sale of the planted matured trees, to be felled (SPWD
1992). After the implementation of the scheme, it was noticed that,
annual household earnings of tribal families in different parts of
Jharkhand state increased from as low as Rs. 1750 to as high as Rs. 8340
(Pattnaik and Dutta 1997). They are now sharing the MFP legitimately.
This also largely declines the seasonal out migration of the labour.
The Forest Act, 2006

The Forest Act, 2006 (FRA 2006)was to some extent different
from those of the traditional. It was also known as Tribal Rights Act or
the Tribal Land Act which accords legal recognition to the rights of
traditional forest-dwelling communities especially forest dwelling
25
Scheduled Tribes and other traditional communities that inhabit in the

forests. The act intends to help all the deprived forest societies across the
country to have right over the forest lands subject to a maximum of 4
hectares. It permits the tribes to collects MFP and grazing to safeguard
their livelihood and reinforces the conservation system of the forest.
Through this act the government encourages their participation in the
conservation and management of forests and wildlife (Bhullar, L. 2008).
Also the rights of marginal and tribal communities over developmental
activities are recognized. This act no doubt, has provided a dignified
status to the tribes. For the first time, the community rights and rights
over common property resources (CPR) have been acknowledged
through this act. The act will confirm that people get to manage their
forest on their own which will control the exploitation of forest
resources.
Conclusion
From time immemorial, Indian tribes are the native of the
forests. They have very poor literacy rate and socio economic status.
Among the tribes the employment rate is very poor and till now majority
of them lives below poverty line and so are suffering from malnutrition.
They have no sanitation system or arrangement of pure drinking water in
their villages and are vulnerable to different diseases. Majority of them
are engaged now as day labour in different sectors.
The forest is the home land of the tribes and it is the prime
source of their food, fodder and fibers. Their livelihood centers on the
forest. They worship and preserve different species of trees and the forest
by their own way. So, the tribes and the forest are inseparable with each
other and a symbiotic relation is noticed among them. Consequently they
have sole right over the forest land and the forest product especially over
MFP. But different forest acts since the pre-colonialperiod gradually
shrinks the privileges of the tribes on the forest. In many cases their
primitive rights like collecting (MFP), hunting, grazing their animals,
shifting cultivation etchas been banned. They have no right over forest
land. All these force the tribes to migrate elsewhere in the country in
search of alternative sources of sustenance.
26
The tribes have their own traditional system of living. So, they
should be allowed to develop according to their own genius without
disturbing their social and cultural institutions. They should return back
their rights to the forest. Their geographical isolation should be
minimized through the development of transport and communication
system. Different policies should be taken to add them to the mainstream
of the society. They must be provided the formal education, traditional
wisdom, shifting cultivation and intellectual property rights. Then they
will live there happily and the forest will be protected.
References
Bahuguna, V. K. (2004), Root to Canopy: An Overview, in: V. K.
Bahuguna, K. Mitra, D. Capitrano, and S. Sargal, eds., In Root to
Canopy: Regenerating Forests through Community-State
Partnerships, Winrock International and Commonwealth Forestry
Association, Delhi.
Balooni, K. and Ballabh, V., Why Local Resources Management
Institutions Decline: A Comparative Analysis of Van Panchayats
and Forest Protection Committees in Uttarakhand, World
Development. 30(12): 215–221 (2007).
Bhullar, L. (2008). The Indian Forest Rights Act 2006: A Critical
Appraisal; 4/1 Law, Environment and Development Journal,
available at http://www.leadjournal. org/content/08020.pdf
Census of India. (2011). Demographic Status of Scheduled Tribe
Population of India. Retrieved from http://www. Tribal.nic. I
n/WriteReadData/userfiles/file/Demographic.pdf
Forst Right Act 2006: Rules and Guidelines, Ministry of Tribal Affairs,
Government of India, retrieved at; https://tribal.nic. In
Gadgil M, Vartak VD1976, Sacred Groves of Western Ghats of. India.
Econ Bot 30:152–160.
Gadgil M., and Guha R. (2012), “This Fissured Land: An Ecological
History of India” Oxford Scholarship, Print ISBN-13:
9780198077442 DOI: 10.1093/acprof:o so/9780198077442.001.0
001
Government of India (1976). Report of the National Commission on
Agriculture, Ministry of Agriculture and Irrigation, New Delhi.
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Government of India (1982). Report of the Committee on Forest and

Tribals in India, Ministry of Home Affairs, New Delhi.
Guha, R. 1983. Forestry in British and Post-British India: A Historical
Analysis. Economic and Political Weekly, Vol. 18, No. 44 (Oct.
29, 1983), pp. 1882-1896, https://www.jstor.org/stable/4372653
Guha, R., &Gadgil, M. (1989). State Forestry and Social Conflict in
British India. Past & Present, 123, 141-177.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/past/123.1.141
Ministry of Tribal Affairs, India-2012, Room No 750, A Wing, 7 Floor,
ShastriBhawan, Rajendra Prasad Road, Near KrishiBhawan,
BhikajiCama Place, RkPuram, New Delhi, Delhi 110052,
https://tribal.nic. In
Pattnaik, B.K. and Dutta, S. 1997, ‘JFM in South-west Bengal: A study
in participatory development’, Economic and Political Weekly,
December 13, 1997, 3225-3232.
Report of the National Commission on Agriculture, 1976, Ministry of
Agriculture and Irrigation, Government of India, New Delhi,
retrieved at: https://www. Indianculture.gov. In/report-national-
commission-agriculture-1976-5
Rai R and NathV (2011), THE ROLE OF ETHNIC AND INDIGENOUS
PEOPLE OF INDIA AND THEIR CULTURE IN THE
CONSERVATION OF BIODIVERSITY, Tropical Forest
Research Institute, Jabalpur, Indian Council of Forestry Research
and Education, Madhya Pradesh, India 482021, Email: rajiv_rai_5
[email protected]
SPWD. 1998. Joint Forest Management Update 1998, Society for
Promotion of Wastelands Development, New Delhi.
Saha, M. and Sengupta, S. (2014), Symbiotic Relationship between
Forest and Tribe: A Case Study of Santal Tribe of Jaypur Forest,
Bankura District, West Bengal, India. Trans. Inst. Indian
Geographers, 36(2): 236.
Sengutpa, N. (1988). Reappraising Tribal Movements-Ill, The Economic
Basis, Economic and Political Weekly, 21st May.
Siva Prasad, R. and K. Eswarappa. 2007. ‘Tribal livelihood in a limbo:
Changing tribe-nature relationship in south Asia’ in the crossroads:
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South Asia research, policy and development in global world(69-

78). Pakistan: SDPI & SAMA.
Siva Prasad, R. and N. Mishra. 2007. ‘Traditional wisdoms in resource
management: A study on Saurain southern Orissa’, in K.K. Mishra
(ed.): Relevance of traditional knowledge and wisdom in
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ManavSangrahalaya and New Delhi: Prativa Publishing Company.
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Bodley Head Limited, London
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Dependent People, The World Bank, Agriculture and Rural
Development Sector Unit, South Asia Region, Oxford University
Press: New Delhi
29
CHAPTER 4
ATTITUDE OF TRIBAL PARENTS TOWARDS THEIR GIRLS'

EMPOWERMENT: A STUDY IN WEST BENGAL
Arnab Chowdhury6, Dr. Sushanta Kumar Roul7 & Dr. Jayanta Kumar Mete8
Abstract:
For a long time, the United States government has been concerned about
the empowerment of the tribal population. Women's empowerment has
been steadily increasing in importance over the past three decades, with a
focus on ensuring greater access to basic human rights and improving
access to basic health care, nutrition, and education for women.
Adolescents' feelings of agency are shaped by their parents' perspectives
and attitudes. The purpose of this study was to learn more about the
attitudes and perceptions of tribal adolescent girls' parents in West Bengal
State about empowerment. The empowerment of tribal women is the
subject of this paper. Tribal girls' social, economic, and political
empowerment begins with education. Among the many advantages that
result from this are new chances to improve one's abilities, knowledge,
and access to a variety of financial products and services.
Keywords: Tribal Parents, Girls Empowerment, NFHS-5
Introduction:
A
s primary caregivers for their families, women must have access
to comprehensive, affordable, and high-quality health care as
part of national population policy and the United Nations
Development Program's Millennium Development Goals. (UNDP). We
must empower women so that they can assert their bodies' inherent
6
Research Scholar, Amity Institute of Education, Amity University, Lucknow, India
7
Professor, Amity Institute of Education, Amity University, Lucknow, India
8
Professor, Department of Education, University of Kalyani, West Bengal, India
30
autonomy, make informed decisions about intimate relationships and

childbearing, protect themselves from diseases associated with
reproduction and gain equitable access to health care, all of which are
integral components of their sexual and reproductive health. Prerequisites
for a healthy sexual and reproductive life include access to high-quality
health services, as well as safe, supportive environments for women and
girls. International Conference on Population and Development
recognised their increased freedom, self-reliance, and well-being at its
recent meeting in Addis Ababa (1994).
Women's collective efforts with institutional support can move the
empowerment process forward, therefore it is anticipated that the
employment of women will play an important role in shaping women's
empowerment. In the framework of India's current development and
population policies, female labour force participation and decision-
making have been of interest for a long time. Empowerment refers to the
ability of women as equal citizens of the nation and the world to exercise
their rights and make their own decisions.
The tribal society contains all of the world's traditions, customs,
culture, and belief systems. There is a strong sense of solidarity and
neighborliness in tribal civilization, where people are straightforward,
unpretentious, truthful, hardworking, and free of caste or class
distinctions. In tribal civilizations, there is no system of dowry or
discrimination based on gender, caste, class, or religion. However, bride
price and widow remarriage are real possibilities in some cultures. About
half of the tribe's population is made up of women. The role of a tribal
woman in her community's traditional social, economic, cultural,
religious, and political structures cannot be overstated.
It is important to empower women in tribal communities in order
to promote health, and this article focuses on that. It aims to show how
empowering women can lead to better health results for everyone.
Women's empowerment (education, economy, and social capital) has also
been linked to health outcomes. Development terms such as
empowerment have become increasingly commonplace. Although it's an
important concept, measuring or observing it is one of the least clear. The
Oxford Dictionary and Thesaurus define "Empowerment" as "giving
power" or "authorizing". It is defined as "empowerment" by the
31
Cambridge International Dictionary as "the formal legal authority or

freedom to do (something)" for someone else.
The economic empowerment of women has received particular
attention as a strategy to promote gender equality, eliminate poverty, and
improve the well-being of not only women but also children and society
as a whole.
Problems faced by the Tribal Girls:

In order to move up the social ladder, tribal people encounter a
number of challenges. In this discussion, they aim to focus on the issues
that tribal females face. In spite of the fact that tribal people's labour
participation is significantly higher than that of scheduled caste women
and that of the general population, their livelihoods are highly volatile
and uncertain. In most cases, they do not have a steady source of income
and fall below the poverty line. In rural areas, tribal people engage in a
variety of low-level activities to meet their basic needs. Agricultural work
makes up the bulk of their responsibilities. Aside from that, they work as
farmhands, handcrafters, and even industrial labourers occasionally. It's
common for tribal girls to work in agriculture like their male
counterparts, but they aren't engaged in any kind of long-term work at all.
People's lives are intertwined with their economic well-being.
Objectives of the Study

In West Bengal, which has a sizable population of Scheduled
Tribes, the study examines the attitudes of parents toward the
empowerment of their daughters in broad terms. The following are the
specific goals:
1. To examine the attitudes of Scheduled tribe parents towards
empowerment of their girl child.
2. To compare the attitudes of Scheduled Tribe parents toward the
empowerment of their daughters.
3. To investigate the current status of female empowerment in West
Bengal.
4. To evaluate the importance for empowerment of tribal girls.
5. To clarify the concept of empowerment of tribal girls.
32
Review of Literature:
Gender discrimination is deeply ingrained in our socialization and
reinforces the hierarchical structure of the workplace. Norms, values,
culture, caste, class, and religion all contribute to this hierarchy of
inequality. Starting at an early age, female infants are less likely to
survive than their male counterparts, in part due to parental neglect.
Discrimination against the female persists throughout the child's life, first
in the form of smaller food and nutrition rations - (especially for higher-
order females) and later in the form of less schooling options for girls
than boys (Sharma, 2015).
In order to give girls more agency, we must give them more say in
the decisions that affect their daily lives, both at home and in society at
large. On top of being overrepresented in groups, organisations, and
movements around the world and taking on increasing levels of
responsibility within their own countries' governments and the
international arenas in general, females make up the majority of those
who are excluded from participation. Today's female population is a big
contributor to the current level of participation in society (Karl, 1995).
The empowerment of women results in the distribution of several
resources, such as information, ideas, and money to the home,
community, and society at large (Kulshreshtha, 2010). Women's
empowerment can be defined as a method that aids women in
overcoming challenges in their life, enabling them to better influence
their own lives and environments.
The term "empowerment" was used to describe a wide range of
concepts. More and more people are being encouraged to participate in
society's societal concerns through the use of the term "participation at a
grassroots level." The World Bank defines empowerment as the
"extension of freedom of choice and action". When it comes to the
empowerment of women and other marginalized and disadvantaged
groups, additional factors must be taken into account. It is the "process by
which persons who have been denied the capacity to make choices gain
that capability," as stated by Kabeer (1999). Creating a social climate
where people and groups can make their own decisions and choices for
social change can be seen as a form of empowerment. Increasing one's
innate abilities is easier when one has acquired more power, knowledge,
33
and experience (Hashemi Schuler and Riley, 1996). In order to empower

someone, you must first enable or authorize them to be able to think, act,
and manage their own work in their own right. A person's destiny and
circumstances can be controlled by empowering oneself. Ideological
control over (physical, intellectual and financial) assets is a key
component of empowering people to make their own decisions about
what they believe in (Batliwala, 1994).
A study conducted by Nayar (1992) into the reasons for rural girls'
school dropouts and non-enrollment found that: 1. Dropout girls were
from poor families. 2. Girls were unable to continue their education
because of the burdens of family responsibilities. 3. It wasn't just the
dropout girls who expressed their desire to go back to school. 4. Parents'
negative attitudes toward the education of girls. After class, the dropout
rate was highest in the 6- to 8-year-old age range. 5. The study
recommended that at least one female teacher be appointed to each
primary level. Regardless of their caste, all female students should be
eligible for free books, uniforms, and other school supplies. Education is
essential to the development of both the individual and the society as a
whole. Education for tribal women must be viewed as a positive
opportunity for tribal women in mainstream schools, as well as a way to
change the attitudes of parents toward their daughters, and to upgrade
schools in remote areas. Stipends for enrolled girls must be provided in
order to lessen the impact of poverty on their education.
A key goal of women's rights activism is to raise women from their
historically low socioeconomic and spiritual positions to positions of
political and social influence. Enlightenment can be defined as having a
better grasp on one's own rights and responsibilities, having access to
better education and health care, as well as having an equal stake in the
ownership of productive resources. As a result of the empowerment of
women, women's economic, social, and political identities and their
weightage have changed. In the informal and unorganized sectors,
indigenous women in rural and isolated locations, such as backward and
hilly areas, face a lack of resources.
Research Methodology:
The current study is descriptive in nature and is based on
secondary data gathered from a variety of sources, including books on
34
tribal girl empowerment, education, and development, journals, scholarly

articles, government publications, and printed and online reference
materials.
Result and Discussion:

Women who have been emancipated should have a say in the
decisions that influence their life both at home and in the workplace.
Research shows that people who work in a household are more likely to
make good decisions for their families. According to the data, 38.1% of
females participate actively in the family decision-making in general;
34.6 percent of women participate in rural areas; whereas, 47.5 percent of
women participate in urban areas. In addition, Muslim women's
participation decision-making in the home is observed to be low when
compared to Hindu women. As a result, Hindu women in West Bengal to
a greater extent working Muslim women in rural and urban areas When it
comes to effective empowerment, the study of motivators is crucial.
Real Condition of Women in West Bengal:

Those who oppose women's equality in West Bengal's male-
dominated culture claim that all women are doomed. In terms of both
physical and sexual assault, women are the worst victims. They have no
choice but to accept it. Nobody knows how to keep it safe.
25th November and 10th December each year are designated as
"International Human Rights Day" and "International Women's Day."
The morning papers, on the other hand, regularly report on cases of
sexual harassment, rape, abuse of wives, female genital mutilation, and
secret removal of women. It's the women who bear the brunt of gender
bias. Having an unbalanced household deprives women of a variety of
essentials such as health care, education, and financial security. Political,
economic, and cultural freedoms are all denied to them. A laptop isn't
where rural women work; instead, they work in the fields. They must be
made aware of their rights. Women in the city speak a protest language. It
is safe to say that they now have substantial levels of independence.
There is still a sense of gloom in rural areas, however. A progressive state
like West Bengal still has child marriage, dowry, and female feticide
because women are treated as "you're just a woman," not "you're just like
35
any other person." For some inexplicable reason, boys continue to receive
preferential treatment in school. To keep them going, they're fed
nutritious food. When it comes to female empowerment, there is little
knowledge in the hamlet. The poor women who are victims of domestic
abuse can only be helped by education.
Work Status by Background Characteristic:

We now have a greater grasp of the myriad ways in which women
contribute to the economy and society as a whole because of increased
research and activism on women's problems. To better understand the
economic and employment status of women in West Bengal, we examine
their economic and work participation patterns in the context of
globalization in India since the 1990s. As a result of globalization,
women, especially those in the weaker portions of society, are
disproportionately affected, chiefly through decreasing employment
options and employment levels, which are crucial factors in women's
entire social condition.
Table 1:
West Bengal's Working Women as a Disciplinary Classification of
Women (2019-20)
Background Characteristic Working
Age group
15-24 32.50
25-34 33.40
35+ 34.10
Marital status
Never married 18.40
Married 70.60
Widowed 6.80
Divorced 0.50
36
Not living together 3.80
Fertility preference
Have another 15.00
Undecided 0.70
No more 30.50
Sterilized 31.80
Declared infused 3.80
Never had sex 18.20
Religion
Hindu 75.40
Muslim 23.60
Others 1.00
Educational status
No education 48.40
Primary 23.30
Secondary 23.20
Higher 5.10
Wealth index
Poorest 31.90
Poorer 28.40
Middle 18.80
Richer 12.40
Richest 8.40
Type of place of residence
37
Urban 26.40
Rural 73.60
Source: Estimation made by the author using the NFHS-5 as a guide.
Table 1 shows the percentage distribution of working women in

West Bengal based on their background characteristics. Family size and
birth rates appear to be influenced most by women's educational
attainment. Non-working women between the ages of 12 and 17 are
considered to be working women and later-in-life brides make up for the
disadvantages of early marriage by taking on extra responsibilities at
work. delayed childbearing by having more children. The wealth index
focuses on working women, rather than those who have made a
significant contribution to the workforce.
Table 2: According to the NFHS, the number of women employed as

a whole in West Bengal by age and location, and 2019-20)
Background Not Prof., Clerical Sales 4vic- Services Skilled &
Characteristics Workers Tech., Workers workers Employee Unskilled
Manag Workers
Age Group 15-24 40.0 38.8 18.8 14.5 27.6 19.0 43.5
25-34 29.6 25.0 37.5 38.9 36.1 34.9 31.5
35+ 30.4 36.2 43.8 46.6 36.3 46.0 25.0
Place of Urban 33.0 62.7 93.8 46.6 0.7 62.5 24.3
Residence
Rural 67.0 37.3 6.2 53.4 99.3 37.5 75.7
Source: Based on the author's calculations NFHS-5
NFHS 2019-20 Table 2 shows in West Bengal, There is a

breakdown of the percentage of female workers by age group and place
of residence. An estimated 40% of women in the 15-24 age bracket are
unemployed, according to the findings of this study.
38
Table 3: Empowerment of women in west Bengal by residing there

(NFHS5, and 2019-20)
NFHS-5 URBAN RURAL KOLKATA
Currently household decision- 38.1 47.5 3 55.8
making by married women (%)
Women who have been married
in the past but have also been 40.3 30.4 44 2 26.7
victims of domestic violence (%)
Source:The National Family Health Survey (NFHS-5) was conducted in
2019-20 as a source of information.
NFHS-5, 2019-20, and Table 3 (Women's empowerment in West

Bengal can be achieved by moving there.) When women are empowered,
they gain both external and internal control over their resources, as well
as the confidence and capability to use them.
Conclusion:
Women's economic and social standing are directly impacted by
these elements, making them critical to the empowerment of women in
society as a whole. In order to achieve financial independence, women
can participate in the workforce and ascend to positions of economic
power through economic empowerment. We might therefore draw the
conclusion that employment in West Bengal helps empower women.
References:
Sharma, S. (2015). Gender equality and women empowerment.
Kurukshetra A Journal on Rural Development, 63(5).
Kabeer N. (1999), “Resources, Agency, and Achievements: Reflections
on Measurement of women’s Empowerment. Development and
Change Vol.30 pp 435-464.
Hashemi, S., S. Schuler, and A. Riley (1996), “Rural Credit Programs
and women’s Empowerment in Bangladesh”. World Development,
24(4), 635-653.
Batliwala S. (1994), “The meaning of Women’s Empowerment: new
Concept from Action. In Population Policies Reconsidered: Health.
39
Empowerment, and Rights, Sen G, Germain A, Chen LC (Eds).

Harvard Center for Population and Development Studies: Boston
Talavar, Yamanoorappa Yenkoba and Manikamma Nagindrappa (2014),
“Critical Assessment of the Scheduled Tribe Women
Empowerment in Present Social Order” Review of Literature,
Volume 2, Issue 2, Sept.2014, p. 1-101Bloom, Sheuah S, (2001):
Dimensions of Women’s Autonomy and the Influence on Maternal
Health are Utilization in a North Indian City, Demography, Vol.38,
No. 1, 2001,pp-67-68
Vaid.N.K 2004. Who cares for tribal Development, New Delhi: Mittal
Publication?
Batliwala, Srilatha. 1994. “The meaning of women’s empowerment: New
concepts from action.” Pp. 127-138 in Population Policies
Reconsidered: Health, Empowerment and Rights. G. Sen, A.
Germain and L.C. Chen, eds. Cambridge: Harvard University
Press.
West Bengal Human Development Report 2019, Development and
Planning Department, Government of West Bengal.
Sen, S. and S. Batliwala. 2000. Empowering women for reproductive
rights. In H. B. Presser and G. Sen (eds.), Women’s empowerment
and demographic processes. New York, New York: Oxford
University Press, pp 15-36
National Family Health Survey (NFHS-5); https://ruralindiaonline.org/en
/library/resource/national-family-health-survey-nfhs-5-2019-20-fa
ct-sheets-key-indicators---22-statesuts-from-phase-i/
40
CHAPTER 5
INDIGENOUS PEOPLE OF INDIA AND THEIR EDUCATIONAL

STATUS: A REVIEW
Dr. Prosenjit Saha 9
Abstract :
Qualitative human resource development occupies the pivotal position or
it is the main objective of any national development planning and
activity. All the sections of the society must get equal benefits of all the
development of planning and schemes to develop their potential and
hence contribute to the goal of national development. But the history of
evolution of Indian society shows the slow development almost in all the
aspect in the life of its indigenous people. Even educational status of them
down the years it is not also that much of satisfactory. Various
constitutional provisions had made from time to time to upload their
position and status in the society. But still there are some hurdles in the
way of their overall development. To overcome all these educational
status of the tribal community in India must be prioritized at earliest. This
study is an attempt to review the educational status of the tribal
community in India as a whole.
Introduction:
I
ndia is widely known for its diversity which is its main identity and
soul. A large variety of cultural background people reside in India
with their uniqueness. The indigenous people of India or the different
tribal groups in India occupy a very important position in the nation as
well as in the society. Numerous types of tribes are the inhabitant of the
different regions of the nation and each of these ethnic groups are
differently identified because of its unlikeness and some of them are still
9
Assistant Professor of Education, Vidya-Bhavana, Visva Bharat, Santiniketan, West Bengal,
India
41
practicing the primitive way of living in closeness to the nature with the
sustainable lifestyle. Their culture, indigenous education, medical
practices, day to day living, understanding about the environment, value,
art, music, costume, emotion, strength, struggle with simplicity etc. are
their distinctiveness which makes them different from the so call lavish
urban life.
Table 1: State/ UT- Wise Number of Castes Notified in the Central List
Schedule Tribes (STs) in India, 2017.
State/ UT Numbers (As on 31.12.2017)
Andhra Pradesh 34
Arunachal Pradesh 16
Assam 29
Bihar 32
Chhattisgarh 42
Goa 8
Gujarat 32
Haryana Nil
Himachal Pradesh 10
Jammu & Kashmir 12
Jharkhand 32
Karnataka 50
Kerala 43
Madhya Pradesh 46
Maharashtra 47
Manipur 34
Meghalaya 17
Mizoram 15
Nagaland 5
Odisha 62
Punjab Nil
Rajasthan 12
Sikkim 4
Tamil Nadu 36
Telengana 32
42
Tripura 19
Uttar Pradesh 15
Uttarakhand 5
West Bengal 40
A & N Island 6
Chandigarh Nil
D & N Haveli 7
Daman & Diu 5
NCT of Delhi Nil
Lakshadweep Nil
Puducherry Nil
INDIA 747
Source: Handbook on Social Welfare Statistic, 2018, P.232.
India is an abode of around 747 types of tribal groups which

exhibit one of the largest concentrations of the tribal population in the
world. The indigenous people of the nation constituted around 10.45
corers of total population of the national which is around 8.6% of the total
population of the nation according to Census 2011. At the same time it is
also found that the majority of the tribal population of the nation belong
to the below property line. The most inaccessible parts of the nation are
inhabitant by them and the tribal population or the Schedule Tribes are
mostly belong to the socio-economically disadvantage groups of the
nation. Their per capita income, standard of living, day to the struggle,
access to different kinds of social facilities and amenities are very limited,
still in many parts of the nation the tribal people or the adivasi are forced
to lead a primitive life and have to depend upon hunting and gathering for
their livelihood. Constitutional provisions, governmental schemes,
planning etc. has been made to ensure the inclusion of the tribal
communities in the main stream of the society by securing the rightful
and respectful position of the tribal communities in the society as well as
in the nation. It is also important to mention that they are ample examples
of exploitation of the tribal communities by the rulers in the past or by the
so called Civic society. In the present day context, probably the
indigenous communities and their culture are most adverse suffers of the
consequences of urbanization, modernization and globalization. Cultural
43
and physical encroachment of the core tribal land, commercialization of

the tribal culture and life become a common phenomenon in the present
time which has its own affect on the overall sustainable lifestyle of the
tribal community. Though several governmental initiative has been made
in the past as well as in the present time to conserve and promote the
culture of the tribal communities ensuring the overall socio economic
development of the scheduled tribes population in the nation and by
maintaining their aboriginal way of life but still a lot more is needed to
gain the rightful equality in the society as well as in the nation.
To achieve this long desire equality, the educational status of the
Scheduled Tribe population of the nation must be developed at its earliest
as education according to the social scientist is considered as the most
powerful tool for qualitative human resource development as well as for
overall development of the society.
Table 2: State Wise total and percentage of Population and Scheduled

Tribe Population in India (2011)
State/ UT Total ST % of ST
Total Population % of ST Population IN
Population (in Lakh) Population to State to total ST
(in Lakh) total 1Population
Population
Andhra Pradesh 493.87 26.31 5.3 2.5
Arunachal 13.84 9.52 68.8 0.9
Pradesh
Assam 312.06 38.84 12.4 3.7
Bihar 1040.99 13.37 1.3 1.3
Chhattisgarh 255.45 78.23 30.6 7.5
Goa 14.59 1.49 10.2 0.1
Gujarat 604.4 89.17 14.8 8.5
Haryana 253.51 NST NA NA
Himachal 68.65 3.92 5.7 0.4
Pradesh
Jammu &
Kashmir 125.41 14.93 11.9 1.4
Jharkhand 329.88 86.45 26.2 8.3
Karnataka 610.95 42.49 7 4.1
44
Kerala 334.06 4.89 1.5 0.5

Madhya Pradesh 726.27 153.17 21.1 14.7
Maharashtra 1123.74 105.1 9.4 10.1
Manipur 28.56 11.67 40.9 1.1
Meghalaya 29.67 25.56 86.1 2.4
Mizoram 10.97 10.36 94.4 1
Nagaland 19.79 17.11 86.5 1.6
Odisha 419.74 95.91 22.8 9.2
Punjab 277.43 NST NA NA
Rajasthan 685.48 92.39 13.5 8.8
Sikkim 6.11 2.06 33.8 0.2
Tamil Nadu 721.47 7.95 1.1 0.8
Telengana 351.94 32.87 9.3 3.1
Tripura 36.74 11.67 31.8 1.1
Uttar Pradesh 100.86 2.92 2.9 0.3
Uttarakhand 1998.12 11.34 0.6 1.1
West Bengal 912.76 52.94 5.8 5.1
A & N Island 3.81 0.29 7.5 0
Chandigarh 10.55 NST NA NA
D & N Haveli 3.44 1.79 52 0.2
Daman & Diu 2.43 0.15 6.3 0
NCT of Delhi 167.88 NST NA NA
Lakshadweep 0.64 0.61 94.8 0.1
Puducherry 12.48 NST NA NA
INDIA 12108.55 1045.46 8.6
Source: 1. https://tribal.nic. In/ST/Statistics8518.pdf Retrieved on 18.04.2022 at
11.50 a.m.
Educational status of the schedule tribe community in India:

Education is considered as one of the most valuable component
for the human resource development in any nation. It ensures the
qualitative growth of the human resource and hence the society as well as
the nation. Taking that into consideration almost all the nations had
adopted or reconstructed the national education policy with the prime
objective of building an inclusive society by providing equal access to
45
quality education to all without any bias. In India also the need and
importance of tribal education has been considered in different
educational commissions from the very beginning of Indian
independence but still the total scenario of the tribal educational status in
India is not that much of satisfactory. According to Census 2011, the
national average rate of literacy among the Schedule Tribe population in
India was 59.0% in compare to the overall national average literacy rate
of 73%. This exhibited a clear 14% gap in the overall literacy and in
Scheduled Tribes average literacy rate in the nation.
Table 3: LITERACY RATE AMONG STs and ALL & LITERACY GAP
Percentage of Literacy Rate Literacy Gap
YEAR ALL ST
TOTALMALE FEMALE TOTAL MALE FEMALE TOTAL MALE FEMALE
1961 28.3 40.4 15.35 8.53 13.83 3.16 19.77 26.57 12.19
1971 34.45 45.96 21.97 11.3 17.63 4.85 23.15 28.33 17.17
1981 43.57 56.38 29.76 16.35 24.52 8.04 27.22 31.86 21.72
1991 52.21 64.13 39.29 29.6 40.65 19.19 22.61 23.48 21.1
2001 64.84 75.26 53.67 47.1 59.17 34.76 17.74 16.09 18.91
2021 73 80.9 64.6 59 68.5 49.4 14 12.4 15.2
Source: 1. https://tribal.nic. In/ST/Statistics8518.pdf Retrieved on 18.04.2022 at 11.50 a.m.
2. Literacy Gap tabulated
A decadal comparison between the national average literacy rate

and average national literacy rate among the tribal population in India
clearly exhibited the prevailing gap in literacy rate in almost all the
46
census years. The gap which had increased from 1961 to 1981 showed a
trend of narrowing down from 1981 onward and expected to reduce more
in the census 2021. Same trend is also observed in case of the male
literacy also. In 2011 the average male literacy among Scheduled Tribes
in India was 68.5% in compared to 80.9% of national average male
literacy in India which had a gap of 12.4%. In almost all the census years
the average male literacy is less than the national average literacy of the
nation. The gap between the two reached to its maximum in 1981 with
31.68% which gradually reduced in the successive census years. But it
must be mention that the average male literacy among the Schedule
Tribes is greater than the total average tribal literacy rate of the nation in
all the census years and the average male literacy among the Schedule
Tribes is reducing its gap with national average literacy rate which was
around 19% in 1981 but scaled to around 4.5% in 2011 which is a
positive sign in all the senses.
The average national female literacy in 2011 was 64.6% where as
the national female literacy among Schedule Tribe female were 49.4%
which exhibited a gap of 15.2% in the literacy rate. In all the census years
it is found that the average Scheduled Tribe female literacy is not only
less than the national average female literacy but at the same time it is
even less than the national average female literacy as well as the national
average literacy rate of the Schedule Tribes in India. It is notable that
probably the tribal women exhibit the lowest rate of literacy in the nation
as they have to suffer in multiple levels; firstly they are women, who are
over burden with their household activities and hold an inferior position
in the society than the male, secondly, they belong from the social-
economic backward classes with unstable economic condition and
thirdly, they are the inhabitant of the rural parts of the nation with less
access to various social facilities and amenities. The combine impact of
all these reasons are clearly reflected from the educational status of the
tribal women in India and probably it needs the most urgent attention
form sustainable development view point.
47
Table 4: State and Gender wise Literacy Rate of India, Scheduled

Tribes and Literacy Gaps (2011)
PERSONS MALE FEMALE
STATE ALL ST GAP ALL ST GAP ALL ST GAP
ANDHRA 67.4 48.8 18.6 74.8 56.9 17.9 60 40.9 19.1
PRADESH
ARUNACHAL 65.4 64.6 0.8 72.6 71.5 1.1 57.7 58 -0.3
PRADESH
ASSAM 72.2 72.1 0.1 77.8 79 -1.2 66.3 65.1 1.2
BIHAR 61.8 51.1 10.7 71.2 61.3 9.9 51.5 40.4 11.1
CHATTISGHAR 70.3 59.1 11.2 80.3 69.7 10.6 60.2 48.8 11.4
DADRA &76.2 91.9 14.3 85.2 73.6 11.6 64.3 50.3 14
NAGAR HAVELI
DAMAN &DIU 87.1 78.8 8.3 91.5 86.2 5.3 79.5 71.2 8.3
GOA 88.7 79.1 9.6 92.6 87.2 5.4 84.7 71.5 13.2
GUJRAT 78 62.5 15.5 85.8 71.7 14.1 69.7 53.2 16.5
HIMACHAL 82.8 73.6 9.2 89.5 83.2 6.3 75.9 64.2 11.7
PRADESH
JAMMU &62.2 50.6 16.6 76.8 60.6 16.2 56.4 39.7 16.7
KASHMIR
JHARKHAND 66.4 57.1 9.3 76.8 68.2 8.6 55.4 46.2 9.2
KARNATAKA 75.4 62.1 13.3 82.5 71.1 11.4 68.1 53 15.1
KERALA 94 75.8 18.2 96.1 80.8 15.3 92.1 71.1 21
LAKSHADWEEP 91.8 91.7 0.1 95.6 95.7 -0.1 87.9 87.8 0.1
MADHYA 69.3 50.6 18.7 78.7 59.6 19.1 59.2 41.5 17.7
PRADESH
MAHARASTRA 82.3 65.7 16.6 88.4 74.3 14.1 75.9 57 18.9
MANIPUR 76.9 72.6 4.3 83.6 77.3 6.3 70.3 67.8 2.5
MEGHALAYA 74.4 74.5 -0.1 76 75.5 0.5 72.9 73.5 -0.6
MOZORAM 91.3 91.5 -0.2 93.3 93.6 -0.3 89.3 89.5 -0.2
NAGALAND 79.6 80 -0.4 82.8 83.1 -0.3 76.1 76.9 -0.8
ODISHA 72.9 52.2 20.7 81.6 63.7 17.9 64 41.2 22.8
RAJASTHAN 66.1 52.8 13.3 79.2 67.6 11.6 52.1 37.3 14.8
SIKKIM 81.4 79.7 1.7 86.6 85 1.6 75.6 74.3 1.3
TAMIL NADU 80.1 54.3 25.8 86.8 61.8 25 73.4 46.8 16.6
TELANGANA 66.5 49.5 17 75 59.5 15.5 57.9 39.4 18.5
TRIPURA 87.2 79.1 8.1 95.5 86.4 5.1 82.7 71.6 11.1
UTTAR 67.7 55.7 12 77.3 67.1 10.2 57.2 43.7 13.5
PRADESH
UTTARAKHAND78.8 73.9 4.9 87.4 83.6 3.8 70 63.9 6.1
WESTBENGAL 76.3 57.9 18.4 81.7 68.2 13.5 70.5 47.7 22.8
ANANDAMAN &
NICOBAR 86.6 75.6 11 90.3 80.9 9.4 82.4 59.9 12.5
ISLAND
INDIA 73 59 14 80.9 68.5 12.4 64.6 49.4 15.2
Source: https://tribal.nic. In/ST/Statistics8518.pdf Retrieved on 18.04.2022 at
11.50 a.m.
48
100
-10
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
0
The above statistics are clearly indicating that the tribal educational
status in the nation is lagging behind and it requires a more
comprehensive planning to meet the goal of absolute literacy in the nation
complying with the objectives of Millennium Development Goals
(MDGs) at set by United Nations for the entire world.
49
Reasons of Low Rate of Literacy Schedule Tribes in India:

A bunch of causes can be held responsible for the low profile of
literacy among scheduled tribes in the nation. Different socio economic
reasons stand as a hurdle in the way of educational development of the
tribal communities in India. However for sake of discussion the following
reasons can be mentioned:
Poverty is one of the most important causes behind the lower rate
literacy among the Scheduled Tribes in India. It is found that the majority
of the tribal population of the nation are inhabited in the rural areas
among which 45.3% belong to the below poverty line and it has his own
effect on the overall tribal educational status. A positive correlation can
be traced between the low level of literacy and high level of poverty
among the tribal population in the remote rural parts of the nation.
High rate of dropout in different levels of education among the
Scheduled Tribe population are more than other social groups in the
nation. According to the report of Department of School Education,
MHRD 2013, the dropout rate among tribal students of class I to V or in
primary level was 31.3% which was around 48.2% at elementary level
and 62.4% at secondary level. So the high rate of dropout due to various
reasons creates a hurdle in the way of development of the educational
status of the tribal communities in India.
Remoteness is another important factor that needs to address to
uplift the educational status of the tribal population in India. A number of
tribal groups in India inhabited in the extreme climatic regions or in
extreme rural parts of the nation or in Stiff Mountain slopes or in forest
regions of the nation. Communication and Transportation system to these
regions of the nation are not that much of sound. As the result the
inhabitant tribal population of these regions has less access to the school
and other educational facilities and amenities and as a result of which
there enrollment in the formal education suffers significantly.
Overall literacy rate of the community is another important cause
of lack of motivation of the tribal community towards the formal
education and lack of awareness about the significance of education in
life and in society. The daughters are more encouraged by the family
members to learn the household activities rather joining to the educational
institutions. Early age of marriage are still found among some tribal
50
groups though it is strictly prohibited by law. As a result of this early age

of marriage, early age of pregnancy, sometimes repeated pregnancy and
excessive burden of household activities, situations of in- laws house etc.
stands in the way of female literacy as well as the overall literacy among
tribal population in the nation.
Lack of schools in tribal dominated areas as well as in other areas
is another cause of low enrollment of the tribal children in the formal
educational system. Ekalavya Model Residential School is an initiative
taken by the Ministry of Tribal Affairs in India to overcome this problem.
According to the Annual Report 2020- 2021 of the Ministry of Tribal
Affairs total 588 Ekalavya Model Residential Schools had sanction for
the different parts of the nation out of which 245 were already established
and functional.
Mode of instruction and examination is also an important barrier in
the way of tribal education in the nation. In most of the schools in the
nation even at the primary level the mode of teaching and instruction is
generally found to be the regional language. Students at the primary level
as well as in the upper class also find difficulties to accommodate with a
new language. Many time language gap as well as the cultural gap
become important for the low educational attainment which demotivated
them for formal education.
Apart from the above mention factors other factors like lack of
proper educational infrastructure, employment opportunity, primitive
lifestyle, lack of tribal teachers, lack of study materials in tribal languages
etc. also stand in the way of the tribal education in India.
Some Educational Policy and Tribal Education in India:

In India from the very beginning in almost all the educational
policies the tribal education was given due importance. National
Education Policy- 1968, in its report recommended for free and
compulsory education for all the children up to the age group of 14 years
irrespective of any bias. It certainly encompasses the tribal communities
also. At the same time the policy document also recommended for the
equalization of educational opportunity and building of required
educational facilities in the rural and in the backward areas.
National Education Policy-1986 in its report had made a special
51
provisions under the heading “Education of the Scheduled Castes and

Scheduled Tribes and Other Backward Sections”. Several
recommendations like providing initiative to the guardians of the
schedule tribes students below the age group of 14 years for enrolling
them in the schools, scholarships, recruitment of teacher from tribal
community, provision for hostel, infrastructure development in the tribal
dominated areas for education, enhancing educational opportunity for
nomadic, semi- nomadic and the notified community etc. were made with
due significance.
Program of Action-1992 had prepared a road map for the overall
development of the educational status in India. A blueprint for education
of Schedule Castes and Schedule Tribes and other backward sections had
prepared accordingly. Strategies and planning for teachers training for
Scheduled Tribes education, initiative for free coaching, residential
facilities, reservation, remedial teaching, ensuring pre-school education
through "Balwadis", integrated Educational Complex for equal
educational access etc. had been plan to implement to upward the
educational status of the Schedule Tribes in the nation.
Right to Education-2009 is indeed a milestone in the journey of
Indian education. It ensures free and compulsory elementary education to
all the children of the age group of 6 to 14 years of age where it is
categorically mentioned that “children belonging to the disadvantage
groups” means a child belonging to the Schedule Caste, the Scheduled
Tribes and the socially economically backward classes are encompasses
by this act. Right to Education-2009 spoke loudly for an inclusive
educational system in India by making elementary education as a
fundamental right for all the children from the mentioned age group in the
nation.
National Education Policy-2020 is the latest addition in the history
of evaluation of Indian education. Its major pillars are access equality and
affordability, at the same time it focuses on the principle of “Learning for
all” which makes the main backbone of the policy for transforming India
in a knowledge super power Nation (NEP 2020, P. 5). The policy marks
the “Socio-Economically Disadvantage Groups (SEDGs)” (NEP 2020, P.
23) and special educational provisions had been recommended for them.
The formation of the Special Educational Zones (SEZs) for the extreme
52
geographically inaccessible location as well as in the region inhabitated

by the disadvantages groups of the society is a revolutionary
recommendation. Uplifting the infrastructure of Jawahar Navodaya
Vidyalaya, Kendriya Vidyalaya and other governmental schools, free
boarding in the disadvantage areas and for disadvantage groups etc. were
mentioned with emphasis. A multi-dimensional curriculum with due
importance to the diversity, rich with human values is recommended for
Indian school system which will be relevant to all the communities. In
case of Higher Education also emphasis has given on the low rate of
enrollment and access to the high education mainly for the social
economically disadvantage groups. Taking that into consideration
increased access, equality and inclusion in higher education for
disadvantage and under privileged students are recommended.
National Education Policy-2020 is a comprehensive planning for
the overall development of the education in India. Holistic development
of individual as well as the entire society and the nation is planned to
achieve through the implementation of National Education Policy-2020
which ultimately has the aim of transforming India qualitatively but that
is not possible without ensuring the overall development of the status of
education of the tribal communities in the nation. Taking that into
consideration special recommendation for the development of the
educational status of all was suggested to form an inclusive Indian
society.
Along with all the above mentioned recommendations in different
educational policies, several Constitutional Provisions have also made
from time to time to for the overall development of the Schedule Tribes
in the society as well as in the nation. Article-14, Article-15, Article-
15(4), Article-16 (4), Article- 17, Article-29, Article-46, Article-320, 335,
342 and many others which ensure equality of rights, no discrimination,
making of special provision for education, equality in opportunity,
provision for reservation in employment opportunities and in educational
institution, security cultural and educational rights, abolition of
untouchability, protection from exploitation etc. were mentioned with
significance in this regard.
53
Conclusion
The indigenous people are the indispensable and very important
part of the national life. But the inferior status in almost every sector of
their life and in society is an issue of the overall national development.
Majority of the tribal population exhibit low level of educational status,
per-capita income, purchase power, standard of life and in overall social-
economic status also. India exhibits one of the largest concentrations of
tribal population of the world and most of these groups has a history of
more than thousand years in the nation. Still their status in all sense is not
that much of sound. Educational status of the tribal communities mainly
in the remote rural parts is quite disappointing. As a result of low
educational status the other status are also affected adversely. The tribal
people who are carrying an ancient, unique culture and tradition of their
own and these original traditional and cultural practices reflect the main
soul of the nation which is mostly unexplored and unknown to most of
the society. There indigenous knowledge, closeness to the nature,
sustainable lifestyle etc. makes them unique in many senses. But at the
same time extreme backwardness economically and even socially,
extreme superstition, various unscientific practices, lack of mode of
entertainment, high level of addiction, lack of educational and
employment opportunities, oppression, exploitation, lack of knowledge
about own and tribal right etc. have stand in the way of the overall
development of the tribal population mainly in the remote rural and
inaccessible areas of the nation. The tribal development can be ensured
only when these issues will be addressed properly, rationally with an
empathetic approach and without the tribal development in true sense
national development to its optimum level is incomplete. Education being
a single most important tool, has the potentially to bring positive changes
in general as well as in the tribal society in specific too. Therefore for
uplifting the educational status of the Schedule Tribes mainly in the
remote areas, more special attention is required. Establishment of more
number of schools in the tribal areas, adopting tribal language as a
medium of instruction and examination, proper infrastructure
development, curriculum friendly to the tribal population, property
implementation of different development planning in the tribal areas for
educational development, incorporation of indigenous knowledge in the
54
educational system, promoting vocational education in the tribal

dominated areas, promoting tribal art forms and artisans, specific
program for the development of the tribal women, tribal craft, music,
traditional tribal sports and games, increasing awareness among the
Schedule Tribes about the need of education, literacy campaign, remedial
coaching, scholarship, job oriented training, programme for eradication of
poverty etc. and many more specific program and schemes may be useful
for the development of the overall educational status of the tribal
communities and the tribal society. Therefore, it is needless to mention
that proper educational development of the tribal community in specific
and more educational development in general is almost necessary to
make an inclusive sustainable society for tomorrow in India. In the
concluding remark remembering the words of Sir Nelson Mandela about
the importance of education in the society, nation as well as in the world
it can be said that- “Education is the most powerful weapon which you
can use to change the world”.
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56
CHAPTER 6
EFFECT ON METACOGNITIVE STRATEGIES AMONG

SCHEDULE TRIBE STUDENTS AT HIGHER EDUCATION IN
WEST BENGAL
Dr. Sanjay Sarkar 10 & Dr. Jayanta Mete 11
ABSTRACT
Metacognition is the process of cognition about cognition. It is important in
every aspect of education and life, since it involves self-reflection on one’s
current position, future goals, potential actions and strategies, and results.
Metacognition can be developed in students in the context of their current
goals and can enhance their learning of competencies as well as transfer of
learning, no matter their starting achievement level. In fact, it may be most
useful for lower-achieving students, as the higher-achieving students
are already employing strategies that have proven successful for them. For
learning disabled and low - achieving students, metacognitive training has
been shown to improve behavior more effectively than traditional attention-
control training. In this study focused on the metacognitive strategies in
Education subject of the students at higher education in West Bengal. The
subject of the present study was selected purposefully 10 general degree
colleges under five administrative divisions (W. B). The total 50 ST
students were purposively selected for this purpose. The criteria measured
in this study were influential factors affecting subject and the metacognitive
strategical parameter. The investigator tries to construct a name of total
(Questioner) and applying the selected total number of students. All this
check list data were analyzed by Mean, SD (Standard Deviation), t-test,
10
Assistant Professor, (Head)Department of Education, Bidhan Chandra College of
Rishra,Rishra, Hooghly-712248, West Bengal, India
11
Professor, Department of Education, University of Kalyani.,Kalyani, Nadia-741235, West
Bengal, India
57
graphical representation to find out significant. The result of findings,

following suitable discussion to draw conclusive remarks.
Keywords: Metacognition, Metacognitive strategies, Higher Education.
INTRODUCTION
M
etacognition in the classroom, at both individual and
collective level, underpins the reflective cycle that supports
the culture of school self-evaluation, where self-evaluation as
learning occurs. Good teachers are highly metacognitive – they reflect on
their expertise and teaching and refine their pedagogy accordingly.
Metacognitive thinking will, therefore, also support the observation,
planning, monitoring and evaluation that is involved in the SSE process.
In general, metacognition is thinking about thinking. More
specifically, Taylor defines metacognition as “an appreciation of what
one already knows, together with a correct apprehension of the learning
task and what knowledge and skills it requires, combined with the agility
to make correct inferences about how to apply one’s strategic knowledge
to a particular situation, and to do so efficiently and reliably.”
The more students are aware of their thinking processes as they
learn, the more they can control such matters as goals, dispositions, and
attention. Self-awareness promotes self-regulation. If students are aware
of how committed they are to reaching goals, of how strong is their
disposition to persist, and of how focused is their attention to a thinking
or writing task, they can regulate their commitment, disposition, and
attention. For example, if students were aware of a lack of commitment to
writing a long research assignment, noticed that they were
procrastinating, and were aware that they were distracted by more
appealing ways to spend their time, they could then take action to get
started on the assignment. But until they are aware of their procrastination
and take control by making a plan for doing the assignment, they will
blissfully continue to neglect the assignment.
In West Bengal though Education is placed in higher education
curriculum as a core subject of study, yet it is not given the proper weight
age which it needs. It helps to motivated in learner form favorable
metacognitive strategies in Education subject in higher education.
58
The researcher here wants to investigate, metacognitive strategies

among schedule tribe Students in education of post graduate learners,
used as sample in this research project, their metacognitive strategies this
subject. He also wants to show that if there is any significant aspect
gender, locality and medium. So the present researcher has taken up the
present descriptive study.
REVIEW OF THE RELATED LITERATURE

Review of related literature is aptly necessary for the researcher to
develop a thorough understanding of the related work already done in the
field. It gives us a clear hint that research work has already been done in
several areas in the field. The studies conducted in presented as follows –
Govindharajan. G (2014), studies aimed to investigate the effects
of metacognitive awareness and learning strategies on ST students’
success in a distance learning class. The data were collected through
Metacognitive Awareness Inventory and learning strategies
questionnaire. The data gathered from 60 undergraduate ST students. The
result shows that metacognitive awareness and learning strategies has an
important role on student’s academic success in an online English course.
The subscale of metacognitive awareness, evaluation strategy, was the
positive predictor of academic success.
Kishor (2012),the effects of PBL on the metacognitive awareness
levels of 6th grade ST students were examined. At the end of the study, a
significant difference was found between the metacognitive awareness of
the experimental group student with whom PBL was implemented and
the control group students with whom the traditional teaching method
was implemented.
Ahmed R. Nasr (2011), examined the use of metacognition
strategies based on comprehension monitoring, reading strategies and
reading comprehension of bilingual learners in Italy. Their
comprehension monitoring was measured through meta-comprehension
test by using cloze task. In this study, a strategic reading questionnaire
was employed to measure strategic reading. The results indicated
comprehension monitoring as the most important predictor of reading
comprehension of the learners.
59
STATEMENT OF THE STUDY

The researcher may be taken up the descriptive study entitled as
statement of the problem is “Effect on Metacognitive Strategies among
Schedule Tribe Students at Higher Education in West Bengal”.
OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY

The objectives of the study may be stated as:
1. To analyze metacognitive strategies among Schedule Tribe students
in Education subject at post graduate level in West Bengal.
2. To study gender-wise difference of ST students on metacognitive
strategies in Education subject at post graduate level in West Bengal.
3. To study locality-wise difference of ST students on metacognitive
4. To study medium-wise difference of ST students on metacognitive
HYPOTHESIS OF THE STUDY

The following research Null hypotheses were formulated:
Ho1: There is no significant difference between Male and Female ST
students to different determiners of metacognitive strategies in Education
subject at post graduate level in West Bengal.
Ho2: There is no significant difference between Rural and Urban ST
Ho3: There is no significant difference between Bengali and English
medium ST students to different determiners of metacognitive strategies
SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

The significance of this study may be as follows:
• The present study has helped to know metacognitive strategies of
Schedule Tribe students on Education subject at post graduate level
in West Bengal.
• To conduct this study the present researcher has constructed one
Questionnaire for ST students which will be very helpful for other
60
researchers to conduct future research in the field of Education

subject.
• This research work will be helpful to understand that if there are
gender, locality and medium bases of ST students in respect to
Education subject.
DELIMITATION OF THE STUDY

The Present study has been delimited by researcher in the following
extent:
➢ The sample has been chosen only from regular post graduate
learners in Education subject.
➢ The researcher has been chosen only 50 Samples.
➢ The study has done only 10 universities (Department of
Education) under five administrative divisions in West Bengal.
OPERATIONAL TERMS OF THE STUDY

• Metacognition:
Metacognition is an essential, Metacognition is thinking about
thinking. It is an increasingly useful mechanism to enhance student
learning, both for immediate outcomes and for helping students to
understand their own learning processes.
• Metacognitive Strategies:
Metacognitive strategies as “an appreciation of what one already
knows, together with a correct apprehension of the learning task and what
knowledge and skills it requires. Combined with the ability to make
correct inferences about how to apply one’s strategic knowledge to a
particular situation and to do so efficiently and reliably”.
• Scheduled Tribes:
The term 'Scheduled Tribes' first appeared in the Constitution of
India. Article 366 (25) defined scheduled tribes as Tribal communities
live, in various ecological and geo-climatic conditions ranging from
plains and forests to hills and inaccessible areas. Tribal groups are at
different stages of social, economic and educational development.
• Education Subject:
In our country, study of education in academic settings is started from
10+2 level as a subject in some states boards under arts stream. At
61
university and college level, the subject is taught both academically (B.
A. in Education and M. A. in Education) and professionally (B. Ed and
M.Ed.). Programs of teacher education are also available in diversified
form, suitable for the need of different levels of education
• Higher Education:
The definition of the term-Higher Education- In fact, there is no
simple definition of higher education. The international definition of
tertiary (post school) education divides it into two parts. Type A (Higher
Education) and Type B (Further Education). Higher education mainly and
generally means university level education. It offers a number of
qualifications ranging from Higher National Diplomas and Foundation
Degrees to Honors Degrees and as further step, Postgraduate programmes
such as Masters Degrees and Doctorates.
METHODOLOGY OF THE STUDY

Research Design The present study used conclusive research design.
Method Descriptive survey method was used in this study.
Independent variables
Education Subject
Dependent variables
Metacognition Strategies
Variables
Demographic variables
Gender of ST students: Male & Female.
Location of ST students: Rural & Urban.
Medium of ST students: Bengali & English.
The population of present study was the Semester-III post
graduate level students of Ten universities (Department of
Population
Education) under five administrative divisions in West
Bengal.
Total 50 post graduate students in Education subject were
Sample selected as a sample of the study. 25 male and 25 female
ST students were chosen for the study.
Non- Probability sample technique has been used in this
Sampling
study.
techniques
Purposive sampling method was used in this study.
Metacognitive Attitude Scale
Tools used Formulate English and Bengali versions Questionnaires.
(Quantitative)Questions/Item number: 64.
62
Measure options –The Five point scale… Strongly Agree

(SA), Agree (A), Undecided (UD), Disagree (D), Strongly
Disagree (SD).
Time – 90 Minutes
The researcher visited the selected 10 universities
Collection of
(Department of Education) and the scale was administered
Data (Tools)
to selected students for data collection.
Collection of Data ( Score ) has analysis by using statistical
Statistical
techniques like Mean, SD (Standard Deviation), t-test,
Techniques
Graphical representation – Bar graph.
The check list score has a high content and constructed
validity as expressed by three experts of psychology and
Validity
then the scale has been applied to students.
&
The‘t’ value for the scale has found to be significant at
Reliability
0.05 level. Test retest reliability method apply Result =
+0.90 (Very highly positive co-relation)
ANALYSIS & INTERPRETATION OF THE STUDY

Appropriate statistical technique will be used according to the
need of the study. Quantitative assessment of the data will be done in the
study. The data was subjected to appropriate statistical techniques for
testing hypothesis.
HYPOTHESIS- 1
There is no significant difference between Male and Female ST
Table 1: Mean, S.D. and ‘t’- Value showing difference in metacognitive

strategies among male and female ST students.
Variable Groups N Mean S.DS.D- df t- Levels of
Difference value Significant
Male 25 151.09 12.51 2.23 48 1.06 Significant
Gender Female 25 146.28 10.28
63
Figure: 1 Graph showing Analysis of pertaining to hypothesis-1

Mean
152
150
148 151.09
146 146.28
144
142
Male Female
HYPOTHESIS- 2
There is no significant difference between Rural and Urban ST
Table 2: Mean, S.D. and ‘t’- Ratio showing difference in metacognitive

strategies among Rural and Urban ST students.
Variable Groups N Mean S.D
SD- df t- Levels of
Locality Rural 31 146.16 12.60 2.32 48 2.38 Significant
Urban 19 149.38 14.92

Mean
150
149
148
149.38
147
146 146.16
145
144
Rural Urban
64
HYPOTHESIS- 3
There is no significant difference between Bengali and English
medium ST students to different determiners of metacognitive strategies
Table 3: Mean, S.D. and ‘t’- Ratio showing difference in metacognitive

strategies among Bengali and English medium ST students.
Variable Groups N Mean S.DSD- df t- Levels of
Medium Bengali 46 152.34 14.26 1.69 48 1.53 Significant
English 04 149.51 12.57

Mean
153
152
151 152.34
150
149.51
149
148
Bengali English
FINDINGS OF THE STUDY

• Observation of Ho1 reveals that the calculated t-value comes out to
be 1.06 which is significant at 0.05 levels. Hence the calculated t-
value is less than the table t-value. Hence Null Hypothesis is rejected
and alternative hypothesis is accepted. It means that male and female
ST students have different to different determiners of metacognitive
strategies. The male learner’s is strongly concern from the Self-
knowledge (Shape in Summarize Content and Linking with prior
knowledge/ background knowledge), Self- explanation (Using
context clues and Step by step process), Self-regulation (Discussing
the problem and Making understanding clear) and Self- evaluation
(Comparing new knowledge with known knowledge and Correctness
65
of the predictions/answers). The Female ST students are strongly

concern from the Self- knowledge (Memorizing words/ information
and Encounter Important Information), Self- interest (Satisfy more
information about subject matter and Imagine situation relates to
contents), Self-regulation (Trying to figure out main ideas and
discussing the problem) and Self- evaluation (Judging worthiness of
learning and refining ideas/ skills). It may be also concluded that the
male and female ST students are both slightly concern from Self-
monitoring (Correctness of course outline and Proper guideline and
prescribed rules in lessons) and Self-awareness (Important tasks
regularly and Use feedback analysis).
be 2.38 which is significant at 0.05 level. Hence the calculated t-
and alternative hypothesis is accepted. It means that rural and urban
ST students have different to different determiners of metacognitive
strategies. The Rural ST students are strongly concern from the Self-
knowledge (Encounter Important Information and Memorizing
words/ information), Self- awareness (Check in daily reflections and
Good writing practices), Self-regulation (Trying to figure out main
ideas and discussing the problem) and Self- evaluation (Judging
worthiness of learning and detecting failure/ weaknesses/ problems).
The urban ST students are strongly concern from the Self- knowledge
(Shape in Summarize Content and Predicting outcomes/ answers /
incoming information), Self- monitoring (Proper guideline and
prescribed rules in lessons and Correctness of course outline), Self-
regulation (Making understanding clear and Revising the plan) and
Self- interest (Thinking in advance about/ discussing the topic and
Imagine situation relates to contents). It may be also concluded that
the Rural and Urban ST students are both slightly concern from Self-
monitoring (Proper guideline and prescribed rules in lessons and
Checking the linkage to other subjects) and Self- interest (Satisfy
more information about subject matter and Accessing various
resources).
be 1.53 which is significant at 0.05 levels. Hence the calculated t-
66
and alternative hypothesis is accepted. It means that Bengali and
English mediumST students have to different determiners of
metacognitive strategies. The Bengali medium ST students are
strongly concern from the Self- awareness (Making a time frame and
important tasks regularly), Self- monitoring (Co-operate subjective
discussion and Checking the linkage to other subjects), Self- interest
(Satisfy more information about subject matter and Imagine situation
relates to contents) and Self- evaluation (Refining ideas/ skills and
Comparing new knowledge with known knowledge). The English
medium ST students are strongly concern from the Self- knowledge
(Shape in Summarize Content and Linking with prior knowledge/
background knowledge), Self- monitoring (Change the difficult
method and Checking the linkage to other subjects), Self- evaluation
(Applying learning to practice and Judging worthiness of learning)
and Self- interest (Satisfy more information about subject matter and
Consulting a dictionary). It may be also concluded that the Bengali
and English ST students are both slightly concern from Self-
monitoring (Checking the linkage to other subjects and Proper
guideline) and Self-regulation (prescribed rules in lessons and
Discussing the problem and Trying to figure out main ideas).
EDUCATIONAL IMPLICATION
• Changes the fixed versus growth mindset about ST students ability to
learn and Increased student ownership of learning and students taking
control over their own learning.
• Teachers can also encourage students to recognize what they don’t
understand and discuss how confronting the unknown is an integral
part of the learning experience and help students develop
metacognition with a number of strategies.
• A number of assignments can help ST students’ practice reflexive
thinking, which is an activity that encourages metacognition. For
instance, essay exams encourage higher-level thinking, helping
students activate additional knowledge in the learning process.
67
CONCLUSION
The present study is undertaken to develop ST students’
metacognitive strategies in education among post graduate learners.
Instead of focusing on the content of the subjects, suggesting the means
and ways of learning will be more helpful to the ST students. Students
come to learning situation with varying of metacognitive strategies about
that learning. The students’ task is to determine the level metacognitive
strategies that help to achieve goals. This will make the learners to
become self-dependent and goal directed achievers. The present study
was undertaken with to analyze the metacognitive strategies and how one
can overcome the shortcoming seen in the field of Education subject in
Higher education.
REFERENCES
Flavell, J. H. (1979). Metacognition and cognitive monitoring: A new
area of cognitive-developmental inquiry. American Psychologist,
34, 906–911.
Flavell, J. H. (1976). Metacognitive aspects of problem solving. In L. B.
Resnick (Ed.), The nature of intelligence, pp. 231–236.
Hacker, D. J. (1998).Definitions and empirical foundations. In D. J.
Hacker, J. Dunlosky, & A. C. Graesser (Eds.), Metacognition in
educational theory and practice, pp. 1-23.
Hanuman Prasad (1990). The Socio-economic Status of the Scheduled
Caste and Tribes - A Case Study of Azamgarh District (edited by
Chaurasia, 1990), In: Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in
India, Chug Publications, Allahabad, India.
Newton, E. V. (1991). Developing metacognitive awareness: the response
journal in college composition. Journal of Reading, 34, 476-478.
Ramp, L. C. &Guffey, J. S. (1999). The impact of metacognitive training
on academic self-efficacy of selected underachieving college
students. (ERIC Document Reproduction Services No.ED432
607).
Simpson, M. L., &Nist, S. L. (1990). Textbook annotation: An effective
and efficient study strategy for college students. Journal
of Reading, 34, 122-129.
68
Statistical Profile of Scheduled Tribes in India (2010). Ministry of Tribal

Affairs. Statistics Division, Government of India, New Delhi.
Suman (2010). “Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and Other
Backward Classes”, Data downloaded from http://www.google.
com
Taylor, S. (1999). Better learning through better thinking: Developing
students’ metacognitive abilities. Journal of College Reading and
Learning, 30(1), 42-48
69
CHAPTER 7
CHALLENGES OF TRIBAL EDUCATION IN WEST BENGAL

