PSEB 12th Class Sociology Solutions Chapter 1 Tribal Society

Punjab State Board PSEB 12th Class Sociology Book Solutions Chapter 1 Tribal Society Textbook Exercise Questions and Answers.

PSEB Solutions for Class 12 Sociology Chapter 1 Tribal Society

Sociology Guide for Class 12 PSEB Tribal Society Textbook Questions and Answers

Multiple Choice Questions:

1. Which is the largest tribe in India?
(a) Santhal
(b) Bhil
(c) Munda
(d) Gonds
Answer:
(a) Santhal

2. The word tribe is derived from which word?
(a) Greek
(b) Latin
(c) Greek and Latin
(d) Latin or Greek
Answer:
(B) Latin

3. Which is not Risley’s classification on the basis of race?
(a) Indo Aryan
(b) Hill cultivation
(c) Mongoloid
(d) Scytho Dravidian
Answer:
(b) Hill cultivation

4. Bhil tribe speaks which dialect?
(a) Oriya
(b) Chhattisgarhi
(c) Bhili
(d) Gondi
Answer:
(c) Bhili

5. Which is the cause of environmental degradation?
(a) Housing
(b) Gases
(c) Displacement
(d) Deforestation
Answer:
(b) Gases

6. The act of movement of someone from one position to another is called:
(a) Displacement
(b) Mobility
(c) Land Acquisition
(d) Deforestation
Answer:
(b) Mobility

Fill in the Blanks:

1. The Romans identified tribe as a ………………. unit.
Answer:
Political

2. The Constitution of India has accepted to use the term tribe as ……………….
Answer:
Scheduled caste

3. ………………. and ………………. are the cultural classifications of tribal society.
Answer:
Dravid, Indo-Aryan

4. Shifting cultivation is also called ………………. cultivation.
Answer:
Jhum

5. ………………. and ………………. are the causes responsible for Deforestation.
Answer:
Urbanisation, industrialisation

6. ………………. and ………………. are the two major issues of tribal society.
Answer:
Deforestation, displacement

True/False:

1. India has the second-largest concentration of tribal population.
Answer:
True

2. Dr. G.S. Ghurye called the tribals ‘Girijan’.
Answer:
False

3. The Munda tribe speaks the Mundari dialect.
Answer:
True

4. Tribals have faith in Animism and Totemism.
Answer:
True

5. Deforestation has no influence on climate and biodiversity.
Answer:
False

6. Land acquisition and dam buildings are the causes of Displacement.
Answer:
True

D. Match the Columns:

Column A	Column B
Mundari	Sir, Herbert Risley
Timber Mining	Marriage by Purchase
The Mongoloid Type	Munda
Dam Construction	Deforestation
Bride price paid in cash	Displacement or in-kind

Answer:

Column A	Column B
Mundari	Munda
Timber Mining	Deforestation
The Mongoloid Type	Sir, Herbert Risley
Dam Construction	Displacement or in-kind
Bride price paid in cash	Marriage by Purchase

Very Short Answer Type Questions:

Question 1.
What is the total percentage of tribals in India?
Answer:
8.2% of the total population in India are tribals.

Question 2.
What is the mixture of the Scythians and the Dravidians called?
Answer:
Schyto-Dravidians.

Question 3.
Name the tribals which are based on hunting, gathering, and fishing called.
Answer:
Forest-hunters.

Question 4.
What are the causes of displacement or deforestation?
Answer:
Land acquisition, dam construction, mining, agriculture, etc.

Question 5.
What is the major effect of Industry, Mining, Dam building, Land acquisition?
Answer:
Displacement.

Question 6.
What do you mean by Tribal society?
Answer:
The society which lives very much away from our society in forests, mountains, etc., and which has its own geographical area, language, culture, and religion.

Question 7.
Which is the largest tribal community in India?
Answer:
Santhal is the largest tribal community in India which mainly lives in West Bengal, Bihar, Jharkhand, and Odisha.

Question 8.
The word Tribe’ is derived from which word?
Answer:
The word Tribe’ is derived from the Latin word ‘tribuz’ which means ‘one third’.

Question 9.
In the Indian context who referred to tribes as ‘Schedule Tribe’?
Answer:
Dr. B.R. Ambedkar referred to tribes as ‘Schedule Tribe’.

Question 10.
The Bhil tribe speaks which kind of dialect?
Answer:
The Bhil tribe speaks the Bhili dialect.

