You are on page 1of 17

A Study –

Tribal People of Odisha

Manoj H P (15EE01014)
Ashok Nehra (15EE01030)
Introduction:

• India has an admixture of 437 tribes. Tribes of Odisha comprise a


great diversity with unique and vibrant socio-cultural life. In India,
Odisha (Orissa) has the largest number of tribes, as many as 62
Tribes.
• According 2011 census, Tribes that constitute an impressive 23
percent of the total population of the state.
• Tribal economy is subsistence oriented. Their substance economy
mostly based on Collecting, hunting and fishing for food. They do
often plough some land and raise crops. They use very simple
technology with a very simple division of labour, its often limited to
family’s own use.
Issues Faced By Tribal People:
• Social exclusion
Exclusion issues in India are gaining more relevance by the day. A large
majority of people are yet to enjoy the benefits of development and
still remain excluded. Social exclusion has got at its centre the idea that
some individuals are outside the society in one way or the other. The
practices of tribes also alienate them from general population.
• Poverty and Indebtedness
Majority tribes live under poverty line.
The tribes follow many simple occupations
based on simple technology.
The primary occupations are hunting,
gathering,
and agriculture using most primitive
technology.
There is no profit and surplus making in such
economy.
Hence their per capita income is very meagre,
much less than the Indian average.
Banking facilities in the tribal areas are so
inadequate that the tribals have been forced to
rely on moneylenders
• Education
Earlier Government had no direct programme for their education. But
in the subsequent years the reservation policy has brought about
some changes. Most tribes live in abject poverty. It is not easy for
them to send their children to schools, as they are considered extra
helping hands Most of the tribes are located in interior and remote
areas where teachers would not like to go from outside.
Health and Nutrition

• Lack of Access to variety of vitamin-rich foods are having a negative


impact on tribal health. The Tribal population suffers from chronic
infections and diseases out of which water borne diseases are life
threatening. They also suffer from deficiency other diseases. Infant
mortality was found to be very high among some of the tribes.
Malnutrition is common and has affected the general health of the
tribal children as it lowers the ability to resist infection, leads to
chronic illness and sometimes leads to brain impairment.
 Concept of Private Property
Land as a prime resource has been a source of problem in tribal life
because of two related reasons first, Dependency, i.e. tribal
dependency on land and second, improper planning from
government agencies The Rules of the government which supports
the concept of private property in land has also adversely affected
tribals whose community-based forms of collective ownership was
placed at a disadvantage in the new system.
 Cultural Problems
Due to contact with other cultures, the tribal culture is undergoing a
revolutionary change. It has led to degeneration of tribal life and
tribal arts such as dance, music and different types of craft.
Remedial
Solutions
1. Health Services
• The importance of making health service facilities available at micro
level with more emphasis on tribal. As a result the health issues are
dealt by clubbing them together with nutrition, sanitation, family
planning, health education, awareness generation etc. The village
community health workers chosen by village people it now follows a
decentralised agenda.
• Access to supplementary source of vitamins and nutrient will go long
way in combating Malnutrients and vitamin-deficiency based
diseases.
• Assimilation- Assimilation is one of the ways of dealing with the tribal
problems.
• Thus, according to this approach, we cannot deal with tribal problems on
the basis of tribal culture and life but by changing them into the frame of
new community.
• According to this solution advocated by the social reformers and voluntary
organizations, assisting and encouraging the tribals to assimilate them with
the mainstream of national life, can alone permanently solve the tribal
problems.
• This approach has its own limitations .
• Complete assimilation is a difficult task. The tribal are not prepared to give
up all of their traditional tribal beliefs, practices and ideas. Any attempt to
impose the external cultural practices on them, creates in them guilt
feelings, confusions and mental conflicts.
• This solution may even create economic, religious and moral degradation
among them.
3. Education:

• The capacity building initiatives quite clearly must involve a high


emphasis on the education sector, i.e. education for tribals to gain the
power and self reliance and to cope with and transform their material
reality. The universalization of primary education in India since 1950 is
emphasised but yet remained underperformed.
• In recent decade a number of incentives are provided, e.g. Sarva
Siksha Mission in 2003 – providing elementary education to all
children in the age group of 6 – 14 by the year 2010. Mid day meal
scheme 2001, which gives a mid day meal to school going children
that dramatically increased the enrolment rate.
• Land alienation within tribes is a serious problem.
• A special protection should be provided for the local tribes by a
process of categorization of tribes both for the purpose of preventing
land alienation from lesser-developed tribes, and for a more equal
distribution of reservations and other constitutional provisions.

You might also like