AND NEP 2020
Bapan Mondal12, Najmatunnessa Khatun13 & Jayanta Mete 14
Abstract
National development can be made possible when all its residents are
treated equally and are socially and economically secured. This equality
and security cannot be ensured when proper education is provided. This
paper attempts to uphold the challenges faced by the tribal community in
getting education in West Bengal. It also tries to focus on the areas for
development of tribe recommended in NEP 2020. Secondary data sources
have been used in the interpretation process.
Keywords: Tribal Development, Education Challenges, NEP 2020
Introduction
T
ribe constitute the deprived section as reckoned by the
constitution of India. They are humiliated, shy and a very secured
type of community who used to live a life of seclusion. Seclusion
in a same from the mainstream of society. Scheduled tribes people, also
known as 'Adivasi' or indigenous people, and dubbed 'Girijan' by
Mahatma Gandhi, have traditionally lived in hilly, mountainous, and
forest areas. According to Oxford Anthropologists and Scientists, human
life began 120,000 years ago in Africa, and the first migrant from Africa
was Indians, who may be our country's indigenous people.
12
Research Scholar, Faculty of Education, Department of Education, University of
Kalyani, Kalyani, Nadia-741235, West Bengal, India.
13
Research Scholar, Faculty of Education, Department of Education, University of
Kalyani, Kalyani, Nadia-741235, West Bengal, India.
14
Faculty of Education, Department of Education, University of Kalyani,
Kalyani, Nadia-741235, West Bengal, India.
70
Prior to independence, the British rulers used laws like the Land
Acquisition Act of 1894 and the Forest Act of 1927 to deprive tribals of
their rights to land and community rights to forest products due to
increasing demand for wood and other forest products and minerals due
to industrialization in their own country. Scheduled Tribes are defined in
Article 366 (25) as "those tribes or tribal communities, or sections of or
groups within such tribes or tribal communities, as are considered to be
scheduled Tribes (STs) for the purposes of this Constitution under Article
342”. As per census 2001, out of 593 districts in the country, in 50
districts have no ST population whereas in 75 districts are equal to or
exceeds 50%, in 23 districts 35-50%, in 42 districts 20-35%, in 124
districts 5-20%, in 106 districts 1-5% and below 1 percent in 173
districts.
According to the 2011 Census of India, Punjab, Haryana, Delhi,
Chandigarh, and Puducherry have really no tribal population, while the
rest of the country does. The table below shows:
Table 1: State / UT wise overall population

Sl NO. India/State Total Population ST Population
(in lakh)
1. India 12108.55 1045.46
2. Andhra Pradesh 493.87 26.31
3. Assam 312.06 38.84
4. Bihar 1040.99 13.37
5. Chhattisgarh 255.45 78.23
6. Goa 14.59 1.49
7. Gujarat 604.40 89.17
8. Haryana 253.51 NST
9. Himachal Pradesh 68.65 3.92
10. J & K 125.41 14.93
71
11. Jharkhand 329.88 86.45
12. Karnataka 610.95 42.49
13. Kerala 334.06 4.85
14. Madhya Pradesh 726.27 153.17
15. Maharashtra 1123.74 105.17
16. Manipur 28.56 11.67
17. Meghalaya 29.67 25.56
18. Mizoram 10.97 10.36
19. Nagaland 19.79 17.11
20. Orissa 419.74 95.91
21. Punjab 277.43 NST
22. Rajasthan 685.48 92.39
23. Sikkim 6.11 2.06
24. Tamil Nadu 721.47 7.95
25. Telangana 351.94 32.87
26. Tripura 36.74 11.67
27. Uttarakhand 100.86 2.92
28. Uttar Pradesh 1998.12 11.34
29. West Bengal 912.76 52.97
30. A & N Haveli 3.81 0.29
31. Chandigarh 10.55 NST
32. D & N Haveli 3.44 1.79
33. Daman & diu 2.43 0.15
72
34. Delhi 167.88 NST
35. Lakshadweep 0.64 0.61
36. Puducherry 12.48 NST

Source: Census 2011, Office of the Registrar General, India
NST: No notified Scheduled Tribes (as in 2011)
In NEP 1986 there was a separate recommendation of education

for SC/ST and other backward sections but in NEP 2020 STs have been
included in the SDGs. The most powerful tool for attaining social justice
and equality is education. Incorporated and Getting a good education is
also crucial, while it is an important aim in and of itself. A just and
inclusive society where every citizen has the chance to dream and grow.
The educational system's purpose should be to benefit Indian children so
that no child is denied the opportunity to learn and gain skills due to a
congenital ailment or background. According to NEP2020, reducing
social category inequities in access, learning and participation goals in
school education will continue to be a key goal of all education sector
development programmes.
Tribal population contributes 8.6% of the total population. Thus,
a nation's optimum development is not possible keeping this near about
10% population from the path of progress. Thus their is an ardent need to
uplift the tribal community is felt and education is the only medium
without which no other upliftment is possible. Tribal community as said
is the deprived, these are hurdles on the way of educating them. Most of
them uses a life of poverty and as they lead a life of seclusion from the
other community they are ignorant of the development process. Though
many policies have been implemented yet the enlightenment has not
taken place. They still are in darkness focusing on each and every dark
aspect of the community and bringing them in the light of progress
should be a motto of the nation as without the enlightenment of all, a
nation cannot flourish filly.
73
Literature Review
1. Mrs Vinu (2021) studied “Tribal Education and Quality of Life :
Issues And Challenges” and depicted the major problems of
tribal communities in getting education and thereby developing
themselves. The researcher also uphold several government
policies for their upliftment. Further suggestions has been given
to uplift them educationally.
2. Proggya Ghotak (2013) has done a study on “Changing
Livelihood Pattern of Sarvare and Lodha of West Bengal” has
depicted a change in pattern of tribal livelihood due to the
decreased in forest areas. But the change is not up to mark to
uplift them.
3. Sandip Satpati and Kushal Sharma (2020) conducted a study
on “Livelihood Option and Livelihood Security Among Tribal in
South Western Pleteau and Highland Region in West Bengal”
that shows that the existing pattern of livelihood failed to meet
the rising demands of the community. The study uses the
purposive stratified random sampling technique to collect the
data and analysis. The study also shows that due to the
deforestation tribal people find it hard to meet their needs based
on forest products. The education, as the study shows can open
up new advantages for them.
4. Sumanta Kumar Baskey and Narayan Chandra Pan (2022)
in Development of Tribal Livelihood in Manbazar-II Block of
Purulia District, West Bengal, India, this study shows that
development is multidimensional and that to will be met when
the minimum basic requirement will be provided. The study
shows that the change in literacy rate can add upto the
development.
Objectives
The objectives of this study are
1. Sort out major challenges of the tribal community in the field of
education.
2. Focus on the areas where they need development.
74
3. To analyze and find out how far NEP 2020 has made
recommendations for the upliftment.
Methodology
Several secondary sources data have been used for this study.
These secondary data are focused and interpreted. West Bengal tribal
community has been taken under consideration for the study. As the
several collected source is qualitative in nature.
Pattern of livelihood
Majority of the tribal population depends on forest and forest
resources for livelihood. Some of them are daily labour. Some adopted
hunting, cultivation etc. being engulfed in this hard toil they hardly able
to manage time for education. They have to work hard to meet their daily
needs. Starting for the day’s beginning till the end they hardly have
leisure time to spare. And thus managing time for education is hard for
them. Their livelihood is such that they fails to meet their daily needs.
Thus the children of the family are compelled to get engaged in the work
as support to their family. Even often they have to be engaged in the
household activities. Thus they hardly able to manage time for education
is still a mirage to the majority of tribal communities.
Geographical Status
The tribal community people usually live a life of seclusion.
They prefer to be in their ethnic group. West Bengal has a tribal
population of 52,96,963 which is about 5.08% of the country’s total tribal
population. These people are found in the districts of Jalpaiguri,
Darjeeling, Dakshin Dinajpur, Alipurduar, Purulia, Paschim Midnapur,
Bankura. Educational inclusion of these tribes are thus a kind of
challenge. Though the government and its policies are continuously
trying to search the remote and the marginal but not all successful in this
regard.
Caste Discrimination
“On 16th August, 1992, to escape persistant caste based
discrimination, Chuni Kotal, the first ever graduate from the Loadha
75
Savar community of Aadivasis, Committed suicide in Kharagpur, West

Bengal. She was 27” (Murmu, 2019). The Instance of such pathetic end
of a woman just at the age of 27 is enough for any community to get
demotivated such example would let that particular community to remain
contented with what they have. Chances of mobility in any form be It
socially or economically will be getting minimal day by day. Education is
a medium of achieving upward mobility. Any such violence in the
institutional set up would surely curtail the GER in the education be it
elementary, secondary or higher educational level. There has been a
conception that the situation has changed recently. But in reality it would
be a false belief to assume that. Many cases can be sighted where the
tribal community is victimized. Written policies must be implemented
strictly to eradicate this inferiority complex among these tribal people.
Economical Challenges
The problem of the economy is a barrier to every progress and
education is not an exception. The majority of the Tribal population in
West Bengal lives under poverty level. Though it is seen that the
schooling and maternal health have improved overall, the sex ratio is
shown declining and the secondary school completion is found lower
than many others States. STs are shown suffering from high levels of
poverty. About 41.6% of women 20-25 years are married before the age
of 18 and 18.3% of women aged 15-19 years have started child bearing.
Hunger and poverty create obstacles in the path of each and every
procedure of development. These poverty striker people who hardly
manage to earn for their living failed to reach the optimum level of
development through education. Having basic necessities for them in the
community is enough for them in that case.
Passion for Education

“The causes shows that Tribe Constitute 8.6% of the total
population of the counting the literature role of which is half the tribe
population i.e. just about 58.96%” (Patra, Gayak & Karim. 2021). The
literacy rate of the tribal population in West Bengal is 57.97
(Chakraborty, Parikshit. 2019) which is even less than the literacy rate of
the tribal population of the country. Government policies cannot be held
76
alone responsible for such a poor literacy rate, rather the tribal attitude
towards education can also be the reason for such poor literacy rate.
When a large percentage will be able to influence a large population
certainly poor percentage of literate people will fail to influence a large
group. Thus the absence of passion for education is apparent among these
tribe groups. Educating a major percentage of the population will be a
challenge to the nation and state as well.
NEP 2020: Tribal Education

Tribal children often find their schooling irrelevant and foreign to
their lives culturally and academically. Several programmatic
interventions for raising children from the tribe Communities are in place
in NEP 2020, and will continue to follow. And special measures need to
be taken to ensure that tribal children benefit from this intervention.
According to NEP 2020, special attention will be given reducing
inequality in the educational development of SCs and STs. As part of
efforts to increase participation in school education, special assistance
will be provided through special hostels, bridging courses and tax
exemptions and scholarships for deserving and deserving students of the
SEDG, particularly at secondary level. Education, to simplify their access
to higher education.
NEP 2020 envisages ensuring equitable access to quality higher
education for all students with special focus on SEDGs. Exclusions
include a lack of awareness of higher education or higher education
opportunities, especially higher education economic opportunity costs,
financial barriers, entry, geographic and language barriers, and poor
employment opportunities in many higher education programs. And the
lack of proper student support system is all the problems that need to be
solved. For this objective, all governments and HEIs must take further
steps related to higher education.
Steps to be taken by the Government and HEIs which are required to
solve the problem of students of SEDGs.
• Determine appropriate government funding for SEDG education.
• Make clear goals for higher GER for SEDGs.
• Develop and uphold high quality HEI education in local / Indian
language or bilingual.
77
• Conduct outreach programs with higher education opportunities and

scholarships within SEDG.
• Provide additional financial support and scholarships to SEDG in
both public and private HEIs.
• Develop and support technology tools for better participation and
learning outcomes
• Develop bridge courses for educational disadvantaged students
• Provide socio-psychological and academic support and counseling to
all disadvantaged students through counseling and guidance
programs.
• Strictly enact all no-discrimination and anti-harassment rules.
• Create institutional development plans that have specific plans to
increase participation from SEDG, including but not restricted to the
above items.
Conclusion
Pandit Jawarharlal Nehru's Panchsheel principles uphold the
interest of development of the tribal community. Since then till today
many policies for tribal upliftment have been made and implemented. It is
perceived that the development of the tribal community can only be made
through educating them as much as possible but then some challenges
that come forth in the process of imparting education. The assurance of
the education of such line challenges need to be a achieved first. Though
it cannot be denied that government is taking action but so far it has been
made clear that whatever policies have been made and initiated for
implementation is not enough for the success. More strategies need to be
taken for them. The nation with a community logging behind cannot
progress to the maximum level. Thus the government should promote in
bringing new strategies more and more till the success is achieved.
References
Bandyopadhyay, Ahibendu and Halder, Ujjal Kumar. (2019). “A Study on
Mother Language Problems at Primary Level of Tribal Children in
West Bengal: With special reference to the District of Birbhum”.
International Journal of Research and Analytical Reviews.
78
Chakraborty, Parikshit. (2019). “Educational Status of the Tribal West

Bengal: Special References to the Paschim Medinipur District”.
Global Journal of Sociology and Anthropology. Volume 9,
Number 1 (2019), pp. 1-14.
Census of India 2001 and 2011. Office of The Register General of India,
New Delhi
Das Priyanki. (2020). “Educational Status and Drop Out Rate of
Scheduled Tribe in West Bengal: A Study On Birbhum District”.
Aegaeum Journal. ISSN NO: 0776-3808. Volume 8, Issue 8
Dr. Subhas Sarkar (Minister of State for Education). “Benefits to Tribals
Under National Education Policy, 2020”. Posted On: 06 DEC
2021 4:30PM. PIB Delhi
Ghatak, Proggya. (2013). “Changing Livelihood Pattern of Savara and
Lodha of West Bengal”. J. Indian Anthrop. Soc. 48: 177-189.
Ghosh, Prasasti. (2018). “Development of Education and Its Impact on
the Population Composition of the Tribal People of Birbhum
District of West Bengal”. Advances in Social Sciences Research.
Journal– Vol.5, No.1
Murmu, Maroona. (2019). “Structural Violence of Casteism: A Personal
Narrative by an Adivasi University Teacher”. The Indian Forum. A
Journal-Magazine on Contemporary Issue.
National Education Policy 2020. https://www.mhrd.gov. In/sites/upload
_files/mhrd/files/nep/ NEP_Final_English.pdf referred on 10/08/20
20
Patra, Uttam Kumar. Gayak, Jibanbandhu. Sk, Karim. (2021). “ A
Comparative Study of Tribal Education Development of India:
With Special References to Purulia District, West Bengal”. Journal
of Critical Reviews 8 (1): 110-121
Saha, Tarun. (2016). “ Problems And Prospects of Tribal Education: A
Case Study of Birbhum District in West Bengal”. Indian Streams
Research Journal. ISSN: 2230-7850. Volume - 6. Issue - 3
79
CHAPTER 8
STUDY ON EDUCATIONAL STATUS AND DROP OUT RATE

OF SCHEDULED TRIBES IN WEST BENGAL
Piyali Bose15 & Jayanta Mete 16
ABSTRACT
Scheduled Tribes in India are generally considered as ‘Adivasis,’ which
means indigenous people or original inhabitants of that specific country.
The tribes have been attributed low status and are often physically and
socially isolated instead of being absorbed in the mainstream population.
Psychologically, the Scheduled Tribes often experience passive
indifference that may take the form of exclusion from educational
opportunities, social participation, and access to their own land. All tribal
communities are not similar to each other. They are products of different
historical and social conditions. They belong to different racial stocks and
religious backgrounds and speak different dialects. Discrimination against
women, occupational differentiation, and emphasis on status and
hierarchical social ordering that characterize the predominant mainstream
culture are generally absent among the tribal groups. The mainstream
population considers the general tribal population as primitive,
technologically backward, and illiterate. Since the 16th century, the tribes
have been perceived as sub-humans who live under primitive conditions.
All the reasons are the root cause of the alienation of tribal in education
and the Dropout. By giving more emphasis on other activities in the tribal
hamlet, they are ignoring the value of education.
Key words: Adivasis, tribal culture, Dropout, Alienation, Mainstream

culture
15
Research Scholar, Department of Education, Faculty of Education, University of
Kalyani, Kalyani-741235, West Bengal, India
16
Department of Education, Faculty of Education, University of Kalyani, Kalyani-741235,
West Bengal, India
80
INTRODUCTION
I
ndia is homeland to a lot of tribal communities with diverse eco-
cultural, socio-economic and geographical backgrounds. According
to the 2011 Census, Scheduled Tribes (notified by the Government of
India under Article 342 of the Indian Constitution) constitute 8.14% of
the total population of the country, numbering 84.51 million. In the state
of West Bengal, 1% of the total population is tribal population,
comprising of 36 unique Scheduled Tribes (ST) whose livelihoods are
also varied: hunting-gathering, shifting cultivation, settled agriculture,
contract labour, etc., are some of them. According to the 2011 Census,
the literacy rate of the Scheduled Tribes of India is only 47.10%. Against
the National literacy rate of 65.8%, this is appalling. Even in the State of
West Bengal with a high literacy rate at 90.92%, that of the Scheduled
Tribes is far behind, at only 64.5%. Realizing that Scheduled Tribes are
one of the most deprived and marginalized groups with respect to
education, a host of programmes and measures have been initiated ever
since independence of the country. Education of ST children is important
not just due to a Constitutional obligation to equality of its citizen or
special entitlements to ST, but because it is a crucial input in the nation‘s
strategy of total development of tribal communities. However, despite
nation‘s efforts to ensure constitutional equality, dignity and development
that they themselves wish for, the tribal people have lagged behind in
education owing to external as well as internal constraints, socio-
economic and cultural background of the tribals and psychological
problems of first generation learners etc.
The Scheduled Tribe population represents one of the most
economically impoverished and marginalized groups in India. Although
Scheduled Tribes are a minority, they constitute about 8.2 % of the total
population in India (Census of India, 2011), or 85 million people in
absolute number. The Scheduled Tribes are not discriminated against in
the same way by the mainstream Hindu population as the Scheduled
Caste population in India. While the latter group belongs to the lowest
hierarchy of social order and is often considered impure or unclean, the
Scheduled Tribes have, for the most part, been socially distanced and
living outside the mainstream Hindu society. The areas inhabited by the
tribal population constitute a significant part of the underdeveloped areas
81
of the country. Scheduled Tribe population represents one of the most

economically impoverished and marginalized groups in India. Education
is the most important instrument for human resource development and
has a great significance. One cannot imagine education without schools
as it plays a major role in shaping the basic ideas, habits and attitudes of
the children, with a view to producing well balanced individuals. Schools
provide not only education to the children but also keep them away from
the social evils. The main problem in schools is the problem of stagnation
and drop out phenomena. Education is the key that opens the door of life.
It plays a pivotal role in social change and it brings perfections in human
life, an upward mobility in social status, radical transformation. The
Indian Constitution identifies and provides special consideration for
certain ethnic minority groups, traditionally referred to as tribes or tribals,
as Scheduled Tribes (STs) who constitute around 8 per cent of the total
population of the country. There are 573 STs living in different parts of
the country. Most of the tribal communities have their own languages and
culture different from the language spoken in the state where they are
located. There are more than 270 such languages. Tribal communities in
West Bengal are scattered in different districts. Of these the highest
concentration is located in Ranaghat, Tehatta and Palashi block of Nadia
District. There are more than 37 tribal communities in West Bengal.
1(a).External constrains: ST students constitutes 1.2 percent of
the total enrollment in schools. The perspective adopted for educational
development among tribal communities fails to adequately address the
specific disadvantages characterizing tribal population .For instance, the
population and distance norms formed by the government have not been
beneficial to tribal locations because of their sparse population and
sporadic residential patterns. The disparities increase at higher and higher
levels of education, particularly in technical and professional education
which provide better access to more remunerative jobs. It theses
disparities within the state that matter more in view of the high
unemployment rate in the state and consequently the highly competitive
nature of the labour market. Further, in formulating policies and
programmes for tribal education it is essential to understand the complex
realities of tribal life and the expectation of tribals from the system, and
this has never been done either by the tribal welfare department or by the
82
education department. Consequently, no worthwhile policy for tribal

education has been formed. More pass percentage rate from the schools
of ST scan only more pass percentage rate from the schools of ST scan
only produces more students for higher education. Besides most of the
increase in employment in the country and the state is taking place in the
private sector rather than in the public sector. In such a context job
reservation for STs in the public sector become less relevant today in
accessing jobs by them.
1(b). Internal constraints: The internal problems of tribal
education refer to the quality of school provision, suitable teachers,
relevance of content and curriculum, medium of instruction, pedagogy,
and special supervision. A majority of schools in tribal areas are without
basic infrastructure facilities. Normally, school buildings in tribal areas
have thatched roofs, dilapidated walls, and non-plastered floors. Research
evidence shows that a large number of tribal schools do not have
teaching-learning materials, or even blackboards. In tribal areas the
opening of a school is equated with the posting of a teacher and same is
the case with 'ashram' schools. Though the demand for changing the
content and curriculum to suit the tribal context has been an old one, no
serious effort has been made in this direction in any state, except for some
sporadic pilot projects. The uniform structure and transaction of
curriculum has put tribal children at a disadvantage. Apart from all this
lack of awareness of the teachers about tribal culture and environment
also force the tribal students to withdraw from education. All these issues
are emerging in their primary and high school levels. These constraints
force them to drop-out their education at very early levels and higher
education will be only a dream for them.
Review of Literature
Review of related literature is pre-requisite to actual planning of
any scientific research. It allows the researcher to acquaint himself with
current knowledge in the field or area in which he is going to conduct his
research.
A comparison of the traditional and modern system and tribal
higher education was made by Narmadeswer Prased (1991) who found
that the tribe’s men desire an education which may enables them to fit in
83
to the modern world. Most of the students are dropping their education
because of lack of suitability of present education with the tribal culture.
The author suggested that the tribe’s men should concentrate more on
skilled occupations. Another important suggestion was for the setting up
of special schools for them where adequate attention for them is ensured.
Bairathi (1991) has examined the role of education for tribal
upliftment has said that the condition of school particularly in the interior
parts of tribal settlements is worse. These are not well managed and there
is shortage of teachers in most of the schools. Primary level schools are
managed by a single teacher. The teacher has to take care of not only the
management of school, but also to teach many classes simultaneously in
one big room. In such a condition a good standard of education cannot be
attained. Shortage of teachers, lack of basic amenities as sitting
arrangements, drinking water facilities, and high distance from home to
school leads them to decrease the interest in education and this force them
to drop their study. He made the suggestion for improving the
infrastructure facilities to improve the conditions of education and to
remove Drop-out.
Gadgil and Dandekar (1991) has studied about the problem of
wastages in tribal education by taking a batch of students in first standard
in a given year following up in the subsequent years till the last grade are
reached. i.e, fifth Drop-outs from school before completing the final
grading of primary education constitutes wastes; and the incidence of
wastage is computed from the proportion of Drop-out to the initial
enrolment in the first grade. He reached the conclusion that attention by
the teacher to a great extent can remove drop out. When the students are
continuing their education in a better perspective then only they can
easily get accessibility to higher education.
The National Council of educational Research and training
made substantial contribution to the area of tribal education. A seminar
on tribal education in India (1993) organized by the National council of
educational research and Training discussed the various aspects of tribal
education like the facilities available, coverage, wastage and stagnation,
utilization of financial assistance, basic problem of tribal education,
socio-economic problems, curriculum, methods and text books and the
relative roles of Government and voluntary agencies in the education of
84
tribal people. The seminar altogether has suggested a new revised

curriculum for tribal education. Familiarity in tribal language by the
teachers also is essential for the improvement in tribal educational
attainment.
The evaluation committee on the welfare of scheduled castes
scheduled tribes and other backward communities in their Report (1993),
reviewed the different stages of tribal education in West Bengal. Many
suggestions were put forward regarding pre-primary education, primary
education, higher education welfare of tribal students, improvement of
tribal schools, compulsory primary education, education concession,
methods to identify the drop-outs, encouragements to the drop-outs to
continue in their study etc.
Bapat (1994) studied about tribal education and a well planned
system of education for tribals was suggested by to remove the ignorance
prevalent among tribals. After analyzing the reasons for the slow progress
in tribal education and to remove increased drop-out among tribal
children, the author suggested the type of education for the tribal children
and adults. The educational system for them should be based on the
current cultural history of the tribals. At the end a few suggestions are put
forward for the improvement of tribal education by the author by
focusing mainly on tribal culture. Authorities should focus mainly on
their culture.
Tapse (1995) Enumerating the difficulties likely to be experienced
in the field of higher education among the tribal students recommended
the remedial measures by which these difficulties should be overcome.
He pleaded that tribal education must conserve and develop the aboriginal
culture and religion.
Srivastava (1996). The author’s argument was that when the
percentage of literacy among the tribal communities increased when they
attained sufficiently high levels of educational development and when
they properly understood their rights and privileges, the integration would
automatically be achieved if proper arrangements for tribal development
would be taken.
Burman (1996) has given the figures relating to tribal literacy and
has revealed the then existing state of affairs in the field of education with
regard to literacy. The author found out that inadequate use of tribal
85
language always leads them to make a wrong view about tribal education.
Difficulty in the use of tribal languages will force the students to drop
their course at early stage of their education.
Objectives of the study

1. To examine the educational facilities available to the tribal students
in higher education in West Bengal.
2. To study the constraints in tribal education
3. To find out the causes of Drop-out among Tribal students in West
Bengal.
4. To document the policies and programmes initiated by the
Government to improve the educational attainments of Tribal
students.
Hypothesis
1. There is a positive relationship between the cultural factors and
educational attainment among tribal students in West Bengal.
2. There is an exclusionary disparity between the STs and non STs in
terms of enrollment and attainment in higher education.
Table 1: Dropout rate in Nadia District
Location 2008-2009 2009-2010 2010-2011
Number of Percentage
Dropouts of Drop outs Number of Percentage Number of Percentage
Dropouts of Drop outs Dropouts of Drop
outs
Ranaghat187 32.5 149 33.2 120 30.9
Tehatta 190 33.1 145 32.3 124 27.6
Palashi 197 34.2 154 34.3 144 32.1

Source: Survey Data (2011)
86
Table 2: Reasons for dropout from the perception of teachers

Reasons Frequency Percent Rank
Lack of interest in study 60 100.0 1
Economic problem 55 91.7 2
Health problem 40 66.7 5
Distance from home to school 48 80.0 4
Increases household responsibilities 51 85.0 3
Lack of awareness of parents 32 53.3 7
Crime activities in school 5 8.3 11
Language problem 24 40.0 8
Early marriage 19 31.7 9
Lack of food 5 8.3 10
Lack of proper guidance 34 56.7 6
Source: Survey Data (2011)
Reasons for Drop-out among tribal students

1. Low socio-economic status: - Tribals has low socio-economic
status. Miller (1988) has identified four major classes of variables such
as cognitive variables, physical variables and motivational variables
where disadvantaged learners show poor performance as compared with
the advantaged groups.
2. Tribal concepts of pleasure:-Tribals are giving more importance for
their pleasure such as dance, music and other types of entertainments
prevalent in the society.
3. Existence of ethnic stereotypes: - Stereo typing is a natural and
inevitable. It helps us to organize life. But such typing turns in to
prejudice or stereotypes when based on little facts and it is used as a
mechanism to establish the myth of racial or cultural superiority.
4. Tribal concept of learning:- In most of the tribal cultures learning is
an active pleasurable event mostly carried on among peers. But the
existing system of education does not take in to account their learning
style.
5. Linguistic problems:-Tribal languages, except a very few, belong to
Austro-Asiatic language family and are different from dominant non
tribal languages of India which belong either to the Indo European or the
Dravidian family. In most of the time tribals face acute problems in
language.
87
6. Problem of learning English: - Tribals need for English is great,

they face problems in learning than their non-tribal counterparts. For
tribals their typical use of regional languages interferes with English.
For them English are 5th or 6th languages.
7. Problems in learning to read:-Tribals have long oral tradition.
Their culture is oral. Their history, myths and traditions are orally
handed down from generation to generation. Most of the language does
not have scripts of their own; their oral tradition still continues to exist.
8. Psychological problems: - Financial problems of the tribals always
make the tribals in a very depressed condition. They have lots of wants
and but the means to satisfying them is very less. It leads to many
psychological issues
9. Academic and administrative problems: - Even though the number
of programmes for the upliftment of tribal education is many, the
percentage of people receiving these benefits is very less. Administrative
authorities are always showing very neutral attitude towards the
education of the tribals.
10. Indifferent attitude of tribal parents: - Tribal parents are mostly
illiterate. They always show a very indifferent attitude towards the
education of their children. They are interested in providing household
responsibilities to their children a very early stage of their education.
11. Indifferent attitude of tribal teachers: Teachers do not take much
effort to improve the educational level of the tribal students. Lack of
communication, high level of absenteeism in the class, bad result in
study, lack of attention in classroom by the tribals are some of the
factors that has increased the indifferent attitude of the teachers towards
the tribal students.
12. Indifferent attitude of tribal students: Students clearly said we
don’t like someone forcing us to get up early in the morning. So, we
were unhappy to go to school. We could not follow English classes.
Whenever we commit mistakes, in front of others, teachers used to scold
us, beat and pinch our ears.
In addition to all the above causes some other causes can also be
cited as the background for the reasons for Drop-out. They are:
88
1. Extreme level of poverty, deprivation and vulnerability

2. High levels of exclusion, developmental, social and economic
3. Extremely low level of empowerment-political, social and
economic
4. Low level of access to entitlement
5. Practically zero participation in development matters with no
autonomy in any form of decision-making
6. Poor human development with low level of literacy and access to
healthcare
7. Rapid alienation of assets like land
8. Alarming depletion of social capital especially traditional forms of
organization and leadership.
9. Quick deterioration of traditional knowledge system and cultural
attainment.
10. Fast increasing tendency to use tribal people as ‘cat’s –paws in
criminal activities like illicit distillation, cultivation of narcotic
plants, stealing of forest wealth etc.
11. Dependency-inducing developmental programmes relying on
distribution of benefits rather than building up of capabilities.
12. Implementation of ad hoc and stereotyped developmental
programmes in the absence of proper planning.
13. Weak delivery system of public services.
14. Very weak monitoring system.
15. High level of exploitation of women by out-side
Change in curriculum would remain incomplete unless patterns of

teacher-student interaction also change in the direction of coercion-free
involvement of the ST students. The knowledge of social reality that
teachers bring to the classroom, and their perception of the role of
education are among the key determinants of teacher‘s behavior. To a
great extent, the norms of teacher-student interaction are shaped by the
training that teachers receive prior to employment. Knowledge of social
reality‘ and role of education under prevailing social conditions do form
a part of present training curricula, but like much else in teacher training,
these segments receive a ritualistic observance. Teachers cannot be
oriented towards new types of classroom interactions without being
exposed to specific issues of social reality and functioning of school.
89
Relevance of the finding for policy formulation

In a broad sense, the socio-economic and cultural factors among
tribals can be outlined as poverty and poor economic conditions, social
customs, cultural ethos, lack of awareness and understanding of the value
of formal education, conflict and gap between the home and school, etc.
Studies on educational deprivation of tribals have inevitably linked it to
their poor economic condition and poverty.
Education of tribals cannot be left to short-term Plan strategies. It
is important that planners take a long-term view which is embedded in a
meaningful policy framework. The most important need to improve the
educational status of STs is to improve the strength of the students in
school levels. Following are some important findings on tribal education
for policy framework.
• Emphasis should be on quality and equity rather than quantity as
has been the case in the past. The prime focus should be on
provision of quality education that makes tribal communities
economically effective and independent.
• In the tribal context, it is essential that the school schedule be
prepared as per local requirement rather than following a directive
from the state.
• Though it has been highlighted time and again, non concrete step
has been taken to provide locally relevant material to tribal
students. Availability of locally relevant materials will not only
facilitate faster learning but also help children develop a sense of
affiliation to school.
• In order to make education effective and sustainable, building
partnership between the community and the government is
important
• Environment building is of immense importance in the context of
educational development among tribal communities. Community
awareness and community mobilization, which are its core
elements, should received equate importance and attention.
• The level of motivation for education is very low among drop out
students. Age factor is influencing drop out to a great extent.
Stagnation is common among and high among the drop outs and is
a contributing factor to become dropout. Irregular attendance in the
90
class is the route for drop out. Most of the drop outs are from very
poor and low income families. Many dropouts are daily wagers.
The unawareness about the importance of education is a
contributing factor for drop out. Peer group influence also
influences the students to stop their education at very early stages.
Drop out rat among boys and girls are same in all area.
• Decentralization of education management is another aspect that
needs special consideration in the context of tribal areas.
• Skill development, competency building, and teacher’s motivation
also need to be strengthened for sustaining educational
development. The teacher should be made the centre of educational
transformation, and therefore, must remain the primary facilitator.
• Historical injustice toward tribals should be removed. STs who are
studying for higher education are very low.
• In a broader level the first step to improve tribal’s participation in
Higher education is to improve their interest in study even from the
primary level. Motivation classes, awareness programmes, special
incentives, more number of schools in tribal areas, more flexible
teachers etc. has to be included in the educational streams.
Automatically the pass percentage ratio of the STs will increase.
That will produce more STs in higher education.
REFERENCES
(1) Alaxander, K.C, Prasad R.R and Jahagirdar, M.P. Tribal Education
and Tribal Development”,Tribal culture in India.Rawat
publications, New Delhi. (1984),pp.23-29’
(2) Budhadeb chaudhari., Contemporary Society in Tribal Studies,
Tribals in Meghalaya, Concept publishing company,(1987).
(3) Chaudhari. (1992). “Socio-Economic and Educational
development”, India Publications, New Delhi, pp.22- 34.
(4) Christoph Von Haimendorf, The problems of Tribal education,
Tribes of India, the struggle for survival, Oxford University Press,
Walton street, Oxford OX26DP,pp.67-74.
(5) Shashi Bairathi, Status of education among tribals, ‘Tribal culture,
economy and health, Rawat publications, New Delhi,(1992).
(6) Gardner, P. M, (1966), “Symmetric Respect and Memorate
91
Knowledge, the Structure and Ecology of Individualistic Culture”,

South Western Journal of Anthropology, Volume 2, PP.389-415.
(7) Gosh, and Das, “Forest and the Tribals-A study of
Interrelationship in the Tribal Development in India”, Inter India
publications, New Delhi, (1982), P.24.
(8) Govind Kelkar Nath, “Gender and Tribes”, Forest Economy,
Crescent publishers (1991),,P.87
(9) Haimendorf, The problems of Tribal education, Tribes of India, the
struggle for survival, Oxford University Press, Walton street,
Oxford OX26DP,(1990).
(10) Majumdar D.N “The affairs of a Tribe”, Lucknow, Universal
publishers, Lucknow ,(1995).
92
CHAPTER 9
A STUDY ON INDIGENOUS KNOWLEDGE SYSTEM AND

TRIBAL EDUCATION IN WEST BENGAL IN THE LIGHT OF
NEP-2020
Sumantra Chakraborty 17 & Tapas Jana 18
ABSTRACT
In recent times the incorporation of Indigenous knowledge system (IKS)
has been instrumental in constructing a sustainable society. The tribes
who are deprived of their social, cultural, economical and ‘spacial’ rights
have become the centre of discussion for a balanced society as they claim
increased efficiency and effectiveness in terms of environmental
conservation and sustainability. Although rapid industrialization,
deforestation, political and societal deprivation is there, still the
governments are always working for the amelioration of tribal
educational status by means of several facilities and provisions. In the
post-independence era especially after globalisation, these communities
are constantly at odds with modernisation but sincere and concentrated
efforts have been carried out to reinstate their position. Recent NEP 2020
has also made provisions for the enhancement of tribal people. The
constant effort of the government and introduction of education is pivotal
for the required change. This paper aims at analysing the situation of
tribal people and their Indigenous knowledge in the context of West
Bengal in the context of recent education policy.
Key words: Indigenous knowledge, Globalisation, Modernisation, NEP

2020, Spacial right, Sustainability.
17
SACT-I, Kandi Raj College, University of Kalyani, Kalyani, West Bengal, India
18
Research Scholar, University of Burdwan, Burdwan, West Bengal, India
93
A Brief Encounter with the Tribes of India:
I
ndia is a land of several ethnic groups recognised as Scheduled
Tribes(ST). They comprise 8.6% of the total population of India.
Although a large number of people are not officially registered. The
largest concentration of tribes are in northern India and central and
eastern tribal belts in India. They are given special provisions for their
economical, political, educational representations. As of 2011 census
10.42 cr. Indians are notified as 'ST' of which 1.04 cr. lives in urban
areas. In West Bengal almost 40 tribes are found out of which Santalis,
Mundas, Orans, Tamangs are few populations. According to 2011
census, the tribal population in West Bengal is 52,96,963 which is about
5.8%. of the total population of the state. Purulia, Bankura, Darjeeling,
Jalpaiguri, Alipurduar, Birbhum, paschim Medinipur, Dakshin Dinajpur
are the districts where such population are seen.
A life full of challenges and living close to nature is their way of
living, in spite of several constraints the government all over India are at
quest to increase their literacy, health, poverty. Such constraints are their
socio-economic backwardness, illiteracy, unemployment, malnutrition,
transportation but the government are helping them in the form of several
policies along with constitutional provisions. Article 366, art. 342,
art.338, art.46, art. 275(i)along with the fundamental rights reserve the
tribal people as constitutionally secured so as not to face discrimination
on any ground and mainstreaming them socially, culturally, economically
and educationally.
Objectives of the Study:

i) To find out the importance of indigenous knowledge.
ii) Educational status of tribal people in West Bengal.
iii) Finding out the provision lead in the policies.
iv) To find out constraints of Tribal Education.
Methodology Used:
The present study is a qualitative analysis of the status of tribals in
West Bengal based on secondary data and information in the form of
reviews, books, journals, census data are collected and logically analysed.
Few quantitative data are also used from several sources. Logical analysis
94
is drawn out of information available. The article is descriptive in nature

and amalgamation of related ideas are done to reach the conclusion.
Review of Literature:
Their exists a substantial amount of tribal literature in India in the
form of articles, journals, books, government data etc. Books like Tribal
India by Nadeem hausan (2021), Educating Tribals in India by B.S. Nugi
(2018), Tribes of India (Telegu academy 2018) immensely helped in
understanding the indigenous culture and practices along with their
educational status. Census, 2011 and several government reports are also
taken into consideration. In understanding the Indigenous knowledge
system several online information and journals from Penn libraries,
Research gates are also read in analysing the selected area.
What is Indigenous Knowledge ?

Such knowledge system can be defined as a network of knowledge
and traditions which are preserved and contextualized indigenous issues
over time having a close to nature and sustainable effect. Traditional
methodologies, oral narratives, understanding of local ecosystems and
using self made tools and techniques are at the core of this idea. Their
knowledge passes through their arts, crafts, songs, dances and
ceremonies. A close relation to the flora and fauna of their ecology makes
such knowledge base sustainable and effective. Indigenous knowledge
system (IKS) has its own philosophical bases and practical implications
which are preserved through cultural heritage, their ways of living and
landscapes. IK describes a set of ideas, skills and strategies which have
evolved with in a certain group of people. According to UNESCO IK as
the understandings, skills and philosophies developed by societies with
long histories of interaction with their natural surroundings. These
knowledge encompasses language, culture, art crafts etc. So, experience
gained over time indigenous people always helped majority of people.
Such knowledge is required for the management of resources for future
generation and thriving the native cultural and linguistic characteristics
which are the root of a region. So, Indigenous knowledge(IK) becomes an
important part in understanding the livelihood of the natives. This
knowledge system requires special transmission along with formal
95
educational perspectives. It has tremendous potentiality to become a

global knowledge system as this addresses the concept of sustainability
and resilience countering the world wide problem of environmental
collapse. Tysong and Tiwari (2008) demonstrated that traditional
knowledge (TK) has been reported on health care, fisheries, forest
management, pest management etc. Main steam conservation paradigms
are also advocated IK.
The state of West Bengal is multicultural and multilingual in
nature. It is divided into several zones out of which the northern
territories and western provinces known as Rarh Bengal mainly consists
of these tribal population. Lepcha, Bhutia, Sherpa, Kora, Lodha,
Pahariya, Savara, Mohali, Birhor reside in Rarh Bengal. These tribes have
their own cultural, linguistic and ethnic identity. More than 40 Tribes
constitute a varied aspect of West Bengal. Major linguistic groups of
tribes in West Bengal are Astro-Asiatic (Santhal, Munda etc), Dravidian
(Oraon, Mal Pahariya etc.), Tibeto-Chinese (Bhutia, Lepcha etc.), Assam-
Burmese (Chakma, Magh) and few Indo-Aryan speakers are also found
in Bengal. Those communities are pagan in belief and their costumes,
festivals, medicinal practices, occupation, crafts upholds an Indigenous
knowledge which requires mainstream assimilation for a collective body
of knowledge in our society.
Rise of Tribal Education in West Bengal:

Tribal population plays an important part for the national
population. They are an integral part and hence given specific liberty
security and encouragement. The post independence era has seen several
measures taken for those backward classes. The government took care of
them and the run is still on for mainstreaming them. There are several
challenges and barriers as they are geographically, culturally,
linguistically alienated from the show called 'society' but attempts have
been made for safeguarding their interests. Article 46, under DPSP along
with the fundamental rights ensures their constitutional right as an Indian
citizen. As these populations are concentrated on several parts of the
country, therefore the central and state governments are working together
for the betterment of those Indigenous populations. According to 2011
census the literacy rate of STs in India is India is approximately 59% of
96
which 68.53% are male and 49.35% female. A sheer gap between the
male and female literacy is still visible after seventy years of
independence.
Table 1 : Literacy rate of India & West Bengal
Overall Literacy Tribal Literacy Gap Between Total and Tribal
Rates (%) Rates (%) Literacy rates (%)
India 74.04 58.96 15.08
West Bengal 77.08 57.92 19.16
Sources: Census of India 2011
In West Bengal tribal literacy rate is 57.92% as of 2011 census.

The total population in West Bengal is 9,12,76,115 and Tribals are
52,96,953 out of that, which is also 5.8% of the total population. There is
a sheer increase in the education of ST people from 1961 to 2011. From
6.5% the rate is increased to 57.93%. which would have not been possible
with out the measures taken for them after the independence specially the
last two decades have seen a sudden rise in their education. Although
female education is a concern for all of us as it is significantly lower than
their male counter part. The following chart describes a glimpse of W. B
tribal literacy situation.
Table 2 : Literate & Illiterate rate of West Bengal

Districts Illiterate Literate
Persons % Males % Females % Persons % Males % Females %
Darjiling 132975 5.1 53644 2.0 79331 3.0 264414 9.9 143607 5.4 120807 4.5
Jalpaiguri 357956 13.6 150057 5.7 207899 7.9 373748 14.0 215811 8.1 157937 5.9
Koch Bihar 7483 0.3 3217 0.1 4266 0.2 10642 0.4 6171 0.2 4471 0.2
Uttar 103747 3.9 46600 1.8 57147 2.2 59069 2.2 35231 1.3 23838 0.9
Dinajpur
Dakshin 138422 5.3 59258 2.3 79137 3.0 136944 5.1 78740 3.0 58204 2.2
Dinajpur
Maldah 188357 7.2 82609 3.1 105748 4.0 125627 4.7 74919 2.8 50708 1.9
Murshidabad 50965 1.9 22781 0.9 28184 1.1 40070 1.5 23382 0.9 16688 0.6
Birbhum 144527 5.5 61226 2.3 83301 3.2 97957 3.7 58561 2.2 39396 1.5
Barddhaman 257030 9.8 105701 4.0 151329 5.8 232417 8.7 137880 5.2 94537 3.6
Nadia 69757 2.7 30536 1.2 39221 1.5 70943 2.7 40606 1.5 30337 1.1
Hugli 106457 4.0 42173 1.6 64284 2.4 122786 4.6 71076 2.7 51710 1.9
Bankura 176354 6.7 66206 2.5 110148 4.2 192336 7.2 117261 4.4 75075 2.8
Puruliya 290678 11.0 113763 4.3 176915 6.7 249974 9.4 158040 5.9 91934 3.5
Howrah 5653 0.2 2467 0.1 3186 0.1 9441 0.4 5294 0.2 4147 0.2
Kolkata 2696 0.1 1196 0.1 1500 0.1 7988 0.3 4533 0.2 3455 0.1
N 24 113843 4.3 48058 1.8 65785 2.5 150754 5.7 86121 3.2 64633 2.4
Parganas
97
S 24 46990 1.8 19950 0.8 27040 1.0 49986 1.9 29245 1.1 20741 0.8
Parganas
Paschim 425617 16.2 169397 6.5 256220 9.7 452973 17.0 269709 10.1 183264 6.9
Medinipur
Purba 12332 0.5 5034 0.2 7298 0.3 15620 0.6 9162 0.3 6458 0.2
Medinipur
Sources: Census of India 2011
The above chart shows that the difference between the illiterate
and literate men and women in several parts of West Bengal having a
drastic change happened over the years and the rate of literacy in many
districts is increasing which is a good sign for the development of the
backward classes.
Tribal Education and NEP 2020:

Just as the previous educational policies, the new National
Education Policy, 2020 has also enriched a road map for the development
of tribal education across the country. The policy embraces the
educational sector with the need of the age. Rapid change in every space
and digitalization have become an important issue. The tribal people and
others can also be benefited out of this policy in the following ways-
i) NEP-2020 brings more focus on ECCE which will benefit all
sections of students specially the backward ones.
ii) Focus on mother tongue or local language is another key issue.
Regional languages are given priority as medium of instruction up
to grade 5 and grade 8 if required. States are recommended of
using a multi-language mode of education.
iii) NEP lends primacy to education in tribal dominated areas. A large
number of Indigenous students suffer out of an alien system and
curriculum for them. Therefore, aneed based plan for them is
envisaged. Where their curriculum instruction and other practices
would be done as per their understanding.
iv) Special mechanisms are welcome to ensure that tribal children
receive benefits of several programmatic interventions.
v) To ensure inclusiveness ODL programmes are expanded and
MOOCs are being translated in several regional languages.
98
vi) NEP 2020 aims at inclusive and quality education for all sectors at
secondary and higher secondary levels to promote access to
education.
vii) This policy recommends to create cluster schools region-wise.
viii) NEP 2020 focuses on checking the drop outof tribal students. More
than 70% of students up to class X drop out from formal education.
So, this has been given special attention.
ix) Preservation of culture and promotion of Indigenous knowledge in
different ways given priority.
x) implementation of model residential schools, Eklavya model
residential schools which impart quality education for the tribal
students.
xi) digital India programme facilitates students from tribal areas in the
mainstream. Several integrated schemes are launched for the
deprived classes.
The national policy plays special focus on Early Childhood Care

and Education for Children and brings attention to language issues which
will help the tribal people to connect with subjects which in turn would
suffice the purpose of producing human resources out of marginalizeds.
Importance of Indigenous knowledge upon us:

Indogeneous as proposed by United Nation (UN) are "group of
people whose social, cultural and economic conditions distinguish them
from other section of the national communities…" Basically those people
have distinct social, economic and political systems along with a
demarcated cultural, linguistic and belief wise system of knowledge
which are close to the environment and resources surrounded to them.
Therefore, the characteristics that we may derive are-
i) This is dynamic, systematic and universal although unwritten and
orally catered.
ii) This is practical in nature as based on empirical evidences and are
passed on from one generation to another.
iii) It is a way of life rotate with physical, cultural and spiritual
dimensions.
99
iv) This figures out generic health related solutions, wildlife issues and
connects to the biological environment.
v) This looks at the community or the society from a sustainable point
of view. It envisagesa way from local towards global.
Here, it is worthy of mentioning that Indigenous knowledge (IK) is
important and its rise is necessary because indigenous knowledge
provides practical, easiest and smooth ways of solving problems locally
but it has potentiality to represent globally for the construction of new
knowledge. The worldwide concern about the loss of nature or
environment erosion can be addressed if we try to use those bodies of
knowledge accordingly. Utilisation of resources and being responsive
towards nature is the need of the hour. Hence such knowledge might help
us in improving the impact and sustainability of our work. Moreover,
sharing and applying indigenous knowledge (IK) within and across
communities can enhance cross cultural understanding. The fields which
can be associated with Indigenous knowledge (IK) are environment
conservation, medical practices, resource management, soil science and
agriculture, culture, language and many more.
Educational Schemes and Tribals:

The Tribal Development Department executes a good number of
educational schemes for the STs in the State. Some special schemes like
Central Sector Pre-Matric IX & X and up gradation of Merit for Students
reading in Classes IX to XII, all other schemes at Pre-Matric level are
funded exclusively by the State Government. Here are few schemes
designed for such indigenous group of students.
Sikshashree
A new scheme named “Sikshashree” for ST Day scholars
studying in classes V to VIII introduced. The objective of the scheme is
to provide financial assistance to them. Each student is paid @ Rs. 800/-
p. A. through his Bank Account only as per their income.
Hostel grant for ST students residing in School attached Hostels

These hostels attached to the Junior High or Secondary Schools
are run and managed by the respective school authorities. This scheme
100
provides opportunity to ST students to grow up in an academic

environment. The students are given benefits in accordance with the
permission of the head of the institutes.
Ashram Hostel
Ashram Hostels for both ST boy and girl students are set up for
their proper accommodation. students studying in Class I to X are given
other benefits also and at present there are 217 such hostels.
Merit Scholarship Schemes for students reading in Classes IX to XII

and V to X
The State Government runs two types of schemes (1) Merit
scholarship scheme for ST students’ studying in classes IX to XII and (2)
Merit Scholarship Scheme for ST girl students studying in classes V to X.
All eligible students are to communicate with their respective Head of the
Institution / our District level offices to collect forms.
Post-Matric Scholarship to ST
The objective of the scheme is to provide financial assistance
through bank accounts to the Scheduled Tribe students studying at post
matriculation or post secondary stages to enable them to complete their
education.
p-gradation of Merit for ST Students reading Classes IX to XII

This scheme has been introduced to remove deficiencies in school
subjects and specially for preparing ST students for competitive
examinations required for entry into professional courses like
Engineering and Medicine and other professional courses.
Other Schemes
• Ekalavya Model Residential School
To provide quality education to Scheduled Tribes Boys and Girls
from Class VI to XII, seven ‘Ekalavya Model Residential Schools’ are
functioning in the State in the following Districts (1) Bankura (2) Purulia
(3) Burdwan (4) Paschim Medinipur (5) Jalpaiguri (6) Birbhum (7)
Dakshin Dinajpur with funds from Government of India and the State
101
Government. These are English Medium Schools under the West Bengal
Board of Secondary Education which provides quality education for the
mainstreaming of such backward classes. Each school has a capacity of
420 students. The students who are admitted to these schools are
provided with scholarships, free food and lodging etc., Computer
education has also been introduced in all the schools from class VI.
• Feeder Schools
The English Medium Primary Schools from class I to V are
feeding the ST girls and boys students to Ekalavya Model Residential
Schools. The students passing Class – V in the feeder schools normally
join the Ekalavya Schools in Class VI. The ‘Ekalavya Model Schools’
under the scheme will eventually come under CBSE Board. Stipends are
provided for 1500 boys and girls of these feeder schools in seven districts
of this State.
• Pandit Raghunath Murmu Residential Schools
Government of West Bengal decided to construct 9 (nine)
residential schools for ST students in the districts of Bankura, Purulia,
Burdwan, Paschim Medinipur, Purba Medinipur and Jalpaiguri from
Class V-XII in the name of Pundit Raghunath Murmu, eminent cultural
reformer and inventor of “Olchiki” script for the Santali language. These
are Government sponsored Bengali medium recognized by the West
Bengal Board of Secondary Education and West Bengal Council of
Higher Secondary Education. Eight Schools have been recognized and
started functioning. The Schools are managed by the School Education
Department.
• Belpahari Residential Girls’ schools for Tribals
The residential school for tribal girls at Belpahari, Paschim
Medinipur under the management of BCW Department is running. There
are 380 tribal girls studying in the school from Class I to Class – XII. All
students are provided free food and lodging.
• Dr. B R. Ambedkar Medha Puraskar
Students are selected for award of Dr. B.R. Ambedkar Medha
Puraskar on the basis of the result in the X –Standard examinations
conducted by West Bengal Board of Secondary Education, the West
Bengal Madrasa Board, ICSE and CBSC. The meritorious students of
102
each district get the award. The prize consisting of a Cash Award of Rs.
5000/- and a Certificate of Merit is awarded in a special function.
• Special educational development of ST Girls students through
distribution of bi-cycles
ST girl students studying in class IX-XII in the LWE affected
Blocks of Bankura, Purulia and Paschim Medinipur Districts were
provided bi-cycles during 2012-13. In 2012-13, 9097 nos. of ST girl
students were covered. During 2013-14, it was decided to extend the
benefit to all ST girl students studying in Class IX to XII in the State.
Arrangements have been made for procurement of 60457 no. of bicycles.
Distribution completed for nearly 12000 girl students during 2013-14.
All these schemes are undertaken by both the Central and State
Government for the upliftment of the tribal students. Mainstreaming and
giving importance to indigenous knowledge has become more and more
important so as to develop the country on sustainable ground. Therefore,
such programmes and projects help these native students to fight against
the existing odds and excel.
Above information retrieved from <https://www. Adibasikalyan.gov.
In/html/home.php>
Conclusion:
To conclude Indigenous knowledge has its own value on society
which includes resource management and novel mode of socio-belief
system which promotes sustainability. The transformation of Indigenous
culture is necessary as this contributes to 'Indianess', a way of living that
has connection to the soil. Several tribes show enriched Indigenous
knowledge system (IKS) which may run parallel with the mainstream
knowledge system. Therefore, the government is continuously working
since independent for the betterment of those backward communities.
Since Radhakrishnan Commission provisions for tribal schemes,
scholarships are continuously administrated so that we can expand a
promising body of knowledge system which always remains at the
periphery. Let us hope for a society which win run along with scientific
utilisation of Indigenous knowledge system (IKS).
103
References:
Guha, N., & Das, P. (2014). Educational Advancement of Scheduled
Tribes in West Bengal (1947-2011).
Patra, U. K., Gayak, J., Khan, K. R., Karim, S., Halder, S., Sen, A., &
Paul, G. A Comparative Study of Tribal Education Development in
India: With Special References to Purulia District, West Bengal.
Gupta, A. D. (2011). Does Indigenous Knowledge have anything to deal
with Sustainable Development. Journal of Anthropology.
Alaxander, K. C., Prasad, R. R., & Jahagirdar, M. P. (1984). Tribal
Education and Tribal Development”, Tribal culture in India.
Ghatak, P. (2015). Indigenous Knowledge and Bio-cultural Conservation:
A case of Savara-Lodha from West Bengal. India.
Lama, R. K. (2021). Application of Indigenous Knowledge in Natural
Resources and Environment Conservation in Nepal. Journal of
Population and Development.
Bandyopadhyay, R. (2008, August). Sharing traditional knowledge and
cultures of different tribes of West Bengal, India. In World Library
and Information Congress: 74th Ifla General Conference and
Counc.
Bruchac, M. (2014). Indigenous knowledge and traditional knowledge.
Sonowal, C. J. (2020). Indigenous Knowledge System of Tribal People:
A Need Based Plan of Investigation and Some Instances from
Assam, India. Journal of the Social Sciences.
Singh, G. S. (2004). Indigenous knowledge and conservation practices in
tribal society of Western Himalaya: A case study of Sangla
Valley. Studies of Tribes and Tribals.
Unit, T. E. (1967). Tribal Education in India: Report of the National
Seminar on Tribal Education in India.
Roy Chowdhary, B.K.,1964, Tribal Education in West Bengal, Bulletin
of C.R. I., Govt. of West Bengal.
Biswas, P. C. (1966). Tribal Education, Problems of Education of the
Tribal People of India.
Dr. D P Sharma on “The Challenges in Indian Education System”.
Eduvoice| the Voice of Education Industry. 2020
Final National Education Policy 2020 (PDF) (Report). Ministry of
Human Resource Development
104
CHAPTER 10
VARIOUS SCHEMES AND SCHOLARSHIPS FOR GIRL

STUDENTS OF SCHEDULED TRIBES: THEIR ROLES AND
CONTRIBUTIONS
Ananya Acherjee 19
Abstract
Schedule tribes remain disadvantaged in our society to this day. They
have little to no opportunities to live a standard life because of their poor
economic conditions. The primary cause behind this is the fact that they
are denied their preliminary education. Children have do not have access
to tribal schools unless they travel a significant distance from their
villages. The tribal schools employ few to no teachers who are native to
the same tribal communities.
Introduction
A
ccording to Rabindranath Tagore, children should complete
their primary education through mother tongue. Mahatma
Gandhi also supported this concept. Similarly, a dearth of
female teachers employed at the tribal educational institutions result in a
lack of education reaching the tribal women. On the other hand, their
parents are not interested in educating their girl children either. A large
number of the tribal parents work as seasonal workers or household help,
and are unable to afford either the financial support or the time
commitment which would enable their children – especially the girl
children – receive proper education. The girl children are primarily
handed the responsibility of maintaining their household in the absence of
their parents. Tribal schools are chiefly located in the outskirts of these
19
Research Scholar, Department of Education, Indira Gandhi National Tribal University,
Madhya Pradesh, India
105
tribal villages and the students have to travel large distances – a feat
which is not possible for the tribal girls due to safety concerns.
Most of the rurally located tribal schools have no permanent
buildings, and conduct their classes outdoor – something that creates a
bad impression for the students, as well as strips away the safety and
security offered by concrete classrooms. Most of these school do not have
proper sanitization facilities for female students – or teachers – either.
Female students have different requirements than male students
beginning with their adolescence. Knowing that their children will not
have access to proper sanitation and health-care options at school during
their menstrual cycles, parents are unwilling to send them to school as
well.
SCHEMES FOR TRIBAL PEOPLE

Tribal women often spend their lives confined within four walls;
equal participation not being an accessible option either inside or outside
their families. Their socio-familial success is ultimately considered to be
dependent on their marriage. Therefore, it is up to the Government to take
initiatives towards equal participation of both men and women.
i) Hostel construction initiatives: The governments takes
initiatives for construction of hostels for tribal boys and girls. The
Central Government gives complete financial assistance to the
State Government for the same. Tribal girls who have poor
economic background can benefit from these initiatives. The
NEP 2020 emphasizes that at the ECCE stage, ‘Ashram
Vidyalaya’ is very important for tribal children. Most of the
tribes live in rural areas, and it is not conceivable that they may
be provided with sustainable curriculum without hostels. Nor can
their psychomotor domains be developed without sufficient
hostel systems.
ii) Schemes for Ashram Schools in tribal areas: Tribes are
typically neglected with regard to several aspects. In tribal areas,
few, if any school are made available. Those that are present,
suffer from poor infrastructure. The teachers employed therein
often belong to different cultures and language backgrounds.
With this in consideration, ‘Ashram Schools’ are necessary in
106
tribal areas, that stagnation and redundancy may be reduced in

favor of greater productivity. NEP 2020 said that gross
enrollment ratio declined from 10.61% to 6.8%. Ashram Schools
may offer a solution to this scenario.
iii) Scheme for strengthening education among ST girls in low
literacy districts: In 54 identified districts, this scheme may be
implemented to reduce the gap of literacy of people both in ST
and general categories. It may be implemented where ST
population is 25% or more, and ST female literacy rate is below
35%, by Different NGOs, Voluntary organizations, and
autonomous societies. This scheme envisages convergence with
the schemes of Sarva Siksha Abhiyan and Kasturba Gandhi
Balika Vidyalaya, of the Ministry of Human Resource
Development. This scheme also encourages tribal girls who are
at different academic levels, to ensure their retention. The
primary aim of NEP 2020 is to develop pupils in holistic ways,
and accordingly this scheme offers free books, uniforms, others
educational materials, mid-day-meal, and such facilities which
can create a “Buniyadi Literacy”.
iv) Special Central Assistance to Tribal Sub Scheme: Intended for
reducing the gap of literacy between ST and non-ST populace,
this scheme is a completely funded grant by Government of
India. It offers support to ST people in terms of health,
sanitization, water supply, livelihood, skill development, and
other items of infrastructure. This scheme may be instrumental in
ensuring that education poses a greater involvement in the lives
of tribal girl children.
v) Grants under article 275(1): These also support the welfare of
ST people. If the ST communities develop financially, they can
also develop economically. As a result of this progression,
parents would be able to send their children to schools and
institutions of higher education. The renowned Bengali poet
Sukanta aptly said, “Khudharrajjeprithivigoddomoy /
purnimarchandjenojhalsanoruti”.
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One third of the beneficiaries targeted to be women,

means that this policy is instrumental in improving women’s
Gross Enrollment Ratio.
vi) Adivasi Mahila Sashaktikaran Yojana: Tribal women are
offered financial support in the form of loans amounting upto
90% for schemes costing as much as Rs.1 lakh, at a concessional
rate of interest of 4% per annum. In India, only 5% people
undergo their formal education, whereas in USA it is 52%, 75%
in Germany, and 96% in South Korea. In NEP 2020, emphasis
has been placed on vocational education in school level. Women
in Bolpur district are very rich in terms of local culture, like
dance (Lungi Punchi), folk song, culinary arts, handicrafts, etc. If
they receive Government support, then their culture can grow
exponentially.
vii) Ujjawala: This is a scheme for rescuing women from trafficking,
sexual harassment, etc. This scheme is beneficiary for tribes
because they are often compelled to work away from their
homes, and on the other hand their husbands are also often
emigrants. It is relatively easy to trap in human trafficking nets
due to their lack of experience with mainstream society.
viii) Beti Bachao Betipadhao: This scheme has been implemented in
order to protect the declining sex ratio. It has different agencies
for protection of girls, celebration of “Beti Janam”, prevention of
child marriage, campaigning against sexual abuse of children,
maintaining nutrition levels, self-defense training, “Bal Mitro”
Policy – which are very important for tribal women, as well as
women from non-tribal communities. These may successfully
enable children to receive education – under the Right to
Education Act – during the ages 3-18, instead of the present
standard of 6-14.
ix) Sikshashree: This is a scheme for ST day scholars, studying in
class V to VIII, whose annual family income does not exceed Rs.
2.5 lakh. They are offered via this scheme, a sum of Rs. 800 per
annum. According to the NEP, 2020, gross enrollment
percentage for ST students in the year 2018, was 26.3%. In 2025,
this is projected to rise to 26.3%, and will eventually, albeit
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tentatively reach 100% in 2030. This scheme would help in

achieving this target, and also reduce dropout rates.
x) Ekalavya model school: This is an English medium school, run
by West Bengal Board of Secondary Education, which provides
quality education for students in classes VI through XII. In
Bolpur, it is situated near the local tribes. Feeder Schools – where
children can study upto class V,Pandit Raghunath Murmu
Residential School, Belpahari Residential School, each belonging
to this kind of schooling system, ensure the inclusive education
mentioned by NEP 2020.Open schooling, Peer tutoring, Project
method, and group discussion may further assist in enhancing the
inclusion of tribal children to 100%.
xi) Institutional Support for Development and Marketing of
Tribal Products: In Bolpur, the tribal women are well-known
for their handicraft. Leather products which are made in Amar
Kutir, have significant geographical indication. This scheme
helps in the development of products such as these, along with
preservation of traditional heritage, support towards both
agriculture and forest-based production, support towards
institutions involved in similar activities, and provisions for
improved infrastructures.
xii) West Bengal Kendu Leaves Collector’s Social Security
Scheme, 2015: This scheme also reinforces vocational
education. Women in Bolpur, who are engaged in the kendu leaf
industry, can enter a marketing system which can empower them
economically as well as socially. NEP 2020 says that the
government must not ignore vocational education, compared to
mainstream education.
xiii) Bicycle for tribal girls: Which is implemented to ensure
reduction in the dropout rates of tribal students who do not have
easy access to educational institutions. The West Bengal
Government has implement Sabuj Sathi Prokolpo towards the
same objective.
SCHOLARSHIPS FOR TRIBAL STUDENTS

i) Post-matric scholarship for ST: This is a centrally funded
scholarship for ST students whose family income is below Rs.
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2,00,000 p. A. This scholarship is granted towards post-matric

and post-secondary education.
ii) National Fellowship and Scholarship for Higher Education of
ST Students: This fellowship is offered to scholars who are
pursuing higher education in the form of regular or full-time
professional courses at graduate, undergraduate, M.Phil., and
Doctoral levels. It is offered by the Ministry of Tribal Affairs,
and only to ST students.
iii) National Overseas Scholarship for ST: This is a scholarship
towards ST M.Phil. and Ph.D. scholars who are enrolled in
universities abroad, of which 30% of the entries are reserved for
women. It also covers allowances and benefits for the duration of
study.
iv) ST Scholarship – Pre-matric (Class IX & X) for ST: This
scholarship is offered to ST students who are in classes IX and X,
towards pursuit of higher studies. It is hoped that this will help
reduce the rate of college dropouts within the ST community.
v) PG Scholarship for Professional Courses for SC/ST Students:
This scholarship is provided by the UGC towards higher
education and professional courses for both SC and ST students.
Conclusion:
It is expected that with the aid of the abovementioned schemes,
as well as schemes and fellowships which may be realized in accordance
to the changes introduced by the NEP 2020, tribal women and children
will be emancipated and be able to overcome their socio-economic
constraints.
REFERENCES
Aadibasikalyan. (n.d.). Tribal Development Department. http://adibasikal
yan.gov. In/html/education.php
Buddy4Study, Team. (2022, February 9). ST Scholarship 2022 – List of
Scholarships for ST Students. Retrieved from Buddy4Study:
https://www. Buddy4study.com/article/st-scholarship
110
Buddy4Study, Team. (2022, February 9). Scholarships for Indian girls

and women – List of scholarships for girls. Retrieved from
Buddy4Study: https://www. Buddy4study.com/article/st-
Ministry of TribalAffairs. (2017, July 24). Welfare of Tribal Women.
https://pib.gov. In/newsite/PrintRelease. Aspx?relid=168901
111
CHAPTER 11
A STUDY FOCUSED ON SCHEDULED TRIBE STUDENTS

