SOCIAL CHANGE AMONG THE TRIBES – Anthropology by K.V RAMESH

Introduction:

N.K. Bose (1946) K. Suresh Singh(2001) S.C. Dube (1977), L.P.Vidyarthi 1977), S.R.Sharma, (1999), Surjisinha (1962), F.G. Bailey (1960) Roy Burman (1970) Peter Gardner (1972-1978) Mandel Baum (1975) and so on studied the problem of social change among the tribes they traced the roots of social change among the tribes to the Pre British period, major social cultural changes social change in post independent India

During the Pre-colonial period

During the pre-British days, the tribal societies have been leading the existence of total isolation (geographical and cultural) from the centres of Indian civilization. The presence of Antha Mahamatya during Mauryam period reveals that the polity had contacts of the adivasis towards the large Hindus following their customs and traditions including their animistic beliefs. According to Suresh Singh three major trends were visible during precolonial period according to him

1) The first was colonisation and establishment of settlements by peasant castes who were encouraged by the Mughal rules and zamindars to reclaim lands and offered various incentives for this purpose or by other categories of immigrants. Trade and strategic routes passing through the jungle regions acquired a new significance. The Jharkhand and Gondwana emerged as historical regions in the medieval period.
2) Secondly tribes such as Bhils, Meena, Kols and Gonds were recognised as dominant tribal societies by the Mughal empire
3) Thirdly was the rise of state either out of the tribal matrix as in the case of Gond as a result of the imposition on the tribal system of the authority of Rajputs and other cases which established their power in the highlands of Orissa central India, Gujarat and Rajasthan. A crucial precondition of the formation of state in middle Indian was the extenction of cultivation through the reclamation of land and the introduction of new agricultural technology by the peasants from the plains. In this context the Gond chiefs encouraged the settlements of non-tribal peasant communities such as Kurmi, Hori , Kunbi who with their superior agricultural technology alone could generate the agricultural surpluses that the new states require. Thus, a new mode of production emerged. The new states
acted as the agents of Sanskritization. They also strengthened the sense of tribal identity. State formation stimulated commercial activities, developed trade routes and promoted small state urbanism. A variety of castes ranging generous of land to the artisan communities hooked to the new fort cities. All in all, a complex socio-economic system had emerged in certain parts of tribal societies in middle India before the colonial system was established there.

Colonial period

F.G Bailey (1960), Surjit Singh (1962) N.K Bose (1946) and several others identified the powerful forces of change released for the first time into the tribal societies during the British period. The most apparent aspect is

1) The extension of authority of the state to the forest regions largely inhabited by the tribal populations,
2) Breakdown of isolation of tribes
3) Breakdown of communal mode of production
4) Appearance of minor and major tribal uprisings

Peter Gardner also studied the effects of these changes on individual tribes in Meghalaya , in west Bengal, Orissa, Nilgiri hills and southern social changes which took place among the tribes of central, eastern, north- eastern, western and south Indian tribes.

