Tribes, Society & Folk Culture of Madhya Pradesh — MPPSC GS Paper II, Part B, Unit V

Weightage: Unit V of GS Paper II Part B (about 30 marks), the dedicated "Tribes of Madhya Pradesh" section of the Prelims syllabus, and the tribal-conservation item in GS III Part B. Few states put so much syllabus weight on their tribal population.

1. The demographic frame

The Census of 2011, still the latest complete census, counted about 7.26 crore people in Madhya Pradesh. Some markers worth memorising:

• Sex ratio: 931 females per 1,000 males, with a lower child sex ratio.
• Literacy: about 70.6 per cent, with a marked gender gap.
• Scheduled Castes: about 15.6 per cent.
• Scheduled Tribes: about 21.1 per cent (roughly 1.53 crore), among the highest tribal shares of any large state.

Tribal literacy was about 50.6 per cent, well below the state average, while the tribal sex ratio (about 984) is better than the state's. That contrast is a good analytic pairing.

2. The main tribes

The number of notified Scheduled Tribes is usually given as 46 in the Constitutional Order. Bhil and Gond are the two largest, and their order depends on how sub-groups are counted, so quote the census year whenever you rank them.

Three groups (Baiga, Bharia, Sahariya) are classed as Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups, defined by pre-agricultural technology, declining or stagnant population, very low literacy and a subsistence economy.

3. Customs, beliefs and social structure

Most tribal societies here are organised in clans with rules of exogamy, village councils and hereditary priest-healers. Two customs recur in questions:

• Bhagoria: a Bhil festival and market held in the weeks before Holi in western MP, combining harvest celebration, trade and courtship, where youths are traditionally free to choose partners.
• Lamsena: a bride-service form of marriage in which the groom lives and works in the bride's household for a period, associated with Gond and Baiga communities.

Religion combines nature worship, ancestor veneration and village deities, with many communities revering forests and sacred groves. Kinship is mostly patrilineal, and tribal women generally enjoy more social freedom than in caste-Hindu society, which examiners like to contrast.

4. Folk culture of Madhya Pradesh

Folk culture is regional, so a region-to-form pairing is the safe learning unit.

• Tribal dances: Karma and Saila (Gond, Baiga), Bhagoria (Bhil).
• Malwa: Matki dance, the Sanja festival songs, Nirgun bhajans in the Kabir tradition, and Maach folk theatre.
• Bundelkhand: Alha-Udal ballads, Rai and Badhai dances.
• Arts: Gond painting, Pithora, and the Mandana wall and floor art already noted in the heritage chapter.

The state honours artists through awards named for Kalidas, Tansen and Kabir, which links folk and classical culture.

5. Tribes and environmental conservation

The syllabus asks specifically about the role of the Baiga, Sahariya, Bharia, Bhil and Gond in conservation. The strongest points are:

• Traditional knowledge: Baiga and Bharia healers hold deep herbal knowledge, with Patalkot a well-known example.
• Sacred groves and forest deities that protect small forests.
• Joint Forest Management, which MP adopted in 1991, and the Forest Rights Act, 2006, which recognises community forest rights.
• Tension with protected areas: relocation for Kuno and tiger reserves affects Sahariya and Baiga settlements, which is why rights and rehabilitation figure in any balanced answer.

6. Tribal welfare and social-sector schemes

For tribes, the national instruments are the Tribal Sub-Plan approach, the Eklavya Model Residential Schools and PM-JANMAN (from 2023), which targets PVTG habitations. The state adds hostel and scholarship programmes and nutrition support for the three PVTGs.

For women and children, the Madhya Pradesh schemes most often named are the Ladli Laxmi Yojana (2007, a savings-linked scheme for girl children), the Ladli Behna Yojana (2023, a monthly cash transfer to women) and the Mukhyamantri Kanya Vivah Yojana (marriage support for poor families). For senior citizens, the Mukhyamantri Teerth Darshan Yojana funds pilgrimage. Cash-transfer amounts are revised, so quote the scheme's design, not a figure.

Worked example 6.1 (a full 11-mark GS II answer). "Discuss the problems of the Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups of Madhya Pradesh and the measures taken for them. (11 marks, ~200 words)"

Model answer. Madhya Pradesh has three PVTGs, the Baiga, Bharia and Sahariya, identified by pre-agricultural technology, small or declining populations, very low literacy and subsistence livelihoods.

Their problems are interlinked. Loss of forest access through protected areas, and relocation such as that of Sahariya villages for the Kuno reintroduction, disrupts livelihoods. Low literacy, poor health, malnutrition and sickle cell disease compound vulnerability, and shifting cultivation restrictions have limited the Baiga's traditional practice.

Measures include the Forest Rights Act, 2006, which recognises habitat and community rights, PM-JANMAN for PVTG habitations, Eklavya schools, nutrition allowances and PESA, whose rules the state notified in 2022.

Outcomes depend on execution: recognition of habitat rights, service delivery in remote hamlets and consultation before relocation. A durable approach combines rights, livelihoods based on forest produce and health outreach.

Common traps MPPSC sets here

• Ranking Bhil above Gond, or the reverse, without a source. The order depends on how sub-groups are counted, so quote the census year.
• Listing more than three PVTGs for MP. The three are Baiga, Bharia and Sahariya.
• Placing the Sahariya in the east. They live in the north-west, in Sheopur, Shivpuri and Morena.
• Quoting a cash-transfer amount as permanent. Scheme amounts change; describe the design.

Memory aids

• "Bhil in the west, Gond in the centre, Baiga in the east": the tribal geography.
• "B-B-S": Baiga, Bharia, Sahariya, the three PVTGs.
• "Bhagoria before Holi": the Bhil festival's timing.

Summary

Madhya Pradesh has a 21.1 per cent tribal share, with the Bhil and Gond as the largest tribes and the Baiga, Bharia and Sahariya as its three PVTGs. Each tribe has a home region, distinctive customs and arts, and a conservation role that the Forest Rights Act and Joint Forest Management recognise.

Alongside tribal welfare (Eklavya schools, PM-JANMAN), the state's women's and senior-citizen schemes complete the unit. Answer with regions and dated schemes, not general statements.

Exam protocol

• Pair each tribe with its district cluster and one marker before writing anything else.
• Cite the 2011 Census for population figures and say it is the latest complete census.
• Balance a conservation answer: traditional knowledge and rights on one side, relocation and health gaps on the other.