The Steps Taken by the Government to Protect Tribals

The terms tribe and tribal are not defined in the Indian Constitution. Scheduled Tribes (ST) are ethnic communities designated by the President of India, according to Article 342. The tribes of India are not part of the traditional Hindu caste system, and they resemble “indigenous” or “native people” from other parts of the world.

Undoubtedly, 60 years after independence, there has been a significant metamorphosis in the life of tribals, particularly in the NorthEast region. Policies and programs for tribal development examination of the tribal condition would reveal that if the community develops quickly, the strategy for tribal development in India will bear a ferocious approach to tribal enterprises in terms of their spatial and demographic attention.

The Strategy for Tribal Development in India

Tribes have been characterised as a kind of non-state civilisation. Tribal ways of life were inferior to those of so-called advanced or westernised nations. Tribal ways of life had to be replaced, and it was the responsibility of white men to do it. Religion, particularly Christianity, was to be helpful in this. Meanwhile, there is little literal substantiation to show how numerous people and societies were devastated or cancelled due to accepting this easy argument.

There is also an issue with how the term “region” is defined. In terms of some demographic and verbal/artistic rates, the region represents just a domain or executive block in the eyes of the state for political directors. The expression refers to a region’s other characteristics, such as its history, culture, or social formation. It is a political-executive reality representing a near-unity of the people who live there with some degree of autonomy under the centralised nation-state structure. The term “Region” is determined by post-colonial coercion and a lack of concern for history and culture, claiming that such times are unchanging or vulnerable to change.

The Steps Taken to Improve the Facilities for Tribal Community

The Indian constitution has significant provisions for the welfare of Scheduled Tribes. The Central Government and State Governments have worked tirelessly to improve tribal welfare, and each five-year plan has implemented special programmes for their interest and development.

Education is the only method to make tribal people aware of their rights. Otherwise, they are useless. Hence the government’s foremost priority should be educating them. The tribal people are one of the most economically disadvantaged tribes in the country.

Eklavya Model Residential School (EMRS)

• The government intends to create an Eklavya Model Residential School (EMRS) in each subdistrict with a significant tribal population (any block with more than 50% ST population and at least 20,000 tribal people) by 2022.
• Under Article 275(1) of the Constitution, grants will be used to fund the EMRS.
• The government intends to spend Rs 12 crore on the school facility, hostels, and staff quarters.
• In hilly areas, deserts, and islands, this cost would be increased to Rs 16 crores.
• Education will be completely free in these schools, with each class limited to 60 students (equally boys and girls).
• The school’s total sanctioned enrollment will be 480 students.

EMRS is one of the major steps taken to improve facilities for the tribal community.

The Steps Taken by the Government to Protect the Tribals

• The country’s tribal situation paints a complex picture. Some locations have a significant tribal concentration, while others have only a tiny percentage of the entire population. Since independence, the government has placed a more significant emphasis on tribal development.
• During the Second Five Year Plan, a significant milestone was the creation of 43 Special Multi-purpose Tribal Blocks (TDBs), each with around 25000 persons as opposed to 65000 in a conventional block.
• During the sixth plan, the Modified Area Development Approach was used to cover smaller regions of tribal concentration to develop tribals who live outside of integrated tribal development zones.
• The government gives subventions for adding the position of structure in scheduled areas and economic development of Scheduled Tribes to the general population under Composition 275(1) of the Constitution.
• It is also conducting several centrally sponsored programmes. 
• The government established the Tribal Cooperative Marketing Development Federation (TRIFED) in 1987 with the primary goal of furnishing marketing backing and lucrative prices to tribals for their minor timber yield and fat agrarian yield and saving them from exploitative interposers.

These were the steps taken by the government to protect tribals.

Conclusion:

Recognising that Scheduled Tribes are one of the most depressed and marginalised groups in terms of education, numerous programmes and policies have been enforced since independence. Despite these measures, tribal development, particularly tribal education, has not progressed to the anticipated degree. The high dropout rate among indigenous scholars is a stark suggestion of the issues that must be addressed if we are not to abandon this enormous part of the community. The Central Government of India has introduced the Vanbandhu Kalyan Yojana for the holistic development and welfare of India’s tribal community. The government established the Tribal Cooperative Marketing Development Federation (TRIFED) in 1987.