Chapter 3

Kerala’s Development Approach and Adivasis

Introduction

One of the drawbacks in tribal policies of the state has been the lack of integrated, cohesive and

analytical approaches towards the existential problem of tribal communities. While economic development

and development in some social sectors have played a major role in improving the quality of life of non-

tribal people, the ground reality is that adivasis in Kerala are largely ignored. The virtual alienation of

tribal communities from forests has added to their problems. With reference to Kerala’s development

approach, it is argued that the cause of conflicts involving tribal communities in Kerala is the misplaced

development strategy adopted by the state. The shift in policy regime has only engendered a process of

new social exclusion by pushing the adivasis to the fringes of development. While it is true that government

has introduced so many development programs for the tribes in Kerala, this paradigm swing in policy

has not helped in reducing illiteracy, unemployment, hunger and utter destitution of these people. This

chapter is an attempt to analyze the development issues of adivasis in Kerala.

Social development in Kerala

Kerala state lies in the south-western corner of India and is bounded by the forested hills of the

Western Ghats in the east and the Arabian sea in the west. The state has a pattern of development,

characterized by high levels of social development. This achievement in the social sphere was made

possible by state policies in response to the series of social movements and mobilizations by politicized

interest groups (Narayanan, N.C., 2003). Aikya Kerala Movement was taken over by the Communist

party in the 1950s. It helped to manipulate the regional patriotism on an all Kerala basis. There was mass

and class mobilization of people, for the fulfillment of their immediate day-to-day needs and the ultimate

aim of independence and social advance. These struggles embraced the entire spectrum of social life,

with special emphasis on abolition of untouchability, land reforms, the rights of workers, educational

advancement, and cultural revival. No doubt, the communists won the hegemony in the popular movement.

The EMS Ministry introduced reforms in the popular social reform fields like land reforms,

decentralization of power, educational reforms etc. But land reforms ended up as a failure. The successive

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governments altering between left and right, were also no exceptions. How land reforms became a

failure in the adivasi context will be discussed later in this chapter.

Jean Dreze & Amartya Sen (1996) and many others have analyzed the social and economic sector

development in Kerala. “Kerala Model Development” has been the hypothesis of development that took

shape in Kerala during the first three decades following the formation of the State. The characteristic

feature of this model was the priority given to the democratic culture in development. This is often

highlighted through the following indicators: land reforms which gave entitlement to the tenants through

politically motivated interventions, a generally high literacy rate, a low population growth rate and high

life expectancies, greater accessibility to essential services like health, water, electricity, public distribution

system, roads etc. These indicators are important because they are attributes available to and in fact

experienced by a large section of population to show up significantly when measured on a spatial or per

capita basis. The “Kerala Model” has in fact laid the foundations for the development of a new model

based on knowledge-intensive industries and services and modernization of traditional agriculture and

cottage industries.

But the internationally acclaimed “Kerala Model” came under sharp criticism in the late eighties. It

was criticized for its failure to produce enough wealth to satisfy the growing demands of a consumerist

society. It was apprehended that the model would not even help to produce enough wealth and

employment to sustain levels of living already achieved. The study of George, K.K & Ajith Kumar,

N. (1997) points out that Kerala is a relatively egalitarian society where skewness of income and assets

is not extreme. On the economic front too, there have been great achievements especially in the fields of

transport, communication and financial infrastructure. But the state failed to transform these achievements

into self sustaining economic growth. This slow economic growth has put a limit to the development in

the social sectors. It is quite possible that social development did not trigger off economic growth in the

state because the state by spreading its resources too thin did not attain the critical minimum threshold

level of quality in its social services which is necessary to transform social development into economic

growth. Joseph Tharamangalam (1999) also views Kerala Model of Development as unsustainable.

According to him there is a three-fold economic crisis for this model of development; a progressively

worsening fiscal situation, prolonged economic stagnation and even decelerating growth, and the

continuing inability of the economy to generate employment for the people of Kerala. These problems

are inherent in the model itself and are not anomalies that can be easily overcome. Along with this,

evidence suggests that these social sector development practices have not had any influence on the

adivasi communities in Kerala. Each of these aspects will be discussed in the coming sections. Before

going into the details of this, we will analyze the profile of adivasis. A detailed discussion on their special

distribution and other aspects is given below.

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The Scheduled Tribes of Kerala

The Scheduled Tribes constitute the most backward group among the weaker sections in the state.

In postcolonial Kerala the Adivasis were characterized by poverty, malnutrition, illiteracy, socio-economic

and sexual exploitation by settlers and the depletion of their traditional resource base (C. P. Balan Vaidyar,

1997). The Scheduled Tribes lag behind the ‘others’ of Kerala Model of Development in their basic

achievements like education and health, which has played a central role in Kerala’s development process(

Human Development Report 2005, 2006).

Statistical profile

The Scheduled Tribe population is 3,641,89 (2001 census), which is nearly 1.1 per cent of the state

population. Their population is steadily increasing from 1981 census onwards, though their growth-rate

has declined from 22.75 per cent in 1991 to 13.47 percent in 2001. The number of different ST groups

in the state in 1961 census was 38 with some area restrictions and they constituted 1.26 percent of the

total population of the state. There was no change in the number of ST groups in the 1971 census and

their proportion to the total population also remained the same. In 1981 some changes were incorporated

in the list of STs, reducing the total number of STs to 35. In 1981, there was 0.23 per centage decline in

the proportion of STs to the total population. This lower proportion might be due to changes incorporated

as per the 1976 revised list, deleting ‘Pulayans’ from the ST list. The Western Ghats region that dominates

the cultural geography of Kerala is an area where most of the tribes live. The district-wise population of

tribesfolk in Kerala is given in table 3.1.

The highest percentage of STs is in Wayanad District wherein they form 17.43 percent of the total

population (2001 census). The coastal district of Alappuzha has the lowest percentage (0.15 percent).

More than 37 percent of the ST population is concentrated in Wayanad district and another 14 percent is

in Idukki. Thus more than 50 percent of the total population of STs in the state is concentrated in the hilly

districts of Wayanad and Idukki. There are 10 districts viz. Kannur, Kozhikode, Malappuram, Thrissur,

Ernakulam, Kottayam, Alappuzha, Pathanamthitta, Kollam and Thiruvananthapuram having proportion

of ST to total population less than the state proportion of 1.14 percent showing that southern districts

have lower proportion of ST population. The four districts having proportion higher than the state average

are Kasargode, Wayanad, Palakkad and Idukki. Kasargod and Palakkad together constitute more than

19 percent of the ST population in the State.

