ThePr obl ems msofMar gi nal i z ed Gr oupsi nI ndi a “Editor’s Note: Note: The author starts by explaining the defnition and mean me anin ing g o th the e wo word rd ma marg rgin inal aliz izat atio ion, n, wh what at ca caus uses es it an and d wh what at constitutes it, as part o the introduction !e then goes on to explain certain sections o the society that ha"e aced marginalization and discrimination # detailed substantiation o the same has been made using graphs and other stat statistic istical al fgur fgures es $mm $mmediat ediately ely ate ater, r, the author switches to explaining about the %aro tribe in North East $ndia and pro pro"ides "ides the histo historical rical bac&ground, bac&ground, present status and study area profle o the same Elaborating upon the educational and socio'cultural socio'cultural status o the tribe, he goes o"er the sugge suggestio stions ns and recommendations made by certain N%(s in $ndia to reduce the marg ma rgin inal aliz izat atio ion n be bein ing g a ace ced d by th this is tr trib ibe e $n u urt rthe hera ranc nce e o th the e recommendations, recomm endations, a conclusion is drawn by him mentioning ways to impro"e and execute the programs intended to protect this tribe)
I NTRODUCTI ON *argi *ar gina nali lity ty is an exp xper erie ien nce tha hatt a+ a+ec ects ts mil illi lion ons s o peo eopl ple e throughout the world eople who are marginalized ha"e relati"ely little control o"er their li"es, and the resources a"ailable to them This results in ma&ing them handicapped in del"ing contribution to society # "icious circle is set up whereby their lac& o positi"e and supp su ppor orti ti"e "e rela elati tion onsh ship ips s me mean ans s th that at th they ey ar are e pr pre" e"en ente ted d r rom om participating in local lie, which in turn leads to urther isolation This has a tremendous impact on de"elopment o human beings, as well as on socie society ty at larg large e #s the ob-ecti"e ob-ecti"e o de"elopment de"elopment is to create an enabling en"ironment or people to en-oy a producti"e, healthy, and creati"e lie, it is important to address the issue o marginalization .e"elopment is always broadly concei"ed in terms o mass participation *arginalization depri"es a large ma-ority o people across the globe rom participating in the de"elopment $t is a co comp mple lex x pr prob oble lem m, an and d th ther ere e ar are e ma many ny a act ctor ors s th that at ca caus use e marg ma rgin inal aliz izat atio ion n Th This is co comp mple lex x an and d se seri riou ous s pr prob oble lem m ne need ed to be addressed at the policy le"el This pro-ect deals with the problems associated with the groups su+ering rom marginalization and the ways to reduce them
MEANI NG OF MARGI NALI ZED GROUPS AND MARGI NALI ZATI ON
$n general, the term /marginalization’ describes the o"ert actions or tendencies o human societies, where people who they percei"e to undesirable or without useul unction, are excluded, ie, marginalized These people, who are marginalized, rom a %0(1 or 2(**1N$T3 or their protection and integration and are &nown as /marginalized groups’ This limits their opportunities and means or sur"i"al eter 4eonard defnes marginality as, “being outside the mainstream o producti"e acti"ity and5or social reproducti"e acti"ity) The Encyclopedia o ublic !ealth defnes marginalized groups as, /To be marginalized is to be placed in the margins, and thus excluded rom the pri"ilege and power ound at the center) 4atin obser"es that, “/*arginality’ is so thoroughly demeaning, or economic well'being, or human dignity, as well as or physical security *arginal groups can always be identifed by members o dominant society, and will ace irre"ocable discrimination) These defnitions are mentioned in di+erent contexts, and show that marginalization is a slippery and multilayered concept *arginalization has aspects in sociological, economic, and political debates *arginalization may maniest itsel in orms "arying rom genocide5ethnic'cleansing and other xenophobic acts5acti"ities at one end o the spectrum, to more basic economic and social hardships at the unitary 6indi"idual5amily7 le"el ( course, the orms o marginalization may "ary8generally lin&ed to the le"el o de"elopment o society9 culturally, and as 6i not more7 importantly, with relation to economics or example, it would generally