FACING CHALLENGES IN HIGHER EDUCATION IN
HOOGHLY DISTRICT IN WEST BENGAL
Rimmi Datta 20 & Dr. Jayanta Mete 21
ABSTRACT
Education contributes to tribal empowerment by instilling in children the
confidence and fortitude to face the obstacles of everyday life. Education is
emerging as a powerful social transformation factor. It opens the door to
modernity. It also paves the path for economic modernisation and
prosperity. West Bengal has a diversified population. India is one of the
world's most economically deprived countries. The Scheduled Tribes are
one of the most economically disadvantaged and marginalised tribes in
India. Scheduled Tribes have typically lived in more remote portions of the
country, close to forests and natural resources. They live in a certain
geographical area. They have their own culture, customs, religious beliefs,
and so on, which distinguishes them from other communities. Each tribal
community has its own traditional cultural identity, and they are typically
impoverished. Because of their economic, marginalised, deprived
communities, social, and political backwardness, educational
backwardness is at the basis of their livelihood. Education is one of the key
agents of development transformation. The objective of the paper is to
focus on the different barriers faced by Scheduled Tribes (ST) students at
the higher education level in West Bengal. The sample was collected from
6 general degree colleges, 6 engineering colleges, and 5 B. Ed colleges
from the Hooghly district in West Bengal. A total of 50 ST students were
randomly selected for this purpose. The findings are summarised in
decisive remarks after appropriate discussion. However, in recent years,
the Indian government has taken certain important actions, such as
20
Research Scholar, Dept. of Education, University of Kalyani, Nadia, West Bengal,
India.
21
Professor, Department of Education, University of Kalyani, Nadia, West Bengal, India.
112
developing a tribal development policy, managing tribal scholarships,

forming educational committees and commissions, and establishing tribal
reserve policies, among other things. Tribal literacy rates will
progressively rise over the next few years as a result of this. As a result,
these facilities and actions will be beneficial in the future for the
development of education among Indian tribal populations.
Keywords: Education, Educational backwardness, Scheduled tribes,

Barriers in education, Literacy rate.
1. INTRODUCTION
E
ducation is one of the most important catalysts for change in the
direction of growth. Education is, in reality, an input not only for
tribal economic development, but also for tribal populations' inner
fortitude, which aids them in overcoming new obstacles in life. Education
is, in reality, an input not only for tribal economic growth but also for
tribal community’s inner strength, through which they can increase their
personal endowments, boost capacity levels, overcome hurdles, and create
prospects for long-term improvement in their well-being. It will assist
them in improving their immediate living situations or increase their
prospects for the future. Indian society is characterized by a significant
degree of structural inequity based on caste and ethnicity-based
institutions. Tribal people, particularly tribal women, are one of India's
most vulnerable and underprivileged groups. Special provisions have been
made in articles 46, 275, 330, 332, 335, 338, 340, and others to defend the
interests of scheduled tribes and protect them from social injustice and
exploitation. (Ghosh, 2020) Because of the ongoing exploitation and
dominance of mainstream people, tribal people are unable to integrate into
mainstream culture. Since the twentieth century, a range of scholars from
many fields and officials have worked on Indian tribes. The "Backward
Class Commission" (1956) and "Scheduled Areas and Scheduled Tribes
Commission" (1962) reports indicated that educational growth among
tribes may be particularly slow due to the inadequate infrastructure of
schools in their surrounding areas because tribal people typically reside in
dense forest areas. (Mishra, 2011) Low literacy rates among tribal
students in West Bengal and India continue to show a need for more
113
holistic support for the delivery of high-quality education to these

underprivileged populations. Education, as a potent catalyst for change,
may assist tribal students in finding the proper path for their own
development as well as the development of a nation. It is clear that, despite
the government of India's honest and concerted efforts, the growth of tribal
students has been somewhat gradual compared to the schedule caste
community. Education has a significant influence on and may assess a
variety of demographic characteristics such as fertility, mortality,
occupation pattern, mobility, and so on. Education provides us with a
glimpse of societal equality while also connecting our grasp of the
socioeconomic and demographic structures of society.
2. REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURES

Kaliram Murmu & Kamal Krishna De conducted a study on
dropout issue among scheduled tribe students at the upper primary level in
Paschim Medinipur district of West Bengal in India. In their paper
“Problems of Dropout of Scheduled Tribe Students at the Upper
Primary Level in Paschim Medinipur District of West Bengal” they
collected samples from 12 schools (both Bengali and Santali medium) of 8
blocks of Paschim Medinipur district following a qualitative survey
method. School records, questionnaire and interview schedule have been
used to examine the dropout rate, problems and factors affecting dropout.
The study found that dropout rate has been increased from the year 2013-
2014 to 2015-2016, then decreased from 2016-2017 to 2017-2018 among
tribal students at the upper primary level. It is also found that the
percentage of dropout of tribal students is more than that of non- tribal
students.
Maji, S. investigated the "Educational Status of Tribal Women
in West Bengal" and aims to investigate the state of tribal education in
West Bengal in terms of literacy, total enrollment, and Gender Parity
Index. According to a second data study, women's literacy among Western
Bengal tribal groups is only 47.7 percent, compared to 68.2 percent male
literacy, and ethnic men and women literacy rates range from 21 percent to
14.4 percent, from rural to urban areas.
Mondal. J conducted a study on “Socio Economic Status of
Tribal People Mukundapur Village, West Bengal”. The researcher took
a sample of 57 households, and the respondents were selected randomly.
114
The data was collected both quantitative (survey – personal interview) and
qualitative (observation, case study). A structured interview was
conducted and the data revealed that the current educational status of the
ST people of this village is poor.
Daripa. S (2017) in his article “Tribal Education in India :
Government Initiative and Challenges” studied that with its own
culture, language, and lifestyle, India's tribal minority makes up a small
percentage of the entire population. The researcher examined the current
state of tribal education, as well as government measures to promote
education among tribals and the obstacles that tribals experience in
achieving education. In India, tribal people are disadvantaged, poor, and
deprived in various ways. They still do not have access to the benefits of
modernity and technological advancement. Only education could allow
people to break free from centuries of oppression and enjoy the benefits of
socioeconomic prosperity. With the help of education, they may empower
themselves and acquire the confidence and bravery to overcome the
challenges they face in their daily lives.
Sahu. K (2014) in her paper “Challenging Issues of Tribal
Education in India” examined the state of tribal education in India,
including literacy rates, gross enrolment ratios, dropout rates, and the
Gender Parity Index. The study is based on secondary data from the 2011
Census of India. In 1961, only 8.54 percent of tribes were literate,
compared to 63.1 percent in 2011. In classes I to V, the gross enrolment
ratio is higher, at 137.2 for ST boys and 136.7 for ST females. With the
exception of classes XI to XII, the Gender Parity Index for ST children is
nearly identical to that of all other groups of children. This study came to
the conclusion that various government initiatives, planners, and
policymakers are urgently needed to solve this problem and allocate more
money in the federal and state budgets for tribal education. To bring
indigenous children into the mainstream of economic growth, they should
be given easier access and more options.
3. STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

The investigator had taken up the present-oriented study entitled
“A Study Focused on Scheduled Tribe Students Facing Challenges in
Higher Education in Hooghly District in West Bengal”.
115
4. DELIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY

The study had much delimitation due to unavoidable proper
manpower and infrastructure. Therefore, the study was delimited in
following –
1. The study delimited within only Hooghly district in West Bengal.
2. The study was conducted on only 50 sample units.
5. OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY

The objectives of the study are as follows:
• To find out the different problems faced by Scheduled Tribe
students in higher education in West Bengal.
• To help to overcome the different barriers faced by Scheduled
Tribe students in higher education in West Bengal.
6. METHODOLOGY
The case Study framework was designed in this study with the
help of a simple random sampling technique.
POPULATION
The population consisted of higher education level students who
currently pursuing Higher education, in Hooghly district in West Bengal.
SAMPLE
The study was implemented on a total number of 50 sample units.
SAMPLING
The collection of samples was performed using a random
sampling technique.
TOOL
The researcher adopted self-made 5 point Likert scale under the
guidance of an expert.
SELECTION AND WRITING OF ITEMS

With the help of review of related literature, books, articles and
journals, 10 dimensions were selected for this scale.
116
DIMENTIONS
Medium of Instruction, Poverty and hunger, Infrastructure
facilities in College, Teachers' Cooperation and Effort with students,
Awareness and concerns about ST literacy, Providing insufficient number
of teachers, Absence of teachers in remote areas, Indifferent attitude of the
tribal parents, Scholarships provided by the Govt. & A high percentage of
dropouts are the ten dimentions on which the tool was constructed,
CONSTRUCTION OF TOOL
With the help of experts and a self-constructed scale was
prepared. The five-point scale was set with 10 test items against five
different responses: "strongly agree" (SA), "agree" (A), "undecided" (UD),
"disagree" (DA), and "strongly disagree" (SD).
STATISTICAL ANALYSIS
Analysis of data for the present study has been made in
conformity with the objectives as formulated by researchers. Statistical
technique percentage is used to analyze the data.
7. SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

The significance of the study stems from the following factors:
• The researchers assist in identifying the many challenges that
Scheduled Tribe students face in higher education. There are
several causes for the identified barriers. This was also discovered
as a result of the research. The study may also have implications
for the various challenges that students face in their daily lives.
• The researcher's goal is to concentrate on policies and initiatives
that will aid in the growth of Scheduled Tribe learners. This will
also assist instructors and administrators in certain important
actions to improve the teaching-learning process so that the
communication processes of tribal students are refined and the
overall level of education is improved.
117
8. DISCUSSION
8.1 PRESENTATION & ANALYSIS OF DATA
Percentage of Different Types of Barriers
SL. TYPES OF STRONGLY AGREE UNDECIDED DISAGREE STRONGLY
No BARRIERS AGREE DISAGREE
1 Medium of 39% 32% 3% 1% 25%
Instruction
2 Poverty and 25% 39% 11% 15% 10%
hunger
3 Infrastructure 15% 45% 20% 15% 5%
facilities in
College
4 Teachers' 20% 25% 15% 36% 4%
Cooperation
and Effort
with students
5 Awareness 22% 40% 20% 15% 3%
and concerns
about ST
literacy
6 Providing 45% 26% 15% 10% 4%
insufficient
number of
teachers
7 Absence of 55% 38% 2% 3% 2%
teachers in
remote areas.
8 Indifferent 57% 35% 2% 4% 2%
attitude of
the tribal
parents
9 Scholarships 46% 50% 1% 2% 1%
provided by
the Govt.
10 A high 10% 20% 5% 35% 30%
percentage of
dropouts
8.2 REASONS FOR THE EDUCATIONAL BACKWARDNESS OF STs

➢ Poverty is one of the most prominent factors impeding the
educational growth of STs. People's poverty has been exacerbated
by socioculturally ignorant views, which have been shown to be a
118
significant impediment to educational growth. Parents no longer

send their children to school; instead, they send them to work to
support their families and help them overcome poverty.
➢ Language is one of the primary reasons for the Schedule Tribal
people's declining educational level.
➢ In West Bengal, the lack of appropriate schools in tribal
communities hampered educational advancement.
➢ One of the major causes for tribal literacy's slow growth is a lack
of basic infrastructure amenities in the schools.
➢ Teachers' reluctance to work in rural areas of the state also creates
an obstacle to educational growth.
➢ One of the causes of educational backwardness is a lack of
knowledge among parents regarding education. Some parents are
hesitant to enrol their daughters in coeducational schools.
➢ As a result of social and political factors, the entire tribal
community suffers from and is deprived of economic and
educational opportunities.
➢ Their own traditional and cultural aspects can often be a hindrance
to their formal education system. (Patil, 2020)
8.3 REMEDIES FOR THE IMPROVEMENT OF TRIBAL

EDUCATION
• A tribal child grows up in a very different setting than a non-tribal
child. Thus, increasing their interest in education can be
accomplished by incorporating their surrounding environment,
their own culture, and the history of some tribal legends into their
curricula.
• Due to financial constraints, the majority of tribal guardians are
unable to send their children to school. As a result, the
government should take the appropriate steps to improve their
economic situation, such as providing jobs and basic amenities.
• In this way, teachers have a significant role. They will
congratulate tribal children on any small success. The classroom
will be a welcoming setting in which tribal children can
understand that they are not isolated from other children. Teachers
must be culturally aware. If tribal teachers were assigned to
119
schools, it would be extremely effective. Teachers urge students

to take competitive exams and will prepare them for them by
having them attend extra classes. As children learn the target
language quickly, the teacher will give them additional
opportunities to speak with him or other students in class. Aside
from story-telling, discussion, drama, and other cultural
programmes can be conducted at schools with the goal of
maximizing tribal children's participation.
• The school should be built near the tribal settlement. The school's
infrastructure and accommodation should be appealing, and there
should be a hostel. The school will be closed during its own event
as well.
• Quality education and other educational needs should be supplied
to them at no cost by building a model school. Scholarships
should be distributed on a regular basis. (Sujata, 2003)
8.4 INTERPRETATION OF RESULTS

Analysis and interpretation of the data are the heart of the research
report. The raw score fails to reveal any result unless it is critically
analyzed and scientifically interpreted. The whole work is based on the
data collected from the proposed sample. The data collected from the
sample is statistically analyzed by using the appropriate statistical
technique. It has been found that the different barriers of Scheduled Tribe
students in higher education are conducted into different determiners.
Determiners are Curriculum, Atmosphere/ Classroom Environment,
medium of communication, infrastructural facilities, and scholarships
provided by the govt., Self-perception/ interest, poverty and hunger, lack
of educators, awareness of the guardians, dropouts and Parents' socio-
economic status.
8.5 MAJOR FINDINGS

From the above table it has observed that there are barriers in the
opinion of strongly agree like medium of instruction, inadequate number
of teachers, and absence of teachers in remote areas and indifferent attitude
of tribal parents. There are barriers in the opinion of some agreeing like
infrastructural facilities in college, awareness and concerns about ST
120
literacy, poverty and hunger, and scholarships provided by the

government. There are barriers in the opinion of disagree like the teacher’s
cooperation and effort, and high percentage of dropouts. It has found that
the most significant barriers faced by the Scheduled Tribe students in
higher education in Hooghly district are absence of teachers in remote
areas and indifferent attitude of tribal parents.
9. LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY

The major limitation of the present study is that it is based on self-
reported data from the Scheduled Tribe Students Facing Challenges or
barriers in Higher Education in Hooghly District in West Bengal. This
study's population consists of ST students pursuing higher education in
Hooghly District from West Bengal. Therefore, the results of the study
cannot be generalized directly to all students of the marginalised groups
and all ST learners in West Bengal. The findings represent the general
condition of this specific survey.
10. CONCLUSION
Since independence, the government has made various efforts and
attempts to improve the socioeconomic and educational achievement of
the tribal peoples of this area, but the rate of development among the tribal
peoples has been slow. Furthermore, even after 70 magnificent years of
independence, the educational level of West Bengal's tribes is
deplorable. When we examine the educational state of the tribals of West
Bengal in terms of literacy, elementary school enrollment, poverty, and
hunger, we can observe that the rate of literacy and development among
the tribes of this periphery area has been unsatisfactory over the last few
decades. (Yadappanavar, 2003) The researchers observed several
persistent barriers to ST students' educational success. These include a lack
of useful materials, difficulties with communicating in school,
socioeconomic backwardness, excessive involvement in domestic chores,
commuting to distant schools, and so on. If we look closely, we can
observe that the level of education for ST is relatively poor, as is the
enrolment. As a result, it reflected the poor state of education of the tribals
in West Bengal, particularly in the Hooghly district with respect to this
study. Higher drop-out rates, low enrolment, poverty, less attention on
121
education, lack of enthusiasm, lack of good guidance in education, low

income and school infrastructure, and other factors are important
contributors to such educational backwardness among the ST. We hope
that the situation will improve in the near future and that the administration
will take appropriate measures to eliminate the state's imbalance. As a
result, it is critical to think seriously about the educational empowerment
and inclusive growth of tribal women by ensuring coordination and
cooperation between different departments of government (the Tribal
Welfare Department, School Education Department, and so on), non-
governmental organisations, local self-government, and community
people, particularly tribal women themselves, in the formulation and
implementation of programmes and policies aimed at promoting social
equity and inclusion. The government has previously implemented
numerous excellent programmes, such as Kannyashree, Sabuj Sathi, Jubo
Shree, and different scholarships for tribal kids; these programmes have
been extremely successful in bringing students into the school arena. (Roy,
2005) Finally, no government can accomplish this monumental task
unilaterally; it is also the obligation of every segment of society to
contribute to the nation's education.
REFERENCES
Dondapati, S., & Karimaddela, K. (2016). Socio-demographic and health
profile of schedule tribes of Velugodu, Andhra Pradesh, India.
International Journal of Community Medicine and Public Health,
2615–2620. https://doi.org/10.18203/2394-6040. Ijcmph20163084
Ghosh, A. (2020). Tribal Education in West Bengal.
Malhotra, N., & Rizvi, N. (1997). Source Material on Education of
Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes. Anamika Pub &
Distributors.
Mishra, B. (2011). Higher Education of SC/ST Girls in Orissa. Gyan
Publishing House.
Nazli, T. (2021). Socio-Demographic Profile of Schedule Tribes of Five
Integrated Tribal Development Agency Spots at Kurnool, Andhra
Pradesh in India. International Journal of Preventive, Curative &
Community Medicine, 02, 14–19. https://doi.org/10.24321/2454.3
25x.202108
122
Patil, R. R. (2020). Tribal Development in India. Sage Publications Pvt.

Limited.
Ramesh, M. (2018). Tribal Education in India. Educreation Publishing.
Roy, S. K. (2005). Tribes Education and Gender Question. Northern Book
Centre.
Shah, G., & Bara, J. (2020). Social Inclusion and Education in India.
Taylor & Francis.
Sujata, K. (2003). Education Among the Scheduled Tribes in India.
Tharu, M., & Yadav, R. G. (2019). A Study on the Current Profile of
Schedule Tribes and Schedule Areas. Research Journal of
Humanities and Social Sciences, 2, 513. https://doi.org/10.5958/
2321-5828.2019.00085.8
Yadappanavar. (2003). Tribal Education in India. Discovery Publishing
House.
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CHAPTER 12
OBJECTIFYING HISTORICAL APPROACH TO MINING

ETHNOGRAPHY: STUDY OF TRIBES IN INDIA
Anasuya Adhikari 22 & Dr. Birbal Saha 23
Abstract
This chapter looks at ethnographic alms to anthropological and
multidisciplinary studies on mining and related sectors in India, with an
accentuation on the mining belts of central and east-central India. While
anthropologists have made a pioneering ethnographic contribution mostly
on a socio-cultural process and its thrust on the tribal population by
extrapolating the discourse of ‘industrialism,’ interdisciplinary academics
have taken industrial modernization and displacement as an over-sized
theme in conceptualizing the mining field. The current study uses a
historical approach to examine the literature on mining in the Indian
context in order to conceptualize the theoretical adjustments that will be
required in future ethnographic investigations. This chapter draws on
theoretical and methodological shifts in worldwide ‘mining ethnographies’
to propose the introduction of new and intriguing notions and categories
for scientific inquiry into India's ‘new extractivism.’The literature study
reveals that there is a dearth of work on mining-led industrialization in the
Indian setting. The majority of anthropological studies are concentrated in
the centre and east-central Indian mining belt, indicating India's uneven
industrialization trend.
Keywords: Tribal of India, Industrialization, Industrial Anthropology,

Mining, Ethnography of Mining
22
Research Scholar, Department of Education, Sidho-Kanho-Birsha University, Purulia,
West Bengal, India
23
Professor, Department of Education, Sidho-Kanho-Birsha University, Purulia, West
Bengal, India
124
Introduction
I
ndustrial anthropology is a relatively new branch of anthropology.
There are different ethnographies depicting primitive economies like
hunting-gathering, herding, shifting, and peasant form of agriculture,
inspired by the extraordinary works of Malinowski (1922) and Firth
(1929). Later, this tradition turned its attention to the market in order to
comprehend the changes brought about by the money economy. Because
the early anthropological tradition of researching so-called traditional
culture was the last to be brought into the fold of the industrial revolution,
it grew late in the discipline. Furthermore, with the exception of Mayo's
(1933,2004) unusual contribution, studies of mechanized industry and its
culture are clearly a latecomer in anthropological discourse. Industrial
anthropology has yet to establish itself as a distinct area of cultural
anthropology. However, corporate or business ethnography is emerging as
a subfield of economic anthropology (Urban and Koh 2013), changing
anthropology's understanding of industrialism.
It is general knowledge that colonial merchants began gathering raw
materials from afar for manufacturing hubs in Europe, exposing colonies
as a rich supply of natural resources. Later, the colonies were attracted to
industrial development by the availability of easily exploitable cheap
labour, but only to a limited extent. Natural resource, mining was one of
the first industrial ventures imaginable in these far-flung lands. Mining and
exploitation of resources is an old practise, and many small-scale cultures
utilised metals derived from the earth's crust (Coulson 2012). The
anthropological literature was notably devoid of focus on mining as an
early economic activity of local people and ethnographic investigations
into it. Surprisingly, local communities' use of metals provided
information to geologists and miners about the availability of minerals in a
given area.
An analysis of the anthropological literature on the resource
extraction industry reveals that ethnographic writing on mining has a long
history. Powdermaker (1962), Nash (1979), Taussig (1980), Robinson
(1986), Simmons (1989), Finn (1998), Ferguson (1999), and others have
all taken different perspectives on the mining sector in the past. However,
these attempts did not acquire traction in mainstream economic
discussions, and mining remained on the periphery of anthropological
125
research. Nonetheless, economic anthropology is becoming more

concerned in global capitalism, transnational businesses, and related
natural resource politics such as land, water, forests, and minerals. Because
of the strong scholarly contestations between indigenous rights to
resources and future demands for sustainable energy, anthropologists are
actively adopting measures to investigate the concerns and challenges
arising in mining territories.
This has resulted in the recent publication of a number of
monographs (Rajak 2011; Finn 2012; Kirsch 2006, 2014; Golub 2014;
Rolston 2014; Li 2015; Jacka 2015; O'Faircheliagh 2002, 2008, 2015)
dealing with mining issues. However, mining anthropology is still
conceptually fragmented, and efforts are needed to bring it together and
build a domain for ‘mining ethnographies’ inside the anthropology house.
Mining research is being taken more seriously by anthropological
institutes. One such endeavour is the European Association of Social
Anthropologists' dedicated network on Anthropology of Mining, which
provides a venue for mining researchers (EASA 2016).
India's Mining and Industrial Anthropology

Metals have been used in South Asia for at least six thousand years,
according to archaeological evidence. Small-scale mining must have been
a profession of indigenous people, as there are numerous examples of
metal usage throughout the Indian subcontinent (Chakrabarti 2009). In
India, there are extensive reports and literature on caste and tribal
classification based on occupation, but there are few ethnographic studies
focused on mining groups. Mining as a traditional Indian occupation was
rarely researched by anthropologists as a fundamental economic activity.
Artisan tribes such as the Asur in Jharkhand have been smelting iron for
millennia (Singh 2008). Ethnographic research on mining as a traditional
community economy has yet to be completed. Because of the unparalleled
overlap of tribal areas and mining belts in the country (Bhushan et al.
2008), social science scholars interested in studying the ‘effect of
industrialization’ have chosen the mining industry as their research setting.
Anthropologists have made a significant contribution to the study of
mining-based industrialization by seeing it as a sociocultural process and
investigating the effects on tribal populations. As a result, mining has
126
never been the focus of past study, and studies have been framed around
the challenges of mining-induced industrialisation and urbanisation. In
tribal regions, industrialization is seen as a positive development for job
creation and poverty reduction. In these early studies, there is a clear lack
of systematic enquiries into the character of the‘mining sector’ as an
ethnographic site.
The study of industrial growth in tribal areas and its impact on the
socioeconomic existence of tribal populations has been the first and
principal goal of mining studies in anthropology. The majority of the texts
are positive about tribes' progress through industry, and they explain the
obstacles of tribal emancipation in newly industrialised areas. The topic of
labour exploitation is the second major theme. Indian industry has seen a
spike in trade union activities, fueled by Marxist theory and its tribal
version, Naxalism. Few anthropologists have investigated the issue of
tribal labour migrant and local labour in the mining industry as a result of
this. The third topic stands out because it addresses the issue of mining-
induced displacement and rehabilitation of tribal people in the majority of
these studies.
Another popular theme was local community social disorganisation,
which tackled issues such as alcoholism, smuggling, theft, and prostitution
in industrial regions. However, environmental damage caused by mining
has been mentioned on occasion, but it was never the primary emphasis of
early mining texts. The qualities of 'industrialism and industrial society'
have not been formally conceptualised to provide a new insight into the
culture of industrial order. The majority of these studies haven't looked at
industry specifically (Holzberg and Giovannini 1981). Because of the
overlapping nature of study orientation and findings, it is difficult to
thematically differentiate these early works on mining in India.
Mining in Indian Anthropology

A review of the anthropological literature on mining and related
sectors in India was undertaken, and these works can be considered the
foundation text in'mining anthropology in India.' Elwin published a
monograph on Tata Iron and Steel Company Ltd in 1958, The Story of
Tata Steel. This is an introductory essay about an industrial organisation
that tells the story of Tata Steel from its inception to its economic
127
significance in the development of modern India. Because of his

publications on tribal people and their lives, Elwin has been regarded as a
notable figure in anthropology in India. However, while writing about Tata
Steel, he neglected to mention the tribals who were driven from Sakchi
and Kalamati villages, which are now known as Jamshedpur and
Tatanagar town, respectively. An American anthropologist named Orans
(1958) produced one of the first publications, titled A Tribal People in an
Industrial Setting in India. Of this work, he discussed the impact of
industrialization on the Santal people in Jamshedpur. He also dealt with
economic issues such as labour recruiting as well as cultural ones such as
religion and marriage that were influenced by business. He went on to
write The Santal: A Tribal in Search of Great Tradition (1965), in which
he detailed his findings. This anthropological study also provides a full
overview of the integration process influencing tribal life over the last 60
years since the formation of TISCO in 1907.
Kurup's work is one of the earliest anthropological works dedicated
to ‘mining’ in the context of tribal situations in India (1959). He remarked
on the changing economy of tribes as a result of industrialisation in the
area while studying the Parasia Coal Mines in Madhya Pradesh. He
studied the socio-cultural situation of Madhya Pradesh's Gond people who
worked in coal mines in these two publications. He gathered information
from 50 Gond houses out of a total of 300 in the area of the mining
project. He gave a comparison of the changes in the lives of Gond mining
families and conventional households, and pondered on the loss of moral
ideals and tradition among the industrial labourers (Bhandari 1980).
Sharma (1960, 1962) dealt with labour concerns such as
absenteeism in tribal workers' factories in his studies. This study is
noteworthy because it examines worker motivation and alienation, as well
as the fact that TISCO's establishment uprooted 18 communities of
Bhumij, Hos, Santals, and Hindus. However, these people have been
housed in newly constructed mixed-population bastees. These bastees
have also attracted migrant workers from neighbouring districts and states,
both tribal and non-tribal. Cultural disintegration, forest ecology, and
agricultural economy have all been highlighted. Das and Banerjee (1962)
investigated the effects of industrialisation on the lives of West Bengal's
tribals, focusing on locations with heavy industries such as Chittaranjan
128
Locomotive Works, Hindustan Cable Factory, and Durgapur Steel Plant.

The effects of displaced Santals and other communities are described in
this study, both positive and negative (Bhandari 1980).Roy Burman (1965)
did an intriguing research on the Rourkela Steel Plant in Orissa. He
conducted a survey of the tribal economy and evaluated tribals'
employment in the industrial sector. Around 1231 households were
uprooted, according to Roy Burman, who also highlighted the policy and
practise of resettling residents displaced by the steel mill. Displaced
families received monetary compensation as well as an equivalent amount
of land. In the rehabilitation colonies surrounding the steel factory, family
members who wished to work and stay in the industrial town were given a
place to stay.
The British began coal mining in the Jharia, Bokaro, Karanpura,
and Dhanbad regions in 1856. In 1907, the iron ore business began. Our
country's tribal heartland is located in this location. Rapid industrial
growth in the tribal territory following independence has altered the tribal
landscape. The inflow of migrant labourers generated a mosaic of cultural
coexistence that anthropologists studying ethnographies of homogeneous
tribal villages were first unaware of. Anthropologists got interested in
watching and describing this ephemeral moment in tribal people's lives.
Heavy Engineering Corporation in Ranchi (Vidyarthi 1971; Roy 1974;
Chaudhury 1977) and Patratu Industrial Complex (Singh 1966) both
concentrated on non-mining growth in the region in their industrial
anthropology. Mining and allied businesses such as Bokaro Steel City
(Mishra 1981), Jharia Coalfield (Sharma 1970), Bermo Coalfield
(Srivastava 1979), and Kiriburu and Ghatkuri Iron Mine (Haldar 1977)
were also considered for their separate researches.
Increased emphasis on anthropological studies of mining-led
industrialisation in tribal areas may be seen in studies like Jharia Coalfield
(Sharma 1970) and Bermo Coalfield (Srivastava 1979). For his doctoral
thesis at the University of Bonn, Reufel, a German researcher, investigated
the impact of the Rourkela Steel Plant on tribals. During his field studies,
he was affiliated with Ranchi University's anthropology department.
Throughout his career, Haldar (1977) focused his study on mining-related
topics. He focused on the social and economic life of labourers belonging
to tribal families in his dissertation work on the four mining sites in
129
Chotanagpur—two coal and two iron ore—based on case studies of 148

families. Because of the economic hardship in the mining region, this work
emphasises the extended family structure moving toward nuclear units. In
comparison to traditional native locations, family and familial relationships
are weaker in industrial society. He also gave an economic comparison of
labour classes in mechanised and non-mechanised mines, concluding that
mechanised miners have a better life than non-mechanised miners. Even
though tribal labourers in both cases are in the 'lower' and 'lowest' income
class in mining communities, their earnings and expenditures are better
than those in non-mechanised mines. The migrant workers were
discovered upholding their responsibilities and loyalty to their local
neighbours. However, in the mining industry, the town–village hierarchy
is no longer used.
Das Gupta is a mining researcher who has dedicated his life to the
industry. For his doctoral dissertation at Calcutta University in 1964, he
investigated the nature of displacement at Chittaranjan Locomotive Works
in the Chaibasa district. He discovered that 330 Santhal households were
uprooted from six villages and relocated to a small plot of land where they
could build houses. There were no agricultural lands available. Many of
the evicted tribal people returned to the industrial region and began living
in labour jhuggees while looking for work with contractors. They were not
directly employed by Chittaranjan Locomotive Works. His continued
interest in industrialisation resulted in a fascinating collaborative mining
enterprise. Choudhury and Das Gupta (1970) conducted a preliminary
investigation of iron ore mines in the Singhbhum region of south Bihar,
including Noamundi, Barajamda, and Gua (present West Singhbhum of
Jharkhand). Chaibasa Cement Factory and Jhinkpani were surveyed in the
second part of the project. It was discovered that the majority of mine
workers belonged to the Ho tribe in the region. Men and women both
worked in mines, and they formed small work units of husband–wife or
brother–sister to do dangerous and dangerous job together. Earth cutting,
ore grading, stacking, and loading on trucks and trains were all done by the
men. Cleaning and carrying baskets were done by women. The hamlets of
Barajamda and Khasjamda were investigated to learn more about the
occupational structure in the surrounding communities. To sustain their
families, the tribals created a dual economy of industrial employment in
130
mines and agricultural labour in the countryside. However, some of the

households choose to continue with their traditional farming and foraging
practises.
The migrant workers were discovered upholding their
responsibilities and loyalty to their local neighbours. However, in the
mining industry, the town–village hierarchy is no longer used. Children
born in towns are being enculturated into a new culture, away from the
direction of village elders and their traditions and customs. He also
discovered that labourers were not eating a balanced diet and were
drinking too much alcohol.
Joshi (1982) investigated the Bailadila mining range of Madhya
Pradesh's then-Dantewada Tehsil and reported the socio-economic
transformation among the Gond tribe in a comparable field environment.
He separated the mining region into northern and southern regions based
on geographical considerations. He also investigated how the northern and
southern tribals responded to mining in different ways. Northern tribals
were from more developed areas, and as a result, they were more adept
and accepted at mines. The southern tribals, on the other hand, were from
the mining region's forests and steep terrain, and hence were less skilled
and more vulnerable to exploitation. Contractors, baniyas, and fellow caste
employees exploited them. This highlights the various levels of acceptance
even among indigenous communities in mining complexes. Outsiders'
views of tribals as a lower human race unfit for skilled labour influenced
the mindset of tribal mine workers. Tribes have acquired scepticism about
mining industrialization. He also mentioned the dilemma of young women
travelling to mining towns and becoming trapped in unskilled domestic
work for the area's wealthy families. In comparison to Muria and Bison
Horn Maria, the females from Halba community were accepted into
numerous mining town occupations due to their appealing features. In the
tribal communities of the area, the rise of industry led to the monetisation
of the economy. In the mining town, modern attire and the consumption of
modern cuisine and utilities were obvious. Water pollution, land
alienation, deforestation, immoral trafficking of tribal girls, increase in
crime such as gambling, bootlegging, and robbery, liquor vending, and
exploitation of tribals at market place by baniyas, marwaris, and punjabi
businessmen are among the disruptive socio-economic and environmental
131
impacts mentioned by the researchers. These unfavourable consequences

are not detailed. He also brought up the issue of the mining town's
underdeveloped hinterland. Industry had only a minor impact on the
villages on the outside, and he had only seen a few incidents of
sanskritization. In tribal houses, there were pictures of Hindu gods and
goddesses, and they had begun to practise Hindu rituals and beliefs in the
town.
The Anthropological Survey of India (AnSI) took up studies on
industrialisation, and only a few papers on mining-based industrialisation
in tribal areas were published. Sukumar Banerjee's Impact of
Industrialisation on the Tribal Population in Jharia-Raniganj Coal Field
Areas was the only noteworthy work from AnSI (1981). The Santhal
community, which is affected and incorporated by collieries, is explored in
this report. The data examines the division of labour inside the workplace
and Santhals' contributions to various types of work. Depending on their
mobility, he classed tribal labourers as daily commuters, original dwellers,
or migrants. The book provides a detailed anthropological study of Santhal
commuters from surrounding places, as well as Santhals living at
Raniganj's Moira Colliery and Jharia's Bhowra Colliery. Because of
transformations in tribal life to the culture of industrialisation, the book
addresses concerns of cultural disorganisation such as drunkenness,
absenteeism, and labor–management conflict. Srivastava (1990) released
Tribal Encounter with Industry: A Case Research from Central India,
based on a study undertaken under a Ministry of Home Affairs programme
to analyse the impact of mines on tribal economies. The study focused on
the Bailadila mining complex in Chhattisgarh to better comprehend the
region's developments. Before examining the modification of tribal
culture, the report contains detailed data on the geographical and
ecological context of the mining project, the historical beginning of mining
operations, census and household statistics, and population structure of the
area. The research advised the government to develop jobs for tribals by
reorienting the tribal economy to meet the needs of the industrial
economy, with a focus on vegetable production, poultry, and dairy-based
opportunities. His main proposals include changes in forest policy,
vocational training for tribal adolescents, changes in land laws, and
compensation for households impacted by water pollution. Before
132
examining the modification of tribal culture, research was done under a

Ministry of Home Affairs project to analyse the influence of mines on
tribal mining operations, census and household data, and population
structure of the area.
Workers of another World: Miners, the Countryside, and Coalfields
in Dhanbad (1989/1996) was penned by Gerard Heuze, a French scholar
who undertook fieldwork in the Dhanbad collieries in 1986–87. This book
is an ethnographic study of the lives of mine workers in and out of the
mine during the Marxist decline. It raises issues about labour as an
important component of mining ethnography and focuses on employees'
struggles within mines. He distinguished between the goals of two types of
workers: those who do “good work” (permanent public sector employees)
and those who do “dirty labour” (casual workers without regular
employment). The book discusses the mingling of cultures and subsequent
acculturation of tribals and low-caste migrants in the mining zone. The
mining town has seen the emergence of a new Jati identity and
sanskritization. The author discussed industrial anomy issues such as
drunkenness, frequent social violence, a lack of social cohesion,
prostitution, and rising class disparities. Left-wing extremism, the
Jharkhand movement, and labour unions have all been mentioned in
relation to the situation where employers and employees meet.
In a nutshell, this mining ethnography is about coal mine employees
and is India's first ethnographic work on industrial anthropology. Parry just
done some intriguing research on India's steel towns. He used an ethno-
historical perspective to comprehend Nehru's idea of modern temples such
as steel factories in Bhilai and Rourkela. He looked into love, sex,
childhood, and family life in the industrial towns of India's tribal region
(Parry 1999, Parry and Struempell 2008). Mukherjee (2014) brought the
unexplored subject of gender in India's extractive industry to the fore in
her study on women in mining towns. She explained how mining-led
industrialisation affects Maria tribal women and men in the Bailadila
mining area of Chhattisgarh's Dantewada district. The research focused on
National Mining Development Corporation (NMDC) mining ventures in
the villages of Bacheli and Kirandul, which later evolved into tiny
industrial townships. She discussed how male dominance affects women's
economic and political rights, as well as how industrialisation-driven caste
133
influx has acculturated traditional man–female relationships. “The lack of

a coping mechanism or support structure within society made Maria
women exposed to stress,” she said. With new forms of development, this
vulnerability developed even more. Women face a tremendous task of
securing food security for their families in a setting where their mobility is
constrained and their survival tactics have been undermined by mining
operations (Mukherjee 2014).
Aside from the optimism of industrial modernity and growth, and
the challenges of labor-related writing in the anthropology of mining,
disorganisation and displacement of tribals in mining communities was
another prominent issue. There is a large body of interdisciplinary work on
the issues of mining-induced displacement and rehabilitation in tribal
regions (Sharma 1977). These interdisciplinary investigations were part of
the mining-induced displacement research in anthropology. When
industrial initiatives in tribal communities were proposed, the subject of
displacement was an apparent topic of attention. Ethnographic complaints
of mining-related displacement, on the other hand, were uncommon and
had little impact on long-term policy changes in project-affected areas.
Patnaik (2002) identified the type of developing protest in tribal areas and
the role of various actors in creating and strategizing these protests in his
study of aluminium refineries in Odisha's Kalahandi and Rayagada
districts. Hari Mohan Mathur's contribution to displacement literature has
had a significant impact on anthropological interest.
Mining Anthropology Today and Tomorrow

Padel and Das' combined work exemplifies the current era of Indian
mining anthropology. Out of this Earth (2010) is an anthropological study
of the aluminium industry in the Niyamgiri Mountains of Odisha, which
contain the world's greatest reserves of high-quality bauxite. Bauxite is
projected to be worth more than two trillion dollars, roughly double India's
yearly gross domestic product, according to the experts. Mining
companies in India benefit from government incentives such as low-cost
power, loans, land, and water. In their study, Padel and Das (2010)
investigated the effects of this approach on the Dongaria Kondhs, who
dwell in the region and have long revered the mountains as sacred. As a
result, aluminium is at the heart of a dispute between corporations and
134
local communities. The aluminium cartel is working on a global scale to

plunder the resources that keep tribals in the region alive. Corporate
interests aim to exploit and consume bauxite resources quickly, whereas
indigenous people want to protect the environment from excessive mining.
Mining has an impact on the local ecosystem and economy, but it also
leads to long-term cultural genocide. Both Padel and Das have been active
in the region as members of a transnational advocacy group and protesting
the aluminium cartel. This piece focuses on local protests as well as the
current legal dispute between the corporation and Dongaria Kondh. This
anthropological work is exemplary of active mining anthropology and is in
line with contemporary worldwide ethnographic work on mining.
Karlsson's (2009) publications on uranium mining in Meghalaya's
Khasi districts fill a regional gap in anthropological studies of mining
challenges. The chapter Mining Matters in the book Unruly Hills examines
mining-related opposition in Meghalaya's hills as another example of
indigenous objections to north-east India's natural resources, which is the
region's extension of autonomy issues. The politics of indigeneity
combined with local environmentalists will have a significant impact on
ethnographic understanding of mining in north-east India. There are a few
studies in the recent volume of Resources, Tribes and Development that
examine mining-based industries and corporate social responsibility
projects. Pandey (2014) investigated the anthropological effects of shifting
legal regulations on tribals living in mining districts. In the face of legal
proposals for direct profit sharing, he recommended a theoretical shift
from the 'Nature-Man-Spirit Complex' to the 'Mine-Man-Multinational' in
mining areas. The impact of emerging corporate social responsibility
discourse and practises on tribal empowerment in the proximity of mining-
based enterprises has to be ethnographically examined. In 2014, the Indian
government attempted to change the bill to include direct profit sharing
with tribal people, perhaps paving the path for worldwide best practises in
the extractive industry.
Conclusion
Metal, oil, and gas mining are currently damaged by neoliberal
capitalism and environmentalist dialectics. The most prevalent theme in
mining ethnographies today is indigenous tribal rights to resources and
135
territories, which is merged with identity politics and sub-nationalism.

Real and lived experiences of industrial disasters and irreversible climate
changes are harming human species everywhere in the world, especially
the Indian subcontinent, throughout the Anthropocene age. 'Late-
industrialism' has been coined to describe the current industrial order. On
the one hand, resource depletion and the global energy crisis, and on the
other, civil society activism and environmental conservation, the extractive
industry is confronted with new problems. Ironically, the concept of
corporate social and environmental responsibility is being promoted as a
way to make mining methods more sustainable. Another prominent
subject in ethnographic mining studies is the critique of corporate social
and environmental responsibility. Future anthropological investigations
into the extractive industry in India must incorporate these new theoretical
and thematic shifts in insights in order to investigate the role of all
stakeholders in the shaping of mining projects in tribal India, including
corporations, civil society, the state, and indigenous communities. All
parties are speaking out in favour of and against mining. The ethnographic
role of these actors and their varied enactments must be identified. The
future of mining anthropology in India will be shaped by this.
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and Technical Change in Tribal India. Journal of Social Research 8
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University, Ranchi.
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JhariaCoalfield. Ph. D. Thesis. Ranchi University, Ranchi.
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Factory Labourersin TISCO, (1959–1960). Unpublished Master’s
Dissertation in Social Services, Department of Anthropology.
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Culture on the Mining Frontier. Oregon: Department of
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Anthropological Survey of India, New Delhi.
Singh, R. (1966). Impact of Industrialisation on Patratu and Four Other
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Ranchi University: Ranchi.
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in Tribal Bihar. Research Journal of Ranchi University 6&7:1–38.
140
CHAPTER 13
EDUCATIONAL SCENARIO AMONG THE TRIBAL

CHILDREN: A STUDY
Dr. Sarmila Das24 & Tirtha Pratim Mal 25
Abstract:
Nations are people with different ways of life and society. They live
somewhere in a certain place. They have their own customs, traditions,
religious belief, etc. What makes them different from other national
communities. The literacy of tribes is generally below the literacy rate of
most people of the world. According to the 2011 population the national
literacy rate (59.00%) is found to be significantly lower than the national lit
eracy rate (73.00%). This paper focuses on educating the tribal children of
the nation and the challenges they face. According to the 1951 census,
5.6% of the country's total population was national. According to the
Census 2011, the number of organized nations in India is 10,42,81,034.
8.6% of the total population of India. There are 9, 38, 19,162 people of
organized ethnic groups living in rural areas and 1, 04, 61,822 people are
in urban areas. Organized nations make up 11.3% of the total population
of rural areas and 2.8% of urban areas.
Keywords: Tribal Children, Literacy, Education
INTRODUCTION:
E
ducation is the key parameter in the growth strategy to any
developing nation and has always been accorded an honored place
in Indian Society. It plays a crucial role in economic development
24
Associate Professor in History, Shimurali Sachinandan College of Education, Shimurali,
Nadia
25
Assistant Professor in Geography, Shimurali Sachinandan College of Education,
Shimurali, Nadia
141
and social progress and that largely determine the quality of manpower
and healthy social climate in a society. In a democracy as a natural
corollary to a majority of persons if not all, should be educated.
Education not only acquire the knowledge of experience but also
develop the habits, attitudes, skills to guide the children and molding their
behavior in a better way, which half them to lead a full and worthwhile
life. Education develops in the mind of children to understand and analyze
in order to fit them to rise to the occasion when they are faced with the
pressing problem of home, community and the world. According to Dr.
DN Mazdur, a tribe is a group of families with the same name, a member
of a tribe living in the same territory, speaking the same languages,
looking for alternatives to marriage, craftsmanship and making a well-
researched and revenge plan. T. B. Naik provided the following ethnic
features in Indian Context;
➢ Traditional methods of using natural resources, the national
economy must be in a prosperous and prosperous economy
➢ There should be a comparatively diverse population.
➢ They should have a common language.
➢ The tribes must be politically organized and the public panchayat
must be influential.
There are about 550 ethnic groups in India. The literacy of

organized nations as a whole is below the national literacy rate.
According to the 2011 population the nation literacy rate (59.00%) is
found to be significantly lower than the national literacy rate (73.00%).
• A tribe should have least functional interdependence within the
community.
• It should be economically backward (i. E primitive means of
exploiting natural resources, tribal economy should be at an under
developed stage and it should have multifarious economic
pursuit).
• There should be a comparative geographical isolation of its people.
• They should have a common dialect.
• Tribe should be politically organized and community panchayat
should be influential.
• A tribe should have customary laws.
142
TRIBAL LITERACY IN INDIA

As per 1951 census, 5.6% of the total population of the country
was tribal. According to Census-2011, the number of scheduled tribes in
India is 10,42,81,034. It is 8.6% of the total population of India. A total of 9,
38, 19,162 people belonging to scheduled tribes reside in rural areas whereas
1, 04, 61,872 people in urban areas. The scheduled tribes are 11.3% of
the total population of rural areas and 2.8% of urban areas. There are
about 550 tribes in India. The literacy scenario of the Scheduled tribes in
general is below the literacy rate of the general population of the country.
As per 2011 census the literacy rate among tribal (59.00%) is found to be
far below the overall literacy of the country (73.00%).
FACTORS AFFECTING TRIBAL EDUCATION

• Attitude of other students- it is the one of the important factor
which affect the promotion of tribal students in higher education.
• Social Factor- There is still a widespread feeling among the
nation that education makes them go out of their way to deviate,
degrade and isolate them from society as a whole. As some of the
nation's educated boys felt isolated and severed their ties with
their families and villages after receiving a good education and
education.
• Economic Factors- Vijaya Lakshmi (2003) identifies the
problems of national students. Other things like most of the tribe's
children were involved in important family activities such as cattle
inspection, working in the workplace, collecting firewood and
other small forest products, quarrying, mining and household
chores such as processing forest products. The level of use of
technology in the national area remains extremely low.
• Lack of Interest in Formal Education - Another problem they
face is the lack of academic support for teachers, the unavailability
of teachers is the main reason. In this case in many provinces, the
method of teaching was the regional language; many of the
children of the tribe do not understand the textbooks, which were
usually at the Block level
• According to Desai. B & Patel. A (1981), in relation to
effectiveness of various interventions for improving tribal
143
education studied that only 18 out of 22 residential schools have

100% teacher’s strength and in some cases the educational
qualification of the teacher was below X, which also adversely
affect the student achievement.
• Lack of Resources Vijaya Lakshmi (2003) conducted a study to
identify the problem of international students in high schools. The
findings of the study revealed that the poorest schools in terms of
infrastructure, poor hygiene and poor nutrition during the day.
Habitat environment - The majority of the population is

dispersed. This includes a long trip to school. Family Environment - The
environment or Nature is one of the most important factors in human
development. Most of the nation is illiterate and the fathers of the nation
are addicted to alcohol and other beverages that negatively affect the
family's economic status. Jayawal, et . Al (2003) examined the role of
parental support in the academic success of national students, research
found that the most successful parent provides the greatest support for
his or her children. Low-level parents, on the other hand were not so
keenly interested in their children's progress.
Stakeholder co-operation - Partnerships are important in
promoting education in the context of national students. Their funds flow
into one’s hands several times and will eventually reach the student’s
hand. Delays in fundraising cause problems in their education. Bargava.
S.M (1989) conducted research on weak class education; The study
found that the nation's formal educational institutions for the poor were
relatively poor compared to others in the region in terms of textbooks,
free uniforms, maintenance and mid-day meals.
➢ - Co-operation is essential for promoting education in the case of
tribal students. Their funds are flowing through a number of
person’s hands and at last it will reach student hand. The delay
and flow of fund creating problems in their education. Bhargava.
S.M (1989) conducted survey on education for weaker section;
the study found that the educational facilities for scheduled caste
tribe are poorer in comparison to others in the Block related to
textbook, free uniform, stipends and mid day meals.
144
TRIBES AND EDUCATION:

➢ The English term ‘Tribes’ is derived from the Latin word ‘Tribus’
designating a particular kind of social and political organization
existing in all the societies. Originally, it was used to imply three
divisions among the early Romans; Later on, it was used to mean
the ‘Poor’ or the ‘masses’. In English language, the word appeared
in the 16th century denoted a community of persons claiming
descent from a common ancestor. In India, the term ‘tribe’ has legal
and administrative connotations. British census officials first used
the term ‘tribes’ for the purpose of enumerating social groups in
India and the term was used from 1881 to 1931 censuses. The Govt.
of India Act, 1935 used the term ‘backward tribe.’ The Indian
constitution has retained the terminology with slight modification
using ‘Scheduled’ in place of ‘Backward’.
➢ India has 700. Scheduled Tribe clans out of which 75 groups have
been classified by the Ministry of Tribal Affairs, Govt. of India. The
Indian population has the largest concentration of tribal
communities in the world next to Africa. The populations of
Scheduled Tribes in India according to 2011 census in 10.42 crores.
➢ The term Scheduled Tribes first appeared in the Constitution of
India. Article 366 (25) refers to Scheduled Tribes as those
communities who are scheduled in accordance with Article 342 of
the Constitution. According to Article 342 of the constitution ‘The
Scheduled Tribes are the tribes or tribal communities or part of or
groups within these tribes and tribal communities which have been
declared as such by the, President through a public notification.
➢ After 68 years of independence, the tribes of our country are leading
more or less a low level of living. Although huge amount of money
has been spend for their socio-economic development and in order
to bring them to the main stream of civilization, the results are not
up to expectation. They lag for behind in the field of literacy and
education. As education development is a stepping-stone to
economic and social development and the most effective instrument
for empowering the tribes, maximum efforts made to improve their
educational status.
145
OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY:

The present study focuses its attention on the concept, nature of
school system, and the extent of growth, structural constraints and working
pattern of the school and its impact on tribal child of this area. The study
has the following specific objectives:
1. To study the socio-economic status of tribal children.
2. To find out the sociability of tribal children.
3. To study the perception of the society of the tribal children.
4. To find out the academic condition of the tribal children.
SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY:-

Education in India, particularly tribal education is facing a crucial
problem with lots of constraints. For tribal education is input not only for
their economic development, but also for promoting self-confidence in
theme selves. Due to their illiteracy and ignorance the Schedule Tribes had
been exploited since centuries by middleman, merchants, moneylenders,
feudal landlords and rich peasants. Need for their educational
development, therefore, assumes prime importance to save them from
economic exploitation and help them in their all-round development.
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
India is one of the most populous places in the world. According to
the 2011 census, the population of India makes up 8.6% of the total
population. There are about 550 tribes and peoples in various parts of
India. Most tribes live in well-defined but independent hilltops that are
often inaccessible, developed and poorly integrated with the rest of the
nation.
The current study was conducted in Chakdaha Block in West
Bengal. A sample of 50 tribal children attending an Undergraduate college
was selected using a simple random sampling method. Current research is
based on key data by providing an interview process. The interview
schedule was initially taken to look at clarity and clarity and the necessary
modifications were made on the basis of experience gained through
hypocrisy. The data collected was tabulated and analyzed for the purpose
of providing accurate and precise information. There are four key areas
related to higher education presented in the questionnaire. Student
146
responses were analyzed based on the following:

(i) Obstacles to the pursuit of higher education
(ii) Motivational factor
(iii) Reason for absenteeism
(iv) Government support
(i) Hurdles in pursuing higher education:

REASON RESPONSES
Inadequte infrastructure facilities 12
Heavy syllabus 22
Frequent teacher abseentism 6
Poverty 5
Outmoded teaching methods 5
RESPONS
2
5
ES
2
0
1 RESPONSE
S
5
1
0
5
(ii) Motivating factor:
0 MOTIVATING FACTOR RESPONSES
Parent support 8
Teacher support 12
Getting higher status 12
Better job 2
Free government aid 16
147
RESPONS
1
8 ES
1
6
1
4
1
2 RESPONSE
1 S
0
8
6
4
2
0
(iii) Reason for absenteeism:

REASONS FOR ABSENTEEISM RESPONSES
LACK OF INTERST IN STUDIES 10
HEALTH PROBLEMS 8
PARENTS' ATTITUDE 4
POVERTY 6
LACK OF TRANSPORT FACILITIES 5
ENGAGED IN EMPLOYMENT 17
RESPONS
1
8 ES
1
6
1
4
1
2 RESPONSE
1 S
0
8
6
4
2
0
148
(iv) LEVEL OF SATISFACTION ABOUT GOVERNMENT

FACILITIES:
Level Of Satisfaction About Government YES
Facilities RESPONSES
Hostel facilities 42
Bus/Train passes 48
Scholarship 43
Health care 46
Infrastructure facilities 38
YES
6
0
RESPONSES
5
0
4
0
3 YES
0 RESPONSES
2
0
1
0
0
DELIMITATION OF THE STUDY:

1. This study is confined to Tatla 1 No Gram Panchayat of
Chakdaha Block in Nadia Block.
2. This researcher restricted the investigation to study the
perceptions of Head of the Institutions, Parents and students.
3. Due to paucity of time the study is limited to the this school going
children of this area.
4. The researcher has been chosen only sample from different village
of Tatla 1 No. Gram Panchayat.
MAJOR FINDINGS:
The tribal students were not able to avail properly of educational
opportunities provided by the formal educational set up due to their socio-
149
cultural backwardness and gap between the school environment and

family background.
• Their poor economic condition forced them to do manual labour.
This was also responsible for low achievement.
• The teacher taught relationship in the context of tribal students in
class and out of the class was reportedly not very congenial. Most
of the teacher showed indifference to tribal student.
• Tribal children were irregular in schools due to problems of food,
clothing and shelter.
• There are a number of Governmental Schemes for promoting
education in tribal areas. However, these schemes are not
effective.
• Tribal parent’s are very, much indifferent about their child’s
education due to economic burden. The tribal student’s
achievements in co-curricular activities at school were not
satisfactory. They are not interested about this type of activities.
• Most of the parents are illiterates and never enquired about the
progress of their wards.
• Introduction of Mid-Day Meal scheme was one of the important
factors for improving enrolment of tribal student in school. Mostly
parents are informed about this, so that they send their children to
the school.
• Most of the parents of the tribal children not well educated and are
educationally backward. In their community there is no
encouragement to the pupil to pursue the study. They have no
parental support on academic achievement. On the other hand, the
parents of lower achiever were not straggly ambitions of
children’s upward mobility. Some on them are not realized the
impact of education of their future life.
• Sometime parents did not want to send their girl child in a co-
education institute. For girl child, child marriage is also a big
problem.
• This tribal area is remote from the city. The road facilities are
inadequate, so the children faces transport problems to reach
school. Due to economic problem they have to walk a longer
150
distance from their house to school which creates irregularity in

school.
• The school teaching is in adequate for this tribal student. So they
need private tuition which cause economic burden in their
families.
CONCLUSION:
Education may be regarded as an effective instrumental in
removing economic backwardness and social deprivation of tribals in the
present modern society. Most of the social scientists agreed that education
can play the role of catalyst in bringing immeasurable changes in the
sphere of social and economic lives of tribals. Most of the problems of the
tribal’s are economic. They gat reflected in Education. As such besides
formal education there was a need for more and more non-formal part-
time school. Education may be considered or the prime movers of social
change because it has unlocked the door of modernization and technology.
It may be observed that education or schooling has not only resulted in
literacy but also served as a means of enlighten in all aspects of life. In this
process the tribal people living in tribal areas lost their distinctive traits and
are fast becoming part of large stream of Indian civilization.
SUGGESTIONS FOR FURTHER RESEARCH:

✓ Sample size may be increased.
✓ Study may be conducted across places to be generalized
BIBLIOGRAPHY:
Choudhary, S.N.(Ed),2012: Tribal Education-Implications for
development, New Delhi, Concept Publication Ltd.
Ratnaiah, E.V., (2008) : Structural Constraints of Tribal Education. New
Delhi, Sterling Publishers.
Sharma, K.R. (1991) : Educational Life Styles of Tribal students. New
Delhi. Classical Publication.
Devdndra Thakur (1995) : Primary and Secondary Education for the
Tribes, TribalLife in India, Deep and Deep Publications, New
Delhi.
151
CHAPTER 14
FROM ISOLATION TO INTEGRATION: A CRITICAL

OVERVIEW OF THE DEVELOPMENT MILESTONES OF
EDUCATION OF TRIBAL WOMEN
Soumyashree Sarkar26 & Sharmistha Chanda 27
Abstract
Although tribal women occupy a sizeable population of any demographic
spread in any geo-spatial representation, it is generally and universally
perceived that their overall status is far more deplorable when compared
and contrasted to their male counterparts, and certainly when contrasted
with their non-tribal counterparts from both metropolitan and suburban
quarters. Although women in general are considerably disadvantaged in
heteropatriarchal and capitalist set-ups all over the world, the situation of
tribal women is far more lamentable. The chief reason behind this is the
institutional ratification of a male supremacist stance within both public
and private domains that justifies the normalization of masculine
domination and control over women’s lives in these tribal communities. In
both economic and non-economic aspects therefore, tribal women from
materially retrograde communities remain in a cycle of generational
backwardness. This paper critically examines those factors responsible for
the overall state of underdevelopment of tribal women from different
scheduled communities, owing to their lack of and access to proper
education. It analyses the tangible developments made in this area since
Independence, and also critiques the various means by which sustainable
development can take place in days to come that favours the educational
upliftment of tribal women in the light of today.
26
Doctoral Research Scholar, Department of Education, Bankura University, Bankura,
West Bengal, India
27
Doctoral Research Scholar, Department of Education, Bankura University, West
Bengal, India
152
Keywords: - status of women, empowerment, female education, literacy,

development
Introduction
T
ribal women, by any demographic estimate, constitute a sizeable
chunk of the total population of any region. However, they remain
most disadvantaged and disenfranchised in several aspects, even
in the era of neoliberal expansion of individual worth and social capital. In
all the seven fundamental roles usually assigned to women, viz.
reproduction, parenting, marital, domestic, relational, occupational and
communitarian, tribal women have and continue to face several
challenges. In both economic and socio-cultural avenues of life, tribal
women bear the brunt of orthodox patriarchal rigidities, that hegemonize
their lives and actions. Moreover, the present status of the woman in
concern – whether she is a spinster, a married woman, a widow, or
divorcee, and/or a barren woman bereft of children, is demeaning and
curbs her respectful identity as a prominent member of a societal group.
Since we have traversed a long way from the representation of women as
mere bodily entities to the role of women as an active contributor in all
spheres of life, movements and policies have been documented and
implemented to give them their appropriate status and highlight their
position.
The age-old gender-based disparities

The family structure in India is in general patriarchal. People
desperately long for a male child as a suitable inheritor to their legacy and
the tribal communities in this regard is no exception. 68.5% of the women
folk of the tribal community are anaemic due to lack of proper diet which
impacts both their physical and psychological well-being for they feel
worked up, exhausted and tired most of the times. Male members of the
tribal community are highly misogynistic which is reflected as they deny
proper representation of the tribal women even in their own circuit.
Inheritance of property rights is by and large celebrated by the male
children of the family, denying the rights of the female child. As these girls
grow up, we see unequal payment of both men and women for the same
skilled work that they render. These women often have to travel long
153
distance places for earning their wages where they are seen to be
thoroughly exploited by their superior authorities and so sexually
transmitted disease is mostly common in them. Since the male members of
their own community do not speak up for them, tribal women have been
facing various healthcare issues over the years and have been aptly
classified as the most vulnerable community. Early marriages, premature
pregnancy, insufficient diet, with no rights to property and succession,
exploitation, unequal wages and with no preference over their own
reproductive rights, the women species stands low in the social ladder and
an all-encompassing development can only be expected with proper
training and imparting of education to the otherwise neglected women
fellows of the tribal community.
Education: A Basic Necessity

Education is the most critical component of any civilised society
which helps to inculcate values, appropriate styles and mannerisms to
function properly as a social being. Education is that vital thing which can
make a woman go places and make her better suited to the needs of the
modern world. Educational backwardness is distinct social dimension
which needs to be overcome by every means possible. Womenfolk have
expertise in a lot many things as they are more organised, disciplined,
systematic and patient and can handle things in a much more decent way
than men. UNESCO in 1973 had aptly proposed that functional literacy
would be more effective for the tribal women can traditional literacy,
where they can be educated with proper alignment of their forte, which
they can utilise for proper sustenance.
Stumbling Blocks of Tribal Women in Acquiring Education

The challenges of tribal women are far more than their non-tribal
counterparts, be it from rural or quasi-urban backgrounds. Patriarchal
strictures are more stringent in tribal societies, and any form of aberration
from the norm is usually dealt with an iron hand. Women, often face the
brunt of the ‘Salishi Sabha’ (localised kangaroo courts) that go by their
own justice system, supervised by the village headman or ‘morol’, who
wields the final say in spelling out verdicts. Although this may be true of
the Santal community in some specific instances, it is also true that tribal
154
societies have many progressive features that condition the lives of the
women hailing from these communities. Cultural aspects like a counter-
normative voice to Brahminical majoritarianism, the cultivation and
continuation or rich, oral traditions, the absence of ultra-stratified class
divisions, and general kinship unity, also facilitate the welfare of tribal
women in both direct and indirect ways. However, J. M. Adovasio, Olga
Soffer, and Jake Page, no true matriarchy is known actually to have
existed, and so anthropologically considered, most tribal women have
inherited both patriarchal and matriarchal attributes and qualities of life
and living. The relation between gender and tribal identity is very intrinsic
and strategic. Hence, tribal feminism, standing for the arbitrary
reinforcement of equality which has no relation to the agency of women,
might not always be an accurate matrix of the societal picture.
Constitutional Provisions for the Tribal Community

Since independence of India, several Constitutional provisions were
taken by the Indian Government for Scheduled Tribes to ensure their
inclusion in the society. The Constitution of India, first used the term
‘Scheduled Tribes’ and an elaborate explanation was given about them
under Article 366 (25). Constitutional provisions like Article 15 and 16
gave a solid foundation to the tribal community by prohibiting the
discrimination on the basis of religion, gender, class, race and birthplace
(Art.15) and also an equal opportunity in case of government occupation
(Art.16). Constitution of India also protects their rights regarding the
freedom of speech (Art.19). Article 23 and 24 has got a very significant
relationship with the Tribal community. Article 23 restricts human
trafficking and other related forms of bonded labour while Article 24
protects children from exploitation by announcing that no child below the
age of fourteen can be appointed to work in any factory or mine or can’t be
involved in any other dangerous occupation. Provisions like Article 23 and
24 gave a shelter to the Tribal community as most of the bonded and child
labour belongs to their community and are forced to be a part of
exploitation. Constitution of India also secured the Cultural and
Educational Rights of the scheduled Tribes in Article 29 and 30. In Article
46, Constitution ensures the educational and economic concerns of
Scheduled Caste, Scheduled Tribes and other Weaker parts. Important
155
Article like 330 and 332 declares reservation of seats for Scheduled Caste
and Scheduled Tribes in the Lok Sabha and in State Legislative
Assemblies. However, Article 243D ensures their reservation in
Panchayat. For the betterment of Scheduled Tribes community, the
government of India have constituted ‘The National Commission’ under
Article 338A. Multiple affairs related to Scheduled Tribes of India was
taken into account by the formation of ‘Ministry of Tribal Affairs’ in 1999.
Apart from these provisions, more recently under Article 21(A) of the
Constitution of India, Government of India have announced free and
compulsory education for the children of 6-14 age group and called it
Right to Education Act (RTE) 2009. This very act helps each and every
child of the society to get at least some education up to upper primary
level.
Policies and Schemes of the Government for the Upliftment of

