Social Inclusion: Equity and

Growth

Group Report

on

How can the mechanism of social inclusion ofthe tribes be envisaged so as to circumvent alapse into coercive inclusion?

Group Members

Shri Nitin Agrawal 4001Gp. Capt. Vivek Ahluwalia 4002Shri Rajan Babu A 4003Brig. Anil Chaudhary 4004Shri Atul Kumar Chaudhary 4005Shri B.K. Gupta 4006Shri Deepak Gupta 4007Shri Rakesh Gupta 4008Brig. Sunil Puri Goswami 4009Gp. Capt. Aditya Jain 4010Shri Somnath Tripathy 4041Comdt. D.P. Yadav 4045

Introduction

Great social and economic disparity in India

Symbols of growth and prosperity exist withilliteracy, poverty etc.

In the growth story of India, the welfare of tribalcommunities has been neglected all along.

The Forest policy of the colonial BritishGovernment gave priority to commercialconsiderations over human needs.

Even the mining policy of free India hasoverlooked the tribals

Problems faced by tribals

Land Alienation

Poverty and indebtedness

Health and Nutrition

Education

Cultural Problems

Environmental Problems

Naxalism and its consequences

CONSEQUENCES OF TRIBAL

ISSUES AND CONCERNS

Spread of Naxalism and Maoist

Militia The birth of the Naxalite movement in India took place in a

remote village in West Bengal called Naxalbari in the year 1967.

A tribal youth named Bimal Kissan obtained a judicial orderpermitting him to plough his land. The local landlords with thesupport of their goons and musclemen attacked him. This eventinfuriated the local Tribal population and led to a violentretaliation by the tribal community to recapture their lands.

The events in Naxalbari took shape of a giant rebellion andgained visibility and support across regions including WestBengal,Bihar, Andhra Pradesh and parts of Tamil Nadu and UttarPradesh

the Maoist spread their influence in a particulardistrict by taking up local issues concerning landrights, wages, natural resources etc. on behalf of thetribals.

It is only at a much later stage after winning theirtrust that they unleash their military agenda andwork to create dalams (village level militia).

Abuse and neglect of PESA provides the Maoist afertile ground to propagate their agenda and spreadtheir influence in newer areas of the country

Lack of Education and Skills

At times, the private company also promises to train atribal from every household in skills as a precursor toemployment in the factory or plant to be set up. At firstlook, the transaction seems reasonable and ethicaltoo.

However, what we must understand is that the tribalcommunity finds itself “unfit” to participate in modernday economic activity. The skillset required by industryis often hard to match.

This leads to both fear and apprehension in the mindsof the tribals on losing their land, even though thefinancial compensation is fairly attractive.

Caught in the Crossfire

Once the naxalites are in control, they now start their

own agenda and use these tribals as dispensable

fighters.

The state in trying regain control uses its armed might

The net result is more suffering and delays in

development.

Self imposed exclusion of tribals

‘Exclusion’ in the socio-political context may be defined

as the process through which individuals or groups are

wholly or partially excluded from full participation in the

society.

By definition, tribal societies are self-sufficient (though

not strictly in economic front)

they do not need to interact with non-tribal societies for

their social, cultural and physical existence.

This very nature of tribal people kept themselves away

from the rest of the other societies

Voluntary self exclusion

Vs

destroying a culture and way of life … ???

Tribal Assimilation &

Consequences

THREE MODELS OF ASSIMILATION

Isolation - Creation of National parks- Verrier Elwin

Creation of self- governing tribal areas with free power of self determination

- J.H.Hutton

Criticism – creation of museum or zoo

Assimilation – 1. Tribes are backward Hindu’sshould be completely assimilatedinto Hindu culture.

- G.S.Ghurye

2.Not possible to completelyassimilate into Hindu culture,Gradual transformation andhelp them assimilation in theirown way of life with alien culture.

- D. N. Majumdar

Supported by Social Reformers andVoluntary Organizations

Integration – Emphasis on the preservation ofthe rich and distinct culture &accommodating the unique culture oftribal people into main stream of India

- Pt Nehru

Tribal Panchsheel enunciated by

Nehru

Allow to develop on their own genius.

