Concept of Tribe

UNIT 1 CONCEPT OF TRIBE*

Contents
1.1 Introduction
1.2 Etymology of the term Tribe
1.3 Demography and Distribution of Tribes in India
1.4 Defining and Conceptualising Tribes
1.5 Problems of Nomenclature
1.6 Summary
1.7 References
1.8 Answers to Check Your Progress
Learning Objectives
At the end of this unit, the learner will know about:
demographic and geographical profile of Indian tribes;
defining and conceptualizing of the term ‘tribe’ and the problems of
nomenclature;
characteristics of tribal society;
Categories such as scheduled tribes, denotified communities and Particularly
Vulnerable Tribal Groups.

1.1 INTRODUCTION
On the basis of geographical surroundings and socio-cultural characteristics, the
Indian society is divided into tribal, rural and urban societies. Tribal communities
are an integral segment of Indian society. Tribal population is found in almost all
parts of the world. India has the second largest tribal population in the world, the
first being Africa. India, with a variety of ecosystems, presents a varied tribal
population depicting a complex cultural mosaic. The tribal population lives in
relative isolation in hilly forests or well demarcated areas marked with distinct
culture, language, religion and strong ethic identity.

Tribals are known to be autochthonous people of land who were the earliest
settlers in the Indian Peninsula. In India tribals are often referred as adivasis
(original inhabitants). In the contemporary world, they are considered to be socio-
economically backward.

Defining and conceptualizing tribes is difficult because they are found in a variety
of socio-economic milieu and because of their continuous assimilation and
acculturation with the wider social structure. However scholars agree on some
common features of tribes on the basis of which they are defined and
conceptualized. This unit provides a broad understanding on defining the concept
of tribe.

* Contributed by Dr. K. Anil Kumar. Assistant Professor, Discipline of Anthropology, School of

Social Sciences, Indira Gandhi National Open University, New Delhi

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Tribes in India
1.2 ETYMOLOGY OF THE TERM TRIBE
The term “tribe” originated around the time of the Greek city-states and the early
formation of the Roman Empire. Though the word ‘tribe’ was derived from the
Latin term “tribus”, it has since been transformed to mean “a group of persons
forming a community and claiming descent from a common ancestor” (Oxford
English Dictionary, IX, 1933, p. 339, as cited in Fried, 1975, p. 7).The word
“tribe” is generally used for a “socially cohesive unit, associated with a territory,
the members of which regard themselves as politically autonomous” (Mitchell,
1979: 232). With the upsurge of nationalism in Europe, the term ‘tribe’ was used
to denote a particular stage in the socio-political fruition of a community of
people speaking a certain language within a specified territory. Clan, tribe and
nation came to denote in European phraseology successive stages in the liberal
march towards nationhood (Ray, Nihar Ranjan: 1972).

The Imperial Gazetteer of India, 1911, defines a tribe as a “collection of families

bearing a common name, speaking a common dialect, occupying or professing
to occupy a common territory and is not usually endogamous though originally
it might have been so”. For Romans, the tribe was a political division. The
Dictionary of Anthropology mentions tribe as a social group, usually with a
definite area, dialect, cultural homogeneity and unifying social organization. The
tribes in India differ from one another depending upon the region, language,
customs, culture, religion, racial traits and so on. Often a tribe possesses a distinct
dialect and distinct cultural traits. In the West, as also in India, the word tribe
initially had a totally different connotation than what is prevalent now (Verma,
R.C:1990).

Box 1

In India, tribal people are known by many names, such as ‘adivasi’ (original
settlers), ‘scheduled tribes’ (anusuchit janajati), ‘tribes’, ‘janajati’ (folk
communities), ‘girijan’ (hill dwellers), ‘vanvasi’ (forest dwellers), ‘vanyajati’
(forest caste), adimjati (primitive caste) ‘hill tribe’ (mountain dwellers) and
indigenous people. The tribal people of India are called ‘Scheduled Tribes’
in the Indian constitution. The indigenous people of India prefer calling
themselves Adivasi (original inhabitants). The word Adi means “first”,
“original” or “from the earliest time”, and the word Vasi means “dweller”,
“inhabitant”, and “resident of”. This self-identification as Adivasi corresponds
to the modern concept of indigenous peoples.

1.3 DEMOGRAPHY AND DISTRIBUTION OF

TRIBES IN INDIA
Tribes are found in all parts of India, except the states of Punjab and Haryana
and the Union Territory of Chandigarh, Delhi and Puducherry. The
Anthropological Survey of India under the ‘People of India Project’ identified
4,635 communities in India, of which 461 communities were of the scheduled
tribes.

The Government of India, in its Draft of the National Tribal Policy for Scheduled
Tribes, which came for the first time in February 2004, identified 698 tribal
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communities in India. The second version of the Draft was circulated in July Concept of Tribe
2006 which noted that there were more than 700 tribes in India.

The Census of India held in 2011 counted the number of scheduled tribes (both
‘major tribes’ and their ‘sub-tribes’) to be 705. As can be noted from the increasing
number of tribal communities, with the passage of time more and more
communities are being added to the list of the scheduled tribes.

According to the Census of 2011 the population of scheduled tribes in India was
10,42,81,034 persons, constituting 8.6 per cent of the population of the country.
From 2001 to 2011, as per census of the respective years, their population has
increased from 8.2 per cent to 8.6 per cent of India’s population (Srivastava V.
K: 2015). The decadal population growth of the tribals from Census 2001 to
2011 has been 23.66 per cent against the 17.69 per cent population growth of the
entire population. The sex ratio for the overall population is 940 females per
1,000 males and that of scheduled tribes is 990 females per 1,000 males. The
population of scheduled tribes has seen an increasing trend since Census 1961.
In the 1961 census the number of scheduled tribe communities increased to 427,
twice the number from the previous census. This increased to 432 by the 1971
census.

