Country Technical Note on Indigenous Peoples’ Issues Republic of India Country Technical Notes on Indigenous Peoples’ Issues REPUBLIC OF INDIA Submitted by: C.R Bijoy and Tiplut Nongbri Last updated: January 2013 Disclaimer The opinions expressed in this publication are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD). The designations employed and the presentation of material in this publication do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of IFAD concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries. The designations ‗developed‘ and ‗developing‘ countries are intended for statistical convenience and do not necessarily express a judgment about the stage reached by a particular country or area in the development process. All rights reserved Table of Contents Country Technical Note on Indigenous Peoples‘ Issues – Republic of India ......................... 1 1.1 Definition .......................................................................................................... 1 1.2 The Scheduled Tribes ......................................................................................... 4 2. Status of scheduled tribes ...................................................................................... 9 2.1 Occupation ........................................................................................................ 9 2.2 Poverty ........................................................................................................... 10 2.3 Land Holding ................................................................................................... 13 2.4 Assets ............................................................................................................ 14 2.5 Debt ............................................................................................................... 15 2.6 Health and Nutrition ......................................................................................... 15 2.7 Education ........................................................................................................ 18 2.8 Access to Civic Amenities .................................................................................. 20 2.9 Roots of Tribal Vulnerability............................................................................... 21 2.10 Conflicts and Militarization ............................................................................... 24 3. Legislative Safeguards .......................................................................................... 27 3.1 Historical Background ....................................................................................... 27 3.2 Constitutional Provisions ................................................................................... 28 3.3 Legislative Provisions ....................................................................................... 34 3.4 Legislations on Land and Territories ................................................................... 36 4. International Treaties, Declarations And Conventions ................................................ 39 4.1 Status of Ratification of Key International Instruments ......................................... 39 5. Information On Regional, National And Grassroots Organizations/ Networks ................ 56 6. IFAD‘s Work In India With Indigenous Peoples ......................................................... 58 7. International Organizations .................................................................................... 89 Annexes .................................................................................................................. 92 Annex 1 ............................................................................................................... 92 Annex 2 ............................................................................................................. 103 Annex 3 ............................................................................................................. 105 Annex 4 ............................................................................................................. 107 Annex 5 ............................................................................................................. 109 Annex 6 ............................................................................................................. 110 Annex 7 ............................................................................................................. 111 Annex 8 ............................................................................................................. 142 Bibliography .......................................................................................................... 150 List of Tables Table 1: List of Presidential Orders Notifying Scheduled Tribes ......................................... 2 Table 2: Concentration of ST Population Across Districts ................................................. 4 Table 3: Distribution of Population of Each Religion by Scheduled Tribe ............................. 7 Table 4: Percentage of Scheduled Tribe Population in Districts, Villages, and Urban Areas / Towns ....................................................................................................................... 8 Table 5: Occupations of STs (2001) ............................................................................ 10 Table 6: Percentage of STs Living in Poverty ................................................................ 10 Table 7: Percentage Distribution of Population by Wealth Quintile and Social Category in India ...................................................................................................................... 12 Table 8: Percentage of Children Aged 5-14 Years Engaged in Different Activities by Type of Work and Social Category ......................................................................................... 13 Table 9: Land Owned per Household by Social Groups, 2003 ......................................... 13 Table 10: Percentage of Households by Asset-holding Categories ................................... 14 Table 11: Incidence of Indebtedness by Social Group ................................................... 15 Table 12: Health and Nutrition Indicators by Social Groups in 2005–06 (NFHS-3) ............ 15 Table 13: Percentage of Births in Medical Institutions by Social Category and Wealth ....... 16 Table 14: Fertility Rate and Other Reproductive Indices of Women by Social Category ...... 17 Table 15: Percentage of Births with No Post Natal Check-up .......................................... 17 Table 16: Incidence of Anaemia in Women by Social Category ....................................... 17 Table 17: Gross Enrolment, Dropout at Primary Stage (I–V), 2004–05 ........................... 19 Table 18: Educational Attainment of Men and Women Aged 15-49 by Years of Schooling and Social Category ........................................................................................................ 20 Table 19: Dams and Displacement of Tribal people ....................................................... 22 Table 20: Constitutional provisions relevant to Scheduled Tribes .................................... 28 Table 21: Administrative Structures in the North-Eastern Region ................................... 33 Table 22: Legislative Safeguards ................................................................................ 34 Table 23: Legislations for Protection of Tribal Land ....................................................... 37 Table 24: United Nations Declarations, Conventions and Treaties ................................... 39 Table 25: List of Ratifications of ILO Conventions ......................................................... 53 Table 26: International Humanitarian Law - Treaties & Documents ................................. 55 Table 27: Other Agreements ...................................................................................... 56 Country Technical Note on Indigenous Peoples’ Issues – Republic of India1 IFAD‘s Policy on Engagement with Indigenous Peoples (2009) recommends the preparation of Country Technical Notes to provide country-specific information on indigenous peoples. This facilitates policy implementation at country level through the development of country programme strategies and project design. A number of them have been prepared by indigenous peoples‘ leaders with the support of indigenous peoples‘ organizations. The Notes are intended as ‗living documents‘ to support learning on indigenous peoples‘ issues. 1.1 Definition The usage and application of the term ‗Indigenous Peoples‘ is a complex issue that has been historically contested upon. This term is not officially recognised or used in India. In the context of its present usage internationally, the official position of the Government of India is that the term as understood in the United Nations is not applicable to India because all Indians are indigenous to India. However, the term has been increasingly equated to the socially accepted term ‗Adivasi‘, literally meaning the ‗first‘ or ‗original‘ settlers. It has also become much more widely popular in public discourse in the north-eastern states of India. However, some Indian historians had viewed ‗tribes‘ as indigenous