MODEL FOR TRIBAL DEVELOPMENT:

A CASE STUDY OF JHARKHAND IN RURAL

INDIA
 INTRODUCTION

THE PROBLEM

- Growing extremism in tribal areas as a result of absence of

development.

- The state that used to be perceived as a ‘welfare’ state after

independence has come to be experienced as a ‘terrorist’
state primarily by the marginalized sections of the society.

- The 'socialist' model of development enshrined in the

constitution of India, implying equality and equity of each and
every citizen of India no matter what caste, religion, and
ethnic group one belonged to, has shifted to 'neo-liberal'
model which favors the rich and neglects the poor.
 Part I

BACKGROUND TO THE TRIBAL

DEVELOPMENT IN INDIA
 Development in the colonial period
- The British tried to bring tribals to the
mainstream culture through certain policies

- Engaged revenue collectors, forest officials, and

local people to collect data pertaining to these
people

- The Forest Act 1927, meant to protect forests,

went against the tribal as well as non-tribal
communities dependent on the forests for their
livelihood.
 Two schools of thought concerning the tribal
development existed in the British period:

- Assimilation

The idea that the tribal development was possible

by assimilating the tribals into the ‘mainstream’
India

-Isolation

To preserve the socio-cultural identity of the tribal

societies and allowing them to develop according
to their own indigenous knowledge system and
practices
 Development in the post-independence period
(1947-1990)

- British policy of isolation was shifted to the

integration model of tribal development

- Various conventional programs were started in

the tribal areas for bringing about social and
economic change among the tribal people.

- New direct and indirect measures were imposed

to promote the integration of the tribals.
 Five-Year Plans
- No special attempts
- Certain schemes on education and
First Plan 1951-56 welfare
- Expenditure on economic upliftment raised
from Rs. 4.32 crores to Rs. 16.86 crores
- 43 Special Multipurpose Tribal Blocks
(SMPT) established in ST areas
Second Plan 1956-61

415 Tribal Development Blocks set up

Third Plan 1961-69

489 Tribal Development Blocks had come into

existence
Fourth Plan 1969-74
Attention directed at:
- areas of tribal concentration
- dispersed tribals
Fifth Plan 1974-78 - Primitive Tribal Groups (PTG)
 Five-Year Plans - contd.
Intensive Integrated Development (IID) and
Modified Area Development Approach
(MADA) under the Tribal sub-plan (TSP) for
pockets of 10,000 tribal population of which
Sixth Plan 1980-85 at least 50 percent are scheduled tribes

About 40 lakhs scheduled tribe families

below the poverty line were targeted for
economic assistance
Seventh Plan 1985-90
- Adequate emphasis was laid on agriculture
and education of the tribals
- Special schemes for the educational
Eighth Plan 1992-97 development of tribal women
Aimed to empower STs by creating a
conducive environment for them to enjoy
their rights and privileges at par with the rest
Ninth Plan 1997-2002 of society.
Focused on tackling the unresolved issues
and providing opportunity for the tribals to
empower themselves with the strength of
Tenth Plan 2002-07 their own potentials.
As it can be seen, 63 years after
independence and 10 five-year plans later,
tribal development is still in question.

The main reason being there is no political

will to implement good legislation for tribal
development.
Draft National Tribal Policy

The draft national tribal policy tries to address the

issues concerning lower Human Development
Index, poor infrastructure, diminishing control over
natural resource base, persistent threats of
eviction from their habitat, exclusion from
mainstream and economy in distribution of wealth
and opportunities and non-empowerment and to
place Scheduled Tribes on a progressive and
constructive path and make them active partners
in nation building
 Part II

IMPACT OF THE PRESENT MODEL OF

DEVELOPMENT

Contradictions and paradoxes of India:

Firstly, the old India and the new India - The India
after Independence, the old India, was perceived
by the Indians, particularly by the tribals, the
peasants, and the marginalized sections of the
society, as a socialist state.