Communities

There are 35 tribal communities in the State. Among them Paniyas form the majority (67948

as per 1991 census which is 21.17 % of the total Scheduled Tribe Population in the State). Adiya, Paniya,

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Table. 3.1District-wise details of ST population Census 2001

Sl.No District Total Population Scheduled Tribe

Male Female Total Male Female Total

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

1 Kasaragode 588083 615995 1204078 15132 15206 30338

2 Kannur 1152817 1256139 2408956 9793 10176 19969

3 Wayanad 391273 389346 780619 67394 68668 136062

4 Kozhikkode 1399358 1479773 2879131 2924 3016 5940

5 Malappuram 1754576 1870895 3625471 5996 6271 12267

6 Palakkad 1266985 1350497 2617482 19990 19675 39665

7 Thrissur 1422052 1552180 2974322 2293 2533 4826

8 Ernakulam 1538397 1567401 3105798 5079 4967 10046

9 Idukki 566682 562539 1129221 25510 25463 50973

10 Kottayam 964926 988720 1953646 8972 9368 18340

11 Alappuzha 1014529 1094631 2109160 1565 1566 3131

12 Pathanamthitta 589398 644618 1234016 3184 3365 6549

13 Kollam 1249621 1335587 2585208 2447 2743 5190

14 Thiruvananthapuram 1569917 1664439 3234356 9890 11003 20893

Kerala 15468614 16372760 31841374 1801169 184020 364189

Share of Kerala (%) 2.91 3.31 3.1 0.43 0.45 0.44

Source: Census 2001

Cholanaikan and Kattunaikans are the four tribal communities in Wayanad district who are still in a very

underdeveloped stage vis-à-vis other tribal communities there. The Kurumas in Kasargode, Kurumbar

of Attapady, the Kadar of Parambikkulam and Sholayar and Cholanaikans of Wayanad and Nilambur are

the communities which are under the threat of extinction (Radhakrishnan, 2007). Communitywise details

of Scheduled Tribes are given in the table below. The sex ratio of tribal population was 996 females per

1,000 males. The total number of tribal households as per 1991 Census was 69,441. The highest number

of tribal households is in Wayanad district (23,287) followed by Idukki district (11,516). The lowest is in

Alappuzha district (651). The tribals of Kerala do not generally adhere to any one particular activity

alone. In fact, they depend on a variety of activities for their livelihood. Farm operations, collection of

forest products and associated activities comprise the main traditional occupations of the major tribes of

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Table: 3.2

Community wise population of scheduled tribes of Kerala

Sl No. Name of CommunityPopulation as per 1981 census ST population

Male Female Total in 1991

1 Adiyan 3953 4199 8152 96902 Arandan 37 58 95 1963 Eravallan 1050 1021 2071 31394 Hill Pulaya 1540 1552 3092 28515 Irular,Irulan 9445 9253 18698 218366 Kadar 774 729 1503 20217 Kammara 39 44 83 1238 Kanikkaran/Kanikar 6741 6983 13724 164649 Kattunaikan 4532 4271 8803 1215510 Kochuvelan 4 6 10 3611 Kondakapus 6 5 11 512 Kondareddies 534 530 1064 44213 Koraga 592 506 1098 165114 Kada 24 17 41 3615 Kudiya,Melakudi 299 298 597 75116 Kurichiyan 11293 10922 22215 2828717 Kuruman 10542 10199 20741 2344418 Kurumbas 673 610 1283 182019 Mahamalasar 5 4 9 3620 Malai Arayan 12247 12252 24499 2494921 Malapandaram 1077 1045 2122 293922 Malavedan 1229 1206 2435 633123 Malakuravan 117 137 254 54724 Malasar 501 466 967 106125 Malayan 1272 1122 2394 754226 Malayarayar 1413 1333 2746 549527 Mannan 2907 2906 5813 708528 Marati 11240 10955 22195 2604229 Muduvan/Mudugan 5664 5549 11213 1737830 Palleyan 16 14 30 23631 Palliyan 406 387 793 151832 Palliyar 214 206 420 15533 Paniyan 27910 29042 56952 6794834 Ulladan 6456 6231 12687 1484635 Utaly 4660 4372 9032 1033536 Unclassified 1831 1802 3633 1577

TOTAL 131243 130232 261475 320967

Source: Scheduled Tribe Directorate (2001), Govt. of Kerala, Thiruvananthapuram.

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Kerala. Kurichyas, Kurumas, Kattunaikans, Irulas etc are predominantly agriculturists. On the other

hand, Paniyas, Adiyas and Mavilans are basically agricultural labourers. Kattunaikans, Kadars,

Malampandarams, Malaivedans, Arandans etc seldom venture on independent cultivation. Their livelihood

mostly is based on the collection of forest products. Traditionally, tribal cultivators practised shifting

cultivation. However deforestation, construction of dams, major projects and government rules forced

tribals to stop shifting cultivation. Now a good proportion of these people are depending on agricultural

labour for their livelihood.

Primitive Tribal Groups

There are five Primitive Tribal Groups (PTGs) in the state viz; Kattunaikans, Cholanaikan, Kurumbas,

Kadars and Koragas. The total population of the PTGs as per 1961, 1971, 1981 and 1991 Census records

are 6411, 8728, 12687 and 17647 respectively. According to the Baseline Survey report of the KIRTADS

(government organization) during 2006-07, the PTG population is 24,285 (6 per cent of total Scheduled

Tribe population) and the number of households is 6523. Details are given below:

Table 3.3Details of Primitive Tribal Groups

Name of PTG Total Population Male Female No. of families

Kattunaikan 18576 9275 9301 5055

Cholanaikan 363 202 161 82

Kadar 1695 800 895 486

Koragas 1572 800 772 422

Kurumbas 2079 1049 1030 478

Total 24285 12126 12159 6523

Source: Baseline Survey Report (2006-07), KIRTADS, Government of Kerala. & Chapter14, Poverty and SpecialProgrammes for Weaker Sections,

www.ayurdhara.org, Accessed on 15th January 2011.

They show an increasing trend in the population. Among the PTGs, the Kattunayakan is having

the largest population size. They have a wide geographical distribution. The Koragas, Cholanickan and

Kurumbar are located in single districts, Kasaragode, Malappuram and Palakkad respectively. Kadar

population is distributed in Palakkad and Thrissur. The economic activities of the PTGs differ from

hunting-gathering to cultivation. The Cholaniackan and Kadar subsist mainly on food gathering, hunting

and non-timber forest products collection. Kattunaikans are agricultural labourers. Koragas are experts

in basketry. Educationally, these PTGs lag far behind the other Scheduled Tribes of the area where they

reside. The primitive tribes are in the pre-agricultural stage of development. Malnutrition and

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communicable diseases are reported from all these communities. High prevalence of TB is reported from

Koragas. Most of the PTGs do not have health care facilities within their vicinity. Infra-structural facilities

provided to them are grossly insufficient (Seetha, Kakkoth, 2005).