Scheduled Tribes
Indian government sanctioned numerous schemes to promote the
ST community. Schemes like Special Central Assistance to Tribal Sub-
Scheme (SCA to TSS) gave 100% grant to the Tribal community for their
development in educational field, infrastructural ground and livelihood.
The scheme was introduced since 1977-78. It is a very fruitful scheme
which is an addition to State Plan funds. Tribal Sub - Plan also plays a
considerable role in funding and for development of Tribal community all-
round the nation. For socio- economic betterment of Tribal community
cent percent grants-in-aid was sanctioned by the Government of India
under Article 275(1). Adivasi Mahila Sashaktikaran Yojana, a vital
scheme for Scheduled Tribe women was implemented by National
Scheduled Tribes Finance and Development Corporation (NSTFDC).
NSTFDC is functioning as an apex body under Ministry of Tribal Affairs.
This very scheme ensures any kind of income generation activity by the
Tribal women by providing loan at a concessional rate of interest. Shiksha
Rrinn Yojana scheme also give loan to the eligible candidates from
Scheduled Tribe community for pursuing higher degrees in professional
and technical areas of education at a nominal rate of interest.
156
Educational Policies for Backward Tribes with Special Preference for

Girls
Education is the pillar of success which paves the path for the
betterment of any society. For the educational development of Scheduled
Tribes community, several policies and programmes have been initiated
by the Central Government since Independence. The aim of these policies
are not only to empower them but also enable them to compete with every
possible situation of life. These policies have another objective too.
Through these several policies, the Government of India wants to
strengthen the position of Tribal women by bringing them into the
mainstream of life, and also reducing the gap with their counterparts.
Numerous educational policies have been taken to provide opportunities
for their development.
The Kendriya Vidyalayas formerly known as Central Schools
established by the Ministry of Human Resource and Development came
into force in the year 1963. KVs gave a fair chance to the 15% students of
Scheduled Caste and 7.5% students of Scheduled Tribes for admission.
National Policy on Education 1986 was the reason behind the birth of
Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalayas in each and every district of India. The
concept of Navodayas was the brainchild of former Prime Minister of
India, Shree Rajiv Gandhi. The main purpose of these residential
institutions are imparting quality education to the talented learners and the
learners mainly belong to rural areas. Navodaya Vidyalayas reserved seats
for Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe students in proportion to their
inhabitants in the districts. Eklavya Model Residential Schools (EMRS)
are another important scheme of Government of India for Tribals,
established in remote areas of the country to provide quality education to
Scheduled Tribe students. The scheme first came into operation in the year
1997-98. It helps them to avail reservation in higher education and also
prepare them for any kind of government and private jobs. EMRS on the
other hand is one of the most popularly known institutions which ensures
that Scheduled Tribe must acquire quality education. 284 ERMSs have
been sanctioned by the Central Government of India by the end of 2018
out of which 226 EMRSs have been in operational stage all across the
nation. Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalaya (KGBV) was introduced by the
Government of India in the year 2004. It was introduced as a part of ‘Sarva
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Shiksha Abhiyan’ for the girls’ of backward class of our country. These
residential girls’ secondary schools were set up to encourage the girls of
Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and Other Backward Classes and
assured that quality education is feasible and reachable to them. KGBVs
scheme also dismissed gender disparities and tried to bridge the significant
gap between boys’ and girls’ enrolment ratio in elementary schools. In
other word, KGBVs encourages higher literacy rate of the girls of weaker
section in India. Ashram Schools in Tribal Sub- Plan areas provides
education and an appropriate environment of learning. This particular
scheme was started in 1990-1991 by the Government of India. Through
this scheme, the Central Government sanctioned funds. By utilising 100%
funding construction of Ashram school building, hostel, kitchen has been
made. From Primary to Higher Secondary sections are available in
Ashram schools. These schools are open for both boys and girl students of
Tribal Community. Vocational Training scheme is another very notable
step of Indian Government to empower the Scheduled Tribes Community.
The objective of this scheme is to make the Tribal youths skilled in
different kinds of conventional and modern vocations so that in future they
can be able to get a job in any sector or work independently. Central
Government gives financial support for arranging vocational trainings in
Tribal areas. Apart from these schemes, Centrally Sponsored Scheme of
Hostels was introduced for Scheduled Tribe boys and girls. The financial
aids are provided by the Centre solely which is further applied by State
and Territory in the construction of hostels for the boys and girls. This
very scheme helps to boost the low literacy rate and dropouts of Scheduled
Tribe students. To encourage the Tribal girls, the Central Government
gave 100% financial support to them. While in case of boys the ratio is 50-
50 between Centre and State. ‘Strengthening Education among Scheduled
Tribes (ST) girls in Low Literacy Districts’ this very scheme was
introduced by the Government of India, Ministry of Tribal Affairs on 1st
April, 2008. The main objective of this scheme is to reduce the disparity in
literacy among the Tribal girls and the girls belong to the general
population, by giving 100% enrolment in those selected Districts or
Blocks. The implementing agencies of this scheme is Voluntary
Organization/ Non – Governmental Organizations and Autonomous
Society/Institutions of State Government/ Union Territory Administration.
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The Government of India through Ministry of Tribal Affairs also give

necessary help to Tribal Research Institute (TRI) with proper suggestions,
recommendations and with financial grants. The prime moto of this
scheme is to support the growth and development of TRIs.
Schemes initiated by Ministry of Women and Child Development
are intended to favour /benefit women from all areas across society
(including Scheduled Tribe women). Beti Bachao Beti Padhao scheme
was launched in 2015 by our Prime Minister. The aim of this scheme is to
save and educate the girl child. One Stop Centre scheme is also introduced
in 2015 and these centres are there to help the women distressed by assault
in private or public areas, in work place or even in their home. Women
Helpline scheme provides 24 hours help to those women who are affected
by violence and who needed immediate support. A single universal
number provides information about all the Governmental schemes for
women. Ujjawala is another very vital scheme which not only prevents
trafficking but also rescues the victims of trafficking who suffered from
commercial and sexual exploitation and arrange their rehabilitation and
reintegration in the society. Working Women Hostel scheme is announced
by the Indian Government to provide safe and secured accommodation to
the working women with all possible facilities in the urban and rural areas.
Rajiv Gandhi National Creche Scheme is there for the kids of working
mothers. Through this scheme, day care facility/service is given to the kids
between age group of 6 months to 6 years.
The Central Government announces various scholarship schemes
for Tribal community to encourage them. ‘National Scholarship for Higher
Education of ST students’, previously known as Top Class Education
scheme is such a scheme which was introduced in the academic year
2007-2008. The objective of this scholarship is to support the deserving
and talented students of ST community in pursuing professional courses
such as Medicine, Law, IT, Engineering etc. at graduation / post -
graduation level in selected Government and Private institutions. Another
very vital scheme is the ‘National Fellowship for Higher Education of ST
students.’ In this scheme fellowships are given to Scheduled Tribe students
to pursue higher studies such as M.Phil. and Ph. D. after the completion of
post-graduation. The scheme is earlier named as Rajiv Gandhi National
Fellowship and came into operation since year 2005-2006. In 20th April
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2015, these two schemes were merged by the Central Government

Ministry into a single scheme and named “National Fellowship and
Scholarship for Higher Education of ST students”. Scheme of National
Overseas Scholarship for ST also give financial support to ST learners for
pursuing Masters, Doctorate and Post Doctorate degree in foreign
countries. Pre- Matric (class IX and X) and Post- Matric scholarships are
also provided to the learners of ST community for their educational
development.
NPE 2020 and Development Initiatives for Tribal Women

To ensure inclusive governance, the UGC has taken several
initiatives to expand access through both online and Open and Distance
Leaning (ODL) programmes in more HEIs. To overcome language barrier
being faced by students, Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) are
being translated in Indian languages. The GOI have taken multiple
initiatives to offer financial assistance to deprived sections of the Indian
society. The ‘Education for All’ inclusive approach, has been supported by
State/UT governments; education being a concurrent subject. Tribals are
top concern in the ‘Socially and Economically Disadvantaged Groups’
(SEDGs) category. The Department of School Education and Literacy
(DoSEL), Ministry of Education has successfully implemented the
Samagra Shiksha scheme, effective from 2018-19 whose outreach extends
to girl children. Under Samagra Shiksha, there is a provision of Kasturba
Gandhi Balika Vidyalayas (KGBVs). KGBVs are residential schools from
class VI to XII for girls belonging to disadvantaged groups such as SC,
ST, OBC, Minority and Below Poverty Line (BPL). But the question that
is being seriously raised across all quarters is whether the NEP 2020 policy
had overlooked the cause of the tribals, especially women and children,
who are more vulnerable. While several upliftment programmes are
visible, specific development initiatives in tribal dominated areas, are yet
to be fructified. Even after 74 years of Independence, tribal literacy in
India has not reached desired levels. The alarmingly high dropout rate
among tribal students—70.9% for classes I to X, according to the Statistics
on School Education, 2010-11—is a glaring example of the challenges that
need to be addressed. This is because women and children often have to
function as associate or part-time breadwinners of the family, apart from
160
the poverty factor that keeps them away from material investment. In
India, education has been made free for children aged between six and 14
years, or up to class VIII under the Right of Children to Free and
Compulsory Education (RTE) Act, 2009. But the socio-economic aspects
related of tribal students must be accessed in this regard, as to how far they
are being able to avail the said opportunities. The problems of tribal
women and children are coterminous with each other. Thus, all aspects of
the lives of tribal women, viz. mothering, domesticity, income generation,
etc. are associated with their nurture of the next generation of the tribal
populace. Government policies therefore need to look more stringently
into the infrastructure facilities of schools accessed by tribal families,
student participation in learning and discrimination faced in schools. The
girl child, especially in rural India, is generally discriminated against when
it comes to providing education. It is therefore easily deducible how
arduous it must be for tribal women to master the three R’s and move
ahead in life. When women are especially perceived as meant for
domesticity alone, the utility of imparting education to the girl child is
always questioned.
Position of Tribal Women in the Current Scenario

The status of tribal women in the context of the given social milieu
is to be ascertained from the contextual roles they are expected to perform.
Although, theoretically speaking, the average position of tribal women has
improved considerably since independence, the ground reality is not
always encouraging. Papia Gupta in a major research paper titled ‘Status
of Tribal Women: Some Observations’, notes that in the practical scenario,
tribal women face greater exploitation, harassment, abuse, and domination
by both tribal and non-tribal patriarchal agencies. She contends that tribal
women are defamed in several ways but they themselves cannot take
action against defamation because of quaint patriarchal codes of honour
that govern and regulate their lives. Women have lost inheritance in the
Santal Parganas to outsiders and infiltrators. This is endemic in states of
Bengal, Bihar and Orissa. In the retaliatory action that the Central Reserve
Police took against the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha in 1977, tribal women
became soft targets because the dishonouring of women meant weakening
the morale of the entire community. Tribal women were perceived as
161
licentious, easily available for sexual favours, and gullible enough to be

duped. The fact that tribal women were not educated for a long time meant
that they were not conscious of their rights and privileges enough. Reports
of tribal women being mercilessly exploited by the army and CRPF
personnel go rampant. Tribal women have had their jewellery stolen, lathi-
charged, variously abused, and yet not protected by the law enforcement
police staff. Tribal women of all age-groups, be it schoolchildren or wage
labourers, were exploited one way or the other. Police reporting and FIR is
slack in the case of tribal women, because they are not considered socially
premier, honourable or autonomous in the very first place. The dowry
issue works oddly with tribal women, and malpractices related to the bride
price are often rampant. Tribal women are ghosted by the sinister
conjunction of patriarchy and capitalism. Their labour force is utilised but
they are not given anything in return. The individual consent of the tribal
woman is thwarted by the family and society at large. Polygamy in tribal
communities makes lives difficult for the women. Tribal women are
denied farm rights. They are branded as ‘dainis’ and reports of witch-
hunting still abound. Professor Gupta points out the examples of tribes
such as the Bhil, Dubla, Nayak, Kankona, Chodhar, Dhodiya, Ghamit and
Dhanka – who have iconoclastic ideas of wizardry and witchcraft that act
against the welfare of tribal women. The fact that men were given power
over women, is a patriarchal bias that should be countered by and through
education. The Ojha, Dewra, Janaguru/Jaanguru were necessarily men
who were right, and they controlled the destinies of those whom they
branded as witches, even if it meant terminating their lives.
Instances of Notable Tribal Women

Rani Gaidinliu, Tulasi Munda, Soni Sori, Temsula Ao, Sarah
Winnemucca, Sacagawea, Susan La Flesche, Rani Durgavati, Kittur
Chennamma, Asunta Lakra, Gaura Devi, Dashriben Chaudhari, Alma
Grace Barla, Jyoti Sunita Kullu, Poorna Mallavath, etc, are some notable
women personalities, who have made a mark for themselves, despite the
challenging tribal backgrounds from which they hailed.
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Statistical Data Regarding the Upliftment of the Cause of Female

Tribal Education
The development goal of a tribal woman has no singular
measuring parameter. However, statistical data regarding the extent of
progress of the education of tribal women on a pan-subcontinental
basis needs to be evaluated as well.
a) Digital mentorship of tribal women have considerably increased over
the years, and although the figures cannot be exactly quantified, they
have almost doubled.
b) Flagship schemes like the MSP for MFP and the Van Dhan Yojana,
have potentially increased employment and borrowing capital of
tribal women by a huge margin.
c) Literacy rates among tribal women have incremented 58%, according
to Andrabi and Ahmed.
d) 50% of tribals have moved out of their traditional habitats. This
means that manual labour in an informal economy is fast replacing
traditional farming-based subsistence. This has both positive and
negative influences. While women are becoming victims of
displacement, simultaneously they are acquiring newer employment
skills to survive in an inflation economy. Some of them are receiving
formal education in government schools or undergoing vocational
training. Richard Mahapatra carries a 2018 report of this in Down to
Earth magazine.
e) According to Sribas Goswami, trafficking in Adivasi girls from their
homelands, are acute in some select places. He points out the
example of Sahibganj in the state of Jharkhand, where “Women have
lagged behind men in all respect” (178).
f) Trafficking takes place not only from tribal homes on the pretext of
the false allure of jobs, but also from brick kiln factories, carpet
weaving factories, local tobacco stuff making units, etc. The
percentage of women re-routed to prostitution, forced surrogacy,
local entertainments like ‘mujras’ etc is alarmingly high.
g) According to Basant Kumar Mehta, the number of tribal women who
have become HIV-infected is has also shot up drastically. Exact count
of this is hard to find, given social stigmatisation and other allied
malaises.
163
h) S.M. Bala and D. Thiruselvakumar note that gender discrimination is

highest in tribal communities, contrasted with mainstream
communities, although ironically, “(t)he sex ratio of tribals is more
favorable to females than the general population (972/1000 males vs.
927/1000)” [Registrar General of India. Census of India. 2001]. They
also note that there are enormous differences in the health status of
mothers and children between tribal and non-tribal populations.
Contraceptive use among tribal women have increased from 39.1% to
51.4%, if we differentiate the National Family Health Survey (NFHS)
Census data of 1998-99;2000 and 2005-06;2007. In the same surveys,
it was revealed that the median age at first childbirth for Indian tribal
women in general has encouragingly upgraded from 18.8 to 20.6
years. However, malnutrition, anaemia, sickle cell disease, STDs etc
continue to plague tribal women more than ever, despite remedial
action.
The Futurist Manifesto for The Educational Upliftment of Tribal

Women
A holistic reconsideration is important to attend to the subtle
nuances that affect the lives of tribal women on a continual basis. Each
tribe has a specific cultural and spatio-political set of crises that beset its
women. Those have to be attended to, without advocating a generalised
and universal approach to tribal problems. Although, more and more tribes
are being recognised and coming under the recognition of the government
schedule, mere reservation is not going to work miracles for them What is
the need of the hour is to ensure the sustained development of tribal
women from ground-level concerns. Greater educational and employment
opportunities, holistic vocational training, rehabilitation facilities for tribal
folks suffering from addiction issues, free primary and elementary school
outreach for the tribal girl child, fulfilment of electoral promises in
sensitive tribal areas, proper law and order enforcement in tribal pockets,
creating free and subsidised medical outlets in tribal areas, et al, will
certainly go a long way in improving the quality of lives of tribal women
from all societal backgrounds. State and local committees that act as vigil
mechanisms, go a long way in ensuring safety, security and a steep
qualitative improvement in the lives of tribal women.
164
Conclusion
India has the single-largest tribal population in the world,
constituting 8.6% of the population as per Census 2011. However, this is,
by no means, not a homogenous group. At least 574 individual groups
make up India’s tribal population, and so, the predicament of tribal girls
and women have to be dealt with a material grounding. It has to be
remembered that the problems of all tribal women are not the same,
although many of their problems are also overlapping ones. Care has to be
taken to ensure that school dropout rates of tribal school girls. Tribal
women must be made equal shareholders, as much as they are
stakeholders of the production and income generation systems. Elitist and
discriminatory practises must be legally countered, and educational
backwardness must be eradicated at every cost to make tribal women
conscious of their rights and privileges. Tribal women are more often than
not, the prime victims of ecological refugeehood. State protection is
needed to prevent such massive displacement, as well as encroachment
into their natural habitats. The ban on child labour has to be made more
stringent, else the girl progeny of tribal women often land up working in
sectors that mushroom using the status of cottage industries, such as
manufacturing units of bidis and match sticks. In such cases, the owners of
these units earn profit but the girl child has her education hindered, and
child labour is actually encouraged. Girls and women are considered best
options for the labour force because they never make the wages that the
menfolk earn. Thus, the very ideal of ‘equal pay for equal work’ is
frustrated and nipped in the bud. Apart from the basic amenities of life like
food, water, electricity et al, tribal women need to be facilitated with
internet and communication technology also, so that they can keep
themselves updated with the latest know-how and updates of this world.
At every step, everyone, irrespective of their individual or collective
background, has to admit and play their part in acknowledging that tribal
women are marginalized on multiple counts, and it is via the
encouragement and cooperation of everyone, can tribal women emerge
from the clutches of age-old patriarchal biases, delimitations and double
standards that hegemonize them as the weaker sex.
165
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CHAPTER 15
TRIBAL EDUCATION IN WEST BENGAL: STATUS,

GOVERNMENT INITIATIVES & CHALLENGES
Rini Basu 28
Abstract
A nation's development is directly related to the accessibility and
opportunities to avail educational facilities by the people. India is a country
of multi-racial groups which is reflected by different cultures, religions,
languages and racial communities & being a state, West Bengal acts as a
miniature version of India with this diversity. These social groups are at
different levels of development. The Scheduled Tribe is one of the
principle groups which has a history of discrimination. They are
economically, politically and educationally backward. After 75 years of
independence the tribal people are still lagging behind from the
development, basically in the education field. Still there are high drop outs
and illiteracy rate among the tribal in comparison to other communities.
Only education could enable them to cast off their mold of oppression of
centuries and bask in the sunshine of socio-economic development. The
constitution laid down various provisions for the upliftment of tribal
communities, but still they are confronted with various challenges. Despite
several initiatives taken by the Government to enhance educational status
ever since independence, the literacy rate among Schedule Tribes has
remained low. So this article focuses on the status of tribal education and
the government initiatives to promote education among tribals and the
challenges faced by the tribals to achieve education.
Introduction :
N
elson Mandela has rightly quoted, "Education is the most
powerful weapon which you can use to change the World".
Education is the only weapon by which we can obliterate all
28
Student of M. Ed, Department of Education, University of Kalyani, Kalyani 741235,
West Bengal, India.
168
types of social and economical barriers. It also does a good job for the
upliftment of the society, man making as well as the development of the
nation. Being a diversified country India serves as a motherland of a large
number of tribal peoples with a manifold of socio economical background.
'Tribe' is a modern term for communities that are very old, being among
the oldest inhabitants of the sub-continent. 'Tribes' are communities that do
not practise a religion with a written text; do not have a state or political
form of the normal kind; do not have sharp class divisions; and, most
important, they do not have caste and were neither Hindus nor peasants.
Even though tribal people does not keep written records, they preserved
rich customs and oral traditions. There are more than 8.6 % of total
population (Wikipedia) are tribes with around 645 tribes communities in
India. In West Bengal, Tribal population is 52,96,963 as per Cerisus 2011,
which is about 5.8% of the total population of the State and 5.08% of total
Tribal population of the Country.
As early said education is an important parameter for any
inclusive growth in an economy and it is an important avenue for
upgrading the. economic and social conditions of the Scheduled Tribes.
Literacy and educational attainment are powerful indicators of social and
economic development among the backward groups. The malefemale gap
in literacy and educational attainment among the scheduled tribes is
significant. In the post-Independence period, sincere and concerted efforts
were made for the economic and educational development of tribals.
Despite of these efforts the performance of the tribes in education is still
much lower than the Scheduled Castes. This has led to drop outs and
directly impacted their overall educational status.
Objectives:
Based on the above observation, the paper will discuss and fulfill
the following objectives. They are:
1. To discuss the govt. policies and programmes for tribal education,
2. To depict the educational schemes for tribal,
3. To collect data from various sources regarding tribal population
percentage, literacy ,percentage & dropout in West Bengal,
4. To find out the reasons for dropouts,
5. To analyse issues and challenges of tribal education.
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Government Policies and Programmes for Tribal Education:

The Dhebar Commission of 1960 identified certain specified
reasons for the educational backwardness of tribal's. The tribal children are
seen as economic assets to supplement the family income by working with
the parents and with others . In a situation of dire necessitates of life,
education becomes a matter of luxury for the tribals. All these factors have
contributed to work out a broader policy for tribal education. In this
background, the Dhebar Commission made recommendations to provide
the mid-day meal, clothing, free book, reading and writing materials, etc.
to all the tribal children in backward areas. The commission further
recognizing the topographical factors recommended the opening of
schools in localities where there were at least 30 school-goingchildren,
though there should be a school within one mile. The commission then
suggested adjustment of timing, vacations, and holidays of schools to suit
the tribal social and cultural life. It even proposed to create an atmosphere
of tribal culture in the schools.
Similarly, the Kothari Commission has also highlighted that the
tribals deserve education with great emphasis and attention. In view of
this, the Kothari Commission endorsed the recommendations of the
Dhebar Commission with a note of urgency that intensive efforts must be
made to provide for five years of early education to all tribal children. In
order to achieve the literacy rate among tribals, the Commission also
suggested the need to educate parents simultaneously. The growth of tribal
education was very slow due to high dropout rate and the growing gap
between tribals and non-tribals. Due to this higher education among the
tribals also suffered severely.
The PESA (The Panchayats Extension to Scheduled Areas) Act,
1996 in fact, has made it mandatory for the States having scheduled areas
to make specific provisions for giving wide-ranging powers to the tribes
on the matters relating to decision-making and development of their
community. A centrally-sponsored government scheme of ashram schools
exclusively for Schedule Tribe children from elementary to higher
secondary levels was initiated in the 1970s. But the poor quality of
education in ashram schools, however, has undermined confidence in
education as a vehicle for social mobility.
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Educational Schemes for Tribals :

• The Standing Committee on Social Justice and Empowerment
(Chairperson: Ramesh Bais) submitted its report on 'Educational
Schemes for Tribals' on January 3, 2018.
• Performance of existing schemes: The Committee noted that despite
many educational schemes for tribals in the country, the literacy rate
of tribals (59%) is far below the national literacy rate (74%).
Reasons highlighted for it include: (i) poor economic conditions of
Scheduled Tribes (ST), (ii) considerable distance between home and
school (especially for secondary education and above), and (iii) lack
of awareness about the long-term value of formal education. The
Committee observed that efforts made by the Ministry of Tribal
Affairs through Ashram Schools, Pre-Matric Scholarships, and
Post-Matric Scholarships for ST students have not yielded the
desired results in improving their education status. It noted that the
schemes being implemented lack conviction and supervision.
• Development of bilingual primers: Bilingual primers are meant to
contain text in regional and tribal languages to facilitate learning
(reading and writing) in schools in tribal areas. The Committee
observed the slow development of bilingual primers and
recommended that the Ministry must pursue the matter with the
states.
• Status of hostels: The Committee observed that there are 1,470
functional hostels in the country for ST students. Such hostels seek
to provide accommodation to ST students who would otherwise
have been unable to continue their education due to economic
reasons. The Committee noted that hostels have poor building
structure and sub-standard quality of food. The Committee also
noted that since substantial amount of Ministry's money has gone
into building these hostels and other infrastructure, they must be
properly monitored for them to run well.
Performance of specific schemes:

1. Scheme for the establishment of Ashram schools: The Scheme for
the establishment of Ashram schools in tribal sub-plan areas is a
centrally sponsored scheme for construction of all girls' Ashram
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Schools and boys' Ashram Schools in certain extremism affected

areas. States are responsible for the operation and maintenance of
these schools. According to the Committee, this delegation of
maintenance of ashram schools to state governments has resulted in
the poor condition of these schools. The Committee recommended
putting in place a mechanism to ensure that the schools adhere to
the laid down parameters and have regular monitoring by the states.
2. The Post-Matric Scholarship Scheme: The Post-Matric Scholarship
Scheme provides financial assistance to ST students pursuing post-
matric courses in recognised institutions. The Committee noted that
most of the state governments are reluctant to bear their share of
liabilities related to the funds of the scheme. This leads to
difficulties for ST students in continuing their education.
3. The Pre-Matric Scholarship Scheme: The Pre-Matric Scholarship
Scheme is for tribal students studying in classes 9 and 10. The
Committee noted that from 2014-15 to 2017-18, funds have not
been released to certain states under the scheme. The Committee
observed that the lack of determination on the part of the Ministry
has led to such negligence in disbursal of grants.
4. Eklavya Model Residential Schools (EMRS): EMRS are set up
with a capacity of 480 students per school to provide quality middle
and high level education to ST students. Establishment of EMRS is
demand driven based on the proposals received from states. The
funding of such schools is from the state governments. The
Committee noted that most of the EMRS are not running well, have
poor infrastructure, and inadequate teaching staff. The Committee
recommended that the Ministry must devise a mechanism that will
help uplift the standard of these schools and make them properly
functional.
5. National Overseas Scholarship Scheme: The National Overseas
Scholarship Scheme provides financial assistance to 20 students
selected for pursuing higher studies abroad for Ph. D. and post-
doctoral studies. The Committee observed that over the years. the
number of students receiving this scholarship has been declining. It
stated that this might be due to the lack of awareness about the
scheme among students. In this context, the Committee: stated that
172
proper guidance and publicity are key for any scheme to be

successful.
6. Sikshashree: A new scheme named "Sikshashree" for ST Day
scholars studying in classes V to VIII introduced has been recently
by merging the existing schemes of Book Grant, Maintenance
Grant and Other Compulsory Charges. The objective of the scheme
is to provide financial assistance in more transparent manner by
providing scholarship through individual bank accounts. The
scheme aims to minimize the incidence of drop-out at Pre-Matric
stages.
Table 1 :State-wise Literacy Rate of Scheduled Tribes

State/UTs of India Schedule Tribe
Total Male Female
Andhra Pradesh 49.2 58.3 40.1
Arunachal Pradesh 64.6 71.5 58
Assam 72.1 79 65.1
Bihar 51.1 61.3 40.4
Chhattisgarh 59.1 69.7 48.8
Goa 79.1 87.2 71.5
Gujarat 62.5 71.7 53.2
Himachal Pradesh 73.6 83.2 64.2
Jammu & Kashmir 50.6 60.6 39.7
Jharkhand 57.1 68.2 46.2
Karnataka 62.1 71.1 53
Kerala 75.8 80 71.1
Madhya Pradesh 50.6 59.7 41.5
Maharashtra 65.7 74.3 57
Manipur 77.4 82.1 72.7
Maghalaya 74.5 75.5 73.5
Mizoram 91.5 93.6 89.5
Nagaland 80 83.1 76.9
Orissa 52.2 63.7 41.2
Rajasthan 52.8 67.6 37.3
Sikkim 79.7 85 74.3
Tamilnadu 54.3 61.8 46.8
Tripura 79.1 86.4 71.6
Uttar Pradesh 55.7 67.1 43.7
173
Uttarakhand 73.9 83.6 63.9

West Bengal 57.9 68.2 47.7
A & N Islands 75.6 80.9 69.9
Dadra &Nagar
61.9 73.6 50.3
Haveli
Daman & Diu 78.8 86.2 71.2
Lakshadweep 91.7 95.7 87.8
(Some of the state & Uts namely: Hariyana, Punjab, Chandigarh, Delhi &
Puduchurry have no tribal population )
Source : Census of India 2011, Registrar General of India
Table 2: Important Indicators

Regarding the conditions of the Scheduled Tribes of West Bengal
vis-à-vis Scheduled Tribes of India, some of the important indicators are
shown below :
Sl. Indicator ST (WB) ST (India)
1 Decadal growth rate of population 20.20 23.66
2 Sex Ratio 999 990
3 Literacy rate 57.90 59.00
4 Infant Mortality Rate 95.7
Percentage of household having
5 24.40 22.60
latrine facility within premises
6 drinking water source within the 18.6 19.7
premises
7 access to treated tap water/ hand 56.67 53.82
pump as drinking water source
1. % age contribution of WB –
Incidence and rate of crime
0.7%
8 committed against Scheduled
2. Rank of WB (Rate of
Tribes
cognizable crime) - 19
174
Source: House Listing Data, Census 2011
Table 3 :List of Scheduled Tribes of West Bengal

1. ASUR 21. KORWA
2. BAIGA 22. LEPCHA
3. BEDIA, BEDIYA 23. LODHA, KHERIA, KHARIA
4. BHUMIJ 24. LOHARA, LOHRA
5. BHUTIA, SHERPA, TOTO, 25. MAGH
DUKPA, KAGATAY, TIBETAN,
YOLMO
6. BIRHOR 26. MAHALI
7. BIRJIA 27. MAHLI
8. CHAKMA 28. MAL PAHARIYA
9. CHERO 29. MECH
10. CHIK BARAIK 30. MRU
175
11. GARO 31. MUNDA

12. GOND 32. NAGESIA
13. GORAIT 33. ORAON
14. HAJANG 34. PAHARIYA
15. HO 35. RABHA
16. KARMALI 36. SANTAL
17. KHARWAR 37. SAURIA PAHARIA
18. KHOND 38. SAVAR
19. KISAN 39. LIMBU
20. KORA 40. TAMANG
Table 4 : District Wise Distribution of Scheduled Tribes population in

West Bengal
Sl District Total Male Female
No. Percentage Percentage Percentage
01 Bankura 7.0 3.5 3.5
02 Barddhaman 9.2 4.6 4.6
03 Birbhum 4.6 2.3 2.3
04 Dakshin 5.2 2.6 2.6
Dinajpur
05 Darjeeling 7.5 3.7 3.8
06 Howrah 0.3 0.2 0.1
07 Hoogli 4.3 2.1 2.2
08 Jalpaiguri 13.8 6.9 6.9
09 Kochbihar 0.3 0.2 0.2
10 Kolkata 0.2 0.1 0.1
11 Maldah 5.9 3.0 2.0
12 Murshidabad 1.7 0.9 0.9
Source : Census of India 2011
Table 5 : District Wise Distribution percentage of the Illiterate and

Literate Scheduled Tribes in West Bengal
Sl Districts Illiterate Literate
No. Persons Males Female Persons Males Female
% % % % % %
01 Darjeeling 5.1 2.0 3.0 9.9 5.4 4.5
02 Jalpaiguri 13.6 5.7 7.9 14.0 8.1 5.9
176
03 Kochbihar 0.3 0.1 0.2 0.4 0.2 0.2

04 Uttar 3.9 1.8 2.2 2.2 1.3 0.9
Dinajpur
05 Dakshin 5.3 2.3 3.0 5.1 3.0 2.2
Dinajpur
06 Maldah 7.2 3.1 4.0 4.7 2.8 1.9
07 Murshidabad 1.9 0.9 1.1 1.5 0.9 0.6
08 Birbhum 5.5 2.3 3.2 3.7 2.2 1.5
09 Barddhaman 9.8 4.0 5.8 8.7 5.2 3.6
10 Nadia 2.7 1.2 1.5 2.7 1.5 1.1
11 N 24 4.3 1.8 2.5 5.7 3.2 2.4
Parganas
12 Hoogli 4.0 1.6 2.4 4.6 2.7 1.9
13 Bankura 6.7 2.5 4.2 7.2 4.4 2.8
14 Puruliya 11.0 4.3 6.7 9.4 5.9 3.5
15 Howrah 0.2 0.1 0.1 0.4 0.2 0.2
16 Kolkata 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.3 0.2 0.1
17 S 24 Parganas 1.8 0.8 1.0 1.9 1.1 0.8
18 Paschim 16.2 6.5 9.7 17.0 10.1 6.9
Medinipur
19 Purba 0.5 0.2 0.3 0.6 0.3 0.2
Medinipur
Source : Census of India 2011
Issues & Challenges of tribal Education :

If we analyse the real issues of tribal population for taking
education then we must find that there is higher concentration of poverty
among the tribal population in both the rural as well as urban areas. Their
weak resource base, their low position in socio-economic and political
hierarchy, illiteracy, their relative lack of access to facilities provided by
developmental measures; and their inadequate participation in institutions
are mainly responsible for their backwardness as well as access to
education. It is indeed a matter of deep concern that why the fruits of
development fail to reach the weaker sections of our society despite our
planned efforts. There are many critical issues and problems in the field of
tribal education. They are as follows:
1. Medium of language: Language is one of the important constraints
of tribal children which prevents them access to education. Tribal
177
children have limited contact with the state language, and tend to
speak in their home language. Government schools use the state
language for teaching and communication, which is most often not
familiar to a tribal child at the pre-primary and primary levels. They
are, thus, unable to fully comprehend classroom teaching and
activities, read in the state language or understand the texts
properly. Gradually introducing the state language can improve the
child's potential in mainstream education systems. The use of the
tribal language in the initial years can develop a sense of comfort
for the tribal child. It must be the first language and taught as a
means of acquiring knowledge of tribal culture, ethnicity, literature
and the arts. The medium of instruction cannot only be the local
language, because of practical constraints. It must, however, start
with that.
2. Curriculum Content: Local Adaptation of Methods and Materials
Educational content should be molded in the "relevant" culture of
the community. Research in child development and pedagogy has
indicated that a young child learns concepts better if these are
embedded in contexts that are meaningful, i. E. contexts that are
local and familiar. The words, terminologies, messages, topics
reflected in the syllabus and textbooks are most often alien to
tribals. The new National Curriculum. Framework, however,
recommends a plurality of textbooks meant to create a theoretical
space for local specificity. There is a growing focus on workbooks
that supplement the learning process in various subjects, and can
encourage children to undertake assignments outside the classroom
(e. G. conduct science experiments at home with local materials).
Other teaching aids to make learning more fun and creative include
puppets, model making, singing and drama.
3. Teacher Training and Pedagogy: Children, in tribal/scheduled areas,
are taught by teachers who may or may not be from the tribal
community. The presence of tribal teachers, especially from the
same community, has shown and improved school participation of
tribal children, as these teachers understand and respect the culture
with greater sensitivity. Assuming that tribal teachers are a more
natural fit, many states have appointed community teachers or para
178
teachers. However, special training on both course materials as well

as appropriate conduct with tribal students has to be undertaken
even if the teacher has tribal origins. Training and capacity building
has to be undertaken on a sustained basis to ensure continued
motivation on the part of teachers. Studies suggest that teacher
motivation contributes more to the teaching-learning process than
teacher competence. For maximum effectiveness, teacher training
has to be an ongoing process, and not a one-time effort. In addition
to training, capacity building of teachers on academic competence
and pedagogy is needed.
4. Community Participation and Ownership: For the community to be
involved in the education process, youth tribal educators and tribal
teachers from the community can act as agents of change. They can
serve as role models and work together inside and outside the
classroom. At the same time, the local tribal community must be
empowered, as partners, with a sense of true ownership of the
initiative. New and comprehensive ways of engaging communities
and/or eliciting participation from communities have to be explored
constantly, keeping in mind the changing needs of the community.
5. Attitude of the parents: As education does not yield any immediate
economic return, the tribal parents prefer to engage their children in
remunerative employment which supplements the family income.
6. The Location of the Village: The physical barriers creates a
hindrance for the children of a tribal village to attend the school in a
neighbouring village.
7. Lack of Proper monitoring: Proper monitoring is hindered by poor
coordination between the Tribal Welfare Department and School
Education Department.
8. Economic Condition: The economic condition of tribal people is so
poor that they do not desire to spare their children or their labour
power and allow them to attend schools.
Reasons for Dropout :

Even govt. took the responsibility for free and compulsory
education, food and accommodation, financial support for higher
education, the dropout rates continue to remain unacceptedly increasing
specially among tribal students (Times of India, 2017).Only one reason is
179
not solely responsible for this, there are many factors which are
responsible for this high dropout. Where we talks about girls education,
Girls education can help self dependent, engage in job which can reduce
family financial burden, Organise themselves, analyse the problematic
situation for solve the problem, contribute for overall development which
brought a huge change in society(I. E. D, 2020) but when we see the tribal
education it lost its destination. So, we must understand that what actually
happened with them that they leave the school without completing the
school education. Some are stated below:
1) Language problem:
Language related problem is one of the important problems for their
drop out. Different tribal speaks different tribal language, but
medium of instruction and teachers are sometimes unknown with
this facts.
2) Geographical Barrier:
SSA, RTE act ensure the free and compulsory school education but
due to the geographical barrier like location of village hilly area,
forest etc create a barrier for access the school education.
3) Unavailability of Books:
Books are unavailable on their script and syllabus is not linked with
their culture also a reason of school dropout.
4) Poverty and unemployment:
Due to the low economic status poverty and unemployment is the
another cause for school dropout. Childs are engaged for earning
money rather than education.
5) Negative attitude towards education:
Many more tribal parents are illiterate, school dropout and they
think that sending the child to school is a luxurious activity. In other
hand alcoholism of parents and peer influence also the reason of
dropout (Soren. D, 2016)
6) Quality Education:
It is the another vital issue for dropout. different ASER report states
the challenging faces of quality education specially in tribal area
related to trained Teacher, language policy, unsuitable syllabus,
infrastructure, drinking water, facility, are the causes of tribal
dropout etc.
180
7) First generation learner:

A lot number of tribal first generation learner enrolled in school
(Banerjee. J,2013) but before completing the school they are
dropped out due to the adjustment problems, academic support and
illiterate parents.
8) Caste Problem:According to census 2011, caste related problem is a
problem for dropout of deprived child. They faces discrimination in
all situation everyday at the school.
Conclusion & Suitable Suggestions :

In this 21st century when a tremendous development of science
and technology thinks about the artificial intelligence, and make a society
in another planet or space, then in another side a million of children
struggle with fulfilment of their basic needs. Attaining minimum level of
education is still of them out of mind. The new education policy (2020) try
to make smart classroom, online based teaching learning , create education
hub, allow international universities for establishing their new campus in
India, but study explored that a huge number of tribal children are out of
school and are deprived from accessing quality education. If government
will not take some drastic steps for the development of tribal education, the
status of education among tribes will be a story of distress, despair and
death. Hence time has come to think it seriously about tribal education and
inclusive growth.
Education is the only important and essential avenue for
upgrading the economic and social status of marginalized communities in
the society. Based on the previous discussions, it is noted that the
government has to do a lot to improve their educational status. Even after
the implementation of Sarva Siksha Abhiyan, only 88.46 percent of ST
households are covered under primary schools in a radius of 1 km. There
is decline in the percentage of school dropouts and out of schoolchildren
among the tribals, but to further reduce the number, the curriculum should
be prepared in their mother tongue. There can be mid-day meal, night
school, adult education centres etc. Moreover, the government must
appoint some tribal members as teachers wherever possible. This will
certainly bring confidence and also motivate the tribal students to get
enrolled to the school and keep on continuing. Along with this, more
181
number of Ashram schools should be opened in their areas, and the

government rules are to be relaxed so that more and more children can get
into the school system. The premier institutions like IITs and IIMs are to
reach out to tribals if they fail to turn up. There should not be any
discriminatory treatment at such institutes, even if they joined. In view of
all these conditions, priority must be given to the sector wise plans and its
implementations for the betterment of the tribal children.
For addressing the current scarcity of competent teachers in tribal
areas, special efforts must be made to train the teachers so that more
number of competent teachers can get into the education system. Most of
the educational schemes /missions are not really supportive to their
betterment, and they have not generated any significant impact. There
should be proper accountability of the state education department to
mobilise tribals to primary education and skill developments. It’s pertinent
to notethat along with primary education, skill development is very
essential. There are good number of Self-Help Groups (SHGs) based on
micro-finance credit system. Many tribals get into it and have had first-
hand experience self determination. Moreover, inclusion of local culture,
folklore, and history to the curriculum can help building confidence among
the tribal children, and this approach may help in increasing their
enrolment and retention at school since music and dance are the essential
aspects of their cultural life. Therefore, storytelling, theatre, painting,
music, and dance performances should be promoted at schools. Similarly,
sports like archery, football, and other popular local sports are extremely
beneficial remedies for dropouts; it should be promoted. The tribal
literature and ethnology constitute the invaluable indigenous knowledge. It
should be documented, researched, and promoted. For developing a better
understanding of the tribal cultures and their promotion, there should be
adequate number of cultural research and educational cent resin tribal
regions. An important step in this direction is to teach tribal history and
culture at schools to both tribal and non-tribal children. It would indirectly
help to overcome the paucity of teachers in tribal areas.
Furthermore social acceptance is mostly needed for the betterment
of tribals, otherwise they will remain as untouchables for the rest of the
society. Even then they(tribals) will not be able to embrace to whole
system. And for this also, education is the only means.
182
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184
CHAPTER 16
EMPOWERMENT OF TRIBAL WOMEN: PROBLEMS,

POSSIBILITIES AND POLICY PERSPECTIVES
Dr. Sarita Singh29 & Dr. Gyanendra Kumar Rout 30
Abstract:
A woman plays an integral role in any humanistic society. Empowerment
of women is a challenging task in which women are facing conservative
norms and culture to effectively promote the good well-being of others.
Tribal women also play a significant role like any other social group in
our society. It is assumed that men and women both are equal and similar
human beings but there are no general interests displayed and pay off
towards their needs and well-being by other social beings. Gender
discrimination in terms of their egalitarian rights is considered a matter of
social justice and a universal responsibility. In this context, several
constitutional provisions have been incorporated for promoting and
safeguarding the right and interests of scheduled tribe women and as
general. However, this customary law & provisions did not make any
significant changes and improvements yet which they required. Indeed
Women expect a healthy lifestyle that incorporates all the facilities for
dealing an independent life. However, still,they have a long way to go
before and achieve an equal life as compared to men. In essence,
secondary data was collected to reflect the contemporary status of tribal
women via content analysis. This study may help us to know the current
prevailing status of tribal women and their safeguard measures as well. In
this sense, a conceptual study was done.
Keywords: Empowerment, Gender-Discrimination, Challenges,

Education, Tribal women
29
Assistant Professor in Education, Dept. of Education, Sitananda College Nandigram,
West Bengal, India
30
Professor in Education, Faculty of Education Indira Gandhi National Tribal University
Amarkantak (M.P)-India
185
Introduction-
T
ribal group resides in the major parts of India. They are assumed
as one of the earliest settlers of India. Tribes are called by different
names such as primitive, indigenous, aboriginal settlers of India.
Tribes are found all over the world, but India has a large number of tribal
populations with the rate of 8.6% according to the 2011 census after
Africa. Indian tribe mainly resides in various ecological and geo-climatic
environments ranging from plains, forests, hills, and inaccessible areas.
They love to reside in the natural environment and depend on natural
resources for their daily livelihood. They used to do agricultural work,
hunting, gathering of wood, collecting forest product and shifting
cultivation. But due to the destruction of the forest, tribal were being
forced to lead a very desolate life. After the independence and with the
adaptation of Indian constitutions, special attention was given to the tribal
people under the scheduled list of Indian constitutions under articles 342(i)
and 342(ii). Now the central and state government must make all possible
efforts and provide special care for their upliftment into the main streams
of common people. India is a place, which has a huge tribal population of
about 70 million. In terms of geographical distribution, about 55% of
tribal lived in central India, 28% in the west, 12% in North- East India,
4% in South India, and 1% elsewhere. The socio-economic and cultural
lifestyles of a tribal group of India vary from group to group and different
geographical conditions. The most powerful quality and characteristics of
tribal groups are their cultural identity, ethnic norms, which are remaining
unchanged forever. Tribal peoples are very much conscious about their
religious values, a solidarity which they always try to maintain in every
circumstance. As per the census report of 2001, the total tribal population
in India were constituted 8.8% whereas 91.7% of the population resides in
rural areas and 8.3% in urban. But as per the census of 2011 census report
scheduled tribes are notified in 30 states/UTs, and the number of
individual ST ethnic groups is 705 and in the numeric value 10,42,81034
(23.7%), in which rural population constitutes 9,38,19,162 (21.3%) and in
urban areas 1,04,61,872 (49.7%). In addition to this, the population growth
of ST Males is about 5.25 crore and ST females are 5.20 crore. Inter-
decadal development of ST population in 2011 as compared to 2001 as
revealed that ST female Population growth rate is 25% higher than ST
186
male population growth rate 23%. STs Sex ratio has improved from 978
females in 2001 to 990 in 2011. As per the census report, the figures
literacy rate for STs improved from 978 females in 2001 to 990 in 2011.
Whereas ST male literacy rate increased from 59.2% to 68.5% and among
ST females, the literacy rate increased 34.8% and 49.4% during the same
period. Similarly, the literacy rate of the total population has increased
from 64.8% in 2001 to 73% in 2011.
Table-I
Literacy Rates of All and among STs Population
Year All Males Females STs Male Female
persons Population
1961 28.30% 40.40% 15.35% 8.53% 13.83% 3.16%
1971 34.45% 45.96% 21.97% 11.30% 17.63% 4.85%
1981 43.57% 56.38% 29.76% 16.35% 24.52% 8.04%
1991 52.21% 64.13% 39.29% 29.60% 40.65% 18.19%
2001 64.84 % 75.26% 53.67% 47.10% 59.17% 34.76%
2011 73.00% 80.90% 64.60% 59.00% 68.50% 49.40%
Source-office of the Registrar General of India
Total ST poulation of India from 1961 to 2011

Series1 Series2
2020 8.60%
2010 8.20%
2000 8.10%
1990 7.60%
1980 6.90%
1970 6.90%
1960
1950
1940
1930
1 2 3 4 5 6
1961 1971 1981 1991 2001 2011
Figure: 1, Decadal growth of ST population in India
Status of Tribal Women

Article 366 (25) of the constitution of India refers to the scheduled
tribes as those communities, who are scheduled following article 342 of
187
the constitution. The tribal women constitute about half of the total
population like any other social group (Bramhayya, 2018). Tribal women
have been playing a tremendous role in different spheres of society. The
constitution of India guarantees equality before the law for all (Article 14,
15(4)), but also has created special provisions of affirmative actions
against the discrimination, empowerment, and development of the
deprived and marginalized section of society (Bramhayya, 2018). A tribal
woman upholds a special position in the socio-economic structure of tribal
society. Thus, tribal women play a remarkable role in various livelihood
works of daily lives like- shifting cultivation, food gathering, animal
husbandry, artistic profession, and other industrial works. They have been
contributing a huge amount of participation in traditional household
works, collection of natural resources without its depletion. Generally, it
signifies their immense contribution to sustainable development and in the
growth of the tribal economy. At present, women have been playing an
equal role in the sustainable growth and development of nations
throughout the world also. However, it has been observed that the status of
tribal women is quite inferior as compared to tribal men. In addition to
this, the fruit of development is not equally distributed between men and
women. Therefore, the concept of gender discrimination is still abstract.
Such discriminatory gap reflects in the literacy rate of tribal men and
women. A study report of (Phukon, 1997) observed that tribal women
have been giving their much potential efforts on production and labour
hood work for their family surviving as daily wages. The utmost priority
of women is on the economic development of the family rather than
education. From a very early age, they work like a spin and weave for their
family members. When the question of education comes they are
compelled to sacrifice themselves from the fruit of education and comfort
lifestyles. Although there were 20 articles and 2 special provisions were
incorporated with full efforts. The provision was embedded under the
different sections-part III on fundamental rights, part-IV on directive
principles of state policy, part- X on scheduled tribe areas, part-XII on
finance property, and part- XVI on special provision reflects the safety
measures described under article 14, 15 (I,II), 17, 23,25. These mainly
pertains to the abolition of untouchability, discrimination on the ground of
caste, race, sex, reach out of public places, use of public wells, tanks, and
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other residential places. The educational and economical provisions were

also incorporated under the constitutional rights in constitutional articles of
15(4), 16(1), 16(4), 14(4), 29, 46, 335 for availing the safety measures,
reservation on admission, employment, opportunities in education and
other economic benefits for the protection against the social justice and
exploitation.
Review of Related Literature-

Rathod, N., Devi, G., Ghabru, M. (2018). Have studied problems
faced by tribal women in self-help groups in the Dahod district of Gujrat.
The study reported that out of 120 respondents 64.25% suffered through
an educational crisis and 56.46% had a lack of motivation which leadsto a
social and economic constraint.
Haseena,V. A(2015).performed a study on poverty and livelihood
problems among the scheduled tribes in Kerala. The result highlighted that
tribal women were deprived of all sets of development and inclusive
growth. Malnutrition and infant deaths were the common health problems
among tribal groups. It was also suggested through this study that to
increase livelihood opportunities among the tribal group, need to ensure a
healthy lifestyle and awareness among tribes about the right use of
property & education.
Majumdar, R., Sikdar, P. D.(2017).undertaken a study on the role
of ICT in raising health awareness among tribal women in India. The
study highlighted that status of tribal women is very low in terms of health,
education & employment as compared to tribal men. In addition to this
infant mortality rate was very high due to the low level of awareness
towards the health & hygiene facilities.
Ralph, B. H. &Radha, B.(2016). Conducted a study on ICT usage
among tribes in Tamilnadu. The study highlighted a small number of
people using ICT for accessing education. Among 45 respondents 20%
were using the internet for education and 11% used the internet for
watching the news and 21% population using the internet for accessing
social networking sites.
Mondal, T. & Sarkhel, J. (2015). Highlighted in a study on
problems faced by poor tribal women in a self-help group. The result
highlighted that status of tribal women is more deplorable and they
189
continuously face ignorance, poverty, unhealthy lives due to the low-

income lack of awareness and educational deprivation.
Chatterjee, P. (2014). has identified in a study on the social and
economic status of tribal women in India. The study reflected that tribal
women are harder working than men and their immense contribution to
family income forced them to work hard as daily labour, agricultural work,
and animal husbandry so on.
Burman, J.J.R.,(2012). Observed on the status of tribal women in
India with the findings revealed that the status of tribal women depends on
the economic roles which they play. Apart from it, in India, there is no
virtual role to play in the social and political sphere and they had no role in
the village council also.
Sindhi, S.(2012). Focused on prospects and challenges in the
empowerment of tribal women through his study, and the major findings
revealed that tribal women in India facing an abusive situation in terms of
domestic violence, mental torture, financial crisis, educational deprivation,
and so on. In essence, they are also facing discriminatory behaviour in our
society.
Beniwal, A.(N. D). Highlighted in his study on Indian tribes'
problems and their solutions. The result reflected that tribal women served
as bonded labour due to the indebtedness of land and agriculture.
Socio-Economic Status of Tribal Women

Schedule tribes constitute a very less portion of the total general
population in the country. In India, tribal women are harder working than
tribal men and the non-tribal population. Tribal women have been giving
their greater participation towards family income, agriculture, and
productive work. But, due to low income and lack of awareness, they are
unable to send their children to access the formal level of education.
Women are denied equal rights with men in terms of land, property,
educational &employment opportunities, proper food & shelter facilities
over the lives of their children. Women are routinely beaten and even
murdered in the name of cultural tradition. Despite that fact, the
international human rights law prohibits the practices which are damaging
to violence against women is an abuse of human rights. Girls are lagging
behind in all spheres, due to gender discrimination in the workplace,
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educational institution, decision-making power, and political participation,

financial, personal, and professional lane also. At present 52% of the tribal
population comes under the below poverty line and the rest of 54% tribal
have no access to economic assets. This is due to lack of awareness,
illiteracy, poverty, occupational conditions, and backwardness(Singh &
Singh, 2017). The socio-economic status of tribal women is determined by
their health status, literacy level, and economic condition. In this context, it
has been reviewed in many parts of the country that the tribal population
suffers from serious chronic infection, waterborne disease, and many
more. It may due to their low level of awareness on health- hygiene &
sanitation facilities (Chatterjee, 2014).
Educational Deprivation
Education has a great level of significance in today’s world. It
serves as a vehicle of knowledge, gaining self-respect, confidence, and
success in every person’s life. In that sense, women's education is
considered significant attention in the context of the nation’s development
(Kaur, 2020). Education enables women belonging from any category to
learn basic skills, the foster value which leads an upliftment of all
marginalized and deprived sections of society. However, women of tribal
communities are still lagging behind economically, culturally, politically,
and socially from the mainstream group of society. Such kind of exclusion
has adversely affected the quality of life of tribal people. As we know
educational literacy is the key indicator for the progress of tribal women
(Suman, 2018). From the educational point of view literacy rate of tribal
people is not satisfactory yet. The literacy rate reflects the huge gap
between the tribal group of male and female and other social groups. The
literacy rate of tribal people was only 8.53% in 2001 which rapidly growth
to 58.96% in 2011. While tribal female literacy rate stands at49.35% as
compared to male 68.53%. As contradictory to this total literacy rate of the
general population stood at 28.3% in 1961 as has increased 74.20% in
2011. This elicited a significant difference in the educational development
of tribal people (Sen &Barik, 2020).
191
Table-II
Comparative Literacy Rates of STs and Total Population (In percent)
Year 1961 1971 1981 1991 2001 2011
Total 28.3% 34.45% 43.57% 52.21% 64.84% 72.99%
population
Schedule 8.53% 11.30% 16.35% 29.7% 47.10% 58.96%
tribe
Gap 19.77% 18.15% 19.88% 22.61% 18.28% 14.03%
(Source- Statistical Profile of Schedule Tribe in India 2014)
Total Literacy Rate of STs Population from 1961 -2011
2020
2010
2000
1990
Axis Title
1980
1970
1960
1950
1940
1930
1 2 3 4 5 6
Series2 8.53% 11.30% 16.35% 29.70% 47.10% 58.96%
Series1 1961 1971 1981 1991 2001 2011
Figure: 2, Literacy Rate of Schedule Tribe in India (1961-2011)
Low level of Political Participation among Tribal Women

Indian Democracy is considered the largest democracy in the world
due to its diversified culture. It needs the larger participation of people
irrespective of gender, caste, creed, colour, and religion. Article 326 of the
Indian constitution ensures the political participation of women as a
provisional norm (Basak & Ghosh, 2020). Despite having constitutional
rights women have been neglected for a long timein a political field also.
However, the 73rd Amendment Act of 1993 mandated a 1/3rd reservation of
seats as an important landmark in Indian politics for scheduled caste,
scheduled tribes, and women. The low participation of women & tribal
192
women is been considered a problem among all the democratic countries

in the world. The political participation of tribal women has increased
from 22 seats in 1952 to 61 seats in 2014. Women's participation in
Loksabha was only 4.4% in 1952 which turned with new data of 11%.
But, it is still below the world average record of 20%. Which reflects sub-
goals of Millennium Development ensures equal participation of women
in the political field with the belief of developed nations (Kaleon, 2018).
Generally, the political field of tribal people incorporates the individuals,
elders, clan groups, villagers, and other territories. The village member of
the tribal group works actively as a political unit. The sacerdotal member
of the tribal group takes care of all the secular affairs and other related
works of their society. Most of the tribes have judicial machinery power
which deals with disputes and social offenses. The village council is
known as the village panchayat deals with the judicial matter. The
headman holds the responsibilities of the entire villager of the tribal
community. The Headmen is called Mahato among the Oraous, Munda
among the Mundas, Majhi among the Santhals, Mukhia among the
Lodhas. The village Panchayati system works as an important asset in
their society with the feeling of love and brotherhood (Singh & Singh,
2017).
Table – III
Seats Reserved for STs in Lok Sabha over the years
1984- 1991-
Year 1951 1957 1962 1967 1971 1977 1980 1989 1996 1998 1999 2004 2009 2014
1985 92
Total
494 494 494 520 518 542 529 541 543 41 41 41 41 41 47 47
seats
ST
26 31 31 37 36 38 41 41 41 543 543 543 543 543 543 543
seats
(Source- Electoral Statistic Survey of India 2014)
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Reservation of Seats in Loksabha for ST
Year Total Seats ST Seats
1951 1957 1962 1967 1971 1977 1980
494 494 494 520 518 542 529
26 31 31 37 36 38 41
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Figure:, Reservation of Seats for STs (Source- Electoral Statistic

Census of 2014)
Reservation of seats in Loksabha for ST
Year Total Seats ST Seats
1984 1989 1991 1996 1998 1999 2001 2009 2014
541 543 543 543 543 543 543
543 543
41 41 41 41 41 41 41 47 47
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
(Source- Electoral Statistic Census of 2014)
Poor Health Condition

A good & healthy state of mind is the most prosperous wealth of
every human’s life. Likewise, a healthy woman builds a healthy
community, a healthy status of income, and health education for all.
Women’s multiple roles not only affect their health and well-being but
194
also affect the overall health and well-being of their family members.
Women's health problem is a great matter of concern especially in the
context of Indian society. The Human Development Report (2011)
indicated that India ranked 132 out of 187 countries in terms of gender
inequality index of maternal mortality rate, adolescent fertility rate.
However, the third and fifth schedule of the Indian constitution has given a
special preference to the tribal population due to their low socio-economic
status, low accessibility of education, and poor health condition. The
health condition of tribal women is remaining unsatisfactory due to several
crises. The most common health problem is marked among the tribal
population and women is malnutrition. This leads the diseases such as
tuberculosis, malaria, Anaemia, underweight condition of women,
deficiency of vitamin (A), protein, iron, iodine, and other vitamins. Except
it, a respiratory tract of infection and diarrheal disorders are also very
much common in tribal children and women. According to (WHO) nearly
five women die every hour, and annually 45,000 mothers die annually in
India at the time of childbirth. The WHO said that the major cause of
maternal death is post-partum Haemorrhage (PPH). Based on World
Health Statistic (2016), the MMR (Maternal Maternity Rate) of India is
174/100,000 live births and a birth cohort of around 26 million per year.
In many parts of our country, the rate of women's literacy is very lowest in
the world and the level of maternal, infant mortality rate is the highest in
the world.
Table- IV
Nutritional Parameters among Tribal women
Parameters Schedule Tribe (%) General Population
Malnutrition in Children 54.5% 33.7%
Anaemia in Children 76.8% 70%
Anaemia in Women 68.5% 51.3%
Underweight among 46.6% 29.4%
Women
Vitamin (A) deficiency in 30% 18.5%
Women
Source- NFHS-3 Survey report of Govt. of India
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Incentive Measures for Tribal Women

As we know women play an important role in determining the
destiny of any nation. Therefore the principles of gender equality or
women empowerment are enshrined in the Indian constitution as
fundamental duties and directive principles. The constitutional right not
only claiming for egalitarian rights for women but also empowers the state
to adopt the measures of positive discrimination in favor of women. In the
framework of the Indian constitution the democratic polity, laws, welfare
programs, policies, and plans have aimed at women’s advancement in
different spheres. Article 14, 15, 15(3), 16, 39(a), 39(b), 39(c), and 42 of
the constitution are of specific importance, which protects women against
discrimination on grounds of religion, race, caste, sex or place of birth, and
equality of opportunities for all.
Constitutional Privileges
Some of the constitutional provisions were made for the safety
and security of women in all spheres. (i) Article (14) notifies the equality
before law for women (ii) Article 15 (1) also mentioned the important
customary law that state shall not discriminate any individuals on the
ground of caste, sex, religion, race, place of birth (iii) Article 15(3)
highlighted that every state shall make special provision in favour of
women and children welfare (iv)Article (16) mentioning the norms for
providing the equal opportunity to every member of society in terms of
employment and appointment to any job sector (v) Article 39(a) offering
the power to state that it direct the policy and guidelines for safety and
security of both men and women equally and provide the right means of
livelihood vi) Article 39(d) recommended the equal wages for equal work
vii) Article (39 A) promote justice and provide free legal aid services by
suitable legislative norms for ensuring the equal justice and not denied the
opportunities to any citizens by the reason of economic other disabilities
(viii) Article (42) given special benefit for women is work in humane
conditions and with maternity reliefs(ix) Article (46) protects women in
educational ground and economic interests of the weaker sections and
protect them from social injustice and exploitation (x) Article (47) focused
on adequate level of nutrition and the standard living of every human
being (xi) Article 51 A(e) focused on mental peace & harmony with the
196
spirit of brotherhood and eradicate the practices of derogatory &disrespect

of women (xii) Article 243 D(3), 243D (4), 243 T(3), are make special
provision for allocation of seats in different Govt. bodies like panchayat
Sabha, municipal corporation for women and SC/ST communities.
Educational Incentives
It has been noticed that after the independence Government of
India tirelessly worked for scheduled tribes and other disadvantaged
sections of society through several programmatic interventions for the
academic and socio-economic upliftment of tribal groups. Hence,
education is a key path for the all-around development of tribal and any
other group of people. After independence, several educational policies
were framed to necessitate required able changes and facilities in the frame
of education. Educational planners noticed that the proper facility of
education is very much required for the development of tribal people also.
In essence, several policies, schemes, and programs are in force that
mainly targeted the ST scholarship, free access to education, shelter,
livelihood, health education, and many more. In this arena of education,
the National Policy of Education (NEP) 1986, 1992 first time laid
significant emphasis on the empowerment of women in general and the
educational improvement of scheduled tribes also. The NEP (1986)
highlighted the priorities were- i) opening of primary schools in tribal
areas ii) socio-cultural vocational training for scheduled tribes iii)
Imparting educational training to educate the scheduled tribes iv) tribal
youth to take up teaching v) promoting residential issues vi) introducing
incentive schemes vii) opening of non-formal educational centers viii)
curricula for tribal students at all stages of education to create awareness.
The reviewed and revised policy of 1992 marked significant stress for the
educational development of scheduled tribes and their equalization with
non-scheduled tribes’ populations at all stages of development and
education. Which were(i) effective educational planning and management
system (ii) effective decentralization (iii) to evolve priorities and pursue
objectives oriented programs (iv) sound personal management system (v)
performance of routine task i. E. supply of textbooks, conduction of
examination and delivery of educational services. In this lane, National
Educational Policy (NEP-2020) has also identified a gender gap and
197
recommended to constitute a ‘Gender-Inclusion fund’ to build the nation’s

capacity to provide an equitable quality education for all girls as well
transgender students. This policy will mainly work for eliminating the
disparity in terms of access to education, vocational training, gender
discrimination, and other socio-economic disadvantaged section of society.
Development and Employment Programmes

The government has implemented various programs which
encourage tribes to take up new ventures. Some kind of assistance is
given. Which are as follows-
❖ National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NAREGA)
❖ Sampoorna Grameen Rojgar Yojna (SGRY)
❖ Swarnjayanti Gram Swarojgar Yojna (SGSY)
❖ Indira Awas Yojna (IAY)
❖ National Rural Health Mission (2005-2012)
❖ Post Matric Scholarship
❖ Higher Studies Fellowship for ST students
❖ National Merit Fellowship
❖ Fellowship for Studies in Abroad
Important Measures for the Empowerment of Women under the 12th

five-year plan (2012-17)
• To strengthen the economic aspect of women's empowerment.
• To provide adequate social and physical infrastructure for their
good well-being.
• To Enabling the proper legislation system.
• Equal participation of women in governance.
• To provide inclusive education in all categories of women of a
weaker and vulnerable group.
• Reformation in national policies/ programmes.
• Mainstreaming gender through gender budgeting.
Welfare Measures for women

After recognizing the needs of tribal communities’ initiative
actions were taken by the ministry of tribal affairs in the form of marketing
development activities for Non-Timber Forest Produce (NTFP) on which
198
tribal people spend most of their time& energy and can earna handsome
amount of money for their livelihood. Another initiative is that the Tribal
Co-Operative Marketing Development Federation of India Limited
(TRIFED) an autonomous body, was also set up to serve the interest of the
tribal community and for their socio-economic development &marketing
of tribal products in a professional manner. Major initiatives action plans
taken for the empowerment of women in difficult circumstances by Govt.
of India. i) Schemes for Nationally Scheduled Tribes Finance and
Development Corporation ii) Integrated child development scheme iii)
National rural health mission iv) Janani Suraksha Yojna v) integrated
Child Protection Scheme vi) Targeted Public Distribution System (TPDS)
vii) Antyodaya Anna yojana viii) Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojna
(RSBY) ix) Scheme for working women hostel x) Swarnjayanti Gram
Swarojgar yojana xi) Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment
Guarantee Act (MGNREGA)
Suggestions
• For the empowerment of women, we need to create an
environment of favourable economic and social policies for their
upliftment and make them enable to realize their inner potential.
• Provide equal rights and opportunities to every human being for
their career advancement in a practical, affordable & essential
manner. We just need to understand the importance of women in a
realistic manner instead of document writing.
• To ensure the full integration of women in a development process,
there is a need to start with a grass root level of school education
of a girl child. Because if we educate women, then we can educate
the whole nation, and educate a man can merely educate an
individual. Therefore the girl child must acquire the necessary
skills for the effective participation of women in social, cultural,
economical, and political spheres.
• There is a need to reform and revise the curriculum by 21st
century’s skills and knowledge in the form of curricular and co-
curricular activities.
199
• The mere number of enrolments ratio is not sufficient; instead of

it, there is a need to focus on more high retention and low dropout
rate.
• Socio-economic poverty, unemployment is the greatest obstacle to
the empowerment of women. Need to provide more suitable
platforms with vocational training that should be imparted in an
equal way. It helps to understand the productive work as well.
• The role of women in decision-making should be improved.
Women should be allowed to work at equal wages with safety,
security, and support.
• There is aneed to monitor the accessibility of welfare programs
and incentive measures of the tribal population. This will also be
helpful to curb the malpractices in the prevalent society.
Conclusion
After going through the various facts& content analysis it has
been elicited that drastic changes have been found in the movement of
tribal &women empowerment. Empowering women not only brought
positive influence and efforts in the lives of women but also the lifestyle of
every human being. The 21st century’s women represent themselves in an
extremely brilliant manner both nationally and internationally. They have
been getting outstanding recognition in every field. However, this
achievement of women is partially applicable in Indian society. The status
of tribal women in Indian society is very low in terms of education,
employability, & health as compared to men. India is the second populated
country in the world that holds 6.77 crores of tribal population. However,
the recorded data shows that women constitute 586.5 million populations
as per the 2011 census, where her political presence is only 48.46%. On
the other hand workforce participation of (labour & employment) as per
the 2011 census of India, where male constituted 53.3% and female
25.5%. In essence, it has also been observed that most of the tribal
problems are rooted in the preserved culture, indebtedness, land alienation,
migration, poverty, health issues, and incompetency from basic education.
In this context, preservation of tribal culture and educational assimilation
are the key indicators for dealing with tribal problems. Somehow the
preservation of tribal cultures is a preservation of the ancient and primitive
200
culture of India too. Tribal people have their own delightful cultures,
languages, artistic passion, and traditional values. Hence, cultural
integration and collaboration lead to the educational evolution and
development of tribal communities. Generally, Nobody wants to leave
their own culture & cultural identity, so why the tribal? So we should
provide fruit of education in a manner that inculcates their cultural
practices, languages, traditional artwork, and education that can be easily
acquired and be value-added in their fruitful lives.
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CHAPTER 17
POLICIES AND STRATEGIES OF TRIBAL DEVELOPMENT IN

INDIA
Sriparna Mallick31 & Prof (Dr.) Kartick Chandra Pramanik 32
Abstract:
Estimating to 2011 census report, India has larger centralization of tribal
people than any other place of the world except Africa. In India there are
diverse tribal population belong to their variety of language, culture, and
occupation etc. around different eco-system. Tribal people are dealing with
huge number of problems in their day to day life which can be easily
resolved by the non-tribal people. A large number of policies, schemes,
and strategies have been formulating since Independence period for reduce
the gap. Primary responsibility of states and union are formulating
policies, plans, schemes, strategies for the improvement of tribal
community. A prime objective of those plans, policies, and strategies are
to build sustainable development in the quality of tribal people’s life. Yet it
is a lengthy process to bring them from darkness to lightness who are still
living in underdevelopment area. This research paper has been given a lot
of effort to study the schemes, policies, plans and strategies of government
of India which is taken for progress and growth of tribal community.
Keywords: Policies, Five-year plans, Schemes, Strategies, Tribal

Development
Introduction:
T
ribe are considered as indigenous people who live in a society
where people share the same language, culture, job, history and
stay far away from city or town life. Tribal are also called as
31
Research Scholar, Department of Education, Bankura University, Bankura, West
Bengal, India
32
Supervisor, Department of Education , Bankura University, Bankura, West Bengal,
India
204
‘Adivasi’ which means “original inhabitant”. The term ‘Adivasi’ is

combination of two term ‘adi’ means “beginning, origin”, and ‘vasin’
means “dweller” so, it literally means “beginning inhabitant”(Wikipedia,
2022). The term ‘tribe’ generated around the time of the Greek city states
and early composition of Roman Empire. “Tribe, in anthropology, a
notional form of human social organization based on a set of smaller
groups, having temporary or permanent political integration, and defined
by traditions of common descent, language, culture and ideology”
(Britannical, 2022). Similarly Google search engine define tribe “A social
division in a traditional society consisting of families or communities
linked by social, economic, religious or blood ties, with a common culture
and dialect, typically having a recognized leader” ( as cited in Minz, 2020).
After African country, India has largest tribal population in the
world. According to 2011 census report, 104 million tribal populations are
calculated which are including 8.6% of total population in India. Seven
hundred five ethnic groups are recognized in 15% of total geographical
area of the country. Estimating 105 native languages are speaking to
communicate. A major number of tribal populations are living in mainly
eight states viz. Madhya Pradesh, Orissa, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra,
Bihar, Gujarat, Rajasthan and West Bengal in India. As per 2011 census,
ministry of home affairs calculated total 59% literacy rates of ST
population, class I-X total dropout rates 65.9% of ST students; during
2009-12 below poverty of ST population 45.3% rural area and 24.1%
urban area.
Tribal communities are geographically different, socially or
economically backward, culturally rich, strong in unity, using different
languages from each other, trust worthy, of simple behavior and the child
of nature in India. They are facing with socio-economic, cultural, health
and political problem in their day to day life. They are trying to exist in a
situation of poverty, deprivation, and disadvantages etc. which are not
managed efficiently by them. Tribal are the child of nature and eco-system
is the part of their life-style. A large scale problem of tribal wild life is
displacement from their mother land. Vast amounts of treasure are
available in the area of tribal land. That’s why land hungry merchants are
alienating the tribal people in the name of development. Although the
forest rights act 2006 gave the permission for some rights to access the
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forest and it’s product to the tribal people but it doesn’t apply properly.
Other problems of tribal community are illiteracy, poor health, ignorance,
no knowledge of handling money etc. After independence many policies,
plans, schemes and strategies have been forming for development of tribal
people. Yet union and state government are responsible to development of
tribal community. But the development of tribal community has been
growing as a tortoise’s running still now.
Development of tribal in pre- independent period:

Britishers had been governing in India for almost 200 years. During
British period different policies and programmes had been formulated and
implemented as per the requirement of socially, culturally, economically
diverse people of India. Tribal community had been living separated from
mainstream of society. Mainly they lived in forest and hill area. During the
war with Nepoleon, fuel was supplied for royal navy and other needs. That
time the reservation of teak forest of Malabar had first time noticed in
1806 for forestry. For checking the deforestation and other forest affairs
monopolize rights of the state, Indian government formulated act of 1865
and the act of 1878 into the Indian forest act. It affected tribal and non-
tribal community. They didn’t access the forest product. So, they revolted
against the forest department. British government realized difficulty of
uncontrolled wide tribal community. That’s why British government was
formulating different policies for tribal community that could be
understood in three different model that was – Isolationist Approach,
Assimilation Approach and integration Approach.
Isolationist Approach –“It manifested in the form of British
designating tribal areas as ‘excluded areas’ based on the principle of no-
interference. Under British rule, the extension of a centralized
administration over areas, which previously were outside the effective
control of princely autonomy. Through British administrators had no
intention of interfering with tribes man’s rights and traditional manner
living”. (Tiwari, 2020)
Assimilation Approach- “This believed in mainstream tribal and
their culture completely eroding their culture completely by making them
accept the mainstream culture. Acceptance or denial of the necessity for
assimilation with Hindu society had been tolerant of groups that would not
206
conform to the standards set by the higher castes”. (Tiwari, 2020)

Integration Approach – “By adopting the policy of integration or
progressive acculturation, the government has laid the foundation for the
uninhibited march of the tribal towards equality, upward mobility, and
economic viability and assured proximity to the national main stream”.
(Tiwari, 2020)
Tribal Development after Independence:

After independence Indian government were planning to develop
different sectors like mining, industries, dams, bricks etc. for economic
upliftment through five year plan. Side by side the government also
focused to improve tribal community. They tried to reduce the gap through
policies, plans, schemes and strategies. In 1999 Indian government set up
‘Ministry of Tribal Affairs’ for development of S.T. in India. Apart from
this government was build different constitutional bodies like National
Commission for Scheduled Tribes for special provision of schedule areas
and development of tribal community. Before 2003, ST and SC were
maintained by NCSU under article
338. NCSU handled the problems of tribal community. After that
SC and ST were separated by 89th amendment act 2003, article 338A in
the constitution of India. Society, economy, culture, language, tradition
and custom of tribal community have been preserved by further more
articles in the constitution of India still now. Various plans, policies,
schemes, strategies have been formulated for improvement of tribal areas,
people, economy, education, health and culture.
Policies for Tribal Development:

Nehruvian panchasheel (1952) of Pandit Nehru, who was the first
prime Minister of India, was believed for the upliftment of the tribal for
their modernization and preserving their culture. This policy has five
Principles to be followed vis-à-vis the tribal. Those were
• Tribal should be allowed to develop according to their own genius.
• Tribal’s rights in land and forest should be respected.
• Tribal teams should be trained to undertake administration and
development without too many outsiders being inducted.
• Tribal development should be undertaken without disturbing tribal
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social and cultural institution.

