The International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples (August 9) is dedicated to protecting the rights of indigenous communities, safeguarding their heritage, and recognizing their contributions to society and the environment. It is also an occasion to reaffirm the human rights of indigenous peoples across the world and acknowledge their unique cultural identities and their vital role in protecting nature.
In India, Adivasis constitute approximately 8.6 percent of the total population, yet they account for nearly 40 percent of those displaced by development projects and the exploitation of forests and natural resources.
Development projects, mining, dams, nuclear projects, industrial corridors and even forest conservation initiatives have placed a disproportionate burden of displacement on indigenous communities. In Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Odisha, Maharashtra and the northeastern states, Adivasis continue to struggle for their constitutional rights over jal, jungle and zameen—water, forests and land.
When deprived of their water, forests and land, these communities are often forced into cities and peripheral areas where they become cheap labour. Separated from their sacred places, ancestral lands and communities, they gradually lose their traditional identity. The children of displaced families are frequently deprived of education. In new settlements, malnutrition, inadequate healthcare and the risk of infectious diseases increase. Government compensation is often insufficient, and in the absence of meaningful rehabilitation, displaced families are forced to live a life resembling that of refugees.
The lack of basic facilities such as education, healthcare, roads, drinking water, nutrition and communication remains a serious challenge in Adivasi areas. Malnutrition, high maternal and infant mortality, malaria, sickle-cell anaemia and inadequate access to quality education continue to obstruct the development of indigenous communities. Unemployment and migration among young people are also steadily increasing.
Madhya Pradesh: Development at the Cost of Displacement
The economic and social condition of Adivasis facing displacement in Madhya Pradesh is deeply concerning and remains highly marginalised. Approximately 21.1 percent of the state's population is Adivasi, one of the highest proportions in the country. Yet irrigation projects, including those associated with the Narmada Valley, mining activities and wildlife sanctuaries have repeatedly subjected indigenous communities to displacement.
Displacement severs their centuries-old relationship with forests and agriculture. Employment and livelihoods derived from timber, medicinal plants and minor forest produce disappear. Once forest areas and agricultural land are taken away, the monetary compensation offered is often inadequate. A lack of experience in managing large sums of money and limited familiarity with the modern economy can leave families trapped in a cycle of poverty for generations.
These communities have traditionally lived close to forests and nature, but when development arrives, they are often pushed out of their ancestral surroundings. They frequently struggle to adapt to urban or semi-urban life because they have their own distinctive lifestyle, food traditions and ways of living. Once displaced, the diverse and nutritious natural foods available in forests are often replaced by less nutritious urban diets.
According to various reports, approximately 58.58 percent of Adivasi families living in rural areas of Madhya Pradesh live below the poverty line. Indigenous society is generally described as economically weak, but there has been little serious examination of the processes that have pushed these communities into poverty. Studies of Adivasi economic backwardness have rarely attempted to understand their traditional economies or their autonomy.
Their distinctive ways of life, philosophies, histories, languages, literature and systems of thought have also received inadequate attention. It is this lack of understanding that gave rise to the idea of bringing Adivasis into the so-called “mainstream.”
Today, everyone claims to want the development of Adivasi communities. But hardly anyone asks whether they themselves want to participate in this blind race for development, and on whose terms.
Development, of course, is a natural process. But the issue here is the agenda of the capitalist forces operating behind the dominant model of development. Under a capitalist system, production and distribution are driven primarily by private profit rather than social equality, justice and environmental protection. Development based on the extraction and destruction of natural resources inevitably displaces communities whose lives and livelihoods depend upon those resources.
Development Must Not Mean Displacement
The development model adopted by the country and the states must be based on development without displacement.
The government must take concrete steps to fully implement the recommendations associated with the Bhuria Committee. Madhya Pradesh adopted the Bhuria Committee framework in 1998–99. Under this framework, the Gram Sabha was given a central role in Scheduled Areas, and land cannot be transferred or acquired without the consent of the Gram Sabha. Any development activity undertaken by the government in Scheduled Areas should proceed only after obtaining the prior consent of the Gram Sabha.
