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STRATEGY OF TRIBAL DEVELOPMENT AND THE TRIBAL DEVELOPMENT
PROGRAMMES
CHAPTER - 7
STRATEGY OF TRIBAL DEVELOPMENT AND THE
TRIBAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMMES
Any deliberate attempts at development calls for a strategy. The
viability of the strategy determines the fruitful results of the development
programmes. However, the nature of the strategy depends on the problems
and potentials of the given situation and the objectives that are to be
achieved. The definition of the problem and the goals to be attained are,
therefore, the pre-requisites for understanding the strategy.
India, a democratic and secular nation is committed to the
development and welfare of the tribals who form approximately 8.1 percent
of the total population. Accordingly several tribal development
programmes have been undertaken from time to time entailing enormous
human, financ~al and material resources. Here, we propose to exaniine the
strategy of tlie colonial rulers as well as that of independent India. We w~l l
also exaniine tlie major administrative measures and the development
programmes adopted during the five-year plans. Such kind of an analysis
will enable us to get a systematic view of the efforts madc overtinie for
uplifting tlle tribals who constitute historically the most marginallzed
sections of Indian society. Further, a detailed review of tlie tribal
development projects and welfare programmes will help us to examine the
pace of the socio-economic transformation of tribal economies
Even before the attainment of independence, the tribal economies
of lndia had been subject to transformation shedding many of the
traditional characteristics and slowly acquiring the features of the larger,
mainstream economy of the non-tribals.' In other words, the forces of
transformation did not leave the isolated and static tribal economies
untouched. It needs to be emphasized that all the major changes taken
place in the larger non-tribal economy had its inevitable impact on the tribal
economies. However, the tribal economies represented by different tribal
communities safeguarded some of their distinctive tribal characteristics. In
fact, the forces of transformation acted differently up011 various tribal
communities and the various tribal comnlunities responded differently. The
historical reasons examined else where were mainly responsible for this
var~ation in tlic levels of responses so as to develop difl'ercnt tribal
economies.
History of the development of capitalism and more spcc~tically that
of colonialisn~ rcvealed that no where In the world that the colon~al powers
had a conllnoll and consistent policy towards aborlg~nes.' The British Easr
lndia Company passed the scheduled D~stricl Act 1nld74, tllc norn~nl law
should not sutonlatically apply to the tribal areas was the principle that
underlay the passage of scheduled Districl Act.' 111 tllc 1010 Act thc
concept o f backward area was shaped.4 However, without overlooking the
vested interest of the British, i t is a tribute to British ruler that they
recognised the need o f special protection for the tribals. In this sense, the
British can be considered as the pioneers o f tribal policy in India. In 1930s
there was thought provoking debate about the pros and cons of the
principle.5 The imperialist school contended that the aborigines formed a
distinct element in India and should be placed in charge of Brltish
government. On the otherhand nationalist school saw in this proposit~on,
the continuation o f the imperialist policy o f divide and rule. Gandhiji
reacted sharply to the segregation o f various communities, part~cularly the
tribals, under the dangerous spell o f the policy o f the isolation and status
quo.6 The Act o f 1935 separated tribals from the rest o f the inhabitants.
Under the provision o f the Act o f 1935, the Excluded Area (tribal area) was
placed under the government control. The adivasis were put into watertight
compartments and classified as the tribal people by the government.
The need to provide adequate safeguard for the tr~hals was again
extensively d~scussed in the Constitutional Assembly, and the nnt~onal~st
opinion favored incorporat~on o f far more rildical prov~sions for the
safeguard o f the tribals interest in the form o f the V and V I schedule o f the
Indian conslitut~on.' This was a radical changc o f the ~lat~o~inltsts about the
tribal question owing to the efforts o f Gandhiji and Thakkar Bapa.
Nevertheless, consequent upon the various nieasurcs undertaken by
the British rulers and the national opinion about the tribal question, first
half of the 201h century witnessed a tribal scenario, which was in a flux.
The tribal isolation and its static existence became a thing of the past. In
other words, their transition towards the mainstream socio-economlc
system had become clear and irreversible.
This transitional process described above was not lost sight by the
anthropolgists, social scientists and policy makers. As a matter of fact, a
great constmctive and scholarly debate ensured the approach towards the
tribals to be adopted after the emancipation of India from the British yoke.
It was in his monumental work" A I'hilosophy of NEFA", first
published in 1957 that Dr. Verrier Elevin elaborated the strategy"."
Jawaharlal Nehm, a profound humanist, was able to appreciate the spirit as
well as the operational feasibility of Elwin's policy suggestions. Nehru had
no doubt that development should not be at the cost of the inherent qualities
and accumulated experiences of these people. This basic philosophy
underlies the famous 'Pancha Seel' or five principles enunciated by Nehru
for the administration of tribal areas. These five principles are:
I. People should develop along the lines of the~r own genlus and we
should try to encourage in every way their own t1,adltional arts and
cullurc.
2. Tribal rights in land and forest should be respected.
3. We should try to train and build up a team oftheir own people to do
the work of administration and development. Some technical
personnel from outside will, no doubt, be needed especially in the
beginning. But we should avo~d introducing too many outsiders into
tribals.
4. We should not over administer these areas or overwhelm them with a
multiplicity o f schemes. We should rather work through., and not in
rivalry to, their own social and cultural institutions.
5 . We should judge results not by statistics or the amount of money
spent, but by the quality o f human character that is evolved.
Jawaharlal Nehru's philosophy and vision shaped the tr~bal policy
in the 1950s in Ind~a. He avoided the extreme o f the two stand points,
namely the anthropological approach which sought to treat the tribals as
museum specimens to be kept apart, for study and observations and the
other approach which sought to destroy their individually, distort the
process o f their development and absorb them in the culture and way o f life
that was alien to them.
In harmony with this philosophy n strategy o f tribal development
was framed. The Nehru era laid the foundation o f tribal policy in
independent India. This policy was reconiniended by Elwin and shaped
and endorsed by Nehru constituted the cornerstone o f the developnient
strategy in conjugation with the protection prov~ded under tlie sixth
schedule o f the constitution succeeded to n very great extend in pronio[ing
developmenl and welfare o f the North Eastern tribes. Ilowever, the most
unfortunate fact is that this strategy adopted and proved a great success in
North Eastern States could not be replicated in other parts of Ind~a. Hence,
the tribals in those areas have experienced a structural retrogression in the
socio- economic base. I t may be mentioned parenthetically, that the
distortion o f the strategy multiplied the traditionally accumulated problems
o f the various tribal communities and is the major cause o f tribal frustration
and discontent among the tribals in the tribal belt including that o f
wayanad.'
The Nehru era laid the foundation o f tribal policy in India after
independence. Scheduled tribes commission (1961) evaluated the work~ng
o f constitutional safeguards for the tribals and the tribal development
programmes.10 The commission while endorsing Nehru's approach made
wide ranging recommendations involving protection o f tribals land, their
right in forests, their rehabilitation etc. all within the framework of
Nehruvian policy. In this context i t is necessary to emphasis that the
firamework o f the tribal policy and the strategy of dcvelopnietit imbued \$tth
the well-know11 Nehruvian humanism held the ground for about t~vo
decades. In fact ~t still provides the sheet anchor or India's Tr~bal I'ol~cy.
Even tliougli ill recent years there has been a considerable broadening and
deepening o f the structure o f the policy, the basic priiictpic o i the pol~cy IS
unaltered. Afler niiddle 1960s especially in the V and V I five year plans
the policy ninkcrs ~lnderstood the diversities o f tribal situnt~o~l, whicll called
for a more areil specific approach to planning and dc\,olopn~ent. "This
means a gradual moving away from the schematic pattern of the earher
plans and formulation of more integrated approach to the tribal problems"'5
Hence, more backward communities have been identified as trlbes and the
areas of tribal concentration were enlarged to bring within the ambit of
planned development. Each tribal region was entrusted to prepare its own
sub- plan, which formed apart of the plan prepared by the state.