According to S.R. Sharma (1999) with the established of colonial rule

a) The relative isolation of most of the tribal societies in India came to an end
b) Old forms of social control and agencies of social change were revised
c) New forms of commercialization began: – Land became private property. The colonial rule initiated commercial station of production, consumerism and money or cash economy to precisely server their explicatory interest. The state power played a decisive role in determining the future of the people. As a result, the self-contained subsistence economy based on agriculture and forest produce was weakened and destroyed.
d) The customary law of tribal groups was replaced by the new law of the centralised state power during the British rule and this continued even after that the new law operated through its administrative and Judicial organs helped the process of Hinduization to some extent this process progressed in proportion to the urbanisation and trans formation into capitalist feature of the colonial period was the breakdown of communal mode of production and the emergence of private right in the land. A further stage in the penetration of tribal economy by market the traditional form of barter system of tribes took to commodity production on a limited scale even the most primitive economies came gradually at within the operation of market system with the market came the middle man merchants and money lenders. Here the concept of Dikku (aliens) becomes crucial to the understanding of agrarian relations. A Dikku was the creature of the colonial system he performed a variety of functions as a middle man in administrative matters as a money lender as a trader who controlled production of food grain through the system of advanced credit and as a land grabber
e) The process of peasentisation and depeasentisation operated at the same time. In this regard several tribals who were not peasants came into the fold of peasantry while a number of tribals after losing their land entered into a different economic system. Substantial sectors of tribes from middle India such as Santhals, Oraons and Mundas had to migrate to the plantations of Assam and the adjoining areas, while others became industrial labour share croppers etc
f) In tribal markets: – Also had undergone some changes because if the activities undertaken by the British govt in tribal areas. In tribal tracts inter-tribal markets were of socio- cultural importance. They served as the placed not only for economic transactions but also as non-economic activities. With the entry of market forces and creation of demand for commodities manufacture by the outsiders the traditional tribal markets either declined or were transformed into places of formal economic exchange and activities profit making had never been dominant value in tribal economy rather reciprocity, redistribution and co-operation were the bases of the traditional tribal economy all these values were eroded The tribals’ society had started moving closer and closer to the peasant or caste stratified system this had strengthened the role of Sanskritization several tribes in middle India unitedly moved towards the varna system and adopted Kshatriya modes of Sanskritization because it was the easiest and the most popular process the Santhals and the Gonds are the most obvious example of this process
g) There was change in the religious realm also the role of Christianity as an agent of change also deserves some discussion mainly in the northeast regions as well as pockets of tribals in M.P. Bihar Christianity is the earliest agency of welfare in a number of tribal areas the modernising role of christen missions is also an important feature of social change in those tribal areas where it had a deep impact. But unfortunately there always existed a close link between Christianity and colonial administration at the political level the missionaries in close collaboration with the colonial administrations rationalised, the British rules and sought to create a new bastion of Indian in the initial phases the missionary activities were disruptive of the tribal system evangelisation was inherently ethnocentric. The missionary imposed puritanical ethic on the permissive tribal society even though social questions markedly varied depending on the exigencies in the north eastern region and middle Indian they (Missionaries mainly worked on the tribes and elsewhere on non-tribal communities mainly in the lower social strata of Hindus and Muslims under the impact of Christianity a number of values and institution of tribes declined obviously the missionaries wanted the same time the Christianity gave a new sense of self respect to the tribal peasants and sough to create a separate identity for them h) Another dimension of social changed among the tribals during the British period is the role of tribal movements. Many tribes reacted to the change brought about by the British in a variety of ways. As the tribals live in relative isolation for a long time they were able to develop their own social structure and mechanism of imposition of forest policy and the entry of non-tribals created large number of socio-economic problem as a consequence revolt against the administration.

According to K.S Singh the first phase (1795-1860) coincided with the rise expansion and establishment of the British Empire these were the primary resistance movements. Traditional tribal chiefs and their subordinates lead them the main reason for stating the movements was land alienation and loss of occupation. The chuar rebellion the uprisings of chorus the Kol and Bhumij insurrections the resistance offered by Gond Zamindars Khond tribals and the Santhals insurrection were example of these movements the second phase (1860-1920) coincided with the intensive phase of colonialism it saw a much deeper penetration of tribal and peasant economies. By merchant capital higher incidence of rent all gains registered during the first phase of the movements were washed away all those non-tribals who were expelled came back and settled at the same time many more also came intensifying the exploitation of tribes unlike the peasants the tribal movements develop a religious and political overtone. The tribals took a critical view of their failure of the first phase of movements on the basis of the introspection they sought to restructure the entire social system. This was the beginning of revitalisation movements the Munda , Oraon, Santhal movement the Tana Bhagat movements The Bhil movement led by Govind giri are the examples of this phase they involved participation of the tribes in the national and agrarian movements in Chotanagpur. They also reflected a deep sense of pride in tribal cultures several followers of Mahatma Gandhi sprang up among the Bhils, Gonds Ho’s, or cons Mundas and Santhals they also coincided with the politicisation of the tribes bringing them into the main stream of nation politics and political process. Both the phases of the tribal movements were anti colonial, anti Dikkus and pro ethnic. The tribal movements of the colonial period.

Post-Independent period

A number of Anthropologists like Majumdar (1947) Elvin (1943) S.C Dube (1960). The tribal welfare committee (1952) Roy Burman (1971) and L.P. Vidyarthi (1977) studied social change among the Indian tribes their exercise was largely in terms of the orientation of the contact with mainstream society.
Majumdar identified three classes of primitives on the basis of the degree of social change among them thus he identifies

