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According to the United Nations, it is estimated that there are more than 370 million indigenous people spread across 70 countries worldwide. Practising unique traditions, they retain social, cultural, economic and political characteristics that are distinct from those of the dominant societies in which they live. Spread across the world from the Arctic to the South Pacific, they are the descendants - according to a common definition - of those who inhabited a country or a geographical region at the time when people of different cultures or ethnic origins arrived.
The term indigenous or its equivalent has been used in anthropology to describe groups called tribes for quite some time. Its use now has however gone beyond the discipline of anthropology. In the deliberations of the international agencies, the term was used for the first time in 1957 (Roy-Burman undated). It gained wide currency after 1993 with the declaration of the year 1993 as the international year of the indigenous people. There has been more concern with the identification of indigenous people than with their definition. The conception ranged from such features as geographical isolation, simple technology, and condition of living, general backwardness to the practice of animism, tribal language, physical features, etc. the problem however lay in the fact that they were neither clearly formulated nor systematically applied. One set of criteria was used in one context and quite another in another context. The result is that the list includes groups and communities strikingly different from each other in respect of not only size of population but also the level of technology and other characteristics. (World directory of minorities and indigenous peoples - India : Adivasis www.refworld.org)
In majority cases, the tribal groups are isolated and little is known about them. Additionally, these communities are highly marginalised and exploited by the subjects of mainstream society mainly because of their distinct and little known cultures.
It is in this background that the study focuses on understanding how the political participation trends and influence of various parties has changed in regions with a significant tribal population in India. The study also makes an attempt to examine how reservation for tribal communities in the political sphere and increase in literacy percentage has helped in increasing their political participation.
According to the 2011 Census
Scheduled Tribes in India make up 8.6% of the population
Second-largest tribal population globally after Africa.
Ethnic groups in India identified as Scheduled Tribes
Which formally translates to "Indigenous communities"
Among these numerous indigenous communities present in India, this study focuses on 4 of the largest tribal groups, selected from distinct regions of the country. This approach allows for a more comprehensive analysis since communities with significantly large populations have much readily available data in census and other statistical reports, providing headway to a thorough research. The four tribal groups discussed in the study are :
The following case study has compiled the detailed statistical reports of the election commission of the General Election to Lok Sabha from 1999-2024 with regards to the parliamentary constituencies with a significant amount of Bhil population. The report further analyses the trends visible from the data compiled and also mentions the contribution of the candidates elected in the concerned parliamentary constituencies in addressing the rights of indigenous communities and the issues faced by them, in the parliament.
Bhils are one of the largest indigenous communities in India, primarily residing in the states of Rajasthan, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra. Their habitat ranges from arid regions, hilly terrains, dense forests, and river valleys. They traditionally live in small settlements in these areas and have a rich cultural heritage, with unique customs, traditions and language - Bhili. They have preserved their stories and legends through rich oral traditions of songs, dance, and music. Their traditional dance forms involving intricate footwork, colourful costumes, and energetic music are performed by them during festivals and other cultural events.Being deeply religious, they worship a range of deities and spirits, including goddess Kali, who is considered the most important deity among the Bhil tribes.The Bhils, considered as one of India’s oldest tribes, have left an indelible mark in history being present Hindu epics like Ramayana and Mahabharata, to leading rebellions against British rule.
(Chaubey, Gyaneshwer & Govindaraj, Periyasamy & Rai, Niraj & van Driem, George & Thangaraj, Kumarasamy. (2017). The genome-wide analysis of the Bhils: The second largest tribal population of India. Man in India. 97. 279-290.)
For the analysis, areas with the Bhil population greater than 1,00,000 in the states of Rajasthan and Gujarat have been considered from the above map depicting the geographical distribution of Bhils. The parliamentary constituencies covering these areas are mentioned as follows :
01. Voter Turnout
The line charts below show the trend followed by polling percentage or voter turnout, i.e., the percentage of voters that have actually taken part in the election, for the states of Rajasthan and Gujarat. Since the trendlines for all the districts of both the states have a positive slope, it can be seen clearly that the percentage has increased considerably over the past two decades.
Since the constituencies analysed for the same have a significant amount of Bhil population, such a rise in the polling percentage points to the fact that political awareness and participation has increased among the Bhil population.
