hey anyone Plzz answer this... Explain why have tribal societies lost their autonomy today
Answers
Social fonnation of India has mainly three components - tribal
settlements, villages and towns. It is difficult to draw sharp distinction amongst
them because they share some common characteristics. But one thing appears to
be true that the tribes have been exploited economically and socially by the nontribals living in tribal area.
Article 46 of India's constitution says: "The State shall promote
with special care the educational and economic interests of the weaker sections of
the people, and, in particular, of the Schedule Castes and the Schedule Tribes and
shall protect them from social injustice and all fonns of exploitation." But there
are tribes who have remained outside the schedule list of constitution and fonn
weaker sections of India's population. The tribes are backward particularly in the
fields of education and economy and have been exploited by the dominant
sections of Indian society such as landlords, money-lenders and industrialists who
have grabbed their lands by various means.
Tribes have generally been defined in India in tenns of what they
are not. They did not practice a religion with a written text, did not have clear
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class divisions, did not have a state or political form of the normal kind and most
importantly they did not have caste. The term was introduced in the British period
more for the purpose of administrative convenience.
A large number of tribes have been converted to different religions
- leaving their tribal identity just to get redemption from exploitation and to elevate
their status and honour. Sometimes it becomes very difficult to differentiate
between a tribal and a caste group. Tribals have a strong sense of their
distinctiveness and separate themselves from non-tribals. A large number of
tribals in India even today live in hilly and forested areas where population is
sparse and without proper communication facilities.