- Today’s India seems to be on the side of the rich

and the elite.
Secondly, the rich India and the poor India - This
is the time when the country claims to have more
than 8% economic growth. The irony, however, is
that majority of the people, especially living in the
rural areas, who are mostly tribals, are not
benefiting from the development process. Hence,
it appears as if there are two Indias—one is the
India of the rich and the other is the India of the
poor.

- There is scientific and technological progress on

the one hand, however, very few people are
benefiting from the process of development.
Thirdly, the mainstream India and subalternity -
The dominant societies of India, those that are
powerful and affluent economically, educationally,
and politically, claim to be the mainstream.

- Minority societies across the country claim that

they are the mainstream and that there is no need
for them to be assimilated into the so-called
national mainstream.

- The marginalized groups are the victims of

various forms of violence and hence the claim of
the country to be ‘civilized’ can be contested.
Fourthly, democracy of the rich and the
democracy of the poor - India claims to be the
largest democracy in the world but in fact there
are two democracies in India - the democracy of
the rich and the democracy of the poor.

- There are incidences of rampant displacement,

migration, unemployment, land grabbing, and so
on account of the so-called development.

- The worst affected are the women and children.

In the last 60 years more than 60 million people
have been displaced due to various ‘development’
projects. Of the total displaced more than 40% are
tribals. Of the total displaced only 24% have been
rehabilitated.
Fifthly, consciousness among marginalized people
(peasants, tribals/indigenous peoples) - In the
past Tribal/Indigenous Peoples/Peasant revolted
against the British, the landlords, contractors and
exploiters.

- At present, there is extremism/violence in tribal

areas known as ‘Red corridor’ and many believe
that this form of violence is the consequence of
lack of development in tribal areas, their
exploitation, and alienation of the natural
resources and other means of livelihood.
 PART III

DEVELOPMENT IN JHARKHAND: A CASE

STUDY
- ‘Development’ in common parlance means
progress and enhancement of people’s well being.

- Development is a process of transformation in

the socio-economic life of the people—from
poverty to general well being, from ignorance and
illiteracy to knowledge and education, from ill
health, hunger and disease to sound health and
all round competence, and from oppressed and
dehumanized situations to freedom and dignified
life.
Small-scale development

- Small-scale development is a model that is

people oriented, wherein there is no human
deprivation or environmental and ecological
degradation.

- Rather than having huge dams displacing

millions of people, the small and medium-size
check-dams are proposed, where there is no
danger of any displacement.

-Other small-scale projects are in the areas of

alternative measures of power generation such as
the natural gas, the wind power and solar energy,
wherever feasible.
Alternative development model suited to the
tribals of Jharkhand

The small-scale community based development model is

suitable for the tribals of Jharkhand for the following reasons:

1. In this model there is no land alienation or displacement

because of the project.
2. This model is based on the value of community ownership.
3. People are taken into confidence right from the planning
stage up to the project’s implementation. The supporting
agencies are in fact at the service of the people, who are
the real masters and owners of the, project.
4. It is the people themselves who decide the system of
project management. Village people are trained to supervise,
repair, and maintain the unit. They also decide the mode of
their contribution to the project and the distribution of
electricity generated from their unit.
- Agriculture in Jharkhand portrays a backward
economy, which has not made any significant
departure from traditional mode of cultivation.

- There is a low crop yield and a semi stagnation

of growth rate of production.
Factors accounting for backwardness of
agriculture in Jharkhand are small increase in
modern inputs like HYV seeds, irrigation,
fertilizer, pesticides and farm implements.

Despite adverse geo-physical conditions, there

exists a good potential for raising crop yields and
agricultural diversification in Jharkhand. The state
has a groundwater potential of 482 crores cubic
meters per year, but only 4.1% of it has been
exploited so far for irrigation.

