About the Book
In Indian society, tribes hold an important place. Throughout history, these communities have exhibited unique characteristics and formed a diverse mosaic of cultural and socioeconomic diversity. However, they became alienated from mainstream society by the rulers of that time. After independence, politicians, planners, and administrators paid special attention to tribal people and areas in order to integrate them into national life.
Tribal Development Administration is written in a historical perspective, covering both pre- and post-independence periods from 1930 to 2012, up to the Eleventh Five Year Plan and onwards. The book comprehensively covers all dimensions of upliftment, welfare, and development of tribes, who represent 8.6 per cent of the population and occupy nearly 15 per cent of the geographical area of India.
While much has been written about tribes and their development in recent decades, such literature is fragmented and only covers certain aspects of tribal problems and issues based on empirical studies, field observations, and experiences in tribal areas. Even after seven decades of independence, the pace of tribal development remains slow, unsystematic, and lacks directional planning, monitoring, and follow-up actions.
Shrivastava’s book offers a comprehensive and detailed literature on the subject, providing food for thought and sociological interpretation of all aspects of factual conditions of development patterns and those factors that matter in their socio-religious life and material culture. The book will be of interest to sociologists, anthropologists, social thinkers, policy makers, politicians, and all those who are committed to overall development of tribal communities.
Contents
1. Introduction
2. The Constitution and the Scheduled Tribes: The Reality
3. Tribal Scene in India: Past and Present
4. The Recommendations
5. Protective and Anti-Exploitative Measures
6. The Mechanism of Administration
7. The Decentralized Governance
8. The Efforts for Tribal Development
9. The Role of Voluntary Organization in Tribal Development
10. The Issues
About the Author / Editor
Vijay Kumar Shrivastava is a senior retired officer, who has served as Deputy Commissioner, State Tribal & Scheduled Caste Welfare Department, Government of Madhya Pradesh and as Director, National Commission for Scheduled Castes & Scheduled Tribes, Government of India. He was also a Fellow to the Indo-German Social Societies (IGSS, 2003–04), during which time he studied issues of tribes in Western Madhya Pradesh, particularly in Jhabua and Dhar districts. His publications include, Tribal Scenario of Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh (2003), Pahari Korwas and their Development: A Monograph (2007), Sociology of Tribal Studies Vol.1 & 2 (2021), and five Hindi poetry books.