Question 11.
Who gave a racial classification of the tribal society?
Answer:
It was given by Sir Herbert Risley.

Question 12.
‘Sohrai’ is the harvest festival of which tribe?
Answer:
‘Sohrai’ is the harvest festival of the Santhal tribe.

Short Answer Type Questions:

Question 1.
Write down three characteristics of tribal” society.
Answer:

Each tribal society lives in a specific geographical area.
The tribe is a collection of groups who are blood relations with each other.”
Each tribe has its specific name such as Garo, Khasi, Naga, etc.

Question 2.
What do you mean by Chieftainship?
Answer:
Each tribe has its own political system in which the chief is elected on the basis of age or physical strength. The chief has complete authority and all the members of the tribe accept his decisions. The ultimate authority is in his hands.

Question 3.
What is the Subsistence economy?
Answer:
Tribes have a subsistence economy that depends upon hunting, collecting, fishing, and gathering forest products. There exist a barter system among them. Their economy is not based on profit but they only fulfill their needs.

Question 4.
What do you mean by the Indo-Aryan type tribe?
Answer:
Indo-Aryan-type tribes live in Punjab, Rajasthan, and Kashmir. Physically, they are of good height and hate the fair color. They have black eyes, more hair on the body and face, and a long nose.

Question 5.
What do you mean by Mongoloid tribe?
Answer:
Mongoloid type of tribe exists in the Himalayan region belt especially north-eastern border, Napal and Burma. Their major physical features are broad head, dark complexion with yellowish tinge and less hair on face. They are of short height.

Question 6.
What is the Santhal tribe?
Answer:
Santhal tribe is the largest Indian tribe which lives in Bihar, West Bengal, Jharkhand and Odisha. They speak Santhali, Oriya, Bangla and Hindi language. Their major festival is Sohrai and they worship ‘Sun God’. The custom of bride price exists in their society.

Question 7.
What is deforestation?
Answer:
Deforestation is the major cause of environmental degradation. The meaning of deforestation is cutting of trees. Major reason of deforestation is expansion of agriculture, increase in population, development of new technology and most importantly industrialisation.

Question 8.
What do you mean by displacement?
Answer:
The act of uprooting someone from his original place and to settle them at other place is known as displacement. This is one of the major problems of tribal society. It is quite painful for the person to get displaced from his area. Tribals are displaced due to the things found in their areas.

Long Answer Type Questions:

Question 1.
Write a short note on tribal society.
Or
Tribal Society.
Or
What do you mean by tribal society.
Answer:
A tribe is a group of people living very much away from our civilisation in forests, mountains and valleys. They still live in ancient conditions. The society which exists in such groups is known as tribal society. This-is classless society in which no stratification exists. Most of the population of such societies live in forests or in mountains. They are mostly self dependent who control themselves and are beyond any one’s control. Their structure is very much different from the rural and urban societies.

Question 2.
Write the cultural classification of tribal society.
Answer:
Majumdar and Madan has divided tribes on cultural basis :

Those tribes which are very much away from urban or rural communities which means those tribes which have not yet reached the level of developed communities.
Such tribes which have been influenced by the rural or urban communities. These tribes are facing many problems due to this influence.
Such tribes which are in complete contact with the rural or urban culture and that’s why they do not face any problem.

Question 3.
Write the Racial classification of tribal society.
Answer:
Sir Herbert Risley classified tribes on racial basis :

The Indo-Aryan
The Dravidian
The Mongoloid
The Aryo-Dravidian
The Mongolo-Dravidian
The Scytho-Dravidian
The Turko Iranian.

Question 4.
Write the Linguistic classification of tribal society.
Answer:
Languages which exist in India, can be divided in four parts and these are :

Indo-European or Aryan Languages. In this part Punjabi, Hindi, Bengali, Gujarati, Oriya languages come.
Dravidian Laguages. This linguistic family exists in central and southern
India. In this linguistic family, languages such as Telugu, Malyalam, Tamil, Kannada etc. are included. .
Austic Languages. Austic linguistic family exists in Central and Eastern India. Languages of Bhunda and Kala come in this linguistic family.
Tibeto Chinese Languages. Few Indian tribes also use these languages.