Besides, canal irrigation could be harnessed from some

rivers having enough water up to January-February like
from Amanat, Auranga, Sankh and Ghaghra. Similarly, lift
irrigation schemes could be used to improve agriculture
in Jharkhand.
Horticultural products like pea, cauliflower,
cabbage, potato, brinjal, and so on are dispatched
not only to the regional markets (Ranchi,
Jameshedpur, Lohardaga, Daltonganj, and
Garwah) but also to distant regional centers like
Calcutta, Rourkela, Bhilai, etc.

The extension of irrigation facility will further boost

the cultivation of vegetables and also fruits like
papaya, mango, and lichi.

The scientists of Birsa Agricultural University have

discovered high yielding varieties of different
crops yielding as much as 2-3 times higher, which
was obtained by the farmers who used them.
Government-NGO network for agriculture
development

The unique model of Government-NGO

cooperation for agriculture development in
Lohardaga District has been very impressive.

At the invitation of the District Administration of

Lohardaga in 1992, an NGO called PRADAN,
agreed to work in Kisko Block and signed an MoU
(Memorandum of Understanding). The whole idea
was to promote agriculture development through
Self-Help Groups.
Assessment of the progress

1. Women’s Self Help Groups (SHG) and

livelihood promotion linkage

- The SHGs facilitated to provide special purpose

loans to meet the credit need of the SHG
members apart from the normal lending of the
SHG.

2. Agriculture Intervention

(a) Paddy - The objective of the paddy intervention was to

improve the paddy yield of the farmers by availing the proper
quality of the seed, motivating and training the farmers on
nursery raising, transplantation, application of the fertilizers
and pesticides.
(b) Maize - The objective of the program was to
help the family of the SHG members to cultivate
maize and pigeon pea (mixed cropping) with
proper package and practices by helping the
family in getting loans, getting quality inputs,
building the skills and marketing the produces.

(c) Vegetables - The objective of the program was

to build the capacity of the farmers in taking high
profit year round, vegetable cultivation by
motivating, training, linking them with the SHG for
working capital needed and lending them with the
seed shops for availing inputs.
3. Poultry

The team had the plan to do the following:

- Constructing 150 rearing sheds, 15 mother units

and 1 warehouse cum training centre.
- Increasing the number of rearers to 150 through
selection and training.
- Increasing the production efficiency

4. Dairy - There is a chilling plant having potential

of 10,000 litres in Lohardaga, but it runs below its
capacity. So it was proposed in Rashtriya Sram
Vikas Yojna (RSVY) to work in Dairy with 600
families in collaboration with the District Dairy
Development in 3 years.
 PART IV

CONCLUSION

The Government-NGO cooperation has been

unique for agriculture development in Lohardga
through the promotion of SHGs. It has all the
major components of agriculture development -
cultivation of paddy, maize and vegetables as well
as rearing of poultry and dairy farms. One must
learn the process of development intervention
from this model.
First, the need to identify the main problems and
issues of the area in terms of agriculture
development.

Second, the formation of SHGs and training for

agriculture development.

Third, the inputs are provided and the agricultural

activities are operationalized.

Fourth, the products are marketed.

The purpose of this paper has been threefold:

1. Understanding the concept of development,

examining the current development scenario as
per this understanding and making a new
beginning or reinforcing the praxis if the process is
already on.

2. Conceptual clarity is indeed very important in

any development process. This is needed
because of the changing situations and contexts
that throw newer challenges. The lexicon of
development also changes based oh new
knowledge gained from experiences in the field
not only in one’s locality but also in the country
and across the country at large.
3. The two models of development presented in
the discussion -- agriculture and mini-hydropower
generation -- are examples to know how
alternative development process can be initiated
and how one can emulate them with local
adaptations. There are umpteen numbers of
models of development, taking place locally,
nationally and internationally. One can certainly
learn from them. The areas of development
intervention are many—health, vocational training,
entrepreneurship development, savings and credit
and finance and marketing to mention a few.