1) Primitive tribes outside the pale of Hindu influence the so called real primitives eg:- Andaman Islands, Birhors, Juangs
2) Primitive tribes which have adopted Hindu customs beliefs and practices and which have shown a degree of association with the Hindu caste and have attained some cultural progress, through they are not recognised as forming prominent castes and Santhals Oraons, Mundas
3) Primitive tribes who are Hinduised but maintain social distance from the clean castes, though some of them are in distinguishable from the inferior ranks of the casts order eg: Gonds, Bhumijas, Bhils Majumdar agrees that is hardly any tribal community, which is out of contact, and there he emphasises the assimilation adaptation acculturation symbiosis operating among the tribals and between the tribals and Hindus

While talking of external influence on tribal life Elwin (1943) gives a fourfold classification tribes

1) Those who one most primitive live a joint communal life and cultrate with axes.
2) Those who, though equally attached to their solitude and ancient traditions are more individualistic less occupied with axe cultivation more used to outside life and generally less simple than the first group.
3) Those the most numerous, probably twenty million who are under external influence and are already on the way to lose their tribal culture religion and social organisation
4) Tribes like the Bhil and the Naga which retain much of their original tribal life and tree of culture intact

The tribal welfare committee constituted by the Indian conference of social work in 1952 divided the tribes of India into four main divisions. These are as follows:

a) Tribal communities: – tribals who confined themselves to original habitats and still distinctive in pattern of life. Examples: – Andaman islanders, Birhor, Chenchu and Juang
b) Semi tribal communities: Tribal who have more or less settled down in rural areas take into agriculture and other allied occupations, Example: Koli (Maharashtra), Baiga, Pradhan, Yanadi, Yerukala.
c) Acculturated tribal communities: Tribals who have migrated to urban and semi-urban areas areas and are engaged in modern occupations in industries rest of the population. Example: – urban of the Tribals in the townships emerged out of the impact of industrialisation in tribal areas like Ranchi, Bhilai, Jamshedpur, Rurkela, Kothagudem etc., then those people who migrated to Assam and working in tea gardens ex: Santhals, Mundas, Oraon’s, Ho’s etc.,
d) Totally assimilated tribes: example Gonds, Bhils, Banjaras, Cheru, Bhumij.

L. P. Vidyarthi (1977): classified the Indian tribals into five categories on the basis of the degree of social change in terms of Hinduisation, extent influence, culture contact, etc. these are as follows:

1) Distinct tribal communities living in highly hunting isolated regions. These are the forest hunting tribes and the hill cultivators. The forest hunters include Birhors, Korwas, Kadars, Cholanayagan etc., the hill cultivators include Maler, hill Khara, the Khond, the Asur (Jharkhand)
2) Rural tribes who are living in rural areas and are dependent on agricultural and other allied occupations. Examples: – Santhals, Munda, Ho, Oraon, Gond, Bhils, Mundas.
3) Semi acculturated tribals who have successfully blended their own cultural traditions with etc., neighbouring people these are:
- a) The tribes living in mixed villages.
- b) They depend very much on tribals as well as non-tribals
- c) These belong to simple artisan and folk artist type. Example is Karmali, Lohar, Gondalia Lohars, Mahalis the Nats (U.P), Pradhans (M.P, Chattisgarh, and A.P)
4) Acculturated tribals: who have adopted modern occupations in urban and industrial fields and have mixed to a great extent to the rest of the population. These are the industrial labourers and urban workers. No particular tribe comes under this category but that to those who work in the town area as office goes and traders come under this category.
5) Totally assimilated tribals who have acquired a place in the Hindu caste ladder for example: the Bhumij, the Majhir, the Khasas and the Raj Gonds come under this category.

Conclusion:

