Tribe caste and peasantry

Traditional India is said to have three types of communities-tribal, caste and peasant. Tribal communities are those, which-like the Naga of Nagaland, the Munda of Chotanagpur, the Gond of Madhya Pradesh, the Bhil of Rajasthan and Gujarat, and the Toda of Nilgiri hills in Tamilnadu constitute a distinct society of their own; i.e., they do not-or rather did not

regard themselves as part of the larger society in India, they had a distinct and distinctive way of life, an individual dialect and a socio-religious system peculiarly their own. Castes or jati, on the other hand-are communities knit into a wider social organization of the Hindu society based upon a well-defined and understood system of stratification and status differentiation. All castes with the exception of the Brahmin and the untouchable are higher to some, equal to others in rank, and lower to others. Stratification is based upon mystic notions of purity and pollution which are demonstrated in the behaviour patterns of the people in matters of marriage, food, choice of occupation, and the like. There are several thousand such castes in the country but people in any part of the country are concerned with castes in their own region with whom only they come in intimate social contact. Peasantry loosely refers to village communities consisting of Hindu castes, and other religious groups whose principal character is that they live in a common village and have, for this reason, developed over the ages economic solidarity as such. Peasants are cultivators of land, people who socio use-or have been using till recently-indigenous methods of land cultivation, but the peasant community also has in its fold non-cultivators who cater to the needs of the cultivators and live on them. Peasant economy is basically of the subsistence type and whatever little surplus they are able to accumulate is exchanged in the village market or sold in the neighbouring town market for acquiring other material goods, such as cloth, shoes, orna ments, pots and pans, and the like. Peasant communities thus have economic but also social, ritual, political and ideological extensions which encompass neighbouring villages and towns.
British rule in the country coincided with the advent of industry, faster means of communication transportation, automation; it brought with it liberal and scientific education, a uniform and unified code of law and justice, and basically western principles of equality. fraternity and freedom of mankind. While industrialization and urbaniza tion provided new avenues and occupational opportunities, and greater physical mobility to the people, ideas from European philosophers, political scientists, economists and social thinkers gave a jolt to the long-established traditions and idealogies of the society. Over the decades, these have succeeded in making atleast a dent in the traditional socio-economic system.

In the twentyseven years of Independence, this process has gained momentum, more so through state-sponsored and-directed plans, projects and programmes. Tribal Welfare, Community Development, and Panchayati Raj deserve particular mention in this context.

Today, one can see change in the country-in all aspects of its cultural and social life. Tribal communities are no more the isolated, autonomous, non-literate, economically backward groups they were a century ago. Although the tribal Welfare programme cannot be said to be a total success, it has atleast succeeded in bringing about an awakening and raising the hopes and aspirations of the tribal people. For good or for bad, it has also provided an identity to these people and common platform for their efforts and struggles.

The present situation in the sphere of caste society is highly confusing. On the one hand, we find almost a total breakdown of the food, touchability and occupational taboos and growing incidence of inter-caste marriages; on the other, we also find politicization of caste and its wide use in elections and power dynamics.

Indian peasantry too has not remained unaffected by the winds of change. Not only new implements, better seeds, manure, and technology but new ideas and social and political ideologies are seeking to change the face of the countryside.

The social organization in India-the organization of tribes, castes and peasant communities-is a complex one. Numerous migrations, political upheavals and religious changes in the history of the country have diversely affected society in different parts of the country. It is like a big mosaic, of course with some kind of a unified pattern that is Indian culture. This makes society in India highly distinctive and peculiar, standing apart from any thing found elsewhere. It is this character of society in India which makes interesting and difficult at the same time its study and efforts at changing it.