Indian subcontinent
The Indian subcontinent is a list of the physiographic regions of the world, physiographical region in United Nations geoscheme for Asia#Southern Asia, Southern Asia. It is situated on the Indian Plate, projecting southwards into the Indian O ...
, generally
tribal
The term tribe is used in many different contexts to refer to a category of human social group. The predominant worldwide usage of the term in English is in the discipline of anthropology. This definition is contested, in part due to conflic ...
people. The term is a
Sanskrit
Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late ...
word coined in the 1930s by political activists to give the tribal people an
indigenous
Indigenous may refer to:
*Indigenous peoples
*Indigenous (ecology), presence in a region as the result of only natural processes, with no human intervention
*Indigenous (band), an American blues-rock band
*Indigenous (horse), a Hong Kong racehorse ...
identity by claiming an indigenous origin. The term is also used for ethnic minorities, such as Chakmas of
Bangladesh
Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mos ...
,
Khas
Khas people (; ne, खस) popularly known as Khas Arya are an Indo-Aryan ethno-linguistic group native to the Himalayan region of South Asia, what is now present-day Nepal, Indian states of Uttarakhand, West Bengal and Sikkim. Historical ...
of
Nepal
Nepal (; ne, :ne:नेपाल, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne,
सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल ), is a landlocked country in S ...
, and
Vedda
The Vedda ( si, වැද්දා , ta, வேடர் (''Vēḍar'')), or Wanniyalaeto, are a minority indigenous group of people in Sri Lanka who, among other sub-communities such as Coast Veddas, Anuradhapura Veddas and Bintenne Vedd ...
Constitution of India
The Constitution of India ( IAST: ) is the supreme law of India. The document lays down the framework that demarcates fundamental political code, structure, procedures, powers, and duties of government institutions and sets out fundamental ...
does not use the word ''Adivasi'', instead referring to Scheduled Tribes and Janjati. The government of India does not officially recognise
tribes
The term tribe is used in many different contexts to refer to a category of human social group. The predominant worldwide usage of the term in English is in the discipline of anthropology. This definition is contested, in part due to confli ...
as
indigenous people
Indigenous peoples are culturally distinct ethnic groups whose members are directly descended from the earliest known inhabitants of a particular geographic region and, to some extent, maintain the language and culture of those original people ...
. The country ratified the
International Labour Organization
The International Labour Organization (ILO) is a United Nations agency whose mandate is to advance social and economic justice by setting international labour standards. Founded in October 1919 under the League of Nations, it is the first and o ...
(ILO) Convention 107 on Indigenous and Tribal Peoples of the United Nations (1957) and refused to sign the ILO Convention 169. Most of these groups are included in the
Scheduled Tribe
The Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs) are officially designated groups of people and among the most disadvantaged socio-economic groups in India. The terms are recognized in the Constitution of India and the groups are designa ...
category under constitutional provisions in India.
They comprise a substantial minority population of India and Bangladesh, making up 8.6% of
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
's population and 1.1% of
Bangladesh
Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mos ...
's, or 104.2 million people in India, according to the 2011 census, and 2 million people in Bangladesh according to the 2010 estimate. Adivasi societies are particularly prominent in
Telangana
Telangana (; , ) is a state in India situated on the south-central stretch of the Indian peninsula on the high Deccan Plateau. It is the eleventh-largest state and the twelfth-most populated state in India with a geographical area of and 3 ...
,
Andhra Pradesh
Andhra Pradesh (, abbr. AP) is a state in the south-eastern coastal region of India. It is the seventh-largest state by area covering an area of and tenth-most populous state with 49,386,799 inhabitants. It is bordered by Telangana to the ...
Gujarat
Gujarat (, ) is a state along the western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the fifth-largest Indian state by area, covering some ; and the ninth ...
,
Jharkhand
Jharkhand (; ; ) is a state in eastern India. The state shares its border with the states of West Bengal to the east, Chhattisgarh to the west, Uttar Pradesh to the northwest, Bihar to the north and Odisha to the south. It has an area of . I ...
,
Madhya Pradesh
Madhya Pradesh (, ; meaning 'central province') is a state in central India. Its capital is Bhopal, and the largest city is Indore, with Jabalpur, Ujjain, Gwalior, Sagar, and Rewa being the other major cities. Madhya Pradesh is the seco ...
Odisha
Odisha (English: , ), formerly Orissa ( the official name until 2011), is an Indian state located in Eastern India. It is the 8th largest state by area, and the 11th largest by population. The state has the third largest population of ...
,
Rajasthan
Rajasthan (; lit. 'Land of Kings') is a state in northern India. It covers or 10.4 per cent of India's total geographical area. It is the largest Indian state by area and the seventh largest by population. It is on India's northwestern s ...
,
West Bengal
West Bengal (, Bengali: ''Poshchim Bongo'', , abbr. WB) is a state in the eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabitants within an area of . West Bengal is the fou ...
Andaman and Nicobar Islands
The Andaman and Nicobar Islands is a union territory of India consisting of 572 islands, of which 37 are inhabited, at the junction of the Bay of Bengal and the Andaman Sea. The territory is about north of Aceh in Indonesia and separated f ...
of
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
Khagrachari
Khagrachari ( bn, খাগড়াছড়ি) is a district in the Chittagong Division of Southeastern Bangladesh. It is a part of the Chittagong Hill Tracts region.
History
The Chittagong Hill Tracts was under the reign of the Tripura Sta ...
Rangamati
Rangamati (Bengali: রাঙ্গামাটি;) is the administrative headquarter and town of Rangamati Hill District in the Chittagong Hill Tracts of Bangladesh. The town is located at 22°37'60N 92°12'0E and has an altitude of . The dist ...
, and Cox's Bazar.
Though claimed to be one of the original inhabitants of India, many present-day Adivasi communities formed after the decline of the
Indus Valley civilisation
The Indus Valley Civilisation (IVC), also known as the Indus Civilisation was a Bronze Age civilisation in the northwestern regions of South Asia, lasting from 3300 BCE to 1300 BCE, and in its mature form 2600 BCE to 1900& ...
, harboring various degrees of ancestry from ancient
hunter-gatherers
A traditional hunter-gatherer or forager is a human living an ancestrally derived lifestyle in which most or all food is obtained by foraging, that is, by gathering food from local sources, especially edible wild plants but also insects, fungi, ...
,
Indus Valley civilisation
The Indus Valley Civilisation (IVC), also known as the Indus Civilisation was a Bronze Age civilisation in the northwestern regions of South Asia, lasting from 3300 BCE to 1300 BCE, and in its mature form 2600 BCE to 1900& ...
Tibeto-Burman
The Tibeto-Burman languages are the non- Sinitic members of the Sino-Tibetan language family, over 400 of which are spoken throughout the Southeast Asian Massif ("Zomia") as well as parts of East Asia and South Asia. Around 60 million people spea ...
language speakers. Ancestors of Munda peoples in India were migrant from
South-east Asia
Southeast Asia, also spelled South East Asia and South-East Asia, and also known as Southeastern Asia, South-eastern Asia or SEA, is the geographical south-eastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of mainland ...
around 4000-3500 year ago.
Tribal languages can be categorised into seven linguistic groupings, namely Andamanese; Austro-Asiatic; Dravidian; Indo-Aryan; Nihali; Sino-Tibetan; and Kra-Dai.
Tribals of East, Central, West and South India use the politically assertive term ''Adivasi'', while Tribals of North East India use 'Tribal' or 'Scheduled Tribe' and do not use term 'Adivasi' for themselves. Adivasi studies is a new scholarly field, drawing upon archaeology, anthropology, agrarian history, environmental history,
subaltern studies
The Subaltern Studies Group (SSG) or Subaltern Studies Collective is a group of South Asian scholars interested in the postcolonial and post-imperial societies. The term ''Subaltern Studies'' is sometimes also applied more broadly to others who sh ...
, indigenous studies, aboriginal studies, and
developmental economics
Development economics is a branch of economics which deals with economic aspects of the development process in low- and middle- income countries. Its focus is not only on methods of promoting economic development, economic growth and structural ...
. It adds debates that are specific to the Indian context.
Definition and etymology
''Adivasi'' is the collective term for the
Tribes
The term tribe is used in many different contexts to refer to a category of human social group. The predominant worldwide usage of the term in English is in the discipline of anthropology. This definition is contested, in part due to confli ...
of the
Indian subcontinent
The Indian subcontinent is a list of the physiographic regions of the world, physiographical region in United Nations geoscheme for Asia#Southern Asia, Southern Asia. It is situated on the Indian Plate, projecting southwards into the Indian O ...
,Encyclopædia Britannica ''Adivasi'' /ref> who are considered to be the indigenous people of
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
. prior to the Dravidians and Indo-Aryans. It refers to "any of various ethnic groups considered to be the original inhabitants of the Indian subcontinent." However, Tribal and Adivasi have different meanings. Tribal means a social unit whereas Adivasi means ancient inhabitants. India does not recognise tribes as indigenous people. India ratified the
International Labour Organization
The International Labour Organization (ILO) is a United Nations agency whose mandate is to advance social and economic justice by setting international labour standards. Founded in October 1919 under the League of Nations, it is the first and o ...
(ILO) Convention 107 on Indigenous and Tribal Peoples of the United Nations (1957). In 1989, India refused to sign the ILO Convention 169.
The term Adivasi, in fact, is a modern
Sanskrit
Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late ...
word specifically coined in the 1930s by tribal political activists to give a differentiated indigenous identity to tribals by alleging that Indo-European and Dravidian speaking peoples are not indigenous.
The word was used by Thakkar Bapa to refer to inhabitants of forest in 1930s. The word was used in 1936 and included in English dictionary prepared by Pascal. The term was recognised by Markandey Katju the judge of the Supreme Court of India in 2011. In Hindi and Bengali, ''Adivasi'' means "Original Inhabitants," from ''ādi'' 'beginning, origin'; and ''vāsin'' 'dweller' (itself from ''vas'' 'to dwell'), thus literally meaning 'beginning inhabitant'. Tribal of India and different political parties are continuing the use of word ''Adivasi'' as they believe the word unite tribal people of India.
Although terms such as ''atavika'', ''vanavāsi'' ("forest dwellers"), or ''girijan'' ("
mountain people
Hill people, also referred to as mountain people, is a general term for people who live in the hills and mountains.
This includes all rugged land above and all land (including plateaus) above elevation.
The climate is generally harsh, with s ...
") are also used for the tribes of India, ''adivāsi'' carries the specific meaning of being the original and
autochthonous
Autochthon, autochthons or autochthonous may refer to:
Fiction
* Autochthon (Atlantis), a character in Plato's myth of Atlantis
* Autochthons, characters in the novel ''The Divine Invasion'' by Philip K. Dick
* Autochthon, a Primordial in the ...
inhabitants of a given region, and the self-designation of those tribal groups.
Constitution of India
The Constitution of India ( IAST: ) is the supreme law of India. The document lays down the framework that demarcates fundamental political code, structure, procedures, powers, and duties of government institutions and sets out fundamental ...
, don't use word ''Adivasi'' and directed government officials to not use the word in official documents. Tribal are known as Scheduled Tribes and Janjati in Constitution. The constitution of India grouped these ethnic groups together "as targets for social and economic development. Since that time the tribe of India have been known officially as Scheduled Tribes." Article 366 (25) defined scheduled tribes as "such tribes or tribal communities or parts of or groups within such tribes or tribal communities as are deemed under Article 342 to be Scheduled Tribes for the purposes of this constitution".
The term Adivasi is also used for the ethnic minorities of
Bangladesh
Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mos ...
, the
Vedda
The Vedda ( si, වැද්දා , ta, வேடர் (''Vēḍar'')), or Wanniyalaeto, are a minority indigenous group of people in Sri Lanka who, among other sub-communities such as Coast Veddas, Anuradhapura Veddas and Bintenne Vedd ...
people of Sri Lanka and the native
Tharu people
The Tharu people are an ethnic group indigenous to the Terai in southern Nepal and northern India. They speak Tharu languages. They are recognized as an official nationality by the Government of Nepal. In the Indian Terai, they live foremost ...
of
Nepal
Nepal (; ne, :ne:नेपाल, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne,
सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल ), is a landlocked country in S ...
. Another Nepalese term is ''Adivasi Janjati'' ( ne, आदिवासी जनजाति; ), although the political context differed historically under the
Shah
Shah (; fa, شاه, , ) is a royal title that was historically used by the leading figures of Iranian monarchies.Yarshater, EhsaPersia or Iran, Persian or Farsi, ''Iranian Studies'', vol. XXII no. 1 (1989) It was also used by a variety of ...
and Rana dynasties.
In India, opposition to the usage of the term is varied. Critics argue that the "original inhabitant" contention is based on the fact that they have no land and are therefore asking for land reform. The Adivasis argue that they have been oppressed by the "superior group" and that they require and demand a reward, more specifically land reform. Adivasi issues are not related to land reforms but to the historical rights to the forests that were alienated during the colonial period. In 2006, India finally made a law to "undo the historical injustice" committed to the Adivasis.
Tribal of North East India don't use the term adivasi for themselves and use the word tribe. In
Assam
Assam (; ) is a state in northeastern India, south of the eastern Himalayas along the Brahmaputra and Barak River valleys. Assam covers an area of . The state is bordered by Bhutan and Arunachal Pradesh to the north; Nagaland and Manipur ...
, the term adivāsi applies only to the
Tea-tribes
The Tea-garden community are multi ethnic groups of tea garden workers and their descendants in Assam. They are officially referred to as ''Tea-tribes'' by Government of Assam. They are the descendants of peoples brought by the British colonial pl ...
imported from Central India during colonial times.
Constitution of India
The Constitution of India ( IAST: ) is the supreme law of India. The document lays down the framework that demarcates fundamental political code, structure, procedures, powers, and duties of government institutions and sets out fundamental ...
. Tribal people constitute 8.6% of
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
's population and 1.1% of
Bangladesh
Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mos ...
's,
One concentration lies in a belt along the northwest Himalayas: consisting of Jammu and Kashmir, where are found many semi-nomadic groups, to
Ladakh
Ladakh () is a region administered by India as a union territory which constitutes a part of the larger Kashmir region and has been the subject of dispute between India, Pakistan, and China since 1947. (subscription required) Quote: "Jammu ...
and northern
Himachal Pradesh
Himachal Pradesh (; ; "Snow-laden Mountain Province") is a state in the northern part of India. Situated in the Western Himalayas, it is one of the thirteen mountain states and is characterized by an extreme landscape featuring several peaks ...
and
Uttarakhand
Uttarakhand ( , or ; , ), also known as Uttaranchal ( ; the official name until 2007), is a state in the northern part of India. It is often referred to as the "Devbhumi" (literally 'Land of the Gods') due to its religious significance and ...
, where are found Tibeto-Burman groups.
In the northeastern states of
Arunachal Pradesh
Arunachal Pradesh (, ) is a state in Northeastern India. It was formed from the erstwhile North-East Frontier Agency (NEFA) region, and became a state on 20 February 1987. It borders the states of Assam and Nagaland to the south. It shares ...
Nagaland
Nagaland () is a landlocked state in the northeastern region of India. It is bordered by the Indian states of Arunachal Pradesh to the north, Assam to the west, Manipur to the south and the Sagaing Region of Myanmar to the east. Its capital cit ...
, more than 90% of the population is tribal. However, in the remaining northeast states of
Assam
Assam (; ) is a state in northeastern India, south of the eastern Himalayas along the Brahmaputra and Barak River valleys. Assam covers an area of . The state is bordered by Bhutan and Arunachal Pradesh to the north; Nagaland and Manipur ...
,
Manipur
Manipur () ( mni, Kangleipak) is a state in Northeast India, with the city of Imphal as its capital. It is bounded by the Indian states of Nagaland to the north, Mizoram to the south and Assam to the west. It also borders two regions of ...
