VAID'S ICS – Best UPSC Anthropology Coaching in Delhi Since 1985

Comprehensive Classroom Course · Admissions openRegister now
+91 93113 37737
  • +91-93113 37737, +91-99999 46748
  • 73(FF), Old Rajender Nagar Market, Delhi - 110060
  • MON to SUN 9.00 am - 6.00 pm
Facebook Youtube Instagram
Menu
Enquire Now
Home/Anthropology/Mains PYQ/2018/Paper II/Ethnicity, Tribal Movements & Social Change
UPSC MainsAnthropology Optional Paper II 2018 15 Marks Model Answer Available

Factors Resulting in Tribal Unrest — 2018 Paper II

Question · 2018 · Paper II · 15 Marks

Discuss the various factors resulting in tribal unrest in various parts of India.

Model Answer

VAID ICS

Approach

  • Demand of Question: Analyse the multiple economic, political, ecological and cultural causes behind tribal unrest across different regions of India.
  • Structuring the Response: Organize causes around land, forests, exploitation, development, autonomy and identity, supported by representative tribal movements.
  • Key Dimensions to Cover: Land alienation, forest laws, displacement, dikus, indebtedness, autonomy, Naga-Mizo movements, Jharkhand, resource conflict and governance failure.

Model Answer

Introduction: Tribal unrest in India has historically emerged when tribal control over land, forests, resources, political autonomy and cultural identity has been undermined. It is therefore better understood as a response to structural dispossession and marginalization rather than simply as law-and-order disorder.

  1. Land alienation

Land is central to tribal livelihood and identity.

Alienation occurs through:

  • debt;
  • fraudulent transfers;
  • moneylending;
  • commercial agriculture;
  • encroachment.

For many tribal societies:

Land = Livelihood + Ancestry + Identity

Loss of land was a major factor behind movements such as:

  • Santhal Hul;
  • Birsa Munda’s Ulgulan.
  1. Forest restrictions

Colonial forest laws and later restrictive conservation policies reduced customary access to:

  • shifting-cultivation land;
  • grazing;
  • hunting;
  • fuelwood;
  • minor forest produce.

Thus:

Customary forest rights → State control → Livelihood restriction → Unrest

  1. Exploitation by outsiders

Tribal movements often expressed opposition to dikus, including:

  • moneylenders;
  • traders;
  • landlords;
  • contractors;
  • intermediaries.

Indebtedness and unequal market relations increased economic dependency.

  1. Development-induced displacement

Tribal regions contain substantial:

  • mineral resources;
  • forests;
  • river systems.

Consequently, dams, mining and industries have disproportionately affected tribal areas.

Displacement may cause:

  • loss of land;
  • livelihood insecurity;
  • destruction of common resources;
  • weakening of kinship networks.

Thus:

Resource-rich tribal area → Development project → Displacement → Protest

  1. Failure of rehabilitation

Compensation often fails to replace:

  • common-property resources;
  • forest access;
  • community networks;
  • sacred landscapes.

Tribal unrest may therefore continue even after monetary compensation.

  1. Cultural and ethnic identity

Some movements arise from fear of cultural absorption or loss of:

  • language;
  • customary law;
  • religion;
  • traditional political institutions.

Identity consequently becomes a basis for political mobilization.

  1. Demand for political autonomy

The Naga and Mizo movements reflected strong assertions of distinct ethnic identity and political autonomy.

Similarly, the Jharkhand movement combined:

  • cultural identity;
  • regional neglect;
  • land issues;
  • resource exploitation.

The creation of Jharkhand illustrates how some tribal demands can be accommodated constitutionally.

  1. Administrative alienation

Externally designed administration may disregard:

  • traditional councils;
  • customary laws;
  • Gram Sabha institutions.

Bureaucratic control without effective participation can generate feelings of political exclusion.

  1. Poverty and developmental deprivation

Many tribal regions continue to face:

  • poor health services;
  • inadequate education;
  • unemployment;
  • infrastructure deficits.

A paradox emerges when resource-rich tribal regions remain socially deprived despite producing mineral and forest wealth.

  1. Failure of protective legislation

India possesses safeguards such as:

  • Fifth Schedule;
  • PESA;
  • Forest Rights Act;
  • land-transfer restrictions.

Weak implementation may produce a gap between:

Constitutional protection → Actual experience

This gap can deepen distrust of the state.

  1. Inter-ethnic and demographic pressures

In parts of Northeast India, migration and competition over:

  • territory;
  • political representation;
  • resources

have generated inter-community tensions.

Hence tribal unrest is not always exclusively a tribe-versus-state phenomenon.

  1. Radical political mobilization

In parts of central India, unresolved issues of:

  • land;
  • forests;
  • exploitation;
  • weak state presence

have created conditions in which extremist movements can gain support or operate.

However, tribal grievances should not be equated automatically with insurgency.

Anthropological understanding

The causes interact:

Land alienation + Resource loss + Cultural insecurity + Political exclusion → Tribal unrest

Therefore no single-factor explanation is adequate.

Conclusion

Tribal unrest in India is rooted in the contradiction between resource exploitation and tribal rights, administrative integration and autonomy, development and displacement. Durable peace requires secure land and forest rights, effective implementation of safeguards, culturally sensitive development and genuine participation of tribal communities in decisions affecting them.

2026 Tana Bhagat movement. 2026 Kumar Suresh Singh's contribution in studying tribal movements. 2026 Discuss the impact of Christianity on the tribal population of Jharkhand. 2025 Regionalism and Autonomy

Want feedback on your answer?

Join the Anthropology workshop or get structured answer-writing guidance from VAID ICS.

Join Workshop Contact VAID ICS

UPSC Anthropology Optional 2018 — Paper II

28 questions

5(c) Agrarian social structure

10 Marks150 words
Syllabus: Paper II > 5.1 Indian Village > Agrarian relations in Indian villages
2018Paper IIVillage India, Urbanisation & Social ChangeModel answer available

1(c) Endangered Languages

10 Marks150 words
Syllabus: Paper II > 2. Demographic profile of India > Linguistic elements and their distribution
2018Paper IIIndian Society, Caste & CivilizationModel answer available

5(e) Modernization

10 Marks150 words
Syllabus: Paper II > 5.3 Indigenous and exogenous processes of socio-cultural change > Modernization
2018Paper IIVillage India, Urbanisation & Social ChangeModel answer available

1(d) OBCs among non-Hindu communities

10 Marks150 words
Syllabus: Paper II > 7.1 Problems of exploitation and deprivation of Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and Other Backward Classes
2018Paper IIIndian Society, Caste & CivilizationModel answer available

1(b) Philosophy behind Purusharthas

10 Marks150 words
Syllabus: Paper II > 3.1 Structure and nature of traditional Indian social system > Purushartha
2018Paper IIIndian Society, Caste & CivilizationModel answer available

5(b) Tribe and scheduled tribe

10 Marks150 words
Syllabus: Paper II > 6.1 Tribal situation in India > Definition and scheduling of tribes
2018Paper IITribal IndiaModel answer available

5(a) Youth dormitory as an institution

10 Marks150 words
Syllabus: Paper II > 6.1 Tribal situation in India > Social institutions of tribal societies
2018Paper IITribal IndiaModel answer available