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Home/Anthropology/Mains PYQ/2021/Paper II/Tribal India
UPSC MainsAnthropology Optional Paper II 2021 10 Marks Model Answer Available

Concept of Tribe and the Indian Census — 2021 Paper II

Question · 2021 · Paper II · 10 Marks

Concept of tribe and Indian census

Model Answer

VAID ICS

Introduction

The concept of tribe is one of the most debated categories in Indian anthropology and census administration. Anthropologists view tribes as socio-cultural formations, while the Census treats them mainly as constitutional and administrative categories.

Anthropological Meaning of Tribe

Anthropologically, a tribe is generally understood as a community having a common territory, dialect, kinship ties, cultural traditions and relative social equality. The Imperial Gazetteer of India defined tribe as a collection of families bearing a common name and occupying a common territory. W.H.R. Rivers described a tribe as a simple social group whose members speak a common dialect. Lewis H. Morgan, in Ancient Society (1877), viewed tribe as a kinship-based society with common political authority and collective action. Thus, traditional anthropological definitions emphasised:

  • common territory
  • common language or dialect
  • kinship bonds
  • shared culture
  • collective identity
  • simple political organisation

However, later anthropologists recognised that tribes are not static or isolated. They are dynamic communities shaped by interaction with caste society, state policy, markets, religion and development processes.

Colonial Census and Administrative Categorisation

During colonial rule, tribal classification was influenced more by administrative convenience than by anthropological precision. After the Revolt of 1857, some communities were stigmatised under the Criminal Tribes Act, 1871, based on the colonial assumption that certain groups were criminal by birth. This reflected racial and administrative bias. The Government of India Act, 1919 used the term “backward tribes”. Later, colonial administration also used categories such as excluded and partially excluded areas to govern tribal regions separately. Thus, colonial classification treated tribes as backward, isolated and administratively distinct populations.

Post-Independence Constitutional Concept

After Independence, colonial terms were replaced by the constitutional category of Scheduled Tribes. The Constitution does not give a sociological definition of tribe. Article 366(25) defines Scheduled Tribes as those communities notified under Article 342. Under Article 342, the President, after consultation with the Governor of a state, may specify tribes or tribal communities as Scheduled Tribes. Thus, in the Indian Census, tribe is not defined purely by culture or society, but by constitutional notification.

Census Treatment of Scheduled Tribes

In the 1951 Census, 212 Scheduled Tribes were recognised. The Dhebar Commission, 1959 studied tribal problems but did not give a final universal definition of tribe. The Lokur Committee, 1965 suggested criteria for identifying Scheduled Tribes:

Although useful for administration, these criteria have been criticised for reinforcing colonial stereotypes of tribes as primitive and isolated. The 1971 Census clarified that Scheduled Tribe status depends on Presidential notification and is not linked to religion. This approach continued in later censuses. The 2001 and 2011 Censuses further reaffirmed that Scheduled Tribe status is state-specific and valid only within the notified territorial jurisdiction.

Issues and Anomalies

1. Lack of precise definition

The Constitution identifies Scheduled Tribes through notification but does not define tribe sociologically. This creates ambiguity.

2. State-specific recognition

A community may be recognised as ST in one state but not in another. This leads to unequal access to rights, reservations and welfare benefits.

3. Static administrative category

Census classification often treats tribes as fixed categories, while anthropologically tribes are changing through migration, education, urbanisation, conversion, market integration and political mobilisation.

4. Politics of recognition

Inclusion or exclusion from the ST list has become politically important because it affects identity, reservation, land rights and welfare benefits.

5. Tribe-caste continuum

Scholars like G.S. Ghurye viewed tribes as “backward Hindus”, while others such as Verrier Elwin emphasised tribal distinctiveness. This debate shows that the boundary between tribe and caste is not always rigid in India.

Anthropological Significance

The changing census concept of tribe reveals the tension between cultural reality and administrative necessity. Anthropology studies tribes as living socio-cultural communities with their own ecology, kinship, economy, religion and political organisation. The Census, however, classifies them for governance, welfare and constitutional protection. Therefore, the concept of tribe in India is both a cultural category and an administrative category.

Conclusion

The Indian Census has transformed the idea of tribe from a colonial administrative label to the constitutional category of Scheduled Tribe. Yet, definitional ambiguity remains. Anthropologically, tribes are dynamic communities; administratively, they are notified categories. This gap explains the continuing debate around tribal identity, recognition and rights in India.

2026 Dravidian language family and its tribal speakers. 2026 Buddhist tribes of India. 2026 Nature-Man-Spirit-Complex. 2026 Make a critical appraisal of Surajit Sinha's line of argument that tribes and castes may not be isolated social categories, but are a part of the great Indian civilization.

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