National Seminar
Tradition and Modernity: Complementary or Takeover of Governance in Tribal Areas, Issues of Socio-Economic and Political Structures and Processes in India
(December 01-02, 2023)
SUMMARY
By Kanchan Bharati
Political organizations are important components of the political life of a society in a democratic country. Distribution and composition of Indian population show that India is home to the largest numbers of tribes in the world. Tribal communities are known to have their own traditional social and political governing structures. They are mostly governed by self-rule through the collective way of customary methods and traditional systems of social control. The implementation of Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs) as a constitutional form of governance in the country in late 1990s brings out the fact that in tribal areas one can now see dual forms of governing structure; one – an informal traditional system of ‘Tribal Panch/Councils (TP)’ and the second a formal system of ‘Statuary Panchayats (GP)’. It is also important to note that despite constituting a distinct social category and special constitutional and legal provisions, Tribals are not outside the economic and political framework of India and Indian politics. As a part of the nation-building process, tribal areas have witnessed large-scale development in terms of industry, mining, infrastructure projects such as roads and railways, and hydraulic projects such as dams and irrigation. These have been followed by processes of urbanization as well. The overall impact of these has been that the Tribals, indigenous communities have entered a new phase of struggle and protests against these ‘development and urbanization’ processes. The variables across India have experienced substantial loss of livelihood, massive often coercive displacement, involuntary and distressed migration. The government of India on one hand has initiated several affirmative policies, schemes, enacted laws for the welfare, development and protection of tribal populations; and on the other hand promoted urbanisation and development projects detrimental to participatory and inclusive development of tribals. The end result is that tribals are lagging behind human development, sustainable and inclusive development compared to the other social groups in India.
