Tribal Development in Orissa: A Critical Appraisal

    The main problems of tribes of Orissa are indebtedness, low literacy level, malnutrition, poverty, disease and exploitation etc. There are 62 Scheduled Tribes in Orissa, who constitute 22.45 per cent of Orissa’s total population. Though the total population of Orissa is only 3.8 per cent of country's population, its Scheduled Tribe population constitutes 11.46 per cent of India's tribal population.

    The tribes of Orissa are not in the same plane in the techno-economic parameter. On the basis of subsistence economy Orlssa tribes may be classified into three broad categories, such as. Food Gatherers and Hunters, Shifting cultivators, and Settled agriculturists The food gatherers mainly live by hunting, fishing and gathering different kinds of roots, tubers, flowers and leaves from the forest. The best examples of such tribal communities in Orissa are the Birhors and Hill Kharia. The shifting cultivators constitute an important section of the tribal population in Orissa. Many tribal communities like the Bonda, the Saora, the Kondh, the Juang, the Bhuiyan, the Koya and the Gadaba primarily depend on shifting cultivation. The settled agricultural tribes are the Santal, the Gonds, the Binjhals, the Oraon, the Mirdha, the Bhumij and the Bathudi. It may be pointed out that the tribes practising shifting cultivation supplement their economy by food gathering and hunting. Many of the tribes of Orissa also practise shifting cultivation along with settled agriculture.

    The British Government advocated for a policy of complete isolation followed by a policy of exclusion or partial exclusion of the tribal areas. They thought that the task of administration in interior and mountainous tribal areas was difficult and un-awarding. So they followed an approach of 'Leave them alone' towards the tribal communities. Some officers of the British Government believed that the tribal were better and happier in their own society and environment. So they advocated that there was no need to interfere in tribal life-style by extending British administration in these areas. But in the later part of British rule some steps were taken for the development of the tribal. In 1938 a Committee known as partially Excluded Area Enquiry Committee was set up by the State Government of Orissa to enquire into the condition of backward classes especially of tribal and to suggest measures for their improvement. The Committee functioned under the Chairmanship of A. V. Thakar popularly known as Thakar Bapa and submitted its report in 1940. In accordance with the recommendation of the Committee and in order to give concentrated attention to the problems of tribal and other backward classes, a separate Department was formed in 1948. A Chief Welfare Officer was appointed as the executive head under this Department and he was assisted by Zonal and Sub-Zonal Officers to look into the execution of development schemes in the field. The Tribal and Rural Welfare Department started functioning from 1950. Some important functions of this Department are to study the problems of Scheduled Tribe (S.T.) and Scheduled Castes (S.C.) communities in the state and formulate special schemes for their welfare. The other main work of this Department is to ensure that all the Departments to the tribal and backward classes in their development activities give proper weightage. It is the duty of the State Government to safeguard the rights and interest of the Scheduled Tribes and Scheduled Caste and develop them to the level of general population of the society. In article 46 under the Directive Principles of State Policy in Part IV of Indian Constitution, it has been mentioned that "The State shall promote with special care the Educational and Economic interest of the weaker sections of the people, and in particular, of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, and shall protect them from social injustice and all forms of exploitation."

    After attainment of Independence the Government of Orissa is trying its best for the improvement of socio-economic condition of the tribes by implementing development schemes through its different agencies and institutions, such as, Tribal Development Block, Gram Panchayats, Integrated Tribal Development Agencies, Large-sized Agricultural Multi-purpose Co-operative Societies, Ashram schools etc. The main objectives of the development schemes of the government are to raise the productivity levels of the tribal, development of human resources and upgrading of education, elimination of exploitation in the field of alienation of land, money lending etc and to develop adequate infrastructure. Taking into consideration the emphasis, efforts and amount of money spend for the development of tribal, I feel the process of development has not completely succeeded in curbing the problems of the tribal of Orissa. On the basis of my empirical research, conducted on some major tribes of Orissa like the Santhal and Bathudi of Mayurbhanj district, the Juang of Keonjhar district, the Oraon, the Bhuiyan and the Kharia of Sundargarh district, the Kondh of Phulbani district, the Gadaba, the Koya and the Paroja of Koraput district and Saora of Ganjam district, I discuss below in short, some major constraints or hindrances standing on the way of development of the tribes of Orissa.