This fact can be further proved by the election of Raj Kumar Raot as the Member of Parliament for the Banswara Lok Sabha constituency, defeating Mahendrajeet Singh Malviya of Bhartiya Janta Party (BJP) by a margin of 2,47,054 votes. This happens to be an important feat as the win of RajKumar Raot, the founder and member of Bharat Adivasi Party (BAP), has been elected through a regional party which is certainly an uncommon event in Rajasthan politics. This win has also brought the demand for the formation of ‘Bhil Pradesh’ by combining 39 districts spread over 4 states and an increase in reservation for scheduled tribes to the centre stage.
02. Performance of parties over the years, their engagement with indigenous communities and its influence
It can be deduced from the above charts that Rajasthan and Gujarat are essentially two-party states with Bhartiya Janta Party (BJP) and Congress being the main competitors. Rather, BJP’s strong hold in Gujarat politics has almost made it a one party state. Whereas, in Rajasthan, otherwise having excellent performance in election, BJP faced overwhelming defeat against Congress securing 20 out of 25 seats. This might be indicative of the increasing political awareness of the voters, in which voters evaluate performance of the ruling government and register a protest against the ruling party in elections.
Shortly after the 2009 election in which Congress emerged victorious by a heavy margin, various big scams of the Congress government got revealed and thereafter a downfall in its influence in Rajasthan politics. As a result, BJP’s vote share increased with every General Election from 2009 - 36.6% in 2009, 55.6% in 2014 and 59.1% in 2019, whereas Congress's vote share witnessed a decline of 13% between 2009 and 2019. As a result, BJP made a clean sweep of all 25 Lok Sabha seats in Rajasthan in the 2014 and 2019 General Election.
For 2024 General Election, with the Jat (due to the unfulfilled wish of a Jat chief minister and removal of Satish Punia as party’s state unit president) and Rajput (due to sidelining of Vasundhara Raje and a controversial remark about Rajputs made by BJP candidate from Gujarat, Purushottam Rupala) communities already disappointed who contribute 12% and 9% to the vote share respectively, the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe communities, who contribute 18% and 13% to the vote share respectively, feared that BJP would change the constitution if voted to power once again and were also unhappy with the lack of separate welfare measures in Rajasthan. Due to facing the anger of all these major communities, BJP lost 11 sitting MPs - 2 of which are of Banswara and Barmer constituency as can be seen from the table. On the other hand, Congress made wise alliances and partnerships this time, including one with Bharat Adivasi Party (BAP) in Banswara constituency.
Although, the political situation of tribal communities has experienced changes with the enactment of political reservation which has led to the emergence of a tiny section of political elites among tribal communities, however, the parties led by Scheduled Tribes at national level or regional level are very few and they too don’t have a very significant influence, therefore, either they have to choose for a coalition with other mainstream parties or become a member of mainstream parties itself, who may or may not prioritise issues of indigenous communities, hence, the emergence of a regional party (Bharat Adivasi Party) led by RajKumar Raot - member of Bhil community, to bag a parliamentary seat in 2024 elections in a state with such a strong dominance of two national parties might prove to be a turning point for participation of tribal people in state politics.
04. Parliamentary participation regarding advocacy for indigenous rights
The tribal people elected as members of parliament certainly understand the unique problems faced by their communities well, and bring firsthand insights into issues like malnutrition, education facilities and employment opportunities. By voicing these concerns in parliamentary sessions, MPs from tribal communities help in shaping policies inclusive of their communities and bring national attention to the advocacy of rights of the tribal communities. Their participation in parliamentary debates and question sessions fosters greater awareness of struggles faced by indigenous communities and ensures that tribal perspectives are considered during the development of laws and schemes.
03. The impact of Scheduled Tribe reservation in political sphere on the political participation of the Bhil community in Rajasthan
For the purpose of constituting the Lok Sabha, the whole country has been divided into 543 Parliamentary Constituencies , each one of which elects one member. As per the order of Delimitation Commission in 2008, in the Lok Sabha, 412 seats are general, 84 seats are reserved for Scheduled Castes, and 47 seats for the Scheduled Tribes, to ensure that the indigenous communities have a voice in the legislative procedures of the country.
In Rajasthan, 3 out of 25 seats are reserved for Scheduled Tribes - Dausa, Banswara and Udaipur, out of which Banswara and Udaipur have a substantial amount of Bhil population, whereas in Gujarat, 4 out of 26 seats are reserved for Scheduled Tribes - Bardoli, Chhota Udaipur, Dahod, and Kachchh, out of which Chhota Udaipur and Dahod have a large segment of Bhil population.