Due to peculiar settlements and occupation, the Scheduled Tribes are concentrated in certain regions

of the State. They have undergone various kinds of exploitation for long periods of time and their life is

characterized by poverty and misery. Capitalist onslaught on the tribal way of life by the state and global

business interests have brought nothing short of disaster for these people. Large scale alienation and

dispossession from land and natural resources, and displacement due to development projects have

pushed the tribals into conditions of stark economic deprivation. Now the tribes in Kerala are struggling

hard for livelihood. The following section attempts to analyze the contemporary educational status of the

adivasis in Kerala with special reference to the educational crisis of ST children.

Literacy status of Adivasis

At present, the education sector as a whole in the state is characterized by the existence of a dual

system: one segment comprising high quality institutions catering to the affluent 5 per cent of the population

and the second consisting of low quality institutions meant for the masses. The state has never made any

attempt at equitable distribution of quality higher education, the access to which is virtually barred to

children of marginalized groups like SC/ST (Abdul Salim, 2008). A review of literacy rates among ST

population vis-a-vis with that of the general population indicates a growing gap between literacy rates of

these communities (Kerala Development Report, 2008). The main sources which have been utilized are

the Census, Statistical Publication of Tribal Department and the NSSO etc. Active studies have also been

drawn upon. It is found that the literacy rates of the tribes are far behind those of the other segments of

the populations. The literacy rate of the scheduled tribe population in the state is as follows:-

Table 3.4Literacy Rates – STs vs. All Castes (in %)

Category 1971 1981 1991

General 60.42 70.42 89.81

Scheduled Castes 4.21 55.96 79.66

Scheduled Tribes 25.72 31.79 57.22

Source: Census of India, Series-10, Kerala. Paper-3 of 1971, 1981, 1991 Final Population Totals.

Even though a significant increase has occurred among the Scheduled Tribes, a wide gap is still

existing between the literacy rate among STs and general population. District wise literacy rate in Kerala

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among STs shows that Kottayam has the highest tribal literacy and Palakkad has the lowest. A detailed

literacy rate district wise is given below.

Table 3.5District-wise Tribal Literacy Rates

District 1971 1981 1991

Thiruvananthapuram 42.17 58.06 74.00

Kollam 32.59 50.30 62.42

Pathanamthitta —- —- 73.21

Alappuzha 60.23 53.71 74.48

Kottayam 38.44 73.63 88.69

Idukki 45.12 52.60 76.96

Ernakulam —- 43.35 62.78

Thrissur 25.06 29.90 51.40

Palakkad 7.13 12.04 34.87

Malappuram 13.67 16.33 43.93

Kozhikode 23.24 14.24 52.36

Wayanad —- 43.24 50.63

Kannur 25.52 33.18 58.61

Kasargod —- —- 66.38

Kerala 25.52 31.79 57.22

Source: Census of India, Series-10, Kerala, Paper-3 of 1971, 1981, and 1991, Final Population Totals.

Table 3.6Level of education among STs and other social groups

[(in percentage) As on 1999-2000 (Rural)]

Level of Education ST SC OBC Others

Illiterate 26.36 23.60 17.36 11.67

Literate without formal schooling 0.33 1.80 0.93 0.86

Below Primary 16.12 17.05 18.31 12.30

Primary 12.50 20.99 19.76 14.93

Middle 26.32 25.67 27.52 26.00

Secondary 8.22 7.49 10.72 19.50

Higher Secondary 5.26 1.67 3.20 7.44

Graduation above 4.90 1.73 3.20 7.30

Source: Human Development Report 2005(2006), State Planning Board, Govt. of Kerala: p.66.

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About two-third of the districts in Malabar region have literacy rates lower than the state average.

This data has to be read along with the fact that Malabar region accounts for more than sixty five per

cent of the tribal population. The level of education among the STs and that of general population is

discussed in Table 3.6.

From the above table, it could be seen that over a quarter of the ST population was illiterate in

1999-2000 compared to just a little over 10 per cent for others. However it is at the higher levels that the

differences are more striking, especially from ‘secondary’ level onwards. No wonder why the deprived

groups lag behind the ‘others’ in the basic functioning achievements, which have played a central role in

Kerala’s development process. Disparities in the educational attainments between STs and others are

continuing in spite of various educational concessions extended to Scheduled Tribes. There are three

specific reasons for this; low enrolment ratio of Scheduled Tribes children at the school level, high drop

out rate of Scheduled Tribes as compared to non-Scheduled Tribes and poor economic conditions. The

following sections will focus on these three factors in detail.

Education and enrolment

The percentage of Scheduled Tribe students in total enrolment went up only marginally from 1.15

per cent in 2001-02 to 1.23 per cent in 2003-04. But the absolute number of Scheduled Tribe students

enrolled went up from 58859 in 2001-02 to 60339 in 2003-04. The proportions of Scheduled Tribe

students in Lower Primary and Upper Primary schools during 2008-09 are relatively higher than their

population percentage. But when it comes to high school section, the percentage of Scheduled Tribe

students is less than their population percentage. The fact also remains that the vast majority of these

students are in government schools and government-aided schools. In 2004, 42.08 percent of the SC/ST

students were enrolled in government schools, 56.39 percent in government-aided schools and a meagre

1.53 percent in private unaided schools (Anjana, Alex, 2005).

According to the report of SC/ST Development Department, the state has never made any attempt

at equitable distribution of quality higher education, the access to which is virtually barred to the children

of the marginalized groups like Scheduled Tribes. The principles of equity and access are thought to be

the concerns only of government-run and aided private institutions. Even here the SC/ST and other

backward sections are unable to avail themselves fully of the facilities statutorily made available to them.

Though the government has reserved 20 percent (15 Per cent for SC and 5 Percent for ST) of seats in the

government aided Arts and Science Colleges in Kerala for SC/ST students, their annual quotas are seldom

filled, not even as late as 2000 (Report on the Implementation of Safeguards and Development

Programmes for SC/ST, 2000). In 2000, the share of SC/ST enrolment in Arts and Science Colleges was

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only 12.86 per cent. In a note prepared by the department in August 2000, it was pointed out that in the

case of self-financing courses run by the University; the share of SC/ST students was marginal.

Table 3.7Enrolment of ST students at school levels

[As on 1.10.2008]

Section Total ST Percentage to Total

LP 1665993 33781 2.03

UP 1452540 24449 1.68

HS 1427293 15882 1.11

Total 4545826 74112 1.63

Source: Directorate of Public Instruction (2009), Government of Kerala, Thiruvananthapuram.