Consequently, a plethora of legislation has been enacted to prevent
alienation of land, regulate money lending, to abolish bonded labour system
and to organize labour." The resources being mobilised for the
development of the tribal regions from many sources, outlay in the state
plan, investment of central government ministries, institutional finance and
the special central assistance, have reached an all time high." The funds
allocated for tribal development by successive governments, both centre
and state, since independence might not have been commensurate with the
proportion of the trihal population and they were very low upto the IV five
year plan. But after the IV"' five-year plan there was a change in the
liamcwork of the tr~bal policy without altering the strategy. Hence, the
fund allocation rose to 3.1 percent on tile \I"' Five Year plan and 4.37
percent In the VI" ' live-year plan, thus inch~ng very closc to lhe~r share In
the plan efforts. The above-mentioned evolution of the strategy for tribal
developnient shows that the Indian cxperimc~lt w ~ t h tribal development is a
unique one in the case of developing economies.
Tribal Development in India
After the attainment o f independence lndia has developed a unique
tribal development strategy imbued with Nehru's humanism, which held
the ground for our tribal development programmes especially In the init~al
period. I t still provides the sheet anchor o f India's tribal policy though
there has been considerable broadening and deepening o f the structure o f
the policy and programmes.
After independence lndia adopted planned economic development
to strengthen its strategy o f mixed economy and make it more effective.
Hence, we formulated the Five-year plans where the state makes long term
plans for integrated development o f the country. On the basis o f these
plans, lndia molded her tribal development programmes. A review of the
tribal developlnent programmes o f the first six five year plans show that
tribal development programmes in lndia have been marked by two broad
approaches such as: -
I. Cornmu~l~ty npp~oncll at Block level
2. The Integrnte Tribal Developnlent Approacli u~ider tlie Tribal sub- plan
To urlderstand the rational~ty behind the conimunlty approach to
trlbal development, we have to review it in tlic context of colnnlunlty
Devclop~nent programme envisaged during the tirst I?vr Year Plan. Under
Illis prograllirilc, ;I con~prcliensivc approacli ; ~ i l l i ~ ~ i g i l t ;1 b i ~ l i ~ n ~ e d
development of the entire country was adopted to encourage peoples'
participation in development and to cater to the needs of the smallest unit.
Consequently, the country was divided into a number of development
blocks. Following the area development approach programmes for
community development related to such basic amenities as supply of
drinking water, health care, construction of roads and other development
works were encouraged. To meet the spec~al nceds of the tribals, tr~bal
Development Blocks were set up on these lines in areas of high tribal
concentration. The original idea for setting up of Tribal Development
Blocks was to cater to the specific needs of the tribal areas most of which
fall in geographically isolated and hilly terrain with no development
infrastructure. This approach contained during the First Five-year Plan
period.
The community approach to tribal develop~l~ent though
conceptually sound met with little success. In tliis context it may be
pointed out that the tr~bal development here const~tuted but an insignificant
part of the developnient activities. Compared to thc volunle and size ol'lts
d~frerent sectors, ill physical and financial tcrnls, the requlrenients of the
trihal devclopnie~it were otien ovcrlookcd. Ir i tliis cocillcctlon. the Nat~onal
Committee on Dcvclop~ncnt of Backward areas st;irted." 'l'he total
development efforts i n the states and the cenlrc was growing from plan ro
pla~i. I t was cxpectcd that the bcnefits tvould accrue to tllc tribals ~ ~ n d e r
varlous dcvrlopmcnt programmes. Iiotvever, tlic l'r~biil L>eveloprne~it
programmes and schemes taken up under backward class sector failed to
attain the expected goal.
The failure o f the Tribal Development Blocks to achieve the desired
objectives called for a more serious attention o f the problem. This led to
the adoption of the tribals sub- plan approach. Under the tribal sub-plan an
integrated approach to tribal development was attempted Guided by the
principle that development had to be specific to reach each area and each
community the first step that the plan did was to identify certain common
elements which characterise tribal societies. Some of the major issues,
which the plan identified, were social and economic exploitation, shifting
cultivation, deforestation and loss o f command over the resources due to
urbanization, modernization and non- tribal immigrat~on. The strategy
under the tribal sub- plan was to build their inner strength to enable tr~bes to
meet new challenges. Education and health services in addition to direct
economic programmes were seen to be the right investment in th~s
direction.
'Tribal development under tlie Tr~bal Sub-f'la~i is trcnted as ;II~
integral pert of the state plan itself. Botll in its i~nplementation allti
financial Inputs, tribal development programmes are merged w~tl l in tile
sectoral llcads ol'the state plan. I t is Ibr this reasons t l~al l ' r~ba l sub-l'lan~
are found only In prcdon~inantly now tribal states, wl~erc llic pop~lattoii
constitute the minority o f the population. On the otlier hand, ill states
where tribals are in majority such as Meghalaya, Nagaland and Mizoram,
the concept o f Tribal sub-plan itself is considered to be for the tr~bes. It can
be observed that the tribal under-development during the first Six Five Year
Plan period was not due to lack o f planning for the welfare o f the tribals but
due to lack o f meaningful planning and under implementation or planned
programmes and schemes. The tribal development programmes lacked the
flexibility i t required to meet specific needs o f these complex and
heterogeneous tribal communities even though some scholars had taken due
cognizance o f the fact that tribal econonlies are not homogeneous in nature
and vary according to their socio-economic conditions. The development
planners failed to take this fact into consideration dur~ng the first three
decades o f our economic planning. Many programmes failed to effective
due to this blanket approach in planning and implementation.
I f our planning process prevented our planners from gettlng a
proper perspective o f the needs o f tlie tribes, they have further beell
confounded by our ~mplcmentation agencies. The bns~c Iden b h n d the
~ntegraled tribal de\clopment programlnes IS llle optilnu~n u t i l i ~a l~o i l of
resources for a comprehensive development o f the trtbals. This approacli
nleans that the development o f the lribals has to be taken up In n llolistlc
basls. This ~lnplies tl~at Tor a proper ~lnplemcntat~on o f the pl.ogr;illimss
there has to be a close co-ordination o f the sectors involved. A revle\\ of
the progress o f the tribal development progranlllles has sho\\,n that ;I large
number o f them are at various stages of stagnation. Init~ally. our plnllilers
were of the opinion that given economic inputs, our tribals would absorb
the benefits o f development and later regenerate them for their further
development. While this principle is theoretically plausible, ~t di~countetl
the economic and social structure within which tribes had to operatc.
During the Seventh Five Year Plan period there was rad~cal
changes in the formulation of tribal plans. Consequently, these changcs
reflected in the implementation also. Even though the dccentralizat~on of
planning process started in 1979, it was in the VII F ~ v e Year Plan I'er~od
that the formulation and implantation o f plans for tr~bals were done w ~ t h
great vlgor and enthusiasm. Consequently, the D~strict Collectors were
assigned the task o f plan formulation and implementarion at district level.
The activities o f the D~strlcr level-working Group became more effic~ent
during this plan period.
Recently, there are changes in the ~mplementation of Tribal Sub-
Plan Strategy. Under this, integrated Tribal Developnlent Proyranlnle area\
are give11 more importance. The District levcl working group co~lcept
gradually becanle an ideal set LIP for the fornlulation and ~mplcnlentation ol'
Tribal Sub- I'lnn mainly due to [he adn~inistrat~ve a ~ i d lini~ncinl pouers
vested with i t . T i l l 1995-96 the Planning ;~nd Econonl~c Afl:,~~r,
Depnrtnic~it 111 C;ovcrnnient in states \Yere vested with 1111. nodi~l ~rolc 1i)r 1111.
fo~mm~~latioii ;~nd inlplenlelltatio~l o f Tribal- Sub Pli111 in the SI:I~C~.
