DEVELOPMENT OF BACKWARD CLASSES
I
GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS PROGRAMMES for bringing scheduled tribes, scheduled castes and other backward classes to the level of the rest of the community are among the most significant undertaken during the First and Second Plans. Success in fulfilling them is difficult to measure. It involves far-reaching changes in social Organisation and in social practices and is a test equally of the progress achieved in improving the conditions of the sections of the community directly affected and in reconstructing the structure of the Indian society itself, specially in rural areas. Article 46 of the Constitution laid down the Directive Principle that the State shall promote with special care the educational and economic interests of the weaker sections of the people and, in particular, of scheduled castes and scheduled tribes, and shall protect them from social injustice and all forms of exploitation. The Constitution also provided for certain reservations for scheduled tribes and scheduled castes. These were limited, in the first instance, to a period of ten years but by a recent amendment of the Constitution, these reservations have been extended by a further period of ten years. Since such safeguards are a reflection of the economic and social conditions of the groups concerned, Parliament's action has a twofold significance. Firstly, the problem of raising the living standards of scheduled tribes, scheduled castes and other weaker sections of the population is much more complex than had been earlier realised and calls for sustained endeavour over a long period. Secondly, besides ensuring rapid and sustained growth for the economy as a whole, at least during the next two or three Plans, measures for advancing the economic and social interests of scheduled tribes, scheduled castes and other weaker sections of the community should be so intensified, that they do, in fact, reach a level of well-being comparable with that of other sections of the population. Development programmes included in the plans of States and the Centre for the Third Five Year Plan will need to be continually re-assessed from this angle and steps taken to increase their total impact in various directions as the Plan proceeds. This is a crucial task in the attempt to evolve an integrated society and a well-knit economy for the country as a whole.
2. The lists of scheduled castes and scheduled tribes were revised in 1956. On this basis, according to the census of 1951, the total population of scheduled tribes was estimated at 22.5 million and that of scheduled castes at 55 million. The population of 'denotified' tribes (formerly described as 'criminal' tribes) was reckoned at about 4 million. In different States, according to the local conditions, certain other groups are also described as 'other backward classes' and special steps are taken to safeguard their interests. Development programmes for the welfare of backward classes, for which provision is made, in the Five Year Plans, are intended to supplement benefits accruing from programmes of development in different fields such as agriculture, cooperation, irrigation, small industries, communications, education, health, housing, rural water supply and others. One of the principal lessons of the past decade is that for a variety of reasons, in the ordinary course, the weaker sections of the population are not able to secure their fair share of the benefits of Provisions made under different heads. To enable them to do so, it is desirable that the normal patterns of assistance should provide, wherever necessary, for an element of special consideration for the weaker sections and, in particular, for the backward classes. It is observed that in a number of schemes formulated in favour of backward classes,the financial resources Prov- ided for this section of the population are proposed to be utilised in part to meet the cost of additional subsidy or other assistance to enable the backward classes to avail themselves of the general development programmes. This has the effect of reducing the scope of additional development to be undertaken from the special provisions made for the backward classes. The problem needs further consideration, since, on the one hand, it is essential that the general development programmes should be so designed as to cater adequately for the backward classes and, on the other, the special provisions in the Plan should be used as far as possible for securing additional and more intensified development.
3. For programmes relating to the welfare of backward classes, a total outlay of Rs. 79 crores was incurred in the Second Plan com- pared to Rs. 30 crores in the First Plan. The Third Plan at present provides for programmes estimated to cost about Rs. 114 crores. The distribuiton of these outlays among different sections is shown below :
(Rs. crores)
First Plan Second Plan Third
outlay estimated Plan
expendi- estimated
ture cost of
pro-
grammes
scheduled tribes 19.83 43.00 60.43
scheduled castes 7.08 27.66 40.40
denotified tribes 1.10 2.89 4.00
other backward classes 2.03 5.86 9.04
total 30.04 79.41 113.87
369
370 THIRD FIVE YEAR PLAN
In respect of scheduled tribes, besides the provisions in the plans of States which are intended to benefit them in particular, developmental outlays of territories like NEFA, Nagaland, Manipur and Tripura, are reckoned in the Third Plan at over Rs. 40 crores compared to over Rs. 20 crores in the Second Plan.
4. Of the outlay of Rs. 114 crores in the Third Plan, provided for the welfare of backward classes, about Rs. 42 crores are intended for schemes of educational development, Rs. 47 crores for economic uplift schemes and Rs. 25 crores for health, housing and other schemes. The problems of scheduled castes and other backward classes are essentially those of economically weaker sections of the community, who suffer also, in larger or smaller measure from social disabilities. Denotified tribes constitute a special group whose assimilation into the larger community presents peculiar difficulties, but is nonetheless a matter of great urgency. In the context of a rapidly developing economy, scheduled tribes can no longer remain in the isolation which characterised them in the past and in many areas, with the onset of industrialisation and large irrigation and power projects, they confront the most complex problems of adjustment and rehabilitation. Although there are certain common considerations and approaches, scheduled tribes living in different parts of the country vary a great deal among themselves and the special condition and problems of different tribal groups have always to be kept in view.