Question 5.
Write the integrational classification of tribal society.
Answer:
According to L.P. Vidyarthi and B.K. Rai, they are of four types :

Tribal Communities. Those tribes who still live at their original place and live their lives in their distinctive pattern.
Semi Tribal Communities. Those tribes who have more or less settled down in rural areas, started doing agriculture or other related occupations.
Acculturated Tribal Communities. Such tribal communities who have migrated to urban or semi urban areas and have adopted modern occupations such as working in industries. They have also taken up urban traits.
Totally Assimilated Tribals. These are those tribal people who have completely adopted Hinduism.

Question 6.
Distinguish between the Gond and the Bhil tribes.
Answer:
Gond Tribe. Gond tribe is one of the largest Indian tribes. It has been believed that they belong to a Dravidian group. They live in many states such as Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Odisha, etc. They speak Gondi and Chattisgarhi languages. Their economy is based on agriculture and forests and some of them are still doing Jhum cultivation. Bhil Tribe. It is also one of the largest Indian tribes. It is also known as Bhilala. This tribe lives in Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Tripura, etc. They speak the Bhili dialect. Their major source of income is agriculture. Holi is their important festival.

Question 7.
Write down the three causes of deforestation.
Answer:

For Agriculture: Since quite a long time, tribal people are doing agriculture. They clear the forest, cut the trees and do agriculture on that land.
For Wood: To fulfill the needs of increasing population, trees are cut down and forests are cleared. The wood is used to make homes and furniture.
Urbanization: The increasing population needs place to live. That’s why urban centres started expanding. So, people cleared forests to make houses.

Question 8.
Write the three causes responsible for displacement.
Answer:

Land Acquisition: The government needs land to. make roads or national parks and that’s why it occupies other land. People living on that land are displaced.
Construction of Dam: To stop flood and to make hydroelectricity, government constructs dams. That’s why tribal people are displaced and are forced to settle at some other place.
Industries: Lot of land was required to start an industry and that’s why government acquires land. So, people gets displaced from their lands.

Question 9.
Write five points of social change in tribal society.
Or
Write three points of social change in tribal society.
Answer:

Changes are coming in the social structure of tribal society. Their ways of living, eating habits, education, and political life are going through many changes.
Now tribal people are leaving their traditional occupations to adopt new ones. Now they are doing labor in industries, mines, and other places.
In the age of globalization, they cannot live in isolation. That’s why they have started leaving their areas to migrate to nearby rural or urban areas.
They have started integrating into the mainstream of our country and are taking part in the political system of the country.
The Indian Constitution has given them reservation. They are taking advantage of this and gradually development is taking place among them.

Very Long Answer Type Questions:

Question 1.
What do you mean by tribal society? Discuss its characteristics in detail.
Or
Define Tribal society. Discuss the features of it.
Or
Define Tribal society.
Or
Write a note on Tribal society.
Answer:
There is one civilization in our country Which lives very much away from our civilization in mountains, forests, valleys, etc., and lives in an ancient state. This civilization is known as tribal society. These tribes have been given the name of Scheduled Tribes in the Indian Constitution. A tribal society is a classless society. There is no existence of any type of stratification in these societies. The tribe was considered a very important social group in ancient societies. Most of the population of tribal society live either in mountains or in forests. They live almost in every part of our country.

These societies are generally self-dependent i.e., are controlled by themselves and are away from any type of control. Tribal societies are very much different from the structure and culture of rural and urban societies. We can divide them into three categories and these are :

hunters, food gatherers, and fish catchers
people engaged in shifting agriculture and
people engaged in the permanent type of agriculture.

They are very much different from our culture, civilization, and society.

Definitions of a Tribe:

1. According to Imperial Gazetteer of India, “A Tribe is a collection of families bearing a common name, speaking a common dialect, occupying or professing to occupy a common territory and is not usually endogamous, though originally it might have been so.”

2. According to D.N. Majumdar, “A tribe is a collection of families or group of families bearing a common name, member of which occupy the same territory, speak the same language and observe certain taboos regarding marriage, profession or occupation and have developed a well-assessed system of reciprocity and mutuality of obligation.”

3. According to Gillin and Gillin, “Any collection of preliterate local groups which occupies a common general territory, speaks a common language and practices a common culture is tribe.”

In this way we can say that the tribes exist in a limited geographical area and live in the form of small groups. Different tribes are very much different and independent from each other on the basis of some of their certain aspects like social structure, language, culture etc. Each tribe has its own language, culture, traditions, eating habits etc. People in these tribes have the sense of unity among themselves because they live with each other in a definite geographical area. It is the collection of group of many families which were endogamous long ago. These days, these tribal people have been given protection by Indian constitution for their development in the form of many facilities like reservation and gradually they are joining the main stream.