However, ill 1906-97vnrious changes wcrc lakc11 pl;lcc in 1111.; lizld
Accordingly, 75 percent o f the Tribal sub- I'lan funds \verc allociitrd lo thc
Il~stricts. The ~ntcr-sectoral co-operation and co-ordinat~on brought
through t h ~ s system ensured linkage among sectoral programmes to a
ccrtaln extent. This changes in turn reduced wasteful expenditure
considerably. The financial and phys~cal achicvcmcnt$ In the d ~ ~ t r i c t Ic\cI
were comparat~vely good, but several grass root level problems of the
tr~bals rema~ned unsolved. I t was in this context that central government
iisucd orders allowlng pooling of funds under different heads of the Tr~bal
sub- plan. Accordingly, pool~ng of funds i tas Introduced In certaln \tales
l ~ k e Kerala and Maharashtra tlowcvcr, the states \*ere allowed freedom
for minor changes in the formulation and implementation stages While
fixing the priorities, centrally sponsored scheme are given top prior~ty. Thc
pooling system has helped to formulate the Tribal suh- plan in a more
real~stic manner. It offers freedom to the scheduled Tribe Development
Department in choosing only those sectors, which are really needed and
uselill ro the trihals. Moreover. the system has e l~rn~nated the national flow
component to\\ardr t r~ha l suh-plan
Tribal Development in Kerala
The trihal development stratcg) follo\ccd in KCI-ala state fro111 t~riic
to llrile hirs ~ii\:lr~abl! bccn apart of tile tr~h:ll dc\e101)111~'1lt strdt~'g! ;~iio/)rcil
111 I n d ~ a as a \\.hole. .4ga1n these strategies h a \ e been In confbrniity \\1111
tliv guneral de \ .e lopn~e~i t strategy. Thus at the ~ n ~ t ~ a l stages of planned
dcve lop~~ien t wlren the community I)e\,elopnlent programliies \\ere adopted
111 Ind~a . the s;111ic c i i ~ n ~ n u n ~ t y dcvelopnicnt proyrnllllnca \ \ere ;~doptcJ In
Kerala. It was found that the Community Development Approach was
inadequate for the speedy interaction of the tribals with the largc society;
some of the Community Development Blocks in thc area of tr~bal
concentration were modified into Special Multi-purpose Tr~bal Blocks or
Tribal Development Blocks. On the basis o f the national strategy, the
Tribal Development Block in Kerala starts functioning in Attappady In
April 1962.
The establishment o f Tribal Development Block In Kerala from
1962 marked a more systematic and con~prehensive effort in this direction.
These institut~ons were able to initiate some measures especially on the
social front. Isolated attempt at improving the welfare of the tribals made
only marginal impact as the agencies created were not properly equipped to
restrain the activities o f the socio-economic forces exploiting the tribals.
However, the Tribal Development Block was able to succeed in building up
a fairly sound infrastructure, which was used for fi~rtller advancenlent of the
tr~bal arcas in tlic succeeding years.
Tile failure of thc Tribal Developnient Blocks lo achieve the drs~red
objcctlves called for a more scrious attention o f the trlbal problc~n. Durtng
the v"' Fivc \'ear I'lan, a ~najor slli i i in strategy was aft'ected \v~t l l thc
adopt1011 ol"l'riba1 sub- pln~i. \vlr~ch envisaged a total develop~ile~it cffort 111
the identified area with resources pooled ftom
a ) Outlay li.0117 state plans
b) lnvest~iicnts by central nlinisteries
c) Special Central Assistance of Ministry of Home affairs
d) Institutional finance.
As wc noted earlier, the mode of implementation of Tribal Sub-
plan strategy launched during V Plan was through comprehensive socio
economic development in consonance with the development of tribal areas.
Accordingly, considering the peculiar nature of the tribal concentration and
to ensure effective co- ordination of development programmes, integrated
Tribal development projects ([TDPs) were started during V F ~ v e Year Plan.
Consequently, the first ITDP in the state was started in Attappady in
Palakkad district by covering the Tribal Development Block Attappady.
Subsequently, four more ITDPs namely Punalur, Idukki, Nilambur and
Mananthavady were formed. The Panalur ITDP fornied In the southern
most pan of the tribal belt and fell in the forest ranges of
Thlruvananthapurani and Kollani districts. The [dukki ITDP comprised the
forest ranges in the ldukki district. Areas under Marinarkkad and
Olavacode (brcst rangcs are the former Tribal Developmcnt Block area of
Attappndy, came mder Attappady ITDP. The trlbals livins in the forest
areas of' Malappilram and Kozliikode dlstrict canie ~lnder Nllaliibi~r ITDP
and those ('orest ranges of Wayanad and Kannur canic i1ndL.r Mani~nthavady
ITDP, l'l~esc ITI)Ps covcrcd an arc2 ol'6142 ??sq.k11is nlld :I toliil tribal
populat~oli of 73,042 as dctailed bclow. Thesc ITDl's wcrc t'ormcd on the
basis of tlic proportion of tribal population. Out of tlie tr i [ ) :~l po~)~ilatio~i.
40.47 perccnt wils covcred by tlicse projccts. B11t all tlic ITi)l's except
Attappady were spread over mare than two or three revenue districts, which
naturally created administrative problems. Again majority of thc tribals
failed to get the benefits under ITDPs as they were out side the area and
were treated as dispersed tribcs. Table 7.1 gives the part~culars of the
ITDPs in Kerala during the initial stages.
Table 7.1: Particulars of ITDPs in Kerala. 1977-78
Source:. Annual sub plan of Kerala - 1978-79 (Devised) Tribal Welfare Department Govt. Of Kerala 1978.
During 1989-90, the lield level officcs and the ITDPs were
reconstituted. Again, in 1995 a new Tribal Development office started at
Palakkad. Consequent upon tliesc re-constitution no\\, eiglit Tribal
drvelop~lie~lt offices are functioning in tlic state. The Tr~hal devclopnient
offices arc
I . Punalur (Kollani district)
! Ranni (I'atllana~nthitta district)
3. Moovattupuzlia (tiranakulam district)
4 . Palakknd (Palakkad district)
5. Sultlian Batlirry (Wayanad district)
6. Mananthavady (Wayanad district)
7. Tamarasserry (Kozhikode district)
8. Kasaragod (Kasargod district)
After the re-constitution of the ITDPs, now seven ITDPs arc
functioning In the state.
The ITDPs are:
I . Nedumangad (Thiruvananthapuram District)
2. Idukki (ldukki district)
3. Nilambur (Malappuram district)
4. Kanjirappally (Kottayam District)
5. Attappady (Palakkad district)
6. Kalpetta (Wayanad district)
7. Kannur (Kannur district)
The derails of the total tribal population, and area covered In ITOPc
are sliow~i in Table 7 !
T a b l e 7.2: I'articulars 01 lTDPs in K e r a l a
Source: Tribal sub-plaa, 1999-2000. Direclora!e of scheduled lr~hcs dc tc lopna~i~ t iovel .~ i~nc~i~ of Kerala Tl~iruvana~ilhapuri~ni July, 1009.
Table 7.2 shows that, after the re- organization of the ITDf'r, thc
total ITDI' arcaacovcredO0-95 pcrcent of the tribal population of thc
districts covcrcd by thc seven ITDPs of Kcrala Thew IT[)!'\ cotered an
area of I 1782 94 squ.kms, whlch formed 30.37 pcrcent of the total arcas of
thc districts consisting these ITDPs. However it can bp noled that cbcn
after the rc-constitution of the ITDPs, it I S ablr to covcr only 75 24 percent
ol'tlic total trlbal population of Kerala as per 19Vi census. 7h1s h~ghlightf
thc fact Illat eben after thc re-organization of its ITDPs, one fourth of the
tribal population of state failed to acqulrc the benefits of tribal
dc~elopment Another matter that we want to stress here is that. the Tribal
development programmes planned and ~niplemented under ITOPs, lacked
the flexibility it required to meet the specific needs of this complex and
heterogeneous tribals. It highlight that the development planners have not
taken due cognlsance of the fact that tribals are not homogeneous in nature
and Lary accordingly to tllelr ethnic, soc~al, econoniic cond~ t~ons and
Ii~stor~cal e ~ o l u t ~ o n s .
.4s \ \ e Iia\e alreadq c\;mnined thc seicn ITDPs are co\ering onl!