From the analysis, it can be inferred that although all the constituencies analysed have notable Bhil population, Bhil people or tribal people, in general are able to get elected only in the constituencies which provide political reservation to their communities, rest all have only unreserved candidates getting elected.
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01. Cultural identity
Today, the Santhal community is the third largest Scheduled Tribe community in the country, after Gond and Bhil, mainly distributed in Odisha, Jharkhand, Bihar, West Bengal, Assam, Meghalaya, and Tripura.
The Santhals have a vibrant culture, expressed through their music, dance, art, and oral traditions. The “Baha” dance and “Soor Diul” festival are notable cultural expressions that showcase their close connection with nature and agricultural practices.
Their language Santhali belongs to the austro-asiatic language group and even has its own script called Ol Chiki which was devised by Pandit Raghunath Murmu in the 19th century. They also possess a magnificent skill of making musical instruments, baskets, cots, clay ovens, brooms, and fishing materials.
02. Historical Background
Origins: Although the exact origin of the Santhals is unknown due to lack of substantial archaeological evidence, some researchers suggest that the tribe was originally based in the Champa Kingdom of northern Cambodia before migrating into India and settling in the Chotanagpur plateau some 3,000 to 4,000 years ago. Their migration was driven by various factors, including socio-economic conditions, a search for fertile land, and a desire for self-governance.
Santhal Rebellion of 1855: Britishers desperate for labour for expansion of their agricultural revenue turned to the Santhals settled in Rajmahal hills of Bihar and had them agree to clear forests to practise settled agriculture. However, gradually the exploitation from the British side rose to such an extent that it gave rise to the Santhal Rebellion in 1855 - the first peasant revolt that occurred in India, which can be attributed to the introduction of Permanent Land Settlement of 1793, since through this the British snatched lands that the Santhals had been cultivating for centuries from them.Although the revolt was suppressed by the Britishers, it led to the creation of Santhal Pargana - the region between Bhagalpur and Rajmahal hills in Singhbhum district, which later provided a greater influence on future tribal movements.
03. Socio-economic conditions
The Santhal community is one the highly deprived and backward group among the tribal communities of India. Facing problems like extremely low literacy rate, landlessness, unemployment, and high growth of population, they face a lot of issues in continuing their livelihood.
Traditionally involved in agricultural operations, hunting, fishing, and animal husbandry as a source of living, many people of the Santhal community have also joined the industrial workforce in coal mines, steel factories or large-scale agriculture.
04. Political Representation of Santhals in Legislative Assembly
The Santhals with a population of approximately 6.5 million inhabit a continuous geographical region (as can be seen from the map below), they are politically divided across 4 states - Jharkhand, West Bengal, Orissa and Bihar. The primary concentration of the Santhals is observed at the confluence of the aforementioned states, with the districts of Santhal Pargana, Mayurbhanj, Singhbhum, and Jhargram having the highest density.
The Santhal Pargana formed as a consequence of the Santhal Rebellion of 1855 is now a division of Jharkhand, which is made up of 6 districts - Godda, Deoghar, Dumka, Jamtara, Sahibganj and Pakur, covered by 3 lok sabha constituencies - Dumka (often regarded as the heart Santhal Pargana, a constituency reserved for Scheduled Tribes), Godda, Rajmahal (a constituency reserved for Scheduled Tribes covering the districts of Sahibganj and Pakur). The table attached below addresses the political participation of Santhals in the Lok Sabha constituencies with significant Santhal population from 2004 since Jharkhand was created in 2000.
01. The polling percentage in all the 3 constituencies covered only half of the total voters in 2004, and this ratio has steadily increased over the years (as can be seen by the graph given below). It can be inferred from this that the Santhals in this region are becoming more and more politically aware, and are realising the importance of their political participation.
02. Out of the three Lok Sabha constituencies analysed, Dumka and Rajmahal’s seats are reserved for Scheduled Tribes, hence, Santhal being the largest tribe in Jharkhand, both the seats have been bagged by members of Santhal community since the creation of Jharkhand.
03. Unlike Rajasthan, where only national level parties like BJP and Congress had a strong hold on the state’s politics, in Jharkhand’s political scenario, JMM (Jharkhand Mukti Morcha) also has a significant influence. The party founded in 1973 by Shibu Soren, Nirmal Mahato and Arun Kumar Roy - all of whom are members of indigenous communities, made it with the aim of establishing a separate state Jharkhand out of Bihar, which they achieved in 2000. Since then JMM has remained an influential political party in the state, gaining intermittent political power there. JMM, like other regional parties in India, has been centred on its founders and their families, and has maintained a record of consistently winning the seats of the Lok Sabha constituencies of Dumka and Rajmahal.