In India, the geographical distribution of tribal population is not uniform.

Everywhere they have adapted to the local ways of living, thus cultural differences
are quite visible within the same community. Bhils form the largest tribal group
in India, followed by Gonds, Santhals, and Meenas. The largest concentrations
of scheduled tribe population are found in the eastern, central and western belt
covering the following nine states:
Madhya Pradesh (14.69%),
Maharashtra (10.08%),
Orissa (9.2%),
Rajasthan (8.86%),
Gujarat (8.55%)
Jharkhand (8.29%),
Chhattisgarh (7.5%)
Andhra Pradesh (5.7%) and
West Bengal.
About 12% inhabit the Northeastern region, 5% the Southern region and 3% the
Northern states. The state with the highest proportion of scheduled tribes is
Mizoram (94.5 per cent) and the union territory with the highest proportion of
scheduled tribes is Lakshadweep (94.8 per cent). Except the states of Punjab,
Haryana and Delhi, and the union territories of Chandigarh and Puducherry,
tribals inhabit all parts of the county. In India their number and other demographic
features vary from one state to another. The largest number of tribal communities
(62) is in the state of Orissa (Census 2011). Some of the major tribes of different
states are given below:

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Tribes in India
States Tribes
Andhra Pradesh Andh, Sadhu Andh, Bhagata, Bhil, Chenchus
(Chenchawar), Gadabas, Gond, Goudu, Jatapus,
Kammara, Kattunayakan, Kolawar, Kolam, Konda,
Manna Dhora, Pardhan, Rona, Savaras, Dabba
Yerukula, Nakkala, Dhulia, Thoti, Sugalis.
Arunachal Pradesh: Apatanis, Abor, Dafla, Galong, Momba, Sherdukpen,
Singpho.
Assam Chakma, Chutiya, Dimasa, Hajong, Garos, Khasis,
Gangte.
Bihar Asur, Baiga, Birhor, Birjia, Chero, Gond, Parhaiya,
Santhals, Savar.
Chhattisgarh Agariya, Bhaina, Bhattra, Biar, Khond, Mawasi,
Nagasia.
Goa Dhodia, Dubia, Naikda, Siddi,Varli.
Gujarat Barda, Bamcha, Bhil, Charan, Dhodia, Gamta, Paradhi,
Patelia.
Himachal Pradesh Gaddis, Gujjars, Khas, Lamba, Lahaulas, Pangwala,
Swangla.
Jammu and Kashmir Bakarwal, Balti, Beda, Gaddi, Garra, Mon, Purigpa,
Sippi.
Jharkhand Birhors, Bhumij, Gonds, Kharia, Mundas, Santhals,
Savar.
Karnataka Adiyan, Barda, Gond, Bhil, Iruliga, Koraga, Patelia,
Yerava.
Kerala Adiyan, Arandan, Eravallan, Kurumbas, Malai arayan,
Moplahs, Uralis.
Madhya Pradesh Baigas, Bhils, Bharia, Birhors, Gonds,Katkari, Kharia,
Khond, Kol, Murias.
Maharashtra Bhaina, Bhunjia, Dhodia, Katkari, Khond, Rathawa,
Warlis.
Manipur Aimol, Angami, Chiru, Kuki, Maram, Monsang, Paite,
Purum, Thadou.
Meghalaya Chakma, Garos, Hajong, Jaintias Khasis, Lakher,
Pawai, Raba.
Mizoram Chakma, Dimasa, Khasi, Kuki, Lakher, Pawai, Raba,
Synteng.
Nagaland Angami, Garo, Kachari, Kuki, Mikir, Nagas, Sema,
Lotha.
Odisha Gadaba, Ghara, Kharia, Khond, Matya, Oraons, Rajuar,
Santhals.

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 Concept of Tribe
Rajasthan Bhils, Damaria, Dhanka, Meenas (Minas), Patelia,
Sahariya.
Sikkim Bhutia, Khas, Lepchas.
Tamil Nadu Adiyan, Aranadan, Eravallan, Irular, Kadar, Kanikar,
Kotas, Todas.
Telangana Gond, Pardan, Kolam, Koya, Chenchus.
Tripura Bhil, Bhutia, Chaimal, Chakma, Halam, Khasia,
Lushai, Mizel, Namte.
Uttarakhand Bhotias, Buksa, Jannsari, Khas, Raji, Tharu.
Uttar Pradesh Bhotia, Buksa, Jaunsari, Kol, Raji, Tharu.
West Bengal Asur, Khond, Hajong, Ho, Parhaiya, Rabha, Santhals,
Savar.
Andaman and Oraons, Onges, Sentinelese, Shompens.
Nicobar
Little Andaman: Jarawa.
Source http://tribal.gov.in/writereaddata/mainlinkFile/File722.pdf

Anthropologists and Sociologists study Indian tribes considering their distinctive

demographic, ecological, economic, political, historical and socio-cultural milieu.
Most indigenous tribes in India are found in geographically isolated locations in
forests, plateaus or hills and very few of them live in plains. Most of them still
live by hunting, gathering, fishing, performing shifting cultivation or settled
cultivation, and are pastoralists, artisans and labourers etc. They speak mostly
Dravidian, Austro-Asiatic, Sino-Tibetan and Mongoloid languages and marry
within their restricted local groups. They are guided by their tribal leaders or
chieftains. They have socio-cultural institutions and try their best to retain their
own beliefs and customs. Belief in supernatural power, magic, sorcery and
witchcraft are an integral part of tribal socio-cultural life (Ramesh Thapar: 1996).