74.24 pcrcent of the total tr~hal populatloli ot'thc itnte. .\I !hi\ ! I I I I C ~ U ~ C . 11
I S also I I C C C Z I B ~ I ~ Y 10 esa11111it' \\hat adrnlrl~stl-;~t~\e steps i i ,~\ t . taLr.11 b! tlic
government and the tribal dr\elopnient depart~ncllc of Kcrala to ~nlplenielit
the progranrlncs for 111s onc fourth of tlir 11-~hal pol>ulnlioli tliow \ \ I io ;ire
not co\cred u~lcier ITl>l's. Atier tile rc-org;rnl/:ll~o~i ot' IfI)l's. I4
Punchayats arc identified as cluster areas I'rior lo the re-organ17atioli.
there cluster areas were part of the ITDP area. T h e cluster areas identified
in t h e state arc Aryankavu, Thenmala and Kulathupuza Panchayats in the
Kollam districts, Konni. Malayalapuza, Pramadam, Thannithode and
Aruvappalarn Panchayats in Pathanamthitta district, and Kodencherry,
Thiruvampady, Koodaraji , Narippatta and Maruthomkara Panchayat in
Kozhikode district. The details of the cluster arcas are given in Table 7.3.
T a b l e 7.3: f 'articulars of Pancl iayats d e c l a r e d as T r i b a l c lus ter in K e r a l a ---
l'opulation a t per 1991 census 1 No. Total S T
I I - I . Aryankavu 15585 368
Percentage Kollam Anchal
' 2.68
2. Thenn~ala 24214 355 1.47 3. K u l a e 33271 1607 4 3 3 -7- 2.45
Sub-rota1 2.45
I . Konni _ I. Konn~ 27800 ,
i Sub Total
Tribal development projects and Welfare Scl~emes i n Kerala
We have seen that tribal development strategy followed in Kerala
from time to time has been a part o f the tribal dcvelopment strategy adopted
in India as a whole. Accordingly, after the re-organisation of Kerala State,
the government of' Kerala inaugurated tlic ~ntroduction of tribal
development programmes. Subsequently, the state governmclit o f Kerala
established certain tribal development projects and introduced various tribal
welfare schemes in Kerala. In this context i t 1s ~niperative to examine the
major tribal development projects in Kerala. Further, we have to examine
the various tribal welfare schemes in Kerala.
Major tr ibal development projects
During tlie initial stages o f tribal development prograninies itself, the
governnient o f Keraln lins established certain major tribal developnient
projects so as to provide setrlenient and employnient to the tribals o f
Kerala. A rcvicw o f tlic niajor projects wi l l help us to trace how far these
projects helped to accelerate tlie process of socio-economic transformation
o f tribals
Cl~engeri Tr iba l developntcrlt project
Tlir Che~igcri tribal developmenl PI.OIL'C( \\'iIS sla~-k!ii III I057 In
Chengeri in Anibalavayal panchayat in Wayanad district. E\,e~i~liough the
main objective was to provide employment to 100 tribal households, the
project failed to achieve the target. Another fact that we want to stress here
is that except for four or five years both the modal farm and the coffee
estate working under this project have been running at a loss.
2. Sungandhagiri Cardamom Project
The project envisaged the settlement o f 750 tribal fanlilies in 1500
hectares of vcsted forest land o f Achooram village in Wayanad district and
a joint farming co-operalive society was formed In 1978, mainly for
cultivation of cardamom. However, out o f 1500 hectares o f land,
cardamom is cultivated in 800 hectares, coffee in 133 hectares, pepper i n
160 hectares and fuel trees in 42 hectares. The unprecedented drought in
frequent spell (1982-83, 1986-87, 2000-2001) affected the cardamom yields
adversely. Further, the steep fall in the price o f cardamom and shortage i n
the productioli also contributed to an unhealthy s i t i ~a~~o l l . Lack of t ~ m r l y
appl~catio~i o f Inputs, lack o f timely agr~cultural opcratlons, plant d~seascs,
adverse climat~c cond~tions etc, also adversely affected the progress o f the
project. Against tile original target o f 750 tr~bal fiirnllles there \\,ere only
521 famllics ill 1990-2000. A l l thc working mcmbcrs o f fi~milies settled ill
the project have been employed as \\age labourers. These families have
been provided with permanent houses. But drink~ng water facil~tlcs,
sanitation and other facilities have not rcaclled all the lillnllies.
3. Pookot dairy project
The pookot dairy project was started in Wayanad district under
Western ghats development programme. This project envisaged settlement
and rehabilitation o f 110 freed bonded labourers. I-lowever, only 100
families were actually enrolled as members. Out o f this 84 families have
been given permanent houses and are settled in the project. The major and
are settled in the project. The major components o f the project are dairy
farming, cultivation o f cardamom, coffee and other miscellaneous crops.
The unforeseen outbreak o f brucelosis on the one hand and the
mismanagement o f the farm resulted the accumulation o f debt and failed to
attain the project target.
4. Attappady Co-operative farming Society
Attappady Co-operative farming Society was started in 1975 under
the westernghats development programnie with thc object o f rehabilitating
420 tribal families. Nearly 1040 ilcctares ol' vested lbrest land was
assigned and the otller [our farnis viz. Chindakki (250 hectares). Pothupady
(280 hectares) Karuvara (105 hectares) and Varadimala (275 hectares) were
established. For the rcllabil~tatlon of thc tribal I:,ii~i~lies and for tllc
irnpleinent;lt~oll of development proyralnmc a Co-o(?crnl~\~c Society was
registered. L)uring the V11 Five Year Plan period, tllc ~)rolc'ct adopted
several revitaliiation procedures. As a result o f these rcvitalizntioii
prograninirs, the functioning o f t l ~ e Society has reached 3 satisfactory level.
5. Tribal Collective farm project, Vattachira
The Collective farm, Vattachira, was established in 1981 for the
rehabilitation of 60 selected freed bonded labourers o f Kodenchery village
of Kozhikode district. An extend of 120.5 hectares o f assignable forest
land in Kodenchery Tribe Development Department for the formation of
the Collective farm. Several Crops like ginger, bananas, Paddy, Coconut,
Silver oak, Cashew have been raised in the farm. The project has been
facing the problem o f a wide gap between the anticipated income and
expenditure. It is distressing to note that the return from the farm is very
meager. A major portion o f the farm is lying idle as forest lands. Lack of
irrigational facilities is another acute problem. Consequent upon these
limitations, the project has failed to attain the expected target.
6. Priyadarsliini Teat estatc project
Priyadarshrrn l e a estate was established In 534.26 acres of land in
1984 for rellabilitat~on of 118 freed bonded labourers of' Mananthavady
taluk o f Wayand district. A tea factory as set up at the tea estate and i t
started productior~ in July 1993. The tea factory i s functioning well and i t
has already crossed 11s productio~l more than double that of the installed
capacity. The prc!ject ensures eniploymcnt to nearly 250 tribals of a regular
basis.
7. Chikkod Cirijan Colony Project, Malappuram
Chikkod Cirijan Colony projcct, a colonization scheme wa$
crtablished in 1976 for rehab~litating 6O families of different tribal
conimunitic\ u h o were iiccd hontlcd lahoorcr\ 4n extent of 105 hcctarci
of assignable land in Erankol malaiarm of Chlkkode v~llage in
Malappuram district was set apart for establishment of the girijan colony.