be true, that there would exist more “marginalized) groups in the Third ;orld), and de"eloping nations, that in the .e"eloped5irst';orld nations $ndeed, there can be a distinction made, on the basis o the “choice) that one has within this context8 those in the Third ;orld who li"e under impo"erished conditions, through no choice o their own 6being ar remo"ed rom the protectionism that exists or people in the irst ;orld,7 are oten let to die due to hunger, disease, and war (ne can also add to this "arious minorities, as well as women< ;ithin the irst ;orld, low' income drug addicts stand out as being the most marginalized This deliberate or chosen marginalization o people carries with it aspects o a so'called “=ocial .arwinism) To urther clariy the meaning and concept let us discuss certain characteristics o marginalized groups: 1sually a minority group has the ollowing characteristics >7 $t su+ers rom discrimination and subordination ?7 They ha"e physical and5or cultural traits that set them apart, and which are disappro"ed o, by a dominant group @7 They share a sense o collecti"e identity and common burdens A7 They ha"e shared social rules about who belongs, and who does
not B7 They ha"e a tendency to marry within the group Thus, marginalization is a complex as well as shiting phenomenon lin&ed to social status
VARI OUSMARGI NALI ZED GROUPS AND THEI R PROBLEMS *ost "ulnerable marginalized groups in almost e"ery society can be summarized as below: > ;omen ' 1nder di+erent economic conditions, and under the inCuence o specifc historical, cultural, legal and religious actors, marginalization is one o the maniestations o gender ineDuality $n other words, women may be excluded rom certain -obs and occupations, incorporated into certain others, and marginalized in others $n general they are always marginalized relati"e to men, in e"ery country and culture ;omen 6or, men7 don’t present a homogeneous category where members ha"e common interests, abilities, or practices ;omen belonging to lower classes, lower castes, illiterate, and the poorest region ha"e di+erent le"els o marginalization than their better o+ counterparts ? eople with disabilities ' eople with disabilities ha"e had to battle against centuries o biased assumptions, harmul stereotypes, and irrational ears The stigmatization o disability resulted in the social and economic marginalization o generations with disabilities, and, li&e many other oppressed minorities, this has let people with disabilities in a se"ere state o impo"erishment or centuries The proportion o disabled population in $ndia is about ?> million The percentage o disabled population to the total population is about ?>@ per cent There are interstate and interregional di+erences in the disabled population The disabled ace "arious types o barriers while see&ing access to health and health ser"ices #mong those who are disabled women, children and aged are more "ulnerable and need attention @ =chedule 2astes6.alits7 '
The caste system is a strict hierarchical social system based on underlying notions o purity and pollution Frahmins are on the top o the hierarchy and =hudras or .alits constitute the bottom o the hierarchy The marginalization o .alits inCuences all spheres o their lie, "iolating basic human rights such as ci"il, political, social, economic and cultural rights # ma-or proportion othe lower castes and .alits are still dependent on others or their li"elihood .alits does not reer to a caste, but suggests a group who are in a state o oppression, social disability and who are helpless and poor 4iteracy rates among .alits are "ery low They ha"e meager purchasing power and ha"e poor housing conditions as well as ha"e low access to resources and entitlements =tructural discrimination against these groups ta&es place in the orm o physical, psychological, emotional and cultural abuse which recei"es legitimacy rom the social structure and the social system hysical segregation o their settlements is common in the "illages orcing them to li"e in the most unhygienic and inhabitable conditions #ll these actors a+ect their health status, access to healthcare and Duality o lie There are high rates o malnutrition reported among the marginalized groups resulting in mortality, morbidity and anemia #ccess to and utilization o healthcare among the marginalized groups is inCuenced