Check Your Progress

1) In which states and union territories tribals are not found?
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1.4 DEFINING AND CONCEPTUALISING TRIBES

Anthropologists such as L.H. Morgan, Meyer Fortes, E.E. Evans-Pritchard,
Bronislaw Malinowski, and A.R. Radcliffe-Brown conducted intensive micro-
level studies on tribes in Africa, Australia, Asia, Melanesia and other parts of
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Tribes in India world. They tried to understand family, kinship, marriage, religion, magic,
economy, political institution, law and social relation of primitive tribes from
ethnographic account per se (Lucy Mair: 1972).

The definition of tribe framed by anthropologists and sociologists is rooted in

evolutionary framework. Studies of primitive society by evolutionist Lewis H.
Morgan and functionalist Emile Durkheim exemplify that society is not static
but gradually evolves with time-space equation. To them, the term tribe not only
connotes a type of society but a stage of evolution and development. While
Morgan viewed that every stage of social evolution is characterised by a specific
mode of social organisation, Durkheim used the term “poly-segmental society”
instead of the term “tribe”. In his book “The Division of Labour in Society (1839)
Durkheim highlights two types of solidarity in society: mechanical and organic.
Social organisation of primitive tribes is characterised as mechanical solidarity
(Emile Durkheim: 1997 Reprint).
Lewis H. Morgan in his book “Ancient Society” (1877) defines tribe as a
completely organised society where all forms of social relation are dominated
by kinship. For Morgan, tribal society is organised in such a way that their form
of social organisation is capable of reproducing itself. A tribe, according to him,
is a collection of a number of clans who have distinct nomenclature, separate
language, distinct political organisation and a territory under their own possession
(Lewis H. Morgan: 1877).
E.E. Evans-Pritchard in his work “African Political Systems” (1940) writes on
Nuers of Southern Sudan. Nuers have a common name, common language,
common culture and they are divided into distinct political units. To him Nuers
have their specific political system which makes them different from other tribes.
Evans-Pritchard is against using the idea of segmentary system to define tribes
because the term “tribe” cannot be interchanged with segmentary system (E.E.
Evans Pritchard and Meyer Fortes: 1940).
According to Marshall Shalins, a tribe is a segmental organisation which is
composed of equivalent and unspecialized multi-family group, clan or band. A
collection of bands has a chiefdom to coordinate its economic, social and religious
activities. He makes distinction between state and non-state society. Non-state
societies are divided into band, tribe and chiefdom (Marshal D. Sahlins: 1968).
Maurice Godelier rejects Shalins threefold scheme of band, tribe and chiefdom.
For him, there is a basic difference between a tribe and a chiefdom because of
appearance of class inequality during evolution of tribe towards chiefdom.
Godelier emphasises on mode of production to define and conceptualise tribe.
The mode of production of tribe determines its social organisation since the tribal
mode of production in every stage of evolution is different from other modes of
production (Maurice Godelier: 1977).
Ralph Linton says, “In its simplest form the tribe is a group of people occupying
a contiguous territory or territories and having a feeling of unity deriving from
numerous similarities in culture, frequent contacts and a certain community of
interests”. To Lucy Mair, “a tribe is an independent political division of a
population with a common culture” (1972).
Anthropologists have tried to provide universal criteria to define and conceptualise
tribe. Because of distinctive ecological, economic, historical and socio-cultural
16 characteristics, each tribe differs from the other but despite diversity and
difference, a degree of commonality exists among tribes. According to Concept of Tribe
anthropologists, a tribe is a group of people living in isolated forests and hills.
Their language is different from the language spoken by the mainstream people.
They live on hunting, fishing and food gathering. Socio-cultural institutions are
highly influenced by their consanguine relation. They have faith in animism,
naturism and totemism. Their religions and rituals are influenced by magical
practices. Tribes in India may not be similar compared with tribes of Africa,
Australia or tribes of other parts of world. Even though a great degree of
commonality exists among them in terms of socio-economic life, their world
view cannot be defined and conceptualised with universal criteria (Doshi S.L.
and P.C. Jain. 2001).

In India tribes constitute a significant proportion of its population. Ancient Indian

literature like Veda, Purana, Ramayana and Mahabharata highlight nature and
features of tribal social formation in India. According to such mythological texts,
in ancient India tribes were given names such as Nishada, Kirata, Dasyu and
Dasa. Ramayan mentions that non-Aryans or aboriginal tribes were mainly
inhabitants of Deccan region of India. They are called Rakshasa, Yaksa, Vanara,
Nishada and Grdhraj (Prakash Chandra Mehta. 2006).

In ancient India during the rule of Hindu kings, tribes were isolated from the
mainland. They were not in contact with the mainstream society. Rulers hardly
felt the necessity to contact tribes living in forests and hills. However some tribes
accepted Hinduism. In medieval India during the rule of Mughals and Pathans,
there was little done to understand and accommodate tribes. There was little
contact between tribes and non-tribes during the medieval period, let alone evolve
a policy towards them. But that period witnessed growth of Gonds and Rajputs
in central India who flourished as martial races and occupied position of warriors
in caste hierarchy. The Mughal and other Muslim rulers used to patronize warrior
castes and employed their chieftains in high positions in civil and military
administration (K.N. Dash: 2004).

In India the concept of tribe is complex. Every tribe upholds its distinct culture,
dialect and economic pursuits in their own ecological setting. A few tribes still
remain unknown, isolated and alienated, while some others have undergone
mobility and change. Tribes in various parts of India, including tribes in Northeast,
until recently remained isolated from the mainland (Sukant K. Chaudhury and
Saumendra Mohan Patnaik: 2008).

