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Home/Anthropology/Mains PYQ/2014/Paper II/Tribal Problems & Displacement
UPSC MainsAnthropology Optional Paper II 2014 15 Marks Model Answer Available

Land Alienation Among Tribes of Central India — 2014 Paper II

Question · 2014 · Paper II · 15 Marks

Discuss the impact of land alienation on the tribes of Central India.

Model Answer

VAID ICS

Approach

  • Demand of Question: Explain how loss of customary land affects the economic, social and cultural life of tribal communities of Central India.
  • Structuring the Response: Briefly identify the processes producing land alienation and then discuss its multidimensional consequences.
  • Key Dimensions to Cover: Indebtedness, moneylenders, mining, displacement, proletarianization, migration, cultural disintegration, tribal unrest and identity.

Model Answer

Introduction: For many tribes of Central India, land is not merely an economic resource but the basis of subsistence, kinship, social identity and sacred attachment to territory. Land alienation therefore produces consequences far beyond loss of property.

Tribal communities affected include sections of:

  • Gond;
  • Baiga;
  • Bhil;
  • Oraon;
  • Ho and related central Indian populations.

Causes of land alienation

Alienation has historically occurred through:

  • indebtedness to moneylenders;
  • manipulation of land records;
  • acquisition by non-tribal cultivators;
  • mining and industrial projects;
  • dams and infrastructure;
  • state control over forests.

Thus:

Land loss → Resource loss → Livelihood insecurity

Major impacts

  1. Economic impoverishment

Loss of agricultural and forest land leads to:

  • declining subsistence security;
  • indebtedness;
  • dependence on wage labour.

Independent cultivators may become landless labourers.

  1. Migration and proletarianization

Landlessness pushes tribal households towards:

  • mines;
  • construction;
  • plantations;
  • urban informal employment.

This weakens traditional village-based economies.

  1. Food insecurity

Loss of access to:

  • cultivated land;
  • forests;
  • common resources

reduces dietary diversity and increases nutritional vulnerability.

  1. Social disorganization

Displacement may disrupt:

  • clans;
  • kinship networks;
  • village councils;
  • reciprocal labour arrangements.
  1. Cultural impact

Land often contains:

  • sacred groves;
  • ancestor sites;
  • burial grounds;
  • ritual landscapes.

Hence alienation can produce cultural and spiritual dispossession.

  1. Tribal unrest

Land alienation has historically contributed to:

  • protest movements;
  • resistance to outsiders;
  • demands for autonomy and resource rights.

It therefore becomes an important source of tribal political mobilization.

  1. Impact on women

Women may lose customary access to:

  • fuel;
  • fodder;
  • minor forest produce;
  • food resources,

increasing their work burden and economic insecurity.

Conclusion

Land alienation transforms tribal society from a relatively resource-based community economy toward landlessness, migration and dependence on external markets. In Central India, protection of tribal land is therefore essential not only for economic welfare but also for preserving social organization, cultural identity and autonomy.

2026 Make a critical appraisal of Niyamgiri movement against mining-induced displacement. 2026 Write an account on the prevalence of sickle cell disease among the tribal populations of India. What are the initiatives undertaken by the affected states to tackle with this disease? 2026 What are the major challenges tribal communities are facing in contemporary India? 2025 Examine the environmental and biocultural factors influencing the health of tribals of India.

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