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STRATEGY OF TRIBAL DEVELOPMENT AND THE TRIBAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMMES

strategy of tribal development and the tribal development programmes

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Page 1: strategy of tribal development and the tribal development programmes

STRATEGY OF TRIBAL DEVELOPMENT AND THE TRIBAL DEVELOPMENT

PROGRAMMES

Page 2: strategy of tribal development and the tribal development programmes

CHAPTER - 7

STRATEGY OF TRIBAL DEVELOPMENT AND THE

TRIBAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMMES

Any deliberate attempts at development calls for a strategy. The

viability of the strategy determines the fruitful results of the development

programmes. However, the nature of the strategy depends on the problems

and potentials of the given situation and the objectives that are to be

achieved. The definition of the problem and the goals to be attained are,

therefore, the pre-requisites for understanding the strategy.

India, a democratic and secular nation is committed to the

development and welfare of the tribals who form approximately 8.1 percent

of the total population. Accordingly several tribal development

programmes have been undertaken from time to time entailing enormous

human, financ~al and material resources. Here, we propose to exaniine the

strategy of tlie colonial rulers as well as that of independent India. We w~l l

also exaniine tlie major administrative measures and the development

programmes adopted during the five-year plans. Such kind of an analysis

will enable us to get a systematic view of the efforts madc overtinie for

uplifting tlle tribals who constitute historically the most marginallzed

sections of Indian society. Further, a detailed review of tlie tribal

Page 3: strategy of tribal development and the tribal development programmes

development projects and welfare programmes will help us to examine the

pace of the socio-economic transformation of tribal economies

Even before the attainment of independence, the tribal economies

of lndia had been subject to transformation shedding many of the

traditional characteristics and slowly acquiring the features of the larger,

mainstream economy of the non-tribals.' In other words, the forces of

transformation did not leave the isolated and static tribal economies

untouched. It needs to be emphasized that all the major changes taken

place in the larger non-tribal economy had its inevitable impact on the tribal

economies. However, the tribal economies represented by different tribal

communities safeguarded some of their distinctive tribal characteristics. In

fact, the forces of transformation acted differently up011 various tribal

communities and the various tribal comnlunities responded differently. The

historical reasons examined else where were mainly responsible for this

var~ation in tlic levels of responses so as to develop difl'ercnt tribal

economies.

History of the development of capitalism and more spcc~tically that

of colonialisn~ rcvealed that no where In the world that the colon~al powers

had a conllnoll and consistent policy towards aborlg~nes.' The British Easr

lndia Company passed the scheduled D~stricl Act 1nld74, tllc norn~nl law

should not sutonlatically apply to the tribal areas was the principle that

underlay the passage of scheduled Districl Act.' 111 tllc 1010 Act thc

Page 4: strategy of tribal development and the tribal development programmes

concept o f backward area was shaped.4 However, without overlooking the

vested interest of the British, i t is a tribute to British ruler that they

recognised the need o f special protection for the tribals. In this sense, the

British can be considered as the pioneers o f tribal policy in India. In 1930s

there was thought provoking debate about the pros and cons of the

principle.5 The imperialist school contended that the aborigines formed a

distinct element in India and should be placed in charge of Brltish

government. On the otherhand nationalist school saw in this proposit~on,

the continuation o f the imperialist policy o f divide and rule. Gandhiji

reacted sharply to the segregation o f various communities, part~cularly the

tribals, under the dangerous spell o f the policy o f the isolation and status

quo.6 The Act o f 1935 separated tribals from the rest o f the inhabitants.

Under the provision o f the Act o f 1935, the Excluded Area (tribal area) was

placed under the government control. The adivasis were put into watertight

compartments and classified as the tribal people by the government.

The need to provide adequate safeguard for the tr~hals was again

extensively d~scussed in the Constitutional Assembly, and the nnt~onal~st

opinion favored incorporat~on o f far more rildical prov~sions for the

safeguard o f the tribals interest in the form o f the V and V I schedule o f the

Indian conslitut~on.' This was a radical changc o f the ~lat~o~inltsts about the

tribal question owing to the efforts o f Gandhiji and Thakkar Bapa.

Nevertheless, consequent upon the various nieasurcs undertaken by

the British rulers and the national opinion about the tribal question, first

Page 5: strategy of tribal development and the tribal development programmes

half of the 201h century witnessed a tribal scenario, which was in a flux.

The tribal isolation and its static existence became a thing of the past. In

other words, their transition towards the mainstream socio-economlc

system had become clear and irreversible.

This transitional process described above was not lost sight by the

anthropolgists, social scientists and policy makers. As a matter of fact, a

great constmctive and scholarly debate ensured the approach towards the

tribals to be adopted after the emancipation of India from the British yoke.

It was in his monumental work" A I'hilosophy of NEFA", first

published in 1957 that Dr. Verrier Elevin elaborated the strategy"."

Jawaharlal Nehm, a profound humanist, was able to appreciate the spirit as

well as the operational feasibility of Elwin's policy suggestions. Nehru had

no doubt that development should not be at the cost of the inherent qualities

and accumulated experiences of these people. This basic philosophy

underlies the famous 'Pancha Seel' or five principles enunciated by Nehru

for the administration of tribal areas. These five principles are:

I. People should develop along the lines of the~r own genlus and we

should try to encourage in every way their own t1,adltional arts and

cullurc.

2. Tribal rights in land and forest should be respected.

3. We should try to train and build up a team oftheir own people to do

the work of administration and development. Some technical

Page 6: strategy of tribal development and the tribal development programmes

personnel from outside will, no doubt, be needed especially in the

beginning. But we should avo~d introducing too many outsiders into

tribals.

4. We should not over administer these areas or overwhelm them with a

multiplicity o f schemes. We should rather work through., and not in

rivalry to, their own social and cultural institutions.

5 . We should judge results not by statistics or the amount of money

spent, but by the quality o f human character that is evolved.

Jawaharlal Nehru's philosophy and vision shaped the tr~bal policy

in the 1950s in Ind~a. He avoided the extreme o f the two stand points,

namely the anthropological approach which sought to treat the tribals as

museum specimens to be kept apart, for study and observations and the

other approach which sought to destroy their individually, distort the

process o f their development and absorb them in the culture and way o f life

that was alien to them.

In harmony with this philosophy n strategy o f tribal development

was framed. The Nehru era laid the foundation o f tribal policy in

independent India. This policy was reconiniended by Elwin and shaped

and endorsed by Nehru constituted the cornerstone o f the developnient

strategy in conjugation with the protection prov~ded under tlie sixth

schedule o f the constitution succeeded to n very great extend in pronio[ing

developmenl and welfare o f the North Eastern tribes. Ilowever, the most

Page 7: strategy of tribal development and the tribal development programmes

unfortunate fact is that this strategy adopted and proved a great success in

North Eastern States could not be replicated in other parts of Ind~a. Hence,

the tribals in those areas have experienced a structural retrogression in the

socio- economic base. I t may be mentioned parenthetically, that the

distortion o f the strategy multiplied the traditionally accumulated problems

o f the various tribal communities and is the major cause o f tribal frustration

and discontent among the tribals in the tribal belt including that o f

wayanad.'

The Nehru era laid the foundation o f tribal policy in India after

independence. Scheduled tribes commission (1961) evaluated the work~ng

o f constitutional safeguards for the tribals and the tribal development

programmes.10 The commission while endorsing Nehru's approach made

wide ranging recommendations involving protection o f tribals land, their

right in forests, their rehabilitation etc. all within the framework of

Nehruvian policy. In this context i t is necessary to emphasis that the

firamework o f the tribal policy and the strategy of dcvelopnietit imbued \$tth

the well-know11 Nehruvian humanism held the ground for about t~vo

decades. In fact ~t still provides the sheet anchor or India's Tr~bal I'ol~cy.

Even tliougli ill recent years there has been a considerable broadening and

deepening o f the structure o f the policy, the basic priiictpic o i the pol~cy IS

unaltered. Afler niiddle 1960s especially in the V and V I five year plans

the policy ninkcrs ~lnderstood the diversities o f tribal situnt~o~l, whicll called

for a more areil specific approach to planning and dc\,olopn~ent. "This

Page 8: strategy of tribal development and the tribal development programmes

means a gradual moving away from the schematic pattern of the earher

plans and formulation of more integrated approach to the tribal problems"'5

Hence, more backward communities have been identified as trlbes and the

areas of tribal concentration were enlarged to bring within the ambit of

planned development. Each tribal region was entrusted to prepare its own

sub- plan, which formed apart of the plan prepared by the state.