During the British period, Indian tribes became an object of study of the colonial
administrator, missionary and anthropologist. Hutton, Risley, Elwin, and others
studied tribes to understand social structure and culture of Indian society in general
and of tribes in particular. F.G Bailey and W.H.R. Rivers too became interested
to study tribes in India (Andre Beteille: 2008). From 1930 to 1950 British scholars
and administrators undertook studies in order to know the tribal people of India
whom they wanted to bring under their control.

After independence, from 1950 to early 1970 many Indian academicians

contributed to the field of tribal study in India. Tribes such as Gond, Bhil, Munda,
Oraon, Ho, Naga, Khasi, Mizo and Andaman Islanders became well known
subjects of tribal study. A colourful mosaic of tribal culture with exotic custom
and ritual, magic and religion, apparel and adornment, song and dance
continuously attracts scholars of various disciplines (Vidyarthi, L.P. and B.K.
17
Tribes in India Rai: 1976). In this context we can put the names of several eminent Indian scholars
like S.C. Roy, Nirmanl Kumar Bose, D.N. Majumdar, Surajit Sinha, T.C. Das,
P.K. Chattopadyay, B.K. Roy-Burman, P.N. Mishra, L.K.A. Iyer, G.S. Ghurye,
S.C. Dube, L. P. Vidyarthi, Aiyappan, M.N. Srinivas, A.R. Desai and Andre
Beteille, who studied Indian tribes with immense interest (Vidyarthi, L.P: 1978).

Because of distinctive ecological, geographical, socio-historical and cultural

features of tribes, anthropologists and sociologists have faced tremendous hurdle
to conceptualise and provide a universal definition of tribe. In India too, describing
tribes has remained controversial among scholars, reformers and administrators.
Risely, Lancey, Elwin and Grigson describe tribes as aborigines or aboriginals.
Hutton calls them primitive tribes. G.S. Ghurye describes them as backward
Hindus. Das S.T designates them ‘submerged humanity’. Some scholars and
reformers describe them as adivasis. After 1947, the Government of India assigned
them to the Scheduled Tribes category (Desai, A.R: 1978).

D. N. Majumdar conducted a comprehensive study among Khasa and brought

out characteristics of tribal-Hindu continuum. He says the tribe looks upon Hindu
rituals as foreign and extra-religious even though indulging in them and
worshipping gods and goddesses where as among caste individuals these are
necessary part of religion. Caste individuals generally pursue their own specific
occupation because socio-economic functions are divided and assigned to various
castes under the caste system. According to Majumdar, a tribe is a social group
with territorial affiliation, endogamous, with no specialization of functions, ruled
by tribal officers, hereditary or otherwise, united in language or dialect,
recognizing social distance with other tribes or castes without attaching any social
obloquy to them (unlike in the caste structure), following tribal traditions, beliefs
and customs, illiberal of naturalization of ideas from alien sources, above all
conscious of homogeneity of ethnic and territorial integration (Majumdar, D. N
:1937).

While studying ‘Kondh’ and ‘Oriya’ political system, F.G Bailey saw tribe and
caste as continuum. He seeks to make distinction not in terms of totality of
behaviour but in a more limited way in relation to political economic system. He
suggested, “We view caste and tribe as the opposite ends of a single line. At
different points along the line particular societies may be located according to
their proximity to either the organic caste model or segmentary tribal model.”

Bailey labeled the Oriya caste society as organic and the tribal Kondh society as
segmentary. He argued that their kinship values and religious beliefs are not far
detached from one another. But in contemporary India both caste and tribe are
being merged into a different system which is neither one nor the other. Tribes in
India are influenced by the community around them. The major neighbouring
community is of Hindus. As a result, from very early period there have been
several points of contact between Hindus and tribal communities. The nature
and extent of contact, mutual participation and characteristics of revitalisation
movement vary in different parts of India (Bailey, F.G: 1957).

L.P. Vidyarthi and Binay Kumar Rai published a major book on tribes and tribal
life in India. In their book they discussed economic, social, political and religious
organisations of Indian tribals. According to Vidyarthi and Rai, tribes of India
live in forests, hills and isolated regions. They have been in continuous contact
with neighbouring communities and live by farming and working in industries.
18
Till today they retain their tradition and custom. They form socially distinct Concept of Tribe
communities in contrast to their neighbours. According to them it is these
communities which have been designated tribes. Indian constitution listed the
tribes in a schedule for special treatment (Vidyarthi L.P and Binay Kumar Rai:
1985).

For Andre Beteille, defining tribe should be based on empirical characteristics

of a particular mode of human grouping found in different parts of world,
irrespective of condition of time and place. Conceptually a tribe can be defined
as an ideal state, a self-contained unit which constitutes a society in itself. A tribe
is a society that has a common government and shares a common territory.
However, this definition becomes incomplete if one considers empirical evidence
of tribes having segmental political organisation, as among Nuer and Dinka.
Therefore, ecological and political criteria are not sufficient to define tribe as a
society.

Beteille says anthropologists usually define tribe on the basis of linguistic, cultural,
economic, political, religion, and kinship criteria. According to him, the above
criteria are not sufficient to define Indian tribes. Defining tribes in India is more
complicated because now hardly any tribe exists as a separate society. They
have all been absorbed, in varying degrees, into the wider society. Due to this
many tribes in India have lost their political and linguistic boundary. Hence Indian
tribes are in transition and one can’t have a ready-made definition to use in
empirical research (Andre Beteille: 1986).