,
Sikkim
Sikkim (; ) is a state in Northeastern India. It borders the Tibet Autonomous Region of China in the north and northeast, Bhutan in the east, Province No. 1 of Nepal in the west and West Bengal in the south. Sikkim is also close to the Silig ...
, and
Tripura
Tripura (, Bengali: ) is a state in Northeast India. The third-smallest state in the country, it covers ; and the seventh-least populous state with a population of 36.71 lakh ( 3.67 million). It is bordered by Assam and Mizoram to the ea ...
, tribal peoples form between 20 and 30% of the population.
The largest population of tribals lives in a belt stretching from eastern
Gujarat
Gujarat (, ) is a state along the western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the fifth-largest Indian state by area, covering some ; and the ninth ...
and
Rajasthan
Rajasthan (; lit. 'Land of Kings') is a state in northern India. It covers or 10.4 per cent of India's total geographical area. It is the largest Indian state by area and the seventh largest by population. It is on India's northwestern s ...
in the west all the way to western West Bengal, a region known as the tribal belt. These tribes correspond roughly to three regions. The western region, in eastern Gujarat, southeastern Rajasthan, northwestern Maharashtra as well as western
Madhya Pradesh
Madhya Pradesh (, ; meaning 'central province') is a state in central India. Its capital is Bhopal, and the largest city is Indore, with Jabalpur, Ujjain, Gwalior, Sagar, and Rewa being the other major cities. Madhya Pradesh is the seco ...
, is dominated by Indo-Aryan speaking tribes like the
Bhils
Bhil or Bheel is an ethnic group in western India. They speak the Bhil languages, a subgroup of the Western Zone of the Indo-Aryan languages. As of 2013, Bhils were the largest tribal group in India.
Bhils are listed as tribal people of the ...
. The central region, covering eastern Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh, western and southern Chhattisgarh, northern and eastern Telangana, northern Andhra Pradesh and western Odisha is dominated by Dravidian tribes like the
Gonds
The Gondi (Gōndi) or Gond or Koitur are a Dravidian ethno-linguistic group. They are one of the largest tribal groups in India. They are spread over the states of Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Uttar Pradesh, Telangana, Andhra Prad ...
and Khonds. The eastern belt, centred on the Chhota Nagpur Plateau in
Jharkhand
Jharkhand (; ; ) is a state in eastern India. The state shares its border with the states of West Bengal to the east, Chhattisgarh to the west, Uttar Pradesh to the northwest, Bihar to the north and Odisha to the south. It has an area of . I ...
and adjacent areas of Chhattisgarh, Odisha and West Bengal, is dominated by Munda tribes like the Bhumijs, Hos and Santals. Roughly 75% of the total tribal population live in this belt, although the tribal population there accounts for only around 10% of the region's total population.
Further south, the region near
Bellary
Bellary, officially Ballari, in the eponymous Bellary district, is a city in the state of Karnataka, India.
History
Bellary was a part of Rayalaseema (Ceded Districts) which was part of Madras Presidency till 1 November 1956.
The Ballari ...
in
Karnataka
Karnataka (; ISO: , , also known as Karunāḍu) is a state in the southwestern region of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act. Originally known as Mysore State , it was renamed ''Karnat ...
has a large concentration of tribals, mostly Boyas/ Valmikis. Small pockets can be found throughout the rest of South India. By far the largest of these pockets is in found in the region containing the
Nilgiris district
The Nilgiris district () is one of the 38 districts in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Nilgiri ( en, Blue Mountains) is the name given to a range of mountains spread across the borders among the states of Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Ker ...
of
Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is a state in southern India. It is the tenth largest Indian state by area and the sixth largest by population. Its capital and largest city is Chennai. Tamil Nadu is the home of the Tamil people, whose Tamil language ...
,
Wayanad district
Wayanad () is a district in the north-east of Indian state Kerala with administrative headquarters at the municipality of Kalpetta. It is the only plateau in Kerala. The Wayanad Plateau forms a continuation of the Mysore Plateau, the southern ...
of
Kerala
Kerala ( ; ) is a state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile regions of Cochin, Malabar, South ...
Mysore
Mysore (), officially Mysuru (), is a city in the southern part of the state of Karnataka, India. Mysore city is geographically located between 12° 18′ 26″ north latitude and 76° 38′ 59″ east longitude. It is located at an altitude of ...
districts of southern
Karnataka
Karnataka (; ISO: , , also known as Karunāḍu) is a state in the southwestern region of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act. Originally known as Mysore State , it was renamed ''Karnat ...
. Further south, only small pockets of tribal settlement remain in the Western and Eastern Ghats.
The scheduled tribe population in
Jharkhand
Jharkhand (; ; ) is a state in eastern India. The state shares its border with the states of West Bengal to the east, Chhattisgarh to the west, Uttar Pradesh to the northwest, Bihar to the north and Odisha to the south. It has an area of . I ...
constitutes 26.2% of the state. Tribals in Jharkhand mainly follow
Sarnaism
Sarnaism is a religious belief found in India. The belief is based on worship at Sarna, the sacred groves in the Chota Nagpur Plateau region in the states of Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and Odisha. According to local belief, a ''Gram deoti'' or vi ...
, an animistic religion. Chhattisgarh has also over 80 lakh scheduled tribe population.
Assam
Assam (; ) is a state in northeastern India, south of the eastern Himalayas along the Brahmaputra and Barak River valleys. Assam covers an area of . The state is bordered by Bhutan and Arunachal Pradesh to the north; Nagaland and Manipur ...
has over 60 lakh Adivasis primarily as tea workers. Adivasis in India mainly follow
Animism
Animism (from Latin: ' meaning ' breath, spirit, life') is the belief that objects, places, and creatures all possess a distinct spiritual essence. Potentially, animism perceives all things— animals, plants, rocks, rivers, weather syst ...
,
Hinduism
Hinduism () is an Indian religion or '' dharma'', a religious and universal order or way of life by which followers abide. As a religion, it is the world's third-largest, with over 1.2–1.35 billion followers, or 15–16% of the global p ...
and
Christianity
Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...
.
In the case of
Bangladesh
Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mos ...
Myanmar
Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John Wells explai ...
, in Sylhet and in the Northwest of
Bangladesh
Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mos ...
. In Sylhet and in the north west you can find groups such as the Sauria Paharia, Kurukh, Santal, Munda and more, and other groups such as the Pnar,
Garo
Garo may refer to:
People and languages
* Garo people, a tribal people in India
** Garo language, the language spoken by the Garo tribe
Places
* Kingdom of Garo, a former kingdom in southern Ethiopia
* Garo, Colorado
* Garo Hills, part of the Ga ...
Chittagong Hill tracts
The Chittagong Hill Tracts ( bn, পার্বত্য চট্টগ্রাম, Parbotto Chottogram), often shortened to simply the Hill Tracts and abbreviated to CHT, are group of districts within the Chittagong Division in southeast ...
you can find variouse
Tibeto-Burman
The Tibeto-Burman languages are the non- Sinitic members of the Sino-Tibetan language family, over 400 of which are spoken throughout the Southeast Asian Massif ("Zomia") as well as parts of East Asia and South Asia. Around 60 million people spea ...
Tripuri
Tripuri refer to:
*Tripuri people, an ethnic group in India and Bangladesh, also known as Tipra people
**Tripuri language
**Tripuri nationalism
**Tripuri calendar
**Tripuri culture
**Tripuri cuisine
**Tripuri dances
**Tripuri dress
**Tripuri games ...
, Mizo, Mru, Rakhine and more. In Bangladesh most Adivasis are Buddhists who follow the
Theravada
''Theravāda'' () ( si, ථේරවාදය, my, ထေရဝါဒ, th, เถรวาท, km, ថេរវាទ, lo, ເຖຣະວາດ, pi, , ) is the most commonly accepted name of Buddhism's oldest existing school. The school' ...
school of
Buddhism
Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and gra ...
,
Animism
Animism (from Latin: ' meaning ' breath, spirit, life') is the belief that objects, places, and creatures all possess a distinct spiritual essence. Potentially, animism perceives all things— animals, plants, rocks, rivers, weather syst ...
and
Christianity
Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...
are also followed in fact Buddhism has affected Adivasis so much that it has influenced local
Animistic
Animism (from Latin: ' meaning 'breath, spirit, life') is the belief that objects, places, and creatures all possess a distinct spiritual essence. Potentially, animism perceives all things—animals, plants, rocks, rivers, weather systems, hum ...
beliefs of other Adivasis.
History
Origin
Though claimed to be the original inhabitants of India, many present-day Adivasi communities formed after the decline of the
Indus Valley civilisation
The Indus Valley Civilisation (IVC), also known as the Indus Civilisation was a Bronze Age civilisation in the northwestern regions of South Asia, lasting from 3300 BCE to 1300 BCE, and in its mature form 2600 BCE to 1900& ...
, harboring various degrees of ancestry from ancient
hunter-gatherers
A traditional hunter-gatherer or forager is a human living an ancestrally derived lifestyle in which most or all food is obtained by foraging, that is, by gathering food from local sources, especially edible wild plants but also insects, fungi, ...
,
Indus Valley civilisation
The Indus Valley Civilisation (IVC), also known as the Indus Civilisation was a Bronze Age civilisation in the northwestern regions of South Asia, lasting from 3300 BCE to 1300 BCE, and in its mature form 2600 BCE to 1900& ...
Tibeto-Burman
The Tibeto-Burman languages are the non- Sinitic members of the Sino-Tibetan language family, over 400 of which are spoken throughout the Southeast Asian Massif ("Zomia") as well as parts of East Asia and South Asia. Around 60 million people spea ...
language speakers. Only tribal people of
Andaman Islands
The Andaman Islands () are an archipelago in the northeastern Indian Ocean about southwest off the coasts of Myanmar's Ayeyarwady Region. Together with the Nicobar Islands to their south, the Andamans serve as a maritime boundary between th ...
remained isolated for more than 25000 years.
Ancient & medieval period
According to linguist
Anvita Abbi
Professor Anvita Abbi (born 9 January 1949) is an Indian linguist and scholar of minority languages, known for her studies on tribal languages and other minority languages of South Asia. In 2013, she was honoured with the Padma Shri, the fourth ...
, tribe in India are charterised by distinct lifestyle and are outside of caste system.
Although considered uncivilised and primitive, Adivasis were usually not held to be intrinsically impure by surrounding populations (usually Dravidian or Indo-Aryan), unlike
Dalit
Dalit (from sa, दलित, dalita meaning "broken/scattered"), also previously known as untouchable, is the lowest stratum of the Caste system in India, castes in India. Dalits were excluded from the four-fold Varna (Hinduism), varna syste ...
s, who were. Thus, the Adivasi origins of
Valmiki
Valmiki (; Sanskrit: वाल्मीकि, ) is celebrated as the wikt:harbinger, harbinger-poet in Sanskrit literature. The epic ''Ramayana'', dated variously from the 5th century BCE to first century BCE, is attributed to him, based on ...
, who composed the
Ramayana
The ''Rāmāyana'' (; sa, रामायणम्, ) is a Sanskrit literature, Sanskrit Indian epic poetry, epic composed over a period of nearly a millennium, with scholars' estimates for the earliest stage of the text ranging from the 8th ...
, were acknowledged, as were the origins of Adivasi tribes such as the
Garasia
Garasia, alternatively spelled Girasia, Girasiya or Garasiya, is a title used by the Koli chieftains of petty states or Jagirdars in India who held the villages as ''Giras'' granted by rulers. Many of the Chunvalia Kolis held the title of Gir ...
and
Bhilala
A Bhilala is a tribe found in the Malwa and Nimar of the Central Provinces and in Central India. The total strength of the Bhilalas is about 150,000 persons, most of whom reside in the Bhopawar Agency, adjoining Nimar. Only 15,000 were returned f ...
, which descended from mixed
Rajput
Rajput (from Sanskrit ''raja-putra'' 'son of a king') is a large multi-component cluster of castes, kin bodies, and local groups, sharing social status and ideology of genealogical descent originating from the Indian subcontinent. The term Ra ...
and
Bhil
Bhil or Bheel is an ethnic group in western India. They speak the Bhil languages, a subgroup of the Western Zone of the Indo-Aryan languages. As of 2013, Bhils were the largest tribal group in India.
Bhils are listed as tribal people of t ...
marriages. Unlike the subjugation of the Dalits, the Adivasis often enjoyed autonomy and, depending on region, evolved mixed hunter-gatherer and farming economies, controlling their lands as a joint patrimony of the tribe. In some areas, securing Adivasi approval and support was considered crucial by local rulers, and larger Adivasi groups were able to sustain their own kingdoms in central India. The
Meenas
Meena () is a sub-group of Bhils. They speak Meena language. They started adopting the Brahmin worship system. Its name is also transliterated as ''Meenanda'' or ''Mina''. Historians claim that they belong to the Matsya tribe. They got the sta ...
and Gond Rajas of Garha-Mandla and Chanda are examples of an Adivasi aristocracy that ruled in this region, and were "not only the hereditary leaders of their Gond subjects, but also held sway over substantial communities of non-tribals who recognized them as their feudal lords."
The historiography of relationships between the Adivasis and the rest of Indian society is patchy. There are references to alliances between Ahom Kings of Brahmaputra valley and the hill Nagas.
This relative autonomy and collective ownership of Adivasi land by Adivasis was severely disrupted by the advent of the
Mughals
The Mughal Empire was an early-modern empire that controlled much of South Asia between the 16th and 19th centuries. Quote: "Although the first two Timurid emperors and many of their noblemen were recent migrants to the subcontinent, the d ...
in the early 16th century. Rebellions against Mughal authority include the
Bhil
Bhil or Bheel is an ethnic group in western India. They speak the Bhil languages, a subgroup of the Western Zone of the Indo-Aryan languages. As of 2013, Bhils were the largest tribal group in India.
Bhils are listed as tribal people of t ...
Rebellion of 1632 and the Bhil-Gond Insurrection of 1643 which were both pacified by Mughal soldiers. With the advent of the Kachwaha Rajputs and Mughals into their territory, the Meenas were gradually sidelined and pushed deep into the forests. As a result, historical literature has completely bypassed the Meena tribe. The combined army of Mughals and Bharmal attacked the tribal king Bada Meena and killed him damaging 52 kots and 56 gates. Bada's treasure was shared between Mughals and Bharmal.
British period (c. 1857 – 1947)
During the period of
British rule
The British Raj (; from Hindi ''rāj'': kingdom, realm, state, or empire) was the rule of the British Crown on the Indian subcontinent;
*
* it is also called Crown rule in India,
*
*
*
*
or Direct rule in India,
* Quote: "Mill, who was hims ...
, the colonial administration encroached upon the ''adivasi'' tribal system, which led to widespread resentment against the British among the tribesmen. The tribesmen frequently supported rebellions or rebelled themselves, while their ''raja'' looked negatively upon the British administrative innovations. Beginning in the 18th century, the
British
British may refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies.
