Most tribes are concentrated in heavily forested areas. Historically, the economy of most tribes depends on agriculture or hunting and gathering forest produces. Tribal members traded with outsiders for the few necessities they lacked, such as salt, cooking utensils and iron, and the like. Their life preserving forests have been invaded by modern civilization. Their identity was intact before intrusion of modern civilization and urban economic developments. Nearly 68 million Tribals lived in India according to the 1991 census but number has now reduced substantially as forests reduced and their dependence on forest resources minimized. Economic and modern life style forced them to come out to get mixed with modern generation but did not get proper attention and respect of their culture so most of them still live in below poverty line. Most of the tribal communities originated from Dravidian as still speak Dravidian languages.
Basic causes of poverty Problem among tribal:
- Commercial exploitation of forests and increase of usage of wood in modern needs caused forest unproductive. Their resources also vanished as the forests became agricultural and urban lands. Their main dependence of food on forest products became scarce led to malnutrition.
- (Barter) system of exchanging their products against basic necessitates like salt, iron, cooking utensils are exploited by traders from outsiders who cheat them.
- Non-exploring of forest value in our life as only 3% of about 3, 00,000 plants species available to agriculture are used today. Our concentration of artificial value of forests has reduced the size.
- Worlds food supply depends on about 150-200 plant species. Of those 150- 200, just 12 provide three-quarters of the world’s food.
- Lack of research and development and non-understanding medicinal value of forests produce as only about only 2% could be discovered.
- Non-recognition of tribal traditional ayurvedic medicinal knowledge. Nearly 60% of urban population takes medicines for some or other reasons as compared to 15-20% in tribal community. This is due to environmental disaster but has less effect on tribes as they live in forest in natural environment.
- Also, system of modern education has played very important role to ignore rural development and our old tradition and culture thus their traditional crafts are in extinction.
- In order to save our historical identity and culture, rehabilitation programs for tribal population need to be instated; local governments have to take important steps like protective forestation to give habitats conducive to the tribal.