The Scheduled tribes are at the lowest strata of the Indian society. For generations, most of them tribes were neglected by the rest of the Nation. Since Independence, however, the development of tribes has occupied the attention of the central and State government in India but even could draw the attention of many individuals and organisations to render valuable services to their cause. These non-governmental and the business sector. They represent independent, autonomous and not profit-seeking organisations of the country. They on social and sense of commitment and concern that the profit-seeking business sector does not much care for.
Role of NGOs
The prime objective of public cooperation is to enhance the reach of welfare schemes of Government and fill the gaps in service deficient tribal areas in sectors such as education, health, sanitation, drinking water, agro-horticultural productivity, social security, etc., through the efforts of Voluntary Organizations
(VOs) and Non – Governmental Organizations (NGOs), and to provide an environment for socio economic upliftment and overall development of the Scheduled Tribes (STs). Any other innovative activity having direct impact on the socio-economic development or livelihood generation of STs may also be
taken up through partnership with VOs/NGOs. While the ultimate objective is delivery of services to remote and unreached tribal areas, the standard of services provided is equally important. Each partner VO/NGO is, therefore, expected to strive towards delivery of quality services The NGOs concentrate on diverse issues of contemporary importance like ecology, human rights, women empowerment, tribal development and so on. They mobilize the people and encourage them to raise their voice against arbitrary government policies. The increased visibility of the NGOs is synchronized with the growing role of the civil society as well. The duo has generated a new equation in the development perspective. Some NGOs implement concrete development activities while others play the role of conscientization, sensitization, promoting awareness of the people’s rights and justice. Some try to replicate one programme, which has been successful in one area to another while some NGOs prefer to experiment and come up with new programmes. It is seen that the NGOs are renowned for their flexibility, enterprise, spirit of public action, expertise and capable of bringing about development in a decentralized manner. In comparison to government, GOs are in a relatively better position to personalize the provision of services they offer to the people. Flexibility in approach helps NGOs invent appropriate solutions to the issues they handle. They can adjust to the need of the clients. Moreover, the small size is advantageous, for it gives the NGOs the capacity for innovations rarely seen in government and business. Since the constituencies of NGOs are smaller, they can define their positions clearly, press for innovative solutions, and experiment in ways governments may not find it easy to do. The NGO is’ the bed hub of new ideas and techniques play an important agent in the process of nation building. They serve as an institutional mechanism for channelling the initiatives, enthusiasm and resources of the grassroots people in the development process. The NGOs play a significant role of catalysts of social change, educators, informers, enablers, project planners, administrators, experimenters, innovators, awareness builders, motivators, impact evaluators, harbingers of silent revolution, national instructors, conscientizers, and a friend, philosopher and guide of the weak, poor and downtrodden.
They are excellent, inexpensive trouble-shooters who are armed with robust information. Moreover, the micro-level operations help the NGO to tailor services to the needs of the beneficiaries. NGOs at grassroot level employ different strategies for creating awareness among ·the target population and earn their support. The support of the concerned local people helps to implement their policies in an effective way and make them aware of several bottlenecks, which they might face in the course of implementation.
In order to create a rapport with the target group and a conducive environment of working, the NGOs often organize street plays, cultural shows, puppet shows, use folk and popular songs, audio-visual shows, debates on relevant themes in schools, panchayat bodies and local institutions, arrange workshops and earn support from the media.
All these awareness and confidence building mechanisms brings the local people and the NGOs in a face-to-face interaction and generates a good deal of enthusiasm among the people as they too can come up with their suggestions and solutions for any given problem. Their traditional knowledge, wisdom and expertise are harnessed by the NGOs to a significant extent. The potential of creative talent in them facilitates a necessary opportunity to design, experiment with, and amend their strategies to suit the needs of the people for whom the programs are intended. An approach characterized by informal, personal and human elements enhances the quality of service they render. This has been a universal feature of NGO all over the world.
The government identified certain areas where the voluntary organizations might work. The areas were forestry and formation of renewable energy association at the block level, family welfare, health and nutrition, education, organizing community programmes, implementing social welfare programmes
for weaker sections, minimum needs programme, disaster management, promotion of ecology, tribal development, environmental protection etc.
Tribal Development
The inability as well as the failure of the government provides the NGO a fertile ground to work upon.