• The index of tribal development should be the quality of their life
and not the money spent.
Ministry of tribal affairs accelerated to develop tribal base on the
feedback of tribal leaders, states, individual, private and public sector
organization and framing a draft of National Policy on Tribal.
The National Policy recognizes that
• A majority of scheduled tribes continue to live below the poverty
line.
• They suffer from malnutrition and disease.
• They have poor literacy rates.
• They are vulnerable to displacement.
The first National Policy of Education 1968 was promoted by Indira
Gandhi. This policy was on “special emphasis on the removal of
disparities and to equalize educational opportunity.” (Sharma &
Kulshreshtha, 2019). All students respectively to their caste, creed,
location or sex have access to education.
After 10 years National policy of education 1986 was promoted by
Rajiv Gandhi. There were some issues for emphasis of tribal development.
Those were
• Scholarships should be provided for all students.
• More teachers should be employed from SC and ST communities.
In 1992 Shri N. Janardhan Reddy modified the NPE 1986 and
recommended some suggestions: The tribal students and minorities are
getting special provisions - mid-day-meal, stationary, books and free
education.
First time after independence a vast approach on tribal development
is framed by Indian government through National policy 2020. “This
policy seeks to bring scheduled tribes into the mainstream of society
through a multi-pronged approach for their all-round development without
disturbing their distinct culture.”(Sharma & Kulshreshtha, 2019).
Recommendations of this policy were
• Infrastructure like schools, hostels, teachers, scholarships, relevant
curriculum, professional trainings, and development of skills should
be acquired in the way of formal education.
• Traditional wisdom like water harvesting techniques, indigenously
208
developed irrigation channels, construction of cane bridges in hill,

adaptation to desert life, utilization of forest species like herbs,
shrubs for medicinal purpose, meteorological assessment etc.
should be documented and transferred.
• This policy emphasis to promote the modern health care system and
also synthesis on ayurveda and siddha of the tribal community
system.
• In case of displacement and resettlement minimum non-
displacement and less displacement should have been laid out as per
some conditions. When displacement is necessary that time it must
be ensured that tribal are getting a better standard of living.
• Forest villages should be converted into revenue villages as the
villagers can enjoy at least minimum opportunities and services
which must be available to them.
• This policy emphasis on shifting cultivation.
• Tribal lands should be protected.
• Tribal languages should be preserved and used as a medium of
instruction of minimum education standard.
• Intellectual property rights should be protected and preserved the
rights of corporate and other agencies to access and exploit their
resources based on legal and institutional arrangement should be
curtailed.
• PTGs should be restructured and re-functioned for the development
of tribal people.
• Administers should be active in their duties for the improvements
and developments of the tribal.
• Participatory approach for education and assimilation between
different groups of tribal people.
Five Year Plan and Tribal Development:

The planning commission set up the objectives and strategies time
to time for the development of the tribal.
The first five year plan (1951-1956) outlined for assisting the
tribal as
• Supporting their natural resources develop and enjoy their
productive economic life as their own way and will not be imbibed
209
by outside economically burliest organization.

• It should not be wished to bring about changes in their religions and
social life without their willing consent.
• It is accepted that there are many features in tribal life which should
not only be unchanged but also developed.
• Their dialects and rich content of their arts and crafts are qualitative
and need to preserve and appreciate.
After considering the tribal conditions, this planning commission
understood that “There may be a good deal of justification for such
(isolation) a policy of non-interference, but it is not easily practicable when
tribal life has been influenced by social forces from without, and tribal
communities have reached a certain degree of acculturization accompanied
by the penetration of communications in the tribal areas, and of social
service for the betterment of their lives.”(Govt of Odisha, PPTDT) The
second five year plan (1956-1961) - the ministry of home affairs provided
fund to ministry of community development to establish special multi-
purpose tribal blocks (SMPT) during this plan. SMPT was established in
distinguished tribal areas.
Third five year plan (1961-1966) – In 1959 at the end of the
second plan, the government of India appointed a committee under Verrier
Elwin’s Chairmanship for SMPT review. As per the committee’s
recommendation SMPT renamed as tribal development block (TDB). It
suggested to open TDB in all areas where the population of tribal above
60%. During this third plan it also included Rs. 12lakhs providing for
community development block; Rs. 10lakhs for 1st stage and 5lakhs for 2nd
stage was provided for TDB making.
Three annual plans (1966-1969) : No special funds were
provided for tribal development in this plan. However the total life of
TDBs was extended 15 years with adding a new stage three. In this 3rd
stage each TDB had been provided Rs. 10lakhs.
Fourth five year plan (1969-1974) – Tribal development agencies
(TDA) were established on the pattern of SFDA. It introduced itself to the
problem of the tribal population. The new programme was much higher
investigation level as compare to TD block. Six tribal development
agencies were started during this plan. Tribal development agencies
covered elements of economic development, social services and
210
prospective measure. During this plan it tried to identify the drawbacks of

TDBs and adopted the integrated area development approach.
Fifth five year plan (1974-79) –In 1972 the planning commission
set up a “Task force on Development of Tribal Areas” under L.P.
Vidyathi’s chairmanship. This task force investigated that state and central
government investment in various sectors for tribal development. But the
successive plan did not solve the problem of primitive methods of
agriculture, indebtedness, land alienation, low rate of literacy, poor health,
etc. This committee opined that the problem of tribal development was
considered as a ‘welfare’ approach not to ‘develop’ approach.
A new approach was adopted to take recommendation of task force
and other committee in this fifth plan. The term was tribal sub-plan. This
plan was for the development of tribal areas. Government and semi-
government organizations developed activity integrally through the
financing of integrated tribal development project. The sub-plan objective
was to reduce the gap between the level of tribal development and other
areas. It aimed also to improve the tribal community life in general.
Sixth five year plan (1980-85) –The sub plan approach of fifth
plan was going on into this plan. It helped out of it’s objective and
bringing a qualitative change into tribal community life.
The objectives of sixth plan were
• Poverty and unemployment should be reduced through progress.
• The quality of life should be improved through minimum
programmes as required.
• Inequalities of income and wealth should be reduced.
• Infrastructure should be developed to protect tribal region from
further exploitation
Through this sixth plan the backward area was tried to develop in
general. It developed agriculture, village, minimum need programmes,
small industries etc. It’s first concerned was the improvement of economic
condition of tribal people through the programs of horticulture, cattle
development, poultry and piggery etc.
Seventh five year plan (1985-90) –sub plan strategy continued
during seventh year plan. It’s strategies were
• Development blocks should be identify where the major tribal
population is living and an integrated and project based approach
211
should be adopted by ITDPs for development.

• Funds should be marked for the tribal sub-plan and it should ensure
the flow of funds from the control of state plan, sectored outlays and
financial institutions.
• An appropriate administrative structure should be created in tribal
areas and appropriate personnel policies should be adopted.
• This plan had given attention towards rehabilitation of poor tribal
and removed backwardness of tribal women.
Eighth five year plan (1992-97) –This plan vastly emphasizes on
administrative structure reorientation, functional co-ordination, integration
and effective services. Objectives of this plan were improvement of tribal
community life and gave them maximum opportunity and facility for
better social and civic life. The objectives of this plan were
• Poverty and income inequalities should be reduced through
employment.
• The quality of life should be improved through a minimum needs
program.
• Infrastructure should be developed and strengthened for further
economic exploitation of the tribal sub-plan area.
• Through the intensive educational efforts the conditions of the tribal
should be developed.
In this plan development of human resources through education,
vocational and stressed on family oriented schemes to uplift the tribal
families.
Ninth five year plan (1997-2002) –This plan had the strategy to
gain 7% growth rate for the economy. The main aims of this plan were
women empowerment, the generation to earn productive employment,
obliterate poverty and upliftment of socially backward groups. Objective
of this plan was to assure food and nutritional security for all the
disadvantage society. People centralized planning in which government
and poor people can participate fully in this plan.
This plan had taken attention to the need of National policy for
tribal development, ensure that the effect of external market would never
affect the tribal economy. This plan would be able to bring tribal
community more near to national mainstream.
Tenth five year plan (2002-2007) –This plan was focus on
212
sustainable management of natural resources like water, land and forest

cover increasement. Main view in this plan was to ‘resolve the unresolved
issues’ and ‘solve the persisting problem’ through social empowerment,
justice and economic empowerment.
Eleventh five year plan (2007-2012) –Main aims of this plan were
to eradicate poverty, development of skill, environmental sustainability,
gender equality, improving governance, focusing technical education etc.
The poor people could access to essential services in health, and education.
National rural employment guarantee programme used for the increasing
of the employment opportunities to all.
Twelfth five year plan (2012-17) –The theme of this plan was of
“faster, sustainable and more inclusive growth.” The main objectives of
this plan was to recognize the diverse disadvantage groups who were
suffering from different kinds of problems and need to specifically
targeted interventions. Special plans were taken for the disadvantaged or
backward regions. More inclusive and sustainable growth in agriculture
was suggested.
During different five year plans the government gave elaborate
effort to develop tribal people through different targets and strategies and
huge financial invest for welfare and socio-economic upliftment of tribal
community.
Schemes for Tribal Development:

The majority of tribal areas are divided mainly into three categories,
those are - scheduled area, non- scheduled area, predominantly tribal
states/union territories in the states. Those tribal areas are placed in a
special category for assisting funds. Central government has responsible
for the development and administration of the particular tribal areas. The
constituent assembly considers the development of their finance in details
and provisions it.
The schemes have been divided into two categories that central
sector programmes and the centrally sponsored programmes. Central
government fully finances the programmes of central sector. The
programmes of centrally sponsored schemes are partly financed by central
government and the concerned state government.
View point of Dr. B.D. Sharma, the elements for developmental
programmes in a state of financial resource may construct the following’s
213
State revenues.
• Share from certain central revenue.
• Plan assistance from the central government.
• Grants under article 275(I) on the basis of the recommendations of
the finance commission. State funds utilization is divided into two
categories plan and non-plan. Including all items of state and central
plan are covered by the plan. The non-plan expenses on general
administration and also the development schemes maintenance.
The special central assistance is distributed between different states
for tribal sub-plans. There are three criteria of it as
I. The tribal population of sub-plan area.
II. The geographical area of the sub-plan.
III. The per capita gross output of the state.
Central government, state governments and institutions are the
financing agencies rending their services in the tribal areas through
commercial banks, NABARA, co-operative banks and voluntary
organization.
Strategies of tribal development:

Tribal development strategies are mainly focus on improvement of
tribal education and health. Education can’t rescue from the condition of
tribal community but it changes the perspective of tribal people and help to
spare from non-tribal community. Some strategies for tribal development
are taken by the Indian government.
Education:
• Implement of Sarva Shiksha Adhiyan for tribal.
• use tribal’s mother tongue as a medium of teaching at least up to
primary level.
• Meta skill upgrade within tribal people through the curriculum and
co-curriculum like tribal games, sports, archery, identification of
plants of medicinal value, crafts art and culture, folk dance, song,
paintings etc.
• Provide Schools and hostels facilities for remote area.
• Establish at least one model residential school in tribal
centralization area.
214
• Select appropriate curriculum and pedagogy for tribal community.

• Provide financial assistance, text books, uniform, and mid-day-meal
for tribal students.
• Emphasis on professional education like forestry, horticulture,
dairying, veterinary sciences, polytechnics etc.
• Providing scholarships, reservation in education and services.
Health:
• Deliver Safe water, medicines, nutrition food, clean and ventilated
house etc.
• Preserve and promote traditional wisdom about plants of medicinal
value and research on it and transfer knowledge to non-tribal areas.
• Strength the allopathic system of medicine like workers health,
auxiliary nurse mid-wife and primary health centers in tribal village.
• Extend the number of hospitals in tribal centralized area.
• Knowledge of tribal medicines transfer, encourage and
documented.
• Encourage tribal people to be qualifying doctors for wait upon tribal
community.
• For training the youth cultivation of the plants which are medicinal
valuable and learn about its utility.
• Frame area specific strategies to improve health services and
provide training for regular basis health care courses.
• Formulating research on diseases which are affecting time to time
people and relief from those diseases.
Dwelling land:
• Access tribal land records which are showed at the panchayat.
• Absence of tribal land records oral evidence must be given priority.
• Transfer of land from tribal to non-tribal states interdicts it.
• Providing certain rights to their dwelling forest land and its product.
• When extract of tribal form their land then each tribal family having
land for settlement against their mother land. Minimum two
hectares land will provide for cultivation and settlement of a family.
• Provide free land for social and religious convention.
• Reservation facility provide for tribal.
215
• Resettlement of tribal community close the nature and providing

facility to preserve or nurture their culture, arts, ethics, language,
network of kinship and mutual obligations.
• Offer all basic minimum facilities of resettlement tribal people,
including roods, passages, electricity, drainage, safe drinking water,
education, health care, community place, fair price shop, sanitation
and government office for tribal development etc.
Economic:
• Organize Self help group for poor tribal people.
• Develop capability and ability to manage economic risks of tribal
people.
• Provide developing infrastructure for income improvement of poor
tribal people.
• Organize Skill development training program for tribal youth for
job-placement.
• Create placement and income source for tribal community through
educational development planning.
• Helping tribal people to build small industrial or natural product
trade.
• Giving the knowledge to handle money for proper investment.
• Inspire to adopt modern method of cultivation.
• Motive to learn technical process to improve their crafts and
provision should be make for marketing the goods product by them.
• Providing financial and non-financial support for their economic
improvement.
Administrative:
• Giving importance to develop official infrastructure so that officer
will do their work from their place of posting.
• Conduct skill up gradation cum orientation program for tribal
administration officials.
• Posted those officers who have knowledge, experience and sense
about tribal community and their problem for tribal administration.
• Construct different department for provide services of tribal people to
improve their social, economic, cultural, educational and health
problem.
216
Social:
• Discourse and erase Immoral customs like bride price, magic and
ritualism, child marriage, prostitution through social awareness
programs.
• Remove religious prejudice and doctrine through scientific
education.
Research:
• Further studying about tribal community and their problem.
• For preserve and transfer existing research center do further study
on tribal rich culture.
• Documentation of intellectual property rights, traditional wisdom
and ethno-medicinal knowledge etc..
• Storage of different type of tribal language.
• Improvement of tribal socio-economic condition, education and
health through forming some scheme.
Conclusion:
In Indian context, Tribal is always considered as a part of deprived
society. In Pre-independent India there were some protective rights behalf
of tribal people but after independence different kinds of plans, schemes,
policies, strategies are still introducing for the salvation from stagnant life
of tribal people through education, health, socio-economic, reservation,
rights of land, forest rights, financial development etc. Yet large numbers
of tribal people are deprived still now. According to 2011 census 59 per-
cent tribal is literate but a grievous reality is huge number of tribal students
drop out from school at their early stage and they are literate for name sake
only. Maximum tribal is not aware about their rights and do not know
about policies which are formulated behalf of their culture, customs,
traditions and language preserve and protection. The development process
of tribal is very slow and unsmooth. Government agencies and Tribal
Development Department do notable works for the proper implement of
the policies, plans schemes and strategies. There are some negligences at
the field level to develop tribal community. Planners, administrators, social
workers and non-governmental organizations should be concerned about
the cause of failure to implement the plans and policies. They should
217
identify the actual problem of tribal population, congruously. They should

make plan to understand their reaction on it for the improvement of their
condition. It is a long process to resolve tribal problem through the proper
planning and implementation. Apart from it many awareness programmes
should be organized to make them aware about the policies, plans,
schemes and strategies. Government should take a major stapes to include
the tribal community into national mainstream.
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219
CHAPTER 18
PROBLEMS AND CHALLENGES OF TRIBAL EDUCATION IN

INDIA- A DISCUSSION
Dr. Diptansu Bhusan Pati33 & Dr. Minati Mohanty 34
ABSTRACT
India is the second-largest tribal population globally after the continent of
Africa (10.40 crores).The tribal population of India is numerically a tiny
minority, and they represent huge group diversity. They live primarily in
isolation but spread across the country's length and breadth. The tribal
population constitutes seven percent of the total population and comprises
212 tribal communities. As per 2011 census, the tribal people strength was
10.43 crores or 8.6 percent of the total population and they live in 15
percent areas from plain, forests, hills and inaccessible areas. Majority
tribal people resides in the States of Chhatisgarh, Gujarat, Jharkhand,
Odisha, Rajasthan, Maharastra, Madhya Pradeshand Union Territories like
Lakshadweep, Mizoram, Nagaland, Meghalaya, Arunachala Pradesh,
Dadra and Nagar Haveli. Their economic condition is very alarming due to
poor educational attainments. The Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER) of ST
students at elementary level is very deplorable. About 160 million children
of 6-14 age groups do not get enrolled in School, half of them drop out
before completing primary education. About 10 million school going
children are not attending Elementary School. The GER of ST students at
Secondary Level is 72.2 percent and it is 38.8 percent at Senior Secondary
level as per 2014-15 estimation All India Survey of Higher Education
Reports. After the proclamation of the National Policy on Education
(1986), the Government has made efforts to sensitize the Stakeholders and
launched several schemes in the country to ensure Primary education to all
Children. It is being felt that the impact of Tribal Education Policy is
33
Academic Consultant in Education, Directorate of Distance and Continuing Education,
Utkal University, Vanivihar, Bhubaneswar, 751007
34
Ex-Associate Professor in Education,Salipur Autonomous College, Salipur,Dist:-
Cuttack
220
neither very satisfactory nor disappointing. Education of the Scheduled

Tribe is essential not only for constitutional obligation but also vital for the
total development of tribal community. Hence, the paper intends to
highlight the problems, different governments schemes and scholarships
provision and suggest strategies to meet the challenges of tribal education
in India.
Key words:- Tribal education, Scheduled Tribes, National Policy on

education, Policy intervention
Introduction
T
ribal education is one of the challenging areas in Indian situation.
The vast numbers of tribal peoples are missing their education at
various levels. They lag in education due to the high illiteracy
rates among the tribal population relative to Scheduled Castes (S.C.s).
Hence, the time has come to consider tribal education and inclusive
growth seriously. In this context Professor Amartya sen stressed that
education is a crucial parameter for all-inclusive economic growth. The
inclusive growth of all sections of society is an essential aspect of
development. Given this, it is imperative to bring the disadvantaged,
marginalized, and weaker sections of society together.
The education of the tribal community is called tribal education. But
as per the Article 342 of the Indian Constitution they are scheduled as
scheduled tribes because these communities indicate the essential
characteristics of primitive traits, distinct culture, shyness of contact with
the community, geographical isolation and backwardness. After the
proclamation of the National Policy on Education(1986), the Government
has launched several schemes like Operation Black Board(OB), Jawahar
Rozgar Yojana (JRY) and Employment Assurance Scheme(EAS),Non-
Formal Education (NFE), District Institute of Education and Training
(DIET), launching basic education project funded by International
Agencies, Area Intensive Programme for educating the backward
minorities and schemes funded and implemented by state Government on
their own, e.g. Education Guarantee Scheme(EGS).
Even after seventy five years of Independence, the goal of tribal
education has not been achieved yet. Despite the remarkable expansion of
221
the elementary education system in the last two decades, a very large
number of tribal children and more among tribal girls who are deprived
section of the Society in India continue to be out of School. Elementary
education is apriority area in the Tribal Sub-Plans since the 5th Five year
Plan. The NPE (1986) has enunciated the following guideline for the
development towards tribal educationviz:-
(i) Priority will be accorded to opening Primary schools in tribal areas,
(ii) Develop curricula and develop instructional material in tribal
language at the initial stage with arrangement switch over to
regional language,
(iii) Encourage ST youth to take up teaching in tribal areas,
(iv) Establish Ashram Schools/Residential Schools on a large scale in
tribal areas,
(v) Formulate Incentive schemes for the ST students keeping in view
their special needs and life style.
Problems for the non-implementation of the National policy:

The main causes of the non-implementation of the basic objectives
of our policy are found by Aggarwala (2002) as financial inadequacy, non-
availability of sufficient suitable teachers, lack of motivation and poverty.
Moreover, it has been observed through these years that the extent of
benefits of these schemes varies from one district to another and from one
region to another within the State. The number of tribal children deriving
benefits from these schemes is far less than others. Although efforts were
made by the Government and Missionaries to educate the tribal people, the
pace of development was slow for them. The problems of tribal education
are mentioned as follows:-
• Physical location of tribal villages are scattered and low population
in an habitation
• Poor economic condition of the family for which children are
helping parents in collecting forest products and agriculture,
• Indifferent attitude of the parents towards education due to
illiteracy,
• Lack of awareness about the role of Village Education Committee,
• Untrained teachers,
• Apathy towards girl’s education,
222
• Artificial Teaching Learning Materials for tribal children,

• Scanty number of Ashram Schools,
• Insufficient Hostel Allowances,
• Delay in receipt of Scholarships,
• Tribal teachers are indifferent to tribal education,
• No reforms in educational status and economic standard,
• Unique community life, life style, tradition and outlook,
• Linguistic problem.
Challenges of Tribal education:-Keeping in view the above-cited
problems, the major challenges may be taken as follows:-
Policy Intervention:
• Minimize the barriers to literacy and educational related services for
the tribal physically, financially and culturally,
• Improving basic literacy and educational services for the tribal girl
child including formal and non-formal education,
• Orientation towards basic literacy and education for the girl child by
improved outreach activities,
• Providing competency-based training to teachers and others
involved in imparting education,
• Collaboration between public and private Sector for managing and
delivering education,
• Taking benefit from information and communication technology,
• Developing policy development, financing, regulating, monitoring
and evaluating tribal education and programme.
Awareness Campaign:
• Tribal education campaign for promoting knowledge, skill and
attitude.
• Involve professional groups, teaching community, community
groups, religious and philanthropic bodies in promoting tribal
education and related issues,
• Involve media (electronic and print media) in the campaign.
Community Mobilization:
• Enrolment of tribal children , retention of girl children and School
223
involvement are the major challenges of tribal education,

• Use of tribal folk-art forms,
• Arrange meetings of Mothers and family involving tribal youth
• Organize tribal bazzar, tribal festival to discuss primary education
issues,
• Involve traditional tribal organizations in mobilizing process,
• Prepare documentation of Local folklore, history, traditional
medicine, agricultural practices involving community including
VEC members.
Community Partnership:-
• Both the Government and non-governmental organization(NGO)
for not only encourage but also facilitate child education and
literacy.
• Field work and interactive mode of relationship with family,
government and NGO need to be made within NPE framework.
Efforts taken by Government for Tribal education:-

Government has provided the following measures through devising
Schemes and scholarships as follows:-
• Construction of Hostels for ST girls and ST boys,
• Establish Ashram Schools in Tribal Sub-Plan;
• Book-bank Scheme for purchasing books for ST Students pursuing
medical, engineering, agriculture, veterinary, Polytechnic, Law,
Chartered Accountancy, Business Management and Bio-Science
Subjects and receiving Post-Matric Scholarships,
• Post-Matric Scholarship with providing education in residential
schools from Student class-IX to XII with coaching till completing
Class-XII,
• Vocational Training Centre in Tribal areas.
• The Government provides PMS to all ST students whose parent’s
annual income is Rs. 2.50 lakhs or less w.e.f. 1.4.2013 through
financial assistance to the students studying in Post- Matric or Post-
Secondary levels at different rates depending upon the course,
• National Overseas Scholarship for Higher Studies Abroad for Ph.D
and Post – Doctoral research programmes to three Candidates
224
belonging to PVTGs (Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups).

• Raviz Gandhi National Fellowship (RGNF) for Tribal Students
pursuing higher Studies such as M.Phil and Ph.D. in all the
Universities /Institutions recognized by the UGC under 2(f) of the
UGC Act,
• Scheme of Top Class education for ST students pursuing Degree
and Post-Graduate studies both in Government and private sector
covering full tuition fees and other non-refundable dues, living
expenses and expenses for computer, books and stationery.
• Post-Matric Scholarship for needy ST students studying in Class IX
& X,
• Conditional Cash Transfer (CCT) scheme is to target household(the
poor, elderly and nursing Mother) in the form of educational
maintenance allowance to ensure retention at School. This includes
a weekly cash allowance plus periodic bonuses. The allowance may
be paid the Mother of the student to ensure nutrition for her child as
well as other family members. Such a Scheme will reduce drop outs
among tribal children.
• Eklavya Model Residential Schools (EMRS): In respect of
providing quality residential schools for the promotion of education
in all regions and habitations in the country, the Eklavya Model
Residential Schools (EMRS) for tribal students take their place
among the Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalayas, the Kasturba Gandhi
Balika Vidyalayas and the Kendriya Vidyalayas. Eklavya Model
Residential Schools (EMRS) are constructed and maintained in
States/UTs with grants under Article 275(1) of the Indian
Constitution. The aim of EMRS is to give quality middle and high
stage education to tribal students in far-flung areas and to ensure
that tribals have educational opportunities available at par with non-
tribals.
Conclusion:-
Thus, the Government has to prepare district-specific and tribal –
specific plans for primary education within the broad strategy frame of
micro-planning through community participation. The policy makers have
to select the priorities from a real specific problem. The programme of
225
stable learning through land reforms, extension of irrigation, small scale

industries and provision of basic amenities for the survival of poor tribal in
a Public-Private Partnership(PPP) to involve entrepreneurship. Last but
not the least, transportation and basic amenities should be provided to the
poor tribal.
References
Aggarwal, D. D (2002) History and Development of Elementary
Education in India, Vol.II, Sorup and Sons, New Delhi
Behrman,et al (2011)Do Conditional cash Transfer for Schooling
generates lasting transfer
Jha,J. & Jhingran, D. (2002)Elementary Education For the Poorest and
other Deprived. The real challenge of universalization by Centre for
Policy Research.
NCERT (2002) Sixth All India Education Survey, New Delhi, Vol.-I
Kolay, Swapan Kumar& N D R Chandra (2014): Tribal Education:
Problems & Prospects, University News,52(25) JUNE 23-29,2014,
New Delhi.
Maitra, Subir (2017): Educating the Tribal Population in the Era of
Globalization Supply & Demand Driven Approaches, University
News,55(35) August 28- September 03, 2017
Srivastav, Gouri (2017): Educating the Minority Girls & Women: Issues
and Pathways, University News, 55(15) April10-16,2017,New
Delhi.
Velusamy V. Rajkumar (2021) Critical Reviews: A Contemporary
Overview about Status and Challenging Issues of Tribal Education
in India, online journal, Bharathiar University Arts and Science
College, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, India
226
CHAPTER 19
OL-CHIKI LANGUAGE AND ITS HISTORY OF

IMPLEMENTATION IN MODERN EDUCATION SYSTEM: AN
EXPLORATIVE STUDY
Sahin Sahari35 & Jayanta Mete 36
Abstract:
Language identity is not distinct among the tribes such as Lodha, Mirdha,
Bhumija, Jatapu, Bagata, Pentia, and some sections of Gond. For
languages like Santali, Kui, and Krurux that are not related to any of the
Mahali, Kondh, or Kisan tribes, the sole distinction is one of dialect.
Authorship and leadership in good literary works are still confined to only
a few people, despite the fact that scripts have been produced for Santali,
Saora, Ho, Kui and Mundari. So, in this research paper, researcher try to
explore the role and contribution of Pandit Raghunath Murmu for the
implementation of Ol-Chiki Language in modern education system.
Keyword: Ol-Chiki, Santali, Language.
Introduction
S
antali writer and scholar Pandit Raghunath Murmu created the
OlChiki script, which he began working on in the early 1920s and
finalised two decades later. Despite the fact that the Ol-Chiki
script's author and date of development are well-documented, local
legends abound regarding the script's origin. There is a belief that when the
Earth was formed, the writing was already in existence. Another theory
holds that the writing was delivered to Murmu, a wise man, as a veteran
person.
Nature, physical shapes, and the Santals' daily lives are claimed to
have inspired the Ol-Chiki letter forms. And the same could be stated of
35
Research Scholar , Department of Education, Faculty of Education, University of
Kalyani, Kalyani, West Bengal, India
36
Department of Education, Faculty of Education, University of Kalyani, Kalyani, West
Bengal, India
227
the symbols' spoken tones. Pandit Raghunath Murmu's own depiction of

these links differs slightly from that of scholar Rameshwar Murmu.
From left to right, OlChiki is written. It has twenty-four
consonants, six vowels, and five fundamental diacritical marks (a sixth is
made by the combination of two existing ones). This matrix is 6 by 5, with
vowels at the top of each row (or column). The remainder of the letters are
consonants. It is possible to add an additional three vowels by employing
the diacritic gahlatudag, which follows the vowels la, laa, and le. When
combined with the gahlatudag and mu tudag, the resultant vowel is
nasalized, as is the diacritic Mu-gahla, which is generated by the
combination of the mu and gahla vowels. There are two punctuation marks
in OlChiki's name: the single mucaad and the double mucaaad. Solely the
former is used in prose to signify the conclusion of a sentence, whereas the
latter is only used in poetry. Commas, apostrophes, exclamation points and
quote marks are all Latin punctuation. Finally, OlChiki has its own system
of numbers that is based on the decimal system.
Research Objectives:
• To examine the role and contribution of Pandit Raghuram Murmu
in the implementation of the Ol-Chiki Script in Indian education.
• To describe and talk about the Ol-Chiki Script and the Santali
Language in the context of the grammar and usability of the
language.
228
Research Methodology:
In this study, all the data is derived from primary and secondary
sources, such as academic journals and news stories as well as edited book
chapters and online news portals, journals and articles. The researcher used
the qualitative document analysis approach to analyse the data in this
study.
About Ol-Chiki Language:

• OlCemet', Ol script, Olciki Script, and Ol are a few of the other
names that have been used to refer to this script.
• Ol is the word for writing in Santali, while Cemet' is the word for
learning.
• OlCemet' is the title of the book that Pandit Raghunath Murmu
authored in order to instruct the OlChiki to those who are just
starting off (primer).
• OlChiki is an alphabetic script; unlike the other Indic scripts, it
does not share any of the syllabic features that are found in other
scripts.
• It is employed in the writing of Santali, a language that is
classified within the Munda subgroup of the Austroasiatic family
of languages.
• The fact that the OlChiki script makes use of signs and symbols
that have been known to Santals for a very long time is one of the
fascinating aspects of this writing system.
• The Santali language has a vast number of words that are
generated from different types of natural sounds.
• The letters of the OlChiki script are also taken from the physical
world and what surrounds the inhabitants. These include hills,
rivers, trees, birds, bees, ploughs, sickles, and other agricultural
implements.
• It consists of thirty letters, five basic diacritics, and six basic
vowels, in addition to the three extra vowels that are formed by
utilising the GahlaTudag programme.
• During the early part of the 20th century, a missionary named
Paul Olaf Bodding, who was born in Norway, penned the first
grammar for the Santhal society.
229
About Santali Language:

• This language belongs to the Munda subfamily of the
Austroasiatic languages, closely related to Ho and Mundari,
spoken mostly in the Indian states of Assam, Bihar, Jharkhand
and Mizoram.
• Clause VIII, which specifies the official languages of India along
with Dogri, Bodo, and Maithilia, was introduced to the
Constitution of India in 2003 by the 92nd Constitutional
Amendment Act.
• This meant that the Indian government was compelled to develop
the Santali language and allow students taking school-level and
public service tests to utilise the language.
• Prior to the invention of OlChiki in 1925 by Pandit Raghunath
Murmu, Santali was mostly an oral language.
• Santali is spoken by more over seven million people in India,
according to the country's 2011 census.
Implementation of Ol-Chiki Script in Modern Education System:

Odisha's Santali language movement
has its roots in the teachings of Pandit
Raghunath Murmu, a native Santali
speaker. On May 5, 1905, he was born in
Dandbose, a small village in Mayurbhanj,
India. For the first time, he came up with
the idea of creating a Santali script. The Ol-
Chiki script for the Santali language was
developed by him in 1925 while serving as
headmaster of Badamtaliya Model School.
Ol implies drawing an imaginative image in
your head without creating any sound,
while Chiki denotes a graphical depiction of the same. Vowels and
consonants are represented by the Ol-chiki script's 30 characters, which
includes six vowels (kechedalang). The Ol-chiki script's letters aren't just
made up; they're graphic, based on the forms of actual objects or actions.
Raghunath Murmu had a hand press behind him during a surprise
inspection by the Superintendent of Education of the state, Sachidananda
230
Das. He learned about the script at that time. The hand press and the script
were shown at the state exhibition in February 1939, on his
recommendation. Eventually, it was brought to Sir Pratap Chandra Bhanj
Deo's attention, and after much deliberation, he was persuaded that the
script was appropriate for the people. If the people adopted the script to
read and write their spoken language, his administration would have no
objections. Pt. Murmu was promoted to Rairangpur High School three
years later, but he left in 1946 to dedicate all of his time to the spread of
Ol-Chiki in the Santal dominated areas of India. Novels, booklets, and
journals were written in the Ol-Chiki script by him. There were a lot of
new groups formed. In 1954, the Adivasi Cultural Association was
established. Because of the organization's semi-political association, Ol-
Chiki script's spread slowed down significantly. Adivasi Socio-
Educational and Cultural Association (ASECA), a pure non-political
organisation, was established in 1964 and registered in June of that year.
Odisha, Bihar, West Bengal, as well as Assam and Jharkhand have now
implemented it.
The ASECA and its adherents have carried on the movement in the
wake of Pt. Murmu's death (on February 1, 1982). ASECA President
Chhutai Soren wrote to the then Prime Minister of India (Indira Gandhi)
and the Chief Ministers of the states of West Bengal, Odisha and Assam in
the 1980s, describing why Ol-Chiki was a good fit for the Santali
language. ASECA is now in the process of adopting Ol-Chiki for the
Santali language. One of the most fundamental objectives of the
movement has been to incorporate the Santali language in India's
Constitution's Eighth Schedule since Pt. Murmu's reign, and to use the Ol-
Chiki script from primary school through higher education. More and
more, the Santals are insisting on having classes taught entirely in their
home tongue. The Department of Education of the Government of Odisha,
passed a resolution on February 25, 1991, for the introduction of Santali
language in primary school level in the districts of Mayurbhanj, Keonjhar,
and Sundargarh, which was implemented in 30 schools (20 in
Mayurbhanj, 5 in Keonjhar, and 5 in Sundargarh) on an experimental basis
from May 1992.The test was a failure. There is no doubt that parents in
Orissa believe in competition and tuition as a means of improving their
children's education, according to a report by an expert group set up by
231
Odisha's government. They'd rather study Oriya and English than any
other language. For them, learning their own writing and language comes
afterwards.
On January 10, 1999, the All Odisha Ol-Chiki Student Union
(AOOSU) was established in Rairangpur, Odisha, with the goal of
fostering the struggle for Ol-Chiki's inclusion in the state's educational
system. Ol-Chiki implementation in the District Primary Education
Program was frequently called for during AOOSU rallies and dharnas
(DPEP). At long last, the Department of School and Mass Education (Gov.
of Odisha) convened an Expert Committee on 29 October 2002 to look at
whether the usage of Ol-Chiki script in Odisha's Mayurbhanj district is
appropriate. Expert Committee's report was submitted on November 12th,
2005, and suggested-
• When teaching at the elementary level, "Santal language should
be employed" (Class I-V).
• Experimentation with a bilingual transaction model is needed.
• Reading and writing in Santali should take up 80% of the time in
the first year, while Odia should take up 20% of the time.
• Reverse time in the final year of primary school. Odia should get
80 percent of the time and Santali should get 20 percent of the
time, with the former being utilised for speaking, reading, and
writing in Odia.
• In between years, time should be modified 40%-60%, 50%-50%,
and 60%-40%.
• Using Ol-Chiki script to learn Santali should be optional,
according to this proposal.
As a result of the good responses received from the Expert
Committee, the Government of Odisha announced in April 2006 that Ol-
Chiki will be implemented on an experimental basis in one hundred
schools across the state.
Conclusion:
Using language is one of the most significant ways to convey
one's feelings. Any human group's history and culture may be uncovered
by studying their language, which has a direct or indirect impact on the
development of the region. Every civilization's growth depends on the
232
amount of linguistic development in its area. Exogenous forces have

erased tribal societies' particular ethnic traits, including their language.
Tribal languages' linguistic categorization caused a stir. Tribes in
neighbouring states face a variety of linguistic identity issues. The current
development policies have resulted in an overemphasis on bilingualism
and multilingualism at the expense of tribal populations' own mother
tongues, making adequate language feeding critical to preserving their
linguistic and cultural identities.
References:
Krylova, A. (2018). History, structure and origin of the autochtonous
scripts for Munda languages. Vostok. Afro-aziatskieobshchestva:
istoriiaisovremennost, (3), 119-132.
Murmu, S. C., & Dash, J. Nature-based OLCHIKI and Santal Ethno-
Nationalism. A Journal of Scheduled Castes & Scheduled Tribes
Research and Training Institute (SCSTRTI) Bhubaneswar Odisha,
India, 82.
Marandi, C., & Maringanti, H. B. Santali Morphological
Analysis. Prof.(Dr.) HIMA BINDU MARINGANTI, 52.
Mohapatra, S. S. (2001). Formation of OlChiki Script and process of its
transmission. Santal Worldview. New Delhi: Indira Gandhi
National Centre for the Arts, 74-88.
Panigrahi, S., & Saxena, P. (2016, February). Bringing OlChiki to the
digital world. In Typography Day 2016.
233
CHAPTER 20
SOCIO ECONOMIC BENEFITS AVAILED FOR TRIBAL

WOMEN DEVELOPMENT IN INDIA: A REVIEW
Arnab Chowdhury37, Dr. Sushanta Kumar Roul38 & Dr. Jayanta Kumar Mete39
Abstract
This paper establishes a relationship between women's empowerment and
their engagement in economic activities in general, and tribal women
especially, through several consequences. It looks at women's work habits,
socioeconomic status, and clothing choices. To participate in productive
activities, family and societal transformation, decision-making, political
influence, entrepreneurial growth, and social leadership, women's
capacities must be developed, according to the primary argument of this
article. The fact that women are no longer confined to reproduction and are
now actively participating in productive activities is a noteworthy
consequence. This paper focuses on the socioeconomic backgrounds and
family features of tribal women beneficiaries, as well as the income and
savings patterns of tribal women members of Self-Help Groups.
Keywords: Women Empowerment; Economic Development; Decision-

making; Self-Help Group (SHG)
Introduction
T
he historical backdrop of Indian culture indicates that women were
accorded great respect in Vedic times. "Where women are
revered, gods live there," according to an old proverb. Ardhangini
was her name, and she was half of her husband's body. She had the right as
a bride to obtain specific serious vows from the husband before the
ceremonial fire at the moment of marriage. Without her involvement, no
religious event performed by her husband would be fruitful. As a mother,
37
Research Scholar, Amity Institute of Education, Amity University, Lucknow, India
38
Professor, Amity Institute of Education, Amity University, Lucknow, India
39
Professor, Department of Education, University of Kalyani, West Bengal, India
234
wife, and sister, she occupied a unique role in her family. B. Suresh Lal
(2015) embodies bravery, daring, love, loyalty, sacrifice, and sorrow.
Women appear to be half of the sky in Indian civilization. They have been
subjected to different forms of oppression and deprivation, including
social, psychological, physical, and domestic violence (Suresh Lal, B.
2005).
The economic and social growth of a country cannot be achieved
without the participation of women. Today's women work in a variety of
capacities, yet they are not treated on an equal basis with males. To
empower women, one must raise their understanding of their rights as well
as their self-confidence, manage their destinies, and be able to affect
change in the world around them. Economic, social, political, and personal
empowerment are just a few of the numerous components of
empowerment. Giving women economic empowerment involves giving
them their economic rights back. Social empowerment is removing
injustice and unfairness so that women's standing in society is on par with
men. Women should be treated with dignity and respect in society.
Political empowerment indicates that women should have equal access to
political posts at all levels of government, from the provincial to the
national and that they should have the same right to vote as males. The
term "personal empowerment" refers to the idea that women should be
given more personal independence (Mariam Sohail, 2014).
Both men and women must have the economic and social means to
participate in, contribute to, and profit from growth processes in ways that
recognize the value of their contributions, respect their dignity, and allow
them to negotiate a more equitable sharing of the benefits of growth
(Eyben, 2008). Extends the financial opportunities and services accessible
to women through financially empowering them like employment,
financial services, property, and other productive resources, as well as skill
development and market knowledge.
Economic participation and empowerment of women are essential
for improving women's rights and giving them more control over their
lives and influence in society. Sweden's Foreign Affairs Ministry (2010). It
has to do with establishing societies that are both just and egalitarian.
Women are frequently subjected to discrimination and persistent gender
235
disparities, and some are subjected to various forms of discrimination and

exclusion as a result of characteristics such as race or caste.
Women's economic empowerment is critical for achieving the
Millennium Development Goals, as well as environmental sustainability
and growth that benefits the poor. Securing women's rights, as well as
gender equality, boosts the development effort. In terms of development
returns, investing in gender equality generates the highest rates of return
(OECD, 2010). Women are more likely than males to give back to their
families and communities as a percentage of their income. Results of the
study in Brazil suggest that a mother-controlled household's income
increases a child's chances of survival by 20% (World Bank, 2010).
Self-help groups for women's empowerment have grown into a
global movement. Having the ability to make decisions on your own is a
difficult notion to grasp since it may be construed in several ways. It's
derived from the phrase "empower," which means "to grant authority or
power, and to enable or allow." Reduced poverty, increased knowledge of
universal education, improved health and access to excellent nourishment
are all ways to empower these women. Additionally, it is critical to protect
their habitat by keeping an eye out for signs of environmental degradation
in their native setting.
Empowerment may be defined as allowing those who are less
powerful, such as impoverished women or tribal women, to gain and hold
onto authority and resources so that they can make their own decisions.
Since their traditional way of life, economic and social illiteracy,
superstitions, outmoded production and marketing systems, lack of value
systems and inadequate physical infrastructure characterize backward
tribal communities, there is a pressing need to empower women in these
places. Empowerment is viewed as a tool for closing the gender wage gap.
Women would be empowered if they could take on societal
responsibilities, they otherwise wouldn't be able to. In India, this would
include assisting women in exercising their constitutional and legal rights
to equality in the workplace and other areas of their daily lives.
Furthermore, the word "women's empowerment" is gaining traction and is
being used more frequently than terms like "women's welfare,"
"upliftment," "development," or "awareness-raising." Though the term
"empowerment" is commonly used in the context of women's
236
development, no specific method for how women are empowered has been
identified. As a result, this chapter will be beneficial since it defines not
only the idea of women's empowerment, but also its many processes and
components, as well as its political, social, economic, legal, cultural, and
psychological elements. It also sheds insight on current strategies, existing
mandates, and varying levels of empowerment.
Throughout the millennia, women's standing in India saw several
significant shifts. In India's history, women have had a wide range of
experiences, from obscurity in ancient times through low moments in the
mediaeval period to the advocacy of equal rights by numerous reformers.
The position of women has long been seen as an essential indicator
of a community's social growth. It's a useful tool not just for research, but
for strategic planning as well. Different indicators are used in different
contexts to define the status of women. A study's or analysis' parameters
became the de facto definition of a framework for studying status, and this
is how frameworks for studying status were created. For the most part,
women's studies study in India has taken a sectoral approach, looking at
how women compare to males in various fields including demographics,
economics, job, and education. They've also looked at how women
compare politically as well. Violence against women is a criterion that has
been included in certain research. This method is insufficient for
examining the numerous elements that contribute to women's social
marginalization and subordination. Studying women's access and control
over resources, in comparison to men's, might be a more effective
technique since it reflects changes in ideologies as well as institutions and
structures that affect women's status.
Access refers to the possibility of making use of a resource, whether
it's physical, human, or intangible. When it comes to controlling, it's
considerably more complicated since it involves shared authority and
constant discussion. Resources are controlled by having negotiating power
over how they are used. Using both traditional and non-conventional
indicators, researchers in women's studies have established frameworks for
assessing the status of women, taking access and control concerns into
account. The powerlessness and poor status of women begin with a
scarcity of resources, both human and material. The norms of the
organizations in which gender interactions take place favour men, and they
237
enjoy and exert control over these resources. Gender inequality is thus a
power imbalance, with men in positions of authority and women in
positions of servitude. Lack of access and control over resources, a
forceful gender division of labour, a devaluation of their job, and a lack of
control over their self, skills, labour, mobility, sexuality, time, and
reproduction have all been consequences of their lack of power.
While periods of impurity in the monthly cycles are well
recognized, watched, and dreaded, the position of women in tribal India is
seldom harmed by any debilitating stigma of inferiority linked to women.
Within the caste system, however, as we rise through the ranks, women's
roles grow increasingly subservient, obedient, and hopeless.
Anthropologists have strong cause to assume that a woman's role as
the reproductive half of humankind has some impact on her status. This
usually leads to secondary kinds of differentiation, the most prominent of
which is the sexual division of labour. Generally speaking, males are
assigned to risky activities and those requiring intense, concentrated
physical exertion for comparatively short periods, whereas women are
assigned to relatively safe employment that requires extended but less
concentrated effort. Given the difficulty of accurately assessing all
elements of women's status in general and Indian women's jobs in specific,
the education of women is seen to be the best accessible indication of
women's status.
National Policy for the Empowerment

On March 20, 2001, the Indian government passed the National
Policy for Women's Empowerment. The policy's major goal is to promote
women's growth, development, and empowerment, as well as to abolish all
types of discrimination against them and assure their full involvement in
all aspects of life and activities.
Empowerment is a Multi-Dimensional Concept

The liberation of disadvantaged groups requires not only the
creation of political space for these groups by the state and civil society but
also the emancipation of these people from imposed ties through persistent
struggle and resistance. As a result, it represents achieving the aspirations
and aims of those who have been injured politically, economically, and
238
socially by injustices in the social context. Equality, freedom, and

fraternity are all aspects of empowerment. In other words, the notion of
"Empowerment of Tribal Women" is relatively new, and social scientists,
policymakers, development activists and politicians have recently
contextualized and given it new significance (B. Suresh Lal, 2005).
Increasing the political, economic, social, and cultural power of
women is at the heart of women's empowerment. On an equal basis with
men, women share power. As per religious conviction, and as a positive
force for change. Women and men must be taught that they are on equal
footing in society and that women have fought for equality since the dawn
of time (Suresh Lal, B., 2015)
Figure 1: Multi-dimensions of women empowerment
Tribal Women Empowerment and Self-Help Groups

The most important component in the growth of a tribal community
is socio-economic empowerment. When women are financially
independent, they can contribute to their families' earnings, which leads to
better health and education for their children as well as an increase in
income. In the sixth plan, several initiatives were put in place to help tribes
thrive economically while also reducing poverty. Self-help groups, on the
other hand, present an enticing alternative that requires less time and
effort. They've been acknowledged as a valuable resource for helping the
needy and as a method for helping the impoverished get the emergency
financing, they need without resorting to debt. SHGs include a forum for
239
assisting women in developing a saving habit as well as improving their

status as equal participants, decision-makers, and beneficiaries in
democracy, the economy, and society at large.
Tribal Developmental Programmes

Thakkar Bapa, Jaipal Singh and a few other notable individuals
played an important part in redefining tribal welfare and community
protection policies during the Post-Independence Period. As a result, the
Indian Constitution has several constitutional provisions, such as
constitutional protections, articles, and schedules, aimed towards
promoting tribal development and well-being. A constitutional
commission safeguards the social, economic, and political rights of
scheduled castes and scheduled tribes. Scheduled Tribes and other
traditional forest dwellers (recognition of forest rights) Act 2006, Civil
Rights Protection Act, 1955, and Scheduled Castes and Tribes (Prevention
of atrocities) Act have all been put in place to protect them from being
exploited, amongst other things.
The Indian government has devised several policies and initiatives
to help indigenous peoples during the country's five-year plans. As part of
the first five-year plan, the government aimed to provide more financial
assistance to indigenous communities through community development.
By the end of the second five-year plan, about 43 Multipurpose Tribal
Development Projects had been built and maintained. A new strategy
called "Tribal Development Blocks" was created during the third five-year
plan. The number was increased to 504 once the fourth five-year plan
concluded. This technique did not identify the tribal people living outside
of the 'Tribal Development Blocks.' The majority block identification
procedure was covered during the 5th five-year plan period, resulting in
the construction of 194 ITDS/ITDPs around the country. In 1972, the
Ministry of Education and Social Welfare created an Expert Committee to
develop the current Tribal Sub Plan. During the fifth five-year plan era,
this resulted in a greater emphasis on planning for tribals in Blocks using
an integrated development strategy. The "Modified Area Growth
Approach" prioritized rapid development in a region with a population of
10,000 people and a majority of indigenous populations as part of the
240
Medium-Term Plan. To help primitive tribes, the Indian government set

up micro-projects in faraway places.
In 1948, Odisha created the Backward Classes Welfare Section
(BCWS). A Tribal Advisory Council was established in 1950, as stated in
paragraph 4 of the 5th Schedule, to provide suggestions on the
development and welfare of Scheduled Tribes and Areas. Sundargarh,
Koraput, Mayurbhanj, Kandhmal, and Gunjam were designated as
Scheduled Areas by the Scheduled Areas Order of 1950. As a result, when
the initial Scheduled Area order was amended in 1977, further regions of
Odisha were added to the list of Scheduled Areas. They presently belong
to Odisha's Tribal Sub-Plan, which covers 118 of the state's 314 blocks.
Article 275 of the Indian constitution allows state governments to receive
grant-in-aid from the consolidated fund of India for the implementation of
various developmental programmes aimed at promoting the welfare of
scheduled tribes and bringing Scheduled Areas up to administrative parity
with the rest of the country. In the name of primitive tribal groups, the
Odisha government has established 17 Micro Projects. These Micro
Projects help PTGs in areas like education, agriculture, health, drinking
water, roads, connectivity, and animal husbandry, among others. In
contrast, the Odisha Government, through the SC and ST Development
Department, designs, executes, and supervises the Odisha Tribal
Development Society (OTDS). The OTDS in Bhubaneswar will hire a
Technical Expert (Capacity Building and PLET) to assist with project
creation, resource convergence, planning, monitoring, and evaluation at
various phases. Its goal is to empower tribal people by providing them
with the tools they need to enhance their food security, make more money,
and live a better life.
Education Related Schemes

Education is considered a crucial pillar for the development of a
country's cultural, social, and economic resources, as well as its economic
position (UNFPA). The more money we spend on education, the better off
we are economical, the more confident we are, the more control we have
over our resources, the more physically mobile we are, and the more self-
sufficient we are as we age. This is especially true for women. Because
education is seen as a steppingstone to the tribal community's social and
241
economic growth, the government has made every effort to enhance its
educational standards. Tribal students have been given special treatment,
including free schooling, free boarding, free textbooks, and free clothing.
District Primary Education Program, Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalaya,
Residential Ashram School, PREM, Mid-day Meal Scheme, and
Navodaya Vidyalaya were all designed to promote tribal education.
Similarly, under Article 275 (1) of the Indian Constitution, the Indian
government established 100 Model Residential Schools (Ekalavaya Model
School) in 20 states to provide excellent education to tribal children. The
main goal was for them to be able to use the reservation system in a more
sophisticated and professional manner, as well as find work in government
and the public sector. According to the 2011 census, the state's literacy rate
is over 73 per cent, suggesting an upward trend, although it is just 52.24
per cent for STs, lagging behind the average literacy rate (ALR). The
government of Odisha is taking serious measures on the literacy front to
close this disparity.
Tribal Development Funds Acquired by the TSP

a) State plans: Money for STs is made aside in their state plans.
b) As part of the Tribal Sub Plan, the Special Area Program of Special
Central Assistance provides income-generating schemes in tribal
regions and grants under Article 275(i) of the Constitution for the
welfare of scheduled tribes and to increase the standard of
administration in schedule areas by establishing community assets
such as schools, Ekalya residential school skill enhancement
training, society markets, and other community resources.
c) As part of sectoral programmes, the federal government provides
matching ST funds to tribal sub-plans, which the states
subsequently distribute. MGNREGA, the National Rural
Livelihood Mission (NRLM/Aajeevika), and the Indira Awas
Yojana are all overseen by the Ministry of Rural Development.
d) MTA administers customized programmes in conjunction with
governments or on an individual basis. Such schemes involve,
among many other things, the construction of boy and girl hostels,
vocational training schools, the establishment of Ashram Schools
for boys and girls, a scheme for pre-matriculated boys and girls, a
242
scheme for dropout children, a book bank scheme, the advancement

of several tribal children, and the advancement of especially
vulnerable tribal groups in eight states.
e) Institutional finance corporations are established to provide money
to tribals for income-generating projects.
In all of these programmes, 30 per cent of the monies are set aside
for indigenous women's welfare, and farm-headed women are also
included as beneficiaries. MTA provides state governments and non-
governmental organizations (NGOs) with a 100 per cent subsidy for
schools, residential schools for girls, managing girls' hostels, and offering
vocational training for females. NSTFDC continues to be a driving force
in the economic development of the National Scheduled Tribes by
obtaining funding and organizing resources. It included funds for the
Adivasi Mahila Sashatikaran Yojana as well as the Advasi Shikshs Rrinn
Yojana.
Literature Review
Mohanty (2000) The author discussesed how the government
spends money on the planned cast and scheduled tribes over five years to
see if they profit. He demonstrated that many protective measures, such as
shifting agriculture, forest management, rehabilitation of displaced people,
land alienation, bonded labour, and so on, have been implemented for the
welfare and development of the scheduled tribes to ensure political and
socioeconomic fairness. The majority of tribal people are poor, and the
government's development programmes have yet to reach those living in
the deep jungle's remote locations. According to the author, all
government programmes that can be accessed should be reviewed to close
any loopholes and ensure that alienated property is returned to scheduled
tribes. He concluded that there is now no suitable assessment or
monitoring of the development programmes for the pre-determined cast
and pre-determined tribes. As a result, execution is subpar, and the
intended audience does not enjoy the benefit.
Agarwal, Deepti (2001) Women must be seen as active
participants in the growth and transformation process, not just as
recipients. Women's empowerment might be organized into organizations
243
for community involvement and assertion of rights in a variety of services

connected to their financial and communal well-being.
Manimekalai and Rajeswari (2002) conducted a study on
"Grassroots entrepreneurship through Self Help Groups" to determine the
factors that motivate women to join Self Help Groups and eventually
become entrepreneurs, as well as to analyze the performance of Self-Help
Groups in terms of investment growth, turnover, capacity utilization, and
profit (SHGs)". According to the findings, entrepreneurs in Self-Help
Groups have made great strides in their company success. It was also
highlighted that the women had become self-sufficient, having previously
relied only on agriculture. Self-Help Groups have a variety of advantages,
including personal growth and communal well-being.
Jaya S. Anand (2002) As per the study, she attempted to assess the
effectiveness of selected Self-Help Groups and Non-Governmental
Organizations (NGOs) and assess their effects, notably on women's
economic empowerment by microcredit programmes. It's been proven
time and time again that simply providing credit won't have the desired
outcome. To create a powerful and long-lasting influence on group
activity, the services and structures that help distribute credit, ranging from
group creation and training to awareness-raising, are important.
Because of women's underrepresentation, "invisible" labour is
expected, accepted, and devalued, perpetuating gender inequities. As a
consequence, women have fewer entitlements, less access to resources,
and receive less attention. Women's undervaluation is a root cause and a
consequence of poverty and a lack of progress in the economy. Because of
this, parents may be reluctant to invest in their daughter's education, which
is generally seen as the greatest way out of poverty for women who are
kept in the unpaid domestic realm.
Dutta (2002) It has been demonstrated that government efforts
targeted at raising the living standards of Indian women are viable.
According to him, a lot of males still view women as a societal plague or
an annoyance. Tribal parents' opinions toward female child education have
remained unchanged to this day. Essentially, rather than sending them to
school, they want to send them to work so that they may support their
families. Poverty is the primary cause of this scenario. As a consequence,
244
several policies and programmes have fallen short of achieving the best
results for this community.
Mohapatra (2006) Conducted a thorough examination of the
different tribal development issues in Odisha, finding that there has been
significant growth of medical and public health services in these regions
over the plan years. However, these advantages were incompatible with
the services offered since, due to superstitions and local rumour, a large
section of the population did not employ these services. In reality, most
tribal tribes believe that ailments are caused by malevolent spirits and must
be cured via spirituality, therefore traditional healers are preferred over
competent doctors. Likewise, the bulk of doctors are hesitant to serve in
tribal regions in the interiors.
Mohanty (2007) Demonstrated that the reduction in traditional
forest-based activities, which causes shortages, traps tribal people in a web
of debt and servitude. A loan to a private moneylender places Juang in an
impossible situation since he is now caught on the web. As a result, his
land is alienated, and he loses everything he possesses. The tribes and their
offspring are known to be in debt from birth till death. Because of tribal
development programmes, nationalized banks, and self-help groups, the
author believes that this sort of situation has altered recently. Baitarani
Gramya Bank is now Juang's primary source of borrowing. However,
Juang's life has not been any easier as a result of the introduction of
Microcredit via SHGs. Due to a lack of knowledge, they are still in debt to
the local moneylender.
Bill Clinton (2009) The nature of women's empowerment
supported by MFPs in Bangladesh that function within a minimalist and
integrated framework is examined. Even though women undertake 66% of
global labour and produce 50% of the world's food, they only receive 10%
of the money and own 1% of the land. Women's empowerment is a key
component of virtually every challenge we face, whether it's improving
education in the poor world, combating global climate change, or tackling
nearly any other issue.
Duflo (2012) It has been suggested that women's work
opportunities are limited, which may lead to unequal treatment of women
at home and encourage parents to have low expectations for their
245
daughters. As a result, it lends credence to the assumption that women

require fewer social services such as healthcare and education.
Piacentini (2013) Women who take part in structured training learn
how to connect successfully with informal investors and make investment
offers. A good example is the "European Ready for Equity!" project's
training programme, which is geared for both entrepreneurs and angel
investors.
Routray. S (2015) According to the article The Position of Women
among the Dongria Kondh, the Dongria Kondh woman enjoys a high
social position. They have a major standing when it comes to marriage and
passing along family heirlooms. Due to the additional manpower a person
with many wives has, it has been found that they are regarded as wealthy
in society. Because of this, women help males gain social and economic
status. Dongria Kondh women have high social standing and
independence in a variety of areas, such as choosing a husband or life
partner, filing for divorce. However, they have a low standing in the
political and ceremonial spheres. As a result, all developmental
programmes should be strengthened to better serve Dongria Kondh
women on all levels.
Rao. A (2016) In his paper, he emphasized how essential it is in
underdeveloped nations for tribal women to be empowered. Women in
tribal societies have a significant role in decision-making and economic
activities, although their status and involvement in these areas are
extremely low. Through its contribution to economic activity,
microfinance has played a critical role in enhancing Tribal women's
decision-making. Many governments and non-governmental groups have
made a variety of initiatives throughout the years to promote the
empowerment of women, particularly in rural regions. The microfinance
intervention is one such endeavour. The goal of a microfinance
organisation is to make credit available to those who would otherwise be
unable to obtain it through a traditional bank. Microfinance institutions
typically get funding at interest rates much below market rates from
western philanthropists, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and
commercial banks. Established ideas of the poor as financial service
consumers have been overturned, stereotypes about the poor as
unbankable have been shattered and a variety of lending methodologies
246
have emerged to show that the poor can get affordable financial services
and millions of dollars of "social investment" have been mobilized for the
poor.
Bhumika Bori (2017) The goni gaon panchayat in Golaghat district
has been the subject of economic empowerment studies. After joining
SHG, women members' income, expenditure, savings, and investment will
be evaluated using the data in the paper's findings. When the T-test is used
in this research, the null hypothesis is rejected and it is proven that joining
SHGS significantly increases one's income, savings, and spending.
Priyanka Kumawat and Vishakha Bansal (2018) With mean
scores of 2.71, 2.60, 2.49, and 2.60, In all four factors, medium
empowerment status was found: socio-psychological, economic, legal, and
political. No member had medium empowerment in the
sociopsychological and legal components (mean per cent score 2.56 and
2.34, respectively). Non-members, on the other hand, were under-
empowered economically and politically, with mean scores of 2.26 and
2.16, correspondingly.
Conclusion and Discussion

