Study design and research methodology
2.2 The context of the study
India is one o f the most intricate and complex social systems in the world; a secular state with almost every religion represented. Hinduism is the predominant religion, governed by an age old and powerful caste system. Among the Hindu majority, there are castes and sub-castes. Each community is individual and is differentiated by different values, beliefs and occupations. Interactions between castes are usually limited to business dealings between groups.
In 1955 the Protection of Civil Rights Act was endorsed to protect the most backward and remote castes in India (184). Subsequently the Government of India implemented a positive discrimination scheme to encourage and support the lowest and poorest castes to become more a part of mainstream society. In everyday life however, especially in rural India, the caste system continues to play the divisive role it always has (185). Those worst affected by the caste system are the untouchables (now known as the scheduled castes); the backward castes; and the tribes (now known as the scheduled tribes).
2.2.1 The scheduled castes
Historically, the untouchables lived at the outskirts o f the villages; their main role 'was to clean toilets and collect garbage from higher caste households. While things have improved in present-day India, in some parts this caste continues to be extremely oppressed. Though land redistribution took place in the seventies, many remain landless agricultural labourers’ (18Q.
2.2.2 The backward castes
This group consists of mostly low-skill artisans such as potters, blacksmiths, hunters, barbers, shepherds and so on. O f the three groups mentioned so far, this group has the least access to public resources. They do not receive any special benefit from the government. Some are small landholders, but most still rely on their trade to earn meagre wages.
2.2.3 The scheduled tribes
Most states in India have tribes. Many have lived in the same region for thousands of years. In the South central state of Karnataka, where this study was conducted, five or so tribes exist. They include the Koragas, Betta Kurubas, Jain Kurubas, Hakki Pikki, and the Soligas (184). Each tribe is characterised by its own culture, God and trade. Each community, be they a tribe or a sub-caste is most often characterised by a unique trade; they have a singular comparative advantage over any other community. For example the Jain Kurubas collect honey from the forest, this is their main trade; the Hakki Pikki are bird catchers; the Soligas were agriculturalists and have a tremendous knowledge of herbal medicine (184,187). Their main trade was to sell medicinal herbs. Most of these tribes were also semi-nomadic.
The salient difference between the tribes and the non-tribes is that tribal women are considered to be more empowered than their counterparts (187). Because their societal structures are different, tribal women are often considered equal to men within their respective communities. Several tribes believe in adult marriage, and often marriages are not arranged (19,187). This is starkly different to non-tribal women. Rural women are commonly married off as soon as they reach menarche, and most often their families arrange
their marriages. In this study, three groups have been included: the scheduled castes, the backward castes, and only one tribe from this region namely the Soligas. The Soligas were selected because they received health care services from a non-governmental organisation (NGO) through which access to the research site was originally obtained. In addition, other tribes were excluded for several reasons. First, because much less was known about thé other tribes; secondly they live in different parts of Karnataka. Figure 2.1 shows the state where the data for this study were collected (188).
2.2.4 The Soliga tribe
About 200 km south of Bangalore lies a range of hills, mostly dense forest, which intersects between the states of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. The highest peak is at a height o f 1800 metres. The vast majority of this territory belongs to the state of Karnataka. It is thought that the Soliga tribe has lived in these hills for several thousand years (187). Until recently they were a semi-nomadic tribe and lived deep in the forest, migrating within the forest areas of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. By the mid-sixties to late seventies the Government of India and the State Government of Karnataka implemented policies to resettle all tribes. This was apparently to help conserve forest areas by moving the tribes out of the forest.
In the hills, this has meant that the tribe now lives closer to the main road and not deep in the forest. In other areas, the tribes were literally moved out o f the forest. For the purposes of resettlement, in some areas houses were built for the tribes, and in some cases primary schools were set up. But in reality the policies have not been implemented evenly across all tribal areas. In many cases, resettlement has meant that the tribes lost access to the land they cultivated and hence they lost their livelihood. Some were given houses and allocated land to cultivate; others were given neither.
C H N A ’AKISWI Muominmsii î muismH Atabieii Se s Bay of S e n t a !
Figure 2.1 Map of Karnataka State
Area circled in blue represents research site
ÎHTRA Bidar G ulbarga
Bijapur
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IGOA Belgawm Raichur Dharwad s U tfa m K a n n a d a Bellary S him oga C h ilra d u rg a chikm agaJu^ D akshina K annada Hass Tumkur ARABIAN SEA ANDHRA PR A D E SH Kolar MandjA Ban Mysore TAMILFor the most part, the state government has reclaimed the land that the tribes cultivate today. However, in most cases those who have access to land are allowed to cultivate it and subsist on their crops, but they have no legal ownership o f the land. In the case o f the Soliga tribe, over half have no access to land. They have therefore been forced to migrate seasonally in search of work. Today, many are migrant workers on large industrial coffee estates in Kerala and Karnataka. While government policies were intended to alleviate poverty in this community, in reality the tribes remain the most impoverished group in India, and are in some cases worse off as a result of government interventions. Often, while the infrastructure is in place, the tribes have very little access to the services and benefits they are entitled to.