by their socio'economic status within the society 2aste based marginalization is one o the most serious human rights issues in the world today, ad"ersely a+ecting more than ?GH million people mostly reside in $ndia 2aste'based discrimination entails social and economic exclusion, segregation in housing, denial and restrictions o access to public and pri"ate ser"ices and employment, and enorcement o certain types o -obs on .alits, resulting in a system o modern day sla"ery or bonded labour !owe"er, in recent years due to aIrmati"e action and legal protection, the intensity o caste based marginalization is reducing A=cheduledTribes J The =cheduled Tribes li&e the =cheduled 2astes ace structural discrimination within the $ndian society 1nli&e the =cheduled 2astes, the =cheduled Tribes are a product o marginalization based on ethnicity $n $ndia, the =cheduled Tribes population is around KA@ million and is considered to be socially and economically disad"antaged Their percentages in the population and numbers howe"er "ary rom =tate to =tate They are mainly landless with little control o"er resources such as land, orest and water They constitute a large proportion o agricultural laborers, casual laborers, plantation laborers, industrial laborers etc This has resulted in po"erty among them, low le"els o education, poor health and reduced access to healthcare ser"ices They belong to the poorest strata o the society and ha"e se"ere health problems
B Elderly or #ged eople J #geing is an ine"itable and inexorable process in lie $n $ndia, the population o the elderly is growing rapidly and is emerging as a serious area o concern or the go"ernment and the policy planners #ccording to data on the age o $ndia’s population, in 2ensus ?HH>, there are a little o"er LGG million people abo"e GH years, constituting L? per cent o the population The number o people o"er GH years in >> was GK per cent o the country’s population The "ulnerability among the elderly is not only due to an increased incidence o illness and disability, but also due to their economic dependency upon their spouses, children and other younger amily members #ccording to the ?HH> census, @@> per cent o the elderly in $ndia li"e without their spouses The widowers among older men orm >A per cent as against BH> per cent widows among elderly women #mong the elderly 6KH years and abo"e7, L>> per cent o women were widows while widowers ormed only ?K per cent o men 4ac& o economic dependence has an impact on their access to ood, clothing and healthcare #mong the basic needs o the elderly, medicine eatures as the highest unmet need !ealthcare o the elderly is a ma-or concern or the society as ageing is oten accompanied by multiple illnesses and physical ailments G2hildren J 2hildren *ortality and morbidity among children are caused and compounded by po"erty, their sex and caste position in society #ll these ha"e conseDuences on their nutrition inta&e, access to healthcare, en"ironment and education o"erty has a direct impact on the mortality and morbidity among children $n $ndia, a girl child aces discrimination and di+erential access to nutritious ood and gender based "iolence is e"ident rom the alling sex ratio and the use o technologies to eliminate the girl child The maniestations o these "iolations are "arious, ranging rom child labor, child traIc&ing, to commercial sexual exploitation and many other orms o "iolence and abuse ;ith an estimated >?G million children engaged in hazardous occupations 6?HH> 2ensus7, or instance, $ndia has the largest number o child laborers under the age o >A in the world #mong children, there are some groups li&e street children and children o sex wor&ers who ace additional orms o discrimination # large number o children are reportedly traIc&ed to the neighboring countries TraIc&ing o children also continues to be a serious problem in $ndia ;hile systematic data and inormation on child protection issues are still not always a"ailable, e"idence suggests that children in need o special protection belong to communities su+ering disad"antage and social exclusion such as scheduled casts and tribes, and the poor 61N$2E, $ndia7 L =exual *inorities J #nother group that aces stigma and discrimination are the sexual minorities Those identifed as gay, lesbian, transgender, bisexual, &othi and hi-ra9 experience "arious orms o discrimination within the
