The cultural character of India is a living picturesqueness into which are woven traditions, colours, and tales of its 10.45 crore Scheduled Tribes, accounting for 8.6 per cent of the population. Worldwide, 476 million indigenous peoples in 90 countries represent 6 per cent of the world population but almost 19 per cent of the poorest. In the same way, Scheduled Tribes in India are facing such challenges, but at the same time, such resilience and cultural heritage are very much synonymous with the identity of this country. Chief among them are the 75 Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs), who number 44.64 lakh and pride themselves as upholders of ancient traditions. Existing in 22,544 villages and across 18 states and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, the Dongria Kondh, Chenchu, and Sentinelese coexist with nature; however, these communities are increasingly under threat of losing their land and means of livelihood due to the pressure exerted by mining, deforestation, and climate change. Besides, government programs, such as the Pradhan Mantri Janjati Adivasi Nyaya Maha Abhiyan (PM-JANMAN), aim at providing housing, healthcare, and livelihoods while protecting the cultural heritage of the tribes. This entire area of exploration covers Odisha, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, and the Andaman Islands, tracing the lives and dreams of PVTGs in an India that is changing rapidly.
PVTGs: Keepers of Bharat’s Wisdom
The relationship the PVTGs share with nature is deep-rooted in the Indian ethos: nature and people survive in conjunction with forests, rivers, and hills. Odisha’s Bonda women take their millet for sale at local markets, necklaces indicating the culture’s vibrancy; in Andhra Pradesh, Chenchu people gather medicinal herbs from the Nallamala forests. In Jharkhand, Sauria Paharia operate terraced fields, while Onge of Andaman casts fishing nets in turquoise waters. Small populations usually have low literacy and depend on forest-based livelihoods, and these very attributes make them vulnerable. Large-scale interventions–dams, mining–cut through their sacred places, and climate change disrupts their resources. Nevertheless, theirs is an ecological knowledge that could teach us much about which plants heal or how to take care of forests. Government schemes will make provision for their land rights and developments that would harmonise with their traditions. Thus, we have positioned PVTGS as essential elements of India’s cultural and environmental story.
A Tapestry of Triumphs Across States
PVTGs from all over India are continuously battling several difficulties while achieving their milestones. In Odisha, which is home to 13 PVTGs-including the Dongria Kondh and Bonda-one such significant victory took place in 2013. The Dongria Kondh, with help from FRA 2006 provisions, resisted Vedanta Aluminium Ltd.’s proposed bauxite mining project in the Niyamgiri Hills, which was threatening to devastate their deity Niyam Raja. This was subsequently endorsed by the Supreme Court, marking an indigenous rights victory. In 2021, Malkangiri’s Bonda in the Bonda Hills managed to secure habitat rights under FRA, giving them rights to manage their forests. PM-JANMAN, which moves ahead with a further 2.5 lakh homes, 1,200 km in built roads, and mobile health services to 8.66 lakh PVTGs in Odisha.
From Chhattisgarh, the Kamar and Baiga communities are beginning to blossom. In 2023, the Kamar gained habitat rights over 22 villages in Dhamtari’s Magarlod block that allowed them to sell tendu leaves and mahua under PM-JANMAN. The Baiga, painted tattooists, enjoy the share of schools and mobile health vans that target sickle cell anemia, a common malady afflicting tribes. Thereby, the Sauria Paharia in Jharkhand and Birhor are on the level path to stability. Lac cultivation of Sauria Paharia in Sahebganj has resulted in additional income due to government training, while the installation of solar-powered water pumps has added value to their daily lives. The Birhors, previously nomadic, have now settled in permanent habitations in Hazaribagh, where their children are being educated in Eklavya schools.
In Andhra Pradesh, the Chenchus and Konda Reddis inhabit forests. In 2025, the Chenchus were given habitat rights over the Nallamala forests to protect their honey-gathering tradition. PM-JANMAN’s Adi Adarsh Gram Yojana is changing their villages with roads and anganwadis. Bharias in Madhya Pradesh in Chhindwara sell bamboo crafts at government fairs, their rights supported by FRA titles, while Sahariya in Sheopur receive nutrition kits and are able to reduce under-nutrition by 12 per cent since 2020. The Onge of Andaman and Nicobar Islands have earned income through fishing boats and coconut plantations assisted by the government and have a population of hardly about 100. The Sentinelese remain untouched since the 1956 Aboriginal Tribes Regulation, whereas PM-JANMAN is assisting the Onge in infrastructural development such as jetties. These are narratives that speak of the very survival of the PVTGs and of the difference that focused interventions can make.