II
SCHEDULED TRIBES 5. The broad policies to be followed for the development of tribal populations and tribal areas have been reviewed recently by the Study Team on Social Welfare and Welfare of Backward Classes set up by the Committee on Plan Projects, the Committee on Special Multipurpose Tribal Blocks and the Central Advisory Board for Tribal Welfare and also in special studies in respect of such tribal areas as NEFA and Nagaland. There is a broad consensus of opinion that while the rest of the population of the country goes forward, and India and the world change so rapidly, the tribal areas can scarcely remain in isolation. At the same time, it would be an error to over-administer these areas in the name of development and, in particular, to send too many officials and others to work amongst the tribal people. A middle way between these extreme positions has to be found.
6. Development in such directions as education and provision of training facilities, improvement of agriculture, building up of communications, improvement. of health and medical facilities and supply of drinking water are both essential and inevitable. In facilitating these developments, the tribal people should be enabled to develop along the lines of their own genius, with genuine respect and support for their own traditional arts and culture and without pressure or imposition from outside. In tribal areas every effort should be made to train and build up a team of their own people to do the work of administration and development. Some technical personnel from outside would no doubt be needed, specially in the beginning, but the aim should be constantly to develop local personnel both as official functionaries and as social workers. In determining the development schemes to be implemented, as experience during recent years bears out, it is desirable to avoid taking up too many small and isolated schemes which cannot have much impact; instead the stress should be on a few programmes of basic importance which are calculated to mitigate poverty, impart new skills, promote health and better living, improve communications without upsetting the stability of social and cultural values, the pattern of leadership and institutions and the scheme of obligations within the tribal community.
7. Execution of development programmes meets with several practical difficulties and limitations. For instance, in the absence of adequate local personnel or effective means of communication between personnel engaged in development work and the traditional leadership and institutions, it may not always be easy to observe the various tribal policies outlined above. Nevertheless, these policies provide general guidance in formulating and carrying out development programmes. It was in view of the special. character of the problems involved that Article 339 of the Constitution provided for the setting up of a Commission within ten years of the commencement of the Constitution to report on the administration of scheduled areas and the welfare of the scheduled tribes in the States. The Scheduled Areas and Scheduled Tribes Commission, which was set up in April, 1960, has recently submitted an interim report based on its study of developments in nine States (Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Orissa, Punjab and Rajasthan) and one Union Territory (Himachal Pradesh). In this report the Commission has drawn urgent attention, amongst others, to the following important aspects :
(1) In most States the special protective machinery for safeguarding the interests of the tribal people and protecting them from exploitation by outsiders has not worked satisfactorily. There have been large-scale transfers of tribal land consequent upon the undesirable activities of money-lenders, forest contractors and other exploiters. The reorganisation of forests and enunciation of new policies have resulted in the curtailment of their rights in forests and infishing and hunting. In Bihar, Madhya Pradesh and Orissa industrial and other development schemes have led to large-scale displace-
DEVELOPMENT OF BACKWARD CLASSES 371
ment of the tribal people. There is need, therefore, for strengthening and in some cases for reorganising the administrative set up for the scheduled areas.
(2) The requirements of personnel for working in tribal areas, specially Tribal Welfare officers, technical specialists and field level workers have not been adequately assessed. This factor is responsible for a setback in the implementation of welfare schemes. Recruitment of personnel without a long-term view of requirements has proved unsatisfactory. There has been a chronic shortage of trained workers in the scheduled areas. Per- sonnel who are to work in tribal areas must be oriented to the tribal way of life and appreciation of the special disabilities from which the tribal people suffer. Development activities more or less conceived on the lines of non-tribal areas have generally failed to make adequate headway and impact on the tribal areas. There is need, therefore, for a larger effort through special institutions and otherwise for giving orientation training to personnel at various levels working in tribal areas. Difficulties such as the grant of requisite allowances for personnel who have to work under difficult conditions have also to be resolved satisfactorily.
(3) There are large number of problems emerging in tribal areas which call for scientific study and evaluation, for instance, the impact of industrialisation in tribal areas, the rate of disposition of land, prevalence of various systems of debt bondage, and social and economic effects on the tribal people of specific development schemes and of institutions like ashram schools, forest labourers' cooperative societies, grain goals, etc.
(4) Non-official voluntary organisations have a significant role in the development of tribal areas. They should be adequately assisted on the basis of programmes which are carefully formulated and coordinated with other activities.
The existing arrangements have to be considered further in the light of the Commission's recommendations and steps taken to improve upon them where necessary.
PROGRAMMES FOR THE THIRD PLAN 8. During the Second Plan a variety of development schemes have been undertaken in tribal areas. Thus, the economic uplift programme has included schemes for land settlement, land reclamation, distribution of seed and setting up of demonstration farms, establishment of service cooperatives and forest labourers' cooperatives, and improvement of communications. In the educational programme, stress has been laid on concessions in the form of stipends, freeships and other grants, scholarships before and after matriculation, establishment of new schools,including ashram schools and training in agricultural and industrial crafts. Schemes for supply of drinking water, for improvement of housing conditions and for setting up of dispensaries, maternity and child welfare centres and mobile health units have also been undertaken.