To eliminate illiteracy, educational facilities in tribal communities
would be upgraded. In this context, government schools should be
improved because tribal children rely on them the most, and school
dropouts should be discouraged by incentives and by instilling a passion
for learning. Counselling should be used to eliminate discrimination
between sons and daughters. The problems of dowry and early weddings
would be controlled through increasing indigenous women's knowledge.
To safeguard tribal families from private practitioners and local curators,
government hospitals would be equipped with infrastructure and
physicians.
Women are an important component of our culture, yet they have
less power. Women's contributions are essential to the creation of an equal
society. Discrimination exists between males and women in general. Every
element of employment is difficult for women. Women's rights have been
denied to women for millennia as nations attempt to progress. Women's
conditions should be addressed for the good of society. Because both men
and women are parts of society and rely on one another, in the twenty-first
247
century, the holistic attitude of 'life and let live' must be the primary
objective of the human person.
In a period of fierce competition, when companies strive
aggressively to obtain or enhance competitive advantage over one another,
the efforts made by SHGs to protect tribal women's interests are especially
welcome. Instead of just handing over money to keep them afloat, they're
doing all they can to help them develop interpersonal skills and learn how
to get the most out of the few resources they have. Social security plans
and programmes aimed at empowering tribal women are important steps
in guaranteeing tribal women's elevation and ensuring they receive
adequate assistance to increase their productivity. It's great to see
technology being used to improve society. We may therefore infer that
SHG initiative measures need to be increased in the future to achieve
positive outcomes.
Despite years of planning, the tribal area still lacks appropriate
health and educational services. They must take out loans against their
valuable assets, with land being the most important. This is to help their
children pay for college or to cover medical expenses. Due to lack of
information, administrative delays, legal responsibilities, and other factors,
tribe members must rely on private lenders for financing, which puts them
at risk of being exploited to the point of losing their landholdings.
Violations of all main laws are seen in varying degrees when it comes to
the mortgage of immovable property to private money lenders, laws
relating to bonded labour, laws against the exploitation of money lenders,
and laws and policies relating to forests.
The tribal people continue to live in poverty and debt, making them
particularly vulnerable. However, even though government programmes
have been designed specifically to help them, overall research shows that
their uptake has been poor. There is a strong correlation between tribal
income and indebtedness, family size, and length of employment. This
data shows that while factors relating to the ownership of income-
producing land assets are non-significant when looking at tribal families,
they are significant when looking at tribal households without such
ownership. This exemplifies the importance of land assets in tribal society.
Individuals who own a source of income have an advantage in creating
248
income because they are less reliant on the existence of external sources of
income-generating activities.
Developing rural women's assets and capacities means negotiating
with, influencing, and controlling the institutions that have an impact on
their life and holding them responsible. If rural women are to become self-
assured, autonomous, and capable of engaging in decision-making at home
and in the community, they must improve their talents. Tribals and rural
women are still the most disadvantaged and neglected elements of society
due to their economic underdevelopment. Consequently, the government
and civil society must work together to enhance the quality of life for these
marginalized sectors of the Indian people.
Particularly for women from scheduled castes and scheduled tribes,
welfare policies and programmes should be prioritized in India's
development process. These are the people who are struggling financially,
and the government must do all in its power to aid them. According to the
Social Assessment for training and skill development, rural landless
people are a part of poor and disadvantaged groups. When rural women
gain education and self-sufficiency, they can live with dignity and self-
sufficiency, overcoming traditional biases and prejudices as well as social
barriers including such caste, class, gender, profession, and organizational
constraints which prevent them from taking individual and collective
action to improve their circumstances. To enable tribal students and
women to become self-sufficient and financially empowered, programmes
that provide free education and training in marketable skills must be
developed. Moreover, the right to vote is pointless unless rural women are
educated, empowered, and given skills to understand the current state even
though that they can impact changes in life, families, and, inevitably,
India's holistic tribal landscape, through education, legal awareness, and
social-economic independence.
References
Agarwal, D. (2001). Empowerment of Rural women in India. SOCIAL
WELFARE-DELHI-, 48(4), 3-4.
Alozie, E. C. (2009). Bill Clinton (2009). Marketing in developing
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economy. Routledge.
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Anand, J. S. (2002). Self-help groups in empowering women: Case study

of selected SHGs and NHGs. Centre for Development Studies.
Bori, B. (2017). Economic Empowerment of Tribal Women through Self
Help Groups: A Case Study of Gulung Temera Gaon Panchayat
under Bokakhat West Development Block, Golaghat District of
Assam. India. Journal of Humanities and Social Science, 22(11),
01-10.
Duflo, E. (2012). Women empowerment and economic
development. Journal of Economic literature, 50(4), 1051-79.
Dutta, S. (2002). Women's Empowerment-A Distant Dream. SOCIAL
WELFARE-DELHI-, 49(5), 7-10.
Eyben, R., Kabeer, N., & Cornwall, A. (2008). Conceptualizing
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Members in carryout the SHG Activities. International Journal of
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Manimekalai and Rajeswari (2002). Impact study of women
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Mohanty, S. C. (2007). Parametric instability of a pretwisted cantilever
beam with localised damage. International Journal of Acoustics and
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Mohanty, S. K., Mishra, S., Chatterjee, S., & Saggurti, N. (2020). Pattern
and correlates of out-of-pocket payment (OOP) on female
sterilization in India, 1990–2014. BMC women's health, 20(1), 1-13.
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Rao, R. (2016). Jaya: A simple and new optimization algorithm for solving
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CHAPTER 21
ROLE OF EKLAVYA RESIDENTIAL SCHOOL IN TRIBAL

EDUCATION: A REVIEW
Rahul Das40 & Prof. (Dr.) Jayanta Mete 41
Abstract:
The Constitution of India specifically mentions a number of measures to
protect indigenous peoples from exploitation and social inequality and for
their educational and economic status. The Fifth and Sixth Schedules of
the Constitution speak of special arrangements for the governance of the
inhabited territories. The areas concerned are identified as territories and
tribal areas. For fostering the tribal education EMRS started in the year
1997-98 to impart quality education to ST children in remote areas in
order to enable them to avail of opportunities in high and professional
educational courses and get employment in various sectors. The schools
focus not only on academic education but on the all-round development of
the students. Each school has a capacity of 480 students, catering to
students from Class VI to XII. The objective of EMRS is to provide
quality middle and high level education to Scheduled Tribe (ST) students
in remote areas, not only to enable them to avail of reservation in high and
professional educational courses and as jobs in government and public and
private sectors but also to have access to the best opportunities in
education at par with the non ST population. Prime Minister M Shri
Narendra Modi laid foundation stone for construction of 50 new Eklavya
Model Residential Schools (EMRSs) in 27 districts of 7 States and 1 UT
through virtual mode from Bhopal. It has been decided that by the year
2022, every block with more than 50% ST population and at least 20,000
tribal persons, will have an EMRS. Comprehensive physical, mental and
socially relevant development of all students enrolled in each and every
40
Research Scholar, Department of Education, University of Kalyani, Kalyani, Nadia,
West Bengal, India – 741235.
41
Professor, Department of Education, University of Kalyani, Kalyani, Nadia, West
Bengal, India – 741235.
252
EMRS. Students will be empowered to be change agent, beginning in their

school, in their homes, in their village and finally in a larger context.
Keywords: Schedule Tribe (ST), EMRS, Equality, All Round development,

Empowerment
Introduction:
T
he National Policy on Education, 1986 and the Programme of
Action (POA) 1992 envisaged free and compulsory education of
satisfactory quality for all children below 14 years before the 21st
Century. The government committed to earmark 6% of the Gross
Domestic Product (GDP) for education, half of which would be spent on
primary education. The expenditure on Education as a percentage of GDP
also rose from 0.7 per cent in 1951-52 to about 3.6 per cent in 1997-
98(Guha & Das, 2013).
The school system in India has four levels: lower primary (age 6 to
10), upper primary (11 and 12), high (13 to 15) and higher secondary (17
and 18). The lower primary school is divided into five “standards”, upper
primary school into two, high school into three and higher secondary into
two. Students have to learn a common curriculum largely (except for
regional changes in mother tongue) till the end of high school. There is
some amount of specialization possible at the higher secondary level.
Students throughout the country have to learn three languages (namely,
English, Hindi and their mother tongue) except in regions where Hindi is
the mother tongue and in some streams as discussed below(Eklavya Model
Residential School, 2020).
There are mainly three streams in school education in India. Two of
these are coordinated at the national level, of which one is under the
Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) and was originally meant
for children of central government employees who are periodically
transferred and may have to move to any place in the country. A number
of “central schools” (named Kendriya Vidyalayas) have been established
for the purpose in all main urban areas in the country, and they follow a
common schedule so that a student going from one school to another on a
particular day will hardly see any difference in what is being taught.
253
Another two board are ICSE and State Board(Free Software and
Education - GNU Project - Free Software Foundation, n.d.)
Eklavya Model Residential Schools (EMRSs) is a Central
government scheme initiated in 1998-99 for setting up a model residential
school from Class VI to XII for imparting quality education to tribal
children in their own environment. Such residential schools also have
special facilities for preserving local art and culture, apart from providing
training in sports and skill development (Eklavya Model Residentia
School, 2020).
Scheduled Tribes are one of the social groups in India who are the
real inhabitants of India and one of the backbones of India(Patra et al.,
2021) From the earliest times of India, most of them have been located in
remote rural areas. Scheduled Tribes communities have preserved their
own group communities, nature and the environment, and all the animals
and plants in the environment as their own lives. Tribes are a group of
forest dwellers who depend on strong kinship and have cultural, linguistic
and religious affiliations(Sonowal, 2022). The Scheduled Tribes are
considered to be the sons of the land, usually those who live in the hills or
in the forests, most of them live below the poverty line, highly respectful
of religion and their own culture, intense factional unity usually follows
the beliefs of the ancestors. Some of the so-called tribes of the backward
sections of the society living in Indian society are Santal, Kol, Veel, Naga,
Birhod etc (Daripa, 2017).
Constitutional Provisions for Scheduled Tribes in India:

The Constitution of India specifically mentions a number of
measures to protect indigenous peoples from exploitation and social
inequality and for their educational and economic status. The Fifth and
Sixth Schedules of the Constitution speak of special arrangements for the
governance of the inhabited territories. The areas concerned are identified
as territories and tribal areas. Article 336 (25) of the Constitution states
that Scheduled Tribes are a part of the tribal group which is specified by
the President of India as Article 342 (1) by public notification. The
constitution refers to the Scheduled Tribes as those who show signs of
primitiveness, possess certain cultures, are geographically isolated, and are
reluctant to associate with other communities. The Scheduled Tribes are
254
considered to be the sons of the land, usually those who live in the hills or
in the forests, most of them live below the poverty line, highly respectful
of religion and their own culture, intense factional unity usually follows
the beliefs of the ancestors. Article 366 (25) of the Constitution
“Scheduled Tribes” means such tribes or tribal communities or parts of or
groups within such tribes or tribal communities as are deemed under
article 342 to be Scheduled Tribes for the purposes of this Constitution.”
Pursuant to Article 342 (1) of the Constitution, the President may, by
notification, declare any tribe or tribal community of any State or Union
Territory or any part of them or Scheduled Tribes of that State or Union
Territory. But in the case of a state, the president has to consult with the
governor of the state concerned before doing so. Article 342 (2) of the
Constitution gives some powers to the Parliament in this regard. There is
no definition of Scheduled Caste or Scheduled Tribe in the Indian
Constitution. The President decides the number of these two categories
through official notification. The 73rd Amendment to the Constitution
provides for the reservation of seats in proportion to the population for
Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in accordance with the law.
Central and state government jobs or posts are reserved for Scheduled
Castes and Scheduled Tribes. However, in accordance with Section 335, it
is necessary to make arrangements for such protective appointment in the
government service in keeping with the efficiency of governance. Article
15 (4) states that the State may take action for the Scheduled Castes and
Scheduled Tribes and other socially and educationally underdeveloped
classes. The subject will promote economic interests and protect them
from social injustice and exploitation(Minz, n.d.; THE CONSTITUTION
OF INDIA, 2021).
Scheduled Tribes in India:

Tribal communities are considered indigenous peoples in India,
having suffered numerous issues from invaders and other immigrants for
thousands of years, making tracing the actual roots of today's tribal people
challenging(Das, 2014).
255
Table 1: State/UT wise over all population, ST population, percentage of ST sin India /State to
total population of India/State and percentage of STs in the State to total ST population
Total ST %STsinIndia/ %STsinthe
SL India/State Population Population Statetototal Statetototal
No (inlakh) Population ST
Of population
India/ in
State India
India 12108.55 1045.46 8.6 -
1 Andhra Pradesh 493.87 26.31 5.3 2.5
2 Arunachal 13.84 9.52 68.8 0.9
Pradesh
3 Assam 312.06 38.84 12.4 3.7
4 Bihar 1040.99 13.37 1.3 1.3
5 Chhattisgarh 255.45 78.23 30.6 7.5
6 Goa 14.59 1.49 10.2 0.1
7 Gujarat 604.40 89.17 14.8 8.5
8 Haryana 253.51 NST NA NA
9 HimachalPradesh 68.65 3.92 5.7 0.4
10 J&K 125.41 14.93 11.9 1.4
11 Jharkhand 329.88 86.45 26.2 8.3
12 Karnataka 610.95 42.49 7.0 4.1
13 Kerala 334.06 4.85 1.5 0.5
14 MadhyaPradesh 726.27 153.17 21.1 14.7
15 Maharashtra 1123.74 105.1 9.4 10.1
16 Manipur 28.56 11.67 40.9 1.1
17 Meghalaya 29.67 25.56 86.1 2.4
18 Mizoram 10.97 10.36 94.4 1.0
19 Nagaland 19.79 17.11 86.5 1.6
20 Orissa 419.74 95.91 22.8 9.2
21 Punjab 277.43 NST NA NA
22 Rajasthan 685.48 92.39 13.5 8.8
23 Sikkim 6.11 2.06 33.8 0.2
24 TamilNadu 721.47 7.95 1.1 0.8
25 Telangana 351.94 32.87 9.3 3.1
26 Tripura 36.74 11.67 31.8 1.1
256
27 Uttarakhand 100.86 2.92 2.9 0.3

28 UttarPradesh 1998.12 11.34 0.6 1.1
29 WestBengal 912.76 52.97 5.8 5.1
30 A& NIslands 3.81 0.29 7.5 0.0
31 Chandigarh 10.55 NST NA NA
32 D&NHaveli 3.44 1.79 52.0 0.2
33 Daman&Diu. 2.43 0.15 6.3 0.0
34 Delhi 167.88 NST NA NA
35 Lakshadweep 0.64 0.61 94.8 0.1
36 Puducherry 12.48 NST NA NA
Source: Census 2011, Office of the Registrar General, India NST: No notified Scheduled
Tribes (as in 2011), NA: Not Applicable
Table 2: District Wise Distribution of Scheduled Tribes population in West Bengal (Census2
011)
Sl. No. District Total Percentage Male Percentage Female Percentage
1 Bankura 368690 7 183467 3.5 185223 3.5
2 Barddhaman 489447 9.2 243581 4.6 245866 4.6
3 Birbhum 242484 4.6 119787 2.3 122697 2.3
4 Dakshin 275366 5.2 138025 2.6 137341 2.6
Dinajpur
5 Darjiling 397389 7.5 197251 3.7 200138 3.8
6 Howrah 15094 0.3 7761 0.2 7333 0.1
7 Hugli 229243 4.3 113249 2.1 115994 2.2
8 Jalpaiguri 731704 13.8 365868 6.9 365836 6.9
9 Koch Bihar 18125 0.3 9388 0.2 8737 0.2
10 Kolkata 10684 0.2 5729 0.1 4955 0.1
11 Malda 313984 5.9 157528 3 156456 3
12 Murshidabad 91035 1.7 46163 0.9 44872 0.9
13 North 24 264597 5 134179 2.5 130418 2.5
Parganas
14 South 24 96976 1.8 49195 0.9 47781 0.9
Parganas
15 Nadia 140700 2.7 71142 1.3 69558 1.3
16 Paschim 880015 16.6 439831 8.3 440184 8.3
Medinipur
17 Purba 27952 0.5 14196 0.3 13756 0.3
Medinipur
18 Puruliya 540652 10.2 271803 5.1 268849 5.1
19 Uttar 162816 3.1 81831 1.5 80985 1.5
Dinajpur
Sources: Census of India, 2011
257
According to the above figure, Paschim Medinipur district has the

largest proportion of ST population (16.16 percent) while Kolkata
district has the lowest percentage of ST population (0.2 percent)in
West Bengal. More than 5% of ST people live in the districts of
Bankura, Bardhaman, Dakshin Dinajpur, Darjilling, Jalpaiguri, Malda,
North 24 Parganas and Purulia. Less than 5% of the ST population
live in the districts of Birbhum, Howrah, Hugli, Koch Bihar,
Mursidabad, South 24 Pargana, Nadia, Purba Mednipur, and Uttar
Dinajpur. The districts with the greatest and lowest male populations
are Paschim Medinipur (8.3 percent) and Kolkata (0.1percent) And
the districts with the largest and lowest female ST populations are
Paschm Medinipur (8.3 percent) and Kolkata (0.09 percent).
Table 3: Literacy Rates among STs and ALL 1961 to 2011

Year All Scheduled Tribes
Persons Males Females Persons Males Females
1961 28.3 40.4 15.35 8.53 13.83 3.16
1971 34.45 45.96 21.97 11.3 17.63 4.85
1981 43.57 56.38 29.76 16.35 24.52 8.04
1991 52.21 64.13 39.29 29.6 40.65 18.19
2001 64.84 75.26 53.67 47.1 59.17 34.76
2011 73 80.9 64.6 59 68.5 49.4
Source: Census of India, 2011. Office of the Registrar General, India
Education is the most significant factor in the growth of any society.

One of the most important factors in determining the percentage of literate
individuals is the literacy rate. According to the following table, India's
total literacy rate has progressively risen since independence; however
tribal literacy rates have progressed more slowly. As a result, there has
been a large gap between these two literacy rates throughout this time
period.
Eklavya Model Residential School (EMRS):

EMRS started in the year 1997-98 to impart quality education to ST
children in remote areas in order to enable them to avail of opportunities in
high and professional educational courses and get employment in various
sectors. The schools focus not only on academic education but on the all-
258
round development of the students. Each school has a capacity of 480

students, catering to students from Class VI to XII. Hitherto, grants were
given for construction of schools and recurring expenses to the State
Governments under Grants under Article 275 (1) of the Constitution
(EMRS Guidelines November 2020.Pdf, n.d.).
In order to give further impetus to EMRS, it has been decided that
by the year 2022, every block with more than 50% ST population and at
least 20,000 tribal persons, will have an EMRS. Eklavya schools will be
on par with Navodaya Vidyalaya and will have special facilities for
preserving local art and culture besides providing training in sports and
skill development. Across the country, as per census 2011 figures, there
are 564 such sub-districts out of which there is an EMRS in 102 sub-
districts. Thus, 462 new schools have to be opened by the year 2022 and
by the year 2022-2023 Eklavya Model Residential School (EMRS)
allocation 2000.00 crprers (Eklavya ModelResidential School, 2020).
Eklavya Model Day Boarding Schools (EMDBS):

Wherever density of ST population is higher in identified Sub-
Districts (90% or more), it is proposed to set up Eklavya Model Day
Boarding School (EMDBS) on an experimental basis for providing
additional scope for ST Students seeking to avail school education without
residential facility (https://tribal.nic.in Eklavya Model Residential School,
2020).
Vision of EMRS:
Established under the Tribal Affairs Ministry, Eklavya Model
Residential Schools (EMRSs) is a Central government scheme initiated in
1998-99 for setting up a model residential school from Class VI to XII for
imparting quality education to tribal children in their own environment.
With an idea to keep all the students of the campus intact, EMRS
aim at providing systematic guidance, thus helping to develop the feeling
of oneness. In addition, such residential schools also have special facilities
for preserving local art and culture, apart from providing training in sports
and skill development.
As per the extant guidelines of EMRS, the number of seats for boys
and girls is equal in each such residential school, which has a capacity of
259
accommodating 480 students. In 2019-20, enrollment of tribal girls in

EMRS across the country was 36,567. Apart from taking steps towards
imparting quality education to tribal students, funds are also released for
the construction of hostels, laboratories, libraries, sports equipment,
coaching, or training facilities, among others(How Eklavya Model Can
Help Boost Education and Skilling, 2021).
Objectives of EMRS
The objective of EMRS is to provide quality middle and high level
education to Scheduled Tribe (ST) students in remote areas, not only to
enable them to avail of reservation in high and professional educational
courses and as jobs in government and public and private sectors but also
to have access to the best opportunities in education at par with the non ST
population. This would be achieved by:
• Comprehensive physical, mental and socially relevant development
of all students enrolled in each and every EMRS. Students will be
empowered to be change agent, beginning in their school, in their
homes, in their village and finally in a larger context.
• Focus differentially on the educational support to be made available
to those in Standards XI and XII, and those in standards VI to X, so
that their distinctive needs can be met.
• Support the annual running expenses in a manner that offers
reasonable remuneration to the staff and upkeep of the facilities.
• Support the construction of infrastructure that provides
education, physical, environmental and cultural needs of student
life(Vikaspedia Domains, n.d.).
Coverage of the Scheme:

As per existing EMRS Guidelines of 2010, at least one EMRS is to
be set up in each Integrated Tribal Development Agency (ITDA) /
Integrated Tribal Development Project (ITDP) having 50% ST population
in the area.
Ministry of Tribal Affairs has recognised 163 priority districts
having 25% or more Scheduled Tribe (ST) population for implementation
of tribal development programmes including establishment of Eklavya
Model Residential Schools (EMRSs). Across the country, as per census
260
2011 figures, there are 564 sub-districts, i.e. blocks/taluka/tehsils, having

more than 50% ST population and at least 20,000 tribal persons.
As per the budget 2018-19, every block with more than 50% ST
population and at least 20,000 tribal persons, will have an Eklavya Model
Residential School by the year 2022 ((Vikaspedia Domains, n.d.)
Table 4: Eklavya Model Residential Schools in India

SL State Schools
1 Andhra Pradesh 28
2 Arunachal Pradesh 10
3 Assam 10
4 Bihar 3
5 Chhattisgarh 71
6 Dadra & Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu 1
7 Gujarat 35
8 Himachal Pradesh 4
9 Jammu & Kashmir 6
10 Jharkhand 83
11 Karnataka 12
12 Kerala 4
13 Ladakh 3
14 Madhya Pradesh 67
15 Maharashtra 32
16 Manipur 21
17 Meghalaya 15
18 Mizoram 17
19 Nagaland 22
20 Odisha 88
21 Rajasthan 30
22 Sikkim 4
23 Tamil Nadu 8
24 Telangana 23
25 Tripura 20
26 Uttar Pradesh 3
27 West Bengal 7
Total 627
Source: https://tribal.nic.in/downloads/EMRS/ListofEMRS030821.pdf
According to the above figure, Jharkhandhas the largest Eklavya
Model Residential Schools (83) while Bihar and Uttar Pradesh has the
lowest Eklavya Model Residential Schools (3) in India.
261
Table 5:List of Functional EMRSs in West Bengal

SL District Block Name of the Boys Girls Total
No. ERMS Enrolled Enrolled
2017-2018 2017-2018
1 Jalpaiguri Nagrakata EMRS 225 157 382
Nagrakata
2 Bankura Khatra EMSR 174 167 341
Mukutmanipur
13 Purulia Manbazar- EMRS 196 143 339
II Susunia
4 Paschim Kanska EMRS 205 136 341
Bardhman Raghunathpur
5 Jhargram Jhargram EMRS 153 159 312
Satyabanpalli
6 Birbhum Bolpur EMRS 176 161 337
Santiniketan Kankutia
7 Daksin Bansikhari EMRS 145 148 293
Dinajpur Kumarsai
Source: (https://vikaspedia.in).
According to the above figure, EMRS Nagrakata, Jalpaiguri boys and
girlshas higest enrolled (382) while EMRS Kumarsai, Daksin Dinajpur has
lowest enrolled (293) in West Bengal.
Management of EMRS:
I. The EMRSs may be affiliated either to the State or Central Boards
of Secondary Education as desired fit by the State Governments/UT
Administration.
II. The norms and standards for a school class VI to class VIII in
respect of the number of teachers to be appointed, as provided in the
Schedule to the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory
Education Act 2009 shall be strictly followed.
III. Efforts may be made to recruit maximum no. of women teachers.
At the time of recruitment, preference may be accorded to
candidates whose spouses also qualify for selection as teachers.
Women should be given preference for employment among the
non-teaching staff and in any case women be deployed in the posts
of cook, helper and cleaner.
262
IV. Each State Government/UT Administration would be solely

responsible for the management and effective functioning of the
EMRSs.
V. State Governments/UT Administration may opt for any feasible/
suitable mode of management whether by autonomous education
societies; public-private partnership with reputed educational
institutions; in arrangement with the State Department of Education
or any other mode found suitable.
VI. A Management Committee may be constituted for each EMRSs
which could include, among others, reputed local NGOs involved
with education. Help of such NGOs may be taken to organize
socially relevant, development/ welfare extension programmes.
VII. The tasks of school admissions, appointment of teachers,
appointment of staff, personnel matters and day-to-day running of
the schools would be handled entirely by the society chosen by the
State Government/UT Administration and in the manner deemed
most suitable.
VIII. The State Governments/UT Administration shall ensure and
maintain the highest quality in the selection of teachers and staff for
academic and extra-curricular excellence ((Vikaspedia Domains,
n.d.).
Cabinet Approval for EMRS:

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs(CCEA) has given
its in-principle approval for setting up of Eklavya Model Residential
Schools (EMRSs) in every block with more than 50% ST population and
at least 20,000 tribal persons. To begin with, the CCEA has approveda
financial cost of Rs. 2242.03 crore during 2018-19 and 2019-20 for rolling
out the revamped scheme.
The CCEA has further approved the following:

• Upgradation of already sanctioned EMRSs on need basis with
unit cost subject to a maximum of Rs. 5 crore per school.
• The new scheme envisages increase in construction cost of EMRS
from current Rs.12 crore to Rs. 20 crore to improve the
construction quality and ensure better facilities for the students.
263
• Recurring cost to be enhanced to Rs. 1,09,000/- per student per

year from the existing Rs. 61500/- per student per year from 2019-
20 onwards.
• Additional 20% would be provided towards construction cost in
North East, hilly areas, difficult areas and areas affected by Left
Wing Extremism.(Vikaspedia Domains, n.d.).
50 New EMRSs are going to be set up:

Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi lead the celebration of Janjatiya
Gaurav Divas as part of Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav on 15th November
2021. At the outset, the Prime Minister virtually inaugurated the Birsa
Munda Freedom Fighter Museum at Ranchi paying tribute to tribal heroes
who sacrificed their lives during the freedom struggle. Continuing with the
mission to build strong edifice of quality education for tribal
students, Prime Minister M Shri Narendra Modi laid foundation stone for
construction of 50 new Eklavya Model Residential Schools (EMRSs) in
27 districts of 7 States and 1 UT through virtual mode from Bhopal. The
event was attended by dignitaries, political leaders, and senior officials
from the Ministry of Tribal Affairs. Eklavya Model Residential School
(EMRS) is a Government of India scheme to establish model residential
schools for Indian tribals (Scheduled Tribes) across India. It is one of the
flagship interventions of the Ministry of Tribal Affairs, Government of
India and was introduced in the year 1997-98 to ensure tribal students get
access to quality education in the remote tribal areas. The Union Budget
for 2018-19 announced that every block with more than 50% ST
population and at least 20,000 tribal persons will have Eklavya Model
Residential Schools. The government has decided to set up 452 new
schools across the country(Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi Lays
Foundation Stone of 50 New Eklavya Model Residential Schools on
Occasion of Janjatiya Gaurav Divas as Part of Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav,
2021).
Recognizing the tribal culture and language of tribal students, Sh.
Narendra Modi said, “Under Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav (India @ 75) a
resolve has been taken to establish nearly 750 Eklavya Model Residential
Schools to support the education of tribal students. Out of that, large
numbeof schools are already functional.” He also highlighted that per
264
student expenditure borne by Central Government has increased from

approximately Rs. 40,000 per student to more than Rs. 1,00,000 which
shall lead to availing of quality education opportunities by tribal
students. He also emphasized that special attention shall be given to
regional language of the tribal students enlivening the spirit of National
Education Policy-2020(Samvaad, n.d.).
Eklavya Model Residential Schools are being developed to impart
quality education to tribal students, with an emphasis on not only
academic education but all-round development of tribal students. The
schools cater to students from class VI to class XII, having a capacity of
480 students in each school. At present, there are 367 functional schools
spanned across the country established at par with Navodaya Vidyalayas
with focus on special state-of-the-art facilities for preserving local art and
culture besides providing training in sports and skill development. Also,
EMRSs are equipped with facilities catering to the students’ on-campus
needs for holistic development and provide free education including
boarding and lodging free of cost(Oommen, 2011).
As part of activities initiated in commemoration of Azadi ka Amrit
Mahotsav (India @ 75) from June 2021 till November 2021, there have
been 21 EMRSs for which foundation stone laying ceremony has been
initiated. The Ministry of Tribal Affairs has been making continuous
efforts in the direction of upliftment of tribal community; education being
one of its key areas of intervention. The presently held stately stone laying
foundation event marks the indomitable spirit of the Ministry aiming to
niche education as a powerful driver for tribal students to pave the roads
for future success and accomplishments (Eklavya Model Residential
School, 2020).
Conclusion:
The National Education Policy, 1986 and the Program of Action,
1992, provide satisfactory quality free and compulsory education for all
children under the age of 14 before the 21st century. But the indigenous
tribes are being deprived of this education, and, for their improvement, the
government has provided various schemes, fellowships, and various
facilities. The constitution mentions a number of provisions for
educational and economic conditions. To provide free and quality
265
education for ST children, the government established EMRS in 1997-98.

Each of these schools has classes from 6th to 12th, with a capacity of 480
students. India's PM, Narendra Modi, said, "Under Azadi Ka Amrit
Mahotsav (India @ 75), a resolution has been taken to set up about 750
Eklabya Model Residential Schools to assist tribal students in their
education." There will be a single model residential school for the
population and at least 20,000 tribal people. From the list above, it is clear
that children from Scheduled Tribes have improved somewhat compared
to the past, and EMRS, like other benefits, is playing a particularly
important role. Moreover, as a result of this EMRS, children will be able to
be responsible citizens of their society as a result of free and quality
education.
References:
Daripa, S. K. (2017). Tribal Education in India: Government Initiative and
Challenges. International Journal of Research in Social Sciences,
10(7), 11.
Das, M. B. (2014). Indigenous Peoples, Poverty and Development: 46.
Eklavya Model Residential School. (2020). Government of India.
https://tribal.nic.in/downloads/EMRS/Guidelines/EMRS%20Guidel
ines%20November%202020.pdf
EMRS Guidelines November 2020.pdf. (n.d.).
Free Software and Education—GNU Project—Free Software Foundation.
(n.d.). Retrieved May 11, 2022, from https://www.gnu.org/educatio
n/education.html
Guha, N., & Das, P. (2013). Educational Advancement of Scheduled
Tribes in West Bengal (1947-2011). Vidyasagar University Journal
of Economics, 18, 112–131.
How Eklavya Model can help boost education and skilling—Education
Today News. (2021, March 16). https://www.indiatoday.in/educatio
n-today/featurephilia/story/how-eklavya-model-can-help-boost-edu
cation-and-skilling-1779918-2021-03-16
Minz, S. K. (n.d.). Tribal Development Policies in India: Its Implications
and Prospects. 12.
266
Oommen, T. K. (2011). Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, and the

Nation: Situating G. S. Ghurye. Sociological Bulletin, 60(2), 228–
244. https://doi.org/10.1177/0038022920110202
Patra, U. K., Gayak, J., Khan, K. R., Karim, S., Sen, A., & Paul, G. (2021).
A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF TRIBAL EDUCATION
DEVELOPMENT IN INDIA: WITH SPECIAL REFERENCES
TO PURULIA DISTRICT, WEST BENGAL. JOURNAL OF
CRITICAL REVIEWS, 8(01), 13.
Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi lays foundation stone of 50 new
Eklavya Model Residential Schools on occasion of Janjatiya
Gaurav Divas as part of Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav. (2021, Novemb
er 15). https://pib.gov.in/pib.gov.in/Pressreleaseshare.aspx?PRID=1
772011
Samvaad, D. (n.d.). Ministry of Tribal Affairs, Government of India.
Retrieved May 10, 2022, from https://tribal.nic.in/
Sonowal, C. J. (2022). Changing Trends in Livelihood in Tribal Domain
of Assam An analysis of Census data. International Journal of
Humanities and Social Science Invention (IJHSSI), 11(4), 14.
THE CONSTITUTION OF INDIA. (2021). https://legislative.gov.in/site
s/default/files/COI...pdf
Vikaspedia Domains. (n.d.). Retrieved May 10, 2022, from
https://vikaspedia.in/social-welfare/scheduled-tribes-welfare/eklavy
a-model-residential-schools
267
CHAPTER 22
EDUCATION AS CHALLENGES OF SCHEDULED CASTE

AND SCHEDULED TRIBE WOMEN IN INDIA
Nilufa Yasmin42 & Dr. Debashis Mridha 43
Abstract
The present study demonstrated the challenges in educational status of
Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe women in India. The SC and ST
women are the most disadvantaged and neglected of social being. Today
the terms use to refer to them are Dalits, Untouchables, Harijan etc. They
are the depressed and backward classes of the society. Besides being the
disadvantaged classes, among them women are the most oppressed. The
main reason for the backwardness of the women is lack of education.
Gender discrimination begins at an early age of their life. Education is the
only way through which Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe women
can improve in their life. There are a lot of efforts and reservation for the
development of these women undertook by many governmental and non-
governmental agencies. Even though women are still considered as a
neglected and disadvantage group.
Keyword: Scheduled Caste, Schedule Tribe, Women, Educational

Challenges
Introduction:
Swami Vivekananda said, “There is no hope for the welfare of the world
unless the condition of women is improved. It is not possible for a bird to
fly on only one wing. There is no hope for that family or country where
there is no estimation of women and where they live in sadness”.
42
M.Ed, Phd scholar, Department of Education, Jadavpur University, Kolkata, West
Bengal, India.
43
Assistant Professor, Department of Education, Jadavpur University, Kolkata, West
Bengal, India.
268
E
ducation is considered as the basic right and is a milestone for
reducing gender inequality as it enables people to become
independent. Although there are a lot of problems and challenges
that women have to face in their path of prosperity and progress. Many
stereotypes are present in our society which prohibits women from getting
a quality education. Education is the measure by which they can overcome
these obstacles and prevent these unreasonable factors from becoming a
dominating thing in their life. The present conditions and social
conservatism acts as a barrier in the educational improvement of women.
This is most noticeable among the backward Scheduled Caste and
Scheduled Tribe women. The common thing in these cast backgrounds is
poverty and lack of education especially in women and because of these
reasons they are supposed to lead a neglected and miserable life. By
getting proper education they can have an improved lifestyle. First of all
education bring reduction in gender discrimination in our society and
allow women to live a life of their own. Women can life in the way they
want and accept responsibility of their actions and decisions without any
interference and obstruction. The government has made many efforts to
help the SC and ST women for getting education like free books,
uniforms, scholarship, free bicycles and so on. Due to these efforts there
has been a great extent of improvement in women education. But even
after getting these facilities the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe
women are still not able to progress. Therefore, the present study discusses
these issues and barriers in the Education of Scheduled Caste and
Scheduled Tribe women.
Objective of the Study:

➢ To point out the challenges faced by Scheduled Caste and
Scheduled Tribe Women in case of education in present society.
➢ To discuss the progress and improvement of women through
education.
➢ To study the efforts undertaken by government for the education of
SC and ST women.
Methodology:
The present study is based on the collection of data from secondary
sources. Secondary data which is collected from various sources like
269
journals, various published records, magazines, books, articles, internet

and government document.
Historical Background of Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe

Women:
Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe are a socially disadvantaged
and most degraded cast background. We often refer to them with different
terms like Dalit, Harijan, Untouchables etc. In the past the Brahmans
divided the society into four cast groups called the ‘Varna’ system –
Brahmins, Kshatriyas, Vaisyas and Shudras. Among them Shudras were
the most neglected. Shudras were referred as untouchable groups, whose
shadows were even considered polluting. They were not allowed to read or
even listen to holy text. They cannot draw water from wells or tanks used
by the upper cast or to attend any rituals.
These degraded people were later officially identified as groups of
historically disadvantaged people in India called Scheduled Caste and
Scheduled Tribe. In 1950 and 1951, article 341 and article 342 of the
Indian Constitution defined the term Scheduled Caste and Scheduled
Tribe.
The Educational disparity and again the caste differences among
women, which are noticeable in our present society is a reflection of the
ancient Indian cultures and traditions. Such discriminations are passed on
through decades due to these ancient customs and traditions. With the
beginning of the patriarchal society it was supposed that the main aim of
women is to marry and take care of their children and family. The only
role of women is going to their in-laws house and does the household
works. Every family mostly preferred a boy child rather than girl. It was
believed that if a woman will get education, she will bring bad luck to the
family. Such stereotypes have acted as barriers in the path of educational
progress of women. Although, some like Lopamudra, Indrani, Biswabara,
Gargi, Opala,Ghosha, Maitri such women reached an great extent of
educational progress. However, it is guessed that only women belonging to
the noble families got the chance of getting a quality education. On the
other hand, the path of education did not reach the lower cast women. The
upper caste community leaders have held this caste discrimination for their
own benefits. These obstacles in women education from the medieval
270
period is passed on to the nineteenth century and is still there in our present
society.
The lack of education among the lower cast women has led them to
lead a miserable life. In the recent Decades there have been a lot of crimes
and atrocities on Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe women. They are
force to marry at an early age according to their family wish. They don’t
have any decision making right. Although there have been some amount
of awareness and efforts for women education in the nineteenth century,
however, there was not enough educational development among the lower
cast women. Raja Ram Mohan Roy took many actions against racism and
cast differences but he did not made any effort for the lower caste women
to get education. Although Gandhiji was against untouchability but he
believed in caste differences and did not made any efforts for the education
of so called untouchables. Among these great personalities who made
some contribution in women education, the contributions of Ishwar
Chandra Vidyasagar were much remarkable for educational progress of
women. He established many government girl schools where girls from
every caste background can take admission. He took many steps to reach
education to every girl. We all know about Vidyasagar’s efforts against the
superstition and prejudices for women, specially child marriage and
widow marriage. Jyotirao Phule was an anti cast social activist and his
wife Savitribai Phule was also an Indian social reformer and an
educationalist from Maharashtra, Pune. Pune was considered as a
patriarchal and cast based society. The thoughts of Jyotirao Phule to
promote education to the so called lower cast also inspired Savitribai.
Jyotirao and his wife are considered the pioneers of women education and
had contributions for education of socially depressed classes, specially
women. They tried to remove every kind of discriminations based on
gender as well as cast. Savitribai Phule played a very important role in
improving women’s rights and founded a school for girls with her husband
Jyotirao Phule. Their main aim was to promote education to the backward
and oppressed classes so that these people can fight the inequality present
in our society.
Educational provision of Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe:
1) Constitutional Provision
Several provisions have been undertaken by the constitution to
271
safeguard the backward classes from inequalities. Article 46 of the

provision defines, “The state shall encourage and promote educational and
economic interest to the weaker groups especially those belonging to the
Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribes to provide protection from every
kind of injustice and social exploitation”.
2) Commissions and Committees:
On the basis of the various policies and programmes provided by
the constitution, different commissions and committees were build up.
After Independence, the central government set up three main
commissions which are – University Education Commission(1949),
Secondary Education Commission (1952) and National Education
Commission (Kothari Commission)1966. All these policies and
commissions have ensured the commitment of the constitution of
providing equal opportunities to every group of people.
Kothari Commission (1964-66):
On 14th July 1968 the Indian Government assigned Dr. D.S. Kothari
as the chairman of University Grants Commission and established an
educational commission. Many problems arose in case of education due to
many changes in the living of the Indians. Among these, a lot of problems
arose in the education of weaker sections of the society. Under Sri U.N.
Dhebar Kothari commission established a subcommittee for the Scheduled
Caste and Scheduled Tribes. Thus the commission recommended some
steps for the education progress of the weaker sections:
1) Building Ashram schools in the areas inhabited by Scheduled Caste
and Scheduled Tribes. The teachers who will join these schools
have to know the tribal languages.
2) In these Ashram schools first two years the students will be taught
in the tribal language. And in the third year the regional languages
will be used.
3) The programmes of these schools will be arranged according to the
surrounding situation and it should be linked with tribal living.
4) On Madhyamik level students can stay in hostels and there should
arrangements of endowment.
5) Arrangements of special tuitions should be there for students for
Madhyamik and higher education.
272
3) National policy on education 1986 (Programme of action 1992)

The targets of the 1986 policy are:
The Central focus in educational progress of Scheduled Caste and
Scheduled Tribes is to promote equalization with the non-SC and
ST in every perspective.
For the age group 6-11 (classes I-V), their retention in school
leading to satisfactory completion of the primary stage of education.
For the age group 11-14 (classes VI-VIII), at least 75 percent of
them should be enrolled and retained in school leading to
satisfactory completion of class VIII in order to achieve the policy
goals contemplate in the NPE.
This policy was revised in 1992 and POA 1992 was prepared. This
programme suggests that in order to promote equality it is necessary to
provide equal opportunities in access as well as in conditions of success.
The 1992 Revised Programme of Action suggests that every student up to
a certain level, irrespective of their cast, class, creed or sex should have
access to quality education.
The strategy undertaken to achieve these goals and targets for their
implementation are:
Providing assistance and encouraging the poor and needy SC and
ST families to send their children regularly to school. For this
Payment should be made through banks, post offices or other
agencies like DRDA, SC/ST corporations will also be explored.
Rates and scholarships should be raise to make it adequate for
helping them to ensure universal enrollment of SC/ST children.
4) National Planning Commission:

After the independence of India, there were attempts for educational
progress depending on the annual budget for the consecutive years till
1951. That year the National Planning Commission was established in
India.
Five Year Planning:

The Five Year Planning is one of the various planning that the
commission has undertaken. This planning promotes education for the
welfare, empowerment and development for the depressed and backward
273
classes, i.e. , Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribes. The First Five Year
plan (1951-55) recommends that the various developmental sectors will
avail the SC/ST classes but this did not work out. Hence, special efforts
were taken in the Second Five Year Plan (1956-61) for the requirements of
various backward groups which provides economical development to
reduce inequality. The Third Five Year Plan (1961-66) also follows
reduction in discrimination through many programmes. Fourth Five Year
Plan (1969-74) promote equality and social justice by increasing their
living standard. Fifth Five Year Plan (1974-78) makes benefits for the
development of tribal by Tribal Sub-Plan (TSP). The Sixth Five Year Plan
(1980-85) launched the Scheduled Caste Component Plan (SCCP). The
Seventh Five Year Plan (1985-90) necessitates educational progress of
Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribes. The Eighth Year Plan (1992-97)
made efforts to reduce the inequality in the progress of the SC/ST and
other sections. The goal of the Ninth Five year Plan (1997-2002) is to
empower the STs to enable them to lead a life of self confidence and
dignity. The Tenth Five Year Plan (2002-07) continues with the ninth plan.
The eleventh 5 year planning recommend women education and the
twelfth 5 year plan attempts to help the backward classes like SC, ST in
getting education.
Eleventh(11) five year planning:
i) Necessary measures should be taken so that girls can attend schools
overcoming all obstacles.
ii) Girls hostel have to be built in schools.
iii) Steps should be taken to bring girls school through sports and
cultural functions.
Twelfth(12) five year planning:
i) In case of higher education financial help should be given to the SC,
ST students.
ii) Post doctoral scholarship given to the depressed classes.
iii) There should be an improve school infrastructure for women

student, disabled students and backward areas.
National Programme for Education of Girls at Elementary Level
(NPEGEL):
The NPEGEL programme provides education to girls at elementary
274
level. It is a focused intervention of the Indian government to reach the

“Hardest to Reach” girls, especially those not in school. This scheme was
launched in 2003. It promotes quality education for every girl and ensures
greater participation of women and girls in the field of education. The
NPEGEL scheme is implemented in educationally backward blocks
(EBBs) where in the literacy rate of the rural women is much less than the
national average and the gender gap is above the national average and also
in the district blocks which are not under EBBs still are having at least 5%
of SC/ST population, where SC/ST female literacy is below 10%.
Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan :

The Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) ensures free and compulsory
education to every child of age 6-14 years according to the provisions of
the Right of Children to Free and compulsory Education (RTE) act 2009.
Its main goal is universal enrolment at an elementary level. It is preferred
to open schools in tribal areas and also areas with Scheduled Caste and
Scheduled Tribe and minority population. It also provides free textbooks.
Besides, The Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalayas (KGBVs) that are
schools for girls belonging mainly to the SC, ST, minorities and other
backward caste, have helped in the educational progress of girls. Schools
are developed in tribal urban populations, promoting literacy to women
and a large number of girls who have left school.
National Educational Policy (July 30, 2020):

The National Educational policy, 2020 will take the place of
National Policy on Education, 1986. This policy released on 2020
recommends that every child should get a quality education and excel in
their life and assures that they do not lose this opportunity because of their
birth or background. However, the Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER) is much
lower due to certain socio- economically disadvantaged groups like
Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribes. Thus it gives special emphasis on
the education of socially and economically disadvantaged groups.
Provision of Indian Constitution:

➢ Article 14 – Equality to all irrespective of religion, race, sex, caste
or place of birth.
275
➢ Article 15 - Prohibits discrimination against any citizen based on

religion, race, cast or sex and promotes reservation of Scheduled
Caste and Scheduled Tribes.
➢ Article 15 (4) – Promotes state to make special provisions for the
progress of socially and educationally backward group.
➢ Article 16 – Provides equal opportunity in public appointments for
all in fundamental right.
➢ Article 16(4) – empowers the state to create provisions for the
reservation in appointments or post in favor of any backward class
citizens.
➢ Article 17 - Abolish or forbid any form of practice of untouchability
and bring about equality.
➢ Article 29 – Equal opportunities granted for cultural and educational
rights to all.
➢ Article 330 – Allows provision for reserving seats for the Scheduled
Caste and Scheduled Tribes. It guarantees the greatest promise for
the reserved classes.
➢ Article 338 – Monitoring all the safeguards provided to the
Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribes under the Constitution or
other laws.
Governmental Schemes for Education of SC/ST:

Providing free uniforms, textbooks, stationery and school bags etc.
to SC/ST students.
Promoting reservation of seats in higher education including
technical and management institutions.
Mid day meal schemes.
Post-matric scholarship for all SC/ST students below specified
income level.
For the Scheduled Caste girls belonging to lower literacy districts
taking special educational developmental programmes.
Building Ashram Schools in remote areas for tribal living.
Hostel scheme launched in 1961-62 for the SC/ST boys and girls
studying at post- primary and secondary level.
Reservation for SC/ST students in various scholarship, hostels or
fellowship at secondary and higher education levels.
276
In order to improve academic skills and linguistic proficiency and

raise the level of education providing remedial and special coaching
for SC/ST students.
Priority of the SC/ST groups in programmes like Non-Formal
Education (NFE). Adult Literacy, Sarva Siksha Abhiyan (SSA),
projects like DPEP etc.
Barriers in Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe Women Education:

There are a lot of obstacles that women have to face to get
education, especially those belonging to the lower caste. Though education
is essential for every aspect of people development but our Society has
many stereotypes and prejudices against women education.
1) It says that if a woman will get education she will bring bad luck to
the family and therefore they are not allowed to go to school.
2) Because of the unjust superstitions, very fewer schools are situated
in areas and due to lack of schools many times girls are compelled
to stop study even if they desire education.
3) In many cases the parents prefer to educate boy child, they prevent
girls from going to school and make them do the household works.
The parents do not think it necessary to invest for educating girls
because they believe that the only role of a woman is to marry and
then take care of the family and do the household chores.
4) The socio economic backgrounds of parents also affect the
education of girl. Due to poor economical condition many parents
have to make their daughter marry with dowry.
5) Social conservatism also acts as a barrier in the education of women
especially those belonging to the backward and depressed classes.
6) Child marriage is another factor that prevents education to reach
every woman.
7) In families where the illiteracy of mothers creates a hindrance in
girls education. Illiterate mothers prefer to teach girls to do
household works rather to send girls to school.
8) Poverty and social backwardness have kept these depressed people
far behind from education
9) One of the main reasons for the backwardness of lower cast women
is inequality in educational progress.
277
10) In areas like villages, mountainous and forested regions inhabited

by tribal people, due to insufficient facilities the education
development is very less.
Literacy rate of Scheduled Caste and Schedule Tribe male and female
from different states/union Territories:
TABLE NO. 1
State/ India/State/Union % %Scheduled %Scheduled %Scheduled Persons Males Females
UT Territory Schedule Caste (SC) - Tribe (ST) - Tribe (ST) -
code d Caste Urban Rural Urban
(SC -
Rural
INDIA 18.459 12.603 11.257 11.257 72.99 80.89 64.64
01 ANDAMAN& 0.000 0.000 11.268 11.268 86.623 90.27 82.43
NICOBAR
ISLAND
02 ANDHRA 19.244 10.744 9.283 9.283 67.02 74.88 59.15
PRADESH
03 ARUNACHAL 0.000 0.000 74.069 74.069 65.38 72.55 57.70
PRADESH
04 ASSAM 6.811 9.220 13.673 13.673 72.19 77.85 66.27
05 BIHAR 16.617 10.402 1.376 1.376 61.80 71.20 51.50
06 CHANDIGARH 17.157 18.911 0.000 0.000 86.05 89.99 81.19
07 CHHATTISGAR 12.811 12.840 36.876 36.876 70.28 80.27 60.24
H
08 DADR & 0.708 3.045 82.432 82.432 76.24 85.17 60.32
NAGAR
HAVELI
09 DAMAN & DIU 3.588 2.164 12.612 12.612 87.10 91.54 79.55
10 GOA 1.715 1.763 15.884 15.884 88.70 92.65 84.66
11 GUJRAT 6.576 6.964 23.121 23.121 78.03 85.75 69.68
12 HARYANA 22.533 15.760 0.000 0.000 75.55 84.06 65.94
13 HIMACHAL 26.012 17.822 6.062 6.062 82.80 89.53 75.93
PRADESH
14 JAMMU 8.246 & 5.067 15.446 15.446 67.16 76.75 56.43
KASHMIR
15 JHARKHAND 12.584 10.498 31.403 31.403 66.41 76.84 55.42
16 KARNATAKA 20.005 12.610 9.154 9.154 75.36 82.47 68.08
17 KERALA 10.407 7.664 22.479 22.479 94.00 96.11 92.07
18 LAKSHADWEE 0.000 0.000 95.205 95.205 91.85 95.56 87.95
P
19 MADHYA 15.731 15.318 27.164 27.164 69.32 78.73 59.24
278
PRADESH
20 MAHARASHTR 12.176 11.376 14.631 14.631 82.34 88.38 75.87
A
21 MANIPUR 2.739 5.932 44.566 44.566 79.21 86.06 72.37
22 MEGHALAYA 0.488 0.971 90.109 90.109 74.73 75.95 72.89
23 MIZORAM 0.057 0.161 96.580 96.580 91.33 93.35 89.27
24 NAGALAND 0.000 0.000 92.846 92.846 79.55 82.75 76.11
25 NCT OF DELHI 19.612 16.679 0.000 0.000 86.21 90.94 80.76
26 ODISHA 17.783 13.847 25.722 25.722 72.87 81.59 64.01
27 PUDUCHERRY 27.942 10.073 0.000 0.000 85.85 91.26 80.67
28 PUNJAB 37.459 22.725 0.000 0.000 75.84 80.44 70.73
29 RAJASTHAN 18.518 15.747 16.880 16.880 66.11 79.19 52.12
30 SIKKIM 4.450 5.170 36.575 36.575 81.42 86.55 75.61
31 TAMIL NADU 25.451 14.213 1.774 1.774 80.09 86.77 73.44
32 TRIPURA 16.147 22.562 41.201 41.201 87.22 91.53 82.73
33 UTTAR 22.976 12.748 0.664 0.664 67.68 77.28 57.18
PRADESH
34 UTTARAKHAN 21.269 12.982 3.763 3.763 78.82 87.40 70.01
D
35 WEST BENGAL 27.492 15.014 7.808 7.808 76.26 81.69 70.54
Source: Census of India (2011)
Conclusion :
From decade’s women especially those belonging to the
backward classes have to face numerous barriers. Even after 75 years of
independence, they are still struggling to get equal opportunities in every
aspect. Although there are a lot of efforts made by our government to
promote equality, but women under the Scheduled caste and scheduled
tribe have to face different social , political and educational
discriminations . Besides in our society many parents are not in favor of
girls education. Usually the parents are not willing to promote higher
education to girls and they don’t think it necessary for girls to be educated.
Besides the school dropout rate of girls are increasing due to various
factors like socio-economic background of parents, lack of sufficient
infostructure facilities and teaching aids, lack of qualified teachers, lack of
awareness and many more. Although it can be noticed that the literacy rate
has increased in 2011 than 2001, but, there is still a lot to be improved for
the progress and empowerment of women.
279
References:
P.K. Gourav (2018). “A Study of Educational Status of Scheduled Caste
Women in India”. Journal of Advances and Scholarly Researches in
Allied Education Vol. XV, Issue No. 1, ISSN 2230-7540. 1224-
1227.
“Ntional Policy on Education 1986 (Programme on Action 1992)”. Pg –
106-110 https://www.education.gov.in/sites/upload_files/mhrd/files
/upload_document/npe.pdf
“ Policy, Programme and Schemes for Educational Development of
Children from Scheduled Castes” pg- 3-9 . https://ncert.nic.in/degsn
/pdf/degsnmodule6.pdf
“Unit 8 Education of Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribes”. Pg- 31-39
https://egyankosh.ac.in/bitstream/123456789/6607/1/Unit-8.pdf
“Special Focused Districts Under Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan for SCs, STs and
Minorities”. https://pib.gov.in/newsite/PrintRelease.aspx?relid=178
284
“The National Education Policy 2020: Recommendations and Current
Situation”. https://www.cnbctv18.com/politics/the-national-educati
on-policy-2020-recommendations-and-the-current-situation-65737
61.htm
Census of India (2011). https://niti.gov.in/planningcommission.gov
.in/docs/data/datatable/data_2312/DatabookDec2014% 20300.pdf
280
CHAPTER 23
TRIBAL WOMEN AND GENDER DISPARITY IN INDIA
Anwesha Mondal 44
Introduction :
I
n India few groups of people still in a primitive stage. They mainly
live in a forest region, speak in their own common language, they
work together and follow same religious belief and rules of
socioculture, which are absolutely different from mainstream culture. They
are called ‘Tribal’. Tribal community represent very important social
category in Indian social structure. Their place in society and the role they
play in economy and politics of the country are no less important than
other groups of the country. They are original inhabited of India. Different
types of group occupy different parts of India.
The tribal population in India, according to 2011 census, was 104
million. India has the largest tribal population in the world and next is
Africa. Tribal in India are spread all over the country. The majority of
tribal population residing in the northeast states like Mizoram, Meghalaya,
Nagaland. India has a total tribal population 8.6% of the total population.
Reasons behind gender issues in tribal groups :-

Tribes in India are generally backward in socially, economically
and educationally. The situation is not same in all parts of India. Tribals
are mainly backward because of their low literacy and primitive economy
system.
In India the tribal communities face many problems and challenges.
Gender issue is one of them. It is a major problem in tribal communities.
Tribal women are illiterate than men. But the status of women varies in
different tribal societies. Tribal women work very hard in some cases even
more than the men. But in the study areas are patriarchal in which men
dominate in public sectors. Everywhere development, social changes are
44
Ph. D Scholar, Department of Education, Jadavpur University, Kolkata, West Bengal,
India
281
taking place but tribal women remain traditional in their dress, language,
food etc and only because they are uneducated, they grow food crops than
cash crops. India as a whole characterised by the intense gender inequality.
In India gender inequality starts manifesting early. A girl child starts facing
discrimination right from the womb. For all time there are socio-cultural
factors which validate for the status of women. It is always culture with its
gender roles inequalities and socialization determine the position of
women in society. Gender roles are socially conducted. Tribe family
structure as all family structure in patriarchal. Patriarchy denotes a culture
of power that promotes man’s supremacy and woman’s subjugation. It
encompasses institutional endorsement of man’s ascendancy within the
family and other social structures. Our family organization makes
discrimination between male and female. It promotes a hierarchy of
classification in which men take the authority where as women derive their
personalities from their father, husband, brother and sons. Tribe women
always play submissive role. There is another reason behind their situation
is timid nature. Tribal women are timid by nature. They are always fearful
about their social defamation and they rarely file a complaint even they
don’t want to go to police. Since the tribal community found illiterate they
live below the poverty line and the result is they are economically
unstable. That is why tribal community especially tribal women remain
marginalized and continue to suffer discrimination.
Present scenario of tribal women in India :-

India is one of such countries where gender discrimination is
prevalent. A typical reason for gender discrimination is the rigid culture,
rituals dependency and the strict customs of their community that keeps
women suppressed and unaware of their rights and laws. Despite several
economic, political and social changes tribal women are still far behind.
They are oppressed, sexually molested and dominated in some way or by
others. Tribal women face sexual harassment in their society and where
they work too. They consider as a sex symbol, black beauty who could be
used in any possible way. They are prone to sexual harassment,
exploitation and even force to act as a sex worker. Most of the tribal
women are illiterate and unskilled. So they don’t have any option to rescue
themselves from this social repression. Hence the naked truth is they are
282
forced to sell their body for money because they have family and children
to support. Some of them work as a physical labour in agriculture fields, in
forest, in the brick kiln. Their hardship and struggle go unnoticed by the
society. There are no adequate measurers to protect them and supports
them.
India is a signatory to the convention on the elimination of all kinds
of discrimination against women (CEDAW) 1979. In this conviction it’s
been clearly stated that all types of discrimination against women must be
eliminated and women have the right to equality with men.
Gender issues in education :-

Education is a powerful weapon. It helps people to change the
world. It helps people to grow and become better citizens. Education is a
medium through which our society becomes civilized. It helps to develop
our society. Education also sustains the culture and value of human ethics.
It shows the socio-economic rights of a person. Tribal women are deprived
from this fundamental rights so 3 their future advancement far behind than
the other girls in the country and boys of their society. The reasons behind
the barrier are economic limitations, financial backwardness, poverty,
humility, early marriage, illiteracy and narrow mindset for girl education.
A tribal girl can’t say anything against their parent and after marriage their
husband. Tribal girls have no choice it’s up to their parents or husband. In
tribal family educating a boy is seen as an investment as they are expected
to earn and they will take care of their ageing parents. Whereas an
educated girl will have a huge dowry expense because they need an
educated partner. It is also believed to be a waste of money to educate a
girl as she will eventually get married and be a homemaker. Tribal parents
encourage their girl to join labour work than send their girl to school.
Because if they work their labour will help in the economic condition of
their house. If they send their girls to school it is only for 3-4 years to get
primary education and to learn how to write their name and after that
withdraws from it. Actually there are high gender disparity feelings in the
parents mind. Tribal parents give less attention to their girls and give more
preference to boys for their education.
Under various articles of the Indian Constitution and the Right of
Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009. Free and
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compulsory education is provided as a fundamental rights to all Indian

children in the age groups of 6-14. Further the Article 46 is emphasized
that state shall promote the educational and economic interests of weaker
people specially schedule caste and schedule tribe with special care and
also protect them from social injustice and all from of exploitation.
Besides these constitutional rights the government of India has taken up
many policies and schemes for women as well as weaker section of
people.
Further, the ‘Beti Bachao Beti Padhao’ scheme is conducted by
the Women and Child Development Ministry, which is projected to protect
girl child and give them all advantages. Despite special provisions in the
constitution to meet the educational requirement of tribal women, the
situation has continued to far from satisfactory.
Gender issues in workplace :-