Consequently, a plethora of legislation has been enacted to prevent

alienation of land, regulate money lending, to abolish bonded labour system

and to organize labour." The resources being mobilised for the

development of the tribal regions from many sources, outlay in the state

plan, investment of central government ministries, institutional finance and

the special central assistance, have reached an all time high." The funds

allocated for tribal development by successive governments, both centre

and state, since independence might not have been commensurate with the

proportion of the trihal population and they were very low upto the IV five

year plan. But after the IV"' five-year plan there was a change in the

liamcwork of the tr~bal policy without altering the strategy. Hence, the

fund allocation rose to 3.1 percent on tile \I"' Five Year plan and 4.37

percent In the VI" ' live-year plan, thus inch~ng very closc to lhe~r share In

the plan efforts. The above-mentioned evolution of the strategy for tribal

developnient shows that the Indian cxperimc~lt w ~ t h tribal development is a

unique one in the case of developing economies.

Page 9: strategy of tribal development and the tribal development programmes

Tribal Development in India

After the attainment o f independence lndia has developed a unique

tribal development strategy imbued with Nehru's humanism, which held

the ground for our tribal development programmes especially In the init~al

period. I t still provides the sheet anchor o f India's tribal policy though

there has been considerable broadening and deepening o f the structure o f

the policy and programmes.

After independence lndia adopted planned economic development

to strengthen its strategy o f mixed economy and make it more effective.

Hence, we formulated the Five-year plans where the state makes long term

plans for integrated development o f the country. On the basis o f these

plans, lndia molded her tribal development programmes. A review of the

tribal developlnent programmes o f the first six five year plans show that

tribal development programmes in lndia have been marked by two broad

approaches such as: -

I. Cornmu~l~ty npp~oncll at Block level

2. The Integrnte Tribal Developnlent Approacli u~ider tlie Tribal sub- plan

To urlderstand the rational~ty behind the conimunlty approach to

trlbal development, we have to review it in tlic context of colnnlunlty

Devclop~nent programme envisaged during the tirst I?vr Year Plan. Under

Illis prograllirilc, ;I con~prcliensivc approacli ; ~ i l l i ~ ~ i g i l t ;1 b i ~ l i ~ n ~ e d

Page 10: strategy of tribal development and the tribal development programmes

development of the entire country was adopted to encourage peoples'

participation in development and to cater to the needs of the smallest unit.

Consequently, the country was divided into a number of development

blocks. Following the area development approach programmes for

community development related to such basic amenities as supply of

drinking water, health care, construction of roads and other development

works were encouraged. To meet the spec~al nceds of the tribals, tr~bal

Development Blocks were set up on these lines in areas of high tribal

concentration. The original idea for setting up of Tribal Development

Blocks was to cater to the specific needs of the tribal areas most of which

fall in geographically isolated and hilly terrain with no development

infrastructure. This approach contained during the First Five-year Plan

period.

The community approach to tribal develop~l~ent though

conceptually sound met with little success. In tliis context it may be

pointed out that the tr~bal development here const~tuted but an insignificant

part of the developnient activities. Compared to thc volunle and size ol'lts

d~frerent sectors, ill physical and financial tcrnls, the requlrenients of the

trihal devclopnie~it were otien ovcrlookcd. Ir i tliis cocillcctlon. the Nat~onal

Committee on Dcvclop~ncnt of Backward areas st;irted." 'l'he total

development efforts i n the states and the cenlrc was growing from plan ro

pla~i. I t was cxpectcd that the bcnefits tvould accrue to tllc tribals ~ ~ n d e r

varlous dcvrlopmcnt programmes. Iiotvever, tlic l'r~biil L>eveloprne~it

Page 11: strategy of tribal development and the tribal development programmes

programmes and schemes taken up under backward class sector failed to

attain the expected goal.

The failure o f the Tribal Development Blocks to achieve the desired

objectives called for a more serious attention o f the problem. This led to

the adoption of the tribals sub- plan approach. Under the tribal sub-plan an

integrated approach to tribal development was attempted Guided by the

principle that development had to be specific to reach each area and each

community the first step that the plan did was to identify certain common

elements which characterise tribal societies. Some of the major issues,

which the plan identified, were social and economic exploitation, shifting

cultivation, deforestation and loss o f command over the resources due to

urbanization, modernization and non- tribal immigrat~on. The strategy

under the tribal sub- plan was to build their inner strength to enable tr~bes to

meet new challenges. Education and health services in addition to direct

economic programmes were seen to be the right investment in th~s

direction.

'Tribal development under tlie Tr~bal Sub-f'la~i is trcnted as ;II~

integral pert of the state plan itself. Botll in its i~nplementation allti

financial Inputs, tribal development programmes are merged w~tl l in tile

sectoral llcads ol'the state plan. I t is Ibr this reasons t l~al l ' r~ba l sub-l'lan~

are found only In prcdon~inantly now tribal states, wl~erc llic pop~lattoii

constitute the minority o f the population. On the otlier hand, ill states

Page 12: strategy of tribal development and the tribal development programmes

where tribals are in majority such as Meghalaya, Nagaland and Mizoram,

the concept o f Tribal sub-plan itself is considered to be for the tr~bes. It can

be observed that the tribal under-development during the first Six Five Year

Plan period was not due to lack o f planning for the welfare o f the tribals but

due to lack o f meaningful planning and under implementation or planned

programmes and schemes. The tribal development programmes lacked the

flexibility i t required to meet specific needs o f these complex and

heterogeneous tribal communities even though some scholars had taken due

cognizance o f the fact that tribal econonlies are not homogeneous in nature

and vary according to their socio-economic conditions. The development

planners failed to take this fact into consideration dur~ng the first three

decades o f our economic planning. Many programmes failed to effective

due to this blanket approach in planning and implementation.

I f our planning process prevented our planners from gettlng a

proper perspective o f the needs o f tlie tribes, they have further beell

confounded by our ~mplcmentation agencies. The bns~c Iden b h n d the

~ntegraled tribal de\clopment programlnes IS llle optilnu~n u t i l i ~a l~o i l of

resources for a comprehensive development o f the trtbals. This approacli

nleans that the development o f the lribals has to be taken up In n llolistlc

basls. This ~lnplies tl~at Tor a proper ~lnplemcntat~on o f the pl.ogr;illimss

there has to be a close co-ordination o f the sectors involved. A revle\\ of

the progress o f the tribal development progranlllles has sho\\,n that ;I large

number o f them are at various stages of stagnation. Init~ally. our plnllilers

Page 13: strategy of tribal development and the tribal development programmes

were of the opinion that given economic inputs, our tribals would absorb

the benefits o f development and later regenerate them for their further

development. While this principle is theoretically plausible, ~t di~countetl

the economic and social structure within which tribes had to operatc.

During the Seventh Five Year Plan period there was rad~cal

changes in the formulation of tribal plans. Consequently, these changcs

reflected in the implementation also. Even though the dccentralizat~on of

planning process started in 1979, it was in the VII F ~ v e Year Plan I'er~od

that the formulation and implantation o f plans for tr~bals were done w ~ t h

great vlgor and enthusiasm. Consequently, the D~strict Collectors were

assigned the task o f plan formulation and implementarion at district level.

The activities o f the D~strlcr level-working Group became more effic~ent

during this plan period.

Recently, there are changes in the ~mplementation of Tribal Sub-

Plan Strategy. Under this, integrated Tribal Developnlent Proyranlnle area\

are give11 more importance. The District levcl working group co~lcept

gradually becanle an ideal set LIP for the fornlulation and ~mplcnlentation ol'

Tribal Sub- I'lnn mainly due to [he adn~inistrat~ve a ~ i d lini~ncinl pouers

vested with i t . T i l l 1995-96 the Planning ;~nd Econonl~c Afl:,~~r,

Depnrtnic~it 111 C;ovcrnnient in states \Yere vested with 1111. nodi~l ~rolc 1i)r 1111.

fo~mm~~latioii ;~nd inlplenlelltatio~l o f Tribal- Sub Pli111 in the SI:I~C~.