9. In the light of the experience gained in the Second Plan, the general lines on which programmes should be drawn up for the Third Plan were considered by a special working group. It is proposed that economic uplift programmes should give priority to the economic rehabilitation of persons engaged in shifting cultivation, working of forests through cooperatives composed of members of scheduled tribes, and formation of multipurpose cooperatives for meeting the credit requirements of tribal agriculturists and artisans and for marketing their products. From the provisions made under different heads, programmes should be under-taken in tribal areas for land improvement, land reclamation and soil conservation, minor irrigation, supply of improved seeds, manures, implements and bullocks, provision of facilities for training, demonstration of improved practices, development of cattle, fisheries, poultry, piggeries and sheep- breeding, organisation of training-cum-production centres and pro- vision of assistance, and advice to village artisans engaged in cottage industries. In the programme for education, apart from primary schools to be provided for under the general scheme, there should be assistance at the middle and secondary stages for freeships and stipends and hostels. Scholarships and freeships should also be provided for technical training. The main highways should be undertaken as part of the general development programme and resources provided for scheduled tribes should be used, in particular, for culverts, causeways and bridges needed for connecting inaccessible areas, approach roads, jeepable forest roads and repairs to existing communications with remote and inaccessible areas. in the medical and public health programme, the working group has suggested priority for preventive measures for diseases common in each area, provision of itinerant medical units, establishment of maternity and child welfare centres and provision of drinking water in difficult areas.
10. The plans of States have been generally drawn up in accordance with the suggestions outlined above. They will, however, need to be reviewed from two aspects. namely : (a) greater intensification in the light of the recommendations which may be made by the Scheduled Areas and Scheduled Tribes Commission, and (b) ensuring that the special Provisions are utilised as far as possible for additional programmes rather than merely for altering the patterns of assistance made available to the backward classes under the general schemes of development. As a rule, such concessions as are considered necessary in the interest of these groups should be built into the schemes themselves and should not be dependent on resources being diverted from the limited provisions made specifically for the welfare of backward classes.
372 THIRD FIVE YEAR PLAN
11. The Plan provides for a large programme of tribal development blocks, which aim at intensive and coordinated development in tribal areas on the general pattern of community development, but modified to suit tribal conditions and supplemented by additional resources. In all, 43 development blocks came under this programme during the Second Plan. Each Block involved a total outlay of Rs. 27 lakhs, Rs. 12 lakhs being found under Community Development and Rs. 15 lakhs by the Ministry of Home Affairs. The scheme has now been altered so as to provide for a total outlay of Rs. 22 lakhs in stage I (the contribution of the Ministry of Home Affairs being Rs. 10 lakhs), followed by a further period of five years under stage IT for which an allotment of Rs. 10 lakhs will be made; Rs. 5 lakhs under Community Development and Rs. 5 lakhs from the Ministry of Home Affairs. Following the recommendations made by the Committee on Special Multi- purpose Tribal Blocks, the scheme of Development in these areas has been made much more flexible. The programme will now extend not only to scheduled areas but also to those blocks in which the tribal population constitutes two-thirds or more of the total population. In place of the schematic budget suggesting in detail the distribution of the available resources under different beads, it is now proposed that about 60 per cent of the funds should be allotted for economic uplift, 25 per cent for communications and 15 per cent for social services, with the suggestion that for tackling effectively the problem of drinking water supply further resources might be secured from the provision for economic uplift. The Third Plan provides in all for 300 tribal development blocks.
12. As a result of recent discussions there is already a concensus of opinion as to the basic conditions required for the successful execution of the programme for tribal development blocks. These are, in particular, careful planning, coordination of activities, training and orientation of personnel to the needs of the tribal communities, special attention to the requirements of the poorer and the more, inaccessible areas, respect for tribal rights in land and forests and active association of the traditional tribal organisations and leadership with the implementation of development programmes. The programme for tribal development blocks is being implemented as a Centrally sponsored scheme. Other development schemes in the same category are those relating to cooperation, including forest cooperatives, and marketing-cum-consumer coopera- tives, award of post-matriculation scholarships, Tribal Research Institutes and training, research and surveys.
13. As pointed out earlier, the programme for scheduled tribes will be reviewed after the final Proposals of the Scheduled Areas and Scheduled Tribes Commission become available. In this connection, it may be stated that in its interim report, referring to nine States and one Union Territory, the Commission has recommended a total outlay of about Rs. 73 crores as against the provision in the Plan as at present formulated (including both State Plans and Centrally sponsered schemes) of about Rs. 54 crores. The following table compares the present provisions in the Plan for all States and Union Territories and those for areas considered in the interim report of the Commission :
(Rs. crores)
all States nine States & one
& Union Union Territory
Territories
provision provision outlay
in the in the recom-
Third Third mended in
Plan Plan the Interim
Centre Report Of
and the scheduled
States Areas &
Scheduled
Tribes
Commission
education 14.48 12.26 15.38
economic uplift 37.12 34.39 48.07
health, housing and other
schemes 9.55 6.99 9.45
total 61.15 53.64 72.90