Also the proportion of enrolment of SC/ST students has been higher in general education than in

professional education. The proportion of Scheduled Tribes enrolled in professional courses at the

postgraduate level is almost half of that in the corresponding courses at the degree level (Abdul, Salim,

2008). All these statistics indicate their low share in the enrolment and also the high drop out rate among

them as they go for higher education. From the foregoing analysis, we find that tribal education no doubt

lags behind general education.

Drop-out rate

Among the Indian states, Kerala has achieved the distinction of the state having the lowest dropout

rate among school students. In the year 2006-07, dropout rate among school students in Kerala was 0.81

per cent. The drop-out rates in Lower Primary Section, Upper Primary Section and High School Section

were 0.59 Per cent, 0.52 per cent and 1.38 per cent respectively. Among the districts, Wayanad has the

highest drop out rate in the Lower Primary section (1.89 %), Upper Primary Section (1.92 %) as well as

High School Section (2.56 %). If we read these statistics along with the fact that the highest percentage of

ST population is in Wayanad district, the picture is complete. In fact, drop-out rate among Scheduled

Tribe students is 4.18 per cent. The study of Sam Mohanlal highlights that the main reason for dropout is

the total incompatibility between the students and the use of language in the textbooks, language used

by the teachers in the school, and the contents of the text that are often not ecofriendly (Sam Mohanlal,

2001).

Poor economic conditions

One of the main reasons for the very slow spread of education among STs is the peculiar nature of

their dwelling. Majority of the STs are living in remote areas far away from educational institutions. Lack

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of sufficient educational institutions in tribal areas, poverty etc curtail effective educational development

among STs. Moreover, the parents of the tribal children being generally illiterate, neither attach much

importance to education nor insist their children to attend classes regularly. The study of Krishnan, C.

(1999) points out that the major factor accounting for low educational achievements and low aspirations

on the part of tribefolk in Wayanad is their poor social and economic condition.

Lack of tribal teachers

The representation of Scheduled Tribes in the cadre of teachers is very low. During 1997-98, out of

187088 teachers up to the High School level, there were only 6642 (3.5%) belonging to SCs and 354

(0.18%) belonging to STs. At the Primary, Middle and Secondary levels, the representation of ST teachers

was 0.1 per cent, 2.7 per cent and 0.18 per cent respectively. It is also seen that there is no in-service

training for tribal teachers. The need for special training to understand the tribal traits for teachers in the

tribal areas should be considered (Chapter X, 1998). The State Government should make efforts to fill up

the prescribed percentage of reservation of 2 percent for STs, in the teaching profession.

State and tribal education programmes

The government has been implementing several programmes for the educational improvement of

the tribes for the past few decades. In fact in almost all the recent years, more than fifty per cent of the

allotment under the state-level schemes of the Scheduled Tribes Development Department has been on

education (Krishnan, C., 1991, p.44.). But unfortunately the levels of awareness and utilization of these

schemes are relatively low among the tribe folk. Even the total literacy campaign launched in 1991-92

did not succeed in incorporating tribes. The reasons range from non-easy accessibility to their settlements

to dearth of qualified instructors to carry out the programme. The experience in Kerala also shows that in

spite of successful completion of the Total Literacy Campaign, a good number of literates and semi-

literates relapsed into illiteracy mainly due to the lack of continuous and systematic follow up programmes.

A special project titled Tribal Literacy Project was launched for tribals once the total literacy campaign

was over. This programme covered several programs incidental to the cultural and socio-economic

advancement of tribals. During 1995-96, the literacy programs were transferred to the Panchayat Raj

Institutions. In spite of all these it is to be noted that majority of these developmental programmes in the

tribal settlements could not make any desired impact (Environmental Literacy Programme: Evaluation

Report, 2006).

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Tribal land issues and the state

The tribals depend on land for their identity, existence, security and livelihood. In post-independent

Kerala, large-scale alienation of tribal lands took place mainly due to the immigration of plainsmen to

the hill areas, displacement for projects etc. The historic Kerala Land Reforms Act 1963, with its ‘land to

the tiller’ policy unfortunately turned out to be a nightmare for the adivasis. Under the new law, the

occupiers of the land (settler farmers) became the owners and the original owners (the tribals) became

landless and were reduced to the status of agricultural labourers. This resulted in the total derailment of

their life. The KLR Act conferred full ownership on the tenants in respect of land in their possession and

brought them into direct relationship with the state by the abolition of all intermediary rights. One of the

major components of the Act is the abolition of house compound land tenancy and conferment of full

ownership rights to 2,69,000 kudikidappukar or hutmen dwellers who received an average of 0.08 acres

of land on which their houses stood. Compensation was set at 25 percent of the market value of which

half was to be paid to the former landlord by the government and half to be paid by the recipient in 12

annual installments. Unpaid installments were to become debts to the government, not the landlord, and

this could not be used to repossess the land (Srikumar, Chattopadhyay & Richard, W. Franke, 2006).

After the enactment of KLR Act, the non-tribal communities who invaded Attapady and Wayanad

behaved ruthlessly towards the adivasis who are the real owners of the land. They exploited the adivasis

more unscrupulously than their former rivals, the British or landlords. The new masters and the government

bypassed the dalit and adivasi labourers by focusing on giving land rights to tenants only. The failure to

implement land reforms in the real sense in Kerala fuelled violent leftist movements. It is upon this

pressure that C. Achutha Menon, the Chief Minister of Kerala was compelled to push forward the land

rights for the adivasis.

The state government headed by Shri. Achutha Menon took some initiatives for tribal development.

A Bill to restore the tribal land issue was unanimously passed as the Kerala Scheduled Tribes (Restriction

on Transfer and Restoration of Alienated Lands) Act, 1975. It was intended to ameliorate the plight of the

neglected tribals. The Act got the mandatory assent to Entry 6 of List III of the Seventh Schedule to the

Constitution. It received the consent of the President of India on 11-11-1975 and was further included in

the Ninth Schedule so as to immunize it from judicial scrutiny (Cochin University Law Review). But the

rules under the Act were framed and notified in the gazette only on 20th October 1986, that is after a gap

of nearly 11 years. This shows the gross indifference of the authorities in the implementation of the Act

right from the beginning.

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In fact it was the apathetic attitude displayed by successive governments that made the Act remain

unimplemented for nearly eleven years. Finally, in 1986 the government brought the Act into force with

retrospective effect from 1-1-1982 and also framed the necessary Rules. Around 8,500 applications

seeking land restoration were received from tribals. But no action worth the name was taken thereby

reducing the Act to a travesty. This only encouraged the encroachers to continue occupying tribal lands.

