Abstract

This paper critically examines the role of State in facilitating tribal development through Voluntary Organizations within the framework of the Grant-in-Aid scheme instituted for voluntary organizations working for Schedule Tribes. Based on empirical data drawn from 146 VOs working for the welfare of the Schedule Tribes across 26 states, this paper turns its lens on the current ‘paradigm of intervention’ vis-a-vis tribes, by problematising VO initiated development programmes from a beneficiaries perspective and proposing a theory of tribal social work.

A. Laying the Context…

Community, state and market are being widely debated in contemporary times especially in relation to tribal communities. Current socio-political discourse is locked between the critique of the state vis-à-vis forceful imposition of its all encompassing socio-legal structure on traditional non-state tribal structures that has led to diminishing democratic spaces on one hand, and the strident celebration of tribal identity, culture and history articulated from a “perspective from within” on the other. Concomitant with these realities is the emergence and dynamic role of market forces stealthily crawling from within state structures that have given rise to new formulations and articulations within the tribal context. The coexistence of these polar temporalities producing great turbulence, it is perhaps no accident that contemporary political discourse is coterminous with the current eclipsing of an egalitarian thrust and the resurgence of tremendous conflict between temporalities. As a fall out, insurmountable human tragedies are taking place, all identified with the violence of modern state, making no distinction between government and state, and as a manifestation, leading to the criminalization and brutal suppression of everything ‘tribal’. Further, to add more to the complexities, we also witness unabated and dogged community resistance to state sponsored processes, plus spiralling ethnic violence between and within groups which have contested every sane conception of extremism.

… Articulating a Frame

India inherited the poverty and infrastructural problems of pre-independence era, and with changing socio-economic and political situations, approaches to development for the poor and marginalized have been constantly alternating since independence. Initially many philanthropic organizations emerged to provide charitable services to the poor. After independence, these charitable activities while contributing in many ways became a mainstay in a quazi welfare model that took precedence over other developmental paradigms. Gradually over the years a holistic perspective on development did emerged incorporating capacity building through education, awareness building and infrastructural development, etc. Currently with a focus on social justice, the capability approach intersects with a right’s perspective and both are being incorporated within many development initiatives.

India has a long history of voluntary social action and such initiatives have grown both horizontally and vertically in terms of size, number and diversity. However a quick review of literature reflects an absence of substantive and comparative scholarly work on the origin, design, organizational and functional aspects of socio-voluntary organizations operating in India making it difficult to estimate the size of the sector. This lacuna in academic literature is often cited as the reason that there is less clarity about the nature and scope of the voluntary sector in the country. Beside a wide variety of organization forming part of the sector, they may be youth clubs, mahila mandals, balwadis, farmers’ societies, cooperative, trade unions, sports associations, educational institutions, research and documentation centres, training-cum-production centres, etc. Thus while social and voluntary action have grown and been recognized for their place, information for and research and documentation on their nature and scope have not kept pace with it. On this count, one may posit that there is a need to develop a detailed understanding of the nature, scope and potential of socio-voluntary action in India particularly those that are engaged in obtaining social justice to the marginalized.

The Indian Government acknowledge the catalytic role of VOs in the social and economic development of the country, particularly in the areas of education, health, training, and income generation. Since independence, the government has been encouraging the contribution of VOs alleviating the condition of the poor, deprived and the disadvantage. Government documents, such as five year Plans and policy papers (e.g National Policy on education, women differently-able, children, etc) have increasingly recognized the importance of VOs and incorporated within its framework spaces for VOs to participate and contribute to national development. Voluntary organisations have also successfully partnered with the government in developing and experimenting alternative project models to match the needs of the local people like ‘Reaching the Services to the Un-reached’ (10th Plan Approach Paper). In fact, the ‘Approach Paper’ adds that

‘VOs will, therefore, be encouraged to play an effective role in improving the status of tribals in the areas of education, health, nutrition, employment and income-generation, besides sensitising the administrative machinery and conscientising the tribals to realise their rights and potential besides safeguarding them from social and economic exploitation’.

