Revision summary
Tribal unrest is mainly a resource-rights conflict. Forest law, dams, and mining shrink Adivasi control of land and jungle. FRA and PESA try to restore rights; implementation lags. Elwin and Vidyarthi tied forest to culture, not only wages. Fifth Schedule and Samata are the constitutional brake on alienation.
Model answer
Introduction
Tribal unrest in India is repeatedly a fight over land, forest, and mineral. When rights over those resources shrink, movements follow.
Body
The resource wound
- Colonial forest law and post-Independence dams treated Adivasi territory as state property. Fifth Schedule and Samata doctrine were meant to brake land transfer.
- FRA 2006 promised individual and community forest rights. Delay and rejection keep the wound open.
- Mining in Jharkhand, Odisha, and Chhattisgarh, and projects in the Narmada valley, convert unrest into roadblocks, petitions, and sometimes armed Maoist shelter.
How anthropology reads it
- Verrier Elwin warned that forest loss is cultural death, not only income loss.
- L. P. Vidyarthi mapped the nature–man–spirit complex; when the forest goes, the complex cracks.
- Unrest is therefore a rights claim, not a residual tribal temperament.
Flow diagram
flowchart TD R[Land forest mineral] --> U[Tribal unrest] F[FRA PESA Fifth Schedule] --> R M[Mining dams] --> U
Conclusion
Tribal unrest tracks the theft or delay of resource rights. FRA, PESA, and the Fifth Schedule are the legal answers still poorly delivered.
Quick related
Students also ask
-
Examine the social implications of media and communication technology
Next question in the 2015 paper (Q2). View answer →
-
Is all tribal unrest Maoist?
No. Many struggles are legal and civic. Armed groups exploit the same land wound.
-
Does FRA end unrest by itself?
Only if titles and gram sabha consent actually arrive before the mine or dam.
PYQ trend
When UPSC asked this
Related PYQs from other years, newest first. Open a question to read it.
-
2025 · Q1(c) · Anthropology GS 2 · 10 marks
Regionalism and Autonomy -
2025 · Q5(a) · Anthropology GS 2 · 10 marks
Impact of urbanization and industrialization on tribal communities of India. -
2025 · Q7(b) · Anthropology GS 2 · 15 marks
Discuss the rising ethnic conflicts in India and propose their possible remedial measures -
2024 · Q8(c) · Anthropology GS 2 · 15 marks
Discuss the economic, social, and developmental impacts on tribal communities with special reference to mining. -
2023 · Q6(b) · Anthropology GS 2 · 15 marks
Distinguishing between ethnic identity and ethnicity, discuss the factors responsible for ethnic conflict in tribal areas. -
2023 · Q7(a) · Anthropology GS 2 · 20 marks
Elucidate the shifting terrains of India's tribal policies in colonial and post-colonial periods. -
2016 · Q5(a) · Anthropology GS 2 · 10 marks
The role that regionalism plays in demand for autonomy among Indian tribes
More from this paper
Q1(a) · UPSC Mains 2015 · Anthropology GS 2 · 10 marks
Relevance of tribal Panchsheel today
Evolution of the Indian Culture and Civilization
Panchsheel is Nehru’s five-point tribal ethic, shaped with Elwin. It protects genius, land-forest rights, local cadres, and human results. Ghurye’s assimilation was the rival line. PESA and FRA try to statute the same ethic. Mining and dams still test it in Fifth Schedule belts.
Q1(b) · UPSC Mains 2015 · Anthropology GS 2 · 10 marks
Sacred complex as a dimension of Indian civilization
Evolution of the Indian Culture and Civilization
Vidyarthi’s sacred complex is geography, specialists, and performances at a tirtha. Gaya is the type study of sraddha and pilgrimage. It operationalises little and great tradition at a Hindu centre. Bose’s civilisational unity is visible in shared shrine maps. The model is a dimension of Indian civilisation, not only temple architecture.
Q1(c) · UPSC Mains 2015 · Anthropology GS 2 · 10 marks
South Indian Paleoliths
Evolution of the Indian Culture and Civilization
South Indian palaeoliths centre on the Madras Acheulian of quartzite handaxes. Foote found Pallavaram in 1863 and mapped Tamil laterite industries. Attirampakkam gives a deep dated Acheulian sequence. Sankalia set the peninsula beside Narmada and Deccan sequences. The stack is local and long, not a Siwalik Soanian copy.
Toppers' copies
Toppers' copies for this question will be uploaded soon.