However, ill 1906-97vnrious changes wcrc lakc11 pl;lcc in 1111.; lizld

Accordingly, 75 percent o f the Tribal sub- I'lan funds \verc allociitrd lo thc

Page 14: strategy of tribal development and the tribal development programmes

Il~stricts. The ~ntcr-sectoral co-operation and co-ordinat~on brought

through t h ~ s system ensured linkage among sectoral programmes to a

ccrtaln extent. This changes in turn reduced wasteful expenditure

considerably. The financial and phys~cal achicvcmcnt$ In the d ~ ~ t r i c t Ic\cI

were comparat~vely good, but several grass root level problems of the

tr~bals rema~ned unsolved. I t was in this context that central government

iisucd orders allowlng pooling of funds under different heads of the Tr~bal

sub- plan. Accordingly, pool~ng of funds i tas Introduced In certaln \tales

l ~ k e Kerala and Maharashtra tlowcvcr, the states \*ere allowed freedom

for minor changes in the formulation and implementation stages While

fixing the priorities, centrally sponsored scheme are given top prior~ty. Thc

pooling system has helped to formulate the Tribal suh- plan in a more

real~stic manner. It offers freedom to the scheduled Tribe Development

Department in choosing only those sectors, which are really needed and

uselill ro the trihals. Moreover. the system has e l~rn~nated the national flow

component to\\ardr t r~ha l suh-plan

Tribal Development in Kerala

The trihal development stratcg) follo\ccd in KCI-ala state fro111 t~riic

to llrile hirs ~ii\:lr~abl! bccn apart of tile tr~h:ll dc\e101)111~'1lt strdt~'g! ;~iio/)rcil

111 I n d ~ a as a \\.hole. .4ga1n these strategies h a \ e been In confbrniity \\1111

tliv guneral de \ .e lopn~e~i t strategy. Thus at the ~ n ~ t ~ a l stages of planned

dcve lop~~ien t wlren the community I)e\,elopnlent programliies \\ere adopted

111 Ind~a . the s;111ic c i i ~ n ~ n u n ~ t y dcvelopnicnt proyrnllllnca \ \ere ;~doptcJ In

Page 15: strategy of tribal development and the tribal development programmes

Kerala. It was found that the Community Development Approach was

inadequate for the speedy interaction of the tribals with the largc society;

some of the Community Development Blocks in thc area of tr~bal

concentration were modified into Special Multi-purpose Tr~bal Blocks or

Tribal Development Blocks. On the basis o f the national strategy, the

Tribal Development Block in Kerala starts functioning in Attappady In

April 1962.

The establishment o f Tribal Development Block In Kerala from

1962 marked a more systematic and con~prehensive effort in this direction.

These institut~ons were able to initiate some measures especially on the

social front. Isolated attempt at improving the welfare of the tribals made

only marginal impact as the agencies created were not properly equipped to

restrain the activities o f the socio-economic forces exploiting the tribals.

However, the Tribal Development Block was able to succeed in building up

a fairly sound infrastructure, which was used for fi~rtller advancenlent of the

tr~bal arcas in tlic succeeding years.

Tile failure of thc Tribal Developnient Blocks lo achieve the drs~red

objcctlves called for a more scrious attention o f the trlbal problc~n. Durtng

the v"' Fivc \'ear I'lan, a ~najor slli i i in strategy was aft'ected \v~t l l thc

adopt1011 ol"l'riba1 sub- pln~i. \vlr~ch envisaged a total develop~ile~it cffort 111

the identified area with resources pooled ftom

a ) Outlay li.0117 state plans

b) lnvest~iicnts by central nlinisteries

Page 16: strategy of tribal development and the tribal development programmes

c) Special Central Assistance of Ministry of Home affairs

d) Institutional finance.

As wc noted earlier, the mode of implementation of Tribal Sub-

plan strategy launched during V Plan was through comprehensive socio

economic development in consonance with the development of tribal areas.

Accordingly, considering the peculiar nature of the tribal concentration and

to ensure effective co- ordination of development programmes, integrated

Tribal development projects ([TDPs) were started during V F ~ v e Year Plan.

Consequently, the first ITDP in the state was started in Attappady in

Palakkad district by covering the Tribal Development Block Attappady.

Subsequently, four more ITDPs namely Punalur, Idukki, Nilambur and

Mananthavady were formed. The Panalur ITDP fornied In the southern

most pan of the tribal belt and fell in the forest ranges of

Thlruvananthapurani and Kollani districts. The [dukki ITDP comprised the

forest ranges in the ldukki district. Areas under Marinarkkad and

Olavacode (brcst rangcs are the former Tribal Developmcnt Block area of

Attappndy, came mder Attappady ITDP. The trlbals livins in the forest

areas of' Malappilram and Kozliikode dlstrict canie ~lnder Nllaliibi~r ITDP

and those ('orest ranges of Wayanad and Kannur canic i1ndL.r Mani~nthavady

ITDP, l'l~esc ITI)Ps covcrcd an arc2 ol'6142 ??sq.k11is nlld :I toliil tribal

populat~oli of 73,042 as dctailed bclow. Thesc ITDl's wcrc t'ormcd on the

basis of tlic proportion of tribal population. Out of tlie tr i [ ) :~l po~)~ilatio~i.

40.47 perccnt wils covcred by tlicse projccts. B11t all tlic ITi)l's except

Page 17: strategy of tribal development and the tribal development programmes

Attappady were spread over mare than two or three revenue districts, which

naturally created administrative problems. Again majority of thc tribals

failed to get the benefits under ITDPs as they were out side the area and

were treated as dispersed tribcs. Table 7.1 gives the part~culars of the

ITDPs in Kerala during the initial stages.

Table 7.1: Particulars of ITDPs in Kerala. 1977-78

Source:. Annual sub plan of Kerala - 1978-79 (Devised) Tribal Welfare Department Govt. Of Kerala 1978.

During 1989-90, the lield level officcs and the ITDPs were

reconstituted. Again, in 1995 a new Tribal Development office started at

Palakkad. Consequent upon tliesc re-constitution no\\, eiglit Tribal

drvelop~lie~lt offices are functioning in tlic state. The Tr~hal devclopnient

offices arc

I . Punalur (Kollani district)

! Ranni (I'atllana~nthitta district)

3. Moovattupuzlia (tiranakulam district)

4 . Palakknd (Palakkad district)

5. Sultlian Batlirry (Wayanad district)

6. Mananthavady (Wayanad district)

Page 18: strategy of tribal development and the tribal development programmes

7. Tamarasserry (Kozhikode district)

8. Kasaragod (Kasargod district)

After the re-constitution of the ITDPs, now seven ITDPs arc

functioning In the state.

The ITDPs are:

I . Nedumangad (Thiruvananthapuram District)

2. Idukki (ldukki district)

3. Nilambur (Malappuram district)

4. Kanjirappally (Kottayam District)

5. Attappady (Palakkad district)

6. Kalpetta (Wayanad district)

7. Kannur (Kannur district)

The derails of the total tribal population, and area covered In ITOPc

are sliow~i in Table 7 !

T a b l e 7.2: I'articulars 01 lTDPs in K e r a l a

Source: Tribal sub-plaa, 1999-2000. Direclora!e of scheduled lr~hcs dc tc lopna~i~ t iovel .~ i~nc~i~ of Kerala Tl~iruvana~ilhapuri~ni July, 1009.

Page 19: strategy of tribal development and the tribal development programmes

Table 7.2 shows that, after the re- organization of the ITDf'r, thc

total ITDI' arcaacovcredO0-95 pcrcent of the tribal population of thc

districts covcrcd by thc seven ITDPs of Kcrala Thew IT[)!'\ cotered an

area of I 1782 94 squ.kms, whlch formed 30.37 pcrcent of the total arcas of

thc districts consisting these ITDPs. However it can bp noled that cbcn

after the rc-constitution of the ITDPs, it I S ablr to covcr only 75 24 percent

ol'tlic total trlbal population of Kerala as per 19Vi census. 7h1s h~ghlightf

thc fact Illat eben after thc re-organization of its ITDPs, one fourth of the

tribal population of state failed to acqulrc the benefits of tribal

dc~elopment Another matter that we want to stress here is that. the Tribal

development programmes planned and ~niplemented under ITOPs, lacked

the flexibility it required to meet the specific needs of this complex and

heterogeneous tribals. It highlight that the development planners have not

taken due cognlsance of the fact that tribals are not homogeneous in nature

and Lary accordingly to tllelr ethnic, soc~al, econoniic cond~ t~ons and

Ii~stor~cal e ~ o l u t ~ o n s .

