What ate the discrimination done against schedule tribes?
Answers
People from Scheduled Tribes (STs) - otherwise known as adivasis or tribal groups - are socially excluded in India, facing discrimination on the basis of their ethnicity. As a result, adivasis find themselves excluded from many aspects of day-to-day life including health services, economies and educational establishments. STs make up 8.6% of India’s population (Census, 2011). PACS also works with nomadic tribes (NTs), denotified tribes (DNTs) and ‘primitive’ tribes who may not be listed as STs.
Cultural discrimination
Adivasis generally live in remote forest areas, surviving solely on the forest environment in which they live. They often speak their own tribal languages, which makes communication with others difficult, and they have their own culture and traditions.
Their physical isolation from non-tribal communities and a lack of cultural understanding between the two has led to the negative stereotyping of adivasi groups as primitive, uncivilised and unskilled. This negative stereotyping is used to justify their exclusion from certain services and economic opportunities.
Health discrimination
Under 5 mortality for ST groups is substantially above the national average: 96 out of 1000 children from ST groups die before their 5th birthday, whereas the national average is 74 out of 1000. This is due, in part, to the fact that their remote habitats make access to healthcare institutions difficult and language barriers also make it difficult to interact with health workers who often hold negative cultural stereotypes about them.
There is also a lack of education and understanding about modern medicine, which means that tribal groups are less likely to seek help from established health care institutions.
Economic discrimination
Areas inhabited by ST groups tend to be rich in natural and mineral resources. However, a lack of knowledge about forest rights and ownership over these resources has led to the exploitation and forced displacement of many forest-dwellers.
In addition, their livelihoods are based around the forest, and many tribal groups do not depend on trade with outside markets.
Educational discrimination
Due to their remote location and their own culture and traditions, tribal groups have not traditionally engaged with formal education. This is reflected in the gap in literacy between STs and the rest of the population – only 59% of those belonging to STs over the age of 7 can read and write compared with the national average of 73%.
Children from STs rarely progress beyond the primary level, leading ultimately to lower employment chances and long-term income poverty.
Multiple forms of exclusion
Adivasis who belong to other socially excluded groups face greater challenges as they have to deal with multiple forms of social exclusion. For example a disabled tribal person may face double discrimination based on both their ethnicity and their disability.