Social change can be summarised in three dimensions

Socio-Cultural

1. Sanskritization and assumption of caste, rituals etc. The contact with Hindus has led to assumption of Hindu values and rituals by the tribals. Various higher caste groups were models for this social mobility.
2. Marriage: a) Decline of Polygyny and polyandry b) Type of acquiring spouse c) Rituals of marriage d) Premarital sex and Extra marital affairs e) Marriage payments replacement of bride price with dowry.
3. Value system: The tribal values in terms of beliefs, rituals, ideas, practices and customs are increasingly modified due to the onslaught of mainstream culture.
4. Locality and residence: Tribals have been moving into rural and urban areas in search of livelihood.
5. Status of women: Traditionally women in tribal societies enjoy equal status with men. However, the urbanization, Sanskritization has reduced the position of women vis-à-vis men. There are cases of rise in dowry, female infanticide
6. Youth dormitories: They have been on a downward path due to ✓ Spread of Christianity and the spread of Victorian era ethics ✓ Hindu missionaries burnt them because they thought they were places for ‘immoral sex’ ✓ The Maoists also did not like them and ordered their girls to get back home after dinner.
7. Cultural festivals and tribal religion
8. Language: Currently around 8.2 %of Indian population speaks in tribal languages. However, these tribal languages are slowly on a decline due to the cultural invasion of the mainland societies and of the westernisation. At least 6 tribal languages are severely endangered, 42 are critically endangered and five languages have already become extinct.
9. Cultural aspects: Cultural aspects like food, dressing, folklore, myths, customs and traditions are endangered due to the enculturation of cultural aspects from the mainstream society.
10. Breakdown of communal living and homogeneity: Tribes have been living a communal living with all the members doing various activities in a group. This gave a strong sense of support to an individual to cope up with various pressures of life. Changes in occupation, migration, rise of private property and privacy concerns has led to a fall in communal lifestyle of the tribals.
11. Mahua drinking and alcoholism: Consumption of alcohol is a part of social rituals in many tribal communities. At the national level, it is noted that about half of Scheduled Tribe men (51 percent) consume some form of alcohol. The prevalence of alcohol consumption was found to be much lower among non-Scheduled Tribe men (30 percent). Therefore, such a pattern of drinking alcohol among Scheduled Tribe men is bound to have negative effect on their health. The estimated prevalence among Scheduled Tribes is found to be higher in the eastern states like Assam (70 percent), West Bengal (70 percent), Odisha (69 percent), Chhattisgarh (67 percent), Jharkhand (67 percent) followed by Arunachal Pradesh (66 percent) and Andhra Pradesh (66 percent). On the other hand, states like Himachal Pradesh, Maharashtra, Gujarat, and Rajasthan show relatively lower prevalence of alcohol consumption (around 30 percent). In a few exceptional cases like Sikkim, Manipur, West Bengal, Maharashtra and Goa, a higher proportion of urban Scheduled Tribe men drink alcohol as compared to their rural counterparts. Mahua drinking is one of the cultural elements. However, the excise laws prohibit manufacturing of mahua even for personal consumption. The entry of Indian made foreign liquor and opening of licensed shops have made it easy to acquire alcohol. This slowly led to alcohol addiction.
12. Shifting cultivation: Shifting cultivation has been practised by tribes both as a cultural as well as survival practice. The rising population and the detrimental effects of shifting cultivation has forced the government to take steps to wean away the tribals from the dependence on this practice.
13. Tribal art: Tribal art is on a path of decline with little demand from the traditional dependent groups. Moreover, the onslaught of the mainstream goods have further reduced their significance. But in recent years commodification of tribal art has been taken up by various NGOs and art enthusiasts.
14. Sacred groves: Sacred groves of India are forest fragments of varying sizes, which are communally protected, and which usually have a significant religious connotation for the protecting community. Hunting and logging are usually strictly prohibited within these patches. Other forms of forest usage like honey collection and deadwood collection are sometimes allowed on a sustainable basis. Threats to the grove include urbanization, over-exploitation of resources (like overgrazing and excessive firewood collection), and environmental destruction due to religious practices.