Ecological Constraints:

    Most of the tribal villages in Orissa are located in inaccessible hills and forests. So there is lack of facilities like roads and transport throughout the year. Due to this reason there is great difficulty for the development workers and other officials to perform their duties adequately.

Planning from Above

    At the time of planning and implementation of the development schemes, the tribal problems are not correctly perceived and identified. But the development schemes are imposed from above and they do not always reflect relevance to the needs of the local people. The tribal of Orissa as stated earlier are at different stages of economy ranging from hunting and food gathering to modern wetland agriculture. Even the socio-economic conditions of individual tribes differ from one area to another. Different types of development schemes are required for each of these economic categories taking into account the environment and their capacity to withstand the imposed change. The development schemes, which are to be implemented, are formulated either in the national capital Delhi or in the state capital. The people for whom the schemes are implemented are not at all consulted.

Overloading of Multifaceted Schemes:

    Different departments of the government at the same time implement a number of development schemes. Sometime the same scheme is undertaken by different agencies of the Government, which creates confusion among the tribal. It is very difficult for the simple tribal to understand the purpose of the same work undertaken by different governmental agencies.

Lack of Dedicated Personnel

    It is necessary for the extension and other officials working in tribal areas to be sincere, honest and dedicated. It has been noted that most of the officials working in tribal areas take their posting very lightly. As a matter of fact, many of these officials are sent to tribal areas on punishment. Most of the officials spend their time leisurely without bothering much about the proper implementation of the scheme and the socio-economic development of the tribal. Corruption of different nature is also rampant among the personnel working in tribal areas.

Lack of Follow-up Action

    The government constructs and provides facilities like Minor Irrigation Projects, tube-wells, school buildings etc. for the benefit of the tribal. In most of the cases it has been found out that either these are not functioning or damaged. No prompt repair work is undertaken. To illustrate this point in many tribal areas of Orissa the government supplied high-breed variety of cows to the tribal on subsidy basis. But no provision was made for regular supply of proper fodder for these cows. The tribal had no other alternative than to send these animals for grazing to the open fields and forest. Without proper fodder these high-breed animals suffered from different types of diseases and many of these animals died. So the tribal had to bear heavy losses due to the death of these costly animals. Incomplete planning is not only harmful but has an adverse effect on the people.

Increase In Exploitation

    The implementation of different governmental schemes in tribal areas has even led to greater exploitation. The activities of contractors, moneylenders, non-tribal traders’ etc have increased considerably in the tribal area of Orissa. As per example the Large-sized Agricultural Multi-Purpose Co-operative Societies (LAMPS) provides different types of credit to the tribal. Most of the tribal are unaware of these credit facilities. It has been found out that the non-tribal avail these credit facilities in the name of the tribal. I have also noted that the essential items like controlled cloth, Kerosene oil, Sugar etc., which are kept in the Fair Price shop of the LAMPS, are mainly purchased by Block Officials, teachers of schools and other non-tribal. Many a times the tribal are denied to purchase these items, even if these are available in the Fair Price Shop of the LAMPS.

Constraints of Educational Development:

    Before independence, the scope for education of tribal boys and girls was very limited. But after the establishment of number of Ashram Schools and Kanyashram Schools, one can find educated tribal boys and girls in the interior parts of Orissa. According to my findings, the government scheme to impart education to the tribal through Ashram schools is of great success. But there are many constraints for the educational development of the tribal. The main constraints of tribal education are (a) Location of Schools (b) Contents of Education (c) Improper teaching technique (d) Dropouts in Schools (e) Parental indifference to Education (f) Medium of instruction (g) untrained and lack of dedicated teachers.

Growing Inter-tribal Stratification

    The tribal who are economically better off and educated are taking full advantage of the development programmes of the government. But the needy and poor tribal are either unaware or are not considered for the benefits due to various reasons. The development schemes widen the gap between the rich and poor tribal thus increasing inter-tribal stratification.

Passivity and Hostility to Development

    The implementation of different development programmes has also registered adverse effects on social and cultural life of the tribal. The tribal are becoming individualistic, which has created jealousy and disagreement within the family. No longer they can afford to lead an easy-going life but required to work harder than before for their livelihood. Due to these reasons a sense of hostility has cropped up in their mind. They have lost faith in these programmes of the government. According to many tribal there is no improvement in their life-style due to these governmental schemes. The lengthy procedures and length of time taken for implementation of the schemes, harassment by government officials’ etc. has made them disinterested to the development programmes.