Assignment Code: BANE-143/ASST/TMA/2021-2022

Course Code: BANE-143

Assignment Name: Tribal Cultures of India

Year: 2021-2022

Verification Status: Verified by Professor

Total Marks: 100

There are three Sections in the Assignments. You have to answer all questions.

Assignment – I

Answer the following in about 500 words each.

Q1. Briefly describe the meaning and characteristics of tribe. 20

Ans) A tribe is a social group that lives in a specific area. It is distinguished by cultural uniformity and a unified social structure. Tribes' culture and identity are inextricably related to the natural resources and environment in which they live.

The distinctive characteristics of tribe in India are:

1. Defined Common Topography: Tribal people live within a defined topography that serves as a gathering place for all members of that tribe who dwell in that area. Other aspects of tribal life, such as common language, manner of life, and community spirit, will be lost if tribals do not have a shared yet specific residential site.

2. Sense of Unity: A group living in a specific region and using that area as a common abode cannot be labelled a tribe unless and until it has a sense of unity. For authentic tribal existence, a sense of unity is an unavoidable requirement. During times of peace and war, a tribe's entire existence is dependent on the tribal's sense of oneness.

3. Endogamous Group: Tribal members rarely marry outside their tribe, and marriage inside the tribe is highly valued and praised. However, the pressing effects of change brought on by the forces of mobility have shifted tribal attitudes, and inter-tribal marriages are becoming more widespread.

4. Members of a tribe speak in a shared vernacular to express their opinions. This factor adds to their sense of belonging.

5. Blood-relationship ties: The strongest bond and most powerful force instilling a sense of oneness among tribals is blood-relationship.

6. Protection Awareness: Tribal peoples require constant protection from intrusion and infiltration, which necessitates the establishment of a single political authority over whom all powers are vested. The tribal's safety is left to the expertise and mental strength of the individual in charge of politics. In the event of an emergency, the tribal chief is assisted by a tribal committee. The tribe is organised into several tiny groups, each of which has its own chief. The tribal chief issues directions to the chief of a group, and the group's chief follows them.

7. Every tribe has its own independent political organisation that looks after the interests of tribal members. A tribal leader wields complete political power. Tribal committees exist in some tribes to assist the tribal chief in carrying out his duties in the tribe's best interests.

8. The sense of unity, shared language, common religion, and common political organisation all contribute to a tribe's common culture. The tribals live in a state of homogeneity as a result of their shared culture.

9. Kinship is important since it is the foundation of tribal social organisation. Exogamous clans and lineages make up the majority of tribes. Tribal endogamy is the regulation that governs tribal marriage. Marriage is regarded as a contract, and divorce and remarriage are not prohibited.

10. Egalitarian Values: The egalitarian principle underpins tribal social organisation. As a result, there are no institutionalised inequities such as caste or sex discrimination. As a result, men and women had equal status and freedom. Tribal chiefs or tribal kings, on the other hand, who have a higher social standing, political power, and riches, may exhibit some levels of social inequality.

11. Tribes follow a basic kind of religion and believe in specific mythology. They also believe in totems, which are artefacts that have a mysterious tie with tribal members.

Q2. Who are indigenous people and discuss their rights under International Law. 20

Ans) Indigenous peoples reside in every continent and own, occupy, or use about 22% of the world's territory. Indigenous peoples, estimated to number between 370 and 500 million, make up the majority of the world's cultural variety and have produced and spoken the majority of the world's almost 7000 languages. Many indigenous peoples continue to face marginalisation, acute poverty, and other breaches of their human rights. UNESCO aspires to support indigenous peoples in resolving the various issues they confront, while also appreciating their important role in preserving the world's cultural and biological variety, through collaborations with them.

The rights of indigenous people under International Law are:

1. International Labour Organization on the rights of Indigenous People

2. Protection of cultural, social, and integrity values: According to Article 5 of the agreement, the indigenous people's social, cultural, and spiritual values shall be maintained. Their customs and values should be upheld.

3. Governmental responsibilities: According to Article 6(1) of the treaty, the government must ensure that indigenous peoples have the right to freely participate in and be involved in administrative decisions. These individuals should be assisted in their growth.

4. Right to keep customs: According to Article 8(1), national laws and regulations shall take into account indigenous people's customs. They have the right to keep their traditions and values... While applying the requirements of the constitution, their cultural values and practises shall be preserved, according to Article 13(1).