The role of the Voluntary or Non-Governmental Organization, with their local roots and sense of service has become increasingly important in the arena of the development of the tribals in our country. The NGOs can contribute to the tribals on a positive note in the field of education, health, employment generation, livelihood security, relief and rehabilitation, activism, protecting their tradition, art, culture, environment etc. They try to protect the indigenous knowledge base of the tribals, which are either ignored or exploited. We all know that the tribals have keys to the biologically diverse areas. The tribal homeland is the hub of natural resources like oil, minerals, silvicultural and other biotic objects, which are the important factors of production. These hubs make the tribal and indigenous territories targets of the greed of the global hegemons and their compradors that are extending their tentacles to squeeze the resources as much as possible. The globalized economy has depleted the resources beyond repair. The tribal territories have become arenas of the global ‘free’ market economy and there is a gradual process of monopolization of resources by the dominant economic forces. This exploitation has alarmed the tribal and indigenous elites, tribal leaders and a large number of tribal commoners who are conscious of this emerging global scenario and getting agitated by the same. The rise of such political consciousness among the marginalised socio-political category that constitutes four percent of the global population has a considerable implication for the geo-politics of the 21st century. Moreover, the invasion of tribal areas by Multinational Corporations were accompanied by migrant populations, big townships, tertiary sectors like trade and related activities, new forms of economic activity, large scale destruction which displaced and pushed the tribals into fringes. The tribals have thus become unskilled labour like construction work, dams, service, vending etc. Dispossession of age-old right to access, control, manage resources, marginalization in the decision-making process creates enormous problems for the tribals which can be taken care by these NonGovernmental Organizations to a considerable extent.
Secondly, by collaborating with the Government, Donor agencies and local beneficiaries, the NGOs can play a very important role in making an impact on policy making and change at the micro, meso and macro level. The public policy is a combination of goals, laws, rules which are formulated by the key decision makers. If the NGOs press for any cause to a tantalizing effect aJ\d gather a support from the public and the key stakeholders then the policy makers are bow1d to react and keep the specific issue to the fore. Thirdly, the NGOs in India can struggle and launch a crusade for upholding of human rights and the establishment of a society based on justice and social equity.
Fourthly, the NGOs can play a crucial role in documenting tribal knowledge, language and culture. The tribals have profound knowledge of the flora and fauna/ the appropriate plant species with medical purpose, their location, parts to be used, or time of collection, preparation and administration of the same. The knowledge of ethno-medicine is very important for their existence. Moreover, there is a growing inclination all over the world for herbal drugs, nature-based products instead of synthetic ones. But there are certain threats to this indigenous asset of the tribals. Deforestation, environmental degradation, lack of initiative of the younger generation to learn and adopt the medical practices of the tribal medicine men known as ‘Dishari’, lack of proper dissemination and transmission of knowledge, piracy of knowledge are some of them. The healing traditions and techniques are transmitted orally from generation to generation which means that slowly but steadily some part of it may be forgotten for good. Here the GOs can play a very important role in documenting such important knowledge base for protecting the knowledge of the tribals in the form of community knowledge register. This is the most difficult and intellectually challenging task as it involves gearing the support of the knowledgeable people, village elders, tribal chiefs, traditional health practitioners and seeking their cooperation. The participation and support of local communities are considered essential in these programmes. The data should be catalogued and analysed in such a way that the communities that provide information should receive benefits from any commercial use of the community. Good planning depends on good data. The most important of all is that the communities should have complete control over the process and they should have the right to access the register. Fifthly, the NGOs invest time to build awareness within the local community regarding their rights and entitlements provided by the government, facilitate people’s access to those rights and also put forward grievances when their entitlements are not met with. The NGOs strengthen village committees by providing them with trainings, workshops, capacity building, leadership skill development and many other practical supports. Hence, all these are the most significant roles that the NGOs can perform for the development of the tribals. Therefore, increasing participation of the voluntary organizations in nation and society building is not only desirable but also crucial. However, although the government acknowledges the contribution of the NGO to the cause of development and admits its own limitation in terms of manpower and other resources, it looks at the activities of the NGO sector with suspicion and mistrust.
The government accepts that the presence and activities of the Voluntary organizations are not uniform throughout the country. In addition to that, there are certain spheres of activities and areas of action that attract greater participation by voluntary organizations. The disparity in presence and action results in a lopsided development of the region and the community. Hence, the government encourages the voluntary sector to work in those areas, which are neglected and have been comparatively drawn little attention in the panorama of development.
