Socio-economic problems of tribal in India

SOCIO-ECONOMIC PROBLEMS OF TRIBES IN INDIA

The tribal people are economically the poorest people of India. The majority of them lived below the poverty line. The tribal economy is based on agriculture of the crudest type. The main economic problems of the tribals are explained below-

1. Exploitation: 

The innocence, illiteracy and helplessness of the tribals are exploited by the outsiders. The British policy, in particular, had led to ruthless exploitation of the tribals in various ways as it favoured the zamindars, landlords, money-lenders, forest contractors and excise, revenue and police officials.

2. Unprofitable Agriculture: 

About 90% of the tribals are engaged in cultivation; most are landless and practice shifting cultivation. They need to be helped in adopting new methods of cultivation. The tribals possess uneconomic holdings because their crop yield is very low. A very small percentage of the population participates in occupational activities in the secondary and tertiary sectors.

3. Problems of land ownership: 

A good portion of the land in the tribal areas has been legally transferred to non-tribals. Tribals demand that this land should be returned to them. In fact, the tribals had earlier enjoyed much freedom to use the forest and hunt their animals. They are emotionally attached to the forests for they believe that their gods, and spirits live in forests. The tribals who are ‘deprived’ of their rights to the land and forest have reacted sharply to the restrictions imposed by the government on their traditional rights.

4. Unemployment and Underemployment: 

A large number of tribal young men and women are either unemployed or underemployed. They are unhappy because they are not able to get jobs that can keep them occupied throughout the year. They need to be helped in finding secondary sources of income by developing animal husbandry, poultry farming, handicrafts, handloom weaving, etc.

5. Non-Availability of Banking Facilities: 

Banking facilities in the tribal areas are so inadequate that the tribals have mainly to depend on the money-lenders. Therefore, the tribals demand that “Agricultural Indebtedness Relief Acts” be enacted so that they may get back their mort­gaged land.