Right of land and forest should be respected

Train and build up team of their own people.

Not to over administer their areas andoverwhelm them with multiplicity of schemes.

Judge the results not by statistics or amountof money spent but by quality of humancharacter evolved.

CONSEQUENCESDemocratic Decentralization &Tribals

1. Introduction of constitution 2. Ability to vote in elections 3. Presidential order 1950

a) Recognisition of tribes in 17 states b) Declaration of ST status c) Protective safe guards d) Political safe guards e) Developmental safe guards

FAILURE OF GOVT INTERVENTIONIST

STRATEGY The one reason why the Government strategies have

not worked is because any interventionist strategy

assumes a link between the goal to deliver services and

the ability to do so.

For any scheme or plan to be effective, some level of

administrative overlap between officials who deliver

these services and those who monitor them is essential.

This overlap is virtually non-existent in tribal regions.

• The interventionist strategies have silently assumed that tribal

citizens are -

• Not rational and

• Not capable of guarding their interests.

• This has prevented them from using the meagre resources they

command, from land to the produce growing on their land, for their

benefit.

• Archaic laws to prevent “alienation” of tribal resources continue to

hold sway even in the age of Internet.

• This, perversely, leads to corruption and ends up hurting them

more.

FAILURE OF GOVT INTERVENTIONIST STRATEGY

• It is important to test any strategy on the touchstone of the following two

questions:-

• What is required to ensure that citizens in such districts can make use of

the maximum economic opportunities in a growing economy?

• Does geographic isolation breed poverty?

• These questions are relevant as a majority of tribal communities are located

in remote and often isolated regions.

• There is a good chance that if these two problems are sorted out, economic

growth may reduce poverty on its own.

FAILURE OF GOVT INTERVENTIONIST STRATEGY

Interventionist strategies make sense when combined with efforts at linking

isolated and poverty stricken communities with the economic mainstream.

• Insurgency in Tripura finds its roots in the influx of refugees

from East Pakistan after partition, post-independence and post

1971 war for liberation of Bangladesh.

• This migration has fueled discontent and demographic

inversion in Tripura.

• The ratio of population of tribal and non-tribal (basically

Bengali speaking people) was 70:30 at the time of

independence in 1947.

• However, over the years, the whole demographic situation has

inversed and today it stands at 70:30 in favour of non-tribal.

• This ‘injustice’ has led to creation of insurgent groups -

• National Liberation Front of Tripura (NLFT).

• All Tripura Tiger Force (ATTF).

TRIPURA : TRIBAL VERSUS BALANCE (STATE?)

TRIPURA : TRIBAL VERSUS BALANCE (STATE?)

OUTCOME

• Tripura Tribal Autonomous Hill Development Council

Formed – Funds Limited.

• Tribal remain to be extremely poor.

• Their major land holdings have been ‘legally’ occupied by

migrants.

• Tribal stand totally alienated in Tripura.

• They question - can Democratic Govt (Non-Tribal) get them

justice?

• Democratic govt will intervene on whose behalf?

• Tribal only loose numbers (votes) - and relevance - by

the year.

Political inclusion

Tendency in regional politics is to give tribesthe regional identity which often weakenstheir cultural identity.

However, in the matters of access to facilitiesin the fields of politics, education andemployment, the tribals are excluded againstas they belong to different ethnicity.

Thus for different purposes the tribals areincluded or excluded as per the requirementsof the dominant sections of society.

District Autonomous Councils

The constitution provides for tribal autonomy inNortheast India by way of the autonomy packagesunder the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution.

The emerging district autonomous councils, whichemerged in the form of a demand for separateadministration over certain areas and people haveactually become the site for the construction of aculturally cohesive ethnic population.

An inbuilt part of this politics is exclusion of agroup/ groups of population for being different fromthe majority population

Political Necessity

The autonomy package is the by product of aliberal logic that excludes people of‘territorially concentrated and insulatedcultural experiences’ while simultaneouslyincluding them through the same initiative.