society and the health system .ue to the dominance o heteronomous sexual relations as the only orm o normal acceptable relations within the society, indi"iduals who are identifed as ha"ing same'sex sexual preerences are ridiculed and ostracized by their own amily and are let with "ery limited support structures and networ&s o community that pro"ide them conditions o care and support Their needs and concerns are excluded rom the "arious health policies and programs
MARGI NALI ZATI ONI NSCHEDULETRI BES =ince in this pro-ect we ha"e to gi"e special reerence to the marginalization o schedule tribes, thereore we are discussing the marginalization o =Ts in a more elaborati"e way The =cheduled Tribes li&e the =cheduled 2astes ace structural discrimination within the $ndian society 1nli&e the =cheduled 2astes, the =cheduled Tribes are a product o marginalization based on ethnicity There are approximately two hundred million tribal people in the entire globe, which means about our percent o the global population $n $ndia, the =cheduled Tribes population is around KA@ million and is considered to be socially and economically disad"antaged Their percentages in the population and numbers howe"er "ary rom =tate to =tate, BHM o the $ndia’s tribal population is concentrated in the North'eastern region o the country, who are, geographically and culturally, are at widely di+erent stages o social as well as their economic de"elopment is concerned and their problems too di+er rom area to area within their own groups rom the historical point o "iew, they ha"e been sub-ected to the worst type o societal exploitation They are mainly landless with little control o"er resources such as land, orest and water They constitute a large proportion o agricultural laborers, casual laborers, plantation laborers, industrial laborers etc This has resulted in po"erty among them, low le"els o education, poor health and reduced access to healthcare ser"ices They belong to the poorest strata o the society and ha"e se"ere health problems They are less li&ely to a+ord and get access to healthcare ser"ices when reDuired They are practically depri"ed rom many ci"ic acilities and isolated rom modern ci"ilized way o li"ing since so many centuries The health outcomes among the =cheduled Tribes are "ery poor e"en as compared to the =cheduled 2astes The $nant *ortality 0ate among =cheduled 2astes is K@ per >HHH li"e births while it is KA? per >HHH per li"e births among the =cheduled Tribes #mong the =cheduled 2astes and the =cheduled Tribes the most "ulnerable are women, children, aged, those li"ing with !$5#$.=, mental illness and disability These groups ace se"ere orms o discrimination that denies them access to treatment and pre"ents
them rom achie"ing a better health status %ender based "iolence and domestic "iolence is high among women in general in $ndia %irl child and women rom the marginalized groups are more "ulnerable to "iolence The dropout and illiteracy rates among them are high Early marriage, traIc&ing, orced prostitution and other orms o exploitation are also reportedly high among them $n situations o caste conCict, women rom marginalized groups ace sexual "iolence rom men o upper caste ie, rape and other orms o mental torture and humiliation Ne"ertheless the 2onstitution o $ndia has made defnite pro"isions or the welare and uplit o the tribal people throughout the country #nd the greatest challenge that the %o"ernment o $ndia has been acing since $ndependence, till today is the proper pro"ision o social -ustice to the scheduled tribe population, besides its rigorous e+ort s in implementing the new policy o tribal de"elopment and integration was initiated throughout the country
