The National Committee Report on Tribal People

Abstract

This article is a critical commentary on the report that the High-Level Committee on Socio-Economic, Health and Educational Status of Tribal Communities of India submitted to the Government of India in 2014. This is one of the most exhaustive reports on tribal societies in India, providing well analysed data on the different indices of their social and cultural life. The analysis of data on socio-economic, health and educational status is followed by a set of recommendations that the state and the institutions of civil society may examine. At the end, all these recommendations are brought together in a consolidated set and the feasibility of each of these is discussed. An important point the report makes is that the state has paid a lot of attention to issues of development in tribal areas without caring for protecting them from the elements which have been exploiting them. Development has rendered a large number of them homeless, and this makes them hugely vulnerable to different forms of oppression.