** Britishness, the British identity and common culture
* British English, ...
added to the consolidation of feudalism in India, first under the
Jagir
A jagir ( fa, , translit=Jāgir), also spelled as jageer, was a type of feudal land grant in the Indian subcontinent at the foundation of its Jagirdar (Zamindar) system. It developed during the Islamic rule era of the Indian subcontinent, start ...
dari system and then under the
zamindar
A zamindar ( Hindustani: Devanagari: , ; Persian: , ) in the Indian subcontinent was an autonomous or semiautonomous ruler of a province. The term itself came into use during the reign of Mughals and later the British had begun using it as a ...
i system. Beginning with the
Permanent Settlement
The Permanent Settlement, also known as the Permanent Settlement of Bengal, was an agreement between the East India Company and Bengali landlords to fix revenues to be raised from land that had far-reaching consequences for both agricultural met ...
imposed by the British in Bengal and Bihar, which later became the template for a deepening of feudalism throughout India, the older social and economic system in the country began to alter radically. Land, both forest areas belonging to adivasis and settled farmland belonging to non-adivasi peasants, was rapidly made the legal property of British-designated zamindars (landlords), who in turn moved to extract the maximum economic benefit possible from their newfound property and subjects. Adivasi lands sometimes experienced an influx of non-local settlers, often brought from far away (as in the case of Muslims and Sikhs brought to Kol territory) by the zamindars to better exploit local land, forest and labour. Deprived of the forests and resources they traditionally depended on and sometimes coerced to pay taxes, many adivasis were forced to borrow at
usurious
Usury () is the practice of making unethical or immoral monetary loans that unfairly enrich the lender. The term may be used in a moral sense—condemning taking advantage of others' misfortunes—or in a legal sense, where an interest rate is ch ...
rates from moneylenders, often the zamindars themselves. When they were unable to pay, that forced them to become bonded labourers for the zamindars. Often, far from paying off the principal of their debt, they were unable even to offset the compounding interest, and this was made the justification for their children working for the zamindar after the death of the initial borrower. In the case of the Andamanese adivasis, their
protective isolation Protective isolation or reverse isolation denotes the practices used for protecting vulnerable persons for contracting an infection. When people with weakened immune systems are exposed to organisms, it could lead to infection and serious complicati ...
changed with the establishment of a British colonial presence on the islands. Lacking immunity against common
infectious diseases
An infection is the invasion of tissues by pathogens, their multiplication, and the reaction of host tissues to the infectious agent and the toxins they produce. An infectious disease, also known as a transmissible disease or communicable dise ...
of the Eurasian mainland, the large Jarawa habitats on the southeastern regions of South Andaman Island experienced a massive population decline due to disease within four years of the establishment of a colonial presence on the island in 1789.
Land dispossession by the ''zamindars'' or interference by the colonial government resulted in a number of Adivasi revolts in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, such as the
Bhumij rebellion
The Bhumij Rebellion or Bhumij Revolt, also known as Ganga Narain's Hungama was a revolt during 1832–1833 by Bhumij tribals based in the Dhalbhum and Jungle Mahal areas of the Midnapore district of the erstwhile Bengal state. It was led by Ga ...
of 1767-1833 and Santal hul (or
Santhal rebellion
The Santhal rebellion (also known as the Sonthal rebellion or the Santhal Hool), was a rebellion in present-day Jharkhand and
West Bengal , Eastern India against both the British East India Company (BEIC) and zamindari system by the Santhal. I ...
) of 1855–56. Although these were suppressed by the governing British authority (the
East India Company
The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (the Indian subcontinent and Southea ...
prior to 1858, and the British government after 1858), partial restoration of privileges to adivasi elites (e.g. to ''Mankis'', the leaders of Munda tribes) and some leniency in levels of taxation resulted in relative calm in the region, despite continuing and widespread dispossession from the late nineteenth century onwards. The economic deprivation, in some cases, triggered internal adivasi migrations within India that would continue for another century, including as labour for the emerging tea plantations in
Assam
Assam (; ) is a state in northeastern India, south of the eastern Himalayas along the Brahmaputra and Barak River valleys. Assam covers an area of . The state is bordered by Bhutan and Arunachal Pradesh to the north; Nagaland and Manipur ...
.
Participation in Indian independence movement
There were tribal reform and rebellion movements during the period of the
British Empire
The British Empire was composed of the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It began with the overseas possessions and trading posts esta ...
, some of which also participated in the Indian independence movement or attacked mission posts. There were several Adivasis in the
Indian independence movement
The Indian independence movement was a series of historic events with the ultimate aim of ending British Raj, British rule in India. It lasted from 1857 to 1947.
The first nationalistic revolutionary movement for Indian independence emerged ...
including Birsa Munda, Dharindhar Bhyuan, Laxman Naik, Jantya Bhil, Bangaru Devi and Rehma Vasave, Mangri Oroan.
During the period of British rule, India saw the
rebellions
Rebellion, uprising, or insurrection is a refusal of obedience or order. It refers to the open resistance against the orders of an established authority.
A rebellion originates from a sentiment of indignation and disapproval of a situation and ...
of several then
backward castes
The Other Backward Class is a collective term used by the Government of India to classify castes which are educationally or socially backward. It is one of several official classifications of the population of India, along with General castes, S ...
, mainly tribal peoples that revolted against British rule. These were:
*
* Halba rebellion (1774–79)
* Chakma rebellion (1776–1787)
* Chuar rebellion in
Bengal
Bengal ( ; bn, বাংলা/বঙ্গ, translit=Bānglā/Bôngô, ) is a geopolitical, cultural and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the eastern part of the Indian subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal, predom ...
(1795–1809)
* Bhopalpatnam Struggle (1795)
* Khurda Rebellion in
Odisha
Odisha (English: , ), formerly Orissa ( the official name until 2011), is an Indian state located in Eastern India. It is the 8th largest state by area, and the 11th largest by population. The state has the third largest population of ...
Bhumij Rebellion
The Bhumij Rebellion or Bhumij Revolt, also known as Ganga Narain's Hungama was a revolt during 1832–1833 by Bhumij tribals based in the Dhalbhum and Jungle Mahal areas of the Midnapore district of the erstwhile Bengal state. It was led by Ga ...
(1832-33)
* Khond rebellion (1836)
* Tarapur rebellion (1842–54)
* Maria rebellion (1842–63)
* First Freedom Struggle By Sidu Murmu and Kanu Murmu (1856–57)
* Bhil rebellion, begun by
Tatya Tope
Tantia Tope (also spelled Tatya Tope, : ̪aːt̪ʲa ʈoːpe 6 January 1814 – 18 April 1859) was a general in the Indian Rebellion of 1857 and one of its notable leaders. Despite lacking formal military training, Tantia Tope is widely consi ...
in Banswara (1858)
*
Koli
Koli may refer to:
Places
* Koli, Finland, a hill in Finland
* Koli National Park, a national park in Finland
* Koli, Iran (disambiguation), several places in Iran
* Koli Airfield, a former airfield in the South Pacific
Other uses
* Koli peopl ...
revolt (1859)
* Great Kuki Invasion of 1860s
* Gond rebellion, begun by
Ramji Gond
Ramji Gond was a Gond chief who ruled the tribal areas in present-day Adilabad district of Telangana. The areas under his rule included Nirmal, Utnoor, Chennuru, and Asifabad. He fought against British rule, for which he was caught and hanged.
...
in Adilabad (1860)
* Muria rebellion (1876)
* Rani rebellion (1878–82)
* Bhumkal (1910)
* The Kuki Uprising (1917–1919) in
Manipur
Manipur () ( mni, Kangleipak) is a state in Northeast India, with the city of Imphal as its capital. It is bounded by the Indian states of Nagaland to the north, Mizoram to the south and Assam to the west. It also borders two regions of ...
Santhal rebellion
The Santhal rebellion (also known as the Sonthal rebellion or the Santhal Hool), was a rebellion in present-day Jharkhand and
West Bengal , Eastern India against both the British East India Company (BEIC) and zamindari system by the Santhal. I ...
(1885–1886)
*
Munda rebellion
Birsa Munda (15 November 1875 – 9 June 1900) was an Indian tribal freedom fighter, and folk hero who belonged to the Munda tribe. He spearheaded a tribal religious millenarian movement that arose in the Bengal Presidency (now Jharkhand) in ...
(1899 - 1900)
* Thanu Nayak arm struggle against Nizam in
Telangana
Telangana (; , ) is a state in India situated on the south-central stretch of the Indian peninsula on the high Deccan Plateau. It is the eleventh-largest state and the twelfth-most populated state in India with a geographical area of and 3 ...
in 1940s
Major Adivasi groups
There are more than 700 tribal groups in India.
List of Scheduled Tribes in India
This is a list of Scheduled Tribes in India. The term "Scheduled Tribes" refers to specific tribes whose status is acknowledged to some formal degree by national legislation.
Andaman and Nicobar Islands
In accordance with The Scheduled Castes ...
Bhils
Bhil or Bheel is an ethnic group in western India. They speak the Bhil languages, a subgroup of the Western Zone of the Indo-Aryan languages. As of 2013, Bhils were the largest tribal group in India.
Bhils are listed as tribal people of the ...
Birhors
Birhor people (Birhul) are a tribal/Adivasi forest people, traditionally nomadic, living primarily in the Indian state of Jharkhand. They speak the Birhor language, which belongs to the Munda group of languages of the Austroasiatic language famil ...
*
Bodos
Boro (बर'/बड़ो ), also called Bodo, is the largest ethnolinguistic group in the Assam state of India. They are a part of the greater Bodo-Kachari family of ethnolinguistic groups and are spread across northeastern India. They are ...
Garos
Garos is a commune in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department in south-western France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territo ...
*
Gonds
The Gondi (Gōndi) or Gond or Koitur are a Dravidian ethno-linguistic group. They are one of the largest tribal groups in India. They are spread over the states of Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Uttar Pradesh, Telangana, Andhra Prad ...
Irulas
Irula, also known as Iruliga'','' are a Dravidian ethnic group inhabiting the Indian states of Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Karnataka. A scheduled tribe, their population in this region is estimated at around 200,000 people. People of Irula ethn ...
Khasis
The Khasi people are an ethnic group of Meghalaya in north-eastern India with a significant population in the bordering state of Assam, and in certain parts of Bangladesh. Khasi people form the majority of the population of the eastern part of M ...
Meenas
Meena () is a sub-group of Bhils. They speak Meena language. They started adopting the Brahmin worship system. Its name is also transliterated as ''Meenanda'' or ''Mina''. Historians claim that they belong to the Matsya tribe. They got the sta ...
*
Mundas
The Munda people are an Austroasiatic speaking ethnic group of India. They predominantly speak the Mundari language as their native language, which belongs to the Munda subgroup of Austroasiatic languages. The Munda are found mainly concent ...
*
Santhals
The Santal or Santhal are an Austroasiatic speaking
Munda ethnic group in South Asia. Santals are the largest tribe in the Jharkhand and West Bengal state of India in terms of population and are also found in the states of Odisha, Bihar and A ...
Todas
Toda people are a Dravidian ethnic group who live in the Indian states of Tamil Nadu. Before the 18th century and British colonisation, the Toda coexisted locally with other ethnic communities, including the Kota, Badaga and Kurumba, in a ...
Arakanese language
, pronunciation =
, ethnicity = Rakhine, Kamein
, states = Myanmar, Bangladesh, India
, region = * Rakhine State (Myanmar)
* Bandarban, Khagrachari, Patuakhali, Barguna (Bangladesh)
* Tripura (India)
, speake ...
*
Banjari language
Lambadi, Gor Boli, Banjara, Labanki or Banjari is a language spoken by the once nomadic Banjara people across India,Ancient Pastoral Nomadic Community of India Ancient Warrior Community/Raajputs Medieval Traders/Grain Carriers Modern Grain Tra ...
*
Bawm language
Bawm or Bawm Chin, also known as Banjogi, is a Kuki-Chin language primarily spoken in Bangladesh. It is also spoken in adjacent regions of Northeast India and Burma. The Bawms that live on the Chittagong Hill Tracts of Bangladesh call their se ...
*
Bhil language
The Bhil languages are a group of Indo-Aryan languages spoken by around 10.4 million Bhils in western and central India as of 2011. They constitute the primary languages of the southern Aravalli Range in Rajasthan and the western Satpura Range ...
Bodo language
Boro (बर'/बड़ो ), also called Bodo, is a Sino-Tibetan language spoken primarily by the Boro people of India, Nepal and Bangladesh. It is an official language of the Indian state of Assam, predominantly spoken in the Bodoland Te ...
*
Bonda language
The Bonda language, also known as Bondo or Remo, is a south Munda language of the Austroasiatic language family spoken in Odisha, formerly known as Southern Odisha, in India. It had 2,568 speakers, all in Odisha, according to the 1951 Census of ...
*
Chakma language
Chakma language (; autonym: , ) is an Indo-Aryan language spoken by the Chakma and Daingnet people. The language has common features with other languages in the region like the Chittagonian, Tanchangya, Arakanese and others. It is spoken by ...
*
Chenchu language
Chenchu language is a Dravidian language which belongs to the Telugu branch of its South-Central family. This language is spoken mostly in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana states in India by about 28,754 people (1981 census) of the Chenchu Aborigi ...
*
Dhodia language
The tribal Kukna (Kokna) peoples speak a Kukna dialect and Dhodia peoples speak a Dhodia dialect
Dhodia are an Adivasi people who have been placed in the Indian communities recognition, under Schedule Tribes. The majority of the Dhodia trib ...
Gondi language
Gondi () is a South-Central Dravidian language, spoken by about three million Gondi people, chiefly in the Indian states of Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and by small minorities in neighbouring states. ...
*
Gujari language
Gojri (, ), also known as Gujari, Gujri, Gojari, or Gojri, is a variety of Rajasthani spoken by the Gurjars and other tribes of India, Pakistan and Afghanistan.
In India, the language is mainly spoken in Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, ...
*
Halbi language
Halbi (also Bastari, Halba, Halvas, Halabi, Halvi) is an Eastern Indo-Aryan language, transitional between Odia and Marathi. It is spoken by at least 766,297 people across the central part of India.
The Mehari (or Mahari) dialect is mutuall ...
*
Ho language
Ho () is a Munda language of the Austroasiatic language family spoken primarily in India by about 1.04 million people (0.103% of India's population) per the 2001 census. Ho is a tribal language. It is spoken by the Ho, Munda, Kolha and ...
*
Irula language
Irula is a Dravidian language spoken by the Irulas who inhabit the area of the Nilgiri mountains, in the states of Tamil Nadu, Kerala, and Karnataka, India. It is closely related to Tamil. It is written in the Tamil script.
Origins
The langu ...
*
Jaunsari language
Jaunsari () is a Western Pahari language of northern India spoken by the Jaunsari people in the Chakrata and Kalsi blocks of Dehradun district in the Garhwal region of Uttarakhand state.
The dialects of Jaunsari share about 60% of their basic ...
*
Karbi language
The Karbi language () is spoken by the Karbi (also known as Mikir or Arleng) people of Northeastern India.
It belongs to the Sino-Tibetan language family, but its position is unclear. Grierson (1903) classified it under Naga languages, Shafer ...
*
Khasi language
Khasi () is an Austroasiatic language with just over a million speakers in north-east India, primarily the Khasi people in the state of Meghalaya. It has associate official status in some districts of this state. The closest relatives of Khas ...
*
Koch language
Koch is a Sino-Tibetan language spoken by the Koch people of Republic of India and Koch people in Nepal, Bhutan and Bangladesh.
Geographical distribution
Koch is spoken in:
*Assam:
**Baksa district - Hodi or Koch Mandai
**Darrang district - ...
*
Koda language
Koda, also known as Kora, Kaora, Korali, Korati, Kore, Mudi, or Mudikora, is an endangered Munda language of India and Bangladesh spoken by the Kora. The Kora mainly live in West Bengal, in the districts of Paschim Medinipur and Bankura, with ...
*
Kokborok language
Kokborok (also known as Tripuri or Tiprakok) is the main native language of the Tripuri people of the Indian state of Tripura and neighbouring areas of Bangladesh. Its name comes from ''kok'' meaning "verbal" and ''borok'' meaning "people" o ...
Kuki language
Thadou (Thado, Thaadou, Thado-Pao, Thadou-Kuki) is a Sino-Tibetan language of the Northern Kuki-Chin-Mizo linguistic sub branch. It is spoken in the northeastern part of India (specifically in Manipur and Assam). It is spoken by the Thadou pe ...