5. Right to Decide: People who are unsure about their priorities in life and how they want to conduct their lives have the right to make such decisions.

United Nation Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous peoples

Fundamental Rights without Discrimination: Article 1 of the declaration states that indigenous people have the right to exercise all fundamental rights, and Article 2 states that they have the right to be free of discrimination.

Cultural Rights: They have the right to be free of any acts of violence or genocide, as well as the right to live peacefully, according to Article 7. They also have the right to protect and improve their cultural rights while being free of cultural degradation.

The right to self-determination is one of the most fundamental values since indigenous peoples have long battled for it. Indigenous peoples have the right to self-determination under Article 3. They can use this power to establish their political position as well as pursue cultural development.

Land, territory, and natural resource rights: They have the right to govern and maintain their land, territories, and natural resources for self-determination and cultural survival.

Ownership and control rights: According to Article 36 of the declaration, they hold the right to land, territory, and natural resources that they initially obtained. They have the ability to own, control, and use their land and natural resources. For the survival of their customs and traditions, the state has a responsibility to protect their land and natural resources.

Social and Economic Rights: According to Article 21 of the declaration, indigenous peoples have the right to make ongoing improvements in their social and economic situations in order to promote their well-being.

Certain State Responsibilities: The state is required to provide indigenous peoples with financial and technical aid after speaking with them. When indigenous peoples' rights are violated, they are also entitled to proper grievances and efficient remedies.

Assignment – II

Answer the following questions in about 250 words each.

Q3. Write a note on tribal organisation. 10

Ans) Tribal society is a stage in the development of human society's social structure. Tribal communities are segmented, individualised, and kin-based civilizations. They keep habitational proximity, speak the same language, and are non-stratified homogenous society with communal awareness. They have hereditary rights to common property resources, have a strong sense of ethnicity, and place a premium on boundary maintenance. They use simple technology to practise family-based production and gender-based division of labour. They are led by a strong sense of supernaturalism, which includes supreme gods and goddesses, presiding deities, and ancestor spirits, all of whom are both friendly and malignant in nature. Their economy is undifferentiated, with a subsistence economy that is not market-oriented.

Barter and exchange are used to circulate goods and services in these civilizations. The majority of tribal societies are unaware of their ethno-tribal identities and refer to themselves as people instead. Following the British invasion of India, the term "tribe" was formalised by the Scheduled District Act, which included food gatherers and shifting cultivators. Tribal social organisation indicates a strong, close-knit bond based on a strong sense of community. Economic activities such as fruit collecting, animal hunting, animal husbandry, and fishing indicate the tribal society's community base. Tribal communities are split into clan groupings or sibs, which have become a critical component of tribal structure. Exogamous groups with common ancestors, clan groups based on lineages are unilateral by nature.

Q4. Discuss on tribe-caste continuum. 10

Ans) From early epochs to current civilizations, social institutions such as caste have been formed and reformed as a result of a range of social formations that have emerged over time. Changes in social history have been seen as a result of these social formations coming from the internal processes of material organisation throughout history. Many scholars criticise the use of meta-narratives or modes of production to define and narrate epochal shift in history, where a society's material conditions and techniques of generating both physical goods and ideas/worldviews, etc. are considered as the defining characteristics of that society. Even Nevertheless, the value of analysing epochal changes, especially specific epochal changes, cannot be overstated. One such development can be seen in the transition from tribe to caste.

This process resulted in the establishment of institutions such as private property, the caste system, the state, and the patriarchal family. This procedure took a long time to complete and included numerous intermediate steps. They were not uniform in terms of gradual and continuous cultural evolution and alteration. During the Vedic period or within tribal institutions, we find periods of accretion of modest modifications. There were other times when significant changes occurred. There were other times when qualitative changes in people's lifestyles occurred. Within the old society, elements of a new society arise. This is relevant to the creation of social classes or castes. Within tribal society, a number of characteristics of differentiation emerge, including gender differences in access to productive resources and knowledge. When the priestly and military classes capture control of all social strata, tribal culture becomes more or less completely transformed into a class society.

Answer the following questions in about 125 words each.