Economic development is a very important factor for development.
Where tribes are the most backward groups in India in comparison to other
social groups of the country. New study is trying to figure out gender role
in the work place and gender discrimination in employment. In work place
women especially tribal women facing problem like mental harassment,
sexual harassment, inequality, humiliation etc. Tribal women have been
working so hard to make financial contribution to the household economy.
Quite often they do more physical labour in agriculture field, in forest, in
brick kiln than men. But virtually they don’t have any role to play in socio-
economy and political fields. A vast majority of the tribal women are
engaged in agriculture, forest, brick kiln and their other economic
activities are food gathering, pastoral, handicrafts etc. Rarely they are
engaged in corporate sectors. They work as co-partners in the farming
area. Though the scenario has changed now for some reasons. Firstly,
informal sectors have low guarantee of work because of weather change,
urbanization, losing their lands and forests because of commercialization.
Secondly, women are not getting equal work, equal money and equal
respect. So, now a days tribal women prefer the formal sector for their
upliftment. Tribal women face several issues such as gender biasness, lack
of community support, less accessibility, lack of knowledge,
communication and language barriers, financial, physical, and sexual
284
exploitation, lack of employment opportunities, and many others. Though

in present day these illiterate, unskilled and inexperienced tribal women
are fighting even more in this field against their marginalization. These are
hard obstacles that deteriorating their situation. And the negative impact of
this continues to create a cycle of poverty and underdevelopment that is
hard to break.
Gender inequality is not only seen in India. It is a universal
phenomena. Tribal women could break these inequality and stereotype and
become independent, work- oriented, leaders of the society if they retaliate
and stand up for themselves against social rules and injustice.
Gender issues in healthcare :-

Unlike many countries around the world, in our country, women
don’t get equal opportunities and access to health care and nutrition.
Usually, women are still under-represented in various prominent field.
Most of the studies have shown that tribal women have lower nutritional
status than men. That is deeply associated with the status of women in
India. Tribal women suffer implicit disparity. Subsequently they face
financial crisis , social exclusion, domestic violence, they are verbally,
mentally, physically abused and marginalized in family due to health
issue. Health related researches have found that our society is male
oriented and prefers boy than girl which is playing an important role that
led to the rise of intense gender discrimination.
In India prenatal preference perpetuates gender discrimination and
several violations of women’s rights. Most Indian families have been
practicing gender disparities where girls are seen as burden. In Indian
society women are forced to abort their baby if is it a girl child. Tribal girls
marry at a early age and that is why they often suffer from miscarriage and
several other reproductive problems. Early marriage increases health risk
for mother and child. The high rate of pregnancy complications, premature
birth, and infant deaths are devastating outcomes of early marriages.
Added to this during their pregnancy they don’t get adequate nutrition,
care. They face monetary insufficiency, ignorance, limited prenatal and
postnatal check-ups and less opportunity to relax. Another big problem in
tribal society is there is no birth control. A tribal woman has to give birth
many children. Several remarkable attempts have been made by the Indian
285
government to improve tribal women’s health but they are far behind. In
India tribal women have been encountering various problems in terms of
hygiene, sanitation, and lack of safe drinking water. And the result is led to
health issues such as diarrhea, malaria, filarial, anemia, etc. In India lack of
hospitals in tribal areas and poor nutrition standards constitute a threat to
women health. Tribal women are more effected to HIV/AIDS because
tribal women are mostly unaware or misinformed about HIV/AIDS.
Limited attention has been paid to this among tribal society. Tribal people
are known to have unprotected sexual practice and they are addicted to
drugs. Which is led to HIV/AIDS and another dieses. India have become
the fourth largest killer worldwide .
This problem needs to understand disparity among the tribal
communities and proper implementation of the schemes and policies. Only
proper awareness and implementation can bridge the gap.
Conclusion :-
From this discussion we may come to the conclusion that in India
tribal women face gender discrimination in almost all dimensions of their
life. Several taboos, discrimination against tribal women exist in tribal
groups in India. They are highly backward in various fields such as
occupation, education, healthcare, and political representation. The
situation of tribal women has to be looked at beyond conventional
perspective. Gender is an extremely important tool of social structure.
There is a need to redefine social realities of women’s world through
gender perspective. Compare to the vastness of the tribal groups in India,
very little has been done on tribal women studies. Though, the Indian
Constitution has given importance in the 7 Constitution (1950) to the tribal
people. Even today, they are continuously attempting the welfare and
awareness program for the tribal community. There is a need for special
efforts to implement the scheme and program specially for women and
redesigning the schemes wherever needed and more important proper
education for tribal women. Education is also a very important tool to fight
against gender inequality.
References :
Sociology : D. C. Bhattacharyya, pp 385-395
286
Sociology of Indian Society : C. N. Shankar Rao, pp 342-374

Women and Gender in the Study of tribes in India : VERGINIUS XAXA,
Indian Journal of Gender Studies, 11:39(2004), Sage Publication.
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/345867714_TRIBAL_W
OMEN_IN_INDIA_THE_GENDER_INEQUALITIES_AND_ITS
_REPERCUSSIONS
https://start.mgkvp.ac.in/Uploads/Lectures/32/2440.pdf
https://egyankosh.ac.in/bitstream/123456789/41949/1/Unit-5.pdf
287
CHAPTER 24
IMPORTANCE OF TRIBAL INDIGENOUS KNOWLEDGE AS

AN INTEGRATED SKILL WITHIN CURRICULUM AS PER
RECOMMENDATION OF NEP 2020
Pramita Mallik Halder45 & Dr. Debashis Mridha 46
Introduction
N
EP 2020 (National Education Policy) is a diversifying and joyful
Education system for both students and teachers. This Education
system also creates more skillful personnel in India. This
Education system brings the revolution in the history of Indian Education
in twenty first century. NEP 2020 has many potential aspects in spite of
few arguments. Indigenous Knowledge of Tribal among Indian
Knowledge System (IKS) is prescribed in the curriculum of secondary
Education system, it is a very potential good aspects among the so many
good aspects by NEP 2020. Krishnaswamy Kasturirangan is chairman of
twelve member constituents committee of NEP 2020.
NEP 2020 has total four part and total twenty seven chapter.
“School Education” is remained under pert-1, where has eight chapter.
“Higher Education” is remained under part-2, where has eleventh chapter.
“Other key areas of focus” is remained under part-3, where has five
chapter. “Making it happen” is remained under part-4, where has three
chapter.
Tribal Indigenous knowledge among Indian Knowledge System is
to include into secondary education curriculum. Which is in sub chapter-
“Curricular Integration of Essential Subjects, Skills and Capacities” from
chapter-4,part-1 “School Education”. Proposed issues are-
“Knowledge of India” will include knowledge from ancient India
and its contributions to modern India and its success and challenges, and a
clear sense of India’s future aspirations with regard to education, health,
45
Assistant Professor, Gholdigrui Sikshan Mandir (B.Ed). , Hooghly, West Bengal, India
46
Assistant Professor, Education Department, Jadavpur University, Kolkata, West
Bengal, India
288
environment, etc. These elements will be incorporated in an accurate and

scientific manner throughout the school curriculum wherever relevant; in
particular, Indian knowledge system, including tribal knowledge and
indigenous and traditional ways of learning …………………Specific
courses in tribal ethnomedicinal practices, forest management, traditional
(Organic) crop cultivation natural farming, etc. Will also made available.
An engaging courses on Indian Knowledge System will also be available
to students in secondary school as an elective. Competitions may be held
in schools for learning various topics and subjects through fun and
indigenous games”.
Indigenous Knowledge is a conceptual and conventional method
those are incorporated by the common knowledge which is earn by the
experience of a community throughout the life such as cultivation, animal
husbandry, cure from various diseases. It is verbally transferred and
preserved generation to generation.
Indigenous Knowledge related Education was found at
Brahmacharya Ashram school of Rabindranath Tagore. Rabindranath
Tagore established an experimental school at santiniketan on December
22,1901 with five student (include his elder son) and an equal number of
teacher. He originally named it Brahmacharya Ashram, in the tradition of
ancient forest hermitages called tapoban. In an attempt to help with rural
reconstruction, Tagore also sought to expand the school’s relationship with
the neighbouring villages of the santhal tribal community. There were
teachers, who did not educated in conventional system but they were
expert in Indigenous
Knowledge As Rabindranath Tagore want such an education
system where the students were taught more practically in Indigenous
system in lap of the nature. Presently Brahmacharya Ashram is called
Visva-Bharati University.
Aim to include valuable tribal Indigenous Knowledge into NEP
2020 are preserved this indigenous knowledge with a written document
and to maintained environmental balance, their eco- friendly knowledge
can be implemented for sustainable development in the field of cultivation,
animal husbandry, preservation and use of medicinal trees, etc.
We have to pay our attention to the tribal culture, language,
technique of life and technique to use of medicinal trees, so their
289
Indigenous Knowledge could be reserved. In this prospect government of

west Bengal granted official status to the Kurukh language spoken by
Oraon and Kisan tribes. The Oraon tribe in West Bengal speaks Kurukh,
which was declared an endangered language by UNESCO.
Though tribal Indigenous Knowledge is proposed in NEP 2020 but
tribal Indigenous Knowledge along with their rights was considered by
various commission, researchers, even in our constitution at earlier.
Accept Tribal Rights by Constitution –
1. Article 29 - Right to preserve the culture, language, script are given
in article no.29 of our constitution. It indicates that Indigenous
Knowledge are preserved indirectly.
2. Article 46 – in article 46 focus that “the state shall promote with
special care the education and economic interest of the weaker
section of the people, and in particular of the scheduled caste and
scheduled tribes, and shall protect them from social injustice and all
forms of exploitation.”
3. 86th amendment – Education was considered as fundamental rights
in 86th amendment in 2002.
4. Article 45 – the constitution of India in a Directive Principle
contained in article 45, has made a provision for Free and
Compulsory Education for all children up to the age of fourteen
years within ten years of promulgation of the constitution.3
Here take an initiative to educate in primary education for tribal
children also. So that being the educated they can join to the mainstream of
social and nurturing their culture.
The provision made by the Amendment are described below –
Article 21 – article 21 consider under the fundamental right. It
provides education to children who belongs to the age group from 6 to 14
years old. To implements state can enjoy some flexibility (by low or
determine) but state was made mandatory to educated this age group.
Article 45 – article 45 describes the duty of state to provide Free
And Compulsory Education to all children up to the age of 14 by 1960 as
Directive Principle. There after it is needed to take care the child below
the age of 6 years for their education and nutrition. The provision for Early
Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) are incorporated into the
amendment number 86th.It says to develop in term of the moral, social,
290
nutrition, physical, mental development to this age group (below 6 age)

than formal education.
Contemporary Issues In Indian Education, Dr. Dulal
Mukhopaddhya, Dr. Bijon Sarkar, Tarini Halder, Dr. Avijit kumar paul,
Aaheli Publishers, Romanath majumder street, Kolkata- 700009.
The Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act,
2009: Prospects and Challenges, Edited by – Dr.Parimal Sarkar &
Prof.(Dr.) Sanat K. Ghosh, Chapter-31, Dr. Debashis Mridha, page-
252, New Delhi Publishers, New Delhi, Kolkata.
In this way Indian Constitution pay attention to keep tribal
education, culture, social aspects explicitly or implicitly. Their Indigenous
Knowledge was build up on their cultural aspects.
Patent Act 1970 Amendment 2002 &2005 –2002 Amendment
pay importance on the Traditional Knowledge- “Micro organisms became
patentable whereas inventions relating to traditional knowledge were
included in the list of ‘what are not inventions.”5
Amendment of Patent Act in 2005 are incorporate ‘what are not
invention’ list are based on the usefulness of human beings. The
Indigenous Knowledge are enlisted into “what are not invention” as tribal
Indigenous Knowledge carries huge potential to usefulness of human
beings.
National Innovation Foundation (NIF) –

NIF is another revolutionary contribution from India to defend and
promote Traditional Knowledge (TK). The main objective of NIF is to
encourage and assist in the defense of TK. The department of Science and
Technology, GOI, established NIF in year 2000 for averting biopiracy on
the one hand and IPR (Intellectual Property Rights) protection of TK and
Ancestral Knowledge on the other.
NIF undertaken some initiatives and their functions. Example –
1. Student Club For Augmenting Innovations (SACI) – SACI
comprises of students from India’s best management and
technology institutes. They offer product development mentoring to
innovators and TK holders at the grassroots.
2. Grassroots Technological Innovations Acquisitions Fund (GTIAF)
– GTIAF Sanctioned in 2011 and operationalised in 2012. GTIAF
291
acquires the rights of Technologies from innovation after

compensating them for the same, with the purpose of disseminating
and diffusing them at low cost and no cost for the larger benefit of
the society.(Low cost and no cost teaching aid may included in the
New Education Policy 2020).
3. Gandhian Inclusive Innovation Challenge Awards – The award aim
towards developing new solutions for three challenges – paddy
transplanter, wood stove and tea leaf plucking machine.
4. Innovation Exhibition At The President House And The Festival Of
Innovation An Entrepreneurship (FINE) – Since 2010, the
Parliament has been hosting an exhibition of innovations near its
Mughal Garden to showcase the creativity and ingenuity of
common people. Since 2015 NIF and Parliament organizing a
festival of innovation which comprise of roundtable on various
topics in relation to innovation in addition to the exhibition.
Traditional Knowledge Digital Library –

TKDL is an Indian digital knowledge repository of the traditional
knowledge, especially about medicinal plants and formulations used in
Indian system of medicine. TKDL established in 2001 as a collaboration
between the Council of Scientific And Industrial Research (CSIR) and the
Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (India). The aims of the library A
primer to traditional knowledge protection in India: The Road ahead
(2021), Shambhu prasad Chakrabarty & Ravneet kaur, is to protect the
ancient and traditional knowledge of the country from exploitation through
biopiracy and unethical patents, by documenting it electronically and
classifying it as per international patent classification system.8
As of 2010, it had transliterated 148 books on Ayurveda, Unani,
Siddha and Yoga in public domain, into 34 million pages of information,
translated into five languages – English, German, French, Spanish and
Japanese. Data on 80,000 formulations in Ayurveda, 1,000,000 in Unani
and 12,000 in Siddha had already been put in the TKDL.
According to a UNESCO survey, Bengali has been voted the
sweetest language in the world. This declaration is most important to
preserve Indigenous Knowledge for W.B.
Different initiatives over the Indigenous Knowledge by the Indian
292
Government directly or indirectly proves that it has enormous potential, of

this reason Indigenous Knowledge are incorporated into NEP 2020 in the
secondary level curriculum.
Now we will see the importance of the Indigenous Knowledge in
present scenario to include into the NEP 2020 in secondary curriculum –
“When a elder dies, a library burns” – this old African proverb may
be the best way to understand Traditional Knowledge (TK).9
1. Indigenous Knowledge and Sustainable Development –

Tribal Indigenous Knowledges are
A. Bio- resource management :-
Forest management and its uses –
Ritualistic – Ritualistic activities and norms set which may protect
forest resources, scared grooves, scared patches of land.
Ethno – Botanical – Knowledge of edible and medicinal plant
varieties and methods of extracting such resources.
B. Natural resources management .
C. Land resources management - land distribution pattern unique to the
people. (a scheduled tribe land holder can only sell his land to
scheduled tribe person. If any person buy a land from a scheduled
tribe by hiding facts, he can end up in jail time, and government will
return back the land to original land owner at anytime if he
approaches authority.) Cultivation related.
D. Food and beverages – Hunting, fishing, gathering and preparing
food items.
E. Ethno medicine and perception and action of health and treatment
seeking - use of herbs and other materials.
F. Health Care and Wellbeing in special cases – pregnancy, birth,
puberty, death, purification, etc.
G. Disaster management – Natural disaster management, Disease
epidemic and animal and pest attack, Human Induced disaster
management.
They save all natural resources with their Indigenous Knowledge,

and using the Indigenous Knowledge they prevent starvation, and maintain
environmental balance.
293
The term “Sustainable Development” (SD) first came to vogue in

the report of the world Commission On Environment And Development
Our Common Future. Sustainable Development defined as development
that “meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of
future generation to meet their own needs”.10
The Sustainable Development Goals(SDGS) or Global Goals are a
collection of 17 interlinked global goals designed to be a blueprint to
achieve a better and more sustainable future for all. The SDGS were set up
in 2015 by the United Nations General Assembly (UN-GA) and are
intended to be achieved by 2030. The 17 SDGS are –
1. No poverty
2. Zero hunger
3. Good Health and well being
4. Quality Education
5. Gender Equality
6. Clean water and sanitation
7. Affordable and clean energy
8. Decent work and economic growth
9. Industry innovation and infrastructure
10. Reduced inequality
11. Sustainable cities and communities
12. Responsible consumption and production
13. Climate action
14. Life below water
15. Life of land
16. Peace, justice and strong institutions, and 17. Partnerships for the
goals.
To achieve the target of Sustainable Development Goals 2015
(SDGS) Tribal Indigenous Knowledge to be used. The goal which are
mostly achieve by the tribal Indigenous Knowledge are poverty
alleviation, quality education, good health, drinking water, achieve gender
equality, etc. Tribal Indigenous Knowledge which are more effective to
achieve SDGS 2015 are – their cultivation process, uses of medicinal
plants, fishing from different water bodies, collect honey from jangle,
collect vegetable from jangle, way of land reform, use of organic fertiliser
to enhance the fertility, use of lime stone and natural resources of
294
potassium into the pond water, weather prediction based on the naturals
animals movement, etc. They offer the worship to some animal, birds,
trees, hills, water bodies, etc. Through rituals they actually saves the
environment, Prevent the climate changes. That is a also an important
issue of SDGS 2015.
Therefore the tribal Indigenous Knowledge is proposed to
incorporate as an integrated skill into the Secondary Education Curriculum
in NEP 2020. This decision is very essential to our National development.
2. Ethnomedicinal Practices and Tribal Indigenous Knowledge-

Tribal ethnomedicinal practices from tribal Indigenous Knowledge
is paid of great significance into NEP 2020(National Education Policy).
According to NEP 2020 Ayurvedic treatment will play a key role in
health care system of modern medical Education, many parts of the
Ayurvedic treatments are based on the ethnomedicinal practices. –
“Given that people exercise pluralistic choices in health care, our
health care education system must be integrative meaning thereby that all
students of allopathic medical education must have a basic understanding
of Ayurveda, Yoga, and Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homeopathy
(AYUSH) and vice versa.”11
India has a rich diversity of medicinal plants growing under
different geographical and ecological condition; 1500 species out of about
15,000 privileged plants species in India have been testified to have
medicinal uses. Indians speak a variety of language, which include 23
regional languages. There are many more local or tribal dialects spoken by
Indians. India is home to different ethnic groups comprising 5.4 crores of
Indigenous peoples living in various territories, having diverse cultures,
religious rites, and food traditional that separate them from each other.
These people also have a healthy consciousness of tradition medicine
especially herbal and folk medicine for various disease treatment.
‘Savara’ is a tribal community they live at Medinipur and north 24
parganas in west Bengal. They collects almost 25 medicinal plants and use
to cure from various disease. Example – Steam bark of Aswatta are used to
cure rheumatism, Kamini’s root is very effective against to the viral fever.
Kachu root bark is used to reducing the cholesterol of the body, Bichhuati
leaves are used against asthma, Anantamul root are used against eczema.
295
“The medicine man or shaman is called as Deheri among the savara

and lodha.”12 Common people get the information about the medicinal
plant and its use from Deheri/Shaman.
Karbi tribal of Assam, use of 14 species belonging 7 families in the
treatment of 25 disease conditions. Traditional health care practices of the
karbis included both local and oral applications and rituals to cure
diseases. Use of fish to cure mental depression like symptoms locally
referred as nihu kanchingtung is prevalent until today.
Fishing practices among different tribal in karbi Anglong district,
use various fishing gears to catch fish. “Use of pesicidal plants in water
bodies is common among different communities. In recent times, some
sections of people have been using synthetic chemicals to stupefy fishes,
but the practices has serious irreversible damage on aquatic fauna
ecosystem.”13
Above example indicate that tribal ethnomedicinal practices as
Indigenous Knowledge is an essential part of our life even in present day.
Indigenous Knowledge Related Rituals Festivals:-

Some rituals and festivals of tribal’s are directly correlated with
nature and natural resources. Which are not only rituals, festivals they play
role as Indigenous Knowledge to solve various problem in live hood.
Example- Baram is the defensive god of the lodha tribal. It is a
common festival among the lodha. Baram is exist in a grove of sal tree and
neem tree. If he become furious or feels distressed, tigers visit the village
or elephant may rush into the locality. He also saves villagers from
epidemic diseases and appears in dreams to the village persist to foretell
the future of the village. Mainly worshipped on the last day of the month
Chaitra (march – April) and also last day of pious (December – January).
Worship thans (place) of baram deity serve the religious need of the
people no doubt, but it also serves the defense of their environment. These
place are considered holy and propitious as it is believed that some
supernatural spirits rendezvous these places. So that common people
generally avoid these places, except on religious occasions and never cut
wood and collect tree branches from those localities. Thus a vast tract of
land is protect from annihilation. The existence of totemic believe also
plays a significant role in maintaining the bio – diversity.
296
Fish centric festival is organised by Karbi’s tribal of assam. It is

known that fishes are very useful to cure some health issues such as cough,
anemia, diarreha, infirmities etc. The flesh of Labieo pangusia is used as
tonic and bile of the fish is used as a cure for stomach ache. Use of fish to
cure mental depression like symptoms locally referred as nihu
kanchingtung is prevalent until present day.
It is the instance to take the benefit from our own natural resources
by the Indigenous Knowledge which is preserved by the tribal people’s
rituals, culture, festivals from generation to generation. now a days it is
very significant to use the natural resources by the Indigenous Knowledge.
As everywhere it have been founded that all most food items are
composed of artificial chemicals. This chemicals are pushed to the lives
into the life threatening complicacies, also this incorporate evil effects to
the eco system. In this prospect it is very momentous to incorporate the
Indigenous Knowledge into the curriculum of secondary level by NEP
2020.
Use Of Bamboos By Traditional/Indigenous Knowledge:-

Karbi’s tribal of assam posses rich treasure of knowledge on crafts.
This Indigenous Knowledge is passed orally from generation to generation
and so on but with high probability of dilution at each level of transfer.
Bamboo is valuable plant resource and has the potential for improving
rural economic. Many karbi families of Anglong district are carry on their
lives by weaving and selling mats.
Karbi’s usable somethings that are made bamboo, are described
here –
Chohu – made from jintak or bamboo splits and used as cushion for
earthen pots. This craft is made to mark the beginning of the religious
festival Chojun or invoking of Arnam Kethe, the highest god of the karbis.
Hor kangthir or holy rice beer for the occasion is stockpiled in earthen pot.
Mucham – This craft is loosely woven with bamboo splits.
Religious ritual Chojun, on the occasion to store some meat of the
sacrificed pig in mucham.
Hor – heh – This is a tubular craft made from a single piece of
bamboo and leaving a node at the base.
Ingatong :- These are large foot less hak often used for carrying
297
paddy from the jhum field to mandu or shack.

Beleng :- This is a large flat circular mat with the periphery stitched
with cane splits. Beleng is mainly used for winnowing particularly rice and
paddy among other items.
Other bamboo things are – Lumphlak (spoon), Nopak abe (knife
handle), Khangra, Hengru, Batheis, Langthe, Vo-um etc.
Though every things are changeable with time to time. New things
to be accepted and old things to be released for to explore natural resources
and its uses to the society at present scenario. Even it is not exceptional in
the history of Indian Education system. It is proved that changes on
educational rules, regulation, subject matter etc are accepted by the
recommendation of different educational commissions, committee, report
of NEP (1968,1986) etc. The different relevant matters on education are
also reflected in New Education Policy 2020. Such as Tribal Indigenous
Knowledge is prescribed to include in secondary education curriculum
into Indian Knowledge System. So that the NEP 2020 provides an
significant opportunity to move Indian Education from ‘sorting and
selection’ to overall human development, empowering every students to
developing their level best potential.
References:-
Bhatnagar,J., & Garg, V.(2007,13 December). India:Patent Law in India.
https://www.mondaq.com/India/patent/54494/patent-law-in-India
Chakrabarty, S.P., & Kaur,R.(2021). A Primer to Traditional Knowledge
Protection in India:The Road Ahead. Liverpool Law Review, pp-
401-427. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10991-021-09281-4
Ghatak, P. (2015). Indigenous Knowledge and bio-cultural conservation:
A case of savar lodha from West Bengal. Man In India, 94(4), pp-
619-629. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/286238817
Kothari, A. (2007).Traditional Knowledge and Sustainable Development.
International Institute for Sustainable Development, pp- 3-11.
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/237374065
Mridha, D. (2019). Provision and Scope Of Disadvantage group and
weaker section children In RTE Act 2009. In Dr.P. Sarkar., & Prof.
Dr.S.K.Ghosh(Ed), The right of children to Free and compulsory
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Education Act,2009:Prospect and challenges(pp-249-264). New

Delhi Publishers.
Mukhopaddhay, D., Dr. Sarkar, B., Halder. T., & Dr. Paul, A.K. (2015).
Contemporary Issues In Indian Education. Aaheli Publishers,
Kolkata.
Rana, V. (2016). India: Protection Of Traditional Knowledge In India.
https://www.mondaq.com/India/indigenous-peoples/464940/prote
ction-of-traditional-knowledge-in-India
Sonowal, C.J.(2020). Indigenous Knowledge System of Tribal People: A
Need Based Plan Of Investigation and Some Instances from
Assam,India. Journal of the Social Sciences,48 (4), pp-1442-1455.
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/345765511
Teronpi, V., Singh, H.T., Tamuli, A.K., & Teron, R. (2012). Ethnozoology
of the Karbis of Assam, India:Use of ichthyofauna in traditional
health-care practices. Ancient Science of Life, 32(2), pp- 99-103.
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Teron, R., Borthakur, S.K.(2012). Traditional uses of bamboos among the
Karbis, a hill tribe Of India. The Journal of the American Bamboo
Society,25(1), pp-1-8. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/306
016794
National Education Policy 2020, Ministry of Human Development,
Government of India. https://www.education.gov.in/sites/upload-
files/mhrd/files/nep-final-english-O.pdf
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iki/Traditional-Knowledge-Digital-Library
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299
CHAPTER 25
EDUCATIONAL STATUS AND DROP OUT RATE OF

SCHEDULED TRIBE IN WEST BENGAL
Ratna Garai 47
ABSTRACT:
Scheduled Tribes in India are generally considered to be ‘Adivasis,’
meaning indigenous people or original inhabitants of the country. The
tribes have been confined to low status and are often physically and
socially isolated instead of being absorbed in the mainstream Hindu
population. Psychologically, the Scheduled Tribes often experience
passive indifference that may take the form of exclusion from educational
opportunities, social participation, and access to their own land. All tribal
communities are not alike. They are products of different historical and
social conditions. They belong to different racial stocks and religious
backgrounds and speak different dialects. Discrimination against women,
occupational differentiation, and emphasis on status and hierarchical social
ordering that characterize the predominant mainstream culture are
generally absent among the tribal groups. Adivasis are not as a general rule
regarded as unclean or polluted in the same way as the Scheduled Caste
population is perceived by the mainstream culture. However, the
mainstream Hindu population considers the general tribal population as
primitive, technologically backward, and illiterate. Since the 16th century,
the tribes have been perceived as sub-humans who live under primitive
conditions. All the reasons are the route cause of the alienation of tribals in
education and the Dropout. By giving more emphasis on other activities in
the tribal hamlet, they are ignoring the value of education.
Key words: Adivasis, tribal culture, Dropout, Alienation, Mainstream

culture
47
M.Phil Scholar, Department of Education, Diamond Harbour Women’s University,
Diamond Harbour Road, South 24 Parganas, West Bengal, India
300
INTRODUCTION
I
ndia is homeland to a number of tribal communities with diverse eco-
cultural, socio-economic and geographical backgrounds. According to
the 2001 Census, Scheduled Tribes (notified by the Government of
India under Article 342 of the Indian Constitution) constitute 8.14% of the
total population of the country, numbering 84.51 million. In the state of
West Bengal, 1% of the total population is tribal population, comprising of
36 unique Scheduled Tribes (ST) whose livelihoods are also varied:
hunting-gathering, shifting cultivation, settled agriculture, contract labour,
etc., are some of them. According to the 2001 Census, the literacy rate of
the Scheduled Tribes of India is only 47.10%. Against the National
literacy rate of 65.8%, this is appalling. Even in the State of West Bengal
with a high literacy rate at 90.92%, that of the Scheduled Tribes is far
behind, at only 64.5%. Realizing that Scheduled Tribes are one of the most
deprived and marginalized groups with respect to education, a host of
programmes and measures have been initiated ever since independence of
the country. Education of ST children is important not just due to a
Constitutional obligation to equality of its citizen or special entitlements to
ST, but because it is a crucial input in the nation‘s strategy of total
development of tribal communities. However, despite nation‘s efforts to
ensure constitutional equality, dignity and development that they
themselves wish for, the tribal people have lagged behind in education
owing to external as well as internal constraints, socio-economic and
cultural background of the tribals and psychological problems of first
generation learners etc.
economically impoverished and marginalized groups in India. Although
Scheduled Tribes are a minority, they constitute about 8.2 % of the total
population in India (Census of India, 2001), or 85 million people in
absolute number. The Scheduled Tribes are not discriminated against in
the same way by the mainstream Hindu population as the Scheduled Caste
population in India. While the latter group belongs to the lowest hierarchy
of social order and is often considered impure or unclean, the Scheduled
Tribes have, for the most part, been socially distanced and living outside
the mainstream Hindu society. The areas inhabited by the tribal population
constitute a significant part of the underdeveloped areas of the country.
301
Scheduled Tribe population represents one of the most economically

impoverished and marginalized groups in India. Education is the most
important instrument for human resource development and has a great
significance. One cannot imagine education without schools as it plays a
major role in moulding the basic ideas, habits and attitudes of the children,
with a view to producing well balanced individuals. Schools provide not
only education to the children but also keep them away from the social
evils. The main problem in schools is the problem of stagnation and drop
out phenomena. Education is the key that opens the door of life. It plays a
pivotal role in social change and it brings perfections in human life, an
upward mobility in social status, radical transformation in outlook and
perception. Education is widely accepted as these sential tool for the
attainment of the developmental goals and leads to political consciousness,
awareness of rights and duties among the people of a nation and it is the
most important instrument for human resource development and has a
great significance in the context of developing countries. The Indian
Constitution identifies and provides special consideration for certain ethnic
minority groups, traditionally referred to as tribes or tribals, as Scheduled
Tribes (STs) who constitute around 8 per cent of the total population of the
country. There are 573 STs living in different parts of the country. Most of
the tribal communities have their own languages and culture different from
the language spoken in the state where they are located. There are more
than 270 such languages. Tribal communities in West Bengal are scattered
in different districts. Of these the highest concentration is located in
Ranaghat, Tehatta and Palashi block of Nadia District. There are more
than 37 tribal communities in West Bengal.
1(a). External constrains: ST students constitutes 1.2 percent of
the total enrollment in schools. The perspective adopted for educational
development among tribal communities fails to adequately address the
specific disadvantages characterizing tribal population. For instance, the
population and distance norms formed by the government have not been
beneficial to tribal locations because of their sparse population and
sporadic residential patterns. Though West Bengal’s performance
compares well with those of other states. The disparities between the
marginalized communities and other social groups in terms of quantitative
and qualitative indicators. The disparities increase at higher and higher
302
levels of education, particularly in technical and professional education

which provide better access to more remunerative jobs. It theses disparities
within the state that matter more in view of the high unemployment rate in
the state and consequently the highly competitive nature of the labour
market. Further, in formulating policies and programmes for tribal
education it is essential to understand the complex realities of tribal life
and the expectation of tribals from the system, and this has never been
done either by the tribal welfare department or by the education
department. Consequently, no worthwhile policy for tribal education has
been formed. Because the more pass percentage rate from the schools of
ST scan only produces more students for higher education. Besides most
of the increase in employment in the country and the state is taking place
in the private sector rather than in the public sector. In such a context job
reservation for STs in the public sector become less relevant today in
accessing jobs by them.
1(b). Internal constraints: The internal problems of tribal
education refer to the quality of school provision, suitable teachers,
relevance of content and curriculum, medium of instruction, pedagogy,
and special supervision. A majority of schools in tribal areas are without
basic infrastructure facilities. Normally, school buildings in tribal areas
have thatched roofs, dilapidated walls, and non-plastered floors. Research
evidence shows that a large number of tribal schools do not have teaching-
learning materials, or even blackboards. In tribal areas the opening of a
school is equated with the posting of a teacher and same is the case with
'ashram' schools. Though the demand for changing the content and
curriculum to suit the tribal context has been an old one, no serious effort
has been made in this direction in any state, except for some sporadic pilot
projects. The uniform structure and transaction of curriculum has put tribal
children at a disadvantage. Apart from all this lack of awareness of the
teachers about tribal culture and environment also force the tribal students
to withdraw from education. All these issues are emerging in their primary
and high school levels. These constraints force them to drop-out their
education at very early levels and higher education will be only a dream
for them.
303
Review of Literature
Review of related literature is pre-requisite to actual planning of any
scientific research. It allows the researcher to acquaint himself with current
knowledge in the field or area in which he is going to conduct his research.
A comparison of the traditional and modern system and tribal
higher education was made by Narmadeswer Prased (1991) who found
that the tribe’s men desire an education which may enables them to fit in to
the modern world. Most of the students are dropping their education
because of lack of suitability of present education with the tribal culture.
The author suggested that the tribe’s men should concentrate more on
skilled occupations. Another important suggestion was for the setting up of
special schools for them where adequate attention for them is ensured.
Bairathi (1991) has examined the role of education for tribal
upliftment has said that the condition of school particularly in the interior
parts of tribal settlements is worse. These are not well managed and there
is shortage of teachers in most of the schools at all time. Primary level
schools are managed by a single teacher. The teacher has to take care of
not only the management of school, but also to teach many classes
simultaneously in one big room. In such a condition a good standard of
education cannot be attained. Shortage of teachers, lack of basic amenities
as sitting arrangements, drinking water facilities, and high distance from
home to school leads them to loose the interest in education and this force
them to drop their study. He made the suggestion for improving the
infrastructure facilities to improve the conditions of education and to
remove Drop-out.
Gadgil and Dandekar(1991) has studied about the problem of
wastages in tribal education by taking a batch of students in first standard
in a given year following up in the subsequent years till the last grade are
reached. i.e, fifth Drop-outs from school before completing the final
grading of primary education constitutes wastes; and the incidence of
wastage is computed from the proportion of Drop-out to the initial
enrolment in the first grade. He reached the conclusion that attention by
the teacher to a great extent can remove drop out. When the students are
continuing their education in a better perspective then only they can easily
get accessibility to higher education.
The National Council of educational Research and training
304
made substantial contribution to the area of tribal education. A seminar on

tribal education in India (1993) organized by the National council of
educational research and Training discussed the various aspects of tribal
education like the facilities available, coverage, wastage and stagnation,
utilization of financial assistance, basic problem of tribal education, socio-
economic problems, curriculum, methods and text books and the relative
roles of Government and voluntary agencies in the education of tribal
people. The seminar altogether has suggested a new revised curriculum for
tribal education. Familiarity in tribal language by the teachers also is
essential for the improvement in tribal educational attainment.
The evaluation committee on the welfare of scheduled castes
scheduled tribes and other backward communities in their Report
(1993), reviewed the different stages of tribal education in West Bengal.
Many suggestions were put forward regarding pre-primary education,
primary education, higher education welfare of tribal students,
improvement of tribal schools, compulsory primary education, education
concession, methods to identify the drop-outs, encouragements to the
drop-outs to continue in their study etc.
Bapat (1994) studied about tribal education and a well planned
system of education for tribals was suggested by to remove the ignorance
prevalent among tribals. After analyzing the reasons for the slow progress
in tribal education and to remove increased drop-out among tribal children,
the author suggested the type of education for the tribal children and
adults. The educational system for them should be based on the current
cultural history of the tribals. At the end a few suggestions are put forward
for the improvement of tribal education by the author by focusing mainly
on tribal culture. Authorities should focus mainly on their culture.
Tapse (1995) Enumerating the difficulties likely to be experienced
in the field of higher education among the tribal students recommended the
remedial measures by which these difficulties should be overcome. He
pleaded that tribal education must conserve and develop the aboriginal
culture and religion.
Srivastava (1996).The author’s argument was that when the
percentage of literacy among the tribal communities increased when they
attained sufficiently high levels of educational development and when they
properly understood their rights and privileges, the integration would
305
automatically be achieved if proper arrangements for tribal development

would be taken.
Burman (1996) has given the figures relating to tribal literacy and
has revealed the then existing state of affairs in the field of education with
regard to literacy. The author found out that inadequate use of tribal
language always leads them to make a wrong view about tribal education.
Difficulty in the use of tribal languages will force the students to drop their
course at very stage of their education.
Objectives of the study

1. To examine the educational facilities available to the tribal students
in higher education in West Bengal.
2. To study the constraints in tribal education
3. To find out the causes of Drop-out among Tribal students in West
Bengal.
4. To document the policies and programmes initiated by the
Government to improve the educational attainments of Tribal
students.
Hypothesis
1. There is a positive relationship between the cultural factors and
educational attainment among tribal students in West Bengal.
2. There is an exclusionary disparity between the STs and non STs in
terms of enrollment and attainment in higher education.
Table 1: Dropout rate in Nadia District

Location 2008-2009 2009-2010 2010-2011
Number of Percentage Number of Percentage Number Percentage of

Dropouts of Drop Dropouts of Drop of Drop outs
outs outs Dropouts
Ranaghat 187 32.5 149 33.2 120 30.9
Tehatta 190 33.1 145 32.3 124 27.6
Palashi 197 34.2 154 34.3 144 32.1

Source: Survey Data
306
Table 2: Reasons for dropout from the perception of teachers

Reasons Frequency Percent Rank
Lack of interest in study 60 100.0 1
Economic problem 55 91.7 2
Health problem 40 66.7 5
Distance from home to school 48 80.0 4
Increases household responsibilities 51 85.0 3
Lack of awareness of parents 32 53.3 7
Crime activities in school 5 8.3 11
Language problem 24 40.0 8
Early marriage 19 31.7 9
Lack of food 5 8.3 10
Lack of proper guidance 34 56.7 6
Source: Survey Data
Reasons for Drop-out among tribal students

1. Low socio-economic status: - Tribals enjoy low socio-economic
status. Miller (1988) has identified four major classes of variables
such as cognitive variables, physical variables and motivational
variables where disadvantaged learners show poor performance as
compared with the advantaged groups.
2. Tribal concepts of pleasure:-Tribals are giving more importance
for their pleasure such as dance, music and other types of
entertainments prevalent in the society.
3. Existence of ethnic stereotypes: - Stereo typing is a natural and
inevitable. It helps us to organize life. But such typing turns in to
prejudice or stereotypes when based on little facts and it is used as a
mechanism to establish the myth of racial or cultural superiority.
4. Tribal concept of learning:- In most of the tribal cultures learning
is an active pleasurable event mostly carried on among peers. But
the existing system of education does not take in to account their
learning style.
5. Linguistic problems:-Tribal languages, except a very few, belong
to Austro-Asiatic language family and are different from dominant
non tribal languages of India which belong either to the Indo
European or the Dravidian family. In most of the time tribals face
acute problems in language.
6. Problem of learning English: - Tribals need for English is great,
they face problems in learning than their non-tribal counterparts.
307
For tribals their typical use of regional languages interferes with

English. For them English are 5th or 6th languages.
7. Problems in learning to read:-Tribals have long oral tradition.
Their culture is oral. Their history, myths and traditions are orally
handed down from generation to generation. Most of the language
does not have scripts of their own; their oral tradition still continues
to exist.
8. Psychological problems: - Financial problems of the tribals always
make the tribals in a very depressed condition. They have lots of
wants and but the means to satisfying them is very less. It leads to
many psychological issues
9. Academic and administrative problems: - Even though the
number of programmes for the upliftment of tribal education is
many, the percentage of people receiving these benefits is very less.
Administrative authorities are always showing very neutral attitude
towards the education of the tribals.
10. Indifferent attitude of tribal parents: - Tribal parents are mostly
illiterate. They always show a very indifferent attitude towards the
education of their children. They are interested in providing
household responsibilities to their children a very early stage of
their education. “The parents of these students do not have any
relationship with the society outside and are unaware of the
importance of education. All teachers are talented. Teaching such
children is a herculean task”.
11. Indifferent attitude of tribal teachers: Teachers do not take much
effort to improve the educational level of the tribal students. Lack of
communication, high level of absenteeism in the class, bad result in
study, lack of attention in classroom by the tribals are some of the
factors that has increased the indifferent attitude of the teachers
towards the tribal students.
12. Indifferent attitude of tribal students: Students clearly said don’t
like someone forcing me to get up early in the morning. So, I was
unhappy to go to school… Subjects like Malayalam and Science are
good for me, but, English, Hindi and Mathematics are very tough. I
could not follow English and Hindi classes. Whenever I commit
mistakes, in front of others, teachers used to scold me, beat and
308
pinch my ears. You ask others; almost 90% of the children have
similar experiences. See, their beating caused swelling on my legs.
Moreover, the staffs ridicule us by calling, Adivasi Fed up with all
these, my two friends and I decided to run away from the school.
One day, we climbed on the compound wall and got on to the
branch of a tree outside that was almost touching the compound
wall, climbed down, and somehow or other managed to reach our
settlement”,
In addition to all the above causes some other causes can also be
cited as the background for the reasons for Drop-out. They are:
1. Extreme level of poverty, deprivation and vulnerability
2. High levels of exclusion, developmental, social and economic
3. Extremely low level of empowerment-political, social and
economic
4. Low level of access to entitlement
5. Practically zero participation in development matters with no
autonomy in any form of decision-making
6. Poor human development with low level of literacy and access to
healthcare
7. Rapid alienation of assets like land
8. Alarming depletion of social capital especially traditional forms of
organization and leadership.
9. Quick deterioration of traditional knowledge system and cultural
attainment.
10. Fast increasing tendency to use tribal people as ‘cat’s –paws in
criminal activities like illicit distillation, cultivation of narcotic
plants, stealing of forest wealth etc.
11. Dependency-inducing developmental programmes relying on
distribution of benefits rather than building up of capabilities.
12. Implementation of ad hoc and stereotyped developmental
programmes in the absence of proper planning.
13. Weak delivery system of public services.
14. Very weak monitoring system.
15. High level of exploitation of women by out-side
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Change in curriculum would remain incomplete unless patterns of

teacher-student interaction also change in the direction of coercion-free
involvement of the ST students. The knowledge of social reality that
teachers bring to the classroom, and their perception of the role of
education are among the key determinants of teacher‘s behavior. To a
great extent, the norms of teacher-student interaction are shaped by the
training that teachers receive prior to employment. Knowledge of social
reality‘ and role of education under prevailing social conditions do form a
part of present training curricula, but like much else in teacher training,
these segments receive a ritualistic observance. Teachers cannot be
oriented towards new types of classroom interactions without being
exposed to specific issues of social reality and functioning of school.
Relevance of the finding for policy formulation

In a broad sense, the socio-economic and cultural factors among
tribals can be outlined as poverty and poor economic conditions, social
customs, cultural ethos, lack of awareness and understanding of the value
of formal education, conflict and gap between the home and school, etc.
Studies on educational deprivation of tribals have inevitably linked it to
their poor economic condition and poverty.
Education of tribals cannot be left to short-term Plan strategies. It is
important that planners take a long-term view which is embedded in a
meaningful policy framework. The most important need to improve the
educational status of STs is to improve the strength of the students in
school levels. Following are some important findings on tribal education
for policy framework.
• Emphasis should be on quality and equity rather than quantity as
has been the case in the past. The prime focus should be on
provision of quality education that makes tribal communities
economically effective and independent.
• In the tribal context, it is essential that the school schedule be
prepared as per local requirement rather than following a directive
from the state.
• Though it has been highlighted time and again, non concrete step
has been taken to provide locally relevant material to tribal students.
Availability of locally relevant materials will not only facilitate
310
faster learning but also help children develop a sense of affiliation to

school.
• In order to make education effective and sustainable, building
partnership between the community and the government is
important
• Environment building is of immense importance in the context of
educational development among tribal communities. Community
awareness and community mobilization, which are its core
elements, should received equate importance and attention.
• The level of motivation for education is very low among drop out
students. Age factor is influencing drop out to a great extent.
Stagnation is common among and high among the drop outs and is
a contributing factor to become dropout. Irregular attendance in the
class is the route for drop out. Most of the drop outs are from very
poor and low income families. Many dropouts are daily wagers.
The unawareness about the importance of education is a
contributing factor for drop out. Peer group influence also
influences the students to stop their education at very early stages.
Drop out rat among boys and girls are same in all area.
• Decentralization of education management is another aspect that
needs special consideration in the context of tribal areas.
• Skill development, competency building, and teacher’s motivation
also need to be strengthened for sustaining educational
development. The teacher should be made the centre of educational
transformation, and therefore, must remain the primary facilitator.
• Historical injustice toward tribals should be removed. STs who are
studying for higher education are very low. Even in UG and PG
courses their strength is very low.
• in a broader level the first step to improve and to increase tribal’s
participation in Higher education is to improve their interest in
study even from the primary level. Motivation classes, awareness
programmes, special incentives, more number of schools in tribal
areas, more flexible teachers etc. has to be included in the
educational streams. Automatically the pass percentage ratio of the
STs will increase. That will produce more Ts in higher education.
311
REFERENCES
Alaxander, K.C, Prasad R.R and Jahagirdar, M.P. Tribal Education
andTribal Development”, Tribal culture in India. Rawat
publications, New Delhi. (1984),pp.23-29’
Budhadebchaudhari.,Contemporary Society in Tribal Studies, Tribals in
Meghalaya, Concept publishing company,(1987).
Chaudhari. (1992). “Socio-Economic and Educational development”,
India Publications, New Delhi, pp.22- 34.
Christoph Von Haimendorf, The problems of Tribal education, Tribes of
India, the struggle for survival, Oxford University Press, Walton
street, Oxford OX26DP,pp.67-74.
Shashi Bairathi, Status of education among tribals, ‘Tribal culture,
economy and health, Rawat publications, New Delhi,(1992).
Gardner, P. M, (1966), “Symmetric Respect and Memorate Knowledge,
the Structure and Ecology of Individualistic Culture”, South
Western Journal of Anthropology, Volume 2, PP.389-415.
Gosh, and Das, “Forest and the Tribals A study of Interrelationship in the
Tribal Development in India”, Inter India publications, New Delhi,
(1982), P.24.
Govind Kelkar Nath, “Gender and Tribes”, Forest Economy, Crescent
publishers(1991),,P.87
Haimendorf, The problems of Tribal education, Tribes of India, the
struggle for survival, Oxford University Press, Walton street,
Oxford OX26DP,(1990).
Majumdar D.N “The affairs of a Tribe”, Lucknow, Universal publishers,
Lucknow ,(1995).
312
CHAPTER 26
A STUDY OF THE CAUSES OF SCHOOL DROP OUT IN

HOOGHLY DISTRICT WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO THE
SCHEDULED TRIBE STUDENTS
Sunny Baskey 48
ABSTRACT:
The Tribal population is identified as the Adivasi people in our country.
There are numbers of tribes living all over India as well as 10.4 %
population and various parts in the World. The present study makes an
attempt to focus on the main causes of School Dropout of scheduled tribes
Students in Hooghly district. The study done on 152 School Dropout
Students from two Blocks in Hooghly district. Data have been collected by
using a self-made questionnaire and used including unstructured interview
technique. Data were collected by the researcher personally from each
sample, and analyses of collected data were done by using quantitative
and qualitative method. The research is based on both literature review
and survey study. I have tried to find out problem and probable solution
about the school dropout of scheduled tribe children in Hooghly district.
Key words: Adivasi, School Dropout, Tribes.
INTRODUCTION:
I
ndia is the only country in the world which has largest population of
tribal people and various cultural activities. In India Tribal are known
as the ‘indigenous people’, and their livelihood activities like
agriculture, shifting cultivation, hunting and food gathering, labour etc.
The National tribal policy identifies 698 tribal communities belonging in
India (Govt. of India 2006).
48
Ph.D. Scholar, Department of Education, Jadavpur University, Kolkata, West Bengal,
India
313
The National Commission for Scheduled Tribe was informed that

the West Bengal state has 5.8% tribal population belonging to 40
groups/communities. The literacy rate of Scheduled Tribes is 57.9 percent
in West Bengal (Census, 2011). In rural areas 56.7 percent Scheduled
Tribes and in urban areas 71.2 percent Scheduled Tribes are illiterate. The
maximum tribal men and women’s are engaged as the agricultural
labourers.
The Scheduled Tribes are known as backward class, education of
Scheduled Tribes children or students is important because it’s crucial to
provide input in the notion’s strategy of total development of tribal
communities. Due to some external as well as internal constraints, social-
economic and cultural background as well as psychological problem of
Scheduled Tribes learners in education. Education is the key to the socio-
economic, socio-psychic, educational and overall development and
progress of society.
According to Amartyasen (2000), “and yet-as the last argument
itself suggest ultimately poverty must be seen in terms of poor living,
rather than just as low-ness of incomes (and “nothing else”). Income may
be the most prominent means for a good life without deprivation but it is
not the only influence on the life we can lead”.
The main problem of education of ST students in school is the
problem of stagnation and dropout phenomenal. Education of any children
or students open the door of life of Scheduled Tribes children or students
as educational plays pivotal role in social change, and it brings perfections
in human life, and upward mobility in social status, radical transformation
in outlook and perceptions. The different external and internal constraints
force them to dropout their education in very early stage and higher
education will only be a dream.
The main causes of school dropout of scheduled tribe students is
like poor economy of family, low income of parents, unconsciousness of
parents, illiterate of parents, lack of proper guide their children, sickness of
parents, unavailable of facilities in school, lack of motivation of teachers,
negative attitude of non-tribal teachers to scheduled tribe children, misuse
of students by teachers, lack of education through mother tongue, health
reasons, lack of motivation to continue school, family circumstances, lack
of understanding, lack of transport facilities etc.
314
Therefore, the researcher perceived the study to reasonable effect of

some responsible factors and causes on the school dropout of tribal
children in this district.
OBJECTIVES:
1. To study the dropout rates of Scheduled Tribe boys and girls from
Hooghly district.
2. To study the various causes of school dropout of Scheduled Tribes
students.
3. To study the educational facilities available for tribal students in
primary and secondary standard.
4. To study the dropout rates of boys and girls on the basis of their
monthly income of family.
parents education.
type of house.
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY:
In this study a quantitative and qualitative approach was followed.
To explore the main causes of school dropout among scheduled tribe
students in Hooghly district of West Bengal descriptive survey method
was adopted. The population of this study was dropout adivasi students or
children of Hooghly district. In Hooghly district there are 18 Block, out of
which only 2 Blocks (Dhaniyakhali and Pandua) has been selected
purposively. During selection of Blocks by investigator consider the
density level of the adivasi or tribal population. Both boys and girls Santal
and Munda Tribe children in the age group 10-21 years were considered as
the sample.
SAMPLES:
For collection of data the investigator selected 152 Santal and
Munda Tribes dropout students as sample in different villages (viz.
Bhastara, Jolkul, Durgapur, Alipur, Basipur, Gopinathpur, Manipur,
Majinan, Balidaha, Barul, Bhotor, Dhaniyakhali, Cheragram, Dulfo,
Ghoshla, Gopalpur, Gurap, Uttar Fatepur, Uttar Abhirampur, Khanpur,
315
Itachuna and Bosipur of Dhaniyakhali Block; and Rameswarpur, Sibpur,

Sonatikri, Alasin, Bainchi, Haral, Itachuna, Bilsara, Balarampur and
Haraldaspur of Pandua Block) of Hooghly district,West Bengal. The
investigator adopted purposive sampling technique for sample selection.
VARIABLES:
Independent variables- Gender, monthly income of family, parents
education, type of house.
Dependent variable- Dropout rates of Adivasi students.
TOOL:
Data were collected by using an open ended and closed type
questionnaire developed by the investigator. For data collection
investigator personally visited the school and villages as well as the drop
out children in their families.
DATA ANALYSIS:
Collected data were cleaned and quantified as much as possible and
tabulated systematically for further analysis and interpretations.
Analysis of Drop-out rate among Tribal students:

Table no.1: Showing number and percentage of Dropout children in the
Scheduled Tribes areas.
GENDER TOTAL NO. PERCENTAGE
BOYS 83 54.60
GIRLS 69 45.40
TOTAL 152
Interpretation: From this table it is noticed that the rate of dropout of
boys are more (54.60%) than the girls (45.40%).
Table no.2: Showing number and percentage of Scheduled Tribes
children on the basis of monthly income of family.
Monthly Income of BOYS GIRLS TOTAL
Family(Rs. ) Total No. % Total No. % Total No %
Below of 4000/- 17 11.19 36 23.69 53 34.87
4000-6000 52 34.21 28 18.42 80 52.63
6000/-above 15 9.87 4 2.63 19 12.5
316
Interpretation: From the above table and graphical presentation, it is

found that the maximum percentages (52.63%) dropout Student’s Monthly
Income of Family are 4000-6000/- rupees.
Table no. 3: Showing number and percentage of Scheduled Tribes
children on the basis of parent’s education
QUALIFICATION OF FATHERS MOTHERS
PARENTS TOTAL % TOTAL %
NO NO
LOWER PRIMARY (1-4) 28 18.42 31 20.40
ELEMENTARY (5-8) 51 33.56 22 14.48
SECONDARY (9-10) 15 9.87 14 9.21
HIGHER SECONDARY (11-12) 7 4.60 1 0.66
GRADUATION 6 3.94 0
ILLITERATE 45 29.60 83 54.60
Interpretation: From this table and graphical presentation it is found that

maximum 83 (54.60%) dropout student’s mother are illiterate.
Table no. 4: Showing number and percentage of Scheduled Tribes
children on the basis of type of house.
Type of House BOYS GIRLS TOTAL
Total No. % Total No. % Total No %
Huts 10 6.58 12 7.89 22 14.48
Tiled 64 42.10 53 34.87 117 76.98
Terraced 9 5.92 4 2.63 13 8.56
Interpretation: From the above table and graphical presentation it was

found that for 152 school dropouts Scheduled Tribe children respondents
were living in Huts, Tiled and Terraced house. Majorities of 117 (76.98%)
sample were living in Tiled house, 22 (14.48%) sample school staying in
Huts house and 13 (8.56%) sample dwelt in Terraced houses.
Table No. 5: Economic and Health Reasons for being a dropout:
Economic and Health Reasons for being a drop-out children:
BOYS GIRLS TOTAL
TOTAL % TOTAL % TOTAL %
NO NO NO
A Poverty 69 45.40 63 41.44 132 86.84
B Maximum no. of 29 19.08 37 24.34 66 43.42
siblings in the family
C Illness 13 8.56 6 3.94 19 12.5
D Low family income 67 44.08 62 40.79 129 84.87
E Any other 31 20.40 20 13.16 51 33.56
317
Interpretation: From this table it is found that for 86.84% children

causative factor is poverty, for 43.42% the same is maximum no.of
siblings in the family, for 12.5% it is illness, for 84.87% low standard of
family income and for 33.56% some other unknown factors were
considered.
Table No. 6: Reasons related to society and family Environment:

Reasons Related to Society and Family Environment
BOYS GIRLS TOTAL
TOTAL % TOTAL % TOTAL %
NO NO NO
A Drunkard parents 37 24.34 26 17.10 63 41.44
B Lack of Motivation to 57 37.5 54 35.52 111 73.02
continue schooling
C Personal interest to earn 59 38.81 26 17.10 85 55.52
income
D Disinterested in 31 20.40 23 15.13 54 35.52
education
E Failed number of times 63 41.44 39 25.66 102 67.10
in the class last studied
F Personal indiscipline 13 8.56 11 7.23 24 15.79
G Family circumstances 66 43.52 58 38.16 124 81.58
H Attitude of the society 2 1.31 54 35.52 56 36.84
not to encourage female
education
I Parents separation 5 3.29 4 2.63 9 5.92
J Sickness of parents 39 25.66 44 28.94 83 54.60
K Immorality of parents 11 7.23 10 6.58 21 13.81
L Parents not supportive 29 5.92 24 15.79 53 34.87
M Mass media 11 7.23 3 1.98 14 9.21
N Any other 33 21.71 32 21.05 65 42.77
Interpretation: From this table it is found that different types of social

and environmental factors are the causes of dropout of which family
environment and lack of motivation to continue schooling the major
causes of dropout.
318
Table No. 7: School Related Reasons:

School Related BOYS GIRLS TOTAL
Reasons TOTAL % TOTAL % TOTAL %
NO NO NO
A Unable to get admission 44 28.94 39 25.65 83 54.60
in good schools
B Lack of free hostel 64 42.10 63 41.44 127 83.55
facilities
C Lack of basic facilities 30 19.73 27 17.76 57 37.5
in schools
D Lack of basic facilities 64 42.10 56 36.84 120 78.94
in hostel
E Inadequate scholarship 63 41.44 66 43.42 129 84.86
F Unable to get 25 16.44 30 19.73 55 36.18
scholarship
G Absence of free text 38 25 34 22.36 72 47.36
books
H Given discriminatory 15 9.86 12 7.9 27 17.76
treatment by teachers
I Misuse of children by 21 13.81 16 10.52 37 24.34
teachers
J Sexual harassment of 1 0.63 5 3.28 6 3.94
students especially
women students by
teachers
K Indifferent attitude 43 28.28 38 25 81 53.28
towards children by
teachers
L Lack of Discipline 28 18.42 23 15.13 51 33.55
M Collecting too much 15 9.86 10 6.57 25 16.44
money from the
students
N Preferential treatment 9 5.92 6 3.94 15 9.86
given to chosen
sections, either
according to communal
caste or religion
O Teachers going on 10 6.57 11 7.23 21 13.81
leave very frequently
P Discriminatory 17 11.18 15 9.86 22 14.47
treatment inside the
classroom
Q Extracting too much of 10 6.57 1 0.65 11 7.23
319
other works from the

students by teachers
R Misuse of students for 25 16.44 13 8.55 38 25
personal reasons during
regular working hours
S Teacher forcing the 74 4.60 4 2.65 11 7.23
students to bring money
T Any other 33 21.71 23 15.13 56 36.84
Interpretation: From this table and graphical presentation it is noticed

that school related factors for 54.60% children like lack of understanding
is the major causes of dropout among Adivasi children, for 29.60%
children answered that differential treatment by teachers, for 24.34%
children answered that lack of understanding among students, for 28.94%
dropout children causative factor is misuse of students by teacher, for
6.58% children answered that causes of dropout is sexual harassment by
teaching and non-teaching staff and 58.56% some other unknown factors
were considered
When personally asked to the school dropout samples regarding
their social acceptance in the mainstream schools by the upper Caste
Teachers and taught, they answered (100% sample) that, they feel that they
are excluded in the class and school. Peer-group children showed a
negative attitude towards them. Though they demand that they are socially
excluded, but they do not fill that they drop out from the school merely not
only for they are excluded. But exclusion may be a factor for school
dropout.
The tribal societies are self-sufficient that is, they need not to
interact with non-tribal for their cultural, social and physical existence. But
at the same time they are not financially self-sufficient. This very isolated
nature of tribal communities, Scheduled Tribes children kept themselves
away from the mainstream school society. So it can be said that social
exclusion of tribal students are a self- imposed criterion. Scheduled tribe a
excluded as they are not a part of greater traditional Hindu society. So they
need a meaningful social integration and inclusion.
DISCUSSION:
In this study the evidences confirmed that economic backwardness
leads to poor educational standard among the tribal children of the selected
320
communities of Hooghly district. According to B.D. Dani(1979), “poverty

and lack of education are very closely related and the social and
geographical isolation of the tribal communities is the cardinal factors
responsible for the slow progress of education among them”.
According to Amartya Sen (2000), “income may be the most
prominent means for a good life without deprivation but it is not the only
influence on the life we can lead.” Economic deprivation is one of the
causative factors for school dropout among the Scheduled Tribes children.
Biswas and Krishnan (2017) reported that in Hooghly district (in the
year 2013-14) 78.09% of tribal student have enrolled their name in
elementary level but only 60.03% have completed their secondary
education. They also observed that among tribal communities in Hooghly
district literacy rate is 61.9% which is less than the state literacy rate of
tribes (77.08%). As most of the tribal people are living in below poverty
level therefore it is almost impossible to continue the education for the
children from the Scheduled Tribes community.
This increased number of dropout is due to the family poverty,
illiteracy of parents and guardians, negative attitude of teachers,
insufficient teacher’s training, lack of mother tongue to tackle first
generation learner as well as for exclusion from the mainstream of these
society.
Different types of social taboos, stigmas, tensions and conflicts exist
in Scheduled Tribes communities which hamper the Scheduled Tribes
children toown education and their life. Sometimes the teachers’ rejection
and lack of consciousness to tribal children, also increases the drop-out
rates
Another some causes of dropout of Scheduled Tribes children is
their social exclusion inside and outside of the school, that’s lack of
transport facilities, lack of motivation of teachers, lack of school
infrastructures, lack of student’s scholarship, lack of parents’
consciousness, lack of proper curriculum, lack of communication of
parents and teachers, lack of proper guide by teachers etc. Access to
schooling is a kind of barrier for the socially deprived communities. And
lack of proper tribal development by project of Govt. that the clear
indication of failure of government scheme due to lack of knowledge of
tribal way of life.
321
The internal problem of tribal education refer to the quality of

school provision, suitable teachers, relevance of content and curriculum,
medium of instruction, pedagogy, and special supervision, proper guide by
parents, teachers and parents communication. A majority of school in
scheduled tribe areas are without basic infrastructure facilities. Normally,
school buildings in tribal areas have thatched roof, dilapidated walls, and
non-plastered floors. Research evidence shows that a large number of
tribal schools do not have teaching-learning materials, or even blackboards
etc.
The cause of dropout is clearly defined by Prof. Amartya Sen in the
following words: “The issue of home tasks and private tuition also relates
to the question of class divisions. The need for “home tasks” is particularly
difficult to meet for parents from disadvantaged classes-these children may
be the first generation to receive school education. Parents with the
disadvantage of having received little education find it especially difficult
to do anything for their children in helping them with their assigned home
tasks. It is not surprising that they long for the ability to engage private
tutors for their children, but of course very often they cannot in fact afford
to help their kinds in this way. The result is not only frustration and
despair, but also continued transmission of education backwardness from
one generation to the next”.
In the recent study done by Pratichi Trust (2018), it was established
that though several facilities were available for the Scheduled Tribes
learners, but these are not available to them. Pratichi Trust studied in
Midnapur(East and West), Burdwan, Jolpaiguri, Purulia, Bankura,
Darjeeling, Birbhum, Hooghly, North 24 Porganas and Maldah. Trust
collected data 1000 Scheduled Tribes families. The following study that,
1. Like, upper Caste and SC people and Adivasis or scheduled Tribes
also expect same level of education and health development but
these are unavailable to them. Like, 9 percent of Scheduled Tribes
children from the selected sample has to go to primary school in a
distance more than 1 K.M.Inspired of that 94 percent children from
the sample Scheduled Tribes families enrolled in schools.
2. The main problem of their continuing education is their poverty.
One/fourth (1/4) of the sample Scheduled Tribes have no land and
322
those who have land that is so minimum that they have to depend
upon their labor work.
Therefore, education for all and everyone has the right to education.
The complete development of the whole of India is not possible without
tribal education. That tribal education is very important in our society and
country. So, the tribal student’s need quality education, quality teachers,
motivation of teachers, interaction of teachers and parents, quality school
infrastructure, quality contents of curriculum, quality education
environment, quality family life, social and peer-group acceptance as well
as positive family attitude about their education. And education is the key
for eradicating poverty, Illiteracy, superstitions and socio-economic
development, socio-cultural development in the society.
References:
Biswas, G., & Krishnan, D. (2017): Astudy on dropout of tribal at
secondary level inHooghly district,West Bengal. International
Journal of Applied Research, 3(6), 984-988.
Rana, K. (2010): Social Exclusion in and through Elementary Education:
The Case of WestBengal. Pratichi Trust (India) in association with
UNICEF Kolkata, February.
Sen, Amartya. (2000): Social Exclusion: Concept, Application and
Scrutiny. Social Development, Paper No.1 (Manila:Asian
Development Bank).
Mallick, Md Ayub. (2017): Social Exclusion and Tribal Political
Association in Transition: Two Case Studies. International Journal
of Humanities and Social Science, 6(11),01-09.
Biswas, G., & Krishnan, D. (2017): A study on dropout of tribal at
secondary level in Hooghly district, West Bengal. International
Journal of Applied Research, 3(6), 984-988. (ibid)
Sonowal, C. J. (2008): Indian Tribes and Issue of Social Inclusion and
Exclusion. Centre for Studies of Social Exclusion & Inclusive
Policies, Tata Institute of Social Sciences ,6(2), 123-134.
Haseena, V.A. (2004):Imperatives and impediments of Inclusive
Education and scheduled tribes in India on the era of transnational
education. American International Journal of Research in
323
Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences.Available online at http://ww

w.iasir.net
Balamurugan, G., & Prabhudeva, S.S. (2015): Prevalence and correlates of
hunger among private aided secondary school children in
Bangalore. International Journal of Nursing, 4(1).www.ijnol
ine.com
Goudam, S., & Sekhar, T. V. (2014): Factors leading to School drop outs
in India: An analysis of national family health survey- 3 data.
Journal of Research & Method in Education.Volume-4, 2320-7388,
November–December.www.iosrjournals.org
Abdulraheem,A. (2011). Education for the Economically and Socially
Disadvantaged Groups in India: An Assessment. Economic Affairs,
233-242.
Sparkes, J.O. (1999). School Education and Exclusion.Centre for Analysis
Social Exclusion, London School of Economics,and Houghton
streets London WC2A 2A E CASE enquiries-tell: 020 7955 6679. 29
November.
Dani, B. D. (1979): tribal education problem of today and tomorrow a
study of buska tribe of Uttarpradesh. Cited in : H. C. Upadhyay
(ed.): Scheduled Caste and scheduled Tribe in India a socio-
economic profile. Anmol Publications. Pp. 227-228.
Jha, J., & Jhingran, D.(2002). Elementary Education for the poorest and
other derivate groups: Center for Policy Research. New Delhi.
Haseena, V. A & Mahammed, A. P. (2014). Scope of education and
dropout among tribal students in Kerala- A study of Scheduled
Tribes in Attappady International Journal of Scientific and
Research Publications, 4(1), January, ISSN: 2250-3153.
Sujatha, K. (2002). The Education among Scheduled Tribes, In Govinda,
R. (ed), Indian Education Report: A profile of basic education. New
Delhi: Oxford University Press.
The National Tribal Policy (Govt. of India 2006).
Census 2011 Government of India.
324
CHAPTER 27
SCHEDULED TRIBE STUDENTS FACED PROBLEMS IN