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The Santhal community is considered to be in its golden era now as they are in national spotlight for one of its leaders, Draupadi Murmu has been elected as the 15th President of India on 25th July, 2022. She assumed office as India’s first tribal President and second female President after Pratibha Patil.Ms. Murmu’s presidency has significant potential to improve the political representation and influence of the Santhal community and other tribal groups. The reasons for the same are stated below :
01. Her remarkable journey from Odisha’s extremely poor tribal background to the highest constitutional position which she acquired through her sheer grit and determination, now has become a symbol of inclusivity and progress for the Santhal community showing them that political leadership roles are not out of reach.
02. As a Santhal herself, Ms. Murmu’s selection as President has brought national attention to the advocacy for policies that address tribal issues like land and forest rights, socio-economic development and displacement of the tribal people from their homeland due to various factors.
03. Although the role of President’s seat is largely constitutional, her support for tribal issues can certainly put political pressure on policymakers to prioritise tribal interests.
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Historical Background
Before the advent of the British on Naga territory, the Nagas were headhunters and each and every village was a sovereign, independent entity and were governed and ruled by chiefs or clan elders. The Naga system of administration and judiciary was so simple and efficiently working that even the British were amazed and did not want to interfere with their internal administration.The advent of British administration in 1892 encompassed the whole of Naga territory (except the rugged Tuensang area in the northeast).
After India became independent in 1947, the Naga territory initially remained a part of Assam. However, a strong nationalist movement began seeking a political union of the Naga tribes, and the extremists demanded outright secession from the Indian union. This was followed by a number of violent incidents, and in 1955 the Indian army was called in to restore order. In 1957, after an agreement was reached between Naga leaders and the Indian government, the Naga Hills region of Assam and the Tuensang frontier division to the northeast were brought together under a single unit directly administered by the Indian government. Despite the agreement, unrest continued, hence after much consideration, statehood was given to Nagaland in 1963, and a democratically elected government took office in 1964.
Even still rebel activity ceased to exist increasingly assuming the form of banditry and often motivated more by tribal rivalry and personal vendetta than by political aspiration. Cease-fires and negotiations did little to stop the insurgency, and in March 1975 direct presidential rule was imposed on the state.
The National Socialist Council of Nagaland, a powerful pro-separatist extremist group, was formed in 1980, but because of disagreements between its members, it split into two factions in 1988. The dominant faction negotiated a cease-fire with the Indian government in 1997. However, the agreement has been largely ineffective, as violent incidents have occurred into the early 21st century. Moreover, fighting between the factions has increased as each vies for territorial dominance of the region.
The major tribes in the state of Nagaland include the Konyaks who mainly live in the district of Mon, the Aos who live in the district of Mokokchung, and Angami who live in the district of Kohima. Since the majority population of Nagaland consists of tribal communities, hence, most of the people elected for the Legislative Assembly also belong to the tribal communities. Therefore, the analysis on the statistical data of the elections to the state Legislative Assembly takes a comparative stance on the change in the influence held by the political parties in each district and also shows the changes in the polling percentage over the years.
01. Polling Percentage trend over the years
Compared to Bhil and Santhals, all three Naga tribes have significantly high voter turnout (mostly above 90%) indicating strong political engagement among the tribal communities in Nagaland.
02. Performance of Political Parties
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In all the three Lok Sabha constituencies, Naga Peoples Front (NPF) has been prominent since 2003, and has gradually increased significant influence, emerging out as a dominant party consistently securing a large proportion of votes every year. In the Mon and Kohima district, it has maintained a near majority throughout which suggests a strong, sustained influence.
All 3 graphs show waning support for Congress party depicted by it being a large shareholder in votes in 2003 to having a non-existent share of votes in the 2018 elections. Greater support for regional parties like Naga Peoples Front (NPF) and Nationalist Democratic Progressive Party (NDPP) over national parties like Bhartiya Janta Party (BJP) and Congress over the years show the shift in the Naga people’s preference of parties that would focus on local tribal issues rather than parties than might push for alignment with national agenda.