According to K.S Singh, during the colonial period, tribals outside North-East
closely integrated with the prevailing colonial system of economy and
administration. Interaction of peasants and tribes led to the development of settled
agriculture as the primary mode of subsistence in pre-colonial period. This process
accentuated in the colonial period and helped tribal peasants (Singh, K.S: 1994).

Nirmal Kumar Bose analyzed the society, economy and culture of different tribes
in India. He studied different means of livelihood of tribes, their social
organization, religion, art, music and dance. Tribes in India form socially distinct
communities in contrast to their neighbours. Bose points out that economic life
between tribals and their neighbouring peasants is almost similar. The difference
is only their isolation and economic backwardness due to which they have been
placed under the category of Schedule Tribes. Though tribes could have changed
their occupation following social contact with non-tribes, but in subsequent times,
particularly during the British period, tribes became victims of exploitation by
money lenders and traders of mainland. (Nirmal Kumar Bose: 1971).

According to Virginius Xaxa, the term “tribe” was used by British in more than
one sense. In one sense the word denotes a group of people having a common
ancestor. In another sense it refers to a group of people living in primitive
conditions. To him, different criteria used by anthropologists to define tribe were
not clear. To justify his argument he further says earlier tribes were distinguished
from non-tribes on the basis of their religion, but religion could not become a
satisfactory criterion to define a tribe when census officials found it difficult to
separate animism from religion of lower strata of Hindu society. Consequently
identity of tribes was changed from animists to backward Hindus. There is then
something clumsy about the use of the term tribe in describing Indian social
reality (Virginius Xaxa: 2008).
19
Tribes in India Virginius Xaxa defines tribes as indigenous people. According to him, there are
three aspects, which are central to the conceptualisation of the indigenous people.
1) The indigenous people are those people who lived in the country to which
they belong, before colonisation or conquest by people from outside the
country or geographical region.
2) They have become marginalised as an aftermath of conquest and colonisation
by the people from outside the region.
3) Indigenous people govern their life more in terms of their own social,
economic and the cultural institutions than the laws applicable to the society
or the country at large. (Xaxa: 1999).

Niharranjan Ray says tribals are not a separate category as conceived by

anthropologists and sociologists. Hence to him the so-called tribals are to be
referred to as janas and the whole concept of scheduled tribe must be seriously
viewed from Indian point of view (Niharranjan Roy: 1972).

Anthropologists have carried out extensive and in-depth study of tribal life in
India. Ethnography of tribes became a major part of investigation by scholars
during the early period of study. Indian tribes are always at the centre of intense
discussions, especially by anthropologists and sociologists. The study of tribals
in India started during late British period, particularly after 1930s. At that time
studies were mainly restricted to macro level, covering socio-cultural, political
and economic life of tribes. Later studies were intensive, formal, holistic and
substantivist

In the post-colonial period, anthropologists have tended to view the ‘tribe’ as a

colonial construct, rendering fixed and rigid those identities which were earlier
relatively fluid and contextual. Anthropological accounts of tribal communities
have largely provided working definitions of tribe which have often been specific
to their site of study, given that tribes differ considerably in terms of their
population size, mode of livelihood and level of integration within the capitalist
economy.

Anthropologists and sociologists defined the concept of tribe adopting certain

parameters for academic convenience. These parameters were religion and magic,
family and kinship, economy, political institution, law and other social institutions.
Later scholars from allied or divergent disciplines working on cross-cultural or
trans-national perspective of tribes exemplified heterogeneity among Indian tribes.
Hence any attempt to define tribe in the Indian context carries with it a multiplicity
of problems vis-à-vis methodological convenience. Still scholars agree on some
common features of tribes on the basis of which they are defined and
conceptualized.

In Europe, the term tribe came to denote a race of people within a given territory.
Western writers on India, generally called orientalists, followed by anthropologists
and sociologists in India, now use the term tribe in that connotation. The tribes in
India broadly belong to four categories:
the Negritos,
the Mongoloids,
the Mediterranean.
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 the Proto-Australoid Concept of Tribe

The Negritos are believed to be the earliest inhabitants of the Indian Peninsula.
Negrito tribes are found in Andaman and Nicobar Islands, known as Onges,
Great Andamanese, Sentinelese and Jarwas, and in Kerala, known as Kadars,
Irulars and the Paniyans.

Mongoloid tribes are divided into two categories, namely the Palaeo Mongoloids
and the Tibeto Mongoloids. The tribes living in Assam, Meghalaya, Mizoram,
Nagaland and Manipur are known Palaeo Mongoloids. Tribes living in Sikkim
and Arunachal Pradesh are known as Tibeto Mongoloid tribes.

The Mediterranean people form the bulk of tribal population and are generally
known as the Dravidians. The tribes believed to be belonging to the Dravidian
race are found in the Chhotanagpur Plateau, the Rajmahal hills region, the Aravali
ranges, the central Vindhyachal, the Deccan Plateau region and the Niligiri Hills
(Verma, R.C:1910).

The earliest stratum of Indian populations was a long-headed, dark skinned, broad
nosed people. Their physical features are closely akin to modern aborigines of
Chota Nagpur, Central India and the primitive tribes of South India. It is thus
seen that the tribals from Central zone generally speak the Austro-Asiatic speech
family except tribes like the Oroan, the Khond and the Gond, who speak Dravidian
language. They are mainly Proto-Australoid in their racial classification.