.4s \ \ e Iia\e alreadq c\;mnined thc seicn ITDPs are co\ering onl!

74.24 pcrcent of the total tr~hal populatloli ot'thc itnte. .\I !hi\ ! I I I I C ~ U ~ C . 11

I S also I I C C C Z I B ~ I ~ Y 10 esa11111it' \\hat adrnlrl~stl-;~t~\e steps i i ,~\ t . taLr.11 b! tlic

government and the tribal dr\elopnient depart~ncllc of Kcrala to ~nlplenielit

the progranrlncs for 111s onc fourth of tlir 11-~hal pol>ulnlioli tliow \ \ I io ;ire

not co\cred u~lcier ITl>l's. Atier tile rc-org;rnl/:ll~o~i ot' IfI)l's. I4

Punchayats arc identified as cluster areas I'rior lo the re-organ17atioli.

Page 20: strategy of tribal development and the tribal development programmes

there cluster areas were part of the ITDP area. T h e cluster areas identified

in t h e state arc Aryankavu, Thenmala and Kulathupuza Panchayats in the

Kollam districts, Konni. Malayalapuza, Pramadam, Thannithode and

Aruvappalarn Panchayats in Pathanamthitta district, and Kodencherry,

Thiruvampady, Koodaraji , Narippatta and Maruthomkara Panchayat in

Kozhikode district. The details of the cluster arcas are given in Table 7.3.

T a b l e 7.3: f 'articulars of Pancl iayats d e c l a r e d as T r i b a l c lus ter in K e r a l a ---

l'opulation a t per 1991 census 1 No. Total S T

I I - I . Aryankavu 15585 368

Percentage Kollam Anchal

' 2.68

2. Thenn~ala 24214 355 1.47 3. K u l a e 33271 1607 4 3 3 -7- 2.45

Sub-rota1 2.45

I . Konni _ I. Konn~ 27800 ,

i Sub Total

Page 21: strategy of tribal development and the tribal development programmes

Tribal development projects and Welfare Scl~emes i n Kerala

We have seen that tribal development strategy followed in Kerala

from time to time has been a part o f the tribal dcvelopment strategy adopted

in India as a whole. Accordingly, after the re-organisation of Kerala State,

the government of' Kerala inaugurated tlic ~ntroduction of tribal

development programmes. Subsequently, the state governmclit o f Kerala

established certain tribal development projects and introduced various tribal

welfare schemes in Kerala. In this context i t 1s ~niperative to examine the

major tribal development projects in Kerala. Further, we have to examine

the various tribal welfare schemes in Kerala.

Major tr ibal development projects

During tlie initial stages o f tribal development prograninies itself, the

governnient o f Keraln lins established certain major tribal developnient

projects so as to provide setrlenient and employnient to the tribals o f

Kerala. A rcvicw o f tlic niajor projects wi l l help us to trace how far these

projects helped to accelerate tlie process of socio-economic transformation

o f tribals

Cl~engeri Tr iba l developntcrlt project

Tlir Che~igcri tribal developmenl PI.OIL'C( \\'iIS sla~-k!ii III I057 In

Chengeri in Anibalavayal panchayat in Wayanad district. E\,e~i~liough the

Page 22: strategy of tribal development and the tribal development programmes

main objective was to provide employment to 100 tribal households, the

project failed to achieve the target. Another fact that we want to stress here

is that except for four or five years both the modal farm and the coffee

estate working under this project have been running at a loss.

2. Sungandhagiri Cardamom Project

The project envisaged the settlement o f 750 tribal fanlilies in 1500

hectares of vcsted forest land o f Achooram village in Wayanad district and

a joint farming co-operalive society was formed In 1978, mainly for

cultivation of cardamom. However, out o f 1500 hectares o f land,

cardamom is cultivated in 800 hectares, coffee in 133 hectares, pepper i n

160 hectares and fuel trees in 42 hectares. The unprecedented drought in

frequent spell (1982-83, 1986-87, 2000-2001) affected the cardamom yields

adversely. Further, the steep fall in the price o f cardamom and shortage i n

the productioli also contributed to an unhealthy s i t i ~a~~o l l . Lack of t ~ m r l y

appl~catio~i o f Inputs, lack o f timely agr~cultural opcratlons, plant d~seascs,

adverse climat~c cond~tions etc, also adversely affected the progress o f the

project. Against tile original target o f 750 tr~bal fiirnllles there \\,ere only

521 famllics ill 1990-2000. A l l thc working mcmbcrs o f fi~milies settled ill

the project have been employed as \\age labourers. These families have

been provided with permanent houses. But drink~ng water facil~tlcs,

sanitation and other facilities have not rcaclled all the lillnllies.

Page 23: strategy of tribal development and the tribal development programmes

3. Pookot dairy project

The pookot dairy project was started in Wayanad district under

Western ghats development programme. This project envisaged settlement

and rehabilitation o f 110 freed bonded labourers. I-lowever, only 100

families were actually enrolled as members. Out o f this 84 families have

been given permanent houses and are settled in the project. The major and

are settled in the project. The major components o f the project are dairy

farming, cultivation o f cardamom, coffee and other miscellaneous crops.

The unforeseen outbreak o f brucelosis on the one hand and the

mismanagement o f the farm resulted the accumulation o f debt and failed to

attain the project target.

4. Attappady Co-operative farming Society

Attappady Co-operative farming Society was started in 1975 under

the westernghats development programnie with thc object o f rehabilitating

420 tribal families. Nearly 1040 ilcctares ol' vested lbrest land was

assigned and the otller [our farnis viz. Chindakki (250 hectares). Pothupady

(280 hectares) Karuvara (105 hectares) and Varadimala (275 hectares) were

established. For the rcllabil~tatlon of thc tribal I:,ii~i~lies and for tllc

irnpleinent;lt~oll of development proyralnmc a Co-o(?crnl~\~c Society was

registered. L)uring the V11 Five Year Plan period, tllc ~)rolc'ct adopted

several revitaliiation procedures. As a result o f these rcvitalizntioii

prograninirs, the functioning o f t l ~ e Society has reached 3 satisfactory level.

Page 24: strategy of tribal development and the tribal development programmes

5. Tribal Collective farm project, Vattachira

The Collective farm, Vattachira, was established in 1981 for the

rehabilitation of 60 selected freed bonded labourers o f Kodenchery village

of Kozhikode district. An extend of 120.5 hectares o f assignable forest

land in Kodenchery Tribe Development Department for the formation of

the Collective farm. Several Crops like ginger, bananas, Paddy, Coconut,

Silver oak, Cashew have been raised in the farm. The project has been

facing the problem o f a wide gap between the anticipated income and

expenditure. It is distressing to note that the return from the farm is very

meager. A major portion o f the farm is lying idle as forest lands. Lack of

irrigational facilities is another acute problem. Consequent upon these

limitations, the project has failed to attain the expected target.

6. Priyadarsliini Teat estatc project

Priyadarshrrn l e a estate was established In 534.26 acres of land in

1984 for rellabilitat~on of 118 freed bonded labourers of' Mananthavady

taluk o f Wayand district. A tea factory as set up at the tea estate and i t

started productior~ in July 1993. The tea factory i s functioning well and i t

has already crossed 11s productio~l more than double that of the installed

capacity. The prc!ject ensures eniploymcnt to nearly 250 tribals of a regular

basis.

Page 25: strategy of tribal development and the tribal development programmes

7. Chikkod Cirijan Colony Project, Malappuram

Chikkod Cirijan Colony projcct, a colonization scheme wa$

crtablished in 1976 for rehab~litating 6O families of different tribal

conimunitic\ u h o were iiccd hontlcd lahoorcr\ 4n extent of 105 hcctarci

of assignable land in Erankol malaiarm of Chlkkode v~llage in

Malappuram district was set apart for establishment of the girijan colony.

