Indian tribes

The essentials

The Constitution of India uses the term Scheduled Tribes (Article 342) for communities notified by the President for each state or union territory. Common criteria used to identify tribes include distinctive culture, geographical isolation, a relatively simple technology, shyness of contact with the wider community and economic backwardness (criteria associated with the Lokur Committee, 1965). Tribal communities are found in almost every state, though not in all.

Key points

• Distribution zones (a common classification): north and north-eastern zone (Himalayan region and north-east: Naga, Khasi, Garo, Mizo, Bhotia); central zone (the largest concentration, in Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Odisha and nearby: Gond, Santhal, Munda, Oraon, Ho, Bhil); southern zone (Nilgiris, Western Ghats: Toda, Kota, Irula, Chenchu); and the island zone (Andaman and Nicobar: Onge, Jarawa, Great Andamanese, Sentinelese, Shompen, Nicobarese). Some books add a western zone (Bhil, Meena of Rajasthan and Gujarat).
• Economic organisation: hunting-gathering, pastoralism, shifting cultivation, settled agriculture, crafts and wage labour; strong dependence on forests for food, fuel and minor forest produce; community or clan ownership of land in many groups.
• Social organisation: clans and lineages, often exogamous and sometimes totemic; youth dormitories (e.g. the ghotul of the Muria Gonds, the dhumkuria of the Oraons, the morung of the Nagas) which train young people in tradition and work; relatively greater freedom for women in many groups; bride price is common.
• Political organisation: village councils and headmen (e.g. the Santhal manjhi, the parha system of inter-village councils among the Oraon and Munda), sometimes inter-village federations; constitutional protections include the Fifth Schedule (Scheduled Areas) and Sixth Schedule (autonomous councils in parts of the north-east).

Exam tips

• Memorise one or two tribes for each zone and the names of youth dormitories.
• Do not memorise population counts; they change with each census.

Common mistakes

• Mixing up the Fifth and Sixth Schedules: the Sixth applies to tribal areas of Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura and Mizoram.