On the Future of Indigenous Traditions - Munin

specified, as the socio-cultural orientation was not the same as it was of the other
communities here. Therefore, it was the Panchsheel – the five principles formulated
by Verrier Elvin 96 and enunciated as a policy document by Nehru that seemed to be
the most ideal principles, when it came to implementing these developmental
programs for the Adivasi and tribal peoples, actually it was accepted that the
Adivasis should: a) develop along the lines of their own genius and nothing should be
imposed upon them, b) that their rights in the forest and land should be respected, c)
that the role of outsiders in their development should be limited to building their own
capacity for governance, d) that the Adivasi areas should not be over-governed and
loaded with a multiplicity of schemes and that indigenous institutions of Adivasis
should be tasked with self-governance, and finally e) that the results of these efforts
should be judged not by statistics or the amount of money spent but by the quality of
human character that is evolved. However, the Panchsheel, is said to have been
‘forgotten, even before the ink it was written with had dried’.
What was different for the Adivasis in the independent India? One can see that, as
already referred in the first chapter, their status now had changed from Adivasis and
Aboriginals to ‘Anusuchit Jana-Jati’ and ‘Scheduled Tribes’. The new Constitution
thus has made some provisions for these ‘Scheduled Tribes’ to be put up in four broad
headings.
1. Protective provisions
2. Developmental provisions
3. Administrative provisions
4. Reservational provisions
There are several sets of articles in the constitution, specifying the said provisions
applicable to the Scheduled Tribes, including some other scheduled categories as the
case may be. It may not be necessary to go into the details of each of the above
provisions, but the only one that deals with administrative provisions would be
important for us to critically look into, when it comes to policies both at the central as
well as state level administrative provisions.
96
Verrier Elvin: An English anthropologist who is well known for his remarkable works on Tribal
people in India.
65