It shows a selective act of exclusion andinclusion in a peculiar way.

This exclusion may be argued as a politicalnecessity for culturally diverse societies likeIndia.

Cultural inclusion - Language By

Deepak Gupta

Cultural inclusion - Language

In multi-lingual, and pluri-cultural societies inIndia, small linguistic groups show inferioritycomplex towards their language and culture.

Social pressures that cause tribal groups tomaintain or shift their ancestral languages are: Strong tendency to maintain tribal language

identity. Co-existence of tribal and non-tribal languages. Overwhelming tendency to shift ancestral tribal

mother tongue in favour of non-tribal language. Least resistance by tribal languages in favour of

dominant language(s).

Access to the resources

Government acquisition of land for mining, hydel power or other developmental projects, declaration of forests as wildlife sanctuaries

Advancement of technology

Tribal languages indicate trends of shift from their home language to the dominant language

Financial inclusion

Economy of tribals living in far-flung areashas two main features:-

a) subsistence in nature; and

b) governed by barter system.

Their farms produce only enough to feedthem with not much left over to sell.

Financial inclusion

Their needs for credit, microfinance, microinsurance, health insurance, saving account,Self Help Group-bank-linkage, financialinvestment etc. are not being met due toabsence of any financial institutions in thetribal areas.

Financial inclusion

Absence of access to institutional financeresults in: - the tribals being exploited by money lenders,

middlemen (Adhatiyas) and loan sharks.

The tribals are chronically stuck in a web ofpoverty and indebtedness.

Therefore, there is a pressing need forfinancial inclusion of tribal people.

Digital inclusion

Digital means and medium have proven effective tomitigate exclusion within communities. This ismissing from tribal development focus in bothcentral and state levels.

There exist around 192 integrated tribaldevelopment projects and integrated tribaldevelopment agencies spread over 19 states andUnion territories.

In all these interventions, the emphasis onintegrating information and communicationtechnologies (ICT) is totally absent.

Digital inclusion

Tribal citizens need the benefits of digitalinclusion.

There is an urgent need for digital means toreach out to the communities with connectivityand access.

Digital solutions will facilitate market of tribalproducts and services.

It is important to note that tribal inclusionmust go along with digital inclusion,considering connectivity and access asessentials to generate demand and services.

Social Exclusion an institutionalized form of inequality

failure of a society to extend to all sections of its population, theeconomic resources and social recognition which they need in order toparticipate fully in the collective life of the community.

denotes the following characteristics of a society at large or individualsat least.

Inability to participate effectively in economic, social, political and culturallife.

Distance and alienation from a so-called mainstream society.

Isolation from major societal mechanisms which produce or distributesocial resources.

a broader concept related with unemployment and poverty, but not anidentical one with them.

It is a relative term particular to a place or country on certaincircumstances and always related to a social agent or agents.

Exclusion is dynamic depending upon people’s immediate condition.

Social Exclusion

Social exclusion is the process and outcome of excluding,casting out, depriving and denying equal space to somemembers of a society. It is denial of space in all senses and inall sectors.

Social exclusion is closely associated with relative deprivation.The rising inequality in various social groups has contributedto the exclusion of many such groups from opportunities.

Social exclusion has also come to be seen as denial ofcapabilities and entitlements. In Amartya Sen's interpretation,capabilities are absolute requirements for full membership ofsociety. Entitlements refer to rights, that is, the command offamilies over goods, using various economic, political andsocial opportunities within the legal system.

Impact of Inclusion and

Exclusion generally presumed that exclusion is detrimental and

inclusion is for good, in practice, may not be true.

Coercive inclusion by market or by dominant social systemin any form may cause harm to the social web of the newentity.

Coercive inclusion - in form of child labour, women in wagelabour with differential payments, putting tribal people inunskilled and unprotected labour force and as immigrantworkers etc.

For similar reason, exclusion is not always bad.

