Q. Why is this in News?
A. World Tribal Day or International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples is observed on 9th August every year.
- It is aimed at promoting and protecting the rights of the world’s indigenous population and to acknowledge the contributions that indigenous people make towards world issues such as environmental protection.
Q. What is the Theme for 2021?
A.
- “Leaving no one behind: Indigenous peoples and the call for a new social contract.”
Q. Who are Indigenous Peoples?
A.
- Indigenous peoples are inheritors and practitioners of unique cultures and ways of relating to people and the environment. They have retained social, cultural, economic and political characteristics that are distinct from those of the dominant societies in which they live.
- There are over 476 million indigenous peoples living in 90 countries across the world, accounting for 6.2% of the global population.
Q. What is its Significance?
A.
- Protecting Critical Ecosystem:
- Around 80% of the world’s biodiversity is inhabited and protected by indigenous populations.
- Their innate, diverse knowledge about lands, nature, and its development are extremely crucial to ensure the protection of the critical ecosystem, natural resources.
- Preserving Languages:
- With 370-500 million indigenous peoples representing the majority of the world’s cultural diversity, they speak the greater share of almost 7000 languages in the world.
- Contributing to Zero Hunger Goal:
- The crops grown by indigenous people are highly adaptable. They can survive drought, altitude, flooding, and any kind of extremes of temperature. As a result, these crops help create resilient farms.
- Also, quinoa, moringa, and oca are some of the native crops that have the ability to expand and diversify our food base. These would contribute to the goal to attain Zero Hunger.
Q. What are the analysis related to Tribes in India?
A .
- Data Analysis:
- India hosts around 104 million (that is almost 8.6% of the country’s population).
- Though there are 705 ethnic groups that have been formally identified, out of which around 75 are Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs).
- The Gond comprise the largest tribal group of India.
- The largest number of tribal communities (62) are found in Odisha.
- The central tribal belt which comprises the Northeastern states of India (including the region ranging from Rajasthan to West Bengal) boasts of the maximum concentration of indigenous population.
Q. What are the major Constitutional and Legal provisions related to tribe in India?
A.
- Major Constitutional Provisions:
- Article 342 (1)- The President may with respect to any State or Union Territory, and where it is a State, after consultation with the Governor, by a public notification, specify the tribes or tribal communities or part of or groups within tribes or tribal communities as Scheduled Tribe in relation to that State or Union Territory.
- Article 15- Prohibition of discrimination on grounds of religion, race, caste, sex or place of birth only.
- Article 16- Equality of opportunity in matters of public employment.
- Article 46- Promotion of educational and economic interests of scheduled castes, Scheduled tribes and other weaker sections.
- Article 335- Claims of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes to services and posts.
- As per Article 338-A of the Constitution of India, the National Commission for Scheduled Tribes has been set-up.
- 5th and 6th Schedule- Administration and control of Scheduled and Tribal Areas.
- Legal Provisions:
- Protection of Civil Rights Act, 1955 against Untouchability.
- Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989 to prevent the commission of offences of atrocities against the members of the SC and ST.
- Provisions of the Panchayats (Extension to the Scheduled Areas) Act, 1996 to provide for the extension of the provisions of Part IX of the Constitution relating to the Panchayats to the Scheduled Areas.
- Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006 to recognize and vest the forest rights and occupation in forest land in forest dwelling scheduled tribes and other traditional forest dwellers.
