The PVTG category Jharkhand

Dotted with deep ravines and hills rich in bauxite – which gives the colour to the soil – this region is also home to some of the most endangered tribes in the country: Birjias, Birhors, Korwa, Parhaiyas and Asurs. 

Along with a few other tribes like the Savar, Mal Paharia and Sauria Paharia – settled in other remote pockets across the state -- these eight form the particularly vulnerable tribal groups (PVTGs) of Jharkhand but after decades of half-hearted government intervention to rehabilitate the vulnerable tribes as settled communities, they have been reduced to just another poor section of society, lacking access to even the basic human needs like proper healthcare.

Their categorization is based on their dwindling numbers, low literacy levels and the threat of extinction looming over their spoken languages. The PVTG category consists of 75 communities across the country.

To top it all, all these tribes are wallowing in extreme poverty due to erosion of their traditional livelihood.

These eight tribes were once nomadic forest-based hunting tribes but were later virtually forced by the government to settle down in remote pockets – arguably with neither the freedom of hunter-gatherers nor the skills of an industrial labour force.

The Asur are iron-smelter since time-immemorial. They had knowledge of iron ores and iron smelting. They used to prepare charcoal from green salwood on the bank of rivers tanks, and Nala. They used to smelt iron ore and supply iron to Lohara for the preparation of iron-tools. But now only a few families know this technology. Almost all families have given up this economic activities because they are facing problem is getting green salwood due to forest Regulation and acts.     

They were also hunters and gathers. But forest regulations and Acts have deprived them from this economic activity. They were also shifting, cultivators, but it has also been banned by the Government. 

Experts said that forest regulations imposed during colonial times infringed upon the PVTG’s rights over forest products and eroded their societies.
Activists pointed out that non-implementation of the Forest Rights Act, 2006 has added to the age-old woes of the forest-based tribes.

But even decades after independence, half-baked initiatives of successive governments to uplift their lot have failed.

The Asurs still live in mud houses with roofs made of paddy straw and baked, curved mud tiles known as khapras. Power supply is restricted to a few hours in the day but there is no mobile phone network.The nearest community health centre is 50km away while villagers have to trudge for more than four km up and down a steep, narrow route to get potable water.

According to the Asurs – who worship the forests as a life-giving force – the big mining companies have been exploiting resources from their land but never bothered to give anything back.

“It is the business of only taking and not giving back anything. If only a few small-scale industries employing more tribals would have come up, we Asurs could have developed our skills and got better opportunities,” said, a young Asur who works in a bauxite mine.

“Food grain supply to the village under TPDS was also not functional. Moreover, villagers were not getting pension and access to health facilities,” he added.