Revision summary
ILO Convention 169 (1989) covers indigenous and tribal peoples and stresses self-identification, consultation, land and custom. It replaced the integrationist Convention 107 (1957). India ratified 107 and has not ratified 169. Indian hesitation cites the ST list, sovereignty and land law; PESA and FRA already resemble 169 in parts. Never state that India is a signatory to 169.
Model answer
Introduction
ILO Convention No. 169 (1989) is the Indigenous and Tribal Peoples Convention. It replaced the older integrationist Convention No. 107 (1957). India is not a signatory to Convention 169. India has ratified Convention 107. That contrast is the heart of the note.
Body
What Convention 169 says
Convention 169 covers tribal peoples in independent countries whose social and cultural conditions distinguish them, and peoples regarded as indigenous because they descend from populations present at conquest or colonisation and who retain some of their own institutions. It is a peoples convention: land, self-identification, custom, and participation are collective.
- Main principles include: self-identification as a fundamental criterion; consultation in good faith through representative institutions before legislative or administrative measures that affect them; rights to land and natural resources they traditionally occupy; respect for customary law where compatible with human rights; control over development priorities; cross-border contacts; and vocational and health programmes that are culturally appropriate. The consultation standard is often read toward free, prior and informed consent in later UN practice (UNDRIP 2007), though 169’s own wording is consultation aimed at agreement.
India and the two conventions
India ratified ILO 107 in 1958. Convention 107 spoke of protection and integration of tribal and semi-tribal populations. That language matches an older welfare state, Nehruvian Panchsheel, and parts of the Fifth Schedule, but it is paternal. Convention 169 dropped integration as the goal and recognised peoples’ rights to remain distinct.
- India has not ratified 169. Official hesitation has cited: the Constitution already lists Scheduled Tribes rather than a single “indigenous people”; fear of secessionist readings of “peoples”; land and subsoil vested in the state; and federal complexity. Anthropology and tribal movements (and Xaxa) argue that PESA, FRA and Samata already move toward 169’s land and consultation logic, so ratification would be a consistent next step. Until then, India is bound by 107, not 169.
Do not write that India signed 169. That is a common examination error.
Flow diagram
flowchart TD O[ILO 107 1957] --> I[India ratified] N[ILO 169 1989] --> X[India not a party] N --> C[Consultation land peoples]
Conclusion
ILO 169 is the global rights charter for indigenous and tribal peoples, built on consultation, land and self-identification. India is not a signatory. It remains a party to the older ILO 107.
Quick related
Students also ask
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Critically evaluate the contributions of S.C. Roy to Indian anthropology.
Next question on this syllabus topic (2023 · Q8(b)). View answer →
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Is India a signatory to ILO 169?
No. India is not a party to Convention 169. It is a party to Convention 107.
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Does non-ratification mean no tribal rights in India?
No. Fifth and Sixth Schedules, PESA, FRA and court cases such as Samata create domestic rights. 169 would add an international standard of consultation.
PYQ trend
When UPSC asked this
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2025 · Q3(c) · Anthropology GS 2 · 15 marks
Highlight the significant contributions of B. S. Guha, Irawati Karve and S. R. K. Chopra to Indian Anthropology -
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More from this topic
Q3(c) · UPSC Mains 2025 · Anthropology GS 2 · 15 marks
Highlight the significant contributions of B. S. Guha, Irawati Karve and S. R. K. Chopra to Indian Anthropology
Emergence, growth and development of Anthropology in India
Guha: 1931 racial types, ASI institution, Harappan osteology; typology is the limit. Karve: kinship organisation, Maharashtra, epics, north–south marriage contrast. Chopra: Siwalik Sivapithecus school at Chandigarh; Ramapithecus later revised. Together they cover living measurement, civilisation-as-kinship, and Miocene fossils. Keep their questions; update their boxes with genetics and ethnography.
Q2(c) · UPSC Mains 2024 · Anthropology GS 2 · 15 marks
Deconstruct the colonial history of Indian Anthropology highlighting the critical role played by the Indian Anthropologists in sustaining its autonomy.
Emergence, growth and development of Anthropology in India
Colonial anthropology served census, forest and criminal-tribe administration. S. C. Roy professionalised ethnography; ASI and university departments Indianised the job. Ghurye versus Elwin was an Indian debate on assimilation and isolation. Srinivas, Karve, Bose, Majumdar and Vidyarthi supplied Indian concepts and village-tribe fields. Autonomy means an Indian agenda and terms, not a refusal of world methods.
Q8(b) · UPSC Mains 2023 · Anthropology GS 2 · 15 marks
Critically evaluate the contributions of S.C. Roy to Indian anthropology.
Emergence, growth and development of Anthropology in India
Roy’s monographs on Mundas, Oraons, Birhors, and Kharias founded Indian tribal ethnography from Ranchi. He recorded khuntkatti, parha, sarna, and landlord-mission pressure, including the Birsa context. Man in India (1921) institutionalised the field. Limits include evolutionist wording, a thin gender-class analysis, and an outsider professional gaze. He remains the necessary starting point for Chotanagpur, not the last theory.
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