HIGHER EDUCATION IN WEST BENGAL: A STUDY
Chhandabani Chakroborty 49
Abstract:
Education is a key component of Human Development Index. Social
mobility of a backward community could be ensured and accelerated by
providing education to that particular community. Thus it is important to
analyze the educational attainment of tribal to get a clear picture of their
educational status in the state of West Bengal and accordingly the steps
should be taken to make education accessible to tribal community. So,
Education is an important avenue for upgrading the economic and social
conditions of the Scheduled Tribes. Education is in fact, an input not only
for economic development of tribes but also for inner strength of the tribal
communities which helps them in meeting the new challenges of life.
This study focuses on the different barriers faced by the Scheduled Tribes
(ST) students at higher education level in West Bengal. The subject of the
present study has selected purposefully six General Degree colleges from
various districts under different Universities in West Bengal. The total 150
ST students are randomly selected for this purpose. The criteria measured
in this study are parameters of levels of barriers. The investigator tries to
construct a name of total (Questionaire) and applying the selected total
number of students. All this check list data has been analyzed by measures
of central tendency, graphical representation and percentile ranking to find
out. The result of findings, following suitable discussion to draw
conclusive remarks. In this context, the investigator has taken in this paper
to search and analyze the different barriers to Scheduled Tribe students in
higher education in West Bengal.
49
Mother Teresa College of Education, Gobindopur, Khalsi, Uttar Dinajpur, West Bengal,
India
325
Key words: Scheduled tribe, Higher Education, West Bengal Students
INTRODUCTION
W
est Bengal is a home to a large variety of indigenous people.
economically impoverished and marginalized groups in West
Bengal all over India. Education is one of the primary agents of
transformation towards development. Education is in fact, an input not
only for economic development of tribes but also for inner strength of the
tribal communities which helps them in meeting the new challenges of
life. It is an activity, or a series of activities, or a process which may either
improve the immediate living conditions or increase the potential for
future living. It is the single most important means by which individuals
and society can improve personal endowments, build capacity levels,
overcome barriers, and expand opportunities for a sustained improvement
in their well-being.
STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM:

The investigator had taken up the present oriented study entitled “
Scheduled Tribe Students Faced Problems in Higher Education in
West Bengal : A Study”.
OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY:

The objectives of the study are as follows:
• To find out the different problems faced by Scheduled Tribe
students in higher education in West Bengal.
• To examine the social, psychological, language and the other
barriers existing in the Scheduled Tribe students.
• To analyze the barriers that Scheduled Tribe students faced with
different members of the teaching learning process.
• To help to overcome the different barriers faced by Scheduled
Tribe students in higher education in West Bengal.
• To investigate the Scheduled Tribe students attitude in a better and
progressive way in future.
326
SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY:

The significance of the study stems from the following factors:
• The investigation like this will be relevant to the field of higher
research.
• The investigator helps to identify the different barriers that exist
amongst the Scheduled Tribe students in higher education. The
identified barriers have certain reasons behind them. That has also
been identified through the study. Also the implication of the
different barriers on the lives of the students could be derived from
the study.
• The investigator has already worked on the barriers faced by
Scheduled Tribe students in higher education. This study identifies
and analyses the barriers in detail in higher education in West
Bengal.
• The investigation aims at focussing policies and programmes that
would work for the development of the Scheduled Tribe students.
This will also help the teachers and officials to implement some
necessary steps to improve the teaching-learning process so that the
communication process of the tribal students gets refined and the
level of education is improved in general.
REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE:

• Gupta’s (2006): This paper highlights the issues and concerns of
the educational scenario of Tribal’s in India. The paper suggests that
in order to mainstream the tribal population it is important to make
them socialize which could be possible through quality education.
• Sridhar (1996): Described in his study that most of the tribal
communities are linguistically heterogeneous in their mother tongue
owing to the diverse number of tribal communities present in the
country. Sometimes the tribal communities live in such areas where
the dominant language is more than one.
• Pradhan and Pattnaik (2006): aimed at exploring the quality of
education in 142 Ashram Schools which was meant for the tribal
students of Koraput district. The prime objective of the study lay at
surveying the grass root level realities of these schools
appropriating to variables like teaching-learning process, social and
327
physical environments of school, infrastructure, daily life activities,

and teaching work force.
• Sahu (2013): Highlights the collaboration between government
schools and private organizations that aids towards maximum
enrolment of tribal children in schools, thus enhancing hope
amongst the tribal’s regarding a better future for their children.
ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATIONS:

Testing of question:
Q1 Which of the list of barriers faced by Scheduled Tribe students
in higher education in West Bengal?
After observing the total number of checklist (140 samples),the list of
barriers faced by Scheduled Tribe students in higher education in West
Bengal as following:
• Barriers of Communicating with Friends/Classmates.
• Barriers of Sharing linguistic problems with Classmates and
Teachers.
• Barriers of Sharing Non- Academic Problems with Teachers.
• Barriers of Communicating with Other Officials in College.
• Barriers of infrastructure facilities in College.
• Barriers of Medium of instruction.
• Barriers of comfort College timing.
• Barriers of Students inside the Classroom.
• Barriers of Regards to Extra Curricular Activities.
• Barriers of teachers’ Co-operation and Effort.
Q2 What are the levels of different barriers faced by Scheduled

Tribe students in higher education in West Bengal?
After observing the total number of checklist (140 samples), a descriptive
table was prepared to make the conception clear in respect of percentile.
Table-1 : Percentage of Different Levels of Barriers

Sl.No Different Levels of Strongly Agree Undecided Disagree Strongly
Barriers agree Disagree
1. Level of comfort 36% 32% 25% 1% 3%
while
Communicating with
328

Friends/Classmates.
2. Level of comfort in 15% 17% 24% 36% 4%
Sharing linguistic
problems with
Classmates and
Teachers.
3. Level of comfort in 12% 24% 6% 44% 8%
Sharing Non-
Academic Problems
with Teachers.
4. Level of comfort 17% 30% 11% 40% 3%
while
Communicating with
Other Officials in
College.
5. Level of comfort 28% 32% 3% 41% 5%
with infrastructure
facilities in College.
6. Level of comfort 22% 35% 13% 23% 6%
with Medium of
instruction.
7. Level of comfort 18% 15% 4% 51% 13%
while College timing.
8. Level of comfort of 17% 21% 6% 50% 4%

the Students inside
the Classroom.
9. Level of comfort 37% 30% 9% 18% 6%
with Regards to Extra
Curricular Activities.
10. Level of teachers’ 18% 34% 2% 41% 4%
Co-operation and
Effort.
11. Level of awareness 15% 26% 7% 43% 10%

about
Announcements and
Notices.
12. Level of comfort 21% 37% 12% 25% 6%
with Non-Tribal
Students.
13. Level of extra effort 50% 30% 8% 8% 3%

to be put in by
teachers.
14. Level of problem of 61% 22% 10% 2% 4%

insufficient number
329

of teachers.
15. Level of absence of 12% 24% 8% 45% 11%
teachers in remote
areas.
16. Level of Indifferent 4% 16% 16% 29% 34%

attitude of the tribal
parents.
17. Level of reasons for 31% 29% 11% 18% 10%
Poverty and hunger.
18. Level of Meager 19% 52% 9% 17% 3%

scholarship by Govt.
19. Level of Ineffective 16% 38% 10% 27% 9%

reservations for
admission.
20. Level of student 34% 40% 16% 7% 3%
attitude of high
percentage of drop-
outs.
Q3 What are the most significant barriers faced by Scheduled Tribe

students in higher education in West Bengal?
After observing the total number of checklist (140 samples), The
investigator postulated the following most significant barriers faced by
Scheduled Tribe students in higher education in West Bengal:
• Barriers of sharing linguistic problems with Classmates and
Teachers:
The problem of language and communication slow down
educational attainment of tribal students. Despite several policy
documents and a constitutional provision (350A) recognizing that
linguistic minorities should be educated in their mother tongue at
primary level, there is practically no education in Scheduled Tribe
languages. This includes even those like Santhali, Bhili, Gondi or
Oraon which are spoken by over a million people (Nambissan,
2000). But, the non-availability of teachers known tribal language
and textbooks in tribal languages become challenges in their
educational achievement.
330
• Barriers of Medium of Instruction:

Language is one of the important constraints of tribal students
which prevents them to access in education. Tribal students speak
their own dialect while teaching in primary classes is through the
state language. This language problem makes students disinterested
in their studies as they cannot read the text books written in
unfamiliar language.
• Barriers of reasons for Poverty and hunger:
The economic condition of tribal people is so poor that they do not
desire to spare their children or their labour power and allow them
to attend schools and colleges. Poverty and hunger are the main
reasons for the non-participation of tribal students in higher
education. Though Indian Constitution secure free universal
education, this often does not include costs of uniforms, textbooks,
travel to school, meals, and other associated expenses which
become burden to most tribal families and enrolling girls for higher
education become luxury to them.
INTERPRETATION OF RESULTS:
Q1 It has found that the different barriers of Scheduled Tribe students
in higher education are conducted into different determiners. Determiners
are Curriculum, Atmosphere/Classroom Environment, Self-perception/
interest, Friends/Classmates, Teacher, Parents socio-economic status,
Other (Achievers)/ Evaluation system.
Q2 (From Table-1) It has observed that there are barriers in opinion of

strongly agree like level of comfort while communicating with
Friends/Classmates, level of comfort with regards to Extra Curricular
Activities, level of comfort with infrastructure facilities in College, level of
extra effort to be put in by teachers, level of problem of insufficient
number of teachers, level of Indifferent attitude of the tribal parents, level
of student attitude of high percentage of drop-outs. There are barriers in
opinion of strongly disagree like level of awareness about
Announcements and Notices, level of comfort while College timing, level
of comfort in Sharing Non- Academic Problems with Teachers, level of
absence of teachers in remote areas, level of Indifferent attitude of the
331
tribal parents, level of reasons for Poverty and hunger and level of
Ineffective reservations for admission.
Q3 It has found that the most significant barriers faced by Scheduled

Tribe students in higher education in West Bengal as like as barriers of
sharing linguistic problems with Classmates and Teachers, Medium of
Instruction, Reasons for Poverty and hunger, Indifferent attitude of the
tribal parents, Infrastructure facilities in College, Insufficient number of
teachers, Comfort College timing, Absence of teachers in remote areas,
Student attitude of high percentage of drop-outs, Ineffective reservations
for admission and meager scholarship by Govt .etc.
CONCLUSION:
Still in 21st century, Scheduled Tribe in West Bengal are
marginalized in all sphere- Socially, economically, educationally and
politically despite of various progress and advancement, most of them are
completely dependent on cultivation, forest product and haunting etc.
Therefore, it is important to think seriously about educational
empowerment and inclusive growth of tribal people by ensuring
coordination and cooperation between different departments of
Government (the Tribal Welfare Department, School Education
Department etc), Non- Government Organization, Local Self Government,
and Community people especially the Scheduled Tribe themselves in
formulation and implementation of programme and policies towards
spreading of social equity and education among tribal people.
REFERENCES:
Ahmed, Aijazuddin, 1984 ,Education of the Scheduled Tribes: Some
Aspects of Inequality, New Delhi: National Institute of Educational
Planning and Administration.
J.B.G. (ed.), Education, Society and Development: National and
International Perspective. New Delhi:NIEPA.
OrawDipankar and Toppo. Daly. (2012). Socio-cultural traditions and
women education in tribal society a study on tribal population.
International Journal of Current Research, 4(12), 307-312.
332
Mishra, N. 2007. Participatory Water Management and Sustainable Tribal

Livelihood: Study of a Pani Panchayat in Southern Orissa,
University of Hyderabad, Hyderabad.
Heredia, R. C. (1995). Tribal Education for Development Need for a
Liberative Pedagogy for Social Transformation. Economic and
Political Weekly.
K.K.Sahu. (2014). Challenging Issues of Tribal Education in India.
Journal of Economics and Finance, 3(2), 48-52.
Mahajan, S. (2012). Some Issues in Higher Education. Economic &
Political Weekly, xlviI(31), 20-23.
Nambissan, G. B. (2000). Identity, Exclusion and the Education of Tribal
Communities. In R. Wazir, Gender Gaps in Literacy and Education
(pp. 175-224.). New Delhi: Sage Publication.
Roy Burman, B.K. 1993. ‘Tribal development in world system
perspective’, Social change, 23 (2-3): 27-32.
Sandhya Rani .G,N. Rajani& P. Neeraja. (2011). International Conference
on Social Science and Humanity IPEDR. Singapore: IACSIT Press.
333
CHAPTER 28
EDUCATION OF SCHEDULED TRIBES: PROBLEMS &

SOLUTION
Kiran Haldar 50
Abstract :
India is a country with huge population. One of the backward nations in
this huge population is the Scheduled Tribes. They have been out of the
mainstream of Indian society since independence. For the overall
development of the country, the government is trying to bring the
Scheduled Tribes into the mainstream of society by providing various
facilities including education. The government is also taking various plans
for this.
Introduction :
A
t the root of the overall development of a society or a country lies
the developed human resources of that country. This advanced
human resource is created through proper education system. The
education system brings national development in the lives of the people of
the country through increasing production and income. Science and
technology education system is behind the welfare and prosperity of every
country in the world today. India is no exception. Therefore, the
government has to ensure that people from all walks of life can participate
equally in this advanced education system of the country. Providing
special treatment to people belonging to backward castes likes Scheduled
Caste and Scheduled Tribes.
India is a country of huge population. India is the third largest
country in the world in terms of population. This huge population includes
people of many languages as well as people of deferent races, religions
and castes. Among them is the provision in various sections of the
Constitution for the improvement of the people of backward nations and
50
M.Ed Student (Ex.)., Dept. of Education, University of Kalyani, Kalyani, West Bengal,
India
334
tribes – so that the country can prosper through the improvement of the
people of all communities.
Different groups or communities of huge population living in India
are scattered in different parts of the country. A large number of them have
survived the oppression of the upper castes and have maintained their
language and culture by living in remote areas, hilly areas. Despite
changing their eating habits, clothing, etc. to keep pace with the present, all
these human groups have become detached from the mainstream of
society, they are the ‘Scheduled Tribes’. These types of Scheduled Tribes
are – Bhil, Bhutia, Chakma, Garo, Munda, Naga, Oraon, Santal, Sherpa,
Tamang, etc.
According to Gillian and Gillian – “A tribe is a group of local
community which lives in a common area, speaks a common dialect and
follows a common culture.”
According to Imperial Gazetter of India – “A tribe is a collection of
families bearing a common name, speaking a common dialect, occupying
or professing to occupy a common territory and is not usually indigenous,
thought originally it might have been so.”
There is no clear definition of the term ‘Tribes’ in the Indian
Constitution. All the human beings mentioned by the honorable President
in Article 366(25) of the Constitution are Tribes or Tribal. The essential
characteristics of these communities are:
▪ Primitive Traits
▪ Geographical isolation
▪ Distinct culture
▪ Shy of contact with community at large
▪ Economically backward
The people of a large part of our country are the lower castes –
Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes or Tribal. In Article 330 to 342 of
the sixteenth chapter of the Constitution provide for special measures for
Scheduled Tribes along with other backward nations.
The people of the Scheduled Tribes or Tribal society are reluctant to
go to the people of other communities. As a result, they are far behind the
society. Geographical isolation is also a factor. Their culture is also
different. Although a lot has changed in recent times. The government has
also taken various initiatives in this regard. Since the indigenous
335
population is about 8 percent of the total population, the central

government has arranged to preserve 7.5 percent of the seats in education
and employment.
India’s Educational Plan:

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has termed the ‘11th Five Year
plan’ as ‘India’s Education Plan’. The 11th Five Year Plan approved at the
meeting of the National Development Council in December 2007. Prior to
independence, India did not have a planned education system for
Scheduled Tribes or Indigenous communities. Therefore, in the post-
independence period, special measures have been taken in various five-
year plans for the education of Scheduled Tribes. These are –
1. New schools have been set up only for the Scheduled Tribes in the
tribal areas.
2. The school authorities have been given the freedom to schedule
school hours and holidays for the convenience of Scheduled Tribe
students.
3. A special type of residential ashram school has been set up for the
students of Scheduled Tribes.
4. In addition to general education, various vocational training
arrangements have been made in all these residential ashram
schools.
5. Arrangements have been made to reserve a certain number of seats
in different schools of expanding the education of Scheduled Tribes.
6. Unpaid coaching classes have been arranged in the schools for the
students of Scheduled Tribes.
7. Special training has been arranged for success in various
competitive examinations.
8. Textbook writing in their own language and script has been
arranged to increase the interest of Scheduled Tribes towards
education and to facilitate the expansion of education.
9. Special encouragement is also being given for research work on
sub-tribes.
10. New Adult Education Centers have been set up for the education of
Scheduled Tribes.
336
Kothari Commission (1964-66):

The recommendations of the Kothari Commission for the
improvement of education of Scheduled Tribes or Indigenous
communities are as follows:
1. The Scheduled Tribes need to increase their opportunities by
maintaining the existing facilities in the field of education.
2. More Ashram schools need to be set up in the tribal areas.
3. Arrangement of dormitory for the children of Scheduled Tribes.
4. Efforts should be made to spread higher primary and secondary
education among the Scheduled Tribes.
5. Scholarships should be provided for general education as well as
scholarship and technical education.
6. Teaching aids should be made in the language of the tribes.
7. Highly gifted tribal youth should be sent for work for various
underdeveloped areas by creating opportunities for leadership.
NEP-1986:
The National Education Policy of 1986 envisages a number of
measures to be taken to bring the standard of education of Scheduled
Tribes on par with others. These are:
1. The importance of setting up primary schools in scheduled areas.
2. Residential Schools and Ashram Schools should be set up in tribal
areas.
3. It is necessary to think of composing curriculum in their language
by giving importance to the language of Scheduled Tribes.
4. In addition to general education, special scholarships should be
given for technical and vocational educational.
5. Anganwari, Non-Traditional Education and Adult Education
Centers should be set up in tribal areas.
6. Curriculum at all levels of education should be designed in such a
way that the creative talents of the Scheduled Tribes youth develop.
7. Attention should be paid to the education and trained Indigenous
Youth to be encouraged to take up teaching profession in their area.
NEP-2020:
The first national education policy of the 21st century is National
Education Policy-2020. This education policy covers multiple aspects of
337
school education from pre-primary to higher secondary. The main goal of

the National Education Policy-2020 is to bring the Indian education
system to its climax by 2040. People from all walks of life will be brought
under this high quality neutral education system so that no one is left
behind. Multiple programs have been taken for the children of Scheduled
Tribes and it has been said that it will continue in future also. In addition,
special measures have been taken to ensure that the children of this tribe
can avail the benefits of all the programs.
Problems in the Education of Scheduled Tribes:

1. Even today, due to the financial problems of a large section of the
Scheduled Tribes, parents are reluctant to send their children to
school.
2. The Scheduled Tribes have started teaching in their own language
in some cases, but it has not spread to all levels of education, so a
neglected attitude towards education can be noticed.
3. The students lose interest in coming to school as a result of not
giving much importance to the life and experience of the Scheduled
Tribes in the school curriculum.
4. At present there are scholarships for Scheduled Tribes but they are
less than required. As a result, students are turning away from
school due to financial constraints.
5. Students of Scheduled Tribes suffer from inferiority complex even
though there are opportunity for admission in general schools on the
basis of reservation rules. Because, the real change of social attitude
has not happened yet.
Ways to Solve the Education Problem of Scheduled Tribes:

1. Transportation to remote areas needs to be improved.
2. Appropriate quality trained teachers should be appointed in schools.
3. Schools should have teachers as required.
4. Students have to distribute free books and clothes.
5. Both the Central and State Governments need to allocate adequate
funds to the Scheduled Tribes living below the poverty line.
In conclusion, a large part of the peoples of our country, India, are
Scheduled Tribes. They were deprived of all the facilities of the society
338
including education. However, at present this situation has improved a lot.

The government should provide more education and other facilities to the
people of Scheduled Tribes along with the people of other communities.
Otherwise the development of the society and the country will never be
implemented. However, the quality of education of the Scheduled Tribes
or Tribal has been enhanced by the adoption of various developmental
programs by various government and non-government organizations.
However, it has not yet reached the expected level.
References
Paul, Debashis. (2015). Conteporary India and Education. Rita
Publication. Kolkata.
Mete, J. & Others. (2011). Shiksha o Samaj. Rita publication. Kolkata.
Aggarwal, J.C. (2006). Modern India Education History, Development
and Problems. Shipra Publication. Delhi.
Roy, Pradipta Ranjan & Roy, Aditi. (2016-17). Conteporary India and
Education. Rita Publication. Kolkata.
Vivekananda Samagra (1st - 4th volume). (2003). Reflect Publication.
Kolkata.
Halder, gourdas. (1998). Shikshan Prasange Bharatiya Shikshar Itihas.
Banerjee Publication. Kolkata.
339
CHAPTER 29
FOREST RELATED INDIGENOUS KNOWLEDGE OF TRIBAL

PEOPLE AND ITS RELATIONSHIP WITH ETHNO-MEDICINAL
PRACTICES: A CASE STUDY IN THE DISTRICT OF BIRBHUM
IN WEST BENGAL
Dr. Arun Kumar Mandal 51
Abstract
The Scheduled Tribes depend on forests not only for their
economy but also their social, cultural and emotional need. There
is a symbiotic relation between the forest and forest dwellers.
Ethos of forest-dwellers and forest resources has been deeply
intertwined from days and days out. Forest Products and Benefits
involved with Indigenous Knowledge and Skills. Ethnomedicinal
plants are generally used to curing various ailments like diabetes,
dysentery, typhoid, skin disease and jaundice. Tribal People attempt to
use their indigenous knowledge, Skills and attitudes for ethno-
medicinal practices and maintain their livelihood with preservation and
development of forest resources. So, present paper has tried to
highlight about forest related indigenous knowledge of Tribal People
and its relationship with ethno-medicinal practices: A case study in the
District of Birbhum in West Bengal. The Study has represents that
traditionally tribal people do have indigenous knowledge, skills and
attitudes for conducting ethno-medicinal practices largely.
Key words: Scheduled Tribes, Economy, Social, Cultural, Forest Resources,

Ethno-medicinal, Indigenous Knowledge, Livelihood and reservation
Introduction:
T
he Ministry of Tribal Affairs has identified 75 tribal groups which
are classified as Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups(VTGs)
taking into consideration of following criteria as (i) A pre-
51
Assistant Professor in Education, Union Christian Training College, Berhampore, Murshidabad,
West Bengal
340
agricultural level of technology, (ii) A stagnant or declining population and

(iii) A subsistence level of economy. The population of Scheduled Tribes
(STs) in the country as per Census 2011 is 10.45 crore. STs constitute 86
percent of the country’s total population and 11.3 % of the total rural
population. Population of St males is 5.25 crore and ST females is 5.20
crore. Decadal growth of ST population in 2011 as compared to 2001
brings out that ST female population growth rate (25 %) is higher than ST
male population growth rate(23%). Sex ratio in respect of STs is 990
which is higher than national average of 943. ST Sex ratio has improved
from 978 females per 1000 males in 2001 to 990 in 2011. As per Census
figures, literacy rates for STs in India improved from 47.1 % in 2001 to
59% in 2011. From the forests they not only collect fire woods for
domestic energy and warmth, timber for construction their dwelling,
but also food in form of various fruits, seeds, leaves to sell in the
market and fulfil their need for cash. Ethos of forest-dwellers and
forest resources has been deeply intertwined from days and days out.
So there is a symbiotic relation between the forest and forest dwellers.
The National Forest Policy (1988) recognized the important role of
forests for environment protection and preservation. It states, “The
principal aim of the Forest Policy must be to ensure environmental
stability and ecological balance including atmospheric equilibrium
which is vital for sustenance of all forms of life, human, animal and
plants with massive people’s involvement. The households with lower
total income depended more on income from forest products in Surguja
district of Madhya Pradesh. The proportion of income from forest products
declined with the increase in total income (Sharma, K.G., A.M Mishra,
and C.L Thakur.2000).There has been a sharp reduction in the forest area
since 1979-80 in all the states in India (Sharma, R.K. et al .2000).The
internal linkages of a tribal village economy mostly depend upon non-
timber forest products for livelihood and highlight the alternative
opportunities available for tribal to maintain a sustainable livelihood with
least dependence on forest (Pradhan, D.C., and et al. 2000).The results
from a tribal village of Birbhum show that i) Tribal’s household derives
9.92% to 29.21% of their income from forests,ii) Percentage of forest
labour days to total annual labour days per household varies from 20.23 %
to 70.19%. iii) The tribal people are very conscious about the Non-Timber
341
Forest Products (NTFPs) they are utilizing them in optimum and feasible
way, iv) The tribal people find that NTFPs are very useful to them during
the stressful time in maintaining their day to day requirements) Tribal
women are main responsible for collection of NTFPs, vi) JFM helps to
reduce rural poverty and unemployment and promote health conditions
(Mandal, A.K., 2009) ).The report explores the good possibilities of
product diversification of NTFPs through appropriate technology transfer
and its commercial disposal (Das, C., et al .1994).The study clearly states
that in most of the Forest Protection Committees( FPCs) have generated
forests are gradually getting into better shape (like Sal Coppice generated
forests have tremendous natural ability to support establishment of a large
diversity of plants) (N, Das, et al.1994).Tribal people enjoy various
privileges in respects of cultivation, grazing, collection of fuel-wood,
collection of minor forest produced, hunting, fishing etc. in various forest
Sal-plate production plays an useful and effective role in village economy
(Dutta, M., and M Adhikari.1991).There is a lack of training in attitude
reorientation, value adjustment, behavioral change, inter-personal skill
building, and participatory techniques for JFM (M. C Gean,
B.1991).Forest resources account for a sizeable share of agricultural and
industrial output, income, export, and trade, employment etc., despite
unscrupulous deforestation and uncontrolled destruction of greenery at an
alarming rate (Sarma, P.K.1991).The Forest Officials encouraged and
helped village forest protection committees to play an effective role in
participatory forest management (Bhguna, V.K .1992). A study carried out
by All India Co-ordinated Project on Ethnobiology (AICRPE-1992-98)
reported that over 10,000 wild plant species are used by tribal people for
meeting their primary healthcare, food and other material requirements.
They use over 3,900 species of plants for edible purpose, over 8,000 for
medicinal uses, another 1,000 for fodder, fibre and assorted purpose.
Tribal healers are known to use their own systems of healthcare with plant
and animal extracts, faith and mystical rituals. Some of the trials have their
own unique tradition of healers, whose knowledge is passed down
generation and protected. With enormous economic possibilities in the
coming era of herbal and organic living, the government of India is yet to
adopt steps to protect and develop these valuable streams of ancient
knowledge (Pushpangadan and Geoge, 2010). The diversity in terms of
342
ethnicity, language, economic and political organization, material culture,

fairs, festivals, myths and legends, customs and cuisines and sundry other
features of cultures creates India a unique hub of varied human existence.
The diversity is also observed in the ethnomedical healing practices as
well as along regional, ecosystem, linguistic and cultural line (Joshi,
2019).NEP-2020 proposed that Indian Knowledge System including tribal
knowledge and indigenous and traditional ways of learning will be
covered and included in mathematics, literature, sorts, games as well as in
governance, polity, conservation. Specific courses in tribal ethno-
medicinal practices, forest management, traditional (organic) crop
cultivation, natural farming etc will also be made available. In this
backdrop, the present paper has undertaken to investigate on Forest
Related Indigenous Knowledge of Tribal People and Its Relationship with
Ethno-Medicinal Practices: A Case Study in the District of Birbhum in
West Bengal.
Objectives of the study:

▪ To find out the extent of Ethno-Medicinal Practices that exist the
study areas.
▪ To estimate the awareness and indigenous knowledge of tribal
people regard uses of Non-Timber Forest Products (NTFPs).
Methodology:
In order to conduct the study two tribal village under Illambazar PS
of Birbhum district in West Bengal have been selected. Total 150 tribal
households taking into consideration 75 households who are the members
of FPCS from each village has been chosen purposively. A self
constructed with reliability questionnaire having Yes or NO response
about awareness and indigenous knowledge tribal people for Ethno-
Medicinal Practices and uses of NTFPs has been used to collect the village
level primary data. Mean, SD, CV, Percentage (%), Frequency Polygon
and Ogives have been deployed to analyse the primary data.
Results and Discussion:

Study Area:
Birbhum: Birbhum a district of “Rarh region is situated in the
northern most part of Burdwan division of West Bengal. The district
343
lies between 2303213011 and 2403510011 North Latitude and 8800114011

and 870512511 East longitude. The district is bounded by Murshidabad
in the East and North-East, Burdwan in the south and South-East and
Santhal Pargans of Jharkhand in the West and North- West. The total
forest area of Birbhum forest division estimates about 159.26 sq.km
having only 3.5 percent of the total geographical area of the district.
Per capita forest in Birbhum shows 0.0062 ha as compared to whole
West Bengal having per capita forest as 0.02 ha. Birbhum is still
predominantly an agricultural district with more than 70 percent of its
population depending in this sector.
Discussion and Results:

Concept of Indigenous Knowledge:
Indigenous Knowledge (IK) is defined as the knowledge used by
the local people to make a living in a particular environment. The term IK
is used as a substitute in the field of sustainable development (SD)
including indigenous technical knowledge, traditional environmental
knowledge, rural knowledge, local knowledge and farmer’s or pastoralist’s
knowledge. Indigenous Knowledge can be viewed as “A body of
knowledge built up by a group of people through generations of living in
close contact with nature (Johnson, 1992). Warren (1987) defined IK as a
local knowledge that is unique to a given culture or society. Rajasekaran
(1993) indicated that Indigenous Knowledge is the systematic body of
knowledge obtained by local people through the acquisition of
experiences, informal experiments and intimate understanding of the
environment in a given culture.
Urgency of Indigenous Knowledge:

In general parlance, Indigenous Knowledge plays a pivotal role in
the sustainable management of natural resources and issue of global
concern. The following needs of IK should be kept in mind.
▪ Indigenous Knowledge attempts to supply problem-solving
techniques for local communities in respect of poor tribal people.
Indigenous Knowledge focuses on important component of global
knowledge development issue.
344
▪ Learning from indigenous knowledge can promote comprehending

of local situations.
▪ Understanding of indigenous knowledge can enhance
responsiveness to clients.
▪ Adapting international practices to local conditions can promote the
effect and sustainability of our work.
▪ Investing in exploring indigenous knowledge can assist to alleviate
poverty and reserve natural resources.
▪ Sharing indigenous knowledge within and across the communities
can increase cross-cultural understanding and appreciation.
Forest Products and Benefits involved with Indigenous Knowledge

and Skills:
Job opportunities with income:(i) Manufacturing of Sal plates, (ii)
fuel wood, poles and logs, (iii) Bee and Goat keeping, (iv)making
Vermicompost, (v) Raw materials for Forest Based Industries (FBI),
revenue earning of Forest Department (REOFD, (vi) Gums / Resins /
Oil/Saw Milling / Vii) Medicines, viii) Mushrooms, ix) Leaves, Silk, Wild
life and ECO- Tourism.
Household Income:
(i) Fuel wood and Charcoal, (ii) 25 % share, honey, Wax, (iii)Sal
seeds, Kendu leave, (iii)Food, Nuts, Lac, Fibre, (iv) Mannure, Citronnella
grass, (v) SPM, Dry Leaves (vi) Bamboo, (vii) R.M for house Building,
Fodder, Fruits, Agricultural Inputs• Thatch, Weaving and (viii)
Medicines.
Environmental Benefits:
(i) Erosion Control, (ii) Soil fertility, (iii)Flood and Land-slide
Prevention,(iii) Water Availability, (iv)Green Manure and (v) Biodiversity
Table -1: Common Medicinal plants Collected by tribal households

who are the members of Forest Protection Committes (FPCS)
SL.No Botanical Common/Tribal Useful Medicinal No. of %
Names Names arts use Households(N=150
1. Buchanania Piyal Fruit, Skin 51 34.0
lanzan Bark disease
2. Sida Berela Root Heart 15 10.0
345
SL.No Botanical Common/Tribal Useful Medicinal No. of %

Names Names arts use Households(N=150
cordifolia Disease,
UTI
3. Terminalia Haritaki Fruit Skin 30 20.0
chebula disease,
gall
bladder
4. Woodfordia Dhadki Root, Diorrhoea 45 30.0
fruticosa Flower anemia
5. Asparagus Satamuli Root UTI, 24 16.0
recemosus Epilepsy
6. Adhatoda Basak, Basang Leaves Cough & 54 36.0
vasica Cold
7. Andrographis Kalmegh Leaves, Hepatic 52 34.66
paniculata Stem disorder
8. Emblica Amlaki Fruit Rich in 55 36.66
Officials Vit. C,
Hair Oil
female
disease
9. Ternminalia Arjun Bark Female 20 13.33
diseases
tonic
10. Solanum Kontikari Root Asthma , 26 17.33
xanthocarpum Cough
11. Oroxylum Totola , fanfena Bark, Dispenpia, 18 12.0
indicum fruit piles.
12. Cleistathus parasi Leaf, Skin 51 34.0
collinus Capsules disease,
Arthirities
13. Hemidesmus Anantamul Root Metabolic 48 32.0
indicus restoration,
UTI, tonic
etc
14. Phyllanthus Bariougrha Root Female 12 8.0
niruri disease,
anti pox.
15. Vitex Nisinda Whole Insect 15 10.0
negundo plant replant,
nerve
disease
16. Sida Berela Root Metabolic 18 12.0
Cordifolia restoration,
UTI, tonic
etc.
17. Abutilon Atibala Root V.D 21 14.0
hirtum
Source: Village Level at Study areas
346
Table -1 focuses on Botanical names, common/tribal names,

useful parts as medicinal use and Common Medicinal plants Collected
by tribal households who are the members of Forest Protection
Committees (FPCS). In the study areas, common medicinal plants are
collected by 34 % households like (1) Fruit, Bark of Piyal (Buchanania
lanzan) for Skin disease, (2) Root of Berela (Sida cordifolia) for Heart
Disease, UTI by 10 % households, (3) Fruit of Haritaki (Terminalia
chebula) for Skin disease, gall bladder by 20 % , (4) Root, Flower of
Dhadki (Woodfordia fruticosa) by 30 % households, (5) Root of
Satamuli (Asparagus recemosus) for UTI, Epilepsy by 16 %
households, (6) Leaves of Basak, Basang (Adhatoda vasica) for Cough
& Cold by 36 % households, (7) Leaves, Stem of Kalmegh
(Andrographis paniculata) for Hepatic disorder by 34.66 % households
, (8) Fruit of Amlaki (Emblica Officials) for Rich in Vit. C, Hair Oil
female disease by 36.66 % households ,(9) Bark of Arjun
(Ternminalia) for Female diseases tonic by 13.33 % households , (10)
Root of Kontikari (Solanum xanthocarpum ) for Asthma , Cough by
17.33 % households, (11) Bark, fruit of Totola , fanfena (Oroxylum
indicum) for Dispenpia, piles by 12 % households ,(12) Leaf, Capsules
of parasi (Cleistathus collinus) for Skin disease, Arthirities by 34 %
households, (13) Root of Anantamul (Hemidesmus indicus) for
Metabolic restoration, UTI, tonic etc by 32 % households, (14) Root of
Bariougrha (Phyllanthus niruri) for Female disease, anti pox by 8 %
households, (15) Whole plant of Nisinda (Vitex negundo) for Insect
replant, nerve disease by 10 % households, (16) Root of
Atibala(Abutilon) for Metabolic restoration, UTI, tonic etc.by 12 %
households and (17) Root of Atibala (Abutilon hirtum) for V.D by 14
% households. The result in the study areas indicates that some tribal
households having the members of FPCs are used to collect common
medicinal plants deploying their indigenous knowledge for different
medicinal use.
347
Table- 2: Mean SD and C.V of AY and AFY among Different Tribal

Villages.
FRI/ Annual Income of HH (AY) Annual Forest Income of HH (AFY)
Villages Mini Max Mean SD C.V Mini Max Mean SD C.V
Banavilla 10,743 102356 28894 14816.28 51.27 3570 20631 7150 2549.86 35.66
Lakhipur 12,329 78,679 25933 11801.87 45.50 2395 18620 8737 2792.14 31.95
Birbhum 10,743 102356 27414 13,309.07 48.54 2395 20631 7944 2671 33.62
Table-2 makes a comparison between two tribal villages in

Birbhum taking into consideration of AY and AFY w.r.t Mean SD and
C.V. It is observed from table that mean of Mean of AY is found to be
higher at Banavilla (M= Rs 28,894) as compared to Lakhipur (M= Rs
25,933). SD of AY is found to be higher at Banavilla (SD= Rs 14,816.25)
as compared to Lakhipur (SD= Rs 11801.87). Higher value of SD implies
higher variability of AY and vice-versa. Coefficient of variation for AY
(C.V) also shows higher at Banavilla (C.V= 51.27) implying more
variability followed by Lakhipur (C.V= 45.58) implying less variability.
that mean of AFY is found to be higher at Lakhipur (M= Rs 8737) as
compared to Banvilla(M= Rs 7150). SD of AFY shows higher at Lakhipur
(SD= Rs 2792.14) as compared to a Banavilla (S.D= Rs 2549.86). C.V of
AFY is found to be higher at Banavilla (C.V= 35.66) indicating more
variability and less consistent as compared to Lakhipur (C.V= 31.95)
having less variability and more consistent. Apart from this, range for AY
in Birbhum is found to be Rs 10743 - Rs 102356. Means of AY differ to
some extent between two tribal villages estimating Rs 14,816 at Banavilla
and Rs 11801 at Lakhiur. So it may be deduced from this analysis that
both AY and AFY at Lakhiur show more consistent than Banavilla. Triabl
households having higher average annual income are associated with
lower average Annual forest income focusing on lower dependence of
forest income taking into consideration of tribal households who assure
higher level of annual income.
Table -3: Awareness/Indigenous Knowledge of the Tribal People
Regarding the Use of NTFPs under JFM w.r.t Frequency Polygon
and Ogives at Banavilla.
Marks obtained: 10-14 15-19 20-24 25-29 30-34
No. of household: 10 13 22 26 4
(N=75)
348
Figure-1: Ogives Show Awareness of Tribal People Regarding the

Use of NTFPS under JFM at Banavilla.
80
60
Cumulative Frequency ( No of household)
40
20
Median Less Than
0 More Than
9.50 14.50 19.50 24.50 29.50 34.50
Class Boundary ( Marks)
Tables -3 and Figure-1 represent that median lies between

class boundary 19.50-24.50 with respect to marks obtained through
evaluation of awareness and indigenous knowledge about properly
utilization of NTFPS with forest resources management and protection
by tribal people which indicates a positive significance pertaining to
properly utilization of NTFPs in the process of sustainable
development of forest resources with the stable assurance of
maintaining livelihood of tribal people days and days out at Banavilla.
In this regard, results also show that Mean is found to be 22.06 having
S.D (5.62) and C.V (25.47).
Table-4: Awareness/Knowledge of Tribal People Regarding the Use

of NTFPs under JFM w.r.t Frequency Polygon and Ogives at
Lakhipur.
Marks obtained: 10-14 15-19 20-24 25-29 30-34
No. of household: 8 15 27 22 3
(N=75)
349
Figure-2: Ogives Show Awareness of Tribal People Regarding the

Use of NTFPS under JFM at Lakhipur.
Median
Tables-4 and Diagram-2 show median having class boundary

19.50-24.50 with Mean(23.06), S.D(6.69) and C.V(29.01) on the basis
of marks obtained by tribal people for the responses of forest related
information which indicates that most of the tribal households secure
much consciousness and indigenous knowledge about the extraction of
Non-timber Forest Products(NTFPs) appropriately at Lakhipur. The
results also represent that there is a symbiotic relation between tribal
people and forest resources.
Conclusion:
There has been an age-old relationship between tribal and
forests. The tribal depend on forests not only for their economy but
also their social, cultural and emotional need. From the forests they not
only collect fire woods for domestic energy and warmth, timber for
construction their dwelling, but also food in form of various fruits,
seeds, leaves to sell in the market and fulfil their need for cash. UN
defined Indigenous as” Groups of people whose social, cultural and
economic conditions distinguish them from other sections of the
national communities, and whose status is regulated wholly or partially
by their own customs or traditions or by special laws regulations.
350
Social cohesion has been the key to survival for many indigenous
cultures. Indigenous Knowledge attempts to supply problem-solving
techniques for local communities in respect of poor people. The major
findings of the study are states as:
▪ Forest products and benefits involving indigenous knowledge
and skills may be classified as (i) job opportunities with income,
(ii) household income and (iii) environmental benefits.
▪ Indigenous Knowledge attempts to supply problem-solving
techniques for local communities in respect of poor tribal people.
▪ Some tribal households belonging to the members of FPCs are
used to collect common medicinal plants deploying their
indigenous knowledge, skills and attitudes for different
medicinal use.
▪ AY is found to be higher at Banavilla (M= Rs 28,894) as
compared to Lakhipur (M= Rs 25,933).
▪ Mean of AFY is found to be higher at Lakhipur (M= Rs 8737) as
compared to Banvilla (M= Rs 7150).
▪ Tribal households having higher average annual income are
associated with lower average Annual forest income focusing on
lower dependence of forest income taking into consideration of
tribal households who assure higher level of annual income.
▪ Most of the tribal households of both tribal villages in study
areas secure much consciousness and indigenous knowledge and
skills about the extraction of Non-timber Forest Products
(NTFPs) appropriately for maintaining their livelihoods to some
extent taking participatory process of development of forest
resources.
References:
Bahguna, V.K. (1992). Collective Resource Management: An Experience
in Harda Forest Division. Regional center for wastelands
Development (RCWD), Indian Institute of Forest Management,
Bhopal (Success story series of RCWD – 1: 1992-93).
Beck, Tony (1994).Common property Resource Access by Poor and Class
conflict in West Bengal. EPW January, 22, 1994.
Das, C, et al. (1994). Aspects of Commercialization of Selected Non-
351
Timber Forest Products (NTFPs) in the Nayagram Range of West

Midnapore, West Bengal. K. haragpur (W.B): Rural Development
center (RDC), Indian Institute of Technology, Participation Forest
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Das, N. et al. (1994).Ecological study of the Forest under FPCs in the
Nayagram Range, West Midnapore, West Bengal. Rural
Development Centre (RDC), IIT, kharagpur (W.B).
Dutta, M., and M. Adhikari (1991). Sal Leaf plate making in West Bengal:
A Case Study of Cottage Industry in Sabalmara, West Midnapore
(W.B). Indian Institute of Bio-Social Research and Development,
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Joshi, P.C(2019).Ethnomedical practices and Indian Scheduled Tribes.
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353
CHAPTER 30
TRIBAL WOMEN IN INDIA: THE GENDER INEQUALITIES
Saswati Roy 52
Abstract
There is a kind of misbelief that tribal women have usually enjoyed a
higher social status in their communities than Indian women in general.
However, some legal studies contravene this belief. In tribal societies,
the role of women is pivotal and superabundant. According to the 2011
Census, the tribal population constitutes almost 8.6% of the total
population of the country, and the demographic statistics reveal that
they have been underprivileged for many decades because of the mass
number of the tribal population residing in different rural zones. Like
other social groups, tribal women have been facing problems related to
reproductive health, economic backwardness, and education. For the
research purpose both primary and secondary data have been utilized;
pre-existing literature, preliminary studies, published data set of
government reports and surveys, so the present paper focuses on the
deleterious impact of gender disparities among tribal women through
an analysis of the GDI indicators like literacy rate, health, work
participation, poverty, and economic resources. The GDI indicators
have been extensively observed and indicated as the primary cause of
these issues is prevailing inequalities in the tribal communities, lack of
awareness, illiteracy, land alienation, and being isolated from the outer
world. Therefore, the primary goal of this research paper is to identify
the significant gender issues that have considerable implications on the
social life of tribal women and critically examine the key factors that
contribute to gender disparities. Keywords: education, gender
disparities, reproductive health, tribal women.
52Assistant professor in English, Union Christian Training College, Berhampore,

Murshidabad, West Bengal, India
354
Keywords: education, gender disparities, reproductive health, tribal

women.
It is impossible to think about the welfare of the world unless

the condition of women is improved. It is impossible for a bird to fly on
only one wing.
Swami Vivekananda
Introduction:
A
t present, the tribal population of India (104.28 million),
which means 8.6 % of the total population, is ampler than that
of any other country in the world. Only 10 percent of them
live in urban areas and the rest of them a significant part live in rural
areas, which leads them all socioeconomic and as well as political
backwardness. The tribal communities have been correctly described as
victims and refugees of development in the country .Dr. D.N.
Mujumdar, in his book, Race and culture of India describes the tribe as
such Tribe is a collection of families or a group of occupying the same
territorial region, speak their mother tongue and observe certain
optimistic regulations and religious taboos regarding marriage,
professions, and occupation. The colonial administration used the term
tribe first time for identifying the primitive communities with distinct
culture and language. The realm outlooks of tribes are dominated by
some influences such as animism, naturism, shamanism, and occultism.
They are also assumed as Adivasis‘ because they are deemed to be the
autochthones of the nation. Adivasis are also known as ‘Vanyajati’ as
they are habitually dwelling in forestry, undulating, mountain terrains,
and remote areas.2
After Independence, a great awakening had emanated in India.
The political leaders, framers of our Constitution, had seen the plight of
the tribal people. Therefore they adopted various measures to protect
and promote the interest of the tribal population. The recognition of the
welfare state gave new hope to the status and sufferings of the tribal
people, from centuries who had neglected, isolated, exploited,
discriminated degraded, and remained far behind the national
mainstream.
355
Notwithstanding, there have been huge debates and arguments

about gender and gender related issues in tribes of India over several
years. Tribal Women are still treated unequally in various areas,
including women‘s status in society, their education, health, economic
position, gender equality, etc. The vast majority of the women
populations who are surviving in rural areas or tribal areas are still
facing systemic barriers and poverty. These vulnerable women strive
not only for gender equality but for their very survival.
India is a signatory to the Convention on the Elimination of all
kinds of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) 1979. In the
Convention, it has been clearly stated that all forms of discrimination
against women must be eliminated, and they have the right to equality
with men. The Convention broadly defines discrimination as ―any
distinction, exclusion or restriction made based on sex which has been
intentionally or unintentionally impairing or nullifying the recognition,
enjoyment or exercise of women‘s rights and also recognises the
fundament causes of gender discrimination and genders stereotyping. 4
India is one of such countries where gender discrimination is prevalent;
in fact, male domination is quite strong, and so is the oppression of
women.
Status of Tribal Women in India

Across 705 distinct tribes have been inhabited in different
regions of the Indian subcontinent. The majority of the tribal
population are residing in the north-eastern states of Mizoram and
Lakshadweep (94.4 %), Meghalaya (86.1 %), and Nagaland (86.5 %).
The non-tribal States are Delhi, Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh, and
Pondicherry. As we earlier mentioned that India has a total tribal
population of 8.6 percent of the total population of India. The
discrimination against women is intensive in the patriarchal tribal
areas. Also, in big cities, tribal women are deprived of fundamental
rights. They have no choice in any sphere. Decisions of lives are taken
without their consent. One typical reason for gender discrimination is
the rigid culture, ritual servitude, and strict customs of their community
that keeps the women suppressed and unaware of their rights.
However, it also revealed that the socio-economic status of women in
356
tribal society in general comparatively non-tribal. However, what the

real scenario is, like other social groups, they are oppressed, sexually
harassed, and dominated in some way or other. Moreover, the tribal
women are prone to sexual harassment in their society. Also, they face
the same situation in the urban areas where they venture for work. The
tribal women are considered as a sex symbol, black beauty, who could
be used in any possible way, could be ridiculed, and teased, and
compelled to offer their bodies for a few bucks. The urban community
can never grant sexual freedom in tribal society. The tribal women are
thought to be chaotic and accustomed to free sexual intercourse.
Therefore, when they travel to far off places for the need for
employment, they are prone to sexual harassment, exploitation, and
forced to act as a sex worker. Most of the tribal women are unwaged
and unskilled. Hence, the naked truth is that they sell their body for
money because they have no other options. One of the reasons for this
type of dealing could be the timid nature of the tribal women who are
always fearful about their social defamation, and they rarely file a
complaint about a violation of their rights and not prefer to go to the
eminent authority or the police. Since the tribal community is found
educationally backward /illiterate, the majority of the tribes live below
the poverty line, and they are economically unstable. So, tribal
communities and women remain marginalized and continue to suffer
discrimination. The right to achieve gender justice is a cumbersome
task. The perception of gender issues varies from person to person.
Education is a medium through which society becomes civilized,
which leads to the advancement of a country. It also sustains the
cultures and values of human ethics. Education works as a tool for the
future visions of the socio-economic rights of a person. Tribal girls are
intentionally deprived of this fundamental right so that their future
advancement lags behind that of other girls in the country and boys of
their society. The reasons behind the hurdle are economic limitations,
financial backwardness, poverty, humility, early marriages, and
illiterate set of mind and narrow perception for girl education of
parents as well as other members of the family worldwide. A tribal girl
has no choice to say on the topic of education. It is all up to the
parents‘ decision. Perhaps some communities in the tribal world want
357
to educate their women and girls. However, they are significantly less.
Some wanted to send their girls to school, but some thought that it was
useless to educate girls. They are strongly encouraged to join labour
work and to help in the economic condition of the house. They send
their girls to school only for 3 to 4 years to get primary school
education and to learn how to write and read their names and, after
that, withdrawn from it. There are also high gender disparity feelings in
parents to provide full opportunities to their girls and give more
preference to boys for education
The Constitution of India recognised the ‗right to equality‘ as a
fundamental right of all citizens of India. All children in the Indian age
group of 6-14 have the right (under article 21A) to free and compulsory
education as part of their right to live stated in article 21. Further, the
Article 46 is exclusively emphasis the ‗Promotion of Educational and
Economic‘ interests of scheduled castes, scheduled tribes, and other
weaker sections (that also include women), as the fundamental duty of
all the state of India. Besides these constitutional rights, the
government of India has taken up many policies and schemes
specifically for women as well as STs.
There are some significant measures taken up by the ministry of
tribal affairs that aim to safeguard the inclusive educational
development of the tribal women, are given below:
• The scheme of Ashram schools in tribal areas.
• The scheme of girls and boys hostels for STs.
• The scheme for STs Girls of low literacy districts to strengthen
the education level among them.
• To promote Higher Education, there are some schemes in the
form of scholarships such as Pre- Matric and Post Matric
Scholarship, Rajiv Gandhi National Fellowship, etc
Further, the” Beti Bachao Beti Padhao” scheme is
administrated by the Women and Child Development Ministry, which
is projected to provide the advantage of all women, including STs
Women.6 Despite special provisions embedded in the Constitution to
meet the educational requirement of group STs Women, the situation
has continued to far from satisfactory. The probability of exclusion is
aggravated, if the children live in tribal areas and if they are girls. The
358
level of development of other groups is whatever. The tribal women

meet extreme and more striking disadvantages in the field of education.
There are substantial social, regional, and gender disparities in literacy.
ST communities have shallow levels of literacy.
Moreover, If we talk about higher education, It is very notable
that regardless of an exceptionally all around planned approach of
positive discrimination, the depiction of Dalit and Adivasis students is
not satisfactory. Also, the picture of women from them is trivial. They,
by and large, join standard training courses and are denied access to
dexterous courses and elite institutions. According to the All India
Survey on Higher Education (AISHE) report of 2017-18, all India GER
(Gross Enrolment Ratio) in higher education reported 25.8 percent,
which is figured out for the 18- 23 age of the group. Here the GER for
men and women population is 26.3 percent and 25.4 percent,
respectively. In contrast to the figures GER of 25.8%, the ST students
constituted 15.9 percent in which 17.0 percent it is for ST males and
14.9 percent it is for ST female students7 . The chauvinism in higher
education hit tribal women very hardly in getting employment,
particularly professional training, and in conquering top leadership in
any economy as well as the political field.
Gender Biases in Work Participation

Economic Development is a critical factor for development. In
this respect, Scheduled Tribes is the most vulnerable section in India in
comparison to other social groups of the country. Now, the study tries
to understand gender roles in the workplace or gender discrimination in
employment, which is commonly encountered by tribal women in
various areas of work. Tribal women have been working shoulder to
shoulder with tribal men to make a financial contribution to the
household economy. Quite often, they do more physical labour in their
agricultural fields and forest than that of the tribal men. The position of
the tribal women usually depends on the economic roles they play. The
tribal women in India have virtually no role to play in the social and
political spheres. They contribute positively to economic pursuits by
participating equally with the menfolk. A vast majority of the tribes
(almost 90%) are engaged in agriculture, their other economic activities
359
being food gathering (including hunting and fishing), pastoral,

handicrafts, trade and commerce, and industrial labour. Rarely are they
engaged in only one occupation. Tribal women are very free and get
the freedom to do the work outside their home as per the demand of the
society. Though, in a few states or some instances, females are
restricted and not allowed to do work. Generally, tribal women do
work in informal regions, for example, as agricultural labourers, do
husbandry related work as animal husbandry management, household
work. They cope with their domestic matters themselves. They work as
co-partners in the farming profession since gender discrimination, and
gender partiality is not at all noticeable in informal zones.
Nevertheless, now, the scenario has changed for some reason. Firstly,
informal sectors have a low guarantee of work. Most tribes are losing
their lands and forests because of commercialisation and urbanization,
prompt migration, or random displacement. Secondly, women are not
getting equal for equal work or paid less than the menfolk. So, women
prefer the formal sector for their upliftment, although illiterate, non-
skilled, and inexperienced women fight even more in this field against
their marginalization. Women and girls face several issues such as
gender biases, lack of community support, less accessibility, lack of
knowledge, communication and language barriers, financial, physical,
and sexual exploitation, lack of employment opportunities, and many
others. These are cumbersome obstacles that deteriorate their situation.
Such a negative impact continues to create a cycle of poverty and
underdevelopment that is hard to break. Gender inequality is a
universal phenomenon and is not only a women‘s issue but also a
development issue. Tribal women could become independent, work-
oriented, in fact, leaders of the society if they retaliate and stand up for
themselves against social injustice and gender stereotyping.
Gender Biases in Health

Unlike many countries around the globe, in our country,
womendo not enjoy equal opportunities and access to health care and
nutrition. Usually, women are still under-represented in various
prominent fields. However, women‘s equal involvement in the
decision-making process at all levels is necessarily required to achieve
360
the desired women‘s positions worldwide. Furthermore, it would help

in eliminating all women related issues and provide encouraging
procedures to improve the status of women. Most studies have
demonstrated that different facets of gender disparity have remained an
undying problem. It is widely entrenched tribal regions and backward
class of the Indian society,
The Repercussions of Gender Disparities

• Less access to education would degrade the employment
opportunity, which further deprived women of economic
empowerment.
• The wrong belief of society that only boys should have the right
to get an education because they will become one day the bread
earners for the whole family empower the mindset of patriarchal
nature.
• Women are facing barriers to work in state mines or factories in
night shifts; hereby, they are permitted to work in private mines
but the administration typically does not hire women to employ
to avoid maternity costs, paid leave, equal wage, rest shelters,
and amnesty schemes.
• Tribal women are forcefully sent and kidnapped for immoral
trafficking by labour contractors.
• In rural and tribal families, send their daughters in schools only
up to the secondary level, and most girls are often married off at
puberty due to Social pressure.
• They tribal females regularly perform the dual role of taking care
of the dependent family members and kids and working outside
to support the family and reduced financial burden. Nevertheless,
the juggling act is hard to maintain, especially in a male-
dominated society. Despite the various government privileges,
the tribal women population is still illiterate and tribal women
have neither the economic wealth nor the adequate skill for a job
in the formal sector. As a result, she either remains unemployed
or gets very low-status jobs in this sector. However, women get
much respectful status relatively in the informal economy
because the tribal population is the weakest section of the society
361
where girls start working too early to become a helping hand in

the family.
• Tribal areas are under-developed so that it is more difficult for
them to arrange necessities, and in the scenario, the female child
remains at home. In contrast, the male child gets a preference to
access education and economic opportunity. Women‘s
subjugation reveals inevitable barriers to their development,
male supremacy, and economic exploitation, and the capitalist
system gives absolute priority to men to oppress women.
Patriarchal male power creates both class and gender disparities
to control women‘s participation and representation in society.
• Chances of experiencing sexual harassment, bullying, physical
abuse, mistreatment, exclusion, promotional bias, terminations,
and rape threats are ever higher in the workplace. These
prevalence barriers make women more vulnerable, disempower,
and discourage, and this unfair organizational conduct
contributes to sex-based discrimination
• Irrespective of recent advancement, women are still marginalised
and disadvantaged due to their family commitments and
impaired chance to get a healthy life and productive jobs.
Women are double prejudiced, such as facing historical gender
disparities and systematic human rights violations since ages.
However, many women have gained equality of treatment
through far-ranging legal rights. Still, gender inequality is an
unresolved issue. It remains with inadequate health care,
insufficient education, and limited income to drive
Conclusion
World Economic Forum in its report of ―Global Gender Gap
2020‖ placed India at 112th position out of a total of 153 countries. It
has slipped down from 108th rank grappled in the 2018 report. Iceland,
Norway, and Finland once again cap the top rankings. The survey of
the report exemplifies the results based on the progress of the States
which they have made in the sectors of employment, literacy, political
participation, and health as indicators of gender parity. Tribal Women
face discrimination in almost all dimensions of life. Several taboos
362
discriminating against tribal women exist in certain tribal groups

implying impurity and low status. They are the least advantaged groups
and highly backward in various fields such as occupation, education,
healthcare, and political representation, whereas it is at a peak in social
behaviour. One of the primary reasons for their miseries is that they
confine themselves to original forest habitats and taking agriculture and
other allied occupation. Though, the framers of the Indian Constitution
have given an important place in the Constitution (1950) to the tribal
people. Even today, they are continuously attempting the welfare and
advancement of the community. However, they remain the utmost
‗deprived‘ ethnic community in India. Access to education,
employment, social inclusion, and carries out the practical application
of existing laws, change in social structure are empowering features for
protecting tribal women. At last, it is recommended that for removing
the gender disparity against tribal women, the focus should be given on
the ―Gender Sensitivity” concept.
REFERENCES
Govt. of India, Welfare of Tribal Women, Ministry of Tribal Affairs,
Press Information Bureau, (2017)
Government of India, ALL India Survey on Higher Education 2017-18.
Higher Education, Ministry of Human Resource Development,
New Delhi, (2018).
Government of India, Census, New Office of the Registrar General,
New Delhi, (2011).
363
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DEVELOPMENT OF SCHEDULED TRIBES IN INDIA AND ITS RELATIONSHIP

Book · September 2022

Women Empowerment & Women Causes View project

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Arun Kumar Mandal

Printed in Stockholm | Title ID: 9198798073

It is a matter of immense pleasure for me to learn that the book

Shilma, 2022 Professor (Dr.) Manoj kumar Saxena

The Ministry of Tribal Affairs has identified 75 tribal groups which

Dr. Arun Kumar Mandal

The edited book “Development of Scheduled Tribes in India and

CHAPTER CHAPTERS AND AUTHORS PAGE

2. FEMALE EDUCATION IN INDIA: ISSUES AND 6

3. CHANGING STATUS OF TRIBAL FOREST RIGHTS 14

4. ATTITUDE OF TRIBAL PARENTS TOWARDS 30

5. INDIGENOUS PEOPLE OF INDIA AND THEIR 41

6. EFFECT ON METACOGNITIVE STRATEGIES 57

7. CHALLENGES OF TRIBAL EDUCATION IN WEST 70

9. A STUDY ON INDIGENOUS KNOWLEDGE SYSTEM 93

10. VARIOUS SCHEMES AND SCHOLARSHIPS FOR 105

11. A STUDY FOCUSED ON SCHEDULED TRIBE 112

12. OBJECTIFYING HISTORICAL APPROACH TO 124

13. EDUCATIONAL SCENARIO AMONG THE TRIBAL 141

14. FROM ISOLATION TO INTEGRATION: A CRITICAL 152

16. EMPOWERMENT OF TRIBAL WOMEN: 185

17. POLICIES AND STRATEGIES OF TRIBAL 204

18. PROBLEMS AND CHALLENGES OF TRIBAL 220

19. OL-CHIKI LANGUAGE AND ITS HISTORY OF 227

20. SOCIO ECONOMIC BENEFITS AVAILED FOR 234

21. ROLE OF EKLAVYA RESIDENTIAL SCHOOL IN 252

23. TRIBAL WOMEN AND GENDER DISPARITY IN 281

24. IMPORTANCE OF TRIBAL INDIGENOUS 288

25. EDUCATIONAL STATUS AND DROP OUT RATE 300

26. A STUDY OF THE CAUSES OF SCHOOL DROP 313

27. SCHEDULED TRIBE STUDENTS FACED 325

28. EDUCATION OF SCHEDULED TRIBES: PROBLEMS 334

30. TRIBAL WOMEN IN INDIA: THE GENDER 354

SCHOOL EDUCATION AMONG SCHEDULED TRIBE’S

Dr. K. JAYARAMAN 1 & R. RAJESH 2

Keywords: School Education, Scheduled Tribes, Literacy Rate,

considered socially backward by society as a whole and also

OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY

BASIC EDUCATIONAL DATA

2 Middle Schools 7651 1044 6278 710

Table: 2 - Number of Students

Table: 3-Status of Tribal Schools and Students in Tamilnadu

Table: 4-Current Status of Literacy Rate (India & Tamilnadu)

1 National Average 74.04%State Average- 80.33%

2 Male- 82.14% Male-86%

Figure: 1- Literacy Rate of Bar graph (India & Tamilnadu)

PROBLEMS FACED BY SCHEDULED TRIBE’S CHILDREN

FEMALE EDUCATION IN INDIA: ISSUES AND CHALLENGES

Ruchika Sharma 3 & Bindu Dua 4

Key words: Female education, Empowerment, inequality,

country for its development. Female permits individuals to adapt to

foremost importance to raise the level of education amongst women.

IMPORTANCE OF FEMALE EDUCATION IN INDIA

ISSUES AND CHALLENGES OF FEMALE EDUCATION IN

and opportunities that develop as closely as feasible. It is one of