Advantages of NGOs
✓ Innovative
✓ Informal
✓ Flexibility
✓ Filling gaps
✓ Service orientation
Issues of NGOs
✓ Continuity of service
✓ Organising and training
✓ Finance
✓ Coordination with government
✓ Accountability and transparency
✓ Support to tribal movements
✓ Limited area
Objectives of voluntary agencies
Whatever the nature of voluntary agencies may be, they play a key role in the upliftment of the weaker sections of the society. The objectives of voluntary or non-governmental agencies include some or all of the following:
- (i) to create awareness regarding participation in socio-economic development,
- (ii) to create and able and efficient local leadership,
- (iii) to assist in the planned efforts to create socio-economic infrastructural facilities,
- (iv) to facilitate the process of expanding employment opportunities,
- (v) to induce appropriate persons to set up small scale productions, units and
- (vi) to induce the tribals to give up the pre-agricultural technology and to seek more and more education.
Christian missionaries.
The Christian missionaries of various denomination may be the oldest among the various agencies responsible for the development of tribals. They have been active in almost all parts of tribal India. The old Christians of Malabar Coast trace their conversion to Apostle Thomas as early as the first century A.D. Its real expansion began in south Indian with the arrival of St. Francis Xavier in 1541. in Chotanagpur, The Lutheran Mission started its activities as early as 1845 under the guidance of Father Gossner. They were exclusively interested in preaching of the Gospel and at least their early history in Chotanagpur comprises primarily of evangelistic campaign Since then, the missionaries have been active in Tribal India. They have also been primarily keen in evangelisation. Still, welfare work-educational, economic, hygienic and social-called work of mercy invariably followed. The missionaries also realised the importance of understanding the tribal culture and their language in order to communicate with them effectively in carrying out both types of workspiritual and material Elwin commented that the missionaries were anxious to see the primitives become civilised, their inferior social customs and ideas eliminated and their identify assimilated into the Christian Church (Elwin, 1968: 125). The above analysis reveals their feelings of cultural and religious superiority. By way of conversion and assimilation, they were responsible for disturbing their cultural integration and inculcating feelings of inferiority among the aboriginals. But, it was true that after the entry of the missionaries into the isolated and inaccessible tribal areas in the remote hills, a cultural contact between the primitive people and the Plainsmen could be established and the government started paying some attention to these tribals.
Missionaries, after coming to this country, started to evangelise the people specially those of the lower rungs but their work in the field of conversion remained localised. They faced stiff opposition from a formidable section of the society. Even their welfare activities were looked with fear and suspicion by the Hindus. Soon, the missionaries realised that the untouchables and aboriginals could provide a better field for their philanthropic activities. They anticipated less or no opposition from the caste Hindus who were not in a position to accept anything from outside and who regarded the tribals as outside the pale of Hinduism (Sahay, 1984:2892-319). Panikar holds that when their failure with the higher classes of the people became more and more evident, they diverted their activities to the conversion of these low communities of the Indian population (Panikar, 1984:291).
Whatever maybe the motive behind proselytization of the Indian tribals, the welfare activities of the missionaries have gone a long way in advancing and educating the mountain and forest dwellers or one-time forgotten people. The intensity of their voluntary services can be traced out in the tribal belts of Assam, Orissa, Bihar, and Madhya Pradesh. Various welfare schemes such as opening of schools, dispensaries, hospitals comforts to the people were undertaken by the Christian missionaries for improving their social and economic conditions. Sahay holds that such welfare activities, popularly known as work of mercy were considered as an inseparable part of the evangelisation and then they must be carried together even if this approach has attracted criticism from different sections of the non-Christians (Sahay, op. cit: 315).
Missionaries activities had been a subject of both criticism and admiration. They had created a strong sense of dissatisfaction among some sections of nonChristians. That is why the Niyogi Committee was set up by the Madhya Pradesh Government in 1954 to investigate the allegation that Christian missionaries converted the tribals either forcibly or through fraud and temptations of monetary and other gain. Srinivas had also stated that the opening of the schools, hospitals, and other welfare agencies by the missionaries in the areas where Harijans and other tribals lived, appear to the Hindus as only baits in the trap of conversion. The linking up of humanitarianism with proselytization had made the former suspect (Srinivas, 1962:107) Looking into the above analysis on missionaries’ activities, it may be suggested that in order to make their development activities in both the spiritual and material sphere, they should carry on their welfare services and religious propagation separately. There is nothing wrong in conversion if it happened out of strong will of the tribals to embrace a new faith. Besides Christians missionaries, there were many other voluntary organisations working for the tribals cause.