Voluntary Organizations have proved to be very effective in working at the grassroots. Their contribution, especially towards the upliftment of the scheduled tribes in the country has been significant. On these grounds the government of India instituted the ‘Grant-in-aid to Voluntary Organizations Working for the Scheduled Tribes’ in 1953-54. It was first implemented under the then Social Welfare Department. It then came under the Ministry of Social Justice and Governance. Finally, Ministry of Tribal Affairs took over the Scheme in 1999 and became its nodal agency. This grant-in-aid has been implemented for the last seven decades. There has been increasing financial allotment in the successive five year plans. The Scheme gradually became more focus and Tribal centric as it was directed only towards the Scheduled Tribes. The fund now is only for the Tribals with no possibility of diversion of fund to other sectors. The main focus of GIA currently is the upliftment of the Scheduled Tribes in mainly three different sectors; education, health and vocational training. While basically meant for the Scheduled Tribes, it does not deny the benefits to go to other underprivileged sections that are in the project catchment area. The GIA takes an inclusive approach and allows Tribal children to learn and grow together with other non-Tribal children.

B. Unravelling the Empirical: Beneficiaries’ Experience of Programmes Under Grant-In-Aid to Voluntary Organisations

The Scheme…

During the last seven decades, various policies and programmes have emerged. Worth mentioning among them is the 5th Five Year Plan, which recognised context-specific planning and administration (Sharma, 1978). In the 10th Five Year Plan, the three-pronged strategy of social empowerment, economic empowerment and social justice was launched for the upliftment of the Sts. The GIA Scheme consists of multiple projects which are implemented across 26 states and union territories (UTs).The terms and conditions for grant-in-aid clearly state that ‘Grant is provided to Voluntary Agencies working in their field of operation (Scheduled tribes). The Scheme under the Ministry of Tribal Affairs became more focused and Tribal centric as the Scheme directed its resources at the Scheduled Tribe Communities. The fund currently is specifically meant only for the Tribal population. In this context, an evaluation of the Scheme from the perspectives of beneficiaries as experienced by them was considered crucial. This intention was directed towards understanding the impact of the Scheme over a five years period. This article elucidates the overall utilization and perception processes of beneficiaries across five regions identified for the study. Important components such as beneficiaries’ community status, gender divide, services and facilities provided by organizations and beneficiaries’ subjective perception of the same are presented. Further, beneficiaries’ perception of the quality of services provided, qualifications to be a beneficiary, difficulties faced and overall feedback and suggestions for the Scheme are provided. It is an additive funding to their existing efforts based on the discretion of the government’. This is further clarified in the criteria laid down for the organizations applying for the grant. There are three stated important criteria to qualify for the grant-in-aid; organization should be registered, having financial soundness and experience of working for scheduled tribes.

The respondents of the study for interview and focus group discussions (FGDs) were selected from the state offices of tribal development, organisations and villages based on availability, capability and willingness to participate in the study. Considering the massive size and diversity of the universe, different categories of respondents were identified: President/Secretary of the Organisation (83), Project Staff (98), Beneficiaries (532), Community Leaders (40), and State Officials (14). Around 36 FGDs were also conducted with various community leaders, youth groups, women’s groups and parents. The GoI, under the Department of Social Welfare, instituted the GIA Scheme2 to VOs work ing for the welfare of STs in 1953–1954. It was an initiative that partnered with VOs towards working for the upliftment of the STs. The prime objective of the Scheme is to provide for overall improvement and development of the STs through voluntary efforts in the field of education, health and sanitation, and environment, in addition to need-based, socio economic upliftment efforts and other relevant activities deemed appropriate and of direct benefit to the target group.The Scheme has 27 projects/activities around four sectors: education, health, sanitation and training programmes (activities related to socioeconomic upliftment). The education sector has three main projects- residential schools, on-residential schools and hostels. The health sector has covered 10-bed, 20-bed, 50-bed and 60-bed hospitals and mobile dispensaries. The remaining projects are related to training for livelihood enhancement. There are also a few projects on other development-related programmes in the area of sanitation and sustainable development.

