(a) Urbanization and tribal institutions (10 marks) (b) Ethnic media and social awareness (10 marks) (c) Cultural diversity and…

(a) Urbanization and Tribal Institutions Urbanization in the tribal context means both the migration of tribals to towns and industrial centres, and the growth of towns and mines in tribal regions (Ranchi, Jamshedpur, Bhilai, Rourkela, Shillong, Aizawl). It transforms tribal institutions in several ways.

First, wage labour replaces forest and farm-based livelihoods, as with Ho, Munda and Oraon workers in Jamshedpur and Rourkela. Second, village councils, clan elders and the dormitory institutions (the Oraon dhumkuria, the Muria ghotul) weaken as young people leave. Third, clan exogamy, rites and kinship obligations are relaxed, and nuclear households and inter-community marriages increase. Fourth, new institutions emerge: tribal associations, urban churches, cultural societies, and political parties, such as the Adivasi Mahasabha behind the Jharkhand movement.

Urban tribals in places like Shillong and Ranchi often keep ties to home villages, so identity is renegotiated, not lost.

Overall, urbanization brings mobility and education but also stress on tribal cohesion and customary institutions.

(b) Ethnic Media and Social Awareness Ethnic media are print, radio, television and digital channels produced by or for an ethnic or tribal community, usually in its own language, to serve its information and identity needs.

Functions: they spread information on rights and schemes, such as the Forest Rights Act, health and education; they preserve and promote tribal languages and scripts, as with Santali in Ol Chiki; they give voice to concerns that mainstream media neglect, such as displacement or mining; and they build community solidarity and mobilisation.

Examples: community radio stations in tribal districts; CGNet Swara in Chhattisgarh (from 2010), a phone-based citizen journalism service where tribals report local issues; Mobile Vaani in Jharkhand; and local-language newspapers, magazines and YouTube channels run by Khasi, Mizo, Naga and Santhal communities. WhatsApp and social media now add reach.

Limits include poor connectivity, low literacy, and funding.

Significance: ethnic media increase awareness and participation, and help communities speak for themselves.

(c) Cultural Diversity and Multiculturalism Cultural diversity is the empirical fact of many cultural groups with distinct languages, religions, customs and identities living in a society. Multiculturalism is a normative policy or ideal that recognises and values this diversity and gives groups equal respect and often group-specific rights (Charles Taylor's politics of recognition; Will Kymlicka's group-differentiated rights). Diversity describes; multiculturalism prescribes.

India is highly diverse, with 22 scheduled languages, many religions and over 700 tribes. Its constitutional framework includes Articles 29 and 30 (cultural and educational rights of minorities), the Eighth Schedule languages, Article 350A (mother tongue instruction), the Fifth and Sixth Schedules for tribal areas, and ST reservation.

Tribal festivals such as Sarhul, Hornbill and Wangala show living diversity.

The state manages diversity through federalism and autonomous councils. Challenges include pressures towards cultural homogenisation, identity-based tensions, and the tension between group rights and individual (especially women's) rights.

(d) Concept of Tribe and the Indian Census Anthropologically, a tribe is a territorial group with a common name, dialect and culture, usually endogamous, with traditional political organisation and little rigid social stratification (Majumdar, Morgan, Evans-Pritchard). It is a contested category, because tribes merge with castes and peasants.

The Indian census treated tribes differently over time. Early censuses (1871 onwards) classed "aboriginal", "forest" or "hill" tribes and counted "animists" by religion (Risley and Gait, 1901); 1931 used "primitive tribes". After independence, "Scheduled Tribe" became a legal category notified by the President under Article 342, listing about 705 communities, or about 8.6% of the population in Census 2011. Criteria derived from the Lokur Committee (1965): primitive traits, distinctive culture, geographical isolation, shyness of contact and backwardness.

Limitations: criteria are inconsistently applied; ST lists differ between states; some groups are left out; and the census does not count tribal religion separately. Thus "tribe" is an analytic term, and "ST" a legal-administrative one, as with the Gond, listed as ST in most states.

(e) Politics of Recognition and Deprivation Politics of recognition means the demand for respect for a group's identity, language, culture and status (Taylor), and for formal acknowledgement, such as ST status, language inclusion in the Eighth Schedule, statehood or autonomy. Politics of deprivation concerns material injustice, such as land alienation, displacement, poverty and poor health and education. Nancy Fraser links recognition and redistribution.

Interplay: tribal identity is often mobilised around grievances about land, forests and jobs, and cultural symbols give force to economic demands. The Jharkhand movement (Jaipal Singh Munda, Adivasi Mahasabha, 1938), which led to statehood in 2000, combined identity with deprivation; so did the Bodo movement, which gained the Bodoland Territorial Council (2003) and Santali and Bodo recognition in the Eighth Schedule (2003).

State responses: ST reservation, Fifth and Sixth Schedules, PESA, FRA 2006, DAPST funds and PM JANMAN (2023). Controversies about who qualifies for ST status show how recognition and benefits are linked.