Successive governments also ignored the issue.

A legislative committee was appointed in 1976 for enquiring into the issue of landlessness among

the adivasis. 298 cases were notified in Wayanad. Out of this, direct seizing of land of adivasis by force

without payment accounted for 71 cases. 67 cases involved land transactions for petty incomes by non-

tribals and 14 cases were through cheating. In 1977 another survey was conducted among the tribes by

the project officer of the Integrated Tribal Development Project (ITDP), Attapady. It established that

tribal lands were snatched at throw away prices ranging from Rs. 20 to Rs. 2,400 per acre.

Money-lending is the major factor for alienation of tribal land especially in Attapady. In the absence

of any savings the tribal people have no option but to borrow to meet expenses in connection with social

obligations. Indebtedness is wide spread among them. Many take loans from their own patrons besides

money-lenders, petty traders and other unscrupulous exploiters. They are unable to repay within the

stipulated time. Consequently they have to transfer the land by oral lease mortgages or oral usufruct

agreements. There are three credit systems among the tribes of Attapady- Kuttakapattam, Bogikaraya

and Chalaku. Under Kuttakapattam, people of Irula tribes lease out land to settlers for three to five years

on nominal rent. Under Bogikaraya system, land is mortgaged for securing loan. Chalaku refers to a

local unit of eight paras of grain to be measured by the debtor at the creditor’s house for loan. Rates of

interests are four hundred percent, 650 percent or even 900 percent (Mathur, P.R.G., 2010).

It was in this scenario that Dr. Nalla Thampi Thera, a doctor-turned tribal activist of Mananthavadi

(Wayanad), whose name has now gone into the annals of Kerala history as a master litigant of landless

tribals, petitioned the High Court of Kerala against the government. The Court issued a writ of mandamus

directing the state to take utmost steps to execute the purposes of the Act within six months. But even

after receiving directions from the judiciary, the government remained unmoved. In 1993, the Kerala

High Court, in response to a public interest litigation (PIL) filed for the enforcement of KSTA, gave the

state government six months to dispose off applications of restoration pending with it. The government

in their affidavit said that it could not implement the Act as there was organized resistance from the settler

encroachers. In this context the court issued yet another direction to the effect that the properties covered

by orders of restoration against which no appeals are pending and in which no compensation is payable

be delivered by the Revenue Divisional Officers to the tribals within six weeks of that order.

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The UDF government then in power attempted to amend the Act by an Ordinance in early

1996. The bill was completely unjust because it made legal all transactions of tribal land up to January

1986. The Revenue Department collected details on tribal land alienation. It showed that 80,590 ha. of

tribal land had been alienated up to 31.10.96, out of which 440 ha. has been restored (Government of

Kerala, 1998:4). In Attapady alone, there were claims for restoration of more than 10,000 acres of alienated

land, but the authorities had ordered restoration of only 3,336.16 acres, with 600 applications pending.

Even these restorations have not taken place in the field (Ratnaker, Bhengra, et.al., 1998). The government

received a major set back as the Governor Shri. Shiv Shanker refused to sign the Ordinance. The LDF

government led by Shri. E.K.Nayanar was thus faced with the final orders of the High Court to implement

the Act before September 30, 1996. In order to bypass the Court directives, both the UDF and LDF tried

to bring separate ordinances against the Act. Finally with UDF support, the LDF government passed the

first amendment against the Act in September 1996. Thus both ruling and opposition parties joined

hands in unanimously passing ‘The Kerala Scheduled Tribes(Restriction on Transfer of Lands and

Restoration of Alienated Lands) Amendment Act, 1996 amending the 1975 Act. The amendment was in

fact an attempt to protect the rights of the settlers rather than that of the underprivileged adivasis. In fact

the Kerala ST Amendment Bill, 1996 was a clear proof of the Kerala Government’s anti-adivasi stand.

Although Shri. E.K. Nayanar, the then Chief Minister and Shri. A.K. Antony the then opposition leader

led a joint LDF-UDF delegation to Delhi to get Central approval for the Amendment, President Shri.

K.R.Narayanan returned the bill in 1998, refusing assent. This forced both the LDF and UDF to pass the

second amendment in 1999. The Kerala High Court, however, ruled against it by reiterating its 1993

order for the implementation of the Act of 1975.

Thus the adivasi issue in Kerala presents a dismal picture As the government remained indifferent,

the Adivasis have from time to time tried to assert their land rights but were brutally crushed by unleashing

the state violence as at Cheengeri (1995) and Panavally (1997). On October 4, 1996, the Ayyankali Pada

group of Naxalites held the then Palakkad District Collector, Dr. W. R. Reddy, as hostage demanding

withdrawal of the amendment bill and total implementation of the 1975 parent Act. But nothing happened

in the field. On August 14th 2001, following starvation deaths in adivasi belts a group of adivasis snatched

food stuffs from the government owned mobile van at Noolpuzha area in Wayanad. This incident drew

nation wide attention and resulted in a spate of agitations including the one lead by C.K.Janu, a fire

brand articulate leader from the Adiya community. Even the Muthanga upraising in Wayanad was dealt

with through suppressive tactics. “The same government which rejected the High Court order to evict

encroacher settlers from the tribal land in 1996 had no qualms to open police firing against the landless

tribals at Muthanga in February 2003 in order to evict them from a protected wild life sanctuary”

(The Tribal Blood Muthanga: A Struggle for Survival).

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During the last few years Chengara (Pathanamthitta district) has become a symbol of a silent war

for land. Unlike in Singroor or Nandigram, it was not against eviction. Instead it was the fight of those

who toiled in land, but never possessed any cultivable land asserting their right to own sustainable land

in a society, that professes equality and fraternity. The agitation at Chengara commenced on August 4

2007 when 300 families from various parts of the state belonging to dalits, adivasis and other landless

communities converged on the rubber estate owned by Harrison’s Malayalam Plantations Ltd and pitched

up thatched sheds and started living there. Their demand was five acres of land for cultivation and

Rs. 50000/- as financial assistance per family. The demand was later reduced to one acre of land. After

790 days, the struggle was settled at a discussion convened by the Chief Minister, Shri. V.S.Achuthanandan

with Laha Gopalan and others of the Sadhu Jana Vimochana Samyukta Vedi, which spearheaded the

agitation. 1432 families out of the 1738 families who had started living on the rubber plantation of

Harrison’s will get land and financial assistance to build houses as part of the settlement (Pratheep, P.S.)

Whether the settlement will be implemented or not still remains a question mark.