Table No. 1

Number of Projects (as funded in 2005-06)

	Projects	Frequency	%
	Residential School	73	29.7
	Mobile Dispensary	50	20.3
	Hostel	46	18.7
	Computer Training	16	6.5
	Non-Residential School	15	6.1
	10-Bedded Hospital	8	3.3
	Typing and Shorthand	8	3.3
	Library	6	2.4
	Knitting and Weaving	4	1.6
	Crèche and Balwadi	3	1.2
	20 Bedded Hospital	3	1.2
	Audio-Visual Unit	2	.8
	Mobile Library	2	.8
	Rural Night School	1	.4
	Maintenance of Water Dam	1	.4
	Workers Training Centre	1	.4
	ITI for Youth	1	.4
	Cane and Bamboo Making	1	.4
	Divyan Unit	1	.4
	60-Bedded Hospital	1	.4
	No. 6 Hostel	1	.4
	50-Bedded Hospital	1	.4
	Automobile training	1	.4
	Total	246	100.0

The voluntary organizations have been mobilizing resources from various sources i.e. government and non-government resources. The diagram below shows that majority (57%) of VOs have budgeted amount below 30 lakhs (14.5 below 10 lakhs while 32.5 of them have 10 to 30 lakhs within their total budget). There were some organizations with the budget of more than 30 lakhs. About 10% of the organizations have a budget of one crore and above.

Table No.2

Sources of Funding

Funding source of VOs

It was observed that most of the VOs across regions depend on the government of India for financial resources. Some of the organizations heavily rely on state government (24.1%). Private funding (26.5%), foreign funding (19.3%) and private donations (36.6%) were other source of funding for a significant number of VOs. It is important to note that though 61.4% of organizations are registered with FCRA, only 19.3% of them availed foreign funding. However, it is encouraging to see that a good percentage of organizations have private donation and private funding as sources of funding.

1.0 SPREAD OF BENEFICIARIES ACROSS SPECIFIC REGIONS

The Tribal population across the country covered under the GIA Scheme were categorized under specific habitation zones for the purpose of the study. This permitted the identification of various projects as contained in each of these identified zones. This also allowed the possibility of gauging the felt needs of target groups across the country in relation to specific projects. The data however does not clearly specify any single reason why a particular sector has more beneficiaries availing facilities compared to other sectors. Not withstanding this fact, the trend that such information generates would throw light on the priorities and needs across the country in the context of the GIA Scheme. Out of a total number of 532 beneficiaries in the study identified through a multi-stage sampling process from 55 organizations, the data shows that there were certain projects that people accessed more than others. This becomes important in the light of the fact that both organizations and beneficiaries are focussing their intent on specific sectors/projects.

Table No. 3

Habitation Zones and Spread of Project Beneficiaries

Projects	Regions					TOTAL
	Central & Eastern	North-Eastern	Northern	Western	Southern
	No.( % )	No. ( % )	No.( % )	No. ( % )	No. ( % )	No. ( % )
Residential Schools	160 (59.3%)	32 (11.9%)	16 (5.9%)	11 (4.1%)	51 (18.9%)	270 (100%)
	69.9%	25.8%	40.0%	15.3%	76.1%	50.8%
Non- Residential Schools	2 (8.0%)	8 (32.0%)	8 (32.0%)	7 (28.0%)	0 (0.0%)	25 (100%)
	9.0%	6.5%	20.0%	9.7%	0.0%	4.7%
Hostels	27 (38.0%)	44 (62.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	71 (100%)
	11.8%	35.5%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	13.3%
Mobile Dispensaries	29 (27.9%)	12 (11.5%)	16 (15.4%)	47 (45.2%)	0 (0.0%)	104 (100%)
	12.7%	9.7%	40.0%	65.3%	0.0%	19.5%
10 Bedded Hospitals	0 (0.0%)	8 (25.8%)	0 (0.0%)	7 (22.6%)	16 (51.6%)	31 (100%)
	0.0%	6.5%	0.0%	9.7%	23.9%	5.8%
Computer Training	11 (35.5%)	20 (64.5%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	31 (100%)
	4.8%	16.1%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	5.8%
TOTAL	229 (43.0%)	124 (23.3%)	40 (7.5%)	72 (13.5%)	67 (12.6%)	532 (100%)
	100.0%	100.0%	100.0%	100.0%	100.0%	100.0%

A close examination of table 3 brings out the following findings.

1. There were a total of 229 beneficiaries located in the Central and Eastern region, 124 respondents within the North-Eastern region and another 40 beneficiaries in the Northern region, 72 beneficiaries in Western region and 67 beneficiaries in the Southern region.

2. Out of the five identified regions, the Central and Eastern belt and the North-Eastern belt, where there is a high Tribal population provides, hostel facilities to many of the Tribal students who wanted to further their educational goals. This can be observed that the numbers within and across the regions reflects that in regions other than the two regions above mentioned, most of the organizations did not run hostels.