Economic

1. Self-reliance to state dependent: Tribes, over generations have adapted to the nature and have a self-reliant economy. However, in due course of time, they have transformed into a poor community continuously requiring state assistance.
2. Barter to market: Barter exchange is the major means of exchange of goods between tribes and the mainstream society. However, this is slowly replaced by the market system with profit as the motive.
3. Land as a private property: Tribes usually do not have the notion of private property. All the land or forest that is used for food gathering, production or grazing is communally owned. But in recent days, the notion of private property is on rise. The demand for land and the shift in occupation to agriculture has raised the demand for land.
4. Migration for employment: The literacy rate of tribes in India is quite less and has led to the under development of these groups. The people are either unemployed or underemployed. They are in search of jobs which can keep them employed throughout the year. They need to be helped in developing secondary source of income. Tribal people suffer predominantly from the phenomenon of poverty–induced migration because of rain-fed agriculture and absence of other avenues of employment. Fragmentation of land, loss of land due to acquisition and illegal land alienation by non-tribals also cause people to migrate. Deforestation and decreasing access to forests and drought are other contributory factors for tribal migration. Due to compulsion involved in migrating in search of livelihood, it would be more accurate to describe such migration as ‘forced migration’.
5. Poverty and Indebtedness: The tribal people are economically one of the most backward communities in the country. According to the reports of Lakdawala committee and Tendulkar committee for the year 2004-2005 27.5% and 37.2% of scheduled tribes population respectively comes under below poverty line. These people are often exploited at the hands of outsiders, landlords and money lenders due to their innocence and illiteracy. The British policies exploited the tribes to the core by benefitting the zamindars, money lenders, forest contractors and revenue officials. The tribes have been involved in the agriculture of the crudest type since ages. Their participation in tertiary and secondary sector is negligible. Due to the lack of resources and uneconomical land holdings this practice has proved to be futile for them. Many times their land holdings are transferred to the non tribal people and despite their continuous demand for the return of their land they are left empty handed. The demands of the tribes are suppressed by the authorities and they have to lead a life of poverty. Due to the lack of banking facilities in the tribal areas tribes have to depend on money lenders who exploit them by charging high rate of interest on the loans they provide to the tribal people. The tribes suffer indebtedness due to exorbitantly high rate of interest and often it leads to dispossession of land. Land alienation is the major cause of indebtedness, also family income and social compulsions lead to it. Indebtedness on account of religious and social obligations and expenses on litigation, medical treatment and alcoholism has further accentuated the problem of tribals. The poverty-stricken tribes due to the lack of employment opportunities agree to work as bonded labourers in agriculture sector, brick kilns, stone queries, power looms and hand looms. They are irregularly paid and are made bonded without workplace protection.
6. Bonded labour: Though the main causes of origin, growth and perpetuation of bonded labour system are economic, the social and religious factors to support the custom. The economic causes include: extreme poverty of people, inability to find work for livelihood, inadequate size of the landholdings to support family, lack of alternative small-scale loans for the rural and urban poor, natural calamities like drought, floods etc., destruction of men ‘animals,
absence of rains, drying away of wells, meagre income from forest produce, and inflation and constant rising prices. The social factors include: High expenses on occasions like marriage, death, feast, birth of a child, etc., leading to heavy debts, caste-based discrimination, lack of concrete social welfare schemes to safeguard against hunger and illness, non- compulsory and unequal educational system, and indifference and corruption among government officials. Sometimes, exploitation by some persons in a village also compels people to migrate to some other place and seek not only employment on the employer’s conditions but also get protection from influential persons. Religious arguments are used to con-vince the people of low castes that religion enjoins upon them to serve people of high castes. Illiteracy, ignorance, immaturity and lack of skill and professional training sustain such beliefs. Broadly speaking, it may be maintained that bondage originates mainly from economic and social pressures
7. Land alienation: Land is an important asset in the tribal economy. Alienation of land of tribal communities and loss of rights to Common Property Resources, mainly forests and large-scale displacement and enforced migration takes place in following ways: a. Development-induced displacement by acquisition of land by the State based on principle of ‘eminent domain’ for ‘public purpose’ without a ‘land for land’ provision for rehabilitation. Acquisition by the State for development projects also leads to alienation of land and displacement due to environmental pollution and damage to land in the area near projects but tribal people so displaced are not entitled to any compensation. b. Illegal land alienation takes place due to participation of revenue functionaries and officials, and incorrect interpretation of laws, manipulation of records and permission accorded to alienate land. State Laws are amended to include provisions that facilitate land alienation of tribal communities. c. Community land of tribal communities is recorded as Government land in survey and settlement operations and most State tenancy laws recognize only individually owned registered land. Such lands have not been fully surveyed and there is no record of user practices, which would be shown as Government land. d. State action of acquiring tribal lands for settling refugees has resulted in land alienation and displacement. There is also encroachment of tribal land by immigrants. e. Creation of National Parks have resulted in alienation of rights and consequent displacement and forced migration of tribal people. f. Conflicts in the Northeast have resulted in tribal people losing everything and being displaced from their home ground.
8. Forest produce : Tribals used forest produce for personal consumption and for exchange of agricultural goods with the villagers. The forest laws restrict access of minor forest produce to tribals. This has brought the tribals in conflict with law. The MFP that has been collected by the tribals are bought by the mainstream business men at very low prices.
9 Entry of money : Tribals for a very long time used barter system of exchange to fulfil their needs. The contact with mainstream society has led to the replacement of barter with market system. The poor earning capacity and lack of negotiating ability has led to exploitation and impoverishment of tribals.