The settled families hale been allottctl land at 1.71 hectare5 each 411 the

infratructural facilities i u c h as pucca diii.lling houws, protected water

supply, pre-primary education centres, primary schools, health centres,

electricity facilities have been provided. The settled families have been

p ro~ ided employment all round the year. All the schemcs proposed in the

colony have been materiaiised

As ive have examined the major tribal development projects

en\ lsaged (or the r e h a h ~ l ~ t a t ~ o ~ ~ of the tr~hnlc of Kerala. i t Carl he obaer\eii

that tlieir projects t'tlnction~ng iindcl tribal deiclopiilenr depart~nent

experienced both galn and loss. The greatest achievement is that these

projects enabled to pro\ ~ d r housing faciiities. drinking tvater facil~ties.

eiectric~ry. edticat~onnl I;~cilit~es, eniplo!~~ic.nt opportlinirics and other

~nfrastructi~ral facilities for 1500 tribal fiinlil~cs who arc rcsidlng In 3000

lhectares ol' laild. In this contest i t IS 11ot incorrecl to assume that the

pl.ojcsts have a scr\ ~ c c to rdisc tlic slanci;~rd of l1v111g ;111d ~llso hclpcti

to accelerate the processes of soc io-ecu~~o~nic transfornlalion of thc rribals

Page 26: strategy of tribal development and the tribal development programmes

o f Kerala. Nevertheless, the financial conditions o f all the projects except

that o f Chokkad Colony and I'riyadarshini Tca Estate are not sat~sfactory.

Recently the conditions o f the Altappady Project have improvcd much. As

the Mon~tor ing and stirring committee o f Legislative Assembly o f Kerala

for scheduled caste and scheduled tribes rightly observed i n thc report in

1997, the fall i n the price o f coffee, lea, rubbcr, peppcr. cardamom,

unscientific agricultural operations, financial and adniinistrat~vc nlanager~al

defects etc retarded the progress and resulted poor pcrforniance o f the

projects.'5 I t can also be observed that the projects were established without

considering the heterogeneous socio- economic conditions o f the various

tribal communities. Transferring the vested forestlands to non-tribal

development created a "non-tribal enclave" in the tribal areas. Hence the

benefits o f cerlain tribal development schemes proposed for the tribals In

project areas are gained by the non-[ribals. Even though representatives o f

the tribals exist i n the administrative set up o f all these projects. the

bureaucrats are the defacto decision niakers who are ignorant nhout the

t r~ba l cco!iornrcs and the pulse o f eacli tribal societv Hence rlrcy adopt

stereotype proposal for all projects. Consequent upon tlicse drftcts mznv

tribal development prolects are facing stagnation.

111 additiot~ to the mbal developme~i~ projc~.ts t l t : ~ t \\.e 1h;1\ 1, . t I r ~~ tdy

examined and an:~lyscd, varrous trthnl \r,elbrc schc~iics I~;I\? been

Page 27: strategy of tribal development and the tribal development programmes

introduced and implemented in Kerala for the socio-economic

transformation o f the tribals. Eventhough plethora o f tribal welfare

schemes have been implemented in Kerala since the inception of F ~ v c Year

Plans, we have focused our study on the tribal welfare schcmes

implemented during the last four Five year plans.

1. Education

In all the five year plans, pr~ori ty was given to educilr~nnal

development o f scheduled Tribes. Major chunk o f the non-plan

expenditure o f the Scheduled Tribes Developme~it Department has been

spending on educational development activities including scholarsh~p,

boarding and lodging charges, incentives to the parents etc. The following

list o f the major educational schemes wi l l glve us the magnitude of the

educational development programmes o f the government.

( I ) Scheme for raising enrolment o f scheduled Tribe children in

schools and for remedyins drops-outs.

(2) Scllerncs for financial assistance to high scliool ch~ldt.clr and

students failed in S.S.L..CI pDCl1.2 for studying In Tuton;ila.

(3) Schemes for pre-primary education

(4) Schenles for tribal hostels.

(5) Scllenics for construction o f girls liostels

(6) Schenies for construction o f boys hostels.

(7 ) Schemes for subsidised hostcls.

Page 28: strategy of tribal development and the tribal development programmes

(8) Schemes for purchase o f land for construction for tribal hostels.

(9) Schemes for Model Residential School for Scheduled Tribes.

(1O)Schemes for special incentives to brilliant scheduled tribe students

(1 1)Schemes for incentive to specially talented tribal youths in arts and

sports.

(1 2) Schemcs for 13harat Darsan.

(13)Schemes for Technical education.

(I4)Schemes for nursing education.

(15)Schemes for industrial training.

(I6)Schemes for vocational Institute for Scheduled Tribes.

(17)Schemes o f production cum t ra in~ng centres.

2. Health, Hygiene and Nutrit ion

Various measures are taken for timely medical attention to scheduled

tribes. Since the tribal settlements are sctuated far away from hospitals and

health centres, tlie tribals are not able to make use o f thc available r n c d ~ c ~ ~ l

facilities. Inspite ot' the health hci l i t ics already existing 111 [ribill area,.

tribals o t 'ce i la~n local~ty are found prune to several comni i t~l~cable as he l l

as malnutr~t ion hascd dtseases. Hence the government Iinh ~tltroduced three

major healtli prqjects for the tribals o f K e r d l ~ namely. Mananthavady Iiealrh

project, Attappady health project and Idukky llcaltll prqect 111 adtlitlon to

tlicse Ilealth pro.jects tlic govenirnenl 112s i t i ip lcn~e~lted thc li>llo\\ tiig illid

wel l i re sclicn\es for tlie tribal ol'Ker;tI;~.

Page 29: strategy of tribal development and the tribal development programmes

(1) Scheme for training to tribal women in health, hygiene and nutrit~on

(2)Scheme for treatment and rehabilitation o f tribals afl'cctcd by varlous

diseases.

(3) Scheme for food support.

3. Housing

The problen~ o f llousing among scheduled tribes IS \cry cruc~al Thc

number o f homeless rribal famil~es at the end o f V l l l plan was estimated a\

12700 ." A more realistic estimate showed that there were 15000 homeless

families at the beginning o f 1998-99." During the V l l l plan period, an

amount o f Rs.517.5 lakhs was budgeted for housing and total number of

4523 houses were construcred." The government has implemented the

following schemes for solving the Ilousing problems of the trlbals in Kerala

SO as to accelerate the process oftransforniation.

(3) Scheme o f constructio~~ o f houses for housc.lcss hchrdulcd tr~hc.

fil~lii l ics

( 4 ) Schecllc ol' construcrio~l ol' Ilouses I I I I ~ ~ ~ Myrl11.1 hl)o~lsorc(I

progralnlllc o l ' l l o ~ ~ s ~ n g Ijo;ird.

Page 30: strategy of tribal development and the tribal development programmes

( 6 ) Scheme of total housing of scheduled caste and scheduled tr~bcs In

selected panchayats.

(7) Scheme for rehabiliiatton of landless, houseless schcdulcd trlbe

families.

In addition to the housing schemes, the government has also

implemented schemes for improving the housitig facilit~es and other

amenities under the colonization scheme.

4. Other Schemes

Apan from the schemes that we have already observed, the

government has introduced the following schemes for the economlc

development, cult~iral development, enhancement of social awareness etc.

( I ) Scheme of assistance to tribal co-operative societies.

(2) Scheme for promoting self-employment to tvibal youths

(3) Scllc~ne for intensive habitat development

(4) Sclic~iic for Andikala Gramam.

(5) Sclienie for assistance to Scheduled Tribe Mnli~la Sntn~~,ia~ii atid

Volulit;~r! organi7:111olic.

(6) Scl~ctiie of ass~st ;~ncr for the niarriagc of sclicdulcct 11.1bc ~ I I Is.

(7) Scheme of asslsla11ce for inter-caste ~iiarl.icd couplcs

(8) SClleli~c of water supply to tribal areas.

Page 31: strategy of tribal development and the tribal development programmes

(9) Scheme of assistance for promoting tribal medicines

(10) Schemes o f rehabiliting un-wedded mothers.

Socio-Economic Impact of 'Tribal Dcvclopmcnt Schemes in Wayanad

In the earlier part o f the chaptcr, we have made an attempt to analysc

the tribal development strategies o f colonial rulers as well as that o f

independent India. We have also examined the major administrative

measures adopted during the last nine Five Year Plans. Further, we have

reviewed the various tribal development projects and welfare schemes

planned and implemented in Kerala during the plan periods by the

government and its various agencies. At this juncture, i t is imperative to

examine the social and economic impact o f the important tribal

development schemes upon the various tribal communities. Such an

attempt wi l l help us totrace the process o f socio-econonric transformation

o f the tribal economies and also lo verify whether the process of'

lranshrm8lion bas been u n ~ l i ~ ~ e a r and homogeneous a ~ ~ ~ o n g dlll'erent tr~bal

CCOIlOIllICb.