Characteristics of a Tribe:

1. Collection of Families. Any tribe is a group of many families which has common produce. They produce things to fulfil the needs of the tribe. They never accumulate things because of which they don’t have any sense of property. That’s why these families have the sense of unity among themselves.

2. Common Geographical Territory. People of a tribe live in a common and definite geographical territory. They are very much different and live away from other parts of society due to their common and definite geographical territory. That’s why they are out of the reach of the rest of society. They have their own different culture and they never like the interference of any one in their tribe. That’s why they never like to keep any type of relation with the rest of society. They have their own different world. They have the community feeling because they live in a common territory.

3. Common Language and Common name. Each tribe has its own different language because of which they are different from each other. Number of tribal languages, in our country, exists according to the number of tribes. Each tribe also has its different name and it is known by that name.

4. Segmentary Society. Each tribal society is different from other society on many basis like ways of eating habits, languages, geographical area etc. They are different from each other on many basis and never like to interfere in each other’s matters. They don’t have any type of discrimination with anyone and that’s why they are known as segmentary societies.

5. Common Culture. Each tribe has different ways of living, religion, language, taboo etc. But these are same in one tribe. In the same way because of these differences, all the members of one tribe have the same culture.

6. Economic Structure. Each tribe has its own land which practices shifting agriculture on it. They just want to fulfil their needs and that’s why their production is also limited. They never accumulate the things because of which they don’t have any sense of property. That’s why there is no class in tribal society. Each member of a tribe has equal rights on all the things and no one is inferior or superior in such society.

7. Mutual Cooperation. Each member of a tribe gives full cooperation to other members of society so that all the needs of a tribe could be fulfilled. If any member of a tribe is being threatened by members of other tribe then the other member of first tribe gives their full cooperation to their friend to fight with the other tribe. It is the duty of headman of every tribe to keep respect of its tribe. Every member of the tribe has to obey the orders of the headman and they give respect to headman due to this. All the members of the tribe become loyal to their tribe.

8. Political Organization. Village, in tribes, is one of the important unit and 10-12 villages form a political organization of a tribe. These organizations form one council and each council has one headman. This headman is generally the eldest person of the council. Each tribal society works under this council and the atmosphere of the council is generally democratic. Each member of the tribe remains loyal to the tribe.

9. Division of labour. Very limited type of division of labour and specialization exists in tribal society. There are many basis of difference among people like age, sex, kinship etc. Except these some functions and roles are important like one headman and one priest. With these one OJHA is also there who gives medicine at the time of illness or any other problem.

10. Stratification. Yet there is no stratification in tribal societies but if it is there then it is very limited because these societies do not have any class system. Just some sort of stratification exists in these societies on»the bases of age, sex or kinship.

In this way on the basis of this discription we can say that a tribe is an endogamous group which has its own different language, culture, religion etc. They never like to interfere in any one’s matters and never like to be interfered .by anyone. They are blood relatives of each other because they believe that they are the children of one ancestor. They live in a definite geographical area and even today they use ancient ways of living. Yet some changes are coming in their societies but still they are living in a backward condition according to our society.

Question 2.
Write a detailed note on the classification of tribal society.
Or
Write the economic classification of Indian Tribes.
Answer:
Tribes are an indispensible part of Indian population. Indian tribes can be classified on many basis such as racial, economic and integration and their description is given below :

1. Racial Classification of the Indian Tribes. Sir Herbert Risley classified Indian people on scientific basis. According to him, people of three races, Dravid, Indo-Aryan and Mongoloid, live in India and they are also mixed with each other. That’s why there is difference of colour among Indians. That’s why, he divided them in seven tribes.

1) The Indo-Aryan. This type of tribal community lives in Rajasthan and Kashmir. From physical point of view, they have long stature, fair complexion, black eyes and more growth of hair on face and body. They also have long nose.

2) The Dravidian. These people spread from Ceylon to the Ganga valley of West Bengal which include Chennai, Hyderabad, Central India and Chotta Nagpur. They are also known as the original inhabitants of India. They are of dark complexion. Their physical features are black eyes, long head and broad nose.

3) The Mongoloid. Such tribes live in the belt along the Himalayan region which includes north west frontiers, Nepal and Burma. Their major physical features are broad head, dark complexion with yellowish tingle and less growth of hair on face. Their height is lesser than the average height.

