Negotiating tribal development in India: Debates and perspectives

Abstract

Development and inclusion of the tribal communities in the mainstream of the nation-state has been a vexing issue of politico-administrative practice ever since independence. Some consider the Indian experiment of tribal development as unique and imitable as far as treating the indigenous people is concerned. This accolade notwithstanding, some questions remain unanswered: Has the experiments remained at the level of the symbolic, has only the so-called creamy layer benefited from the fruits of this development or has it percolated to the tribe living even in the remotest comer of the country? This paper attempts to contextualize these questions. Through a review of literature, different perspectives and debates that have dominated tribal studies in India have been classified and presented. Delineating the current scenario, the paper pleads for inclusion as the way forward to the half a century old Ghurye-Elwin controversy.