The Adivasi demands over the ages have been the total implementation of the 1975 Tribal Land

Act and also the Scheduled Areas Act in Kerala to enable the tribals to govern their traditional tribal belt

in the true spirit of decentralization of political and economic power as well as to deny land ownership

rights in tribal areas to non-tribals from the plains (Unknown, 2010). But recently they have succumbed

to the fact that undoing past transactions may not work out especially when the current owners are in a

position of power. Thus they started to drop their demand for restoration of alienated land and started

asking for equivalent land. But as the next section shows, even this demand has fallen on deaf ears.

Scheduled Tribes Rules of 2001

As an extension of the Kerala Land Assignment Act of 1960, in 2001 the government went in for

a historical settlement of the adivasi land issue. As per this settlement, government land will be assigned

to Scheduled Tribes for house sites, personal cultivation and beneficial enjoyment. The assigned land

will be heritable but not alienable. The state also agreed to bring adivasi areas under Schedule V of the

Indian Constitution. This could help in protecting adivasi land. A Tribal Resettlement and Development

Mission was appointed by the government for identifying the issues faced by the landless tribal families.

It identified the number of landless tribal families to be 22,491 while the number of families having less

than 5 acres of land was 30,981. Thus a total of 53,472 families were found eligible to receive land up to

five acres each. District wise details of the landless tribal families are given in Table 3.8. But again

nothing happened in the field and distribution of land remained on paper. Only 1.06 percent of the

families were provided with land (which came to 2.2 percent of the identified land) within the first four

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months of the stipulated 12 months period. Till 2008 there after, there has not been any substantial

change in these figures (Kerala Development Report, 2008, pp.364-66.). At this rate it would take another

half century or more for the land distribution to be completed. This laxity is yet another example of the

denial of Constitutional obligations to the Scheduled Tribes. The reality is that unless tribal people get rid

of indebtedness and the accompanying evil of land alienation, it is unlikely that any legislation will

prevent them from transferring their land.

Table 3. 8District wise landless tribal families [during the years 1976 & 2001]

DistrictNo. of tribal families

1976 2001

Thiruvananthapuram 111 13

Kollam 420 68

Pathanamthitta * 117

Alappuzha * 68

Kottayam 383 153

Idukki 1104 190

Ernakulam 4 5

Thrissur 3 271

Palakkad 871 5389

Malappuram 629 339

Kozhikkode 6 226

Wayanad * 14031

Kannur 18 1395

Kasaragode * 226

Total 3549 22491

Source: Adivasi Master Plan Committee Report 2001, Government of Kerala &Socio-economic Survey, 1976, Government of Kerala

Displacement for development projects

Tribal lands are rich in hydrologic and other resources. And it easily makes them the most attractive

sites to locate development projects of various kinds. For multinational companies looking for investment

opportunities these areas are fast becoming favorite destinations (Hari, Nohan Mathur). Illegal acquisition

of land by private sector companies like Suzlon (that erected 31 windmills in Palakkad district) is a

classic example. Windmills on lush, prime forest land by forging papers and conning tribals became the

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order of the day (Tehelka, 2010). Displacement for projects has resulted in greater landlessness for

tribals. The hydroelectric projects in Chimmini, Idukki and Karapuzha are well known to have displaced

a significant number of Adivasis. In Karapuzha, land acquisition began in 1977 leading to the creation of

306 landless families. As lands were acquired, 200 more families were evicted (Ratnaker, Bhengra,

1998). The study of Jose Murickan and others (2003) highlights some of the displacement figures among

tribals in Kerala. The Idamalayar project displaced between 100 and 150 tribal families. Sixty seven

percent of those displaced in the Pooyamkutty hydroelectric project were tribals. The Neriamangalam

hydel project displaced 150 tribal families. The Periyar Tiger Reserve displaced fourteen tribal families.

The rehabilitation package for these families was also denied because they had no documents for land in

their possession. No one was also paid any compensation. Add to this the loss of means of livelihood and

the picture is complete. For instance the tribal workers at Umikuppa, Lakshmipara, Naduthottam and

Milappara of the cardamom estate in Thekkady tiger project depended on forest products for their

livelihood. These people lost the means of their livelihood because of this project. Banasurasagar project

will displace nearly 300 tribal families.

All these problems connected with displacement, resettlement and rehabilitation can be traced to

the present pattern of development which does not sufficiently take into account the sufferings of the

poor. The government focus is shifted to the economic viability of the project. Needless to say, liberalization

has further intensified the process of sacrificing the people, the poor in particular, for the sake of profit of

the entrepreneur.

Neo-liberal policies in agriculture and adivasis

Kerala’s agrarian economy has undergone radical and far-reaching changes, so that the state can

no longer be classified as an agrarian society. The production of food for consumption is only a minor

activity for Kerala people. When the Agrarian Relations Bill was introduced in the State Assembly, it was

estimated that a surplus of about 7,20,000 hectares would be available. But by the end of 1988 the extent

ordered for surrender got reduced to 67,000 hectares. Later only 25,000 hectares were distributed.

In 1959 the first Communist Ministry of Kerala had passed the “Kerala Agrarian Regulations

Act”, (KARA). This Act confers full ownership on the tenants in respect of lands in their possession and

brought them into direct relationship with the state by the abolition of all intermediary rights. But the Act

remained silent regarding the land issue of adivasis (Oommen, M.A., 1975). All these ultimately resulted

in the total derailment of adivasi life.

During the decade from 1975-76 through 1986-87, Kerala registered a negative growth of 0.60

per cent in agriculture as against a positive growth of over 2 per cent for all India. But along with this

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there are important exceptions like rubber and tea whose production and productivity have registered a

secular increasing trend. During the past two decades, Kerala had a decline in food grains production at

an annual rate of 1.09 per cent, and Kerala is unique in India, in this respect. Area under food grains fell

from 960,000 hectares in 1970-71 to 560,000 hectares in 1990-91. The share of cultivators in the total

work-force declined from 17.8 per cent in 1971 (against the all-India figure of 43.3) to 13.06 per cent in

1981. All these have adversely affected the weaker sections including the STs. Thus in Kerala, agriculture

is not a sustainable activity except for limited number of plantation crops, especially rubber.

In fact the structure of the agricultural economy of Kerala shows that more than 80 per cent of the

agricultural commodities are cash crops and depend on the domestic and the international markets.