4) The Aryo-Dravidian. Such tribe came forward due to the mixture of Aryans and Dravidians. They live in Uttar Pradesh, few parts of Rajasthan and Bihar. Their complexion varies from light brown to black. They have medium to broad nose and are of medium height.

5) The Mongolo-Dravidians. Such tribes come forward due to the mixture of Dravidians and Mongols. They live in Bengal and Odisha. They have broad head, black colour, more growth of hair on face and medium height.

6) The Scytho-Dravidian. It is a mixture of Scytho and Dravidian people. They live in western’India, from Gujarat to Coorg. People of Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra also come among them. They have medium height, fair complexion, broad head and fine nose.

7) The Turko-Iranian. These people live in Afghanistan, Baluchistan and North Western Frontier Province (Pakistan). They were probably formed with the mixture of Turks and Persians.

2. Economic Classification of the Indian Tribes. Indian tribes have also been classified on the basis of their economy. Nature* humans and spirits work for them in many ways. That’s why they can be classified in six types :

1) Food Gatherers and Hunters. Many tribes live at far off places in forests and mountains. Yet most of the tribes have joined the main stream due to-means of transport and they also have adopted the occupation of agriculture but still many tribes are there who still spend their life as hunters and food gatherers. They collect roots, fruits, honey etc. and even are hunting smaller animals. Some tribes also exchange many things. In this way they fulfil their needs in the absence of agriculture.

Those tribes are known as ancient tribes which fulfil their needs in this way. These people not only kill animals but also collect fruits, roots and honey from the jungles. In this way they fulfils their needs even without the presence of agriculture. We can come to know about their culture after looking at their way of hunting. These societies lack tools and means because of which they are the shadow of ancient tribes. There is no concept of surplus production in their societies. It is so because they can neither produce any thing surplus and nor they can keep the surplus production. They live like wanderers. Tribes of Chenchu, Katkari, Karnes, Baija, Khariya, Kuch, Paliyan etc. live this type of life.

2) Shifting Agriculture. Shifting agriculture prevails in most of the tribes. In this type of agriculture, tribal people first clear the forest by cutting it or lighting it on fire. Then they start cultivating that land. They get very less production due to old means of agriculture. When the production from that land becomes very less then they stop cultivating that land and start that same process on any other piece of land. This way of agriculture has been criticised to a great extent. Tribes of Lohta, Naga, Khasi, Kuki, Saora, Karva etc. used to do this type of agriculture. Very less production is there with this way of agriculture and that’s why their condition is very pitiable.

Because very less production is there with the way of agriculture, that’s why government is trying to stop this type of agriculture. If it will not be stopped then the forest land will come to an end very quickly and the economic system of these tribes will further deteriorate. Problem of soil erosion also occurs due to cutting of forests. Yet this type of agricuture has been banned in many parts of the country, but still this way of agriculture prevails in many parts of the country. So to stop this way of agriculture, it is necessary for the government that it should give them some sort of economic help for their employment so that should be able to earn bread to live a happy life.

3) Pastoralists. Pastoral economy is one of the important part of tribal economy. Tribal people rear animals for different purposes like to take milk, meat and wool and to carry weight. Pastoral tribes of India live a static and permanent life and none according to the se’ason. Tribes of mountaineous region move towards plains in the winter season and comes back to their areas in summer season. The main pastoral tribe of India is the Gujjar tribe of Himachal Pradesh which rears buffaloes, cows and sheep for business purposes.

This custom also prevails in the Toda tribe of Tamilnadu. This tribe rear animals and gets milk from them. Milk is used either to exchange things or it is used to fulfil their own needs. Indian tribes generally live a permanent life. They live at one place and rear animals. They get their things from them like milk, meat etc. They also used to do business of animals like sheep, gtiats etc.

4) Cultivators. Many tribes used to cultivate the land with the help of plough. Males and females have equal participation in this type of agriculture. Those, tribes, who have adopted the Christian religion, have started to use new technology in the agriculture. Tribes of Mizo, Aptalis, Oraon, Ho, Tharo, Gond etc. used to do this type of agriculture.

5) Artisons. Generally most of the tribes used to do the work of cultivation but some tribes are there who used to earn their livelihood only through this work. Many tribes used to do this work during their free time to increase their income. Tribes are making things of metal, cotton etc. to earn their livelihood. They also used to make things with bamboo. The work of artisan includes the work of carpenter, utensils, tools etc. These people are also famous to make toys of metal and glass.

