Assignment Code: BANE-146/ASST/TMA/2022-23

Course Code: BANE-146

Assignment Name: Anthropology of Indigenous People

Year: 2022-2023

Verification Status: Verified by Professor

Total Marks: 100

There are three Assignments. All questions are compulsory.

Assignment – I

Answer the following in about 500 words each.

Q1. Define Indigenous people. Discuss the problem of identification of Tribes as Indigenous peoples 20

Ans) The 461 ethnic groups listed as scheduled tribes of India are thought to be the country's indigenous peoples according to the Anthropological Survey of India's "People of India Project." The scheduled tribes are commonly referred to as Adivasis on Indian soil. However, there are a lot more ethnic groups that are not recognised by the government that would be eligible for scheduled tribe status. Up to 635 tribal groups are thought to exist in total. Indigenous peoples' rights to land and self-governance are recognised by a number of laws and constitutional clauses in India, including the Fifth Schedule for the country's mainland and the Sixth Schedule for some of its north-eastern regions.

Land and resources belonging to indigenous peoples have been taken as India's booming economy demands more resources. This has caused a strong sense of alienation among them and exacerbated conflicts. Movements by indigenous people in India have a long history of defending their rights. The use of the term "indigenous" has started to be critically scrutinised or even contested in the Indian context due to the internationalisation of the rights and privileges of indigenous people.

Although they share some characteristics, the term's definition and meaning in use today and in the past are not the same. Some of the conceptual issues would be resolved if tribes or other groups and communities were referred to as indigenous in such a situation. The 1989 ILO convention on indigenous people and the Working Group on Indigenous Population established by the UN Human Rights Commission provide three conceptualizations of the term "indigenous people."

When the term was discussed in the ILO convention in 1957 and connected to covenant 107, the Indian government had not objected to its use. This was the case because the term at the time did not address issues like empowerment and rights, but rather the necessity of integrating indigenous and tribal people into the larger social and political system. In contrast, by 1989 the emphasis had changed from integration to rights and empowerment. The argument that a category like this does not apply in the Indian context started as soon as the focus of the discussion changed.

In 1987, the World Council of Indigenous Peoples established its Indian Chapter. Its first National Convention, which was originally going to take place in Rourkela from November 3–6, 1988, has been moved to 1989. Because the official Indian government delegation denied the very existence of indigenous peoples in the nation in Geneva, the creation of this Council and the holding of the convention are significant historical events in and of themselves. On August 6, 1987, the United Nations Working Group on Indigenous Populations met in Geneva. It would be challenging to determine which portion of India's population is indigenous and which is not, said Sri Jayanta Prasad on behalf of the Indian delegation. In light of this, a review of the reports from international organisations has been conducted with the assistance of eminent scholars, while commenting on the situation of the indigenous peoples generally.

Q2. Briefly examine how education play an important role in the social transformation of Indigenous peoples 20

Ans) It is crucial to give serious consideration to how Indigenous education contributes to establishing and sustaining individual and communal wholeness. Indigenous education is largely what is referred to as "endogenous" education; it is based on a transformative learning process that involves drawing out illumination from one's ego centre. Indigenous education must focus on educating and energising the inner self, as symbolised by the metaphor of "seeking life" or for "life's sake."

The understanding that ritual, myth, vision, art, and mastering the art of relationship in a specific setting facilitate the wellbeing of the individual, family, and community is implicit in this metaphor. An age-old foundation of all cultures' educational systems is the pursuit of education for wholeness, or harmony between people and their environment. All genuine education is transformative and nature-focused in its most basic sense. In fact, the Latin word educare, which means "to draw out," captures the essence of education's transformative power.

The fact that a transformational approach to education refers to the most fundamental human desires makes it clearly universal, integrative, and cross-cultural. This perspective fosters the intention of people striving to create whole, happy, prosperous, and fulfilling lives. All human beings concern themselves with self-empowerment and with whatever enables them to transform their lives and the conditions in which they live.

All traditional educational philosophies around the world share the same values of wholeness, self-knowledge, and wisdom. In fact, during the Middle Ages, all forms of education in Europe were connected to some form of spiritual education. Inducing or otherwise facilitating harmony between a person and the outside world was thought to be made possible by education. The objective was to create a person who had a solid connection between thought and deed. This idealised result was anticipated to come naturally from receiving the appropriate education. It is crucial to give serious consideration to how Indigenous education contributes to establishing and sustaining individual and communal wholeness.

