‘Being Adivasi’: Beneficiaries of affirmative action or victims of unequal exchanges?

Several provisions have been made for the protection and welfare of the tribal people. Prominent among them are affirmative action programmes, on which crores of rupees have been spent by the government since Independence.

The rest of the population sees tribals as one dependent solely on state patronage. Along with Dalits, they are seen as emptying the state exchequer. On close introspection, however, this is far from true.

Justifications for development projects that displace millions from their homes and sources of livelihood have been made on the ground that the projects are going to be of immense benefit to the country, region or locality. The generation of power, extension of irrigation facilities and opportunities for employment, development of infrastructure, etc., are some of the reasons invoked in support of such projects.

There is hardly any doubt that such projects bring about development and contribute to economic growth. The irony is that the benefits of such development have hardly accrued to people who have made possible these projects by their sacrifice.

Notwithstanding these developments, only 5 per cent of villages in Jharkhand were electrified and only 7.2 per cent of the total area was under irrigation by March 1973. Further, despite the rapid urbanisation of tribal…

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