Political

1. Traditional head of tribe: Tribal societies have a head of the tribe who decides over various issues. With the entry of democratic institutions, there is a clash between the tribal leader and the representative of the government.
2. Concept of crime and Law and justice system: Tribals usually do not have an established criminal justice system. There is no division of civil and criminal law. Every wrongdoing is dealt by the tribal group or by the head of the tribe. Means of oath, ordeals and other means are used for conflict resolution. Tribals have their own methods of resolution of conflict through mediation or negotiation. The modern judicial system is alien to them and not suited to their lifestyle. The inability of the tribals to comprehend laws has led to prolonged suffering.
4. Excise laws and Forest laws
The excise laws and forest laws have been framed without consideration of the tribal interests. Drinking of homemade alcohol in the form of mahua is a culturally significant for tribals. But excise laws prohibit such practices which also brings tribals in conflict with law. Forest laws establish that the government is the sole authority to protect he forests. Forest officials have been troubling tribals who venture into forests for collection of minor forest produce for consumption and sale. The forest rights act is a welcome step in the direction of recognition of rights of the tribals
5. National parks, sanctuaries : In recent years, India has captured international attention for both its high levels of threatened biodiversity as well as the cultural diversity amongst its people. In an attempt to preserve the nation’s forests and wildlife, the government has adopted the international notion that for nature to be conserved, it must remain pristine and uninhabited by humans. Unfortunately, this ideal has created an array of difficulties for the indigenous hill tribe people of the country, especially in the northeastern states. The Wildlife Protection Act, 1972 is a strong regulatory statute which restricts almost all activities inside Protected Areas. These include restrictions on entry to sanctuary (Section 27), removal of forest products including NTFPs (except for bonafide self consumption), regulation or prohibition of grazing or movement of livestock etc. This effectively exiles people living inside the Protected area from civilization, with restrictions on movement of goods and services. The Protected areas under the act such as National parks and wildlife sanctuaries threaten local villager’s traditional livelihoods by tearing them from their homes, denying them access to previously used resources, and preventing them from acquiring land for agriculture. It is not uncommon for this to have even further negative impacts on the villagers’ food stability, health and economy. In addition, government policies based on the assumption that people are incompatible with wilderness protection have created a hostile environment in which hill tribes’ relations with park management turn bitter and mutual cooperation for the environment’s sake is absent. Other issues with the govt. Such as, a) Non-recognition of rights over land in Survey and Settlement: This applies mainly to the practice of shifting cultivation, traditionally practiced by large number of tribal communities. b) Non-recognition of customary use : Most of the customary uses of the local inhabitants on forests (including other natural resources like water) have not been codified or recorded in any record of rights. c) Lack of up to date and proper settlements of land rights: Most of the sanctuaries are in the remote tribal areas. In most of these areas, only one round of Settlements have taken place. The current situation in terms of land tenure in these areas is highly confused, with a major discrepancy between formal tenure and informal land use. For eg., Mankidias and Khadias are the nomadic tribes who preferred to live inside the forest. Following the declaration of Simlipal Tiger Reserve they were assured of rehabilitation and resettlement, which is still under process even after years. Current discourse thus emphasizes the need to integrate conservation with community development by embracing a) rights-based approaches b) hill tribe participation c) co-management of parks d) economic incentives for the land’s protection. Though it is undeniable that conservation policies are essential for the survival of India’s precious biodiversity, protection strategies must incorporate indigenous rights in order to be successful in the implementation of conservation of biodiversity programmes.
6. Panchayat raj institutions
PESA was enacted to cover the “Scheduled areas”, which are not covered in the 73rd amendment or Panchayati Raj Act of the Indian Constitution. It was enacted on 24 December 1996 to enable Gram Sabhas to self-govern their natural resources. Implementation of PESA ensured that panchayats and gram sabhas would be benefited by way of ownership of resources and rights in the scheduled areas in true sense and help in realisation of selfreliance in the villages PESA Act helps in implementation of various provisions for selfrule for village communities in scheduled areas. The Act provides solution to many issues such as tribal land alienation, deprivation of rights on minor forest produce, lack of control of the residents over natural resources, lack of control over local plans and so forth.
7. Reservations
Reservations in political sphere has enabled tribals to situate themselves in the governance of the nation. Reservations has been provided for the tribals from the panchayat to the parliament level. Though tribals are elected to various positions in the government, the true power in terms of the influence they have over policies and decision making is worrying. Sometimes tribals are put up as proxy for the strong leader of the local dominant caste. In that scenario, though the elected is tribal, the true power remains with the leader of the local dominant caste.