C. Tribal Integration

The uphill task of integrating the tribal population into the mainstream was extremely difficult given the diverse conditions under which they dwell in different parts of the country, having different cultures and speaking varied languages.

♤ Tribal population was spread all over India, their greatest concentration lies in Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Orissa, North-eastern India, West Bengal, Maharashtra, Gujarat and Rajasthan. Except the North-East, they constitute minorities in their home states. Residing mostly in the hills and forest areas, in colonial India they lived in relative isolation and their tradition, habits, cultures and ways of life were exceptionally different with that of their non-tribal neighbours.

♤ Penetration of market forces and colonial rule led to radical transformation effectively. A large number of money lenders, traders, revenue farmers and other middlemen and petty officials invaded the tribal areas and disrupted the traditional way of life of tribal people. Consequently they were engulfed in debt and lost their lands to outsiders.

♤ To conserve forests and to facilitate their commercial exploitation, the colonial authorities brought large tracts of forest lands under forest laws which forbade shifting cultivation and put severe restrictions on the use of forest and access to forest products for the tribals.

♤ Loss of land, indebtness, exploitation by middlemen, denial of access to forests and forest products, oppression and extortion by policemen, forest officials and other government officials was to lead a series of tribal uprisings in the nineteenth & twentieth centuries, e.g. Santhal & Munda rebellion.