The settled families hale been allottctl land at 1.71 hectare5 each 411 the
infratructural facilities i u c h as pucca diii.lling houws, protected water
supply, pre-primary education centres, primary schools, health centres,
electricity facilities have been provided. The settled families have been
p ro~ ided employment all round the year. All the schemcs proposed in the
colony have been materiaiised
As ive have examined the major tribal development projects
en\ lsaged (or the r e h a h ~ l ~ t a t ~ o ~ ~ of the tr~hnlc of Kerala. i t Carl he obaer\eii
that tlieir projects t'tlnction~ng iindcl tribal deiclopiilenr depart~nent
experienced both galn and loss. The greatest achievement is that these
projects enabled to pro\ ~ d r housing faciiities. drinking tvater facil~ties.
eiectric~ry. edticat~onnl I;~cilit~es, eniplo!~~ic.nt opportlinirics and other
~nfrastructi~ral facilities for 1500 tribal fiinlil~cs who arc rcsidlng In 3000
lhectares ol' laild. In this contest i t IS 11ot incorrecl to assume that the
pl.ojcsts have a scr\ ~ c c to rdisc tlic slanci;~rd of l1v111g ;111d ~llso hclpcti
to accelerate the processes of soc io-ecu~~o~nic transfornlalion of thc rribals
o f Kerala. Nevertheless, the financial conditions o f all the projects except
that o f Chokkad Colony and I'riyadarshini Tca Estate are not sat~sfactory.
Recently the conditions o f the Altappady Project have improvcd much. As
the Mon~tor ing and stirring committee o f Legislative Assembly o f Kerala
for scheduled caste and scheduled tribes rightly observed i n thc report in
1997, the fall i n the price o f coffee, lea, rubbcr, peppcr. cardamom,
unscientific agricultural operations, financial and adniinistrat~vc nlanager~al
defects etc retarded the progress and resulted poor pcrforniance o f the
projects.'5 I t can also be observed that the projects were established without
considering the heterogeneous socio- economic conditions o f the various
tribal communities. Transferring the vested forestlands to non-tribal
development created a "non-tribal enclave" in the tribal areas. Hence the
benefits o f cerlain tribal development schemes proposed for the tribals In
project areas are gained by the non-[ribals. Even though representatives o f
the tribals exist i n the administrative set up o f all these projects. the
bureaucrats are the defacto decision niakers who are ignorant nhout the
t r~ba l cco!iornrcs and the pulse o f eacli tribal societv Hence rlrcy adopt
stereotype proposal for all projects. Consequent upon tlicse drftcts mznv
tribal development prolects are facing stagnation.
111 additiot~ to the mbal developme~i~ projc~.ts t l t : ~ t \\.e 1h;1\ 1, . t I r ~~ tdy
examined and an:~lyscd, varrous trthnl \r,elbrc schc~iics I~;I\? been
introduced and implemented in Kerala for the socio-economic
transformation o f the tribals. Eventhough plethora o f tribal welfare
schemes have been implemented in Kerala since the inception of F ~ v c Year
Plans, we have focused our study on the tribal welfare schcmes
implemented during the last four Five year plans.
1. Education
In all the five year plans, pr~ori ty was given to educilr~nnal
development o f scheduled Tribes. Major chunk o f the non-plan
expenditure o f the Scheduled Tribes Developme~it Department has been
spending on educational development activities including scholarsh~p,
boarding and lodging charges, incentives to the parents etc. The following
list o f the major educational schemes wi l l glve us the magnitude of the
educational development programmes o f the government.
( I ) Scheme for raising enrolment o f scheduled Tribe children in
schools and for remedyins drops-outs.
(2) Scllerncs for financial assistance to high scliool ch~ldt.clr and
students failed in S.S.L..CI pDCl1.2 for studying In Tuton;ila.
(3) Schemes for pre-primary education
(4) Schenles for tribal hostels.
(5) Scllenics for construction o f girls liostels
(6) Schenies for construction o f boys hostels.
(7 ) Schemes for subsidised hostcls.
(8) Schemes for purchase o f land for construction for tribal hostels.
(9) Schemes for Model Residential School for Scheduled Tribes.
(1O)Schemes for special incentives to brilliant scheduled tribe students
(1 1)Schemes for incentive to specially talented tribal youths in arts and
sports.
(1 2) Schemcs for 13harat Darsan.
(13)Schemes for Technical education.
(I4)Schemes for nursing education.
(15)Schemes for industrial training.
(I6)Schemes for vocational Institute for Scheduled Tribes.
(17)Schemes o f production cum t ra in~ng centres.
2. Health, Hygiene and Nutrit ion
Various measures are taken for timely medical attention to scheduled
tribes. Since the tribal settlements are sctuated far away from hospitals and
health centres, tlie tribals are not able to make use o f thc available r n c d ~ c ~ ~ l
facilities. Inspite ot' the health hci l i t ics already existing 111 [ribill area,.
tribals o t 'ce i la~n local~ty are found prune to several comni i t~l~cable as he l l
as malnutr~t ion hascd dtseases. Hence the government Iinh ~tltroduced three
major healtli prqjects for the tribals o f K e r d l ~ namely. Mananthavady Iiealrh
project, Attappady health project and Idukky llcaltll prqect 111 adtlitlon to
tlicse Ilealth pro.jects tlic govenirnenl 112s i t i ip lcn~e~lted thc li>llo\\ tiig illid
wel l i re sclicn\es for tlie tribal ol'Ker;tI;~.
(1) Scheme for training to tribal women in health, hygiene and nutrit~on
(2)Scheme for treatment and rehabilitation o f tribals afl'cctcd by varlous
diseases.
(3) Scheme for food support.
3. Housing
The problen~ o f llousing among scheduled tribes IS \cry cruc~al Thc
number o f homeless rribal famil~es at the end o f V l l l plan was estimated a\
12700 ." A more realistic estimate showed that there were 15000 homeless
families at the beginning o f 1998-99." During the V l l l plan period, an
amount o f Rs.517.5 lakhs was budgeted for housing and total number of
4523 houses were construcred." The government has implemented the
following schemes for solving the Ilousing problems of the trlbals in Kerala
SO as to accelerate the process oftransforniation.
(3) Scheme o f constructio~~ o f houses for housc.lcss hchrdulcd tr~hc.
fil~lii l ics
( 4 ) Schecllc ol' construcrio~l ol' Ilouses I I I I ~ ~ ~ Myrl11.1 hl)o~lsorc(I
progralnlllc o l ' l l o ~ ~ s ~ n g Ijo;ird.
( 6 ) Scheme of total housing of scheduled caste and scheduled tr~bcs In
selected panchayats.
(7) Scheme for rehabiliiatton of landless, houseless schcdulcd trlbe
families.
In addition to the housing schemes, the government has also
implemented schemes for improving the housitig facilit~es and other
amenities under the colonization scheme.
4. Other Schemes
Apan from the schemes that we have already observed, the
government has introduced the following schemes for the economlc
development, cult~iral development, enhancement of social awareness etc.
( I ) Scheme of assistance to tribal co-operative societies.
(2) Scheme for promoting self-employment to tvibal youths
(3) Scllc~ne for intensive habitat development
(4) Sclic~iic for Andikala Gramam.
(5) Sclienie for assistance to Scheduled Tribe Mnli~la Sntn~~,ia~ii atid
Volulit;~r! organi7:111olic.
(6) Scl~ctiie of ass~st ;~ncr for the niarriagc of sclicdulcct 11.1bc ~ I I Is.
(7) Scheme of asslsla11ce for inter-caste ~iiarl.icd couplcs
(8) SClleli~c of water supply to tribal areas.
(9) Scheme of assistance for promoting tribal medicines
(10) Schemes o f rehabiliting un-wedded mothers.
Socio-Economic Impact of 'Tribal Dcvclopmcnt Schemes in Wayanad
In the earlier part o f the chaptcr, we have made an attempt to analysc
the tribal development strategies o f colonial rulers as well as that o f
independent India. We have also examined the major administrative
measures adopted during the last nine Five Year Plans. Further, we have
reviewed the various tribal development projects and welfare schemes
planned and implemented in Kerala during the plan periods by the
government and its various agencies. At this juncture, i t is imperative to
examine the social and economic impact o f the important tribal
development schemes upon the various tribal communities. Such an
attempt wi l l help us totrace the process o f socio-econonric transformation
o f the tribal economies and also lo verify whether the process of'
lranshrm8lion bas been u n ~ l i ~ ~ e a r and homogeneous a ~ ~ ~ o n g dlll'erent tr~bal
CCOIlOIllICb.