Indigenous education is largely what is referred to as "endogenous" education; it is based on a transformative learning process that involves drawing out illumination from one's ego centre. Indigenous education must focus on educating and energising the inner self, as symbolised by the metaphor of "seeking life" or for "life's sake." The understanding that ritual, myth, vision, art, and mastering the art of relationship in a specific setting facilitate the wellbeing of the individual, family, and community is implicit in this metaphor. An age-old foundation of all cultures' educational systems is the pursuit of education for wholeness, or harmony between people and their environment. All genuine education is transformative and nature-focused in its most basic sense. In fact, the Latin word educare, which means "to draw out," captures the essence of education's transformative power.

The fact that a transformational approach to education refers to the most fundamental human desires makes it clearly universal, integrative, and cross-cultural. This perspective fosters the intention of people striving to create whole, happy, prosperous, and fulfilling lives. All human beings concern themselves with self-empowerment and with whatever enables them to transform their lives and the conditions in which they live.

Assignment – II

Answer the following questions in about 250 words each.

Q3. Classification of the population of India by HH Risley 10

Ans) Sir Herbert Hope Risley, a British colonial administrator and ethnographer who served in the Indian Civil Service from 4 January 1851 to 30 September 1911, conducted in-depth research on the castes and tribes of the Bengal Presidency. In the 1901 census, which he oversaw, the caste system was formally applied to the entire Hindu population of British India, making him a notable figure. He was a proponent of scientific racism who divided Indians into seven castes and the Aryan and Dravidian races based on the width to height ratio of the nose.

Before joining the Indian Civil Service, Risley attended New College at Oxford University. He was born in Buckinghamshire, England, in 1851. He was initially assigned to Bengal, where his professional responsibilities required him to conduct ethnographic and statistical research. As a result, he quickly became interested in anthropology. Although he was later appointed Census Commissioner and shortly before his passing in 1911, he was made Permanent Secretary at the India Office in London due to his decision to indulge these interests, which slowed down his initial rapid advancement through the ranks of the Service. His studies of Indian communities over the intervening years were based on theories that are now viewed as examples of scientific racism.

In contrast to the reliance on ancient texts and folklore that had historically been the methodology of Indologists, and which was still a significant approach in his lifetime, he emphasised the value of fieldwork and anthropometrical studies. Before joining the Indian Civil Service, Risley attended New College at Oxford University. He was born in Buckinghamshire, England, in 1851. He was initially assigned to Bengal, where his professional responsibilities required him to conduct ethnographic and statistical research. As a result, he quickly became interested in anthropology.

Q4. Briefly comment on the Indigenous methods of Conservation of Land and Soil 10

Ans) The process of preserving natural land and reverting developed land to its natural state is known as land conservation. It is a collection of practises aimed at preserving the inherent qualities and capabilities of the land, including the processes and capabilities of the watershed. The most popular methods include mitigation, remediation, restoration, and preservation. Environment preservation entails keeping lands and their natural resources in their pristine state rather than allowing humans to consume them. Humans would no longer be able to use certain land for human purposes under this form of land conservation, but they would still be able to appreciate its natural beauty. John Muir is among the most well-known conservationists in American history. Scottish immigrant John Muir, who lived from 1838 to 1914, was very fond of Yosemite Valley in California.

To produce food, the soil is essential. Because it takes nature 500 years to replenish 25 millimetres of lost soil, soil conservation practises are crucial. To combat drought, temperature extremes, and heavy rains that are affecting the quality of the soil in Hungary, growers are using conservation tillage techniques that leave at least 30% of the remnants of the previous year's crop on the surface of the soil before planting. Hill farmers cultivate grasses for ground cover like Eulaliopsis binnata, Chrysopogun fulvus, and agave spp. in an effort to conserve soil and water. Grown shrubs include Ipomea icarnea, Arando donex, Dendrocalamus strictus, Napier grass, Vitex negundu, Morus alba, and bagrera. Bhang, lantana, sweet neem, and other plants are also found in the wild.

Q5. Write a note on Colour Blindness 10

Ans) Colour blindness is the inability to recognise specific hues. Because most colour-blind individuals can see colours, with the exception of red, green, and blue, colour blindness is also referred to as a colour vision deficiency. People with normal colour vision can distinguish between colours by adding the three primary colours of red, green, and blue. Sometimes a person's ability to perceive one of these colours is either below average or lost entirely.

The visible range of the spectrum is shorter at the red end in protanopia than it is in normal vision, and the part of the spectrum that appears blue green to a normal person appears grey to protanopia sufferers. In deuteranopia, the region of the spectrum that a normal person perceives as green appears as grey, and this zone divides the visible range of the spectrum into two regions, each of which appears to be of one system of colour. Contrary to protanopia, the spectrum's visible range is not condensed. The complementary colour of green, purple red also appears as grey.

Total Colour Weakness is a very uncommon congenital colour vision impairment in which only the clear colours can be perceived and colour sensitivity to red, green, yellow, and blue is very low. Other than the colour sensitivity, there are no other abnormalities in the visual functions. Another extremely small subset of people who have Total Colour Weakness completely lack the ability to distinguish between any colour variation, typically in conjunction with a central vision impairment that includes photophobia and nystagmus.