Tribe is a contentious term. It is rather difficult to develop, define and

conceptualise tribe in totality. Most social anthropologists and sociologists
studying tribes have struggled to adequately define the term tribe. Definition of
tribe becomes difficult not only because of the variety of socio-economic milieu
but also because of their continuous assimilation and acculturation with the wider
social structure. Debate on the concept of tribe still continues unabated among
scholars across disciplines (David L. Sills: 1976).
Check Your Progress
2) State Ralph Linton’s definition of tribe.
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1.5 PROBLEMS OF NOMENCLATURE

Scheduled Tribe

The Government of India Act 1935 used the term ‘backward tribe’. Later, the
Indian Constitution retained the terminology with slight modification using
‘Scheduled Tribe’ in place of ‘backward’. However, the Constitution does not
have a precise definition for the term ‘tribe’. 21
Tribes in India At the time of first census of independent India in 1951, there were 212 recognised
scheduled tribes in the country. Article 366 (25) of the Indian Constitution refers
Scheduled Tribe to those who are scheduled in accordance with Article 342.
Article 342 says that the Indian President, after consulting with the concerned
Governors of State or Union territory, can specify the tribes or tribal groups
through public notification. Still there exists no clarification as to who is to be
included under the category of Scheduled Tribe.

In 1959 the Government appointed a commission headed by Shri U.N. Dhebar

to look into the welfare of the scheduled tribes. This commission too failed to
arrive at a satisfactory definition. The Lokur Committee (1965) identified certain
criteria for specification of a community as a scheduled tribe. They are:
Indication of primitive traits
Distinctive culture
Shyness of contact with the community at large
Geographical isolation; and
Backwardness
From the above identifying features, the idea of the tribe as ‘primitive’ has clearly
continued into the post-colonial period. The first backward classes commission
(Kaka Kalelkar Commission) appointed by the President of India under Article
340 argued that the tribes:

“lead a separate exclusive existence and are not fully assimilated in the main
body of the people. Scheduled Tribes may belong to any religion. They are listed
as Scheduled Tribes, because of the kind of life led by them”.

De-notified, Nomadic and Semi-Nomadic Tribal Communities

The tribal population in India, though numerically a small minority, represents
an enormous diversity of groups. Each tribal group is different from the other;
their culture and values are distinct from each other. Tribes in India are not a
homogeneous group in respect of:
language and linguistic traits,
ecological settings,
physical features,
size of the population,
the extent of acculturation,
dominant modes of making a livelihood,
level of development and
social stratification.
Some communities known as ‘tribes’ are not necessarily included within the list
of Scheduled Tribes. Two other important governmental classifications of tribes
which look at specific histories and vulnerabilities of these communities are:
Denotified, Nomadic and Semi-Nomadic Tribes and
Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs).

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The nomadic and de-notified communities form a substantial proportion of the Concept of Tribe
population and prominent aspect of the mosaic of India. These communities are
spread over almost all the states of India. It is estimated by the National
Commission for the Denotified, Nomadic and Semi-Nomadic Tribes (2008),
popularly known as Balakrishna Renke Commission, that the nomadic and de-
notified communities constitute about 10 percent of the country’s population on
a conservative estimate, as population figures were not available for more than
100 communities. It was also observed by the Renke Commission that there are
about 1,500 nomadic and semi-nomadic communities and about 150-198 de-
notified communities in India. The list of these communities is available at:

http://socialjustice.nic.in/writereaddata/UploadFile/Draft%20List%20of%
20Denotified%20Tribes%20for%20Mail.pdf

The British colonial rulers created the category of de-notified communities after
the 1857 war of independence in which many of the nomadic communities
participated to overthrow the colonial rulers. The British propagated a theory
that some communities were criminals by birth and crime was their caste or
community occupation. The British enacted a Criminal Tribes Act of 1871 and
later in 1911, notified a number of communities under this Act, that itself was
revised periodically. The district collectors were given the authority to notify the
communities under their jurisdiction as criminal tribes. This was annulled after
1952 and all these communities were de-notified following Aiyangar Committee
recommendations. That is how they are categorised as de-notified tribes (Siva
Prasad, R: 2015).

Traditionally these communities practice a range of occupations and are

remarkably internally diverse. Scholars have classified them into the following
broad categories:
pastoralists and hunter-gatherers
metal workers (smiths), stone workers, salt traders, basket makers
entertainers including dancers, acrobats, musicians, performers, snake
charmers, monkey trainers, wrestlers
herbalists, mendicants, artisans, bards, astrologers etc. (Milind Bokil:2002).
Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs)
There are more than 705 tribal groups, having heterogeneous social, religious
and cultural norms. Some of the tribes are characterized as Particularly Vulnerable
Tribal Groups (PVTGs) (earlier known as Primitive Tribal Groups) on the basis
of their greater ‘vulnerability’ and economical backwardness, within the scheduled
tribes. PVGTs currently include 75 tribal groups which reside in 18 states and
the union territory of A&N Islands. Among PVGTs some of communities are
facing the threat of extinction and these groups are considered endangered
population. In 1979 the Ministry of Home affairs initiated four criteria for
identifying Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups. They are:
1) pre-agricultural level of technology and economy,
2) very low rate of literacy,
3) declining or near stagnant population, and
4) a subsistence level of economy.
23
Tribes in India These communities depend on activities such as hunting, food gathering, fishing,
pastoralism, Jhume cultivation for their subsistence.