As stilted elsewliere, our study is contilled ro Way:ur:ld ciis~ric~

o f Kernla and also on t\vo tribal communities o f Waynnnd namel) I':1111yalis

and Kuricl~ians. Even though variol~s tribal developnlcnt projccls 2nd

welklrc schcnlcs have been planned and inlplcnlcntcd in Wayanad ci~lcc tlie

Inception of lhc state re- org;~niz;ition in 1950. li)r 111~' con\e~l~encc of o ~ ~ r

Page 32: strategy of tribal development and the tribal development programmes

analysis, we have focused our study on the tribal welfare schemes

implemented in Wayanad sincel980. Wayanad district camc ~ n t o being on

I" November 1980 unifying the south Wayanad and North Wayanad taluks

of erstwhile Kozhikode and Kannur districts. I t can be noted that many of

the tribal development programmes initiated by the government are focused

on individuals and some of them are even inchoately implemented and

hence not in a pos~tion to trace the impact quantitatively. However, here

we have made an attempt to trace the scheme wise impact upon Paniyans

and Kurichians in respect o f agriculture, housing, education, assets etc with

the help o f primary data collected through the same survey covering 200

Paniyan and 100 Kurichian head o f the households.

I. Agriculture Development Programmes

Government o f Kerala introduced various schemes for tlie tribals to

improve their agriculture and allied activities. In add~t~on to the

development o f agriculture these schemes also ~ritended to provide

employmen1 opportun~ties so as to increase their income and standard of

living. In this context it is wortliwli~lc to examine solilt o f the inipor~ant

agr~cultural dcvclopnient schemes ~ntroduced in Wayanad so as to trace tlie

impact on the selected tribal conirn~~nities.

1. Scl~en~es for supply of work bulls

As we examined elsewhccc. ~ i la~or i ty o f 111c 1rib;lls dcl>cnd 011

agriculture for thcir livelihood. Thcy arc using hullocks for ploughi~lg tllcir

Page 33: strategy of tribal development and the tribal development programmes

land for cultivation. But majority of them are not able to invcst the nioney

required for purchasing bullocks. Hence, the government Introduced a

scheme to give the required fund to purchase a pair of bullocks for each

selected tribal head o f the households. In addition to expand agricultural

production, the scheme also intended to provide employment opportunltles

and generation o f additional income. The scheme has been introduced in

Wayanad sine 1980. Our sample survey revealed that out of 200 sample

head o f the liouse holds from Paniyans community 84 of them received

financial assistance under this scheme. AmonglOOKurichain head of the

households 58 o f them also received linancial assistance for the same

purpose. In this context it is worthwhile to examine how they utilized these

financial assistance and also to trace the impact o f tlie scheme upon thc

benificaries among Paniyans and Kuricliians. Table 7.4 shows the dcta~la

regarding bullocks purchased under th~s scheme.

Table 7.4: Con~mudity wise distribution o f work bulls I'ron~ 1980-1998

l l ic fi11;lncial ;Isclslolice Y er ,

I0 l l l l * . -. - --- .

'The t;~blc 7.4 shows tlial even thouglr 81 liead of t i i t hou.;eIiolds

only OR aniolig tllelii :lctually purchased tlie bullocks ;111(l I 0 il11101ig 1111s.

utilis~ld tlie ;~~iiount. Further, i t can be noted tli;~t no\\' nolie a~iiong thslli

Page 34: strategy of tribal development and the tribal development programmes

possesses the bulls. However, all the beneficiaries in Kurichian community

properly utilized the financial assistance. The table also shows that the

Kurichians properly maintained the bulls. On enquire the Kurichian

beneficiaries revealed that 28 among them exchanged the old bulls to new

ones and paid an additional amount upto Rs. 15001- for one pair of bulls.

They also revealed that after their own agricultural operations they provide

service o f the bulls to non-tribal farmers. Thcy agreed that they are getting

30 to 40 days additional work from this. In this context it can be deduced

that Kurichian beneficiaries o f the scheme gel at least an additional income

ranging from Rs.3000 to Rs.40001- per year.

From the foregoing analysis i t can be infer that Paniyans and

Kurichians showed differential response towards this particular scheme and

consequently the impact o f the scheme is also different among these two

tribal con~niunities. Paniyan beneficiaries are not able to increase the

agricultural production nor able to expand employment opportuilit~es and

generating additional inconie. On the othci- hand. Kuricliiail henefic~arie>

attained the desired results o f this particular scllenle. PI-~mn.I:,isic, our study

shows that uiiif'orm policy and scliemes arc not IlelplLl f'or the soc~al a~id

economic tnnsfornlat~on o f all tribal coin~i~~init ics.

2. Schenlc for supply of agricultural in~plcnlcnts

l'lir scllc~nc for supply of agricult~~~.;il i~ i i l> lc i~ ic~l ls \%;I.; :~~loiller

regular tribal wclSare scheme iniplcmcnted 111 Wayanad. U~idcr [IIC SCI~CIIIS

Page 35: strategy of tribal development and the tribal development programmes

thc government supplied agricultural implements, which they arc nor able

to purchase from their meager income. Spades, Pickaxes, Choppers, and

sickles etc costing Rs.2001-were supplied to all the sample head of thc

households. They were alro glven option to select the itern\ Our \arnplc

5urvey revealed that out of 200 benefic~ar~c\. 184 bencficlaric5 sold thcir

agricultural ~mplenlcnts to a non-tr~hal road contractors for an amount of

Ils. 1001- per set and 14 among them mortgaged the ~mplements to the non-

tr~bal for Rs.20-Rs. 25 after few days. The survey revealed that majority of

them opted pickaxes according to the directions o r the road contractor, li I >

observed that among the Paniyan beneficiaries only two members are

maintained these implements with them. On the other hand all the

Kurichian beneficiaries opted choppers, spades and sickles. wh~ch are

essential for agricultural operations. I t can be seen that the) properl:,

utilized the scheme, However, the fa~lure on the part of Paniyans to attain

the desired result sho\vs the necessity of tribal \\is? and need based

schemes instead of stereotype tribal welfare schemes for accclerat~ng the

process of transformation.

3. Schenie for C o c o n ~ ~ t Cultivatio~i

The scheme aimed at the introduction of coconut cult~\.~tioii i n rhc

tribal areas. The tribal development department supplied 20 COCOIIII I i cc~i \

per sclcctcd head of' [hc households v,~tllout cons~dc r~ag tllr ;i\a~l;~hilit! ol

land under their possession. The schenie has been introduced 111 U ' I I~ ; I I~ ; IL~

Page 36: strategy of tribal development and the tribal development programmes

since 1981 and hence all the head o f the households under our survey have

received the benefits o f the scheme. Our sample survey revealed that non-

tribal farmers purchased majority o f the good seeding from the Panlyan

beneficiaries. Hence they actually got the remaining substandard coconut

seeds without seedbeds. Consequently, majority among them fa~led to

cultivate a single coconut tree. In contrast, all the Kurichian bcnefic~aries

got the coconut seeds under this scheme. However, due to lack of

irrigational facilities and substandard quality o f the seeds, the growth of the

tree is not satisfactory. Our survey revealed that some plants are in the

yielding stage. Kurichian beneficiaries made certain complaints about the

planning and implementation o f the scheme during our survey.

The authorities have supplied Cocanut seeds without considerrng

the availability o f land o f the beneficiaries and their requirements. Further,

the tribal develop men^ department collected the seeds from the private

contractors instead o f collecting from government agricultural farms

Hence there was no quality control in the collcction o f seeds. W~thout

consider~ng the suitable climate conditions for p lan t~~ ig tl111 seeds, the trlbal

developn~ent departmen! supplied the seeds in February- March months. In

this contest it is not incorrect to assume that the department has more

concerned \\lit11 thc spending the allotted funds bctb1.e tllc concerned

financial years than proper utilisation of the schenic. Ilere also \ve can

observe tlic dilrcrc~itial response and din'ere~ltral 1n1p;lct ol'tlle sche~rrc up011

Page 37: strategy of tribal development and the tribal development programmes

these two tribal communities. The differential impact upon these two

communities highlight the fact that the scheme was ~mposed upon l'aniyan5

who are ignorant about coconut plantations and having differcnt aocio-

economic back grounds. Hence tribal- wise and need based programmes

and schemes are necessary to stimulate the tribals to attain thc desired

socio- economic transformation.