Assignment – III

Answer the following questions in about 125 words each.

Q6. Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs). 5

Ans) Tribal communities can be found in plains, forests, hills, and inaccessible locations with a variety of ecological and geoclimatic conditions. The social, economic, and educational development of tribal groups varies. Some tribal communities are the poorest of the poor, despite the fact that some have assimilated into society. The latter were first discovered in 1975–1976 and subsequently in 1993. There are 75 of these so-called Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups, and they have the following characteristics:

1. pre-agriculture level of technology.

2. stagnant or declining population.

3. extremely low literacy; and

4. subsistence level of the economy.

Q7. Tribe-Caste continuum. 5

Ans) A tribe is a social group that is associated with a specific geographic region or territory, is known by a common name, speaks a common dialect, and has similar customs, traditions, and cultural norms. Additionally, they show signs of endogamy and typically have a unique economy based on interdependence and cooperation. The Indian Constitution doesn't use the word "tribe" at all. Unlike "tribe," "scheduled tribe" is an administrative term, and those who fall under this category are granted some rights under the Indian Constitution.

India's Constitution recognises 645 different tribes. Indian tribes like the Baiga, Banjara, Bhumij, Gond, Birhor, Chero, Ho, Santhal, Munda, Kisan, Kondh, Mahli, Oraon, Tharu, Bhot, Bodh, Gaddi, Shippis, Gujjar, Khampa, and Labana are some of the more significant ones. Even within the same named community, the Scheduled Tribe status varies from state to state.

Q8. Sanskritization. 5

Ans) In 1952, M. N. Srinivas coined the term "Sanskritization" while researching the Coorgs of Mysore, South India. In his book Religion and Society among Coorgs of South India, he developed this idea. He made an effort to comprehend the upward social change occurring among lower castes and tribal groups. Sanskritization, according to Srinivas, is the process by which a low caste or tribe adopts the customs, rituals, beliefs, ideologies, and way of life of a high caste, especially a twice born caste (dwija). For instance, a low caste/tribe or any other group could give up eating meat, drinking alcohol, and performing animal sacrifices and adopt the Brahmins' or any other dwija caste's way of life in terms of diet, attire, and rituals. Lower caste/tribe claim a higher status in the social hierarchy by doing this.

Q9. Indigenous Knowledge and water. 5

Ans) Many ancient civilisations placed emphasis on various water appropriation, collection, and distribution mechanisms as they recognised the significance of developing water resources. In particular in the dry areas, the ability to regenerate water resources and maintain water quality were essential components of sustainability. The history of water harvesting is almost as old as the beginnings of agriculture.

When other circumstances would have completely prevented agriculture, people were kept alive by these ancient practises. Since the beginning of human civilization, people have placed a strong emphasis on collecting rainwater through the building of ponds and other storage facilities. Water harvesting techniques continue to be used by many people worldwide. The management and use of various natural resources has given rise to a variety of approaches and technologies due to social and cultural diversity as well as environmental complexity.

Q10. Little and Great Tradition. 5

Ans) We are aware that the idea of Great Tradition and Little Tradition did not extend to the research of the first generation of anthropologists, such as Malinowski and Radcliffe Brown, who primarily focused on the study of small, isolated, and isolated societies. Anthropologists didn't begin looking at communities in the context of religions like Buddhism and Christianity until after World War II. Anthropologists like Robert Redfield have been drawn to the University of Chicago since 1950 by the idea of Great and Little Tradition.

The intellectual influences that originate locally but are largely unknown to people worldwide are known as little tradition. On the other hand, a civilization's people are familiar with great tradition, which is fostered in schools and temples. They are transmitted through written literature, are based on reason, are specialised, and are inherently self-conscious.

Q11. ABO blood group system. 5

Ans) In 1900, Landsteiner made the discovery of the ABO blood grouping system. Blood contains antibodies and antigens (the former present on the red cells and the latter in blood plasma). Depending on the presence or absence of antigens and antibodies, humans are divided into four groups: A, B, AB, and O. A and B are the names of the antigens, and A and B are the names of the antibodies.

Antigen A and anti-B antibodies are carried by members of group A. Antigen B and antibody anti-A are carried by group B individuals. Individuals in group O have both antibodies but no antigens, whereas individuals in group AB have both antigens but no antibodies. The system is under the control of three genes, A, B, and O. In 1940, researchers Landsteiner and Wiener discovered the RH (rhesus) blood group system. Based on the presence or absence of the RH D antigen, the system has two phenotypes: RH D + and RH D -. The dominant Rh-D and Rh-d alleles in the Rh system together with Rh-d determine the blood group antigens.