As stilted elsewliere, our study is contilled ro Way:ur:ld ciis~ric~
o f Kernla and also on t\vo tribal communities o f Waynnnd namel) I':1111yalis
and Kuricl~ians. Even though variol~s tribal developnlcnt projccls 2nd
welklrc schcnlcs have been planned and inlplcnlcntcd in Wayanad ci~lcc tlie
Inception of lhc state re- org;~niz;ition in 1950. li)r 111~' con\e~l~encc of o ~ ~ r
analysis, we have focused our study on the tribal welfare schemes
implemented in Wayanad sincel980. Wayanad district camc ~ n t o being on
I" November 1980 unifying the south Wayanad and North Wayanad taluks
of erstwhile Kozhikode and Kannur districts. I t can be noted that many of
the tribal development programmes initiated by the government are focused
on individuals and some of them are even inchoately implemented and
hence not in a pos~tion to trace the impact quantitatively. However, here
we have made an attempt to trace the scheme wise impact upon Paniyans
and Kurichians in respect o f agriculture, housing, education, assets etc with
the help o f primary data collected through the same survey covering 200
Paniyan and 100 Kurichian head o f the households.
I. Agriculture Development Programmes
Government o f Kerala introduced various schemes for tlie tribals to
improve their agriculture and allied activities. In add~t~on to the
development o f agriculture these schemes also ~ritended to provide
employmen1 opportun~ties so as to increase their income and standard of
living. In this context it is wortliwli~lc to examine solilt o f the inipor~ant
agr~cultural dcvclopnient schemes ~ntroduced in Wayanad so as to trace tlie
impact on the selected tribal conirn~~nities.
1. Scl~en~es for supply of work bulls
As we examined elsewhccc. ~ i la~or i ty o f 111c 1rib;lls dcl>cnd 011
agriculture for thcir livelihood. Thcy arc using hullocks for ploughi~lg tllcir
land for cultivation. But majority of them are not able to invcst the nioney
required for purchasing bullocks. Hence, the government Introduced a
scheme to give the required fund to purchase a pair of bullocks for each
selected tribal head o f the households. In addition to expand agricultural
production, the scheme also intended to provide employment opportunltles
and generation o f additional income. The scheme has been introduced in
Wayanad sine 1980. Our sample survey revealed that out of 200 sample
head o f the liouse holds from Paniyans community 84 of them received
financial assistance under this scheme. AmonglOOKurichain head of the
households 58 o f them also received linancial assistance for the same
purpose. In this context it is worthwhile to examine how they utilized these
financial assistance and also to trace the impact o f tlie scheme upon thc
benificaries among Paniyans and Kuricliians. Table 7.4 shows the dcta~la
regarding bullocks purchased under th~s scheme.
Table 7.4: Con~mudity wise distribution o f work bulls I'ron~ 1980-1998
l l ic fi11;lncial ;Isclslolice Y er ,
I0 l l l l * . -. - --- .
'The t;~blc 7.4 shows tlial even thouglr 81 liead of t i i t hou.;eIiolds
only OR aniolig tllelii :lctually purchased tlie bullocks ;111(l I 0 il11101ig 1111s.
utilis~ld tlie ;~~iiount. Further, i t can be noted tli;~t no\\' nolie a~iiong thslli
possesses the bulls. However, all the beneficiaries in Kurichian community
properly utilized the financial assistance. The table also shows that the
Kurichians properly maintained the bulls. On enquire the Kurichian
beneficiaries revealed that 28 among them exchanged the old bulls to new
ones and paid an additional amount upto Rs. 15001- for one pair of bulls.
They also revealed that after their own agricultural operations they provide
service o f the bulls to non-tribal farmers. Thcy agreed that they are getting
30 to 40 days additional work from this. In this context it can be deduced
that Kurichian beneficiaries o f the scheme gel at least an additional income
ranging from Rs.3000 to Rs.40001- per year.
From the foregoing analysis i t can be infer that Paniyans and
Kurichians showed differential response towards this particular scheme and
consequently the impact o f the scheme is also different among these two
tribal con~niunities. Paniyan beneficiaries are not able to increase the
agricultural production nor able to expand employment opportuilit~es and
generating additional inconie. On the othci- hand. Kuricliiail henefic~arie>
attained the desired results o f this particular scllenle. PI-~mn.I:,isic, our study
shows that uiiif'orm policy and scliemes arc not IlelplLl f'or the soc~al a~id
economic tnnsfornlat~on o f all tribal coin~i~~init ics.
2. Schenlc for supply of agricultural in~plcnlcnts
l'lir scllc~nc for supply of agricult~~~.;il i~ i i l> lc i~ ic~l ls \%;I.; :~~loiller
regular tribal wclSare scheme iniplcmcnted 111 Wayanad. U~idcr [IIC SCI~CIIIS
thc government supplied agricultural implements, which they arc nor able
to purchase from their meager income. Spades, Pickaxes, Choppers, and
sickles etc costing Rs.2001-were supplied to all the sample head of thc
households. They were alro glven option to select the itern\ Our \arnplc
5urvey revealed that out of 200 benefic~ar~c\. 184 bencficlaric5 sold thcir
agricultural ~mplenlcnts to a non-tr~hal road contractors for an amount of
Ils. 1001- per set and 14 among them mortgaged the ~mplements to the non-
tr~bal for Rs.20-Rs. 25 after few days. The survey revealed that majority of
them opted pickaxes according to the directions o r the road contractor, li I >
observed that among the Paniyan beneficiaries only two members are
maintained these implements with them. On the other hand all the
Kurichian beneficiaries opted choppers, spades and sickles. wh~ch are
essential for agricultural operations. I t can be seen that the) properl:,
utilized the scheme, However, the fa~lure on the part of Paniyans to attain
the desired result sho\vs the necessity of tribal \\is? and need based
schemes instead of stereotype tribal welfare schemes for accclerat~ng the
process of transformation.
3. Schenie for C o c o n ~ ~ t Cultivatio~i
The scheme aimed at the introduction of coconut cult~\.~tioii i n rhc
tribal areas. The tribal development department supplied 20 COCOIIII I i cc~i \
per sclcctcd head of' [hc households v,~tllout cons~dc r~ag tllr ;i\a~l;~hilit! ol
land under their possession. The schenie has been introduced 111 U ' I I~ ; I I~ ; IL~
since 1981 and hence all the head o f the households under our survey have
received the benefits o f the scheme. Our sample survey revealed that non-
tribal farmers purchased majority o f the good seeding from the Panlyan
beneficiaries. Hence they actually got the remaining substandard coconut
seeds without seedbeds. Consequently, majority among them fa~led to
cultivate a single coconut tree. In contrast, all the Kurichian bcnefic~aries
got the coconut seeds under this scheme. However, due to lack of
irrigational facilities and substandard quality o f the seeds, the growth of the
tree is not satisfactory. Our survey revealed that some plants are in the
yielding stage. Kurichian beneficiaries made certain complaints about the
planning and implementation o f the scheme during our survey.
The authorities have supplied Cocanut seeds without considerrng
the availability o f land o f the beneficiaries and their requirements. Further,
the tribal develop men^ department collected the seeds from the private
contractors instead o f collecting from government agricultural farms
Hence there was no quality control in the collcction o f seeds. W~thout
consider~ng the suitable climate conditions for p lan t~~ ig tl111 seeds, the trlbal
developn~ent departmen! supplied the seeds in February- March months. In
this contest it is not incorrect to assume that the department has more
concerned \\lit11 thc spending the allotted funds bctb1.e tllc concerned
financial years than proper utilisation of the schenic. Ilere also \ve can
observe tlic dilrcrc~itial response and din'ere~ltral 1n1p;lct ol'tlle sche~rrc up011
these two tribal communities. The differential impact upon these two
communities highlight the fact that the scheme was ~mposed upon l'aniyan5
who are ignorant about coconut plantations and having differcnt aocio-
economic back grounds. Hence tribal- wise and need based programmes
and schemes are necessary to stimulate the tribals to attain thc desired
socio- economic transformation.