4. Schemes for Rubber Cultivation

Even though this schemes started in 1980 and focused espec~ally in

the Punaloor lTDP area of the state, the scheme extended to Wayanad

in1990. The scheme intended to expand the rubber cultivation in tribal

areas and also to provide training in taping and other manual works so as to

generate employment opportunities. However, under the schemes 4

Kurichia head of the households received an amount of Us. 8740iech as the

first installnient of the scheme. Our sample survey revealed that all the four

Kurichia beneficiar~es diverted the entire amount to Paddy cultlvat~on. The

Pdilurt. of the sclieme highlights the fact that the progranlnies introduced hy

the goverlimcnt for non- tribal cultivators cannot bc transplanted and

implelnented among the tribals of Wayanad. I t can bc observed tllat even

amolig tllc trnd~tio~ially cultivat~lig comniunity like 111~1 01' Kurlchi;~ prefers

to cultivate food crops arid spices rathcr than plnntntlon crops. So the

hilure of tlre scheme can be explained ill terms of thc traditional

agricultural patter11 of the tribals of Waynnnd

Page 38: strategy of tribal development and the tribal development programmes

5. Scheme for supply of higher yielding varieties of seeds and

chemical fertilizers

Since the introduction of ITDPs, the sclicmc has been introduced In

Wayanad by thc tribal devclopmcnt department is collaboration w~th

agriculture department. Under the scheme IOKGs o f high yielding variety

of Paddy seeds have distributed among thc selected tribal head of the

households. In addition to paddy seeds, a k ~ t o f chemical fenilisers was

also supplied. Our sample survey showed that all the 300 sample head o f

the households received the items in a year or other. It can be noted that

the authorities supplied the seeds and fertilizers without considering their

requirements o f the tribals and the availability o f the irrigated land in their

possession. I t can be noted that Kurichians properly utilized thc benefits of

the scheme. On enquiry they admitted that consequent upon the use of

higher yielding seeds and chemical fertilizer their paddy cultivation has

Increased and majority o f them was able to sold out their surplus product~on

In the ~narket. On the contrary, majority o f the Paniyan beneficiaries have

ellher sold the supplled Items to the non-tribal I'arn1cl.s For throwaway

pr~ces or exclianged the itenis for otlier food crops.

The differelltial impact o f the scheme up011 these t\\o lrlhal

conin~u~ii t~es hiplilight the fact that thc govcrnmtnr i~irplerncnted tht

schenles without understanding the pulse of tlic J i f i rent trihal

co~limu~iities in Wayannd. The failure o f thc sche~nc in respect o f Paniyati.;

Page 39: strategy of tribal development and the tribal development programmes

also unraveled the fact that thc poor socio- economic statu\ pretcnted thcni

to ~nculcate the desired awareness for utilizing the scheme O n the other

hand, Kurichlans traditionally a cultivating community culttvated thc

~ndcfatlgable awareness towards agricultural development whcmcs.

11. Housing Schemes

A \ \re notcd elsewhere, the problem of houslng among the tribal5 15

\cry crucial Hence. dur~ng the last Four f:lve Year Plan.;, high prlority ha>

bcen siven by the government to solve the problem of housing Hence. the

government and its varlous agencies introduced various schemes in

Wayanad. At this juncture we can examine the impact of cenain housing

schemes upon the two major tribal communities in Wayanad.

I . Scheme for construction of houses for houseless tribal families

The scheme is intended to provide houses for hoilseiess tribal

la~iiil~ss Ihinng VII and Vlll Five Year Plan Period. the rate ~Cassistance

\\;I:, I<:, 32000 - per Iiou~es However. the go\ernment has ~ncreased the

rate 01' asslalance for the construction of each house during the IX Plan.

N o \ \ the assistance rate for the house is Rs.410001- in X'ayanad. More

otcr. Ils SO0 - for P I C ' C I ~ ~ C I I ! \\iring grant ;lnd Rs. 100 - ~nipro\cd

cliooln \\ 1 1 1 he given to ed~ l i ~xnipleted houses.

linder the schenlc, out of the 200 selected sample head of the

households of Parliya~i conirllun~ty, 102 anlong then1 recei\,rd the fin;~ncial

Page 40: strategy of tribal development and the tribal development programmes

assistance. However, out of 102 houses constructcd under thls scheme, I X

houses are collapsed. In our enqulry, Pan~yan beneficiaria admitted that

nonc of them directly ~nvolvcd in the construction of houses, hut they

entrusted the construction activities upon non- tribal privatc contractors.

They used unburned bricks and other sub- standard raK materials like soft

woods and poor quality tales. We have also observed that the contractors

used loir ratio of cement for plastering the walls. Apart from these kindj o f

irregularitici on the pan of the contractors, the poor maintenance on the

part of the tr~bal beneficiaries resulted the collapse of the bulldlngs. Some

of the beneficiaries admitted that in addit~on of these schemes they eqoyed

financial asststance from other government sources. l ife ha\e alho 1rait.d

the instances of allotment of houses for the very persons t~vice in the same

places without knowlng the official- contractor nexuses, the poor tribal

entrurted the construction to the same contractors time and again

On the other hand, tlle Kurichian beneficiaries properly ~itillrrd rhe

scheme, llnder the scheme. 16 head of the households of our sample

surhey enlo!rd the financial assistance for constritctins the lioiire.; I'nlihe

I'aniyan beiieficiaries. Kurichian dircctl! i~i\ol\ .ed in the Iloustl coil.;tt.ucrlall

acti\ities. Better ccononiic conditions helped them to accunuil;~tz

additional nlaterlals for their houses. Our survey revealed that they

coiistruc~ed better houses than the expected ones under tllc S C I I C I I I ~ . Pri11l;l-

facia, it can he understood thar government and its vnrious agcncles

Page 41: strategy of tribal development and the tribal development programmes

considered the tribals as a homogenous group and consequently

implemented homogeneous welfare schemes without considering the

unique tribal features of each tribal community. The unsatisfactory result

of the housing schemes in the case of Paniyans highlight the point that

instead of imposing stereotype schemes for all tribals, tribal wise and need

based schemes are necessary for solving the housing problems of the tribals

of Wayanad.

111. Educational Programmes and its impact

In all the Five Year Plans, Priority was given to educational

development of scheduled tribes. Hence the state government has given

prime importance to the education of the scheduled Tribes' children as a

means to their development. Major chunk of the non-plan expenditure of

scheduled Tribes ~ e v e l o ~ m e n t Department has been spending on

educational develoflment activities including scholarship, boarding and

lodging charges, incentive to parents etc. In addition to formal educational

programmes the government also impleniented inforn~al educational

schemes at grass root level through literacy programmes. Special provision

has been given to increase the literacy level of the tribals. Unfortunately,

tribal literacy ratc continues to remain as the lowest conipared to that of

other social group. The literacy rate of different population groups in

Kerala is given in the following Table 7.5.

Page 42: strategy of tribal development and the tribal development programmes

Table 7.5: Literacy rate in Kerala

Source: Census of India, series- 10. Kerala paper 3 of 197 1 . 198 1 .and 1991. Final population Taluks.

Category General Scheduled Tribe

The table 7.5 shows that though literacy rate of the tribals is

increasing sincelY71, it continues to remain as the lowest compared to the

other social groups.

In this context it is also necessary to examine the literacy level of

the selected communities in Wayanad and also the literacy rate of the

sample head of the households understudy. It helps us to trace the impact

of literacy progranlnie introduced among the tribals of Wayanad Since

1980. Table 7.6 shows the details regarding the literacy rate of selected

tribal con~munities in wayanad according to 1991 census.

Table 7.6: Literacy rate of selected tribal communities in Wayanad

1991 89 89

57 22

1971

-- 60.42 24 72

Coninlunity of the tribal I Literacy rate in 1991 1 Pan~yans

-pp 1981 70.42 31 79

Tablc 7.6 shows the literacy rate of Paniyans and Kurich~ans in

I Total tribal in Wayanad

Wayanad. The literacy rate of these two major tribal coniniunities highlight

50.63 .- J

the fact thnt the literacy programme introduced in Wayanad made

Source: Scl~eduled Tribes of Kerala at a Glance' Evaluation wing KIKTADAS. Government of Kerala 2001. PBto P.26.