Adimjati Seva Mandal
A Seva Kendra was started in the isolated tribal sub divisional town of Gumla of Ranchi district as early as 1940. Mahatma Gandhi was the inspiring leader of the Kendra. Initially, the running of the night school and the production of Khadi were met by the Kendra. The colonial government imprisoned the freedom fighters who were the Kendras workers till 1945. Then again Rajendra Babu and Narayanjee established a new centre in the shape of an ashram at village Phori about 13 miles away from Gumla. Besides Khadi production, the distribution of medicines to the patients, village cleanliness and training programmes were the expanded activities of the Ashram. With the expansion of the programmes, Seva Kendra was renamed as Adimjati Seva Mandal in 1946. the Mandal spread its programmes of tribal welfare in the different parts of tribal belts of Chotanagpur. The Mandal formulated two categories of programmes: the first to implement plans on tribal education and the second to encourage the scheme of Khadi production, cottage industries, distribution of Ayurvedic medicines and to form the Gram Panchayat and Co-operative Societies. The tribal boys and girls from the illiterate families needed additional incentives for their education. Residential schools and hostels for them ere established by the Mandal. Under
the influence of Gandhian economy the Mandal established Khadi centres, centre for paddy- husking and oil pressing, bee-keeping, distribution of Ayurvedic medicines and also carried on a crusade against alcoholism. Thus, the Mandal functioned not only as a serving agency for ameliorating social and economic conditions of the tribals but also improved the general quality of life( Vidyarthi, 1978:651-660)
Bharatiya Adimjati Sevak Sangh
A federation of non-official agencies for doing tribal welfare work in different parts of the country was called Bharatiya Adimjati Sevak Sangh. It was started in 1948 under the president ship of Dr. Rajendra Prasad. These organisations began to publish newsletters, magazines, pamphlets and books dealing with tribal people, their problems and the welfare activities among them. In the administrative committees and conferences on tribal problems the social welfare workers acted as experts. They also represented the government in national and international conferences on tribal problems (Vidyarthi, 1968: 124- 125).
Ramakrishna Mission Ashrams
Sri Ramakrishna’s message, “To serve Jiva is to serve Shiva”, inspired Swami Vivekananda to form an association, Ramakrishna Mission which is engaged in the worship of God in man through various activities, such as relief and rehabilitation, medical services, educational work, work in rural and tribal areas, etc. Ramakrishna Mission Ashram, Puri, is running a Student’s Home for the students belonging to Scheduled Castes/Tribes. It provides the inmates type writing training special coaching in studies, practical demonstration in cattle rearing, etc. The Ramakrishna Mission Ashram, Ranchi is running Divyayan (meaning the Divine way) which was started in 1969 with a three-fold objective: economic, social and spiritual. It works at the grass root levels. It has now grown into full-fledged training institute with a poultry, a dairy, a three-storeyed hostel, a separate carpentry section, etc. most of its beneficiaries belong to the backward communities of Chotanagpur. Since Divyayan is imparting skill oriented training to the grass roots level farmers, the Indian Council of Agricultural Research had recognised it as a Krishi Vigyan Kendra since 1977. Ramakrishna Mission Ashram, Cherrapunji was assisted by the Government of India for maintenance of technical, middle, primary and J.B. schools for the uplift of the tribals living in the remote areas of Meghalaya. Under the Dairy and Poultry Farming Scheme, the Ashram is imparting training in modern dairy and poultry farming to the tribal youth (ibid).
Thus, these institutions have been directing their energies towards the economic progress and educational development of the tribes. The development of the tribal communities in India socially, economically, culturally and educationally is the main concern of the different voluntary agencies working for their cause. Whereas the administrative system in a highly responsible and responsive democratic government is impersonal in character by its very nature, the voluntary agencies provide the personal touch to the people in need and through this personal touch utilize the latent energies of the masses into fruitful channels of their development.