Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
ADIVASIS
India's Adivasis (tribal communities; Adivasi translates to 'original inhabitant' in Sanskrit) have origins that pre-
cede the Vedic Aryans and the Dravidians of the south. Today they constitute less than 10% of the population and
are comprised of more than 400 different tribal groups. The literacy rate for Adivasis falls significantly below the
national average.
Historically, contact between Adivasis and Hindu villagers on the plains rarely led to friction as there was little
or no competition for resources and land. However, in recent decades an increasing number of Adivasis have
been dispossessed of their ancestral land and turned into impoverished labourers. Although they still have politic-
al representation thanks to a parliamentary quota system, the dispossession and exploitation of Adivasis has re-
portedly sometimes been with the connivance of officialdom - an accusation the government denies. Whatever
the arguments, unless more is done, the Adivasis' future is an uncertain one.
Read more about Adivasis in
Archaeology and History: Early Settlements in the Andaman Islands
by Zarine
Cooper,
The Tribals of India
by Sunil Janah and
Tribes of India: The Struggle for Survival
by Christoph von
Fürer-Haimendorf.