Page 43: strategy of tribal development and the tribal development programmes

differential impact upon these two trihal communities Thc litcracy rate of

the sample head of the households conslstlng these two tr~hal communities

hclpa us to trace the Impact of literacy programmes upon thcsc two tribal

communities in Wayanad. Table 7 7 shows the disparities between

I'an~yan\ and Kur~chiani sample head of the household\ In rc\pcct of

Table 7.7: Communi ty wise literac! ra te of the selected sample head of the households _ _

Lornrnunlty Literacy rate I Pan~yans 13 - - --

I - i 1 Kurichians 27 I

Source: Sample Survey

Table shows that the literacy rate of the head of the households

under our study is ver)# low. Evenrhough the condit~ons of K u r ~ c h ~ a n s arc

not satisfactory, it is more deplorable in the case of Paniyans. Here also \\e

can obser\e the d~tterentlal Impact of 11ter.acy programnlss upon Pan~yans

and Kurichians

In thts context it is also \ \orthwh~le to trace the inipact of another

r.ducatior~al pr.ogr;~ri~ri~c ~r~iplcnientcd ar11or1g 1i1' trlh;~! r11lldsr.n Pst-

primary education scheri~e is a 11111lt1 purpose si.hsnic. .lp.~rr f~oli l

providing cdilcation and nutrit~ous tbod 111 rile dayt~lne. [he \clicnir. .llao

i ~ i t c ~ i ~ l c d 11) ~ L I ~ I I \ : I ~ ~ C L ~ L I C , I ~ I O I I : I ~ : I ~ I ~ I I I I ~ C , I I I I , I I I ~ tlie ~ I I I I ' ~ I . C I I l'lic \.IIIII)!C

survey traced that there are sufticient prc- p r~nl i~r ) r d u c i l t ~ ~ ~ i ~cnlerb 111 tilt

selected Panchayats area. For the convemrnce of the trih:~l ch~ldrcn tr~h,ll

Page 44: strategy of tribal development and the tribal development programmes

development department is also staned pre- primary schools apan from the

general Anganvadies staned by social welfare department. Our sample

survey revealed that all the tribal children in the concerned age group IS not

attending in pre- primary education centres. Our sample survey showed

that out of 186 children from Paniyan community only 29 (15.59 percent)

ch~ldrcn are going to pre- primary education centres. On the other hand out

of 132 Kurichain children 87 (65.91 percent) of them are going to pre-

prlmary education centres. Eventhough the cond~tion of the Kurichlan

children is not satisfactory in respect of pre- primary education, the low

level enrolment of Paniyans can be explained in terms of the poor lmpact of

pre- primary educational schemes of the government.

As we have examined the impact of educational schemes upon

Paniyans and Kurichians on pre-primary school level, it is necessary to

trace the impact of educational schemes in terns of school going children

in the 5-15 age group. Our sample survey revealed that out of 467 children

In the 200 households only 38.12 percent (I 78) are going to school among

Paniyans. However, out of 293 children of Kurichian, 207 (70.65 percent)

are going to school. This disparity shows that the educat~onal schemes of

the governnlent and its various agencies made differential Impact upon

these two tribal communities.

In this context it is also necessary to examine the Impact of

educational programmes in terms of higher education. Our sample survey

Page 45: strategy of tribal development and the tribal development programmes

revealed that out of 300 head of households 2 members have passed high

schools. Among them one member is a Paniyan who is also a Teachers

Training Certificate holder. The other one, a Kurichiya, is now employed

in the nationalised bank. The dismal picture of higher education highlight

the fact that the educational programmes failed to attaln the desired results

among the tribals.

IV. Tribal Development programmes and employment and income

It is very difficult to establish that the tribal development

programmes helped these two tribal communities to make a significant

change is their occupational structure so as to make a positive impact in the

income pattern. However, as we have examined elsewhere possession of

cultivable land and self-cultivation helped the Kurichians to attain better

economic status than Paniyans who were traditionally agricultural

labourers. Some beneficiaries among the sample head of households from

Kur~chian com~nunity agreed that certain schenies helped them to Increase

their agricultural production and income. As we stated elsewhere, those

who got finallcia1 assistance under the scheme of supplying work bulls

enabled the111 to get additional employment so as to increase their income.

Again the Kurichia beneficiaries agreed also that under the schenle of

providing linancial assistance 10 purchase milk cows lielpcd them to supply

the surplus milk to the Co-operative societies and also to earn additional

Page 46: strategy of tribal development and the tribal development programmes

income. However, as we noted earlier, the schemes failed to attain desired

results in the case o f Paniyan beneficiaries.

V. Tribal Development programmes and awareness

As we examined the impact of certain trlbal development

programmes upon agriculture, housing education, cn~ployment, Income etc,

it pertinent to trace whether the tribal welfare progranimes and schemes

made a positive impact upon the awareness o f these two selected

communities so as to accelerate the process of socio- economlc

transformation. Awareness of scheduled Tribes about tribal welfare

schemes has generally been considered as the most inlportant factor for

their socio- economic transformation. Despite the genuine efforts by the

government and various agencies to promote social and economic progress,

the condition o f the tribab are far from satisfactory and they contlnue to lag

behind the other social groups. As we have examined earlier, there arc

inter- tribal and intra-tribal variations in the awareness of tribal weifarc

schemes. Lack ot'awareness on the part o f a sireablc sections of I'an~yans

sample head o f the liouseholds resulted the under ut1117at1on of certaln

welfare schemes. T l i~s can be rellccted In t l~c pool. ellrollnetit ol'clilldren in

schools and pre- priniary educational centres Eve11 though I'ali~ya~i head of

the houseliolds are aware of' thc tribal wellhrc scllcn1es l ~ k r cdncnt~o~lal

concessions alld financial assistance. they scldo~ii direcl tllei~. cli~ldrctl to

get ndnlisslon ill Ashrilni School and Model I<csi i ic~lt~i~l Scl~ool. 0~11.

Page 47: strategy of tribal development and the tribal development programmes

sample survey revealed that they either mis-utilized or under utilized many

welfare schemes. Iiowever, i t is no longer possible to blame them for their

negative and apathetic attitude. On the contrary they have become

development oriented. Our study on them showed that they are having the

potentiality for socio-economic transformation. It can be stressed that

Kurichians in general showed a positive response towards most of the tribal

welfare schemes. However, even the Kruichians showed a negative

response towards certain schemes like expanding rubber plantation in tribal

areas. Again they failed to attain desired results of many tribal educational

programmes.

The foregoing analysis stresses the fact that the tribals no longer

constitute a homogeneous and undifferentiated socio-cultural entity

However the government and the planners overlooked the unique features

o f each tribal community and imposed comnion and stereotype

programmes and welfare schemes for their socio-economic transformations

They re-planted certain non-tribal seeds IN the alien tribal soil. 1lt.l-c. wc

have 1101 any alternative explanations tbr the failure ol'certil~n trlhnl ikclfare

schemes i~iiplcniented for the tribal in general Our nnnlysis IIIKIIII~IIIS !lie

facl tlial tribal wise and need based ~ e l f i l r c SCIICII~L':, :~rc III'I'CSI;:II.V to

accclel-atc tlic ~~.occss ol'socio- ecoiioliiic tril11sfoiiii:1lio1i

Page 48: strategy of tribal development and the tribal development programmes

Notes and References

1 . Singh.K.S. (1982) Transformation of Tr~bal Society: lntcgrat~on Vs

Assimilation Economic and Political Weekly Vol XVI No.33 Aug 14"'

P. 13 12-20

2. Singh K.S. OP. cited P.1219

3. lbid

4. Bhowmik, Sharit (1981) Class formation in the planration system.

People's Publishing House New Delhi 1'-3- 13.

5 . Singh OP. cited P. 1320

6. lb id

7. Singh K.S (1970) The Mahatma and the Adivasis. Man in lndia vol 50.

No.1 January - March 1970.

8. Elwin Verier (1959) A Philosophy of NEPH 2""dn. Sh~lose P. 8 136

9. Mathur P.R.G. (1977) Tribal situation In Kerala. Kcrala Historical

Society Trivandrum P. 68- 85

10. Singh K.S OP Cited 0. 1321

I I . Ibid

12. Governn\ent o f lndia (1961) National C'ommittec on I)svclopnicnt ol'

Backward Areas. Kcpon P. 14

13. Gover~irnent o f Kerala (1978) A~inual Tribal sub Pii111 ofKe~.nla (107s-

79) (revised) Trivandrum. I'.? 1-28,