Short notes
Problems of the tribal Communities
Problems Of The Tribal Communities
Definition
Problems of the tribal Communities
Example / case study
- Land alienation narratives in tribal communities.
Thinkers
- Clifford Geertz – “Thick description” in Balinese Cockfight.: Quantitative Data.
Land Alienation
Definition
Tradition: Pradhan Gonds = chroniclers, preserve myths & genealogies.
Example / case study
- Land alienation narratives in tribal communities.
Thinkers
- Leaders: Bholanath Sahay, Ganga Narain Singh.
Poverty
Definition
Anthropometric Methods: This involves quantitative measurements to evaluate undernutrition, growth, and obesity. Common indicators include Height, Weight, Body Mass Index (BMI), mid-upper arm circumference, and skinfold thickness. Standardized techniques were systematized by John Weiner and J.A. Lourie (1969). Studies of Indian tribal communities often use these to show Chronic Energy Deficiency (CED).
Example / case study
- in Indian Tribes: ICMR (2009) studies utilized these techniques to identify widespread Chronic Energy Deficiency (CED) among Indian tribal communities, using Body Mass Index (BMI) and mid-upper arm circumference as primary indicators of health status.
- Paul Farmer’s research in Haiti and Rwanda demonstrated that diseases like HIV and tuberculosis are not just biological accidents but are "socially produced" through colonial exploitation and economic dependency. Similarly, Nancy Scheper-Hughes observed that "emotional detachment" from weak infants among impoverished Brazilian mothers was an embodied response to extreme scarcity—a "political economy of the body".
- 1: Lactose Tolerance: This biological trait evolved in specific pastoralist cultures with a history of milk-drinking (cultural economy), showing how a cultural adaptation changed the biological capacity of a population to thrive in their ecological setting.
- 2: High-Altitude Adaptation: In high-altitude regions like Tibet or the Andes, the ecological stress is hypoxia (low oxygen). Human adaptability here is integrated: it involves biological changes like increased lung capacity and the EPAS1 gene, as well as cultural adjustments like transhumance (seasonal migration) and iron-rich diets.
Indebtedness
Definition
Absence of dominant caste group.
Low Literacy
Definition
Pre-agricultural level of existence (Stone-age type life)
Example / case study
- Land alienation narratives in tribal communities.
Poor Educational Facilities
Definition
KISS (Kalinga Institute of Social Sciences, Odisha) → educates 30,000 tribal students; claims to prevent Maoism, but criticized for “brainwashing” & loss of tribal culture.
Example / case study
- Haimendorf’s teacher training in tribal areas
- ST Health Card for tribals outside their native place.
- Publish “Tribal Health Index” every 3 years.
Unemployment
Definition
Land alienation & displacement.
Example / case study
- Land alienation narratives in tribal communities.
Under-Employment
Definition
Article 366(25): ST means tribes or tribal communities deemed under Art. 342.
Example / case study
- Land alienation narratives in tribal communities.
Health
Definition
Training in traditions, values, discipline.
Thinkers
- Philosophy for NEFA (1957) – Verrier Elwin
- Approach: Vidyarthi’s + K.N. Sahay’s model (forces of change).
Nutrition
Definition
Single window, Census & baseline survey.
Example / case study
- Banjara Packers and Movers of Mughals (lost jobs after Mughal decline).
- Gadi Lohar (royal blacksmiths of Maharashtra after Mughal arrival).
- British suspicion → feared nomads as threat to empire .
- Racism & understanding of caste → communities to be criminal by birth