*
Kurukh language
Kurukh (; Devanagari: कुंड़ुख़), also Kurux, Oraon or Uranw, is a Dravidian language spoken by the Kurukh (Oraon) and Kisan people of East India. It is spoken by about two million people in the Indian states of Jharkhand, Chhatti ...
*
Mizo language
The Mizo language, or ''Mizo ṭawng'', is a Kuki-Chin-Mizo language belonging to the Tibeto-Burman family of languages, spoken natively by the Mizo people in the Mizoram state of India and Chin State in Myanmar. The language is also known as ...
Paniya language
Paniya is one of the Malayalam languages spoken in India. It is spoken by the Paniya people, a scheduled tribe with a majority of its speakers in the state of Kerala. The language is also known as ''Pania'', ''Paniyan'' and ''Panyah''. It belongs ...
*
Pnar language
Pnar (), also known as Jaiñtia is an Austroasiatic language spoken in India and Bangladesh
Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the wo ...
Sak language
Sak (also known as Cak, Chak, or Tsak) is a Sino-Tibetan language of the Sal branch spoken in Bangladesh and Myanmar.
Geographical distribution
Cak is spoken in Bangladesh by about 3,000 people and in Rakhine State, Burma by about 1,000 peopl ...
*
Santali language
Santali (, Ol Chiki: ), Bengali: , Odia: , Devanagari: , also known as Santal, is the most widely spoken language of the Munda subfamily of the Austroasiatic languages, related to Ho and Mundari, spoken mainly in the Indian states of Assam ...
Tharu language
The Tharu ( Tharu: थारु, hi, थरुवा) or Tharuhat ( ne, थरुहट) languages are any of the Indo-Aryan languages spoken by the Tharu people of the Terai region in Nepal, and neighboring regions of Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh ...
*
Varli language
Varli or Warli is an Indo-Aryan language spoken by the Warli people. The language is usually classified as Marathi, but sometimes as Konkani or Bhil
Bhil or Bheel is an ethnic group in western India. They speak the Bhil languages, a ...
*
Vasavi language
Vasavi is a Western Indo-Aryan language spoken by the Bhil people, though not intelligible with Bhili. The Vasavi live mainly in two districts straddling the Gujarat-Maharashtra border: Bharuch district in Gujarat and Dhule district of Maharas ...
Adivasi literature
Adivasi literature is the literature composed by the tribals of the Indian subcontinent. It is composed in more than 100 languages. The tradition of tribal literature includes oral literature and written literature in tribal languages and non-tribal languages. The basic feature of tribal literature is the presence of tribal philosophy in it. Prominent tribal writers include Nirmala Putul, Vahru Sonawane, Temsula Ao,
Mamang Dai
Mamang Dai is an Indian poet, novelist and journalist based in Itanagar, Arunachal Pradesh. She received Sahitya Academi Award in 2017 for her novel ''The Black Hill''.
Life
Mamang Dai was born on 23 February 1957 at Pasighat, East Siang dis ...
Rose Kerketta
Rose Kerketta (born 5 December 1940) is a woman writer, poet, thinker and tribal rights activist. She was born in Kaisara, Ranchi District, Bihar which is now Simdega District, Jharkhand to a Kharia people, Kharia family. She has written several ...
,
Ram Dayal Munda
Ram Dayal Munda (23 August 1939 – 30 September 2011), known as R. D. Munda, was an Indian scholar and regional music exponent. He was awarded the Padma Shri of the year 2010 for his contribution to the field of art.
He was a vice-chancellor ...
,
Vandana Tete Vandana may refer to:
* Vandana Gupte, Marathi actress
* Vandana Jain, Indian ophthalmologist
* Vandana Shanbagh (born 1963), Indian athlete
* Vandana Shiva (born 1952), Indian environmental activist
* Vandana Singh
Vandana Singh is an India ...
,
Anuj Lugun
Anuj Lugun is an Indian poet and writer. His poetry espoused indigenous renaissance and intense rebellion against fascism and oppression. Anuj's activism for social justice earned him the title of Tribal Poet.
Early life and career
Born into a J ...
etc.
Religion
The religious practices of Adivasis communities mostly resemble various shades of Hinduism. In the census of India from 1871 to 1941, tribals have been counted in different religions from other religions, 1891 (forest tribe), 1901 (animist), 1911 (tribal animist), 1921 (hill and forest tribe), 1931 (primitive tribe), 1941 (tribes), However, since the census of 1951, the tribal population has been stopped separately. Many Adivasis have been converted into Christianity during British period and after independence. During the last two decades Adivasi from
Odisha
Odisha (English: , ), formerly Orissa ( the official name until 2011), is an Indian state located in Eastern India. It is the 8th largest state by area, and the 11th largest by population. The state has the third largest population of ...
, Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand have converted to Protestant groups as a result of increased missionaries presence.
Adivasi beliefs vary by tribe, and are usually different from the
historical Vedic religion
The historical Vedic religion (also known as Vedicism, Vedism or ancient Hinduism and subsequently Brahmanism (also spelled as Brahminism)), constituted the religious ideas and practices among some Indo-Aryan peoples of northwest Indian Subco ...
, with its
monistic
Monism attributes oneness or singleness (Greek: μόνος) to a concept e.g., existence. Various kinds of monism can be distinguished:
* Priority monism states that all existing things go back to a source that is distinct from them; e.g., i ...
underpinnings, Indo-European deities (who are often
cognates
In historical linguistics, cognates or lexical cognates are sets of words in different languages that have been inherited in direct descent from an etymological ancestor in a common parent language. Because language change can have radical eff ...
of ancient Iranian, Greek and Roman deities, e.g. Mitra/
Mithra
Mithra ( ae, ''Miθra'', peo, 𐎷𐎰𐎼 ''Miça'') commonly known as Mehr, is the Iranian deity of covenant, light, oath, justice and the sun. In addition to being the divinity of contracts, Mithra is also a judicial figure, an all-seeing ...
/
Mithras
Mithraism, also known as the Mithraic mysteries or the Cult of Mithras, was a Roman mystery religion centered on the god Mithras. Although inspired by Iranian worship of the Zoroastrian divinity (''yazata'') Mithra, the Roman Mithras is linke ...
), lack of
idol worship
Idolatry is the worship of a cult image or "idol" as though it were God. In Abrahamic religions (namely Judaism, Samaritanism, Christianity, the Baháʼí Faith, and Islam) idolatry connotes the worship of something or someone other than the A ...
and lack of a concept of
reincarnation
Reincarnation, also known as rebirth or transmigration, is the philosophical or religious concept that the non-physical essence of a living being begins a new life in a different physical form or body after biological death. Resurrection is a ...
.
Animism
Animism
Animism (from Latin: ' meaning ' breath, spirit, life') is the belief that objects, places, and creatures all possess a distinct spiritual essence. Potentially, animism perceives all things— animals, plants, rocks, rivers, weather syst ...
(from
Latin
Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...
''animus, -i'' "
soul
In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being".
Etymology
The Modern English noun ''soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The earliest attes ...
,
life
Life is a quality that distinguishes matter that has biological processes, such as signaling and self-sustaining processes, from that which does not, and is defined by the capacity for growth, reaction to stimuli, metabolism, energ ...
") is the
worldview
A worldview or world-view or ''Weltanschauung'' is the fundamental cognitive orientation of an individual or society encompassing the whole of the individual's or society's knowledge, culture, and point of view. A worldview can include natural ...
that non-human entities (animals, plants, and inanimate objects or phenomena) possess a spiritual essence. The ''Encyclopaedia of Religion and Society'' estimates that 1–5% of India's population is animist. India's government recognises that India's indigenous subscribe to pre-Hindu animist-based religions.
Animism is used in the anthropology of religion as a term for the belief system of some indigenous tribal peoples, especially prior to the development of organised religion. Although each culture has its own different mythologies and rituals, "animism" is said to describe the most common, foundational thread of indigenous peoples' "spiritual" or "supernatural" perspectives. The animistic perspective is so fundamental, mundane, everyday and taken-for-granted that most animistic indigenous people do not even have a word in their languages that corresponds to "animism" (or even "religion"); the term is an anthropological construct rather than one designated by the people themselves.
Donyi-Polo
Donyi-Polo is the designation given to the
indigenous religion
Indigenous religions is a category used in the study of religion to demarcate the religious belief systems of communities described as being "indigenous". This category is often juxtaposed against others such as the "world religions" and "new re ...
s, of
animistic
Animism (from Latin: ' meaning 'breath, spirit, life') is the belief that objects, places, and creatures all possess a distinct spiritual essence. Potentially, animism perceives all things—animals, plants, rocks, rivers, weather systems, hum ...
and
shamanic
Shamanism is a religious practice that involves a practitioner (shaman) interacting with what they believe to be a spirit world through altered states of consciousness, such as trance. The goal of this is usually to direct spirits or spiri ...
Arunachal Pradesh
Arunachal Pradesh (, ) is a state in Northeastern India. It was formed from the erstwhile North-East Frontier Agency (NEFA) region, and became a state on 20 February 1987. It borders the states of Assam and Nagaland to the south. It shares ...
, in northeastern India. The name "Donyi-Polo" means "Sun-Moon".
Sarnaism
Sarnaism
Sarnaism is a religious belief found in India. The belief is based on worship at Sarna, the sacred groves in the Chota Nagpur Plateau region in the states of Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and Odisha. According to local belief, a ''Gram deoti'' or vi ...
or Sarna (local languages: ''Sarna Dhorom'', meaning "religion of the holy woods") defines the indigenous religions of the Adivasi populations of the states of Central-
East India
East India is a region of India consisting of the Indian states of Bihar, Jharkhand, Odisha
and West Bengal and also the union territory of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. The region roughly corresponds to the historical region of Magadh ...
, such as the Munda, the Ho, the Santali, the Khuruk, and the others. The Munda, Ho, Santhal and Oraon tribe followed the Sarna religion, where Sarna means sacred grove. Their religion is based on the oral traditions passed from generation-to-generation. It involves worship of village deity, Sun and Moon.
Other tribal animist
Animist hunter gatherer Nayaka people of Nilgiri hills of South India.
Animism is the traditional religion of
Nicobarese people
The Nicobarese people are an Austroasiatic-speaking people of the Nicobar Islands, a chain of islands in the Bay of Bengal north of Sumatra, forming part of the union territory of Andaman and Nicobar Islands, India. Only 12 of the 19 islands ...
; their religion is marked by the dominance and interplay with spirit worship, witch doctors and animal sacrifice.
Hinduism
Adivasi roots of modern Hinduism
Some historians and anthropologists assert that many Hindu practices might have been adopted from Adivasi culture. This also includes the sacred status of certain animals such as
monkey
Monkey is a common name that may refer to most mammals of the infraorder Simiiformes, also known as the simians. Traditionally, all animals in the group now known as simians are counted as monkeys except the apes, which constitutes an incomple ...
s, cows,
fish
Fish are aquatic, craniate, gill-bearing animals that lack limbs with digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and cartilaginous and bony fish as well as various extinct related groups. Approximately 95% of li ...
(matsya),
peacocks
Peafowl is a common name for three bird species in the genera '' Pavo'' and ''Afropavo'' within the tribe Pavonini of the family Phasianidae, the pheasants and their allies. Male peafowl are referred to as peacocks, and female peafowl are ref ...
elephant
Elephants are the largest existing land animals. Three living species are currently recognised: the African bush elephant, the African forest elephant, and the Asian elephant. They are the only surviving members of the family Elephantidae an ...
s and plants such as the
sacred fig
''Ficus religiosa'' or sacred fig is a species of fig native to the Indian subcontinent and Indochina that belongs to Moraceae, the fig or mulberry family. It is also known as the bodhi tree, pippala tree, peepul tree, peepal tree, pipal tree ...
(''pipal''),
Ocimum tenuiflorum
''Ocimum tenuiflorum'', commonly known as holy basil, ''tulsi'' or ''tulasi'', is an aromatic perennial plant in the family Lamiaceae. It is native to the Indian subcontinent and widespread as a cultivated plant throughout the Southeast Asian ...
(''tulsi'') and
Azadirachta indica
''Azadirachta indica'', commonly known as neem, nimtree or Indian lilac, is a tree in the mahogany family Meliaceae. It is one of two species in the genus ''Azadirachta'', and is native to the Indian subcontinent and most of the countries in Afri ...
(''neem''), which may once have held totemic importance for certain adivasi tribes.
Adivasi saints
A ''sant'' is an Indian holy man, and a title of a devotee or ascetic, especially in north and east India. Generally, a holy or saintly person is referred to as a mahatma, paramahamsa, or swami, or given the prefix Sri or Srila before their name. The term is sometimes misrepresented in English as "
Hindu saint There is no formal canonization process in Hinduism, but over time many men and women have reached the status of saints among their followers and among Hindus in general. Hindu saints have often renounced the world, and are variously called Gurus, s ...
", although "sant" is unrelated to "saint".
* Sant Buddhu Bhagat, led the Kol Insurrection (1831–1832) aimed against tax imposed on Mundas by Muslim rulers.
* Sant Dhira or
Kannappa Nayanar
Kannappa was a staunch devotee of Shiva and is closely associated with Srikalahasteeswara Temple. He was a hunter and is believed to have plucked his eyes to offer to Srikalahasteeswara linga, the presiding deity of Srikalahasti Temple. He is ...
, one of 63 Nayanar Shaivite sants, a hunter from whom Lord Shiva gladly accepted food offerings. It is said that he poured water from his mouth on the Shivlingam and offered the Lord swine flesh.
* Sant Dhudhalinath, Gujarati, a 17th or 18th-century devotee (P. 4, ''The Story of Historic People of India-The Kolis'')
* Sant Ganga Narain Singh, led the Bhumij Revolt (1832–1833) aimed against Christian missionaries and the
East India Company
The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (the Indian subcontinent and Southea ...
.
* Sant Gurudev Kalicharan Brahma or Guru Brahma, a Bodo who founded the Brahma Dharma aimed against Christian missionaries and colonialists. The Brahma Dharma movement sought to unite peoples of all religions to worship God together and survives even today.
* Sant Kalu Dev, Punjab, related with Fishermen community
Nishadha
The Nishadha kingdom
( IAST: Niṣadha) was a tribe of ancient India that lived in a country of the same name
History
Veerasena was a king of the Nishadha kingdom, and the father of Nala. Nala, the son of Veerasena, became the king after his fa ...
* Sant Kubera, ethnic Gujarati, taught for over 35 years and had 20,000 followers in his time.
* Sant Jatra Oraon, Oraon, led the Tana Bhagat Movement (1914–1919) aimed against the Christian missionaries and the British colonial government
* Sant Tantya Mama (Bhil), a Bhil after whom a movement is named after – the "Jananayak Tantya Bhil"
* Sant
Tirumangai Alvar
Thirumangai Alvar (IAST: ), also referred to as Thirumangai Mannan is the last of the 12 Alvar saints of south India, who are known for their affiliation to the Vaishnava tradition of Hinduism. He is considered one of the most learned Alvars ...
, Kallar, composed the six Vedangas in beautiful Tamil verse
* Saint Kalean Guru (Kalean Murmu) is the most beloved person among Santal Tribes community who was widely popular 'Nagam Guru' Guru of Early Histories in fourteen century by the references of their forefathers.
Sages
* Bhakta
Shabari
Sabari (, sa, शबरी) is an elderly woman ascetic in the Hindu epic ''Ramayana''. She is described as an ardently devoted woman who received Rama's darshana and blessing due to her bhakti to him.
Story
Shabari was a woman from a vill ...