3. Field data reflects the fact that most Tribal families situated in the interior villages recognized the increase need for education and were willing to send their kith and kin to pursue the same, but only when proper accommodation and lodging facilities are provided.

4. The beneficiaries’ access of health services was seen across the five identified regions. Subjective experience of the investigators concurs with the access of health services and also the crucial role that these services have played for the Tribal population. The Mobile Dispensaries were regarded as important by most respondents, while at the same time not overshadowing the essentiality of proper hospital care for more serious and chronic illnesses in three of the regions.

5. The fact that Computer training as a vocational trade emerged out of 27 other listed trades from the data above, reflects that in two regions i.e., Central and Eastern and North-Eastern, other training programs are less sought after as compared to the same. There were more people especially in the North Eastern Region who preferred to augment their existing educational qualification with further upgradation of the same by becoming computer literates. While there were other training programs like weaving, plumbing, electrician, etc, yet most respondents felt that while they are still somewhat relevant, computer skills are likely to facilitate the mobility much more in a very fast paced competitive job market.

6. Taking into consideration the population of each of the regions (refer Census 2001) the Scheme per se has guaranteed that each of the zones gets a fair share of the total projects within the GIA.

7. The abysmal presence of respondents from specific projects in a few regions was due to several factors. One, there were very few organizations who ran the projects and two, within the sampled size there were very few and none in some areas who availed the programs.

2.0 GENDER-WISE DISTRIBUTION OF BENEFICIARIES

There is increase recognition of gender disparity existing among many Tribal Communities in the country. In order to streamline and induce a sense of sensitivity and receptivity to the gender component, the study especially focused on the same. To capture this factor in the implementation process of organizations, the study elicited responses from both male and female beneficiaries across organizations and projects.

Table No. 4

Gender-wise Distribution of Beneficiaries within Specific Projects

PROJECTS	Gender		Total
	Male	Female
Residential Schools	146	124	270
	54.1%	45.9%	100.0%
	47.9%	54.6%	50.8%
Non Residential Schools	17	8	25
	68.0%	32.0%	100.0%
	5.6%	3.5%	4.7%
Hostels	48	23	71
	67.6%	32.4%	100.0%
	15.7%	10.1%	13.3%
Mobile Dispensaries	59	45	104
	56.7%	43.3%	100.0%
	19.3%	19.8%	19.5%
10 Bedded Hospitals	14	17	31
	45.2%	54.8%	100.0%
	4.6%	7.5%	5.8%
Training Centre	21	10	31
	67.7%	32.3%	100.0%
	6.9%	4.4%	5.8%
Total	305	227	532
	57.3%	42.7%	100.0%
	100.0%	100.0%	100.0%

Table 4 shows a near balanced picture of male and female beneficiaries across the overall projects. Within the education sector, the spread of students availing the residential school program brought out a similar picture across the country. Organizations reported that they have invested increased efforts to admit girl students and have succeeded to an extent in getting them to partake in the education process. Tribal families across the country were reported by organizations to have become more conscious and aware of the need for education, especially for a girl child, and are increasingly sending their children to residential education programs. There were a few organizations that focused only on girl students without any male intake.

As regards health services, data and field observations reflected a very similar picture across the States. Women accessed these services much more than men from both 10 Bedded Hospitals and Mobile dispensaries. While such services have played somewhat crucial role in reducing the burden due to health for quite a number of Tribal families, field observations and beneficiary reports points to the fact that a sense of inadequacy still prevails among community members. With the exception of a few organizations, others were reported to have provided sub standard services and were also very irregular in providing the said service.

One could conclude that Voluntary Organizations that had received the GIA Scheme had and were able to bridge the gap between gender disparity as regards accessing basic services of education, health and training. This is in keeping with the goals and objectives of the Scheme.

3.0 REQUIREMENTS FOR BECOMING BENEFICIARIES

Most beneficiaries were asked if they had had any difficulty in availing the services provided by the organizations. This was in order to verify the ability to access the resources by the target group. Further, difficulties during the process of accessing the facilities were elicited to identify predicaments faced by the beneficiaries.

Table No. 5

Qualifications for Becoming Beneficiaries

Nature of the project	Requirements	% of beneficiaries who met these requirements
Education	ST Certificate from village level authority Residential Certificate	56 %
Health	No Formal requirement *	25 %
Training	ST Certificate from village level authority Residential certificate Specific Requirement of the Course **	5 %

* Health projects such as mobile dispensaries and hospitals does not ask for any requirements and they serve the non-Tribal population within or out side their project area.