The Nationalist Democratic Progressive Party was founded recently in 2017 and hence 2018 state legislative assembly elections would have been its first step in the political world of Nagaland. Even so, the party managed to get a significantly high amount of votes, this shows that Naga people are open to accepting relatively new promising leaders and parties which have sustained influence in the past elections might not continue to do so if they do not align with voters demands.
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Historical Background and Socio-Economic Condition
The Paniya tribe found in Wayanad, Kannur, Kozhikode and Malappuram districts of Kerala and also in the adjoining districts of Coorg in Karnataka and the Nilgiris in Tamil Nadu, is the largest Scheduled Tribe in Kerala.
The term Paniya / Paniyan / Paniyar essentially means “someone who does work” or “labourer”. Though the theories about their origins are largely debatable, Paniyas have been bonded labourers who worked in the agricultural field of their landlords. This bonded labour system was institutionalised around the temple, “Valliyoorkavu” and the annual festival there. This gave social and religious sanction to the bonded labour system and the Adivasis feared Valliyooramma who punished those who did not obey and keep their promise to the landlords. It came to an end in 1975 with its abolition by the Kerala state government.
Today, though the Paniyas still work in the fields of landed farmers, they are wage labourers working on agricultural fields of landholding farmers near their tribal colonies. Additionally, they also have the option of being a part of MGNREGA (Mahatma Gandhi Rural Employment Guarantee Programme), where an individual in a household gets employment for 100 days. The Paniya women work as maidservants in the houses of farmers living close to the tribal colonies. Fishing is yet another activity the Paniyas engage in during the season of monsoon.
Political Participation of the Paniyas
Among the Paniyas, the traditional caste council exists whose duties include settling disputes between people of the tribe and keeping an overall control on the mode of behaviour of the people in accordance with the traditional norms of the society. Though, these organisations are gradually losing their authority.
Out of the total tribal population, 37.36% of the state lives in Wayanad, which forms 17.43% of the total population of the district. According to the 2011 census, Adivasis constitute 18.5% of the total population in Wayanad district, which has the largest tribal population in Kerala. Of them, Paniyas are the largest tribe who comprise 45.6% of the Adivasi population. The district is also home to Mananthavady and Sultan Bathery – the only two seats reserved for Scheduled Tribe communities in the 140-member state Assembly. The polling percentage for the Lok Sabha constituencies of Kerala with notable Paniya population, although high, has not increased much.
Kerala is one of the states which does not have any Lok Sabha constituency seat reserved for Scheduled Tribes. This has lead to :
⦿ Not a single Paniya tribe member got elected in all these years even when constituencies like Wayanad have 70% of their tribal population as Paniyas.
⦿ Major political parties are concerned with just appeasing the vote bank of Kerala, which does not happen to be the tribal since they are in minority.
Although not having any representation at Parliamentary level, it must be noted that the participation percentage of tribals of Kerala in gram sabha meetings is quite high. This shows that Panchayati Raj was successful and effective, the reasons for which might be that the tribals got many benefits like housing, drinking water, and that the Panchayat was localised to their situation.
The literacy rates for the following comparison analysis have been taken from the Census data, since it is the most comprehensive and reliable data available on demographic statistics of India across time intervals. Also, to ensure the consistency and accuracy in correlating the literacy rates with voter turnout, in the following analysis, the literacy data has been paired with the polling percentages from the Lok Sabha election held most recent to the respective census year. This has been done to minimise the discrepancies that could arise from mismatched data years and to provide more reliable insights into the correlation between voter turnout for districts with significant tribal population discussed in the previous sections and the literacy rates of the specific states.
For the comparison, Rajasthan and Nagaland have been considered to set up a contrast since in the former, the tribal community is present in minority and in the latter, there’s near complete tribal majority. This comparison can reveal how political engagement differs with changes in literacy rate in contexts with states where tribal have limited influence versus states where tribal communities hold the majority.
For Rajasthan, the districts with a significant number of Bhil population - Banswara, Barmer, Bhilwara, Chittorgarh, Jalore, Jhalawar, Jodhpur, Udaipur - have been considered and for the years concerned the average of the polling percentages of the 8 districts has been considered as this provides a more generalizable insights into Bhil population’s polling participation trends, reducing the influence of any anomalies in any specific districts.