Therefore, the WTO has had a unique impact in the state. Around 45 per cent of the country’s plantation

crops namely tea, coffee, rubber and cardamom are grown in Kerala. Yet in Kerala only 23 per cent of

workforces are involved in agriculture as compared to the national average of 58 per cent. The State

Domestic Product (SDP) similarly shows only 15 per cent as compared to the national average of 22 per

cent (Mathew, Abraham, 2007). The opening up of the sector has resulted in a severe crash of the

agricultural product marketi. In the fiscal year 1999-2000 Kerala incurred a loss of about US$800 million,

and in 2000-01 the loss was around US$1,300 million. The removal of quantitative restrictions on imports

under the liberalized regime has been pointed out as the major reason for the fall in prices of agricultural

commoditiesii (Darley Jose, Kjosavik, 2006, p.639.). The net result of all these is that the Kerala economy

exists and functions as an integral part of the Indian economy and polity and in the underdeveloped

periphery of the world economic system that at this stage needs the cheaply available unskilled,

semi-skilled and skilled labour of Malayalees (Joseph, Tharamangalam, (1999). The vulnerability of

Kerala to volatility in prices of coffee, pepper, cardamom and vanilla is compounded by the fact that

major relief on the debt front requires central help. The high number of farmer’s suicides in Kerala

(11516 in 1997-2005 of which many are in Wayanad) shows that the state’s balance is delicate even in

this front. In fact Wayanad witnessed a spate of suicides of farmers, unable to repay loans because of

severe drought and resultant crop failure. The root cause however lies in the fact that agriculture is

becoming unprofitable in the back drop of liberalization. In Wayanad many farmers turned to commercial

crops when paddy cultivation became less profitable. In the steep hilly terrains the switch from paddy to

commercial crops caused water to drain out quickly. To add fuel to fire, price of crops like pepper

crashed due to WTO dictated import policies. The farmer, waiting for years for the yield, with accumulated

debt became unbearably desperate. Statistics shows that Kerala shares a place with Tamil Nadu,

Puducherry, West Bengal and Tripura in Group I- the states and union territories with very high suicidel

rates (Sainadh, 2007). Needless to say these adversely affect the adivasis in a scenario where their

81

cheaply available unskilled labour is exploited to the core in an era where “the real borders are not

between nations, but between the powerful and the powerless, the free and the fettered, the privileged

and the humiliated”(Koffi Annan).

Work participation and poverty

Work participation rate of Kerala in 2001 is 32.30 per cent as compared to 31.43 per cent in

1991iii. It is highest in Idukki district (43.16 per cent) and the lowest in Malappuram district (24.12

per cent). In the case of Scheduled Tribes it was 46.04 percent in 1991 and increased to 46.35 in 2001.

Among the Scheduled Tribes, the unskilled labourers involved in agricultural sector is quite large in

numberiv. When 25.87 per cent of total populations were main workers as per 2001 Census, for the

Scheduled Tribe population it is 30.17. This indicates a moderately higher proportion of the ST workers.

The ratio of female workers belonging to STs is almost double that of general population. The STs are

excessively depending on agriculture for their living. The details are given in the table below:

Table: 3.9Distribution of Workers 1991-2001 (%)

CategoryTotal Scheduled Tribes

1991 2001 1991 2001

Main Workers 28.53 25.87 40.28 30.17

Male Main Workers 44.82 41.77 51.11 40.66

Female Main Workers 12.81 10.85 29.42 19.90

% of Cultivators to Main Workers 12.24 7.12 16.66 13.67

Percentage of AgriculturalLabourers to Main Workers 25.54 12.40 55.47 41.12

Percentage of Main Workersengaged in Household Industry 2.58 3.35 0.47 2.57

Percentage of Main Workersengaged in other services 15.17 77.13 5.28 42.65

Marginal Workers 2.90 6.43 5.76 16.18

Work Participation Rate 31.43 32.30 46.04 46.35

Source: Scheduled Tribe Atlas of India

In Kerala the share of BPL population among Scheduled Tribes declined to 24.2 per cent in 1999-

2000 from 37.3 per cent in 1993-94. But the fact remains that the Scheduled Tribes constitute three per

cent of the total BPL population, whereas their proportion to total population is only 1.14 per cent. This

82

clearly implies that the incidence of poverty among the ST population is about three times that of the

total population of the state. The details regarding the poverty rate of all categories of population is given

below:

Table 3.10Category-wise percentage of families below poverty line

Category Share of BPLPercentage of

total population

Scheduled Tribes 3 1.14

Scheduled Castes 19 9.81

Others 78 89.05

Source: Chapter14, Poverty and special programmes for weaker sections, www.ayurdhara.org, Accessed on 15th January 2011

The adivasis live in unhealthy environment, do low-paid physical labour, and own very little land.

As per the findings of a survey conducted jointly by the State Local Administration Department and the

Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes Development Department, five percent of the people in the

extreme weaker sections: (PTGs), Kattunaikkan, Cholanaikkan, Kadar, Kurumbar and Koraga have food

only once a day. Twenty six per cent families of these five sections do not have ration cards and therefore

are not receiving subsidized food items sold through ration shops (Jayaraj, V.R., 2011).

The generalized index of deprivation (based on index of deprivation in four basic necessities for

well being, namely quality housing, access to drinking water, good sanitation and electric lighting) for

Kerala is about 30 per cent ranging from 15.5 per cent for Ernakulam to 46.3 per cent for Wayanad. The

indices for deprivation are much higher for SC/ST compared to the other groups in all the districts of

Kerala and are highest at 66 per cent for STs in Wayanad. The variation in index of deprivation observed

across the districts could be due to higher deprivation in Idukki, Wayanad and Palakkad owing to their

higher share of SC/ST population. (Kottathara Panchayat Human Development Report: Wayanad District,

2009).

Decentralization and adivasis

The Kerala Panchayat Raj Act was enacted in 1994. A Committee of Decentralization of Powers

was set up to review the Act, and in 1999 the Act was modified on the basis of its recommendations. The

Preamble of the Act states that the three-tier PRI structure is established ‘for securing a greater participation

of people in planned development and local government affairs’. According to the Act, all Panchayats

have to make annual development plans, five-year plans and fifteen-year plans, and submit these to the

83

District Planning Committee (DPC). The DPC can suggest modifications only on a few counts, i.e. whether

or not sectoral allocations are followed, whether adequate funds have been earmarked for SCs and STs,

etc. In other words, each PRI is enabled to decide its own priorities, subject to very minimal guidelines

(Rashmi, Sharma, 2009, pp.101-103.).