** Training courses like computer training and typing and short hand requires qualification like 10^th or 12^th standard, but knitting, weaving doesn’t require any such qualification.

Table 5 reveals the processes of qualifying to be a beneficiary. While 56% of the respondents reported that they had to show proof of Tribe and residential certificates from the village level authority for availing education facilities, 25% respondents Stated, that for health services there was no need for the same. For training, 5% reported that they had to produce both Tribe and residential proof certificates.

4.0 UTILIZATION AND PERCEPTION OF QUALITY OF SERVICE

An overall view of the utilization of services and the beneficiary’s perception of the same was considered in keeping with the objectives of the study. In order to elicit this data, each of the beneficiary was asked to rate the effectiveness of the services within each project.

Table No. 6

Beneficiaries’ Perception of the Quality of Service

Projects	Perception			TOTAL
	Degrees	Frequencies	Percentage	No. (% )
Residential Schools	Very Much Effective	101	37.4%	270 (100%)
	Effective	32	11.9%
	Some what Effective	16	5.9%
	Not Sure	121	44.8%
	TOTAL	270	100.0%
Non- Residential Schools	Very Much Effective	1	4.0%	25 (100%)
	Effective	12	48.0%
	Some what Effective	5	20.0%
	Not Sure	7	28.0%
	TOTAL	25	100.0%
Hostels	Very Much Effective	33	46.5%	71 (100%)
	Effective	15	21.1%
	Some what Effective	11	15.5%
	Not Effective	2	2.8%
	Not Sure	10	14.1%
	TOTAL	71	100.0%
Mobile Dispensaries	Very Much Effective	16	15.4%	104 (100%)
	Effective	54	51.9%
	Some what Effective	9	8.7%
	Not Sure	25	24.0%
	TOTAL	104	100.0%
10 Bedded Hospitals	Very Much Effective	16	51.6 %	31 (100%)
	Effective	15	48.4 %
	TOTAL	31	100.0%
Training Centres	Very Much Effective	16	51.6%	31 (100%)
	Effective	4	12.9%
	Some what Effective	4	12.9%
	Not Sure	7	22.6%
	TOTAL	31	100.0%

Firstly, it must be kept in mind that the above Table 6 depicts only respondent’s perception in the study. Within this, it is also important to note that most respondents were students and below the age of eighteen years. Out of the total 270 respondent beneficiaries who availed the residential school programs, 101 beneficiaries reported to be highly satisfied with the effectiveness of the program. A big number of respondents, which accounts for nearly 44.8%, were not sure of how to respond. Certain factors that led to the same were the fact that some of these respondents in residential schools were children of a very young age. Subjective experience of research team opined the fact that overall most of the residential programs were perceived very positively by beneficiaries, they were treated well and the impact was observable in the display of children’s behaviour. In the non-residential school programs, 12 (48%) respondents opined that the program was effective but could have done more in terms of the quality of education and services provided.

The hostel programs had a very high rating among the students. Out of the 71 respondents, 46.5% and 21.1% reported that the program was very effective and effective respectively. This was corroborated by subjective experience of research team also. Mobile dispensaries have also been reported by most respondents as very effective (15.4%) and Effective (51%), while there was an equally big number of respondents (24%) who were not very sure. They complained about irregularity, quality of medicines, non availability of expert doctors and not covering certain areas because of distance. The 10 bedded hospitals were reported by all respondents to be very effective (51.6%) and effective (48.4%). There was an observable expression by most respondents about their gratitude towards organizations providing this facility. Training centres were also perceived as very effective by 51.6% respondents, while 22.6% were not very sure. This was so because those who had training program were not employed and also not sure of how the skill they had learnt could be made used of when there was minimal job market.

5.0 BENEFICIARIES REPORT ABOUT ASSISTANCE PROVIDED

Assistance by VOs to trainees towards the strengthening of employment opportunities was reported by a few organizations. These VOs assisted by forming working and learning groups, network with other organizations for job placement and also by facilitating the process of accessing loans from banks. It was also reported that some of the trainees were absorb in the training centre itself either as teachers or assistants. Most organizations also encouraged self-employment through formation of self-help groups.