4. Schemes for Rubber Cultivation
Even though this schemes started in 1980 and focused espec~ally in
the Punaloor lTDP area of the state, the scheme extended to Wayanad
in1990. The scheme intended to expand the rubber cultivation in tribal
areas and also to provide training in taping and other manual works so as to
generate employment opportunities. However, under the schemes 4
Kurichia head of the households received an amount of Us. 8740iech as the
first installnient of the scheme. Our sample survey revealed that all the four
Kurichia beneficiar~es diverted the entire amount to Paddy cultlvat~on. The
Pdilurt. of the sclieme highlights the fact that the progranlnies introduced hy
the goverlimcnt for non- tribal cultivators cannot bc transplanted and
implelnented among the tribals of Wayanad. I t can bc observed tllat even
amolig tllc trnd~tio~ially cultivat~lig comniunity like 111~1 01' Kurlchi;~ prefers
to cultivate food crops arid spices rathcr than plnntntlon crops. So the
hilure of tlre scheme can be explained ill terms of thc traditional
agricultural patter11 of the tribals of Waynnnd
5. Scheme for supply of higher yielding varieties of seeds and
chemical fertilizers
Since the introduction of ITDPs, the sclicmc has been introduced In
Wayanad by thc tribal devclopmcnt department is collaboration w~th
agriculture department. Under the scheme IOKGs o f high yielding variety
of Paddy seeds have distributed among thc selected tribal head of the
households. In addition to paddy seeds, a k ~ t o f chemical fenilisers was
also supplied. Our sample survey showed that all the 300 sample head o f
the households received the items in a year or other. It can be noted that
the authorities supplied the seeds and fertilizers without considering their
requirements o f the tribals and the availability o f the irrigated land in their
possession. I t can be noted that Kurichians properly utilized thc benefits of
the scheme. On enquiry they admitted that consequent upon the use of
higher yielding seeds and chemical fertilizer their paddy cultivation has
Increased and majority o f them was able to sold out their surplus product~on
In the ~narket. On the contrary, majority o f the Paniyan beneficiaries have
ellher sold the supplled Items to the non-tribal I'arn1cl.s For throwaway
pr~ces or exclianged the itenis for otlier food crops.
The differelltial impact o f the scheme up011 these t\\o lrlhal
conin~u~ii t~es hiplilight the fact that thc govcrnmtnr i~irplerncnted tht
schenles without understanding the pulse of tlic J i f i rent trihal
co~limu~iities in Wayannd. The failure o f thc sche~nc in respect o f Paniyati.;
also unraveled the fact that thc poor socio- economic statu\ pretcnted thcni
to ~nculcate the desired awareness for utilizing the scheme O n the other
hand, Kurichlans traditionally a cultivating community culttvated thc
~ndcfatlgable awareness towards agricultural development whcmcs.
11. Housing Schemes
A \ \re notcd elsewhere, the problem of houslng among the tribal5 15
\cry crucial Hence. dur~ng the last Four f:lve Year Plan.;, high prlority ha>
bcen siven by the government to solve the problem of housing Hence. the
government and its varlous agencies introduced various schemes in
Wayanad. At this juncture we can examine the impact of cenain housing
schemes upon the two major tribal communities in Wayanad.
I . Scheme for construction of houses for houseless tribal families
The scheme is intended to provide houses for hoilseiess tribal
la~iiil~ss Ihinng VII and Vlll Five Year Plan Period. the rate ~Cassistance
\\;I:, I<:, 32000 - per Iiou~es However. the go\ernment has ~ncreased the
rate 01' asslalance for the construction of each house during the IX Plan.
N o \ \ the assistance rate for the house is Rs.410001- in X'ayanad. More
otcr. Ils SO0 - for P I C ' C I ~ ~ C I I ! \\iring grant ;lnd Rs. 100 - ~nipro\cd
cliooln \\ 1 1 1 he given to ed~ l i ~xnipleted houses.
linder the schenlc, out of the 200 selected sample head of the
households of Parliya~i conirllun~ty, 102 anlong then1 recei\,rd the fin;~ncial
assistance. However, out of 102 houses constructcd under thls scheme, I X
houses are collapsed. In our enqulry, Pan~yan beneficiaria admitted that
nonc of them directly ~nvolvcd in the construction of houses, hut they
entrusted the construction activities upon non- tribal privatc contractors.
They used unburned bricks and other sub- standard raK materials like soft
woods and poor quality tales. We have also observed that the contractors
used loir ratio of cement for plastering the walls. Apart from these kindj o f
irregularitici on the pan of the contractors, the poor maintenance on the
part of the tr~bal beneficiaries resulted the collapse of the bulldlngs. Some
of the beneficiaries admitted that in addit~on of these schemes they eqoyed
financial asststance from other government sources. l ife ha\e alho 1rait.d
the instances of allotment of houses for the very persons t~vice in the same
places without knowlng the official- contractor nexuses, the poor tribal
entrurted the construction to the same contractors time and again
On the other hand, tlle Kurichian beneficiaries properly ~itillrrd rhe
scheme, llnder the scheme. 16 head of the households of our sample
surhey enlo!rd the financial assistance for constritctins the lioiire.; I'nlihe
I'aniyan beiieficiaries. Kurichian dircctl! i~i\ol\ .ed in the Iloustl coil.;tt.ucrlall
acti\ities. Better ccononiic conditions helped them to accunuil;~tz
additional nlaterlals for their houses. Our survey revealed that they
coiistruc~ed better houses than the expected ones under tllc S C I I C I I I ~ . Pri11l;l-
facia, it can he understood thar government and its vnrious agcncles
considered the tribals as a homogenous group and consequently
implemented homogeneous welfare schemes without considering the
unique tribal features of each tribal community. The unsatisfactory result
of the housing schemes in the case of Paniyans highlight the point that
instead of imposing stereotype schemes for all tribals, tribal wise and need
based schemes are necessary for solving the housing problems of the tribals
of Wayanad.
111. Educational Programmes and its impact
In all the Five Year Plans, Priority was given to educational
development of scheduled tribes. Hence the state government has given
prime importance to the education of the scheduled Tribes' children as a
means to their development. Major chunk of the non-plan expenditure of
scheduled Tribes ~ e v e l o ~ m e n t Department has been spending on
educational develoflment activities including scholarship, boarding and
lodging charges, incentive to parents etc. In addition to formal educational
programmes the government also impleniented inforn~al educational
schemes at grass root level through literacy programmes. Special provision
has been given to increase the literacy level of the tribals. Unfortunately,
tribal literacy ratc continues to remain as the lowest conipared to that of
other social group. The literacy rate of different population groups in
Kerala is given in the following Table 7.5.
Table 7.5: Literacy rate in Kerala
Source: Census of India, series- 10. Kerala paper 3 of 197 1 . 198 1 .and 1991. Final population Taluks.
Category General Scheduled Tribe
The table 7.5 shows that though literacy rate of the tribals is
increasing sincelY71, it continues to remain as the lowest compared to the
other social groups.
In this context it is also necessary to examine the literacy level of
the selected communities in Wayanad and also the literacy rate of the
sample head of the households understudy. It helps us to trace the impact
of literacy progranlnie introduced among the tribals of Wayanad Since
1980. Table 7.6 shows the details regarding the literacy rate of selected
tribal con~munities in wayanad according to 1991 census.
