The Central government has decided to set up a committee to look into the economic status of tribals. It is headed by Virginia Xaxa, who has been recently inducted into the National Advisory Council. The committee is expected to work on the same lines as the Sachar committee which surveyed Muslims. It has been asked to submit its report in nine months, coinciding roughly with the run-up to the general election. The government’s objective is evidently to capture the tribal vote. The Congress has been hard put to do so in the past decade. One hopes however that the committee will pay serious attention to its terms of reference and not have an eye on the poll schedule.
The question of bringing the tribes into the mainstream has been very much on the public mind for a long time. The emphasis is on preserving tribal identity without allowing the tribes to be treated as museum pieces. The Scheduled Tribes are at the bottom of the country’s population groups according to the 2011 Census. Isolation, discrimination, regional backwardness, displacement neglect-all these have put the tribes in the dark backyard. Add to this Maoist violence in the tribal belts in central India. Exploitation of tribes is used by the miscreants as an excuse for their violence. Political competitiveness darkens the lives of tribal communities even in regions which are rich in natural resources. The committee will have to focus on these key issues. Obviously, the task of implementing the Xaxa committee’s recommendations will be the job of the successor government. It is hoped that the electoral campaigns will not vitiate its probe.