Table No. 7

Beneficiaries Perception of Difficulties While Availing Services

Nature of the project	Types of the Difficulties	% of beneficiaries who felt the difficulties
Education	Medium of Language	6 %
Health	Some time no Sufficient medicine Stock Mobile Dispensary Should Visit More Frequently	25 % 15 %
Training	Exams for Entrance were competitive No Travelling Allowance No Accommodation and Hostel facilities	10 % 25 % 20%

Table 7 categorises the problem of a beneficiary, where 55% occurs in training projects where the problems stem from the economic condition of the trainees and the planning needs to be more sensitive in this area. 40% of the problems are in health care sector and the rest in education. The possibility that most applicants found the entrance exam difficult was probably because of language competence, especially writing ability.

6.0 BENEFICIARIES’S PERCEPTION ABOUT THE PROGRAMME

The perceptions of beneficiaries were elicited about specific projects and the same have been clubbed under specific sectors.

Table No. 8

Beneficiaries Perception about the Programs Sector-wise

Nature of the project	Perception about facilities	% of beneficiaries expressing perception
Education	Residential and Educational Facilities Provided Great Help for Tribal People Well Benefit in Career Building	60% 30% 30%
Health	Diagnosing and Health Check up at Doorstep Permanent Hospital Facilities	50% 40%
Training	Computer Training Program is Good for Jobs Opportunity for Self Employment Trainees are Given Chance to Serve in Production Centre for Better Practice After One Year, Produced Goods from Trainees gets Market by Organization Help in Job Placement	60 % 10% 5% 5% 5%
Overall Perception About Program	Projects Facilitates Overall Tribal Development Free Basic Needs Provided	60% 70%

Table 8 indicates what the beneficiaries found most useful for themselves after a certain period of the projects. For the educational project it was the residential facility that was appreciated the most. 30% saw it as a benefit for the group while on other 30% saw it as a useful input in the long term in career building. The computer training program was the most appreciated training in the project because it helps in getting job. This is an immediate response to an existing situation in the job market. In service deficient area 50% of the appreciation was for the accessibility of the service while 40% was for the permanence of the service indicating the need for keeping both factors in mind while planning services in such areas. While 70% of appreciation was for “basic needs” as well as “provided free”, a large percentage of 60% was able to see the correlation of these projects with the overall development of the group.

7.0 SPECIFIC SUGGESTIONS FOR PROJECT

To augment data provided by beneficiaries, they were further requested to give their feedback about the project as individuals who were availing the facilities provided.

Table No. 9

Beneficiaries Feedback and Suggestions

Nature of project	Suggestions	% of beneficiaries giving suggestions
Education	More School in Remote Areas Higher and Technical Education Needed Facilities Should be Further Improved	60% 20% 30%
Health	Accessibility of Effective Medicines Frequency of Visits Should be Increased Qualified Doctors Should be Appointed Ambulance Availability Should Be Increase	25% 35% 10% 5%
Training	Higher Level Technical Courses Stipend for Trainees	50% 30%

In Table 9 the suggestions for the educational projects points out the need for schools in remote areas, followed by the need for improvement in the facilities as well as for higher and technical education. The total lack of services in the areas is indicated by 60% Weightage for the mere presence of schools, for the frequency in the visits by doctors/ services. Quality comes later; at least the service should be there. If training programmes are organised attention should be given to the fact that the trainees need to earn while being trained.

Some Concluding Thoughts in Retrospect:

Tribes are a non-entity in mainstream Indian politics and are insignificant in the country’s political life. If not for the fact that their habitats are resource rich, they would have been left alone. Within current development frameworks whose main focus is the wealth that lies underneath, they are experiencing their political life being increasingly NGOised and bureaucratised, leading to some kind of alienation from popular participation. The proliferation of NGOs in tribal areas whose funds are sourced both from international/national funding agencies and also state, with agendas that are somewhat contrary to tribal needs have further created complex fragmentations, at times on the basis of religion, at times ethnicity and on many occasions class positions.

Reference

• Sharma, B. D., 1978, Tribal Development: The Concept and the Frame, Prachi Prakashan, New Delhi.
• Sharma, B.D. (2001), Tribal Affairs in India: The Crucial Transition, New Delhi: Sahyog Pustak Kuteer
• India: Planning Commission (2002) 10th Plan Approach Paper, New Delhi.

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