Among the 75 listed PVTGs the highest number are found in Odisha (13). Other
states having PVTGs are:
Andhra Pradesh (12),
Bihar including Jharkhand (9)
Madhya Pradesh including Chhattisgarh (7)
Tamil Nadu (6)
Kerala (5) and
Gujarat (5).
The remaining PVTGs live in West Bengal (3), Maharashtra (3), two each in
Karnataka and Uttarakhand and one each in Rajasthan, Tripura and Manipur.
States and UT-wise list of PTVGs is given below:
S.No State PVGTs
1 Andhra Pradesh 1. Bodo Gadaba 2. Bondo Poroja
(including Telangana) 3. Chenchu 4. Dongria Khond 5.
Gutob Gadaba 6. Khond Poroja
7.Kolam 8. Kondareddis 9. Konda
Savara 10. Kutia Khond 11. Parengi
Poroja 12.Thoti
2 Bihar (including Jharkhand) 13. Asurs 14. Birhor 15. Birijia 16.
Hill Kharia 17. Korwas 18. Mal
Paharia 19. Parhaiyas 20. Sauria
Paharia 21. Savar
3 Gujarat 22. Kathodi 23. Kotwalia 24. Padhar
25. Siddi 26. Kolgha
4 Karnataka 27. JenuKuruba 28. Koraga
5 Kerala 29. Cholanaikayan (a section of
Kattunaickans) 30. Kadar 31.
Kattunayakan 32. Kurumbas 33.
Koraga
6 Madhya Pradesh 34. Abhujh Marias 35. Baigas 36.
(including Chhattisgarh) bharias 37. Birhor 38. Hill Korbas 39.
Kamars 40. Sahariyas
7 Maharashtra 41. Katkaria (Kathodia) 42. Kolam
43. Maria Gond
8 Manipur 44. Marram Nagas
9 Odisha 45. Birhor 46. Bondo 47. Didayi 48.
Dongria Khond 49. Juangs 50.
Kharias 51. Kutia Kondh 52. Lanjia
Sauras 53. Lodhas 54. Mankidas 55.
Paudi Bhuyans 56. Soura 57. Chuktia
Bhunjia
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 Concept of Tribe
10 Rajasthan 58. Seharias
11 Tamil Nadu 59. Irulas 60. Kattunayakans 61.
Kotas 62. Kurumbas 63. Paniyans 64.
Todas
12 Tripura 65.Reangs
13 Uttar Pradesh 66.Buxas 67.Rajis
(including Uttarakhand)
14 West Bengal 68. Birhor 69. Lodhas 70. Totos
15 Andaman & Nicobar Islands 71. Great Andamanese 72. Jarawas
73. Onges 74. Sentinelese 75.
Shompens
Source: National Commission for Scheduled Tribes, Statewise PVTGs List from MTA.pdf

According to statistical profile of Scheduled Tribes in India (2013) published by

Ministry of Tribal Affairs, Government of India, the total population of PVTGs
comes to 27.68 lakhs and the total number of the communities is 71. Out of these
19 communities have less than 1,000 population. High population can be seen in
communities such as Maria Gond of Maharashtra (16,18,090) and Saura of Orissa
(5,34,751), while alarmingly low populations are found among Sentinelese (15)
and Great Andamanese (44) of Andaman and Nicobar islands.

The majority of the PVTG population lives in the six states of Maharashtra,
Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Odisha, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil
Nadu. Most well-known PVTGS are the communities labeled as heritage groups
such as Jarva, Sentinelese, Shompens and Cholanayakans. They are completely
isolated from others and live in distinctive ecological settings. In view of the
vulnerability and special needs of PVTGs, separate schemes for economic uplift
and imparting education have been envisaged for them (Venkata Rao, P:2015).

Beyond definition of ‘tribe’ anomalies have been noted in the list of the Scheduled
Tribes in India. Classification of communities as Scheduled Tribes is not uniform
throughout the country but varies based on often arbitrary administrative
boundaries. Several committees have taken note of this anomalous situation,
introduced through the Government of India Act, 1935, whereby communities
of the same tribe from an ethnological or social point of view are recognized as
scheduled tribes in one state or one part of a state and not in others. For example
Lambada tribe, who are a scheduled tribe in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, fall
in the list of the Other Backward Classes in Maharastra and Scheduled Caste in
Karnataka. This anomaly occurs primarily because the term tribe has not been
defined in the Constitution of India. The most important concern has been of
identifying communities to be included within the list of the Scheduled Tribes
than to deal with the issue of defining tribe. This matter has come up again and
again in the reports of the various commissions and committees that were set up
by the Central and the State Governments of India, to look into tribal problems.
The most recent report submitted to the Government of India by Virginius Xaxa’s
High-level Committee in 2015 notes that one of the important issues is concerned
with identifying the criteria that could be used for defining tribal communities
(Srivastava V. K: 2015).

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Tribes in India Check Your Progress
3) What are the criteria identified for specification of a community as Scheduled
Tribe by Lokur Committee 1965?
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1.6 SUMMARY
The word “tribe”, derived from the Latin term “tribus” has since been transformed
to mean, “A group of persons forming a community and claiming descent from a
common ancestor”. Tribes are found in all parts of India, except a few states and
union territories. In India, tribal people are known by many names, such as
‘adivasi’ (original settlers), ‘scheduled tribes’ (anusuchit janajati) and ‘tribes’.
According to the Census of 2011 the total population of scheduled tribes in India
is at 10,42,81,034 persons, constituting 8.6 per cent of the population of the
country.

In India geographical distribution of tribal population is not uniform. Everywhere

they have adapted to the local ways of living, thus cultural differences are quite
visible within the same community. Bhils are the largest tribal group in India,
followed by Gonds, Santhals, and Meenas.

