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India is a country that is home to a large number of tribes. These tribes are spread across the country and are a diverse lot, with each tribe having its own unique culture and language. Over the years,  tribal issues in India have increased and a lot of tribes have given up their traditional ways of life and adapted to the ways of the modern world. This has led to a lot of tribes in India facing immense problems, ranging from poverty to unemployment. Today, many tribes are finding themselves especially vulnerable to the impacts of climate change. This has had a devastating impact on the way they live and has raised a number of complex questions about how the country should respond.

What are tribes in India?

Tribes are groups of people that share ancestry and cultural traditions. They usually live in small communities, which often cooperate to protect their land and resources from outsiders. Each tribe has its own customs and traditions, and members are usually fiercely loyal to their family, friends, and community. They speak the same language, often have similar cultures, and are often very religious.

Problems faced by tribes in India

The indigenous tribes of India are some of the most marginalised groups in the country. There are multiple problems faced by tribes, as they have suffered centuries of exploitation and discrimination, with many still living in poverty. The government has made efforts to improve their condition, but there is still a long way to go. This article will examine some of the greatest challenges the tribes face, and discuss the measures being taken to improve their lives.

Resource Exploitation

The forests of central India, particularly in the states of Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, have long been a source of traditional livelihoods for the indigenous Adivasi communities who live there. But over the past few decades, the forests have also become a source of conflict and resource exploitation. For example, in central India’s Tongu forest region, a 500-acre concession awarded to a private company in the 1980s has expanded to over 14,000 acres today. The company has clear-cut the forests, drained the wetlands, and grazed the area’s wildlife to grow timber for export.

Gaps in rehabilitation 

The rehabilitation of the tribal community, which was heavily affected by the droughts or some development projects, has been a long, difficult process. The community’s main sources of livelihood, farming and animal husbandry, were severely hit by the drought. The development projects have forced the tribal people to look for other means of income generation, which has resulted in a shortage of labour in the agricultural sector. This has further added to the woes of the already marginalised tribal community.

Cultural Defacement 

There is a great challenge in front of tribal communities, as they are being forced to mix up with modern society, which is leading them to lose their own culture and their habitat. “Tribals” are considered the lowest class in most regions of India due to which they have faced cultural defacement, which is a huge problem of tribes in India. 

Unemployment

There are numerous activities going on in the central region of the country regarding industrial and mining activities. Despite the intense industrial activity that is taking place in the central region of the Indian tribal belt, a significant number of tribal people in these areas are not employed in modern enterprises. They are made to suffer on the ever expanding low wage, unconfident, temporary and impoverished labour market.According to the India Human Development Report 2003, the poverty rate among the tribes of central India has dropped significantly. Although these people still suffer from high levels of poverty, the extent of the problem has been reduced. The provisions of the Apprenticeship Act do not stipulate for private or joint sector enterprises to recruit certain percentages of unemployed indigenous workforce

Conclusion:

India is a country that is home to a large number of tribes. These tribes are spread across the country and are a diverse lot, with each tribe having its own unique culture and language. The indigenous tribes of India are some of the most marginalised groups in the country. They have suffered centuries of exploitation and discrimination, with many still living in poverty. There are numerous  Problems of tribes in India like unemployment, cultural defacement, gaps in rehabilitation, resource exploitation etc. The government has made efforts to improve their condition, but there is still a long way to go.