, a
Nishadha
The Nishadha kingdom
( IAST: Niṣadha) was a tribe of ancient India that lived in a country of the same name
History
Veerasena was a king of the Nishadha kingdom, and the father of Nala. Nala, the son of Veerasena, became the king after his fa ...
woman who offered Shri Rama and Shri Laxmana her half-eaten
ber
''Ziziphus mauritiana'', also known as Indian jujube, Indian plum, Chinese date, Chinese apple, ber, and dunks is a tropical fruit tree species belonging to the family Rhamnaceae. It is often confused with the closely related jujube, Chinese j ...
fruit, which they gratefully accepted when they were searching for Shri Sita Devi in the forest.
Maharishis
* Maharshi Matanga, Matanga Bhil, Guru of Bhakta Shabari. In fact, Chandalas are often addressed as 'Matanga 'in passages like Varaha Purana 1.139.91
Avatars
* Birsa Bhagwan or
Birsa Munda
Birsa Munda (15 November 1875 – 9 June 1900) was an Indian tribal freedom fighter, and folk hero who belonged to the Munda tribe. He spearheaded a tribal religious millenarian movement that arose in the Bengal Presidency (now Jharkhand) i ...
, considered an avatar of Khasra Kora. People approached him as Singbonga, the Sun god. His sect included Christian converts. He and his clan, the
Mundas
The Munda people are an Austroasiatic speaking ethnic group of India. They predominantly speak the Mundari language as their native language, which belongs to the Munda subgroup of Austroasiatic languages. The Munda are found mainly concent ...
, were connected with
Vaishnavite
Vaishnavism ( sa, वैष्णवसम्प्रदायः, Vaiṣṇavasampradāyaḥ) is one of the major Hindu denominations along with Shaivism, Shaktism, and Smartism. It is also called Vishnuism since it considers Vishnu as the ...
traditions as they were influenced by Sri Chaitanya. Birsa was very close to the Panre brothers Vaishnavites.
* Kirata – the form of Lord Shiva as a hunter. It is mentioned in the
Mahabharata
The ''Mahābhārata'' ( ; sa, महाभारतम्, ', ) is one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India in Hinduism, the other being the ''Rāmāyaṇa''. It narrates the struggle between two groups of cousins in the Kuruk ...
. The Karppillikkavu Sree Mahadeva Temple, Kerala adores Lord Shiva in this avatar and is known to be one of the oldest surviving temples in Bharat.
* Vettakkorumakan, the son of Lord Kirata.
* Kaladutaka or 'Vaikunthanatha', Kallar (robber), avatar of Lord Vishnu.
Other tribals and Hinduism
Some Hindus do not believe that Indian tribals are close to the romantic ideal of the ancient
silvan
Silvan may refer to:
* Saint Silvan, Christian martyr
* Silvan (illusionist), Italian magician
* Silvan Byggemarked, Danish chain store that sells building materials
* Silvan Elves, woodland elves of J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth legendarium
* ...
culture of the Vedic people.
Madhav Sadashiv Golwalkar
Madhav Sadashivrao Golwalkar (19 February 1906 – 5 June 1973), popularly known as Guruji was the second '' Sarsanghchalak'' ("Chief") of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS). Golwalkar is considered one of the most influential and prominent f ...
Bhubaneswar
Bhubaneswar (; ) is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Odisha. The region, especially the old town, was historically often depicted as ''Ekamra Kshetra'' (area (''kshetra'') adorned with mango trees (''ekamra'')). Bhubaneswar is ...
, there are
Brahmin
Brahmin (; sa, ब्राह्मण, brāhmaṇa) is a varna as well as a caste within Hindu society. The Brahmins are designated as the priestly class as they serve as priests (purohit, pandit, or pujari) and religious teachers (guru ...
and Badu (tribal) priests. The Badus have the most intimate contact with the deity of the temple, and only they can bathe and adorn it.
The Bhils are mentioned in the
Mahabharata
The ''Mahābhārata'' ( ; sa, महाभारतम्, ', ) is one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India in Hinduism, the other being the ''Rāmāyaṇa''. It narrates the struggle between two groups of cousins in the Kuruk ...
. The Bhil boy
Ekalavya
Ekalavya (Sanskrit: एकलव्य, ''ékalavya'') is a character from the Indian epic Mahābhārata. He was a young prince of the Nishadas, a confederation of forest and hill tribes in ancient India.
Ekalavya is called as one of the fore ...
's teacher was Drona, and he had the honour to be invited to
Yudhishthira
''Yudhishthira'' (Sanskrit: युधिष्ठिर, IAST: ''Yudhiṣṭhira'') is the eldest among the five Pandava brothers. He is mentioned in the ancient epic Mahabharata. He was sired by King Pandu of the Kuru Dynasty and his first w ...
Yajna
Yajna ( sa, यज्ञ, yajña, translit-std=IAST, sacrifice, devotion, worship, offering) refers in Hinduism to any ritual done in front of a sacred fire, often with mantras.SG Nigal (1986), Axiological Approach to the Vedas, Northern Book ...
at
Indraprastha
Indraprastha (lit. "Plain of Indra" or "City of Indra") is mentioned in ancient Indian literature as a city of the Kuru Kingdom. It was the capital of the kingdom led by the Pandavas mentioned in ''Mahabharata'' . Under the Pali form of its nam ...
. Indian tribals were also part of royal armies in the
Ramayana
The ''Rāmāyana'' (; sa, रामायणम्, ) is a Sanskrit literature, Sanskrit Indian epic poetry, epic composed over a period of nearly a millennium, with scholars' estimates for the earliest stage of the text ranging from the 8th ...
and in the
Arthashastra
The ''Arthashastra'' ( sa, अर्थशास्त्रम्, ) is an Ancient Indian Sanskrit treatise on statecraft, political science, economic policy and military strategy. Kautilya, also identified as Vishnugupta and Chanakya, is ...
.
Shabari
Sabari (, sa, शबरी) is an elderly woman ascetic in the Hindu epic ''Ramayana''. She is described as an ardently devoted woman who received Rama's darshana and blessing due to her bhakti to him.
Story
Shabari was a woman from a vill ...
was a Bhil woman who offered
Rama
Rama (; ), Ram, Raman or Ramar, also known as Ramachandra (; , ), is a major deity in Hinduism. He is the seventh and one of the most popular '' avatars'' of Vishnu. In Rama-centric traditions of Hinduism, he is considered the Supreme Bein ...
and
Lakshmana
Lakshmana ( sa, लक्ष्मण, lit=the fortunate one, translit=Lakṣmaṇa), also spelled as Laxmana, is the younger brother of Rama and his loyalist in the Hindu epic ''Ramayana''. He bears the epithets of Saumitra () and Ramanuja () ...
jujubes
Jujube ( or ; also known as jube or juju) is a gummy type of candy drop.
History
A recipe for "pate de jujubes" was published in 1709.
The recipe called for gum arabic, sugar, and the date-like jujube fruit. In 1853, both "ju ju paste" and ...
when they were searching for
Sita
Sita (; ) also called as Janaki and Vaidehi is a Hindu goddess and the female protagonist of the Hindu epic, ''Ramayana''. She is the consort of Rama, the avatar of the god Vishnu, and is regarded as a form of Vishnu's consort, Lakshmi. She ...
in the forest. Matanga, a Bhil, became a Brahmana.
Brahmanization and Rajputization
Bhangya Bhukya
Bhangya Bhukya is an Indian historian who has made a significant contribution to the study of Banjara and Gond tribes of India. He is the author of several books including ''Subjugated Nomads: The Lambadas Under the Rule of the Nizams'' (2010) ...
notes that during the final years of the
British Raj
The British Raj (; from Hindi ''rāj'': kingdom, realm, state, or empire) was the rule of the British Crown on the Indian subcontinent;
*
* it is also called Crown rule in India,
*
*
*
*
or Direct rule in India,
* Quote: "Mill, who was himsel ...
, while education introduced Westernization in the hilly areas of central India, the regions also parallelly underwent the ManuvadiHinduization and
Rajputization
Modern historians agree that Rajputs consisted of a mix of various different social groups and different varnas. Rajputisation (or Rajputization) explains the process by which such diverse communities coalesced into the Rajput community.
Forma ...
processes. The
Gond people
The Gondi (Gōndi) or Gond or Koitur are a Dravidian ethno-linguistic group. They are one of the largest tribal groups in India. They are spread over the states of Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Uttar Pradesh, Telangana, Andhra Pr ...
and their chiefs started doing the "caste–Hindu practices" and frequently claimed the "
Rajput
Rajput (from Sanskrit ''raja-putra'' 'son of a king') is a large multi-component cluster of castes, kin bodies, and local groups, sharing social status and ideology of genealogical descent originating from the Indian subcontinent. The term Ra ...
, and thus kshatriya status". The British government used to support these claims as they viewed the adivasi society to be less civilized than the caste society and believed that adivasi peoples' association with the castes would make the adivasis "more civilized and sober" and "easier for the colonial state to control". Bhukya also points out that central India's "Raj Gond families" had already adopted the religious and social traditions of the Rajputs before the British Raj in India, and there were "matrimonial relations" between a number of Gond and Rajput Rajas. However, the British governments' policies of offering "''
zamindari
A zamindar ( Hindustani: Devanagari: , ; Persian: , ) in the Indian subcontinent was an autonomous or semiautonomous ruler of a province. The term itself came into use during the reign of Mughals and later the British had begun using it as a ...
'' rights, village headships and ''patelships''" fueled the process.
According to Patit Paban Mishra, "the 'ksatriyaization' of tribal rulers and their surroundings, resulted in the Hinduization of tribal areas".
Demands for a separate religious code
Some Adivasi organisations have demanded that a distinct religious code be listed for Adivasis in the 2011 census of India. The All India Adivasi Conference was held on 1 and 2 January 2011 at Burnpur, Asansol, West Bengal. 750 delegates were present from all parts of India and cast their votes for Religion code as follows:
Sari Dhorom
A sari (sometimes also saree or shari)The name of the garment in various regional languages include:
* as, শাৰী, xārī, translit-std=ISO
* bn, শাড়ি, śāṛi, translit-std=ISO
* gu, સાડી, sāḍī, translit-std= ...
– 632,
Sarna
Sarna may refer to:
;People
* Sarna (Polish surname)
* Sarna (Punjabi surname)
* Sarna (clan), a Punjabi clan of India
;Places
* Sarna, Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship, a village in northern Poland
*Sarna sthal, a place of worship in India
*Särna, ...
Tribal communities in India are the least educationally developed. First generation learners have to face social, psychological and cultural barriers to get education. This has been one of the reasons for poor performance of tribal students in schools. Poor literacy rate since independence has resulted in absence of tribals in academia and higher education. The literacy rate for STs has gone up from 8.5% (male – 13.8%, female – 3.2%) in 1961 to 29.6% (male – 40.6%, female – 18.2%) in 1991 and to 40% (male – 59%, female – 37%) in 1999–2000. States with large proportion of STs like Mizoram, Nagaland and Meghalaya have high literacy rate while states with large number of tribals like Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Rajasthan and Andhra Pradesh have low tribal literacy rate. Tribal students have very high drop-out rates during school education.
Extending the system of primary education into tribal areas and reserving places for needing them, they say, to work in the fields. On the other hand, in those parts of the northeast where tribes have generally been spared the wholesale onslaught of outsiders, schooling has helped tribal people to secure political and economic benefits. The education system there has provided a corps of highly trained tribal members in the professions and high-ranking administrative posts. tribal children in middle and high schools and higher education institutions are central to government policy, but efforts to improve a tribe's educational status have had mixed results. Recruitment of qualified teachers and determination of the appropriate language of instruction also remain troublesome. Commission after commission on the "language question" has called for instruction, at least at the primary level, in the students' native language. In some regions, tribal children entering school must begin by learning the official regional language, often one completely unrelated to their tribal language.
Many tribal schools are plagued by high drop-out rates. Children attend for the first three to four years of primary school and gain a smattering of knowledge, only to lapse into illiteracy later. Few who enter continue up to the tenth grade; of those who do, few manage to finish high school. Therefore, very few are eligible to attend institutions of higher education, where the high rate of attrition continues. Members of agrarian tribes like the Gonds often are reluctant to send their children to school,
An academy for teaching and preserving Adivasi languages and culture was established in 1999 by the Bhasha Research and Publication Centre. The Adivasi Academy is located at Tejgadh in Gujarat.
Economy
Most tribes are concentrated in heavily forested areas that combine inaccessibility with limited political or economic significance. Historically, the economy of most tribes was subsistence agriculture or hunting and gathering. Tribal members traded with outsiders for the few necessities they lacked, such as
salt
Salt is a mineral composed primarily of sodium chloride (NaCl), a chemical compound belonging to the larger class of salts; salt in the form of a natural crystalline mineral is known as rock salt or halite. Salt is present in vast quantitie ...
and
iron
Iron () is a chemical element with symbol Fe (from la, ferrum) and atomic number 26. It is a metal that belongs to the first transition series and group 8 of the periodic table. It is, by mass, the most common element on Earth, right in f ...
. A few local Hindu craftsmen might provide such items as cooking utensils.
In the early 20th century, however, large areas fell into the hands of non-tribals, on account of improved transportation and communications. Around 1900, many regions were opened by the British government to settlement through a scheme by which inward migrants received ownership of land free in return for cultivating it. For tribal people, however, land was often viewed as a common resource, free to whoever needed it. By the time tribals accepted the necessity of obtaining formal land titles, they had lost the opportunity to lay claim to lands that might rightfully have been considered theirs. The colonial and post-independence regimes belatedly realised the necessity of protecting tribals from the predations of outsiders and prohibited the sale of tribal lands. Although an important loophole in the form of land leases was left open, tribes made some gains in the mid-twentieth century, and some land was returned to tribal peoples despite obstruction by local police and land officials.
In the 1970s, tribal peoples came again under intense land pressure, especially in central India. Migration into tribal lands increased dramatically, as tribal people lost the titles to their lands in many ways – lease, forfeiture from debts, or bribery of land registry officials. Other non-tribals simply squatted or even lobbied governments to classify them as tribal to allow them to compete with the formerly established tribes. In any case, many tribal members became landless labourers in the 1960s and 1970s, and regions that a few years earlier had been the exclusive domain of tribes had an increasingly mixed population of tribals and non-tribals. Government efforts to evict nontribal members from illegal occupation have proceeded slowly; when evictions occur at all, those ejected are usually members of poor, lower castes.
Improved communications, roads with motorised traffic, and more frequent government intervention figured in the increased contact that tribal peoples had with outsiders. Commercial highways and cash crops frequently drew non-tribal people into remote areas. By the 1960s and 1970s, the resident nontribal shopkeeper was a permanent feature of many tribal villages. Since shopkeepers often sell goods on credit (demanding high interest), many tribal members have been drawn deeply into debt or mortgaged their land. Merchants also encourage tribals to grow cash crops (such as
cotton
Cotton is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective case, around the seeds of the cotton plants of the genus ''Gossypium'' in the mallow family Malvaceae. The fiber is almost pure cellulose, and can contain minor perce ...
or
castor-oil
Castor oil is a vegetable oil Oil pressing, pressed from castor beans.
It is a colourless or pale yellow liquid with a distinct taste and odor. Its boiling point is and its density is 0.961 g/cm3. It includes a mixture of triglycerides in ...
plants), which increases tribal dependence on the market for necessities. Indebtedness is so extensive that although such transactions are illegal, traders sometimes 'sell' their debtors to other merchants, much like
indenture
An indenture is a legal contract that reflects or covers a debt or purchase obligation. It specifically refers to two types of practices: in historical usage, an indentured servant status, and in modern usage, it is an instrument used for commercia ...
d peons.
The final blow for some tribes has come when non-tribals, through political jockeying, have managed to gain legal tribal status, that is, to be listed as a Scheduled Tribe.