We need a system of development in which the participation and rights of local people are guaranteed. It is no longer enough simply to keep pursuing development; it is equally necessary to critically review the meaning of development and the policies through which it is pursued.
In 1986, the United Nations adopted the Declaration on the Right to Development, which India, along with many other nations, endorsed. The principle recognizes development as a right of all people. Three important criteria should guide development projects: the consent of affected people; their share in the benefits arising from the resources created through the project; and their continued rights over livelihood resources.
In 2007, the United Nations adopted the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, which contains important provisions concerning the rights of indigenous communities over their livelihood resources.
Unfortunately, these international commitments have not been adequately followed in India.
The exploitation of natural resources taking place today is creating a long-term crisis for society and humanity, while the benefits of that exploitation are not reaching society or the nation equitably. Instead, large corporate houses are accumulating such enormous economic power that they can effectively turn society into an economic colony—and in many respects, they are succeeding.
At the same time, governments are taking on increasing debt in order to create the impression of development for a society that is itself becoming economically dependent.
The prevailing definition of economic development is deeply problematic. It first raises hopes and expectations and then, in an effort to fulfil them, forces compromises upon the basic economic foundations of society, imposes conditions and seeks control over society's resources.
Where Are the Resources Meant for Adivasi Development Going?
There are also serious irregularities in special economic provisions intended for Adivasi areas. One example is the diversion of funds allocated under the Tribal Sub-Plan for expenditure in non-tribal areas.
As a result, basic infrastructure in Adivasi regions—including schools, hospitals, roads, drinking water and irrigation facilities—remains inadequate.
Despite Madhya Pradesh having one of the country's largest Adivasi populations, the state also witnesses a very high incidence of crimes against Adivasis. A large number of innocent Adivasis remain in jails, often because they lack the financial means to pursue their cases effectively through the courts.
Children in Adivasi areas suffer disproportionately from malnutrition, while human trafficking has also increased significantly.
Thus, instead of making Adivasi society a genuine participant in development, the existing model has made it disproportionately vulnerable to displacement, poverty, malnutrition, unemployment and cultural disintegration.
For Adivasi communities, the relationship with water, forests and land is not merely economic. It is the foundation of their identity, culture and very existence.
What Should Development Mean?
Development must therefore be judged not merely by economic growth, GDP figures or the size of investments, but by the extent to which it delivers justice, dignity and security to the most vulnerable and affected communities.
In keeping with the spirit of the Indian Constitution, the Fifth Schedule, the Panchayats (Extension to Scheduled Areas) Act (PESA), the Forest Rights Act, and India's international commitments relating to the Right to Development and the rights of indigenous peoples, development projects must mandatorily ensure the prior consent of affected communities, a fair share in the benefits generated from their resources, and protection of their livelihood rights.
The time has come for a serious review of development policies and for the adoption of a model based on the protection of nature, social justice and respect for the rights of Adivasi communities. That is the real path toward inclusive, democratic and sustainable development.
World Indigenous Peoples Day: Beyond Celebration
On World Indigenous Peoples Day, there is often a display of Adivasi dances, traditional dress and culture. Yet the fundamental questions concerning land rights, displacement, livelihoods, ownership and control over natural resources, environmental justice and constitutional rights frequently disappear from the public discourse.
World Indigenous Peoples Day should therefore not be merely an occasion for celebration. It should be a day of introspection and accountability.
The development of Adivasi communities cannot mean merely announcing government schemes. It must mean the actual implementation of the rights guaranteed by the Constitution; respect for Gram Sabhas; protection of jal, jungle and zameen; dignified rehabilitation; access to quality education and healthcare; and protection of livelihoods.
Unless Adivasi participation, consent and rights are placed at the centre of development policies, the true purpose of World Indigenous Peoples Day will remain incomplete.
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*With Bargi Dam Displaced and Affected Persons Association
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