National tribal policy mooted

By Our Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI, AUG. 4. The final report of the Working Group on `Empowering the Scheduled Tribes' has called for a comprehensive national tribal policy to safeguard the tribal interest, particularly that of the primitive groups, displaced tribal and their rehabilitation.

The report also emphasised the need for expeditious formalisation of Tribal Sub-Plan concept and implementation of the Fifth Schedule of the Constitution in the Scheduled Area, Extension of the Scheduled Area Act 1996, as also the laws of the States which should be made more effective with greater consistency.

Talking to mediapersons, the Chairman of the Working Group, Dr. Ram Dayal Munda, former Vice-Chancellor of the Ranchi University, said the broad recommendations of the group relate to various social sector programmes such as education, health and drinking water policy. It was in this context that the formulation of the tribal policy would have added significance.

To have a better understanding of the tribal people in their totality in time and space, the Group has favoured establishment of an Institute for Tribal Research and Training. Another recommendation proposed, he said, was that the NGOs operating in tribal areas should compulsorily have a tribal as their chief functionary. Such NGOs should not have more than 50 per cent non- tribals as members, Dr. Munda said.

Other members of the group underlined the importance of implementation of proper educational policy in the tribal areas. Not only the primers should be prepared in tribal languages, the dropout rates at the primary and secondary levels should also be cut down drastically. This would be possible only when the use of mother tongue of the tribals as medium of instructions was made compulsory.

Another view expressed was the need for grant of incentives to the officers working in the tribal areas. These would benefit the Scheduled Tribes in the long run.

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Section  : National
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