Tribes in the Himalayan foothills have not been as hard-pressed by the intrusions of non-tribal. Historically, their political status was always distinct from the rest of India. Until the British colonial period, there was little effective control by any of the empires centred in peninsular India; the region was populated by autonomous feuding tribes. The British, in efforts to protect the sensitive northeast frontier, followed a policy dubbed the "Inner Line"; non-tribal people were allowed into the areas only with special permission. Post-colonial governments have continued the policy, protecting the Himalayan tribes as part of the strategy to secure the border with
China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
.
Ecological threats
Many smaller tribal groups are quite sensitive to ecological degradation caused by modernisation. Both commercial forestry and intensive agriculture have proved destructive to the forests that had endured
swidden agriculture
Slash-and-burn agriculture is a farming method that involves the cutting and burning of plants in a forest or woodland to create a Field (agriculture), field called a swidden. The method begins by cutting down the trees and woody plants in an ar ...
for many centuries. Adivasis in central part of India have been victims of the
Salwa Judum
Salwa Judum (meaning "peace march" or "purification hunt" in the Gondi language) was a militia that was mobilised and deployed as part of counterinsurgency operations in Chhattisgarh, India, aimed at countering Naxalite violence in the regio ...
campaign by the Government against the Naxalite insurgency.
Government policies on forest reserves have affected tribal peoples profoundly. Government efforts to reserve forests have precipitated armed (if futile) resistance on the part of the tribal peoples involved. Intensive exploitation of forests has often meant allowing outsiders to cut large areas of trees (while the original tribal inhabitants were restricted from cutting), and ultimately replacing mixed forests capable of sustaining tribal life with single-product plantations. Non-tribals have frequently bribed local officials to secure the effective use of reserved forest lands.
The northern tribes have thus been sheltered from the kind of exploitation that those elsewhere in South Asia have suffered. In
Arunachal Pradesh
Arunachal Pradesh (, ) is a state in Northeastern India. It was formed from the erstwhile North-East Frontier Agency (NEFA) region, and became a state on 20 February 1987. It borders the states of Assam and Nagaland to the south. It shares ...
(formerly part of the
North-East Frontier Agency
The North-East Frontier Agency (NEFA), originally known as the North-East Frontier Tracts (NEFT), was one of the political divisions in British India, and later the Republic of India until 20 January 1972, when it became the Union Territory of ...
), for example, tribal members control commerce and most lower-level administrative posts. Government construction projects in the region have provided tribes with a significant source of cash. Some tribes have made rapid progress through the education system (the role of early missionaries was significant in this regard). Instruction was begun in Assamese but was eventually changed to Hindi; by the early 1980s, English was taught at most levels. Northeastern tribal people have thus enjoyed a certain
measure of social mobility.
The continuing economic alienation and exploitation of many adivasis was highlighted as a "systematic failure" by the
Indian prime minister
The prime minister of India (IAST: ) is the head of government of the Republic of India. Executive authority is vested in the prime minister and their chosen Council of Ministers, despite the president of India being the nominal head of the ...
Manmohan Singh
Manmohan Singh (; born 26 September 1932) is an Indian politician, economist and statesman who served as the 13th prime minister of India from 2004 to 2014. He is also the third longest-serving prime minister after Jawaharlal Nehru and Indir ...
Red Corridor
The red corridor, also called the red zone, is the region in the eastern, central and the southern parts of India where the Naxalite–Maoist insurgency has the strongest presence. It has been steadily diminishing in terms of geographical cove ...
.
Tribal classification criteria and demands
The criteria presently followed for specification of a community as a Scheduled Tribe are : (i) indications of primitive traits, (ii) distinctive culture, (iii) geographical isolation, (iv) shyness of contact with the community at large, and (v) backwardness.
Population complexities, and the controversies surrounding ethnicity and language in India, sometimes make the official recognition of groups as Adivasis (by way of inclusion in the Scheduled Tribes list) political and contentious. However, regardless of their language family affiliations, Australoid and Negrito groups that have survived as distinct forest, mountain or island-dwelling tribes in India and are often classified as Adivasi. The relatively autonomous tribal groups of Northeastern India (including Khasis, Apatani and Nagas), who are mostly Austro-Asiatic or Tibeto-Burman speakers, are also considered to be tribals: this area comprises 7.5% of India's land area but 20% of its tribal population. However, not all autonomous northeastern groups are considered tribals; for instance, the Tibeto-Burman-speaking Meitei of Manipur were once tribal but, having been settled for many centuries, are caste Hindus.
It is also difficult, for a given social grouping, to definitively decide whether it is a "caste" or a "tribe". A combination of internal social organisation, relationship with other groups, self-classification and perception by other groups has to be taken into account to make a categorisation, which is at best inexact and open to doubt. These categorisations have been diffused for thousands of years, and even ancient formulators of caste-discriminatory legal codes (which usually only applied to settled populations, and not Adivasis) were unable to come up with clean distinctions.
Demands for tribal classification
The additional difficulty in deciding whether a group meets the criteria to be Adivasi or not are the aspirational movements created by the federal and state benefits, including job and educational reservations, enjoyed by groups listed as scheduled tribes (STs). In Manipur, Meitei commentators have pointed to the lack of scheduled tribe status as a key economic disadvantage for Meiteis competing for jobs against groups that are classified as scheduled tribes. In Assam, Rajbongshi representatives have demanded scheduled tribe status as well. In Rajasthan, the
Gujjar
Gurjar or Gujjar (also transliterated as ''Gujar, Gurjara and Gujjer'') is an ethnic nomadic, agricultural and pastoral community, spread mainly in India, Pakistan and Afghanistan, divided internally into various clan groups. They were tradit ...
community has demanded ST status, even blockading the national capital of
Delhi
Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, primarily its western or right bank, Delhi shares borders w ...
to press their demand. However, the Government of Rajasthan declined the Gujjars' demand, stating the Gujjars are treated as upper caste and are by no means a tribe. In several cases, these claims to tribalhood are disputed by tribes who are already listed in the schedule and fear economic losses if more powerful groups are recognised as scheduled tribes; for instance, the Rajbongshi demand faces resistance from the
Bodo Bodo may refer to:
Ethnicity
* Boro people, an ethno-linguistic group mainly from Northwest Assam, India
* Bodo-Kachari people, an umbrella group from Nepal, India and Bangladesh that includes the Bodo people
Culture and language
* Boro cu ...
tribe, and the
Meena
Meena () is a sub-group of Bhils. They speak Meena language. They started adopting the Brahmin worship system. Its name is also transliterated as ''Meenanda'' or ''Mina''. Historians claim that they belong to the Matsya tribe. They got the st ...
tribe has vigorously opposed Gujjar aspirations to be recognised as a scheduled tribe.
Endogamy, exogamy and ethnogenesis
Part of the challenge is that the
endogamous
Endogamy is the practice of marrying within a specific social group, religious denomination, caste, or ethnic group, rejecting those from others as unsuitable for marriage or other close personal relationships.
Endogamy is common in many cultu ...
nature of tribes is also conformed to by the vast majority of Hindu castes. Indeed, many historians and anthropologists believe that caste endogamy reflects the once-tribal origins of the various groups who now constitute the settled Hindu castes. Another defining feature of caste Hindu society, which is often used to contrast them with Muslim and other social groupings, is lineage/clan (or '' gotra'') and village
exogamy
Exogamy is the social norm of marrying outside one's social group. The group defines the scope and extent of exogamy, and the rules and enforcement mechanisms that ensure its continuity. One form of exogamy is dual exogamy, in which two groups c ...
. However, these in-marriage taboos are also held ubiquitously among tribal groups, and do not serve as reliable differentiating markers between caste and tribe. Again, this could be an ancient import from tribal society into settled Hindu castes. Tribes such as the Muslim Gujjars of Kashmir and the Kalash of
Pakistan
Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...
observe these exogamous traditions in common with caste Hindus and non-Kashmiri adivasis, though their surrounding Muslim populations do not.
Tribals are not part of the caste system, Some anthropologists, however, draw a distinction between tribes who have continued to be tribal and tribes that have been absorbed into caste society in terms of the breakdown of tribal (and therefore caste) boundaries, and the proliferation of new mixed caste groups. In other words, ethnogenesis (the construction of new ethnic identities) in tribes occurs through a fission process (where groups splinter-off as new tribes, which preserves endogamy), whereas with settled castes it usually occurs through intermixture (in violation of strict endogamy).
Tribals and are often regarded as constituting egalitarian societies. However, many scholars argue that the claim that tribals are an egalitarian society in contrast to a caste-based society is a part of a larger political agenda by some to maximise any differences from tribal and urban societies. According to scholar
Koenraad Elst
Koenraad Elst (; born 7 August 1959) is a Flemish right wing Hindutva author, known primarily for his support of the Out of India theory and the Hindutva movement. Schola ...
, caste practices and social taboos among Indian tribals date back to antiquity:
Other criteria
Unlike castes, which form part of a complex and interrelated local economic exchange system, tribes tend to form self-sufficient economic units. For most tribal people, land-use rights traditionally derive simply from tribal membership. Tribal society tends to the egalitarian, with its
leadership
Leadership, both as a research area and as a practical skill, encompasses the ability of an individual, group or organization to "lead", influence or guide other individuals, teams, or entire organizations. The word "leadership" often gets view ...
based on ties of kinship and personality rather than on hereditary status. Tribes typically consist of
segmentary lineage
A segmentary lineage society has equivalent parts ("segments") held together by shared values. A segmentary lineage society is a type of tribal society.
A close family is usually the smallest and closest segment and will generally stand togethe ...
s whose extended families provide the basis for social organisation and control. Tribal religion recognises no authority outside the tribe.
Any of these criteria may not apply in specific instances. Language does not always give an accurate indicator of tribal or caste status. Especially in regions of mixed population, many tribal groups have lost their original languages and simply speak local or regional languages. In parts of Assam—an area historically divided between warring tribes and villages—increased contact among villagers began during the colonial period, and has accelerated since independence in 1947. A
pidgin
A pidgin , or pidgin language, is a grammatically simplified means of communication that develops between two or more groups of people that do not have a language in common: typically, its vocabulary and grammar are limited and often drawn from s ...
Assamese developed, whereas educated tribal members learnt
Hindi
Hindi (Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has been de ...
and, in the late twentieth century, English.
Self-identification and group loyalty do not provide unfailing markers of tribal identity either. In the case of stratified tribes, the loyalties of clan, kin, and family may well predominate over those of tribe. In addition, tribes cannot always be viewed as people living apart; the degree of isolation of various tribes has varied tremendously. The
Gonds
The Gondi (Gōndi) or Gond or Koitur are a Dravidian ethno-linguistic group. They are one of the largest tribal groups in India. They are spread over the states of Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Uttar Pradesh, Telangana, Andhra Prad ...
,
Santal
The Santal or Santhal are an Austroasiatic speaking
Munda ethnic group in South Asia. Santals are the largest tribe in the Jharkhand and West Bengal state of India in terms of population and are also found in the states of Odisha, Bihar and A ...
s, and
Bhil
Bhil or Bheel is an ethnic group in western India. They speak the Bhil languages, a subgroup of the Western Zone of the Indo-Aryan languages. As of 2013, Bhils were the largest tribal group in India.
Bhils are listed as tribal people of t ...
s traditionally have dominated the regions in which they have lived. Moreover, tribal society is not always more egalitarian than the rest of the rural populace; some of the larger tribes, such as the Gonds, are highly stratified.
The apparently wide fluctuation in estimates of South Asia's tribal population through the twentieth century gives a sense of how unclear the distinction between tribal and nontribal can be. India's 1931 census enumerated 22 million tribal people, in 1941 only 10 million were counted, but by 1961 some 30 million and in 1991 nearly 68 million tribal members were included. The differences among the figures reflect changing census criteria and the economic incentives individuals have to maintain or reject classification as a tribal member.
These gyrations of census data serve to underline the complex relationship between caste and tribe. Although, in theory, these terms represent different ways of life and ideal types, in reality, they stand for a continuum of social groups. In areas of substantial contact between tribes and castes, social and cultural pressures have often tended to move tribes in the direction of becoming castes over a period of years. Tribal peoples with ambitions for social advancement in Indian society at large have tried to gain the classification of caste for their tribes. On occasion, an entire tribe or part of a tribe joined a Hindu sect and thus entered the caste system ''en masse''. If a specific tribe engaged in practices that Hindus deemed polluting, the tribe's status when it was assimilated into the caste hierarchy would be affected.
Constitutional safeguards for Scheduled Tribes
A number of constitutional and juridical safeguards for Adivasi have been encoded.
Particularly vulnerable tribal groups
The Scheduled Tribe groups who were identified as more isolated from the wider community and who maintain a distinctive cultural identity have been categorised as "Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups" (PVTGs) previously known as Primitive Tribal Groups by the Government at the Centre. So far 75 tribal communities have been identified as 'particularly vulnerable tribal groups' in 18 States and UT of
Andaman & Nicobar Islands
The Andaman and Nicobar Islands is a union territory of India consisting of 572 islands, of which 37 are inhabited, at the junction of the Bay of Bengal and the Andaman Sea. The territory is about north of Aceh in Indonesia and separated f ...
of India. These hunting, food-gathering, and some agricultural communities have been identified as less acculturated tribes among the tribal population groups and in need of special programmes for their sustainable development. The tribes are awakening and demanding their rights for special reservation quota for them.
Notable Adivasis
Academics
*
Motiravan Kangali
Motiravan Kangali or Moti Ravan Kangale (2 February 194930 October 2015) was an Indian linguist and author from the Gond community. He is known for his work on the origins and development of the Gondi language, and particularly for his creati ...
Pandit Raghunath Murmu
Pandit Raghunath Murmu (May 1905 – 1 February 1982) was an Indian Santali writer and educator. He developed the Ol Chiki script for Santali language. Until the nineteenth century, Santali people had no written language and knowledge was tran ...
– Ol Chiki (Santali) script creator, writer, activist
*
Lako Bodra
Ot Guru Kol Lako bodra (; 19 September 1919 – 29 June 1986) (in Ho: ''jonom chanduh aangai-aten chanduh atowari'' ) is the creator of the Warang Chiti writing system used for writing the Ho language.
Early life
Ott Guru Kol Lako Bodra was b ...
Mahendra Nath Sardar
Mahendra is a Sanskrit compound word deriving from Maha (Highest position) and Indra Deva (the King of Gods) from Hindu mythology.{{Citation needed, date=April 2022 It has been used in compound royal styles.
History and politics
Royalty
* M ...
Virginius Xaxa Virginius may refer to:
* ''Virginius'' Affair, a diplomatic dispute that occurred during the Ten Years' War
**, the ship at the center of the Affair
* Virginius Island, West Virginia, an island on the Shenandoah River in Harpers Ferry, West Virgi ...
- Deputy Director, Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Guwahati Campus
*
Javaid Rahi
Javaid Rahi is an Indian author, a tribal social reformer, and a researcher. He worked in the preservation of the Culture and Heritage of indigenous communities of North-western India focusing on tribal Gujjar-Bakerwal culture. He is a writer o ...
Tribal author, researcher from Jammu and Kashmir
Independence movement
*
Raghoji Bhangare
The Raghojirao Ramjirao Bhangre also spell Bhangaria (8 November 1805 – 2 May 1848) was an Indian revolutionary who challenged and defied the British power in Maharashtra. He was the son of Ramji Bhangre, a Koli who also resisted the Bri ...
(1805 - 1845)
*
Komaram Bheem
Komaram Bheem (1900/1901–1940), alternatively Kumram Bheem, was a revolutionary leader in Hyderabad State of British Raj, British India from the Gondi people, Gond tribes. Bheem, in association with other Gond leaders, led a protracted low in ...
Rani Gaidinliu
Gaidinliu Pamei (26 January 1915 – 17 February 1993) popularly known as Rani Gaidinliu was a Naga people, Naga spiritual and political leader who led a revolt against British rule in India, British rule in India. At the age of 13, she joined ...
