New Delhi: The plight of the scheduled castes and scheduled tribes, together accounting for a quarter of the country’s population, still remains pathetic in spite of the constitutional measures for their protection, says the commissioner for scheduled castes and tribes, Dr. B.D. Sharma, in his report to the government. The commissioner says that for millions of weaker sections owning a small landholding, payment of statutorily fixed minimum wage, or escape for at recites they have suffered for generations, still remain a distant dream. While on the one hand the caste base of inequity is getting accentuated, on the other tribal regions all over the country are simmering with discontent. The technological advances have not benefited the ordinary workers engaged in traditional occupations. The situation in tribal areas is particularly disquieting. The tribal are losing command over their resources. Claims of the state in utter disregard’ of their traditional rights and virtual forced dis placement in favor of a variety of developmental in favor of a variety of developmental projects, big and small, have made tribal restless to the point of rebellion in some cases. In some tribal areas, there is a state of confrontation between the people and the state which is marked by intermittent eruptions of violence.
Article extracted from this publication >> November 24, 1989