GARO – THE SCHEDULED TRI BE FOUND I N NORTHEASTI NDI A (b-ecti"es J $n this section, attempt is made in this pro-ect to study the socio' cultural, economic and educational status o %aro’s Tribes in #mingo&gre "illage, Tura .istrict o *eghalaya =tate through ull remuneration as well as applying the Dualitati"e research method to reach the depth o their problems !istorical Fac&ground J The early history highlights that the %aro’s are descended rom their our athers in a song Tibetgori, who came eastward rom the !imalayas and reached %ondul %hat where they made a brie halt, and then tra"eled to =adiya rom where they tre&&ed into the North ban& o Frahmaputra and reached #mingnaon !owe"er, due to insecurity o lie again they crossed the Frahmaputra 0i"er and came to reside at Oama&hya, and settled or f"e generation until the Ooches came to in"ade the %aro Oingdom, and orced them to migrate towards westward %aro outer hills, and later on penetrated the interior hills o their present abode urther when we critically examined the history o %aros indicated that has been a period mar&ed by persistent o internal warare and many blood eeds seem to ha"e occurred between the amilies, "illages and neighboring chies o No&mas or their "ery sur"i"al itsel Ne"er the less, the contact between the %aros tribes and the Fritish started towards the close o the >Kth 2entury, only ater the Fritish East $ndia 2ompany has secured the .iwani Fengal rom the *ughal
Emperor resent =tatus J The %aros are mainly distributed o"er the Oamrup, %oalpara and Oarbi #nglong districts o #ssam, %aro !ills in *eghalaya, and substantial numbers, about ?HH,HHH are ound in greater *ymensingh 6Tangail, Pamalpur, =herpore, and Netra&ona7 and %azipur, 0angpur, =unamgon-, =ylhet, *oulo"ibazar district o Fangladesh $t is estimated that total %aro population in $ndia and Fangladesh together were about ? million in ?HH> %aros are also ound scattered in the state o Tripura The recorded %aro population was around G,HHH in >L> $n a recent sur"ey conducted by the newly re"i"ed Tripura %aro 1nion re"ealed that the numbers o %aros has increased to about >BHHH, spreading to all the our districts o Tripura %aros also orm minority in 2ooch, Fehar, Palpaiguri, .ar-eeling and .ina-pur o ;est Fengal #s well as in Nagaland, the present generation o %aros orming minority do not spea& the ethnic language anymore %aros are mainly 2hristians although there are some rural poc&ets where the traditional animist religion and traditions are still ollowed %aro language has di+erent sub'languages, iz' #Qbeng, *atabeng, #tong, *eQgam, *atchi, .ual R*atchi'.ualS 0uga, 2hibo&, 2hisa&, %ara, %anQching R%ara'%anQchingS #Qwe etc $n Fangladesh #Qbeng is the usual dialect, but #Qchi& is used more in $ndia The %aro language has some similarities with Foro'Oachari, 0a"a, .imasa and Oo&'Foro& languages =tudy #rea rofle' The ;est J %aro district lies in the western part o the =tate The *eghalaya means the /abode o clouds’ which recei"e the highest rainalls in the world ie 62herrapun-ee7 The district head Duarter o ;est %aro !ills is Tura, being the second largest town in the state ater =hillong The total geographical area got stretched into @,L>A =D Om ;ith three sub'di"ision and eight bloc&s !owe"er the surace is mostly hill with bit plains ringing the northern west and the south west borders, which brings the monsoon to this hilly district The a"erage rainall is @@H cm #s ar as transport acilities are concerned the district is well connected by road, air, and ri"er ie within and outside district #mingo&gre, the study "illage, located at the distance o AL Om, rom the district head Duarter Tura The total number o households were @? respecti"ely count in the sex wise distribution indicates that there are K? males and LB emales and total population o >BL only !owe"er, out o @? households >L were practicing 2hristianity, as their religion and rest o the >B households are non'2hristians locally &nown as /=ongsre&s’ #s ar as basic amenities are concerned the "illage lac&s behind logistically !a"ing only a way to reach rom Tura to "illage by >B &m &utcha road that is also in rainy season becomes diIcult or accessible or "ehicles *oreo"er, the "illage is not electrifed so ar,
and the ma-or source o drin&ing water is rom streams and wells which totally dry up in the month o (ctober to *arch #part rom own acti"ity, there is absolutely no secondly source o li"elihood or the "illagers Phum 2ulti"ation J =hiting culti"ation, commonly &nown by many names in this part o the world as =widden agriculture, slash and burn agriculture, and Phum agriculture Phum has been described as an agricultural concept which has a uniDue eature in it the rotation o felds rather than the con"entional system o crops ie ater e"ery two or our years *oreo"er, the land is abandoned hence the culti"ators were shit now and then to another new feld or clearing, lea"ing the present feld or natural reoccupation or its next turn to come !owe"er, the tribal