Stating that the arming of tribals to fight exploitation and policing their protests have been responsible for their growing sense of alienation and isolation, the government has come out with a draft policy to uplift this marginalised section of the population

The Indian government has released a draft national policy on tribals to address the issue of developing this section of the population in "an integrated and holistic manner". For the first time since the formation of the Indian republic, 60 years ago, the Ministry of Tribal Affairs released the draft document whose aim is to "uplift the tribals who have been facing acute poverty, alienation from land and lack of livelihood opportunities," in many parts of India. The document was released in New Delhi on July 21, 2006.

The policy will address issues such as the enhancement of human development indicators among scheduled tribes (STs) to bring them on a par with the general population, improvement of infrastructure in tribal areas, tribal control over the natural resource base, displacement and resettlement, and the equitable distribution of wealth and opportunities among tribals.

The policy also provides for regulatory protection, socio-economic and political empowerment, increased livelihood opportunities, improved governance and administration, preservation of tribal cultural and traditional rights and knowledge, and protection of tribal traditional knowledge in the intellectual property rights regime.

Criticising the recent practice of arming tribals to fight extremists, or policing their protests, India's Minister for Tribal Affairs P R Kyndiah said that at a time when India was registering an annual growth rate of 8-9% and opportunities were expanding for improved living standards, the government was alive to the needs of the tribal community.

"While policing of tribal protests is no answer, the strategy of Salwa Judum is also no answer. What happened in Chhattisgarh is very painful," the minister said. Salwa Judum is an organisation set up in Chhattisgarh to fight the Naxalites that have expanded their base in tribal areas. A week ago, Naxalites raided relief camps in Dantewada, killing 25 Judum members and injuring 100. The draft blamed "a deep sense of exclusion and alienation" suffered by people belonging to scheduled tribes, where they "view the State as their exploiter and enemy, and the preachers of violent actions as their protector and friend".

"Such violent manifestations should not be viewed as merely a law and order problem to be tackled through policing or by arming tribals, as is being done in certain areas," the draft says without specifically referring to Chhattisgarh.

Major issues covered in the draft policy include:

• Wrongful alienation of tribal land or tenurial insecurity: Under the draft policy, the issue of tenurial insecurity among tribals -- the single most important cause of pauperisation among tribals despite laws to prevent wrongful alienation of land -- will be addressed by amending state anti-alienation land laws, amending the Indian Registration Act, and the establishment of fast-track courts.
• Tribal-forest interface: Various steps are proposed to improve this natural resource base so that the socio-economic conditions of STs improve, including recognition of their age-old occupation rights, ownership over forest produce, conversion of forest villages into revenue villages, etc.
• Displacement, rehabilitation and resettlement: A legislative regime will be put in place that ensures the least displacement of tribals, exploration of all alternatives to displacement, and appropriate compensation, including land-for-land, giving the displaced market value for their land, social impact assessments, etc. For industrial enterprises in scheduled areas, the community will receive suitable benefits.
• Enhancement of the Human Development Index (HDI): The government will take steps to improve education, sports and employment opportunities for STs by ensuring an annual increase of 3% in literacy growth rate, among both males and females, 100% enrolment of tribal children, and a reduction of dropout rates, especially among tribal girls, to achieve parity with others by the end of the 11th Five-Year Plan (2008-2013).
• Livelihood opportunities: Livelihood opportunities will be enhanced though training, skills and design development, provision of market linkages and scientific inputs to enhance agriculture and horticulture production.
• Migration: Steps taken to reduce migration among tribals will include enhancing land productivity and providing guaranteed employment under the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act 2005.
• Moneylending and indebtedness: Steps will be taken to improve the institutional flow of credit and provide consumption loans to STs who are easy prey to moneylenders.
• Conservation and development of Primitive Tribe Groups (PTGs): Special and new initiatives will be taken for the conservation and development of PTGs (proposed to be renamed Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups that are the most backward among tribal communities) through the adoption of approaches that will result in heritage conservation as well as socio-economic development.
• Gender equity: While ST women are, in many respects, better placed than their counterparts in the general population in areas like education, efforts will need to be made for the uplift of tribal women though special literacy programmes and the elimination of certain practices that result in the oppression of women.
• Tribal culture and traditional knowledge: All efforts will be made to support and preserve tribal culture, traditional heritage, arts and crafts, dance and music, through documentation and dissemination, market linkages, cultural festivals and melas and encouragement and support of tribal artistes and folk art performers. Efforts will be made to preserve, document and promote traditional wisdom.
• Scheduling and de-scheduling of tribes: Steps will be taken to ensure that the benefits granted to ST communities are evenly spread among all ST communities, and, if so warranted, those populations that have caught up with the general population be de-scheduled. A time-bound programme will be initiated to identify the needs of nomadic tribes and their development.

The National Tribal Policy 2006 outlines several new and continuing initiatives for accelerating the pace of welfare and development of tribal areas in the country. An institutionalised monitoring mechanism will be put in place at both the national and state level. Powers will be given to local communities to monitor and oversee the programme's planning and implementation.

The policy itself will be updated periodically. To make it a living document, the Cabinet Committee on Tribal Affairs (CCTA) will be asked to review the policy every three years and redefine its objectives and guiding principles, if necessary, and accordingly recast the strategy to address any new challenges that may emerge.

The 22-page draft policy will now be circulated to all members of Parliament, state governments, civil society organisations and others for their comments. It will be taken up to the Union Cabinet in three months.

Source: The Indian Express, July 22, 2006
www.indlawnews.com, July 21, 2006