To those who do not accept the value of the market systemand do not resemble or depend on a social system outsidetheir traditional domain, any voluntary exclusion fromthose entities should be perfectly accepted.

Impact of Social Exclusion detrimental to social integration. In this sense, not just those who are

excluded but also those who are excluding others are subject to the crisis and conflict that arise due to the disintegration that accompanies social exclusion.

works against social solidarity in the long run. Due to discrimination and deprivation , lack of scope and space for solidarity among groups. Possibility, even those who are victimised do not come together as they are divided due to social exclusion.

Conflict Since social exclusion denies social integration and solidarity, the emerging social interaction likely to be conflictual by nature.

Poverty

exclusion and poverty are mostly interrelated.

Conventional poverty indicators reveal that there is a strong correlation between being indigenous or tribal and being poor or extremely poor.

Tribal people are more likely to have lower income, poorer physical living conditions, less access to health care, education, and a range of other services, worse access to labour, land and capital markets and worse returns to work as well as weaker political representation.

The poverty and social exclusion experienced by tribal people are largely due to discrimination at social and institutional level during colonial and post independent era.

Proposed Mechanism : Social

Inclusion Central & State Governments has made numerous efforts for

bringing social inclusion of tribal's.

For varied and different reasons these efforts have not been verysuccessful and found wanting .

There is need to review the approach made so far.

To fulfill objective of non-coercive social inclusion of tribal’s issueneeds to be holistically examined and researched.

Strategies need to be modified.

Problems in the existing mechanism and proposed changes inrespect of specific fields are being brought forth .

Education

Primitive and colonial orientation of Indian Education System Education being offered to tribal's by opening schools in their villages/

hamlets is alien the course content/ syllabus/ timings/ holidays have no relevance to their lifestyles and

their surroundings.

The teachers are usually non tribals who do not wish to live and work in remote areas.

Present system of providing reservations for tribals in institutions of highereducation is an effort towards social inclusion.

Reservations only benefit the ‘detribalized’ elite of tribal origin.

Benefits of reservation are cornered by a few families who get these benefitsgeneration after generation.

These reservations have had an effect of coercive inclusionas the beneficiarieshad to give up their tribal way of life to join the mainstream.

EducationWay Out • Customized syllabus/ academic calendar specifically to suit lifestyles -environment.

• Inclusion of tribal history, traditions socio-economic condition in mainstreamprimary education syllabus to sensitize rest of the country.

• Employing educated tribal youth as teachers in schools.

• Provide opportunities in their traditional villages/ hamlets

• Retention of their tribal identity.

• Familiar environment and self esteem

• Interpersonal relationship (understanding social / traditional customs and language)

• Enhanced financial incentives

• Modern education is an imperative and therefore could be made optional

HEALTH The problems faced in the health sector are similar to the problems of educational

sector.

Tribals primarily suffers from infectious diseases , TB , mal nutrition , poor preand post natal care .

Lack of safe drinking water , hence prone to life threatening water borne diseases

Non tribal medical staff (Doctors / paramedics) do not want to work in remotetribal areas.

Result tribals marooned of quality medical treatment

Resorts to traditional medical practices which at all time is not sufficeint

Forced to come to towns/ cities for medical treatment in an alien environmentand hence subjected to exploitation.

Knowledge of traditional medicine is also being lost as there is no conscious effortto preserve the same.

HEALTH Proposed Methodology to have a cadre of tribal Doctors/ para medical staff

.

Establishment of these training centers in Tribal Areas.

Training for diseases and conditions prevalent in tribal areas.

Training to suit conditions prevailing in tribal areas , Inclusion oftraditional medicine and remedies.

Knowledge about medicinal properties of local herbs and leaves may bemore useful.

This will be beneficial to the entire community as healthcare would beeasily available in their villages.

Enhancement of Healthcare infrastructure so that the cases requiringexpert attention are also handled appropriately.