people who are in"ol"ed in this type o agricultural practice are called as /Phumiyas’ Ne"ertheless KGM o the populations li"ing in the hills are dependent on shiting culti"ation Thereore, >HH o tribal5ethnic, minority population inhabiting the North East hills due to their "ery intimately connected with the practice o Phum culti"ation since time immemorial ;hich not only highlights their traditional liestyle their cultural belies and emotional bindings toward their motherland but also indicates that how homogeneous group they are by nature .ue to the new de"elopment in economic sector, the concentration o economic power started ta&ing place in many ways, frstly the resources owned by the community gradually passes into pri"ate ownership and secondly, land as a producti"e asset began to concentrate in e"er hands which led to the decrease in the percentage o culti"ators and increase o agricultural laborers Traditionally, rice being the staple crop grown in the region and almost LHM o the total area used under paddy culti"ation customary they are reluctant to go or commercial crops such as !3% 6!igh 3ielding ariety ood %rains7 other than the rice, which etch them little extra money !owe"er, an attempt was made to analyze the through the %#’s and it was obser"ed that they are reluctant to change because frstly these people are not so ambitious by nature, which ma&e them happy in a hand to mouth earning system, secondly they ha"e a strong6 son o the soil7 belie to be with nature, closely attached with their place o origin, last but not the least related reason was obser"e ie there is a strong correlated between their lathering attitude and a huge 6H percent7 fnancial assistant recei"ed rom the 2entral %o"ernment Educational =tatus o %aro’s J Education is a &ey strategy or bringing about the changes necessary to ensure socio, cultural, economic de"elopment as well as en"ironmental protection in terms o societies prospecti"e *any research studies in recent times ha"e made strong case or more in"estment in basic education considering the act that ma-ority o the world’s poorest people being illiterates and those children not
attending school, li"e in rural areas !ence, %o"ernment o $ndia Cagships the 1ni"ersal Education olicy, considering the importance o education or rural people, as a crucial step to achie"e the human goals $n order to &now the educational le"el among the %aros tribe ull enumeration o "illage was done and it was ound that only se"en people were studied up to secondary le"el, twel"e were up to middle and ele"en o them were up to primary, were as remaining sixty six were illiterate !owe"er, the actors responsible or high illiteracy, late school enrolment, and the pre"alence o high dropouts rates and the lac& o interest in the modern education and reasons are as ollows: 4arge numbers o "illages in this region are yet to be pro"ided schooling acilities *a-ority o the teachers in this region are untrained 4ac& o eIciency rom the system side 4ac& o ci"ic amenities in the school building 62lass rooms, drin&ing water7 The stri&ing eature is the school timing only @ hours ie LHH #* to >HHH #* arent cited the reason not enrolling their younger siblings unless until they grow old to manage independently =ocio'2ultural =tatus J 1nli&e numerous other tribes in $ndia who practice their own good old traditional culture till today in their day today lie, the %aroe were no di+erent rom those The tribes had been accustomed with modern ormal education system, which successully complemented them in the arts o material and non'material cultural lie to be with the main stream o $ndia $t was gathered rom their opinion ie basically these tribes lo"e to be with nature, isolated themsel"es rom the crowd and preer to be autonomous *oreo"er, because o their arrogant nature, they eel reluctant to obey any ones orders rather preer to be li&e a ree bird 2ustomary, %aros had a system called /No&pante’ means bachelors dormitory $t is a place where "eteran men instructed youngsters in a range o competencies pertaining to agriculture hunting, medicine house building car"ing o wood or artistic and utilization purposes, social properties and the subtler points o religion and rituals !owe"er, it is true that socio'economic realities in these hills ha"e undergone se"eral changes and host o new aims and s&ills can be inculcated only by getting modern education which is per'reDuisite or sur"i"al e"ery human being in today’s digital society 2ulturally, all the young boys and girls must stays in the bachelor dormitories to learn the tric&s o %rihast #shrama, abo"e all not only they ha"e a tradition o selecting their lie partners and later they inorm their respecti"e parents about their lo"e a+airs $n return both sides parents, usually women &eeps trac& o their children’s dating proudly agree to arrange their wedding on a condition that both should pro"e to be capable o becoming ather and mother
