A+| A| A-
An Empirical Study of the Socio-economic Status of Baiga Tribe of Central India
The category of primitive tribal group was created to include those groups that were considered the poorest of the poor. The particularly vulnerable tribal groups, earlier known as PTGs, are characterised by forest-based livelihoods, pre-agriculture level of existence, stagnant or declining population, extremely low literacy, and a subsistence economy. This article investigates different aspects of the socio-economic life of the Baiga tribe, a PVTG of central India.
According to the Oxford Dictionary, “a tribe is a group of people in a primitive or barbarous stage of development acknowledging the authority of a chief and usually regarding themselves as having a common ancestor.” India has the world’s second largest concentration of tribal population next to Africa. According to the 2011 Census, the Scheduled Tribe (ST) population in India is 104.3 million (8.6%). This accounted for about one-fourth of the total tribal population of the world. The STs comprise 11.3% of the Indian rural population and 2.8% of the Indian urban population. In 2001, the proportion of STs to the total population was 8.2%, while the proportion was 10.4% in rural areas and 2.4% in urban areas. The total male ST population, according to the 2011 Census, is 5,24,09,823 of which 4,71,26,341 are residing in rural areas and 52,83,482 are in urban areas. The total female ST population is 5,18,71,211 with 4,66,92,821 in rural areas and 51,78,390 in urban areas. The sex ratio among STs is 991 females to every 1,000 males in rural areas and 980 females to every 1,000 males in urban areas, the average being 990. Madhya Pradesh (MP) is home to the largest number of tribes in the country.
Baiga: A Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Group
Dear Reader,
Or
To gain instant access to this article (download).
(Readers in India)
(Readers outside India)