(1915–1993) – Political leader, Independence fighter
*
Ramji Gond
Ramji Gond was a Gond chief who ruled the tribal areas in present-day Adilabad district of Telangana. The areas under his rule included Nirmal, Utnoor, Chennuru, and Asifabad. He fought against British rule, for which he was caught and hanged.
...
*
Gunda Dhur
Gunda Dhur was a tribal leader from village Nethanar in Jagdalpur tehsil, of Bastar district, in present-day Chhattisgarh. He played a major role in 1910 rebellion of the Dhurwas of Kanger forest in Bastar, and led the rebellion.Baba Tilka Majhi ( d. 1784) – Independence fighter
*
Birsa Munda
Birsa Munda (15 November 1875 – 9 June 1900) was an Indian tribal freedom fighter, and folk hero who belonged to the Munda tribe. He spearheaded a tribal religious millenarian movement that arose in the Bengal Presidency (now Jharkhand) i ...
(1875–1900) – Independence activist
*
Sidhu and Kanhu Murmu
Sidhu Murmu and Kanhu Murmu were the leaders of the Santhal rebellion (1855–1856), the rebellion in present-day Jharkhand and Bengal (Purulia,Birbhum and Bankura) in eastern India against both the British colonial authority and the corrupt zami ...
Laxman Nayak
Laxman Nayak or Laxman Naik (22 November 1899 – 29 March 1943) was a tribal
civil rights activist of South Odisha in eastern India. He belonged to Bhumia tribe of Odisha.
Nayak, an Odia folk-hero of Koraput of southernmost part of Odish ...
Rani Shiromani
Rani Shiromani was the queen of Karnagarh, during the British rule in India. She was a valiant leader of peasants who rebelled against the British East India Company. she played a major role in the Chuar rebellion in Midnapore. She created the fi ...
*
Ganga Narayan Singh
Ganga Narayan Singh (25 April 1790 – 7 February 1833) was an Indian revolutionary from Jungle Mahals, known as the leader of Bhumij rebellion. He led a revolt against the East India Company in 1832-33. The British called it "Ganga Narain's Hun ...
*
Veer Narayan Singh
Veer Narayan Singh (1795–1857) was a landlord from Sonakhan, Chhattisgarh. He spearheaded the 1857 war of Indian independence in Chhattisgarh. He was hanged at Jaistambh Chowk of Raipur, Chhattisgarh.
He is also known and considered as "Th ...
*
Raghunath Singh
Raghunath Singh (1911 – 26 April 1992) was an Indian politician Indian National Congress leader and was the first Member of Parliament. He belongs to a village Khewali, Lok Sabha from Varanasi, being elected in 1952, 1957 and 1962. He was ...
Baidyanath Singh
Vaidyanatha Jyotirlinga temple, also known as ''Baba Baidyanath dham'' and ''Baidyanath dham'' is one of the twelve Jyotirlingas, the most sacred abodes of Shiva. It is located in Deoghar in the Santhal Parganas division of the state of Jharkha ...
*
Durjan Singh
Durjan Singh was a great leader of Chuar rebellion of Bengal. Singh was a ''zamindar'' of Raipur in Bengal. He led the Chuar rebellion in 1798-99 in Midnapore district against the British East India Company.
Rebellion
In Bengal, the Bhumijs ...
Kantilal Bhuria
Kantilal Bhuria (born 1 June 1950) is an Indian politician and a member of Indian National Congress and was till July 2011 the Minister of Tribal Affairs of the Republic of India. He had been promoted to the rank of cabinet minister in the Un ...
(b. 1950) – Lok Sabha MP, tribal rights activist, former Union Cabinet Minister of Tribal Affairs, Agriculture & Food, veteran Congress leader from Madhya Pradesh.
* Harishankar Brahma – Former
Chief Election Commissioner of India
The Chief Election Commissioner of India heads the Election Commission of India, a body constitutionally empowered to conduct free and fair elections to the national and state legislatures and of President and Vice-President. This power of t ...
*
Dasarath Deb
Dasarth Debbarma (2 February 1916 – 14 October 1998) was an Indian Communist politician in the Indian state of Tripura. He was chief minister of Tripura from 1993 to 1998. He was a leader of the Ganamukti Parishad (Tripura State Indigenous ...
Mohanbhai Sanjibhai Delkar
Mohan Sanjibhai Delkar (19 December 1962 – 22 February 2021) was an Indian politician and tribal rights advocate, who was elected seven times as a member of Lok Sabha from Dadra and Nagar Haveli constituency, in the Union Territory of Dadra ...
Six-time member of the Lok Sabha of India from Dadra and Nagar Haveli. Tribal leader of southern Part of Gujarat, Tribal Robin Hood
*
Kishore Chandra Deo
Vyricherla Kishore Chandra Suryanarayana Deo (born 15 February 1947) is an Indian politician and a member of the Telugu Desam Party political party. He has been elected to the Lok Sabha for five times, and has also held one term in the Rajya Sa ...
(b. 1947) – Lok Sabha MP, tribal rights activist, former Union Cabinet Minister of Tribal Affairs, Steel & Mines, Tribal Chief of
Kurupam
Kurupam is a village in Parvathipuram Manyam district of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh.
Geography
It is located at . It has an average altitude of 133 meters (439 feet).
Demography
census, Kurupam mandal had a population of 46,439. ...
, veteran Congress leader from Andhra Pradesh.
*
Tulsi Gowda
Tulsi Gowda is an Indian environmentalist from Honnali village, Ankola taluk in Karnataka state. She has planted more than 30,000 saplings and looks after the nurseries of the Forest Department. Her work has been honoured by the Government o ...
- Environmentalist
*
C K Janu
C.K Janu (born 1970) is an Indian social activist.
She is also the leader of Adivasi Gothra Maha Sabha, a social movement that has been agitating since 2001 for redistribution of land to the landless tribal people in Kerala. The movement has p ...
– Social activist
*
Mahendra Karma
Mahendra Karma (5 August 1950 – 25 May 2013) was an Indian political leader belonging to Indian National Congress from Chhattisgarh. He was the leader of the opposition in the Chhattisgarh Vidhan Sabha from 2004 to 2008. In 2005, he played a ...
– Politician
* Sushila Kerketta – member of the 14th Lok Sabha of India
*
Geeta Koda
Geeta Koda is an Indian politician and a member of Indian National Congress and a Member of Parliament from Singhbhum Lok Sabha constituency. Earlier she was associated with Jai Bharat Samanta Party.
Political career
Koda is a member of the Jh ...
– Member of parliament and former MLA
*
Madhu Koda
Madhu Koda (born 6 January 1971) is an Indian politician who had served as the Chief Minister of Jharkhand from 2006 to 2008 (UPA alliance). He
was sworn in as the fourth Chief Minister of Jharkhand on 14 September 2006, and remained in offic ...
( b. 1971) – Former chief minister of Jharkhand and former Member of parliament
*
Lalthanhawla
Lal Thanhawla (born 19 May 1938 or 1942) is an Indian politician and former Chief Minister of Mizoram, belonging to the Indian National Congress party. He holds the record for longest-serving Chief Minister of Mizoram, occupying the position f ...
(b. 1942) – Politician
* Kariya Munda – Former Deputy Speaker, 15th Lok Sabha
*
Tulasi Munda
Tulasi Munda (born 15 July 1947) is a social activist from the Indian state of Odisha. She was awarded the Padma Shri in 2001 by Government of India for her contribution to spreading literacy among the impoverished ''adivasi'' peoples of Odish ...
– Education activist
*
Draupadi Murmu
Droupadi Murmu (, born 20 June 1958) is an Indian politician who has been serving as the 15th president of India since 25 July 2022. She is the first person belonging to the tribal community and also the second woman after Pratibha Patil to hol ...
– 15th
President of India
The president of India ( IAST: ) is the head of state of the Republic of India. The president is the nominal head of the executive, the first citizen of the country, as well as the commander-in-chief of the Indian Armed Forces. Droupadi Murmu ...
*
Ramvichar Netam
Ramvichar Netam is an Indian politician who has served as a Member of Parliament in Rajya Sabha, the upper house of the Indian Parliament from Chhattisgarh. He was a member of the Chhattisgarh Legislative Assembly from Ramanujganj and served as ...
– Politician
*
Jual Oram
Jual Oram (born 22 March 1961) is a member of the 17th Lok Sabha of India. He represents the Sundargarh constituency of Odisha. He is a member of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
He was also a member of the 12th, 13th, 14th Lok Sabha and 1 ...
– Politician
*
Kartik Oraon
Baba Kartik Oraon (born 29 October 19248 December 1981) was an Indian politician and an Adivasi leader from Indian National Congress. He also participated in Indian freedom movement of 1947. He also found the Organisation "Akhil Bharatiya Adiva ...
– Politician
*
Vincent Pala
Vincent H Pala (born 14 February 1968) is an Indian politician, belonging to Indian National Congress. In the 2019 election he was elected to the 17th Lok Sabha from the Shillong Lok Sabha constituency.
Early life and personal life
Vincent ...
Neiphiu Rio
Neiphiu Guolhoulie Rio (born 11 November 1950) is an Indian politician serving as the 9th Chief Minister of Nagaland. Rio has also served as Chief Minister for three separate terms (2002–07, 2007–12, 2012–14 and 2018–till date), making h ...
– Politician
*
Shibu Soren
Shibu Soren ( Santali: ᱥᱤᱵᱩ ᱥᱚᱨᱮᱱ) (born 11 January 1944) is an Indian politician who thrice served as Chief Minister of Jharkhand, first in 2005 for 10 days (2 March to 12 March), then from 2008 to 2009 and again from 2009 to ...
- Jharkhand Movement leader, third CM of Jharkhand, Member of Parliament
* Soni Sori – Political activist
*
Zoramthanga
Zoramthanga (born 13 July 1944) is an Indian politician who is the Chief Minister of Mizoram. He is the president of Mizo National Front (MNF) party. He had served as the Chief Minister of Mizoram from December 1998 to December 2008, for two ...
– Politician
*
Shantu Larma
Jyotirindra Bodhipriya Larma (known as Shantu Larma) (Born 14 February 1944) is a Bangladeshi Chakma people, Chakma politician and one of the main leaders of the Parbatya Chattagram Jana Samhati Samiti (PCJSS).(27 January 2010)Bangladeshi tribal ...
Teejan Bai
Teejan Bai (born 8 August 1956) is an exponent of Pandavani, a traditional performing art form, from Chhattisgarh, in which she enacts tales from the Mahabharata, with musical accompaniments.
She has been awarded the Padma Shri in 1988, Padma ...
– Indian
Pandavani
Pandavani (lit.: Songs and Stories of the Pandavas) is a folk singing style involving narration of tales from the ancient Indian epic Mahabharata. The singing also involves musical accompaniment. Bhima, the second of the Pandava is the hero of t ...
Mamang Dai
Mamang Dai is an Indian poet, novelist and journalist based in Itanagar, Arunachal Pradesh. She received Sahitya Academi Award in 2017 for her novel ''The Black Hill''.
Life
Mamang Dai was born on 23 February 1957 at Pasighat, East Siang dis ...
– Journalist, author, former civil servant
*
Anuj Lugun
Anuj Lugun is an Indian poet and writer. His poetry espoused indigenous renaissance and intense rebellion against fascism and oppression. Anuj's activism for social justice earned him the title of Tribal Poet.
Early life and career
Born into a J ...
– Indian polymath
*
Ram Dayal Munda
Ram Dayal Munda (23 August 1939 – 30 September 2011), known as R. D. Munda, was an Indian scholar and regional music exponent. He was awarded the Padma Shri of the year 2010 for his contribution to the field of art.
He was a vice-chancellor ...
– Scholar, artist, Padma Sri awardee
*
Bhajju Shyam
Bhajju Shyam (born 1971 in Patangarh, Central India, full name: Bhajju Singh Shyam) is an Indian artist, belonging to the Gond-Pardhaan community of Madhya Pradesh. He was awarded India's fourth highest civilian award the Padma Shri in 2018.
H ...
– Artist
*
Jangarh Singh Shyam
Jangarh Singh Shyam (1962–2001) was a pioneering contemporary Indian artist credited with being the creator of a new school of Indian art called ''Jangarh Kalam''. His work has been exhibited widely the world over including Bhopal, Delhi, Tokyo ...
Rajeev Topno
Rajeev Topno; born 28 May 1974 in Ranchi, Jharkhand) is an Indian civil servant posted as Senior Advisor to India's executive director of the World Bank Group. He is a member of Indian Administrative Service of Gujarat Cadre. Previously, he was p ...
– IAS
Sports
Archery
*
Laxmirani Majhi
Laxmirani Majhi (born 26 January 1989) is an Indian female right handed recurve archer.
Early life
Laxmi is from the Santhal tribe; she grew up in Bagula village in East Singhbhum district, Jharkhand. Her first chance to become an archer wa ...
– Archer
*
Limba Ram
Limba Ram is an Indian archer who represented India in international competitions, including three Olympics. He equalled an archery world record in 1992 at the Asian Archery Championships in Beijing. He was awarded the Padma Shri Award in 2012 ...
Kavita Raut
Kavita Rahut (née ''Raut'', born 5 May 1985) is an Indian long-distance runner from Nashik, Maharashtra. She holds the current national record for 10 km road running with a timing of 34:32 as well as the current national record in the h ...
Talimeren Ao
Talimeren Ao (28 January 1918 – 13 September 1998) was an Indian footballer and physician from Nagaland. He is best known as the captain of the India national football team in their first ever match after independence. One of the most famous ...
– Indian Footballer
*
Sanjay Balmuchu
Sanjay Balmuchu (born 5 January 1992) is an Indian professional footballer who plays as a defender for Mumbai City FC in the Indian Super League.
Career Churchill Brothers
After graduating from the Tata Football Academy, Balmuchu was announc ...
– Footballer
*
Pranjal Bhumij
Pranjal Prakash Bhumij (born 2 March 1999) is an Indian professional footballer who plays as a forward for I-League club RoundGlass Punjab, on loan from Indian Super League club Mumbai City.
Although Pranjal prefers playing as a striker, he ...
- Indian Footballer
* Baichung Bhutia – Former captain, Indian football team
* Durga Boro – Footballer
*
Lal Mohan Hansda
Lal Mohan Hansda (born 3 December 1983 in Jharkhand) is an Indian association football, football player who plays as a forward (association football), forward for Prayag United S.C. in the I-League.
Career
Before playing for Prayag United S.C. ...
– Footballer
*
Jeje Lalpekhlua
Jeje Lalpekhlua Fanai (born 7 January 1991) is an Indian professional footballer who plays as a striker, and last appeared with Indian Super League club East Bengal. Between 2011 and 2019, he scored 23 goals in 56 international matches represe ...
Lalrindika Ralte
Lalrindika Ralte (born 7 September 1992 in Lunglei, Mizoram), popularly known as Dika, is a former Indian professional association football, footballer who last played as an midfielder (association football), attacking midfielder for Real Kashm ...
Lazarus Barla
Lazarus ("Lajarus") Barla (born April 11, 1979 in Tilaikani, near Sundargarh, Odisha) is a field hockey defender from India, who belongs to the Oraon tribe of Chota Nagpur.
He made his international senior debut for the Men's Nation ...
– Hockey
*
Deep Grace Ekka
Deep Grace Ekka (born 3 June 1994) is an Indian female field hockey player. She plays for the Indian Women's Hockey Team. She has been selected for Arjun award in 2022.
Early life
Deep Grace Ekka was born on 3 June 1994 in a small village calle ...
– Hockey
* Michael Kindo – Former member, Indian men's hockey team, Arjuna awardee
* Jyoti Sunita Kullu – Former member, Indian women's hockey team
*
Birendra Lakra
Birendra Lakra (born 3 February 1990) is an Indian professional field hockey player. He represents India in men's field hockey and recently came out of retirement alongside Rupinderpal Singh and will be the Captain of Indian team in the Asia Cu ...