#s ar as religious belie is concerned these tribal people hardly had any aith in religion rather it was interesting to &now that they were nasti& Normally, this tribe is a homogeneous by nature that reCects in their day'to'day business by practicing awareness about the outer world $nstead o anchayati 0a- each "illage had a council, headed by the *u&hiya calleld /No&ma’ who usually perorm the inaugural rituals o culti"ation by cutting a tree in the feld and preer to saw the dream till three nights $ No&ma see a bad dream it means lea"e the current feld and search our new feld or culti"ation The other importantly fnding was %aro’s do not ha"e the gender bias among them, but continuing their tradition hunting in general and head hunting in particular exhibiting their "ery character now and then to pro"e their manliness The common and regular esti"als are those connected with agricultural operations %reatest among %aro esti"als is the ;angala, usually celebrated in (ctober or No"ember, is than&'gi"ing ater har"est in which =al-ong, the god who pro"ides man&ind with Nature’s bounties and ensures their prosperity, is honored (ther esti"als are %alQma& .oa, #galma&a, etc %roup songs may include OuQdare sala, !oa ringQa, $n-o&a, Oore do&a, #-ea, .oroa, Nanggorere goserong, .im dim chong dading chong, =ere-ing, Foel sala etc .ance orms are #-ema 0oa, *i =uQa, 2hambil *oa, .oQ&ru =ua, 2hame mi&&ang nia, Oambe Toa, %aewang 0oa, Napsepgri&a and many others N%(s wor&ing or their welare in this area J #ccording to my research and fndings, there are no such registered N%(s wor&ing the uplitnment and weare o this scheduled tribe in #mingo&gre "illage, Tura .istrict o *eghalaya =tate *ostly %aros are dependent on %o"ernmental aids, schemes and welare plans %o"ernment also has not been ully de"oted or their welare9 their plans ha"e pro"e to be in suIcient to these tribal people =uggestion 0ecommendation J =tudying the abo"e collected status o %aro tribe in #mingo&gre "illage, Tura .istrict o *eghalaya =tate, it suggests to me that lac& o education acility and awareness is the oremost problem or the %aros 4arge numbers o "illages in this region are yet to be pro"ided schooling acilities Trained teachers should be employed, ci"ic amenities li&e drin&ing water, school building, etc should be pro"ided arents should be encouraged to send their children to school e"en at "ery primary ages =econdly, there should be transition rom shiting culti"ation to systems o culti"ation, which are more in tune with modern economic, en"ironmental and demographic realities, which is smoother and less painul E"en those who ha"e gi"en it up still li"e with its cultural rituals and technical legacies The transition rom /Phuming’ 6or /bewal’ or /podu’ as it is &nown in "arious regions7 to other patterns has been "ery traumatic or these communities
!owe"er, the obser"ations made during the study was the Phum' 2ulti"ation =ystem does has the strong hold on the socio'cultural, economic and educational status o %aro’ stri"e till today and this "icious cyclic system enabling them to access the modern a"ailable opportunity as well as proper utilization o them Thirdly, there should be a proper go"ernmental body, li&e, anchayati 0a- to go"ern the "illage or smooth and proper unctioning o the administration in the "illiage Thus, the need o the day is to, well eDuipped the tribes in terms o basic education ie, awareness U &nowledge V better utilization which is a pre'reDuisite or building up a sel secure indi"idual who not only being acti"ely participate in community de"elopment but also in the de"elopment o whole globe as a "illage