6) Industrial Labour. Tribal people are moving near the main stream due to development of means of communication and reduction of forests. Their traditional ways of income are reducing due to reducing number of forests because of which they have to find new ways of earning money for their livelihood. That’s why a new means is coming in front of us and that is industrial labour. They either go to industrial areas for industrial labour or industrialists are establishing their industries in their areas. Many tribal people are working in tea gardens of Assam and in different industries. Tribal people of Madhya Pradesh, Bihar and Jharkhand are working in mines. Many tribal people are working in cities as non-skilled laborers.

3. Classification of Indian Tribes on the basis of the level of Integration. Tribes are one of the important parts of the Indian population. They have maintained their separate identity. They have made good relations with the non-tribal people who came in their contact. L.P. Vidyarthi and B.K. Rai has divided them into four parts :

Tribal Communities. Those tribes still live in their original place and live their lives in their distinctive pattern.
Semi-Tribal Communities. Those tribes who have more or less settled down in rural areas started doing agriculture or other related occupations.
Acculturated Tribal Communities. Such tribal Communities have migrated to urban or semi-urban areas and have adopted modern occupations such as working in industries. They have also taken up urban traits.
Totally Assimilated Tribals. These are those tribal people who have completely adopted Hinduism.

Question 3.
What is deforestation? What are the causes responsible for deforestation?
Or
What is deforestation? Highlight the causes responsible for deforestation.
Answer:
One of the major reasons of environmental degradation is deforestation. The meaning of deforestation is cutting down trees. Except cutting of trees, deforestation increases due to the expansion of agriculture and pastoral areas. During earlier times, tribals fulfilled their needs because they had all the forest and natural resources available with them. To fulfill their needs, they^were dependent upon forests. But deforestation has been increased due to many factors such as industrialization, urbanization, agriculture, increase in population and need of wood etc. It has directly or indirectly affected the tribal economy. Deforestation is having a very ba,d impact on our atmosphere.

Reasons or causes of deforestation:

1. Deforestation for Agriculture. An increase in population leads to less space for agriculture. That’s why forests were cut down to increase the land under cultivation. Such farmers who do not have land, cut the forests down to earn their livelihood. Many tribal people still do shifting cultivation and cut the forests down.

2. Deforestation for Wood. Wood is used as a raw material in many industries because of which deforestation takes place. With the increase in population, we need wood to make homes and furniture. After the industrial revolution, the demand of wood increased to a great extent. That’s why wood was obtained from the Indian forests as this wood was of good quality and labor was also cheap over here.

3. Deforestation to Cook Food. Yet, there is no dearth of wood in forests to cook food but still, wood is put on fire to cook food and to get warmth. That’s why tribal people cut forests, collect wood to make coal.

4. Industrialisation and Urbanisation. The land is required to establish industries and to expand urban areas. That’s why forests are cut down to clear land so as to develop industries and urban areas. It adversely affects our environment as well as forests. Consequently, tribals were forced to abandon their original habitat.

5. Deforestation for Pastoral Lands. To fulfill the increasing need of fodder for cattle, pastoral lands were expanded. Consequently, forest land was cleared to make it grassland. In this way forests were cut down.

6. Deforestation for Paper Industry. Wood pulp is used to make paper which is used in every sector of society. During last few decades, the consumption of paper has been increased to a great extent. That’s why a particular type of tree is grown to make paper from wood pulp.

7. Deforestation for Commercial Purposes. Many factories use wood as raw-material. That’s why they stress on growing a particular type of tree which they cut down very quickly. This also increases deforestation in one way or the other.

Question 4.
What is displacement? Write a detailed note on it.
Or
Land acquisition and Dam construction are causes of Displacement. Discuss.
Answer:
Displacement is a situation in which someone is uprooted from his place of living and to take him to. other place to settle down. It is one of the problems which tribals are facing. If any one is uprooted from his place of living, he will have to face many psychological, physical and mental problems. Tribal population is facing the adverse impact of industrialisation and urbanisation. There exist many natural resources in tribal areas and these resources are exploited in many ways such as to make dams for electricity and as raw-material. In this way, tribals are displaced from their lands and are given very less money as compensation.

Tribals use that money to buy drugs or any other non-useful work. In this way they lose all the money as well as land. To fulfill their needs, they have to work as labourers in industries. Yet, due to industrialisation, tribal youth is getting employment but due to illiteracy, they are unable to get educated or semi-educated jobs.