With the 73rd and 74th Constitutional Amendments in 1993, the local bodies or Panchayats are

charged with a number of development functions and taken together they represent the ingredients for

enhancing basic human development. The enabling legislation enacted in Kerala provided for devolution

of a majority of the functions specified in the amendments to the local bodies. All the poverty alleviation

programmes, social welfare functions, road connectivity, public sanitation and water supply are now

planned and implemented by the local bodies. In the health and school education sectors all institutions

have been placed under the control of the local government. In the agriculture and allied sectors:

(a) Agricultural extension including farmer oriented support for increasing production and productivity;

(b) water shed management and minor irrigation; (c) dairy development; (d) animal husbandry including

veterinary care; and (e) inland fisheries are under the domain of the local governments. The significant

feature of devolution in Kerala is that 30 per cent of the Plan funds are devolved to the local bodies and

the Village (Gram) Panchayat receives 70 to 85 Per cent of these funds and the District and Block Panchayats

share the rest(Kottathara Panchayat Human Development Report: Wayanad District, 2009). A World

Bank Report even found that Kerala has the greatest degree of local expenditure autonomy and is the

most fiscally decentralized state in India and second only to Columbia in the developing world (Making

Citizens’ from Below, 2007). Thus, the village governance can play a significant role in human development

in Kerala. The campaign boasts of having contributed towards strengthening people’s unity in development

action and of having generated a new developmental consciousness in the state with emphasis on

production and quality of services as well as sensitivity to gender, environmental and poverty concerns.

But the People’s Campaign is also under a cloud. A general complaint is that corruption too is being ‘de-

centralized’ through People’s Campaign. This is especially true in the tribal area of Wayanad, Kerala’s

Siberia, to which incompetent, corrupt and unpopular officials are often shunted. Another concern is that

the campaign has not been successful enough in catering to the felt needs of the weaker sections of

society like STs and SCs Darley Jose, Kjosavik & Nadarjah Shanmugharatnam in their paper on the

experiences of decentralization with respect to the impact on the life of adivasi community argue that the

new program has not been successful as regards enabling marginalized groups to resist exclusion and

move out of their states of deprivation.

The Kerala experience of decentralization highlights the critical role of state governments in getting

the Panchayats going. Kerala, banking on public action tradition took to a big bang approach. It was

84

actually a learning by doing program. While several arguments can be said in favour of this, it is a fact

that Kerala’s administrative and technical capability has been severely strained due to the sudden and

swift actions and arrangements involved (Oommen,2007). Democratic decentralization should not be a

narrow political agenda. The study of Rashmi, Sharma (2003, pp.3848-50.) highlights the lack of technical,

administrative and financial know-how of the local bodies as a major bottleneck. It also says that Panchayats

function in political systems that are centralized. To an extent the larger political systems continue to use,

or are seen to use, local bodies for their own interests, this parochialism will continue and destabilize the

Panchayats. To politicize along party lines resource persons and implementation committees of local

bodies is nothing but to blunt these instruments in the battle of development.

Clientelist politics can deeply undermine the possibility of building participatory democracy. Kerala

has all the ingredients for enhancing democratic values and democratic practice such as a vigilant press,

citizen’s charter, quarterly gram sabhas, Ombudsman and so on. But none of this can work effectively in

an atmosphere of partisan and patronage politics. The way the beneficiary committee system is allowed

to die without any protest from any quarters does not speak high of the emerging democratic practice in

Kerala. The proven outcome of the effective linkages between the SHGs, the local governments and the

community-based organizations of the poor show that unless the poor are fostered as the agents of their

development, the linkage between decentralization and poverty reduction could not be firmly established

(Oommen, M.A., 2004).

To quote Joseph Tharamangalam (1999), Kerala reveals a syndrome of a bureaucratic, socialist,

welfare State system that is proving to be unsustainable at least within the new world order of the late 20th

century. The state is a degenerate form of feudalism in which managerial barons, their retainers, and

marauding contractors pillage the public treasury. This greed based vicious circle however ignores the

plight of the adivasis who are living in poverty and deprivation in the state. They are, to say the least,

sinking into an ocean of despire.

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87

i 55th round of N.S.S. (1999-2000) data shows that the landless labourers and marginal farmers predominate the ruralIndian society. Due to seasonal nature of agricultural activities they remain unemployed during a major part of theyear. The distribution of members of Rural Labour Households by their usual occupation show that majority of themembers of households were without occupation. At all-India level, out of the average household size of 4.67persons, 2.69 persons were without occupation during 1999-2000. Of the remaining 1.98 persons per household,1.44 persons were engaged in agricultural labour, 0.30 persons in non-agricultural labour and 0.24 persons in otheroccupations. All the major states reported more than 50% members of households to be without occupation exceptAndhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu. Agricultural labour was observed to be the most prominent occupation among theScheduled Tribes households in almost all the states. Most of the members of the Scheduled Tribe Rural LabourHouseholds were also found without work. See also Rural Labour Enquiry Report on General Characteristics ofRural Labour Households, Labour Bureau, Government of India.

ii Seasonal unemployment is a characteristic feature of agriculture and underemployment of man power is inherent inthe system of family farming. On an average an adult male agricultural labourer was employed on wages for 189 daysin agricultural work and for 29 days in non-agricultural work i.e. 218 days in all. They were self-employed for 75days. Casual male workers found employment for only 200 days, while attached workers were employed for 326 daysin a year. Women workers were employed for 134 days in a year. See also Kulamani, Padhi (2007), ‘AgriculturalLabour in India: A Close Look’, Orissa Review, March.

iii At all-India level, there were 79.63 million agricultural labourers among Rural Labour Households in 1999-2000 ofwhich 28.53 million were Scheduled Castes, 12.62 million Scheduled Tribes and 26.34 million were Other BackwardClasses. Similarly, of 16.41 million non-agricultural labourers, 5.02 million were Scheduled Castes 2.11 millionwere Scheduled Tribes and 6.07 million were Other Backward Classes. About 60.55% of the agricultural labourers(all classes) were males, 36.81% were females and 2.64% were children. At all-India level, the percentage of childagricultural labour from the Scheduled Tribe categories increased by 12.57% in 1999-2000 over 1993-94. Amongstnon-agricultural labourers, about 81.81% (all-classes) were males, 16.39% were females and 1.80% were children in1999-2000. As compared to previous survey, during 1999-2000 the number of non-agricultural labourers increaseddrastically by 133.47% at all-India level. The number of both men and women showed a sharp increase whereas amarginal decrease was noticed in the case of child labourers. Similarly, the Scheduled Tribe non-agricultural labourersalso registered an abrupt increase of 233.97% over the previous survey. See also Rural Labour Enquiry Report onGeneral Characteristics of Rural Labour Households, Labour Bureau, Government of India.

iv A majority of the persons of the Scheduled Tribe Households were without any occupation. At all-India level,52.04% of the persons with cultivated land were without occupation, 33.07% were agricultural labourers, 6.58%were non-agricultural labourers and 8.30% were engaged in other occupations. About 51.22% of the persons whodid not own cultivated land were without occupation. See also Rural Labour Enquiry Report on General Characteristicsof Rural Labour Households, Labour Bureau, Government of India.