Q5. Tribal displacement . 5

Ans) Several academics have been interested in tribal displacement in recent years. Between 1951 and 1991, development initiatives like as dams, mines, industries, and various projects are estimated to have displaced nearly 40% of tribals. The tribals, who are ignorant and helpless, have been forced to abandon their resource-rich locations and migrate to other areas. As a result, their resettlement has become a concern. According to one estimate, about 20% of the STs have been repaired. Only 15% of roughly 10,000 eligible tribal families in Maharashtra and Gujarat were given land under the 'land for land' scheme. Tribals have been impoverished and marginalised as a result of this. Tribals have initiated agitations in several regions in response to the takeover of their support system. Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Karnataka, Arunachal Pradesh, Orissa, and Madhya Pradesh, among other states, have recorded tribal unrest. Tribals, despite their illiteracy and lack of organisation, agitate more than high caste non-tribal farmers.

Q6. Problems of tribals 5

Ans) Some problems of tribals are as follows:

1. Loss of Natural Resource Control: Prior to the arrival of the British, tribals had unrestricted ownership and management rights over natural resources such as land, woods, wildlife, water, soil, and fish.

2. Lack of Education: While it is undeniable that education may help tribals improve their lives by allowing them to participate more fully in the development process, there are several barriers that prevent tribals from enrolling in school.

3. Displacement and Rehabilitation: Following independence, heavy industries and the core sector were prioritised in the development process. As a result, massive steel plants, power projects, and gigantic dams erupted, the majority of which were built in tribally populated areas.

4. Health and Nutrition Issues: The tribals face health issues such as the prevalence of diseases such as malaria, cholera, tuberculosis, diarrhoea, and jaundice, problems associated with malnutrition such as iron deficiency and anaemia, high infant mortality rates, low life expectancy, and so on, due to their economic backwardness and insecure livelihood.

5. Gender-related issues

6. Identity deterioration

Assignment – III

Q7. What ethnographic research. 10

Ans) Ethnography is a type of research that involves observing people in their natural environment rather than in a lab. The goal of this type of research is to learn how people interact with things in their natural surroundings. Ethnography is a type of qualitative research that examines the social interactions of users in a specific setting. This study delves into the user's thoughts and activities, as well as the sights and noises they experience throughout the day. It enables the researcher to comprehend how those users perceive the world and interact with everything around them. Direct observation, diary studies, video recordings, photography, and artefact analysis, such as devices used throughout the day, are all examples of ethnographic approaches. Observations can be made at the user's place of employment, at home, or when out with family and friends. The length of the study varies based on the type of research being done. They can range from a few hours of observation to several months of research.

Advantages of Ethnography Research

1. Ability to see first-hand how users interact with technology in their natural environment.

2. Identify unexpected issues that you might not have encountered in a usability test.

3. Opportunity to test new product ideas before they are released to the market to see what demand is like.

Ethnographic studies are a great method to get a better understanding of your consumers and the issues they confront in their daily life. The study will provide you with information about your users that you wouldn't get if they were in a lab being asked to complete a task. Ethnographic studies, on the other hand, can be costly and time-consuming, so choosing the correct research method is critical to ensuring that your research objectives are answered. After conducting a study, you must communicate your findings in an informative and relevant manner so that teams can utilise the knowledge to make informed decisions, while ensuring that your personal opinions are not included in the findings.

Q8. How to conduct ethnographic research in tribal communities. 20

Ans) Published and unpublished ethnographies have grown in importance in recent decades, not only because of their academic significance, but also because of their practical applications. In the Philippines, for example, the government considers "anthropological data" to be one of the probable justifications of indigenous tribes' ancestral domain claims. As part of Environmental and Social Impact Assessments, many commercial and public corporations have engaged anthropologists to conduct ethnographic research. The National Power Corporation, for example, contracted the Ugnayang Pang-Aghamtao, Inc. to conduct ethnographic and archaeological investigations in hydropower project purposed sites.

The study of indigenous peoples' cultures, as a distinct part of society, necessitates unique research approaches. Fieldwork is an essential component of anthropological study. Instead of relying just on library research, the ethnographer goes into the community he or she desires to investigate. The ethnographer's observations made throughout his or her time in the field are documented in fieldnotes. An anthropologist is frequently identified with his or her field region because of the predisposition toward fieldwork. "Where did you do your fieldwork?" an anthropologist will inevitably inquire.

Ethnographic research requires a combination of various data gathering techniques, among  which are:

1. Participant observation;

2. Interviewing;

3. Focus group discussions;

4. Collection of life stories;

5. Surveys

6. Checklist and aide-memories;

7. Plotting social networks; and

8. Other interactionist methods.