Many scholars are of the view that many steel factories have been established in Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand, West Bengal and Odisha. That’s why many tribals were displaced. Very few of them were able to take advantage of the government facilities. They were given alternate lands but there was no arrangement of irrigation facilities over there. That’s why such lands did not prove fruitful for them.

They are also given money as compensation of their land but that is not utilised properly. They use that money till they get other work. Except this, they do not get any support from the industries and urban people. Industrialists do not care about the displaced persons. Instead they care only about their profit. Tribals do not have any other option and they start to live in small kutcha houses which become a slum area with time. In this way, they face many problems due to displacement.

Question 5.
Write down about social changes which occur in tribal society.
Answer:
Many changes have taken place within tribes which exist today. After 1947, many changes have taken place in tribal life due to many factors like industralization, urbanization, development of means of transport and communication, planned social change programmes, spread of education etc. Tribes, in earlier times, lived away from main stream in forests and mountains. That’s why they are very much backward. But now they are coming near to main stream and national life. They are joining the main stream because of which many changes are coming in their life. But which ever changes are coming in their societies, they are very much different from the changes of main stream. Changes in the life of tribal people are coming due to two factors-internal and external. Internal factors occur due to internal factors of the tribe and external factors occur due to the tribal contacts with other groups. Whichever changes have taken place, in the different sectors in tribal life, are given below :

1. Changes in Social Structure. The most important base of social life of all the tribes is family and kinship. All the social institutions and the relations between different institution are changing. Joint families of tribes are disintegrating and nuclear families are coming into existence. Patriarchal tribes like Ho, Gond, Bhil etc. are changing in this way. But no such changes are coming in matriarchal families. Families in these tribes are still matrilineal and matriarchal. Power of taking decision in the family is still in the hands of head of the family. Custom of polygamy was there in many tribes like Bhil, Gond, Naga, Baiga etc. But due to modernization, monogamous families are coming into existence.

Clan system keeps a very important place in the social structure of tribes. Clans were very powerful until the tribal people were living in a definite area. But the control of the clans over the humans has decreased from that day when these people came out of their area to work in the industries. Now clans are not the basic means of control. Importance of clan now can be seen only at the time of marriage.

Yet the kinship system of these tribes has not been changed to a great extent but the area of kinship has not been widened to a great extent due to the development of means of communication. Now the people of the tribes like Bhil, Santhal etc. are marrying their children to far off places. They ,pasily can move from one place to another with the help of means of transport. That’s why now kinship has been widened from a smaller area to a larger area.

Many changes have taken place in the institution of marriage of tribal society. During earlier times, custom of polygamy was there in many tribes, which is decreasing day by day. Now monogamous marriages are coming forward. Ways of doing marriage among tribes are also changing. Some types of acquiring mate have been changed completely. Now many types of marriages are not permitted because that way is an offence in the eyes of law. Marriage by service has been reduced to a great extent. Many traditional types of marriages have come to an end and monogamy is coming forward. Tribal people are adopting customs of Hindu society because they are living near to the Hindu society.

Religion among tribes is kept in the category of Animism. But with the advent of Britishers, many changes were taken place in their religion. It is so because they started to come in contact with other groups and their social life was very much affected. Their religion also started to change. Some people had adopted the Hindu religion and some people had adopted the Christian religion. They have adopted the different rituals of Hindu religion releated to birth, marriage, death etc.

Now they used to do the same rituals of Hindu religion at the time of death of any person. They used to do ‘Havan’ at the time of marriage and take rounds of fire during marriage. Now they even celebrate the fesivals of Hindus with great pomp and show. It is correct to say that the tribes now are the important part of Hindu social system. Christian missionaries have done a great work for the welfare of tribal people because of which many tribal people have adopted the Christian religion.

2. Change due to Education. Many changes have taken place among tribes related to ideology of taking education after the 1947 and education has been spread to a great extent. Figures tell us that many tribal people are taking education up to primary level or maximum up to middle level. But if any one reaches the college or university then they get job very easily because of reservation of seats for them. Chohan says that children of tribes of Rajasthan are getting primary education but their numbers reduced to a great extent after that. Nayak says that Bhil people love nuclear family after getting education and adopt new occupations instead of agriculture or their traditional occupations. Political consciousness also came among them due to education. Many reform movements were also started among Bhil people and they participated in it.

