Presentation

on

Indigenous People

By
V . Mahesh
MSW II year

Presentation on

Indigenous People

By
V . Mahesh
MSW II Year

Introduction

The term indigenous is derived from the Latin etymology meaning "native" or
born within

Definition: "a body of persons that are united by a common culture, tradition,
or sense of kinship, which typically have common language, institutions, and
beliefs, and often constitute a politically organized group".

Indigenous people can identify in particular geographical areas by the

presence of various degrees of the following characteristics:
a)

a close attachment to ancestral territories and to the natural resources in

these areas

b) self-identification and identification by others as members of a distinct

cultural group

Introduction (contd..)
c)

an indigenous language, often different from the national language;

d) presence of customary, social and political institutions and Primarily

subsistence-oriented production

There are about 350 million indigenous peoples in the world. Although
they account for less than 5 per cent of the global population, they
comprise about 15 per cent of all the poor people in the world.

Indigenous issues at international level

A great number of indigenous

peoples
organizations,
were
established
at
national
and
international level in the 1960s and
1970s,
spurred
on
by
the
decolonization era and a more
general growth in non-governmental
organizations.
In 1972, the United Nations SubCommission on Prevention of
Discrimination and Protection of
Minorities launched a Study on the
problem of discrimination against
indigenous populations, later known
as the Martnez Cobo study, the
name of the Special Rapporteur
appointed to prepare the report

Indigenous issues at international level

In 1982, the establishment of the first

United
Nations
mechanism
on
indigenous peoples issues, namely the
Working Group on Indigenous
Populations of the Sub-Commission was
formed.
Between 1984 and 1993, indigenous
issues gained increased momentum

The establishment of the UN Voluntary Fund for Indigenous Populations (1985)

The proclamation of the International Year of the Worlds Indigenous People (1993)
The proclamation of two separate International Decades of the Worlds Indigenous
People (1995-2004 and 2005-2014)
The establishment of the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues (UNPFII) in 2000

Indigenous people in India

In India indigenous people were termed as Tribes.

The term tribe is derived from the Latin word tribus.

During the British Rule

The British were keen to establish their rule in all parts of the country and
were also looking for resources for their industries.

They not only levied new rents for land but also made new land settlements.

The areas, which were relatively secluded but rich in natural resources,
experienced entry of new variety of people, namely forest contractors,
labourers, officials, neo-settlers, money lenders etc.

Indigenous people in India (contd..)

At this stage, for variety of reasons, the British thought of protecting the
indigenous populations by bringing a regulation in 1833.

In 1871, the British Government of India notified certain tribes as "criminals"

and passed the notorious "Criminal Tribes Act of 1871.

In 1874, the British passed Scheduled Area Regulation Act .

There were tribal reform and rebellion movements during the period of the
British Empire some of which also participated in the Indian freedom struggle.

In Independent India:

Following Independence, the policy of protection and the development for the
population identified as tribe has been made into a constitution obligation.

Constitutional Provisions / Safeguards for Scheduled Tribes, can be divided

into two parts
1.
Protective
2.
Developmental.
. Article 15(4): Promotion of social, Economic and Educational interests.
. Article 19(5): Safeguard of Tribal interests
While the rights of free movement and residence throughout the territory of
India and of acquisition and disposition of property are guaranteed to every
citizen, special restrictions may be imposed by "the state for the protection of
the interests of any Scheduled Tribe ".
. Article 23: Human Trafficking
. Article 29: Cultural and Educational rights
.
Article 164
It provides for a Minister-in-charge of tribal welfare in the states of MP,
Chattisgarh,Orissa and Jharkhand.*

Articles 330, 332 and 334

According to these articles seats shall be reserved for Scheduled Castes and
Scheduled Tribes in legislative bodies. There are provisions for reservations of
seats in the parliament as well as legislative Assembly of every state (Article
330,332).

Article 338
It says that there shall be a special officer for the Scheduled Castes and
Scheduled Tribes to be appointed by the President.
At present
In India, 705 individual ethnic groups, had been recognized as Scheduled
Tribes in the year 2011.
By 2011, they formed 8.6 % of the total Indian population i.e, 100 million
population.

77.8 % of Tribal
population is not having
Drainage Facility

77.4 % of ST Households were not having Latrine

facility i.e they go for open defection

89 % of Households were using Polluting fuels for cooking

49 % of Tribal population are not using electricity

facility

Table : Place of delivery; percentage distribution of live

births in the five years preceding the survey by place of
delivery and percentage delivered in health facility

Table: Assistance during delivery

Conclusion

After 66 years of Independence many tribals in India were not getting

Right to have a living, proper housing, drinking water, education,
electricity, health facilities, communication, right over the land and they
are denied everything.

These problems can be solved only through Decentralization of power i.e.,

giving powers to the local people.

Development, Displacement and Rehabilitation of Tribal

People

Projects undertaken to promote development have been a major cause

of population displacement in many cases.
Many of the big development projects have been set up in tribal areas
and on the lands owned by tribals.
Some 3,300 big dams have been constructed in India in the last 50
years.