A PEEP INTO THE STATUS OF THE TRIBAL SOCIETIES IN INDIA-Thoughts after my Arunachal Visit

Arunachal Pradesh is a unique state in many ways bounded on the three sides by the international boundary of India having Bhutan in the West, China in the North and Burma on the Eastern side. Another country Bangladesh is at some distance in South. Arunachal Pradesh is inhabited by 26 tribes which are divided into 100 sub tribes. Each tribe predominantly exists in a certain zone of the state and each one of them has a distinct identity defined by their linguistic dialect, religious practices, dress codes, administrative structure, festivals, cultural attitudes, matrimony and dispute resolution methods. There are some 50 linguistic dialects in the state. The entire state of Arunachal Pradesh is a part of the Eastern Himalayan Ranges and is home to some of the most complex water systems in the world primarily networked by the tributaries of Brahmaputra. It is a rich forest land. The British administered this part of their territory in the name of NEFT (North-East Frontier Tract) which later came to be known as NEFA (North-East Frontier Agency) which formed a part of the state of Assam administered by an agent of the governor of Assam. Until the 1962 war with China, Arunachal Pradesh was a forgotten part of India but thereafter gradually gained importance in the eyes of the Central Govt. in Delhi. In 1972, the Union Territory of Arunachal Pradesh was formed after which only the picture of modern Arunachal Pradesh emerged. The Union Territory of Arunachal Pradesh was then administered directly from the Central Govt. through a Lt.Governor. Thereafter in 1978, the state of Arunachal Pradesh was formed and the political & administrative power shifted from the Central Govt. to the people of Arunachal Pradesh. During my visit to Arunachal Pradesh between 4th & 12th Jul 2012, I had a wide ranging interaction with various categories and shades of people mostly belonging to Mishimi Tribe located in and around the Lohit District of Arunachal Pradesh. The Mishimi Tribe is spread in and around Lohit, Anjaw, Lower & Upper Dibang districts. During my various discussions, I learnt that the actual meaningful and sustained development of Arunachal Pradesh began from the year 1972 when it became a Union Territory. There are mixed reactions on the point whether the development of the state was better when it was a Union Territory or it is better after having gained statehood. Some of the people feel that the power came to the people of Arunachal Pradesh a little too soon and it would have been better had the Union Territory status continued for some more time. Arunachal Pradesh is a unique state of India which has evolved from a multi-tribal cultural background with no real political boundaries into a full fledged political establishment within the Indian Federation. It is unique in many ways making it the most appropriate sample for the study and research into the contribution of indigenous leadership for the growth and development of under privileged social groups. NEFT and then NEFA which is Arunachal Pradesh today was an out of bounds region for the majority of the civil society as it was inhabited by ferocious and aggressive tribes posing serious threat to any intruders. The Britishers earlier and the Govt. of India later preferred not to intervene or interfere in the affairs of the various tribes of this region. However after 1962, Arunachal Pradesh started gaining importance in the political considerations of the central Govt. To protect any kind of infiltration leading to resistance etc. , the Inner Land permit system was introduced for outsiders who wished to visit Arunachal Pradesh. This single step has protected to a great extent the ethnicity and virginity of Arunachal Pradesh leading to an uninterfered evolutionary process of the political system leading to the emergence of Pan Arunachal Pradesh multi tribal indigenous leadership to run and manage the affairs of the state. The maturation of the political process and leadership in this multi ethnic tribal society has been slow and often erratic but nevertheless the state has progressed slowly and steadily under its own indigenous leadership and today be it in health, education, vocational skills, employment generation, nourishment, agriculture and horticulture, it has achieved definite progress specially in the fields of education and health. During my interactions with the Mishimi Tribe, I learnt that the rate of literacy which was almost nil when NEFA was converted into the Union Territory has galloped upto almost 85% as on date and with a P.H.C. in every block, the health scenario has changed considerably. Epidemics and endemics used to take a heavy toll in the past but now the population is free of them. There are many Mishimi engineers, doctors and bureaucrats dotting the employment sector and the tribe as a whole are in a progressive trend. Even though, I could not directly interact with other tribes, I did learn that the major other tribes like the Adis and the Nyishis are even better off than the Mishimis. If it be so Arunachal Pradesh has emphatically and definitely established that if and when well meaning and responsible indigenous leadership takes charge of a deprived and backward society, that society is sure to improve its status in all spheres. One needs to look at some of the other tribal groups and societies such as Kols and Bhils of Bundelkhand of Uttar Pradesh or the Gonds and Rajgonds of Northern Andhra Pradesh and Eastern Chattisgarh not to mention many other such societies in states like Orissa, Maharashtra, Rajasthan etc. where indigenous leadership has either not emerged or is not strong enough to impact the decision making processes affecting their societies as a result of which not only some of these tribal groups have remained backward but have been left behind the main stream of development and progress. To add to their woes, the recent corporatization of the mining sector has resulted in large sections of deforestation and land grabbing making the tribal landless, helpless and ruefully exploited degrading him from the position of a forest lord to a mere laborer or even a beggar. In my opinion, the single most important factor responsible for the great disparity in the level of development between the tribes of Arunachal Pradesh and some of the less fortunate tribes in other states has been the lack of a strong responsible and impact generating indigenous leadership. The situation as mentioned here in above has led to many undesirable and dangerous consequences for the country such as the near revolt, armed or otherwise by the tribals whether as Maoists or Naxals or else becoming subjects for coercion into conversion thereby losing their natural ethnic identity. Also there has been a large scale migration from the forest to the large cities as casual laborers who belong to nowhere and are left to fend for themselves in the heartless caldron of cosmopolitan juggernauts. It is high time that the powers that be, wake up to save and restore the pride and place of the lord of the forests.