3. Changes in Economy. Tribal people, in ancient times, were used to producing things only to meet their needs. They never produced more than their needs. But due to modernization, their economy is also changing. Now they are connected with the far off places due to the development of means of transport and communication. Now their economy is changing to market economy from subsistence economy. Now they are producing those things which can be easily sold in the market. Now they produce things more then their needs and sell the surplus things in the market. Now slowly and slowly their economy is coming closer to the economy of the country due to the protection given to them by governmental programme’s and five year plans. But their economy is not developing to a great extent. Their per capita income is very low as compared to other population.

Now tribal people are given the right to keep property .because this right is given to every citizen of the country by the Constitution. Now tribal people can adopt any occupation of their choice. They can also take loans from the public sector banks.

Now tribal people are moving toward urban areas and are working in the industries. They are now earning their bread and butter by working in the cities. Even new means of earning are coming in front of them. Those tribal people, who are earning more money, have higher social status. These people are not only economically rich but they are becoming leaders of tribal people and are elected in panchayats or other democratic institutions. Now these people are moving towards higher classes. Rich people are becoming more rich and poor people are becoming poorer and poorer. Gap between rich and poor is widening day by day.

F.G. Bailey says that the Gond people in Orissa have joined the main stream of economy of the country and in the same way they have joined the political sector. In this way tribal people now are the indispensible part of country’s economic and political system. Market economy has also raised the living standard of tribal people. Now their wishes have been increased more than their needs. Now they like to do white collar jobs instead of working with hands. Tribal higher class has started to exploit the lower classes of tribes.

4. Political Changes. Political functions of tribes, in ancient times, were being done by clans and that’s why conflicting situation was always there in tribal area. It is so because different clans were always trying to attain political power in their hands. But the political life of tribal people have been changed after independence. There is no importance of clans or kinship in today’s politics. Now the same type of political system has been established in the whole country. That’s why the traditional political systems of tribes have been changed completely. Some Sociologists are of the view that new democratic system has been established among tribes instead of traditional tribal political system. That’s why the nature of leadership of tribes is also changing. Now leadership does not depends upon kinship. Traditional political guilds have been weakend and their functions are being done by the governmental administration. If any person commits any crime then he is prosecuted by the courts and not by tribal panchayats. That’s why the importance of tribal panchayats has been reduced but civil matters are still decided by tribal panchayats.

Political consciousness, now, among tribes is increasing. Their percentage of voting is increasing in every election. But still the complete political consciousness has not yet reached to these people. That’s why political parties are taking advantage of this situation. Tribal leaders are still very much away from the minds of the people. But even then these tribes are becoming an indispensible part of country’s politics. Some times political parties create a type of situation with which conflict starts between tribal people and non-tribal people.

5. Socio Cultural Changes. From cultural point of view, traditional tribal customs are also changing. These changes are coming due to the process of assimilation. Some tribes are adopting western ways of living *under the influence of Christian missionaries. They aM also very much influenced by the customs and rituals of hindu religion. Their-language, eating habits, wearing habits are also changing. A number of changes have taken place in their culture due to the spread of modern education.

Many tribal people, who were against the hindu rituals during earlier times, now call priests at the time of many occasions of life like birth, marriage, death etc. They also have started to adopt the norms and values of people of other groups. They now are connected with Hindu society. Due to these changes their distinctiveness is coming to an end.

Question 6.
Differentiate between deforestation and displacement.
Answer:
deforestation:
One of the major reasons of environmental degradation is deforestation. The meaning of deforestation is cutting down trees. Except cutting of trees, deforestation increases due to the expansion of agriculture and pastoral areas. During earlier times, tribals fulfilled their needs because they had all the forest and natural resources available with them. To fulfill their needs, they^were dependent upon forests. But deforestation has been increased due to many factors such as industrialization, urbanization, agriculture, increase in population and need of wood etc. It has directly or indirectly affected the tribal economy. Deforestation is having a very ba,d impact on our atmosphere.

displacement:
Displacement is a situation in which someone is uprooted from his place of living and to take him to. other place to settle down. It is one of the problems which tribals are facing. If any one is uprooted from his place of living, he will have to face many psychological, physical and mental problems. Tribal population is facing the adverse impact of industrialisation and urbanisation. There exist many natural resources in tribal areas and these resources are exploited in many ways such as to make dams for electricity and as raw-material. In this way, tribals are displaced from their lands and are given very less money as compensation.

PSEB Solutions for Class 12 Sociology Chapter 1 Tribal Society

Leave a Comment Cancel reply