There are just 17 people belonging to the tribe called Birajia, 43 Andamananese, 96 Onge, and 240 Jarawas. These are among the 75 particularly vulnerable tribal groups in the country, whose numbers have been shown to be falling by census data.
The National Advisory Council has recommended a special census of the particularly vulnerable tribal groups (PVTG) across the country to be conducted by the Ministry of Tribal Affairs. Of the 75 tribes that fall in the category of PVTGs, there are about 13 tribes with a population of less than 1000 in different parts of the country, making them and their cultures particularly vulnerable.
NAC in a series of recommendations made to the Government regarding the PVTGs said that the regular census does not comprehensively capture the data on them and hence a specially designed census for these groups should be conducted. which apart from their enumeration will also cover the status of their health, education and nutrition, using the services of social /cultural anthropologists, Tribal Research Institutes, Anthropological Survey of India along with anthropology departments of local universities.
The census it said should map out their habitat, settlements, resources and resource use, livelihood patterns, alienation from land, resources etc besides the changing pattern of lives and livelihood.. Within the 75 PVTGs those groups whose population is declining should be clearly identified and survival strategy for such groups should be devised, it said.
As per the 2001 census, the 75 PVTGs have a total population of 27, 68, 322 and live in remote and scattered locations. Almost 77 per cent of their total population are confined to five states viz Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Jharkhand, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu. These states are homes to 38 of the PVTGs.
The working group set up by NAC which gave these recommendations has also asked for preparation of vulnerability indices of the PVTGs. ''Vulnerability index for each PVTG should be developed, The indices should be developed keeping in mind the fact that the nature of vulnerability varies across PVTGs and approaches towards their development should be informed by the specific nature of their vulnerability.
It said that factors that contributed to the decline in population of certain PVTGs should be identified. These include mal nutrition, sickle cell anaemia, tuberculosis, infertility and so on.
It has suggested that accessible health facilities should be provided once reasons for their problems are identified. It has also recommended interventions to provide education , while adding that tribal children even if deprived of formal education are trained in various ways by their communities and are skilled.
However due to factors like poverty, alienation from society, and irrelevant curriculum and non availability of teaching in tribal languages formal education has been lower in these communities than the national average, it said.
It has asked the Tribal Affairs Ministry to come up with an action plan to deal with the development of PVTGs on these fronts.
It also made certain specific suggestions which included prevention of alienation of land in PVTG habitats, recognition and protection of PVTGs’ community tenures over their habitats.
It said that tribal groups were not used to independent plots of land and were used to community ownership and this should not be intruded upon. It also called for conservation of traditional skills and indigenous knowledge, citing snake catching and venom extraction of Irulas, rope making among Mankidias, metal work of Kotas, honey collection of Kattunaickans as examples.