Table 7.6: Literacy rate of selected tribal communities in Wayanad
1991 89 89
57 22
1971
-- 60.42 24 72
Coninlunity of the tribal I Literacy rate in 1991 1 Pan~yans
-pp 1981 70.42 31 79
Tablc 7.6 shows the literacy rate of Paniyans and Kurich~ans in
I Total tribal in Wayanad
Wayanad. The literacy rate of these two major tribal coniniunities highlight
50.63 .- J
the fact thnt the literacy programme introduced in Wayanad made
Source: Scl~eduled Tribes of Kerala at a Glance' Evaluation wing KIKTADAS. Government of Kerala 2001. PBto P.26.
differential impact upon these two trihal communities Thc litcracy rate of
the sample head of the households conslstlng these two tr~hal communities
hclpa us to trace the Impact of literacy programmes upon thcsc two tribal
communities in Wayanad. Table 7 7 shows the disparities between
I'an~yan\ and Kur~chiani sample head of the household\ In rc\pcct of
Table 7.7: Communi ty wise literac! ra te of the selected sample head of the households _ _
Lornrnunlty Literacy rate I Pan~yans 13 - - --
I - i 1 Kurichians 27 I
Source: Sample Survey
Table shows that the literacy rate of the head of the households
under our study is ver)# low. Evenrhough the condit~ons of K u r ~ c h ~ a n s arc
not satisfactory, it is more deplorable in the case of Paniyans. Here also \\e
can obser\e the d~tterentlal Impact of 11ter.acy programnlss upon Pan~yans
and Kurichians
In thts context it is also \ \orthwh~le to trace the inipact of another
r.ducatior~al pr.ogr;~ri~ri~c ~r~iplcnientcd ar11or1g 1i1' trlh;~! r11lldsr.n Pst-
primary education scheri~e is a 11111lt1 purpose si.hsnic. .lp.~rr f~oli l
providing cdilcation and nutrit~ous tbod 111 rile dayt~lne. [he \clicnir. .llao
i ~ i t c ~ i ~ l c d 11) ~ L I ~ I I \ : I ~ ~ C L ~ L I C , I ~ I O I I : I ~ : I ~ I ~ I I I I ~ C , I I I I , I I I ~ tlie ~ I I I I ' ~ I . C I I l'lic \.IIIII)!C
survey traced that there are sufticient prc- p r~nl i~r ) r d u c i l t ~ ~ ~ i ~cnlerb 111 tilt
selected Panchayats area. For the convemrnce of the trih:~l ch~ldrcn tr~h,ll
development department is also staned pre- primary schools apan from the
general Anganvadies staned by social welfare department. Our sample
survey revealed that all the tribal children in the concerned age group IS not
attending in pre- primary education centres. Our sample survey showed
that out of 186 children from Paniyan community only 29 (15.59 percent)
ch~ldrcn are going to pre- primary education centres. On the other hand out
of 132 Kurichain children 87 (65.91 percent) of them are going to pre-
prlmary education centres. Eventhough the cond~tion of the Kurichlan
children is not satisfactory in respect of pre- primary education, the low
level enrolment of Paniyans can be explained in terms of the poor lmpact of
pre- primary educational schemes of the government.
As we have examined the impact of educational schemes upon
Paniyans and Kurichians on pre-primary school level, it is necessary to
trace the impact of educational schemes in terns of school going children
in the 5-15 age group. Our sample survey revealed that out of 467 children
In the 200 households only 38.12 percent (I 78) are going to school among
Paniyans. However, out of 293 children of Kurichian, 207 (70.65 percent)
are going to school. This disparity shows that the educat~onal schemes of
the governnlent and its various agencies made differential Impact upon
these two tribal communities.
In this context it is also necessary to examine the Impact of
educational programmes in terms of higher education. Our sample survey
revealed that out of 300 head of households 2 members have passed high
schools. Among them one member is a Paniyan who is also a Teachers
Training Certificate holder. The other one, a Kurichiya, is now employed
in the nationalised bank. The dismal picture of higher education highlight
the fact that the educational programmes failed to attaln the desired results
among the tribals.
IV. Tribal Development programmes and employment and income
It is very difficult to establish that the tribal development
programmes helped these two tribal communities to make a significant
change is their occupational structure so as to make a positive impact in the
income pattern. However, as we have examined elsewhere possession of
cultivable land and self-cultivation helped the Kurichians to attain better
economic status than Paniyans who were traditionally agricultural
labourers. Some beneficiaries among the sample head of households from
Kur~chian com~nunity agreed that certain schenies helped them to Increase
their agricultural production and income. As we stated elsewhere, those
who got finallcia1 assistance under the scheme of supplying work bulls
enabled the111 to get additional employment so as to increase their income.
Again the Kurichia beneficiaries agreed also that under the schenle of
providing linancial assistance 10 purchase milk cows lielpcd them to supply
the surplus milk to the Co-operative societies and also to earn additional
income. However, as we noted earlier, the schemes failed to attain desired
results in the case o f Paniyan beneficiaries.
V. Tribal Development programmes and awareness
As we examined the impact of certain trlbal development
programmes upon agriculture, housing education, cn~ployment, Income etc,
it pertinent to trace whether the tribal welfare progranimes and schemes
made a positive impact upon the awareness o f these two selected
communities so as to accelerate the process of socio- economlc
transformation. Awareness of scheduled Tribes about tribal welfare
schemes has generally been considered as the most inlportant factor for
their socio- economic transformation. Despite the genuine efforts by the
government and various agencies to promote social and economic progress,
the condition o f the tribab are far from satisfactory and they contlnue to lag
behind the other social groups. As we have examined earlier, there arc
inter- tribal and intra-tribal variations in the awareness of tribal weifarc
schemes. Lack ot'awareness on the part o f a sireablc sections of I'an~yans
sample head o f the liouseholds resulted the under ut1117at1on of certaln
welfare schemes. T l i~s can be rellccted In t l~c pool. ellrollnetit ol'clilldren in
schools and pre- priniary educational centres Eve11 though I'ali~ya~i head of
the houseliolds are aware of' thc tribal wellhrc scllcn1es l ~ k r cdncnt~o~lal
concessions alld financial assistance. they scldo~ii direcl tllei~. cli~ldrctl to
get ndnlisslon ill Ashrilni School and Model I<csi i ic~lt~i~l Scl~ool. 0~11.
sample survey revealed that they either mis-utilized or under utilized many
welfare schemes. Iiowever, i t is no longer possible to blame them for their
negative and apathetic attitude. On the contrary they have become
development oriented. Our study on them showed that they are having the
potentiality for socio-economic transformation. It can be stressed that
Kurichians in general showed a positive response towards most of the tribal
welfare schemes. However, even the Kruichians showed a negative
response towards certain schemes like expanding rubber plantation in tribal
areas. Again they failed to attain desired results of many tribal educational
programmes.
The foregoing analysis stresses the fact that the tribals no longer
constitute a homogeneous and undifferentiated socio-cultural entity
However the government and the planners overlooked the unique features
o f each tribal community and imposed comnion and stereotype
programmes and welfare schemes for their socio-economic transformations
They re-planted certain non-tribal seeds IN the alien tribal soil. 1lt.l-c. wc
have 1101 any alternative explanations tbr the failure ol'certil~n trlhnl ikclfare
schemes i~iiplcniented for the tribal in general Our nnnlysis IIIKIIII~IIIS !lie
facl tlial tribal wise and need based ~ e l f i l r c SCIICII~L':, :~rc III'I'CSI;:II.V to
accclel-atc tlic ~~.occss ol'socio- ecoiioliiic tril11sfoiiii:1lio1i
Notes and References
1 . Singh.K.S. (1982) Transformation of Tr~bal Society: lntcgrat~on Vs
Assimilation Economic and Political Weekly Vol XVI No.33 Aug 14"'
P. 13 12-20
2. Singh K.S. OP. cited P.1219
3. lbid
4. Bhowmik, Sharit (1981) Class formation in the planration system.
People's Publishing House New Delhi 1'-3- 13.
5 . Singh OP. cited P. 1320
6. lb id
7. Singh K.S (1970) The Mahatma and the Adivasis. Man in lndia vol 50.
No.1 January - March 1970.
8. Elwin Verier (1959) A Philosophy of NEPH 2""dn. Sh~lose P. 8 136
9. Mathur P.R.G. (1977) Tribal situation In Kerala. Kcrala Historical
Society Trivandrum P. 68- 85
10. Singh K.S OP Cited 0. 1321
I I . Ibid
12. Governn\ent o f lndia (1961) National C'ommittec on I)svclopnicnt ol'
Backward Areas. Kcpon P. 14
13. Gover~irnent o f Kerala (1978) A~inual Tribal sub Pii111 ofKe~.nla (107s-
79) (revised) Trivandrum. I'.? 1-28,