Revision summary
Tribal India clusters in the Himalaya, North-East, middle Indian uplands, western hills, southern enclaves, and islands. North-East institutions include morung, Khasi matriliny, Inner Line, and Sixth Schedule councils. Middle India shows khuntkatti, manjhi, sarna, and a tribe–caste continuum under the Fifth Schedule. Western Bhils are more peasantised; southern Toda and Chenchu keep specialised dairies or foraging. Island PVTGs are bands with a separate contact ethic from Nicobarese horticultural villages.
Model answer
Introduction
Indian tribes are not one society. They sit in Himalayan, north-eastern, middle Indian, western, southern, and island regions. Each region’s ecology shaped land tenure, kinship, and political institutions. Distribution plus institutions is the full answer.
Body
Himalayan and western Himalayan foothills
- Groups include Gaddi, Kinnaur, Bhotia, Jaunsari, Tharu ( tarai), and others. High-altitude agro-pastoralism, transhumance, and trade with the plateau are typical.
- Institutions: village and clan control of grazing; Buddhist monasteries in some trans-Himalayan belts; Inner Line is not general here except historically in some tracts.
North-East hills and Brahmaputra valley fringes
- Naga, Mizo, Khasi, Garo, Adi, Nyishi, Apatani, Bodo, and many others. Jhum in most hills; Apatani wet-rice terraces as a famous exception (Haimendorf, Elwin).
- Institutions: morung or bachelor dormitory among many Nagas; Khasi matriliny and kur clans; village republics and later Sixth Schedule councils; Inner Line; church as a new public in Naga and Mizo areas; Article 371A/G.
Middle India (Chotanagpur–Bastar–Satpura–Odisha)
- Munda, Santal, Ho, Oraon, Gond, Khond, Bhil (also west), Baiga. Mixed plough, forest, and remnants of jhum.
- Institutions: Munda khuntkatti and parha; Santal manjhi-parganait; Gond garth and clan; sarna sacred groves; tribe–caste continuum (Bailey, Roy, Sachchidananda). Fifth Schedule and PESA are the legal shell.
Western India
- Bhil, Bhilala, Garasia, Warli, Kokna. Hills of Rajasthan, Gujarat, and Maharashtra. Dry forest and rain-fed millet.
- Institutions: gameti or village head; dev and pal territorial cults; strong peasantisation and Hindu festival traffic (Ghurye’s evidence is thick here).
South India and Nilgiris
- Toda, Kota, Kurumba, Irula, Chenchu, Kadar, Koya. Distinct niches: Toda buffalo pastoralism and dairies; Chenchu foraging in Nallamala.
- Institutions: Toda dual moieties and dairy sacred dairies; Nilgiri multi-tribe exchange; some PVTG isolation.
Islands
- Andamanese, Jarawa, Onge, Sentinelese, Shompen, Nicobarese. Foraging versus Nicobarese horticulture and canoe villages.
- Institutions: band and camp among PVTGs; Nicobarese joint families and tuhet; extreme contact ethics for Sentinelese.
Point of the map
- Geography does not invent culture alone, but wet-rice, jhum, hunting, and island foraging produce different offices, marriage, and land law.
- Policy that copies one “tribal institution” onto all six regions fails.
Flow diagram
flowchart TD NE[North-East] --> M[Morung matriliny ADC] MI[Middle India] --> K[Khuntkatti sarna PESA] W[West] --> B[Bhil village cults] S[South] --> T[Toda dairy Chenchu foraging] I[Islands] --> P[Band and tuhet]
Conclusion
Tribes are distributed across Himalaya, North-East, middle India, the west, the south, and the islands. Distinct institutions include Khasi matriliny, Naga morung, Munda khuntkatti, Toda dairies, and Andaman bands. Nation and Schedule must fit the region, not a single tribal type.
Quick related
Students also ask
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Bio-genetic variability of Indian tribes
Next question on this syllabus topic (2016 · Q5(b)). View answer →
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Do all Indian tribes practise jhum?
No. Apatani and many middle-Indian groups plough. Toda herd buffalo. Island PVTGs forage. Jhum is regional, not universal.
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Is Fifth Schedule used in Nagaland?
Nagaland is not administered as a Fifth Schedule area in the peninsular sense. Special protection is mainly Article 371A and related custom.
PYQ trend
When UPSC asked this
Related PYQs from other years, newest first. Open a question to read it.
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2016 · Q5(b) · Anthropology GS 2 · 10 marks
Bio-genetic variability of Indian tribes -
2015 · Q8(c) · Anthropology GS 2 · 20 marks
Discuss the sociocultural, economic and psychological constraints responsible for low literacy in tribal areas
More from this topic
Q5(b) · UPSC Mains 2016 · Anthropology GS 2 · 10 marks
Bio-genetic variability of Indian tribes
Tribal situation in India
Indian tribes vary genetically by region and language family. They are not Risley’s or Guha’s single tribal type. Local castes may be closer than distant tribes. Siwalik apes are not tribal ancestors. Health policy must follow local variation.
Q8(c) · UPSC Mains 2015 · Anthropology GS 2 · 20 marks
Discuss the sociocultural, economic and psychological constraints responsible for low literacy in tribal areas
Tribal situation in India
Low tribal literacy comes from language mismatch and school calendars that ignore jhum. Poverty, migration, and teacher vacancies are economic brakes. Distrust of the state and shame of custom are psychological brakes. Elwin and Vidyarthi warned against schools that erase forest culture. FRA security and mother-tongue teaching are the practical counters.
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