The Great Constitution Protecting Our Roots
The Indian Forest Rights Act of 2006 is one of the major provisions for tribal empowerment that guarantees rights over lands, forests, and resources to the protected primitive tribal groups. Furthermore, it allows communities to manage sacred groves and contest harmful undertakings- like mining or dam constructions. The Fifth Schedule of the Constitution guarantees the tribal areas of states like Madhya Pradesh and Jharkhand, while the Panchayats Extension to Scheduled Areas Act of 1996 entrusts the powers of resource management to gram sabhas. Article 46 encourages tribal education and economic upliftment. In the Andaman Islands, the 1956 Protection of Aboriginal Tribes Regulation erects barriers to interference from outside societies on groups such as the Sentinelese. In this way, their way of life can be preserved.
In recent years, under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership, constitutional safeguards for PVTGs have been strengthened by recognising additional communities under the Scheduled Tribes list, ensuring their access to legal entitlements. Furthermore, his government has emphasised effective implementation of the Fifth Schedule and PESA Act through direct benefit transfers, digital inclusion, and decentralised tribal governance.
PVTGs: Pledge of Viksit Bharat by Tribal Groups
The schemes for empowerment have constantly created legal provisions in the Government Sector. The modernised Scheme for Development of PVTGs 2015 facilitates welfare plans at the state level. On January 2025, Parliament added PVTGs like Odisha’s Pauri Bhuyan, Andhra’s Bondo Porja, and Chhattisgarh’s Hill Korwa to the Scheduled Tribes list for widening access to their entitlements. The tribal welfare budget has significantly risen from 24,598 crore in 2014 to 124,000 crore in 2024. Established in 2023 with a budget of 24,104 crore under PM-JANMAN, the scheme is supposed to benefit 44.64 lakh PVTGs by delivering 4.9 lakh homes, road, schools, and clinics, good drinking water, and opportunities for employment.
Eklavya Model Residential Schools (EMRS) impart education to 1.18 lakh tribal students across 401 schools and PVTGs like the Bonda, who saw her member Bini Muduli enter civil services in 2024. Andhra Pradesh recorded a 15 per cent rise in literacy through Chenchu girls. More than 1 crore have been screened under the newly launched 2023 Sickle Cell Anemia Mission and are under treatment free of charge for tribes like the Baiga and Juang. In 2023, Viksit Bharat Sankalp Yojana enrolled 2.55 million villages for the eligible PVTGS into banking, health insurance, and maternal benefit programs. The national tribal museum about the crafts of the PVTGs will be built with 200 crores. The Adi Adarsh Gram Yojana is improving modernisation in 36,428 tribal villages.
Indeed, because of all this, there are measurable benefits. Since 2020, undernutrition among Odisha’s PVTGs fell by 10 and by 12 per cent in Madhya Pradesh’s Sahariya. Since then, Sauria Paharia farmers in Jharkhand have increased their incomes twofold through the lac cultivation; similarly, Onge fishing income rose by a fifth in the Andamans. The 2023 World Development study stated that PVTG lands under FRA rights had 3 per cent less deforestation than lands that did not have those rights, and they were also located as environmental stewards. Another study around the same time in 2024 in Chhattisgarh and Odisha burned light on enhanced health outcomes owing to mobile clinics.
There are many challenges to be addressed, many PVTGs still do not know of their FRA rights owing to lack of education and communication. There is a crumbling bureaucracy, so many houses could only be completed to the extent of one-half of the plan by March 2024. Making way for ages of land into industrial projects, as in the case of Odisha’s Similipal, where Mankedia are waiting for habitat rights, or even in the case of Madhya Pradesh, against which the mining pressure from Bharia is being exerted. Some modern interventions, however, like hospitals, clash with ancient practices.
Addressing these issues requires innovative approaches. Awareness campaigns using local languages, markets, and tribal leaders could bridge knowledge gaps. Dedicated FRA teams at the district level could expedite land claims, while tribunals could balance development projects with tribal rights. Engaging PVTGs to map their sacred sites and integrating traditional healing with modern healthcare could align development with their values. Promoting tribal languages in schools and supporting cultural festivals, films, and books could amplify their stories.
Protecting PVTGs is about preserving India’s heritage. Government initiatives like PM-JANMAN, EMRS, and tribal museums reflect a commitment to their inclusion. From the Dongria Kondh’s defense of Niyamgiri to the Chenchu’s forest stewardship, PVTGs demonstrate resilience and wisdom. Their integration into India’s growth story—through education, healthcare, and economic opportunities—paves the way for a Viksit Bharat where every tribe’s voice is heard, and their traditions endure as a cornerstone of the nation’s identity.
Comments