Adivasis: India's Indigenous People

• Adivasis are indigenous people regarded as the first inhabitants of India.
• They possess distinct languages, religions, and forms of self-government.
• The Sama religion is based on a reverence for a supreme spirit manifesting in nature.
• India hasn't officially recognized Adivasis as indigenous people.
• Indigenous people are defined as distinct social and cultural groups sharing collective ancestral ties to lands and natural resources.
• Adivasi homelands have been taken for industrialization, coal, forest, mineral exploitation, tourism, and wildlife parks.
• Approximately 67.76 million people, or 8.08% of the population, are termed Scheduled Tribes (ST), generally referred to as Adivasis.
• "Adivasi" means "original inhabitants" in Sanskrit.
• Hindu fundamentalists deny Adivasi status; they contend that Adivasis are not equivalent to indigenous people and that the entire Indian population is indigenous.
• Adivasis are opposed to the caste system.

Manual Scavenging

• The practice of removing human and animal waste/excreta using brooms, tin plates, and baskets from dry latrines, and carrying it on the head to disposal grounds some distance away.
• Manual scavenging is mainly done by Dalit women and young girls.
• Approximately 1 lakh persons from Dalit communities are involved in manual scavenging.
• The Safai Karamchari Andolan is one organization working to eradicate manual scavenging.
• An organization, with 13 others, filed a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) stating that manual scavenging was still happening after its abolition.
• Diseases caused by manual scavenging include infections affecting the eyes, skin, respiratory, and gastro-intestinal systems.
• Examples include typhoid, cholera, jaundice.
• PEMSR refers to Prevention of Employment of Manual Scavengers and their Rehabilitation.
• Safety gear and equipment issues exist

Marginalisation

• Marginalisation can be based on caste, race, gender, and ethnicity.

Stereotyping & Social Branding

• Stereotyping is categorizing a human being based on birth attributes Exclusion of.
• Stereotypes are prejudiced or judgmental in nature.
• Stereotyping involves categorizing and branding a person without getting to know them.
• Example: "Women shouldn't work"
• Example, police target Kannagi Nagar without following proper procedure when there's a difficult case.

Further Notes on Marginalisation

• It involves excluding people based on their birth attributes through stereotyping and social branding.

Homework Themes

• Equality vs. Equity
• Social Justice
• Constitutional Safeguards: Protection of minorities & tribal rights
• Fundamental Rights and other special provisions of the Indian Constitution
• Affirmative Action: Reservation Policies (Education & Employment) and the Indian Reservation System

Equality, Equity, and Identity

• Equality refers to the state of being equal, especially in status, rights, or opportunities.
• Equity refers to fairness and justice.
• Equality means providing the same to all, while equity means understanding that people don't start from the same places and must make adjustments.
• Indian government has committed to safeguarding the educational, cultural, and economical interests of marginalised communities through promotion and protection of identity.

Constitution

• Article 29 states that any citizen or section of citizens with a distinct language, script, or culture has the right to conserve it.
• No discrimination will be made based on religion, race, caste, or language.
• Article 15(4) enables the state to make special provisions for the advancement of any socially and educationally backward classes for Scheduled Castes (SC) and Scheduled Tribes (ST).
• Article 46 states that the state shall promote the educational and economic interests of weaker sections of people (SC & ST) and protect them from social injustice and exploitation.
• Constitutional safeguards are provisions enshrined in a constitution that aim to protect the fundamental rights of citizens and ensure fair and just governance.
• Fundamental rights are basic human rights enshrined in the Constitution of India, guaranteed to all citizens.
• Affirmative action is the practice/policy of favoring individuals belonging to groups regarded as disadvantaged; positive discrimination.

Indian Reservation System

• The Indian Reservation System reserves a set number of seats in government academic institutions and government offices for SC, ST, and OBC.
• Central government divides as SC, ST and OBC based on socio-historical background.
• Exclusion from reservation benefits is determined by socio-economic status, nativeness, and religion.

Quota System

• Affirmative action empowers marginalized systems but can also be used to discriminate.
• OBC (Other Backward Classes) have certain criteria, SC (Scheduled Castes), ST (Scheduled Tribes).
• These categories are allocated particular seats in education and employment.
• EWS (Economically Weaker Sections) is for Forward Class people who make less money.

Confronting Marginalisation

• Affirmative action leads to increased representation in education and employment.
• It has led to the rise of Sub-Altern studies.
• Indian Historian Rangjith Guha focuses on the life of the common people and is known as the Father of Sub Altern Studies in India.
• Legal documents are analyzed based on people's perspectives, and social conditions are decoded.

Prevention of SC & ST Atrocities Act, 1989

• When people in SC & ST communities stop doing the work they were imposed to do, then it leads to the dominant castes ostracizing and or unleashing violence, strengthning economic and political power.

Marginalisation & Violence

• Identity politics involves creating a physical enemy based on identity and channeling entire anger on them, proposing wiping out them as a solution to their security problems.
• Identity-based discrimination can increase with race, ethnicity, caste, and religion

Majority vs Minority

• An example of majority vs minority is Islamaphobia
• 9/11 attack (When there is a terrorist attack, there is association with muslim groups)
• When extremists show violence towards others, it makes it harder for ordinary muslims to be/ and seen as equal