– Indian hockey team
*
Bimal Lakra
Bimal Lakra (born 4 May 1980) is a former Indian field hockey player who played as a midfielder for national team. He was part of the team that won the silver medal at the 2002 Asian Games
The 2002 Asian Games ( ko, 2002년 아시아 ...
– Hockey
*
Sunita Lakra
Sunita Lakra (born 11 June 1991) is an Indian field hockey player. Lakra has represented her country by being capped in the India women's national field hockey team. Lakra announced her retirement from hockey through Hockey India on 2 January 2 ...
– Indian women's hockey team
* Lilima Minz – Hockey
* Jaipal Singh Munda – Former Captain, Indian national hockey team, Adivasi activist.
*
Nikki Pradhan
Nikki Pradhan (born 8 December 1993) is an Indian professional field hockey player and is a member of the India women's national field hockey team, Indian national team. Pradhan was the first female Hockey player from Jharkhand who represented ...
Masira Surin
Masira Surin (born 18 November 1981) is a member of the India women's national field hockey team. She played with the team when it won the gold at the Manchester 2002 Commonwealth Games
The 2002 Commonwealth Games, officially known as the ...
– Indian women's hockey team
* Namita Toppo – Hockey
* Salima Tete – Indian women's hockey team
*
Sumrai Tete
Sumrai Tete (born 15 November 1979) is a member of the India women's national field hockey team. She played with the team when it won the Gold at the Manchester 2002 Commonwealth Games.
In the year 2017, she was honoured with the prestigious Dh ...
- Hockey,
Dhyan Chand Award
The Major Dhyan Chand Award, officially known as Major Dhyan Chand Award for Lifetime Achievement in Sports and Games, is the lifetime achievement sporting honour of the Republic of India. The award is named after hockey wizard Major Dhyan ...
winner
*
Dilip Tirkey
Dilip Tirkey (born 25 November 1977), is a former Indian field hockey player, Politician and Sports Administrator. His former playing position was of full back. He was best known for his penalty corner hit. Dilip was one of the most ...
– Former captain, Indian hockey team
* Ignace Tirkey – Hockey
*
Prabodh Tirkey
Prabodh Tirkey (born 6 October 1984) is an Indian hockey midfielder. He is a former captain of the Indian hockey team.
Personal life
Prabodh is the younger brother of the Indian hockey player Ignace Tirkey, who also has captained the Indian S ...
– Hockey
*
Manohar Topno
Manohar Topno (born 25 June 1958) is an Indian field hockey player. He competed at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, where the Indian team placed fifth.
References
External links
*
Munda people
1958 births
Living people
Fiel ...
Malavath Purna
Malavath Poorna (born 10 June 2000) is an Indian mountaineer. On 25 May 2014, Poorna climbed Mount Everest, aged 13 years and 11 months, the youngest Indian and the youngest female to have reached the summit. Purna climbed Mount Elbrus, the high ...
– Mountaineer
Cricket
*
Jogeswar Bhumij
Jogeswar Bhumij (born 1 July 1992) is an Indian cricketer. He made his Twenty20 debut for Assam in the 2015–16 Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy
The 2015–16 Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy was the eighth edition of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy competitio ...
Military
*
Rani Durgavati
Rani Durgavati (5 October 1524 – 24 June 1564) was the ruling Queen of Gondwana from 1550 until 1564. She was born in the family of Chandel Rajput king Salibahan at the fort of Mahoba. She was married to Dalpat Shah the son of the king San ...
– Gond Queen
*
Albert Ekka
Lance Naik Albert Ekka, PVC (27 December 1942 – 3 December 1971) was a soldier in the Indian Army. He was martyred in action in the Battle of Gangasagar, during the Indo-Pakistan War of 1971. He was posthumously awarded the Param Vir Chakra, ...
– Param Vir Chakra,
Indo-Pakistani War of 1971
The Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 was a military confrontation between India and Pakistan that occurred during the Bangladesh Liberation War in East Pakistan from 3 December 1971 until the
Pakistani capitulation in Dhaka on 16 Decem ...
2020–2021 China–India skirmishes
Beginning on 5 May 2020, People's Liberation Army, Chinese and Indian Army, Indian troops engaged in aggressive melee, face-offs, and skirmishes at locations along the Sino-Indian border, including near the disputed Pangong Lake in Ladakh and ...
*
Sangram Shah
Sangram Shah was a king of the Garha Kingdom of Gondwana, in the state of Madhya Pradesh, India. Sangram Shah, who belonged to the Gond Dynasty in central India, was the 48th and most well known ruler of the dynasty, and during his reign he had c ...
Others
*
Thirumangai Alvar
Thirumangai Alvar (IAST: ), also referred to as Thirumangai Mannan is the last of the 12 Alvar saints of south India, who are known for their affiliation to the Vaishnava tradition of Hinduism. He is considered one of the most learned Alvar ...
*
Bhima Bhoi
Bhima Bhoi (1850–1895) was a 19th-century saint, poet and philosopher from the state of Odisha in India, most known for his songs on the philosophical aspects of ''Mahima Dharma''. Bhima Bhoi was a ''bhakta'' (Odia: devotee) of Mahima Gosain, ...
Haipou Jadonang
Jadonang Malangmei (1905-1931) popularly known as Haipou Jadonang was a Naga people, Naga spiritual leader and political activist from Manipur, British India. He established the ''Heraka'' religious movement, which was based on the ancestral Naga ...
Kannappa Nayanar
Kannappa was a staunch devotee of Shiva and is closely associated with Srikalahasteeswara Temple. He was a hunter and is believed to have plucked his eyes to offer to Srikalahasteeswara linga, the presiding deity of Srikalahasti Temple. He is ...
Shabari
Sabari (, sa, शबरी) is an elderly woman ascetic in the Hindu epic ''Ramayana''. She is described as an ardently devoted woman who received Rama's darshana and blessing due to her bhakti to him.
Story
Shabari was a woman from a vill ...
Valmiki
Valmiki (; Sanskrit: वाल्मीकि, ) is celebrated as the wikt:harbinger, harbinger-poet in Sanskrit literature. The epic ''Ramayana'', dated variously from the 5th century BCE to first century BCE, is attributed to him, based on ...
– Composer of
Ramayana
The ''Rāmāyana'' (; sa, रामायणम्, ) is a Sanskrit literature, Sanskrit Indian epic poetry, epic composed over a period of nearly a millennium, with scholars' estimates for the earliest stage of the text ranging from the 8th ...
*
Mohanbhai Sanjibhai Delkar
Mohan Sanjibhai Delkar (19 December 1962 – 22 February 2021) was an Indian politician and tribal rights advocate, who was elected seven times as a member of Lok Sabha from Dadra and Nagar Haveli constituency, in the Union Territory of Dadra ...
-Tribal Leader
Gallery
Some portraits and images of adivasi people.
File:Paniya girl.jpg, Paniya tribal girl from
Kerala
Kerala ( ; ) is a state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile regions of Cochin, Malabar, South ...
in southern India
File:Meena Women.jpg, Meena women in traditional costumes in
Rajasthan
Rajasthan (; lit. 'Land of Kings') is a state in northern India. It covers or 10.4 per cent of India's total geographical area. It is the largest Indian state by area and the seventh largest by population. It is on India's northwestern s ...
File:Tribe woman, India.jpg, Woman of Banni tribe in traditional attire from
Gujarat
Gujarat (, ) is a state along the western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the fifth-largest Indian state by area, covering some ; and the ninth ...
File:Young Baiga women, India.jpg, Young Baiga women in
Madhya Pradesh
Madhya Pradesh (, ; meaning 'central province') is a state in central India. Its capital is Bhopal, and the largest city is Indore, with Jabalpur, Ujjain, Gwalior, Sagar, and Rewa being the other major cities. Madhya Pradesh is the seco ...
File:Lifestyle of tribal folks is visible.jpg, Tribal folks from
Odisha
Odisha (English: , ), formerly Orissa ( the official name until 2011), is an Indian state located in Eastern India. It is the 8th largest state by area, and the 11th largest by population. The state has the third largest population of ...
.
File:Villageois, Bathpura, district Gwalior.jpg, Saharia tribe
File:Woman and child in Raisen district.jpg, Bhil tribe
File:Woman in adivasi village, Umaria district, India.jpg, Gond tribe
File:Farmer adivasi with turban, Umaria district, M.P., India - cropped.jpg, Gond tribe
File:Filles jouant à la marelle, Jaura, Inde.jpg, Saharia tribe
File:Kutia kondh woman.JPG, Kutia Kondh tribe in
Odisha
Odisha (English: , ), formerly Orissa ( the official name until 2011), is an Indian state located in Eastern India. It is the 8th largest state by area, and the 11th largest by population. The state has the third largest population of ...
.
File:Adivasi Children at Tribal Academy Tejgadh.jpg, Adivasi Children of
Gujarat
Gujarat (, ) is a state along the western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the fifth-largest Indian state by area, covering some ; and the ninth ...
File:Chenchu tribal hunting.jpg, Chenchu man hunting, Nallamala Forests, Andhra Pradesh.
File:Irulas1871.jpg, A group of Irula men photographed (1871–72).
File:Traditional-Karbi-Ornaments.jpg, A Karbi man of West Karbi Anglong in traditional attire, wearing a ''Poho'' (white turban), a ''choi-hongthor'' (woven jacket), a ''lek paikom'' (gold-plated necklace) and another ''poho'' on his right shoulder.
File:Ao tribesman at his village for festival celebration Nagaland India.jpg, Naga man dressed in traditional attire from
Nagaland
Nagaland () is a landlocked state in the northeastern region of India. It is bordered by the Indian states of Arunachal Pradesh to the north, Assam to the west, Manipur to the south and the Sagaing Region of Myanmar to the east. Its capital cit ...
File:Indian school children at Hnahthial.jpg, Ethnic Mizo school children in
Hnahthial
Hnahthial is the headquarters of Hnahthial district in the Indian state of Mizoram. The term Hnahthial is a Mizo term which means Phrynium capitatum, a plant which grows in plenty in Hnahthial.
Demographics
As of the 2011 Census of India, Hnaht ...
, 2015
File:Chakma girls in traditional dress.jpg, Chakma women of the Chittagong hill tracts
File:The Marma Mother & Son.jpg, a Marma mother and son
File:Munda Male.jpg, a Munda man
File:Munda Lady.jpg, a Munda woman
File:Flag of the Chittagong Hill Tracts Shanti Bahini.svg, Shanti Bahini is an armed Adivasi group that wants representation for the indigenous people of the Chittagong Hill Tracts.
File:Rega, a Chakma woman.jpg, a Chakma woman
File:House of Khasia Tribe in Jaflong Sylhet Bangladesh 07.JPG, Khasia tribe house
File:Garo Mother & Child.jpg, a Garo mother and child
File:Indoor Dance performance of a tribe in Rajshahi, Bangladesh 2015 12.JPG, Indoor dance performance
File:Nation Chakma Official.jpg, a Chakma man
File:Adivasi (Tribal) Community Dance In Nandurbar (Maharashtra).jpg, Adivasi Community Dance in Maharashtra
File:Adivasi-dance.jpg, Adivasi-dance in
Jharkhand
Jharkhand (; ; ) is a state in eastern India. The state shares its border with the states of West Bengal to the east, Chhattisgarh to the west, Uttar Pradesh to the northwest, Bihar to the north and Odisha to the south. It has an area of . I ...
File:Santal people Jharkhand India.jpg, Santal tribe of
Jharkhand
Jharkhand (; ; ) is a state in eastern India. The state shares its border with the states of West Bengal to the east, Chhattisgarh to the west, Uttar Pradesh to the northwest, Bihar to the north and Odisha to the south. It has an area of . I ...
File:Firkal slowly decaying martial dance of ChotaNagpur of Jharkhand performed at Central Park Delhi IMG 0934 08.jpg, Firkal dance of Bhumij tribes of
Jharkhand
Jharkhand (; ; ) is a state in eastern India. The state shares its border with the states of West Bengal to the east, Chhattisgarh to the west, Uttar Pradesh to the northwest, Bihar to the north and Odisha to the south. It has an area of . I ...
File:Oraon House at 'State Tribal Fair-2020' Bhubaneswar,India.jpg, Oraon Tribes House at 'State Tribal Fair-2020'
Bhubaneswar
Bhubaneswar (; ) is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Odisha. The region, especially the old town, was historically often depicted as ''Ekamra Kshetra'' (area (''kshetra'') adorned with mango trees (''ekamra'')). Bhubaneswar is ...
,India
File:Adivasi girls in Mara village, Morena district.jpg, Saharia tribal girls
Chhotanagpur Front
Chhotanagpur Front was an Adivasi political party in Bihar, India. It was one of several splinter groups that appeared 1967–1972, after the Jharkhand Party had merged into the Indian National Congress
The Indian National Congress (INC) ...
Great Andamanese
The Great Andamanese are an indigenous people of the Great Andaman archipelago in the Andaman Islands. Historically, the Great Andamanese lived throughout the archipelago, and were divided into ten major tribes. Their distinct but closely relate ...
*
Hanumappa Sudarshan
Dr. Hanumappa Sudarshan (born 30 December 1950) is an Indian social worker and tribal rights activist. He is known for his contributions to the upliftment of the forest dwelling tribes (mainly Soliga tribe, Soligas) in the Chamarajanagar distri ...
Jarawa people (Andaman Islands)
The Jarawas ( Jarawa: ''Aong'', ) are an indigenous people of the Andaman Islands in India. They live in parts of South Andaman and Middle Andaman Islands, and their present numbers are estimated at between 250–400 individuals. They have lar ...
*
Krantikari Mukti Morcha
Krantikari Mukti Morcha ( hi, क्रान्तिकारी मुक्ति मोर्चा, 'Revolutionary Liberation Front') was an Adivasi political party in Bihar, India. It was one of several splinter groups that appeared 1967–1 ...
List of Scheduled Tribes in India
This is a list of Scheduled Tribes in India. The term "Scheduled Tribes" refers to specific tribes whose status is acknowledged to some formal degree by national legislation.
Andaman and Nicobar Islands
In accordance with The Scheduled Castes ...
Shompen people
The Shompen or Shom Pen are the indigenous people of the interior of Great Nicobar Island, part of the Indian union territory of Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
The Shompen are a designated Scheduled Tribe.
Etymology and autonym
"Shompen" is po ...
*
Tribal religions in India
Roughly 8.6 per cent of India's population is made up of so-called "Scheduled Tribes" (STs), traditional tribal communities. Whilst most members of these tribes have adopted variants of Hinduism, Islam, or Christianity, a considerable number still ...
Notes
References
Sources
*
*
*
Further reading
* Dasgupta, Sangeeta. "Adivasi studies: From a historian's perspective." ''History Compass'' 16.10 (2018): e12486 Adivasi studies: From a historian's perspective * Dube, Shyama Charan''Tribal Heritage of India'', (Indian Institute of Advanced Study, Indian Council of Social Science Research, Anthropological Survey of India. Published by Vikas Pub. House, 1977). .
* Elst, Koenraad. ''Who is a Hindu?'' (2001)
*
* Russell, R. V., The Tribes and Castes of the Central Provinces of India ', London, 1916.
* Raj, Aditya & Papia Raj (2004) ''"Linguistic Deculturation and the Importance of Popular Education among the Gonds in India"'' Adult Education and Development 62: 55–61
* ''Vindicated by Time: The Niyogi Committee Report'' (edited by S.R. Goel, 1998) (1955)
* ''Tribal Movements in India'', by Kumar Suresh Singh. Published by Manohar, 1982.
* ''Tribal Society in India: An Anthropo-historical Perspective'', by Kumar Suresh Singh. Published by Manohar, 1985.