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Home/Anthropology/Mains PYQ/2021/Paper II/Ethnicity, Tribal Movements & Social Change
UPSC MainsAnthropology Optional Paper II 2021 10 Marks Model Answer Available

Politics of Recognition and Deprivation — 2021 Paper II

Question · 2021 · Paper II · 10 Marks

Politics of recognition and deprivation

Model Answer

VAID ICS

Approach

  • Demand of Question: Explain how struggles for cultural and political recognition are related to experiences of material and social deprivation, particularly among marginalized ethnic and tribal communities.
  • Structuring the Response: Distinguish recognition from redistribution, explain how cultural misrecognition and socio-economic deprivation reinforce each other, illustrate through tribal identity and rights movements, and conclude with the need to combine both dimensions.
  • Key Dimensions to Cover: Identity, ethnicity, recognition, redistribution, dignity, Scheduled Tribe status, autonomy, land and resource rights, political representation and social exclusion.

Model Answer

Introduction

The politics of recognition concerns demands by culturally marginalized groups for acknowledgement of their identity, dignity and distinctiveness. The politics of deprivation arises from unequal access to land, resources, education, employment and political power. Among tribal communities, these processes are often deeply interconnected.

Recognition

Tribal and ethnic groups may demand:

  • recognition as a Scheduled Tribe;
  • preservation of language and culture;
  • autonomous political institutions;
  • territorial rights;
  • recognition of customary laws and traditional institutions.

Recognition therefore addresses status inequality and cultural invisibility.

Deprivation

Many such movements also arise from:

  • land alienation;
  • displacement;
  • forest restrictions;
  • poverty;
  • inadequate political representation;
  • unequal development.

Thus:

Cultural marginalization + Material deprivation → Identity mobilization

Interrelationship

Recognition without socio-economic redistribution may remain symbolic, while redistribution without respect for identity may generate cultural alienation.

For tribal communities, demands for land, forests and autonomy are simultaneously economic, political and cultural because territory frequently forms part of collective identity.

Conversely, state recognition can itself become politically contested when different communities compete for constitutional status and associated benefits.

Critical perspective

An exclusive emphasis on identity may conceal inequalities of class, gender and status within ethnic communities themselves.

Conclusion

The politics of recognition and deprivation demonstrates that tribal marginalization is simultaneously cultural and material. Effective inclusion therefore requires both recognition of identity and redistribution of resources and opportunities.

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

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