Tribe is a contentious term vis-à-vis the issue. It is rather difficult to develop,

define and conceptualise tribe in totality. Most social anthropologists and
sociologists studying tribes have struggled to adequately define the term tribe.
Definition or conceptualisation of tribe becomes difficult not only because of
the variety of socio-economic milieu but also because of their continuous
assimilation and acculturation with the wider social structure. Debate on the
concept of tribe still continues unabated among scholars across disciplines

1.7 REFERENCES
Andre Beteille. (1986). “The Concept of Tribe with Special Reference to India”
in European Journal of Sociology, Volume 27, pp. 297-318.

Andre Beteille. (2008). “Concept of Tribe with Special Reference to India,” in

Sukant K. Chaudhury and Saumendra Mohan Patnaik (ed.) Indian Tribes and
Mainstream, Jaipur: Rawat Publications, pp. 21-40.

Bailey, F.G. (1957). Caste and Economic Frontier. OUP, Bombay.

Dash K.N. (2004). Invitation to Social and Cultural Anthropology. New Delhi:
Atlantic Publishers, pp. 242-264.

David L. Sills. (1976). International Encyclopedia of Social Sciences, (Vol.16),

New York: MacMillan and Free Press, pp. 147-150.
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Desai, A.R (1978). Tribes in Transition, in A.R. Desai (ed.) Rural Sociology in Concept of Tribe
India, Bombay: Popular Prakashan, pp. 223.
Doshi S.L. and P.C. Jain. (2001). Social Anthropology, Jaipur: Rawat Publications,
pp. 359-366.
Evans Pritchard E.E. and Meyer Fortes. (1940). African Political System (eds.),
London: Oxford University Press, pp. 1-25.
Emile Durkheim. (1997). The Division of Labour in Society, New York: The
Free Press, pp.1-31.
Fried, Morton. (1975). The Notion of Tribe. Menlo Park, CA: Cummings
Publishing Company.
Lewis H. Morgan. (1877). Ancient Society, Chicago: Charles H. Kerr and
Company, pp. 1- 368.
Lucy Mair. (1972). An Introduction to Social Anthropology. New Delhi, Oxford
University Press, pp. 13-115.
Majundar, D.N. (1937). A Tribe in Transition - A Study in Cultural Pattern,
Longmans Green and Co., London.
Marshal D. Sahlin. (1968). Tribesman Foundations of Modern Anthropology
Series, New Jersey, Prentice-Hall, pp. 1-48.
Maurice Godelier. (1977). Perspectives on Marxist Anthropology. Cambridge
University Press, pp. 1-250.
Niharranjan Ray. (2002). “Introductory Address,” in K. Suresh Singh (ed.) Tribal
Situation in India. Shimla, IIAS, pp. 3-24.
Nirmal Kumar Bose. (1971). Tribal Life in India, New Delhi: National Book
Trust, pp. 1-53
Prakash Chandra Mehta. (2006) Development of Indian Tribes, New Delhi,
Discovery Publishing House, pp. 1-30.
Ramesh Thapar. (1996) Tribe, Caste and Religion in India, Delhi: Macmillan,
pp. 1-15.
Ray, Nihar Ranjan. (1972) Presidential Address in Kumar Suresh Singh, (ed.),
Tribal Situation in India, Indian Institute of Advanced Study, Simla, 1972, p.8.
Singh, K.S. (1994). The Scheduled Tribes, volume-2, Oxford University Press,
Delhi.
Siva Prasad, R. (2015) India’s Nomadic and Denotified Communities, Symposium
on People of India, (edited) by P.C. Joshi, Department of Anthropology, University
of Delhi.
Sukant K. Chaudhury and Saumendra Mohan Patnaik. (2008) Indian Tribes and
Mainstream, Jaipur, Rawat Publications, pp. 1-6.
Venkata Rao, P (2015) People of India-The Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups,
Symposium on People of India, (edited) by P.C. Joshi, Department of
Anthropology, University of Delhi.

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Tribes in India Vidyarthi L.P. and B.K. Rai (1985) The Tribal Culture of India, New Delhi:
Concept Publishing Company, pp. 1-10.
Vidyarthi, L.P. (1978). Rise of Anthropology in India: A Social Science Orientation
(Vol.1) Delhi: Concept Publishing Company, pp. 1-30.
Verma, R.C. (1990) Indian Tribes through the Ages, Publications Division
Ministry of Information & Broadcasting.
Srivastava, V. K. (2015). Tribes in India: Symposium on People of India, (edited)
by P.C. Joshi, Department of Anthropology, University of Delhi.
Xaxa Virginius. (1999). Tribes as indigenous people of India. Economic and
Political Weekly, 3589-3595.
http://epgp.inflibnet.ac.in/epgpdata/uploads/epgp_content/S000001AN/P001118/
M013300/ET/14580211046ET.pdf access on 03-01-2021.
http://www.krepublishers.com/06-Special%20Volume-Journal/T-Anth-00-
Special%20Volumes/T-Anth-SI-03-Anth-Today-Web/Anth-SI-03-16-Bhasin-M-
K/Anth-SI-03-16-Bhasin-M-K-Tt.pdf access on 03-01-2021.
garph.co.uk/ijarmss/feb2016/1.pdf

1.8 ANSWERS TO CHECK YOUR PROGRESS

1) Tribes are found in all parts of India, except the states of Punjab and Haryana
and the Union Territories of Chandigarh, Delhi and Puducherry.
2) In its simplest form the tribe is a group of people occupying a contiguous
territory or territories and having a feeling of unity derived from numerous
similarities in culture, frequent contacts and a certain community of interests.
3) Lokur Committee (1965) identified certain criteria for specification of a
community as Scheduled Tribe. They are:
a) Indication of primitive traits
b) Distinctive culture
c) Shyness of contact with the community at large
d) Geographical isolation; and
e) Backwardness

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