The Pearson’s coefficient of correlation for the above data comes out to be -0.14 which shows little to no correlation between the two as can be further confirmed by the graph. In practical terms, this means that the increase in literacy over the years has not led to any proportional increase in polling percentages, in fact the polling percentage has even shown a slight decline. This shows that factors other than literacy or education like socio-economic conditions, or political awareness, are more dominant in deciding the voter turnout for districts of Rajasthan with significant Bhil population.
For Nagaland, like Rajasthan, separate districts with significant tribal populations have not been considered since as per 2011 Census, the tribal people constitute about 89.1% of the total population of Nagaland.
The Pearson’s coefficient of correlation for the above data comes out to be 0.98, which depicts a strong positive correlation between the literacy rate and polling percentage in Nagaland over the years.
Unlike Rajasthan, Nagaland’s analysis shows a completely different image - both literacy rate and polling percentage have risen notably over the years, even polling percentage has been consistently higher than the literacy rate, reaching as high as 90% by 2009 elections. As can be seen from the graph, the polling percentage was above 50% even when the literacy rate was as low as 33%, this shows that the culture of political participation has remained strong regardless of literacy levels. Although when studied deeper into this, reports from various sources, including newspaper, and social media, also suggest that beneath these impressive statistics lies the troubling electoral malpractice of proxy voting, which has now become a permanent feature of elections in Nagaland, as can be confirmed by thin queues at polling stations, juxtaposed with inflated voter turnout figures.
The political reservation provided to the tribes classified as Scheduled Tribes by the Constitution under the Articles 330, 332 and 334 (including others like 243D for reservation in Panchayat) has proven itself to be essential and effective as for the three tribes discussed above which happen to be in minority in the states they reside in - Bhils, Santhals and Paniyas, in the districts where a significant number of population of their community but unreserved seats, any Scheduled Tribe candidate was unable to secure the position of the elected representative to the Legislative Assembly. Hence, if not for the political reservation provided at selected constituencies, ensuring the necessary tribal participation in the Legislative Assemblies would have been a challenging task.
The analysis of polling percentages and political party influence over the years for areas with significant tribal populations has revealed insights into shifts in the political landscape of those regions.
Rajasthan, essentially a two party state, got a regional party (Bharat Adivasi Party) led by a tribal community member (Rajkumar Raot) claiming its place in the political scenario depicts the resistance shown by the indigenous communities in choosing mainstream national parties who may or may not prioritise indigenous issues, and choosing to go with a leader who reflects their identity and aspirations. On the other hand, the BJP stronghold is ever increasing in the tribal community areas in Gujarat.
Jharkhand, which was formed in 2000, after decades of protest by tribal communities who sought greater autonomy and control over their land, resources and governance, has Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) - a regional political party in Jharkhand led by people from the Santhal community - gaining political power and holding a significant influence by focusing on tribal issues and alliances which have proven to be a crucial in determining the political landscape of Jharkhand.
In Nagaland, the Naga Peoples Front (NPF) has maintained a near majority throughout, showing the Naga people's preference of parties that would focus on local tribal issues rather than parties that might push for alignment with a national agenda.The Paniyas, who are an extremely marginalised and deprived tribe of southern India, have had no representation at parliamentary level - one reason might be Kerala being a state having no Lok Sabha constituency reserved for Scheduled Tribes.
The analysis illustrates that political representation for indigenous communities tends to be more prominent and effective in states where they constitute a larger segment of the population. In Jharkhand and Nagaland, where tribal communities form a significant majority, regional parties like Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) and Naga Peoples Front (NPF) have risen to power by addressing local tribal issues and resonating with the cultural and political aspirations of these communities. On the other hand, in states where tribal populations are a minority, such as Rajasthan and Kerala, indigenous representation remains more limited or marginalised, with fewer political platforms dedicated to tribal concerns.
The comparison between change in polling percentage patterns with respect to literacy rate for two contrasting cases - Bhils in Rajasthan and Nagaland’s tribal communities, underscores that while literacy is a factor in the proportion of political engagement in communities, it does not alone determine the voter turnout, as suggested by the high polling percentages in Nagaland even when the literacy rates were low. Whereas, Rajasthan’s case shows that factors other than literacy rate - like socio-economic conditions and political awareness, might be playing a more significant role in motivating political participation.
She is a second-year mathematics major at Gargi College, Delhi University, with aspirations to become a data scientist. She has a strong passion for economics and anything involving numbers. Beyond academics, she enjoys cooking and reading about a wide range of subjects, from space and stars to ancient Greek mythology and Tolkien. Motivated by a desire to make a meaningful impact.