CONCLUSI ON The pertinent Duestion thereore is where do the marginalized groups stand todayW Though there has been some impro"ement in certain spheres and despite some positi"e changes, the standard o li"ing or the marginalized communities has not impro"ed Thereore, what *inimum needs to be doneW $mpro"ed #ccess to #gricultural 4and' The reasons or the high incidences o po"erty and depri"ation among the marginalized social groups are to be ound in their continuing lac& o access to income'earning capital assets 6agricultural land and non'land assets7, hea"y dependence on wage employment, high unemployment, low education and other actors Thereore, there is a need to ocus on policies to impro"e the ownership o income'earning capital assets 6agriculture land, and non'land assets7, employment, human resource health situation, and pre"ention o discrimination to ensure air participation o the marginalized community in the pri"ate and the public sectors #cti"e 0ole o the =tate in lanning' $t is necessary to recognize that or the "ast ma-ority o the discriminated groups, =tate inter"ention is crucial and necessary =imilarly, the use o economic and social planning as an instrument o planned de"elopment is eDually necessary Thus, planned =tate inter"ention to ensure air access and participation in social and economic de"elopment in the country is necessary $mpro"ed #ccess to 2apital' The po"erty le"el among the =2 and =T culti"ators is @HM and AHM respecti"ely, which is much higher compared with non'scheduled culti"ators 6>KM7 =imilarly, the po"erty incidences o those in business is "ery high @@M or =2 and A>M or =T compared with only ?>M among non'scheduled businesses The "iability and producti"ity o sel'employed households need to be impro"ed by
pro"iding adeDuate capital, inormation, technology and access to mar&ets $t is a pity that though the =Ts do own some land, they lac& the rele"ant technological inputs to impro"e the producti"ity o their agriculture $mpro"ed Employment in ublic and ri"ate =ectors' There is a need to re"iew and strengthen employment guarantee schemes both in rural and urban areas, particularly in drought'prone and po"erty'ridden areas 0ural inrastructure and other producti"e capital assets can be generated through large'scale employment programmes This will ser"e the duel purpose o reducing po"erty and ensuring economic growth through impro"ement in the stoc& o capital assets and inrastructure Education and !uman 0esource .e"elopment' irstly, lower literacy5le"el o education and the continual discrimination o =25=Ts in educational institutions pose a ma-or problem The go"ernment should ta&e a second loo& at the Education olicy and de"elop ma-or programmes or strengthening the public education system in "illages and cities on a much larger scale than today There is a necessity to reallocate go"ernment resources or education and "ocational training or millions o poor students located in rural areas, the loan schemes do not wor& ;e should de"elop an a+ordable, uniorm and better Duality public educational system up to the uni"ersity le"el ublic education system is our strength and needs to be urther strengthened romotion o such pri"ate education systems that creates ineDuality and hierarchy should be discouraged ood =ecurity rograms' The public distribution system should also be re"i"ed and strengthened $n distributing air rice =hops in "illages, priority should be gi"en to the =25=T emale and male groups, as a number o studies ha"e pointed out that they are discriminated upon in the ublic .istribution =ystem and in *id'day *eal schemes ublic !ealth =ystem' The public health system in rural areas has also been by and large neglected Thereore, the primary health system or rural areas and public health system in urban areas must be re"i"ed and more unds should be allocated or the same 1ntouchability and .iscrimination' The practice o untouchability and the large number o atrocities inCicted on .alits continue e"en today mainly because o hidden pre-udices and neglect on the part o oIcials responsible or the implementation o =pecial 4egislations9 ie the rotection o 2i"il 0ights #ct 620#7 and the re"ention o #trocities #ct 6(#7 The
%o"ernment should ma&e a meaningul inter"ention in this regard so as to mitigate the su+erings o .alits due to practice o untouchability and atrocities inCicted upon them and should also treat this matter on a priority basis to ensure that the oIcials and the ci"il society at large are sensitized on this issue