Co-operative formation - need

• The tribals are forced to migrate to cities when they are unable to make

their ends meet by their traditional occupation of collection of forest

produce. The forest produce gathered by them is bought by middlemen

at dirt cheap rates and then supplied to outside world at a great profit

• The tribals are unable to break free from these middlemen as they are

dependent upon the middlemen for loans and advances. There are no

financial institutions which support the tribals in the time of need.

• Banks and other financial institutions require some sort of collateral

security for grant of a loan. However, the poor tribals are not in a

position to provide such a collateral security. Thus, the tribals are

denied credit facilities by the banks.

Co-operative formation

Traditional arts and crafts also have a huge market in India and

abroad. The items made by tribals utilize natural raw materials

and are eco friendly.

However, in the absence of marketing muscle, the poor tribals

are unable to sell their wares. In case, the tribals come together

and form a co-operative then these problems can be overcome.

Formation of Co-operatives can also help eliminate middlemen

in marketing of forest produce gathered by the tribals.

With a little training they can collect, grade, package the forest

produce and get reasonable remuneration for their efforts.

Formation of Self Help Group(SHG)

- benefits

For their credit needs, they can help each other.

The formation of Self Help Groups among rural

women under NRLM has been found to be very

successful in meeting their requirements of micro

credit.

A similar concept is likely to free the tribals from the

clutches of money lenders and loan sharks.

With financial freedom, they will be under no

compulsion to migrate to cities in search of livelihood.

Community Rights- necessity

The rights of tribals over forests and lands inhabited by

them over generations should be recognized.

Formal recognition of Community Rights over Forests

and Land will enable the tribal communities to have a say

in any projects affecting their surroundings .

Any proposed development project or conservation

project would not deprive them of their traditional habitat

overnight.

They will have to be consulted, compensated and

properly rehabilitated in case some project is absolutely

essential.

Tribals in India 10.5 crores or 8.6% (Rural-11.3%, Urban-

2.8%)

Tribal population of India more than totalpopulation of France and Britain and fourtimes that of Australia

Tribals most backward ethnic group of India inHealth, Education and Income

The tribals are most backward not onlycompared with the general population, but alsocompared to the Scheduled Caste, the otherbackward social group with constitutionalprotection

Minerals found in tribal areas contribute tomore than half of the national miningproduction. Yet, mining policies in Indiahave overlooked the existence of tribalcommunities and the constitutionalprovision for the protection of their landand resources.

The affected community is not required tobe informed or consulted before miningleases are granted.

Forest land and its resources provide thebest means of livelihood for the tribalpeople and they are heavily dependent onthe products of the forest.

Therefore when outsiders exploit the tribe'sland and its resources the natural life cycleof tribal ecology and tribal life is greatlydisturbed.

Lack of education and skill developmentrenders the tribals unable to find gainfulemployment in other parts of the country.This has an adverse impact on integration ofthese communities in the nationalmainstream.

The tribal populations are therefore living inisolation forced by the circumstances. It isnecessary to break this vicious cycle tobring the tribal communities in themainstream.

It is critical to note that there is aremarkable diversity between the manycommunities of Tribals spread across thevast Indian landscape, and eachcommunity’s concerns must be addressedwithin the specific context of theirlivelihood and not through broad concepts.

Further, the nature of implementation of theschemes needs a radical transformation.The crisis in human resources is such thatwell-thought-out schemes conceptualized ata senior level fail to take root in the groundbecause of incompetence, inefficiency,corruption or merely indifference.

Vast funds allocated to the marginalized areregularly returned unused is a tragedy thatmust be reversed.

Exclusion must be understood as a product ofnot just financial deprivation but also socialand cultural traditions and practices.

Inclusion should mean not only empoweringthe dispossessed financially, but bringing theminto the larger fold of society, emotionally andpsychologically while maintaining theircultural and ethnic identities.

Conclusion

The one reason why the Governmentstrategies have not worked is because anyinterventionist strategy assumes a linkbetween the goal to deliver services and theability to do so. For any scheme or plan to beeffective, some level of administrativeoverlap between officials who deliver theseservices and those who monitor them isessential. This overlap is virtually non-existent in tribal regions.