Mains Marathon

• Introduce the answer with concept of Tribal Panchsheel.
• Discuss the Tribal Panchsheel Policy with respect to recent Island development Projects.
• Give way forward to make India’s tribal policy more Tribal centric, sustainable, and consistent with Tribal Panchsheel Policy.
• Conclude suitably.

Answer

Tribals are also known as Adivasis, who were the original inhabitants of land and live close to the forests. Jawaharlal Nehru formulated the following five principles for the policy to be pursued vis-a-vis the tribals also known as Tribal Panchsheel:

• People should develop along the lines of their own genius, and the imposition of alien values should be avoided.
• Tribal rights in land and forest should be respected.
• Teams of tribals should be trained in the work of administration and development.
• Tribal areas should not be over-administered or overwhelmed with a multiplicity of schemes.
• Results should be judged not by statistics, or the amount of money spent, but by the human character that has evolved.

Recent tribal development project sanctioned by Government of India:

• In 2018, the Government of India excluded 29 islands – including North Sentinel – from the Restricted Area Permit (RAP) regime, in a major effort to boost tourism.
• NITI Aayog-piloted Rs.72,000-crore integrated project in Great Nicobar includes construction of a mega port, an airport complex, a township spread over 130 sq. km of pristine forest and a solar and gas-based power plant.
• Andaman and Nicobar Islands Integrated Development Corporation Ltd. (ANIIDCO) is the project being thought of.
• The latest Draft Lakshadweep Development Authority Regulation, 2021, for the creation of a Lakshadweep Development Authority (LDA).

Concerns arising out of Island development projects are:

• The exclusion of the 29 islands from the restricted area permit in the name of tourism violated the sanctity of the tribals and their unique way of life and paved the way for the annihilation of the tribals.
• Andaman Trunk Road that passes through the heart of the Jarawa reserve and facilitates the commercial exploitation of the Jarawas in the name of “human safaris”.
• Niti Aayog's proposal for the development of island for the tourism and defense purposes will facility to the destruction of the biodiversity on which the livelihood of the tribals mainly depends and facilitate the introduction of foreign intruders on the on the land of the tribal lands which are mainly not welcomed by the tribes.
• Island development projects in the Lakshadweep has brought the livelihood of the islanders on the stake and also impose the idea of development of mainland Indians on the tribals.
• Not ratification of the convention of 1989 of ILO, which stated that the policy of non-intervention in the tribal areas by the government shows the ambiguity in the intension of government regarding tribal areas.

Policies reflect Tribal Panchsheel in the letter and spirit like:

• Although the Government of India has not ratified the ILO convention of 1989 which insisted on the policy of intervention of the tribal areas, the policies of the government of India has prevented the interference in the tribal areas as per constitution mandate like 5^th schedule and 6^th schedule of the constitution and by the recognition of the Primitive Tribal Groups among the tribals themselves.
• Exclusion of 29 islands from the Restricted Area Permits is to facilitate the research, study and tourism that will facilitate the economic developments of tribes and informed policy making for tribes and their inclusion and training in governance as per tribal Panchsheel.
• Island development projects and construction like roads and other facilities serve the mutual interest of both tribes and the nation as a whole because of the strategic locations of the Islands. It facilitates the better administration of the tribal areas by the tribes themselves because of the available infrastructure and sense of connectivity among themselves. It is also consistent with Tribal Panchsheel.

Although there are a number of concerns vis-a-vis several policies, till today India’s Tribal policies adhere to the old tradition of tribal Panchsheel and approach to sustainable development in the interest of tribal inhabitants.

Apart from this there are other policies inspired by Panchsheel for Tribal Islanders’ development:

• Declaration of Lakshadweep Islands as Organic territory to provide better remuneration to local fishermen and coconut farmers.
• About 14,491-hectare area in Andaman and Nicobar has been certified as organic under the Large Area Certification (LAC) Scheme of the PGS-India (Participatory Guarantee System) certification programme (the first large contiguous territory to be certified).
• Four tribes of Andaman and Nicobar are declared as Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTG).
• Protection of tribes under:
  • Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989
  • Provisions of the Panchayats (Extension to the Scheduled Areas) Act, 1996
  • Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006

The strategic location of Tribal Islands brings tribal interest vis-a-vis national interest in conflict regarding security, tourism and future growth of Islands and tribal people as a whole.

As a progressive and democratic society, we have to take a few initiatives for the best interest in tribals, like:

• Ratification of 1989 convention of ILO that insisted on a policy of non-intervention, “recognising the aspirations of these peoples to exercise control over their own institutions, ways of life and economic development.”
• Implementation of constitutional provisions regarding Island Tribals must be implemented in spirit and letter.
• Follow adequate procedure and consensus among all stakeholders.
• Preserve the uniqueness and sanctity of the Islanders as per ethos of tribal Panchsheel.