Tribes, Society & Social Movements of Chhattisgarh — CGPSC GS Paper IV Part 3

Weightage: Part 3 of GS Paper IV covers the social aspects of Chhattisgarh. The syllabus names tribal organisation, development programmes and policies, the Scheduled Castes and backward classes, and major saints. The Prelims Chhattisgarh section adds tribes, traditions and festivals. This chapter covers society and movements. The next covers folk arts, festivals, monuments and tourism.

1. The social profile

Chhattisgarh has one of the largest tribal shares among the bigger states. In Census 2011, Scheduled Tribes numbered about 78.2 lakh, or 30.62 per cent of the population, and Scheduled Castes about 12.8 per cent. The Census does not count OBCs. The tribal population is concentrated in the Bastar and Surguja regions, while the central plain has larger Scheduled Caste and OBC populations.

Languages follow the same geography: Chhattisgarhi across the plain, Halbi as the link language of Bastar, Gondi in the south, and Sadri and Kurukh in the north.

2. The major tribes

The Gond are the largest tribe by a wide margin, with about 43 lakh people in 2011, and their sub-groups include the Muria, Maria (Abujhmadia) and Dorla of Bastar. Other large groups are the Kanwar, Oraon, Halba, Binjhwar, Bhatra, Nagesia, Majhwar and Kharia.

The five Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs) are the Abujhmadia (Abujhmad hills, Narayanpur), Baiga (Kabirdham, Bilaspur area), Birhor (Raigarh, Jashpur), Kamar (Gariaband, Dhamtari) and Pahari Korwa (Surguja, Korba, Jashpur). PVTGs are identified by low literacy, a declining or stagnant population, pre-agricultural technology and a subsistence economy.

In September 2022, the Union Cabinet approved adding twelve communities of the state to its Scheduled Tribe list. Confirm the current legislative position before the exam.

3. Tribal institutions and customs

The ghotul is the youth dormitory of the Muria Gonds in Bastar, where young people lived and were trained in songs, dance, work and community life. Verrier Elwin's study, The Muria and Their Ghotul (1947), made it famous, and its significance is best described as a social institution, avoiding sensational claims.

Other features exam answers should include:

• Tattooing (godna) is widespread and carries social and religious meaning.
• Baiga shifting cultivation, called bewar, is a traditional practice now restricted.
• Clan and village deities are worshipped at sacred groves, and each clan is tied to a totem.
• The village council and elders settle disputes, and a Gram Sabha under PESA is the modern equivalent.

4. Movements among the plains communities

The Satnami movement. Guru Ghasidas (born 1756 at Giraudpuri, in the Baloda Bazar area) founded it among the Chamar, a Scheduled Caste community. It taught devotion to one formless Satnam, rejected idol worship and caste hierarchy, and forbade meat, liquor and certain foods. Jaitkham, a white victory pillar, is its symbol, and Giraudpuri is its centre. Ghasidas Jayanti falls on 18 December.

Do not confuse this with the seventeenth-century Satnami revolt of Narnaul in the north, which is a different movement.

The Ramnami Samaj. Founded by Parashuram Bharadwaj in the Janjgir area in the late nineteenth century, it was a protest by Scheduled Caste members against exclusion from temples. Followers tattoo "Ram" on their bodies, wear a shawl inscribed with the name and a crown of peacock feathers, and hold an annual gathering.

Kabirpanth. Sant Kabir's disciple Dharamdas carried his teaching to the region, and the Chhattisgarh line is centred at Damakheda. The Kabirdham district is named after Kabir.

Vallabhacharya, the founder of the Pushtimarg tradition, was born at Champaran in the Raipur area, which makes it a pilgrimage site.

5. Laws and programmes for welfare

Constitutional and legal frame. Fifth Schedule administration, PESA (1996) and the Forest Rights Act, 2006 give tribal communities rights over land, forest produce and local decisions. The state has also passed a law against witch-branding and harassment of women, the Tonhi Pratadna Nivaran Act, in 2005.

Programmes.

• The Department of Tribal and Scheduled Caste Development runs ashram and hostel schools and scholarships.
• Eklavya Model Residential Schools serve tribal blocks.
• PM-JANMAN, launched in November 2023, targets housing, roads, health and education for PVTGs.
• Van Dhan centres and minor forest produce procurement support tribal incomes.
• The Bastar and Surguja development authorities plan for their regions.

State awards include the Guru Ghasidas Samman (for social work), the Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh Samman (for tribal welfare) and the Minimata Samman (for women's development), presented on the state's foundation day on 1 November.

Worked example 5.1 (a 15-mark answer, ~175 words). "Discuss the social reform movements of Chhattisgarh."

Model answer. Chhattisgarh saw reform movements among the plains communities, especially the Scheduled Castes. The Satnami movement, founded by Guru Ghasidas in the early nineteenth century among the Chamar, preached devotion to one formless Satnam and rejected caste hierarchy and idol worship, with Giraudpuri and the Jaitkham pillar as its centre.

The Ramnami Samaj, founded by Parashuram Bharadwaj near Janjgir, was a protest against temple exclusion, and its followers tattoo Ram's name on their bodies. Kabirpanth, carried by Dharamdas, spread through Damakheda.

These movements gave marginalised groups dignity and a distinct identity within Hindu society without relying on temple access, and prepared ground for later political awareness.

Their legacy continues in state honours for Guru Ghasidas and the annual Jayanti.

Common traps CGPSC sets here

• Confusing the Satnamis. The Chhattisgarh Satnami movement of Guru Ghasidas is different from the Narnaul Satnami revolt of 1672.
• Placing PVTGs by memory alone. Pair each with its region: Abujhmadia with Narayanpur, Birhor with Raigarh and Jashpur, Kamar with Gariaband, Baiga with Kabirdham, Pahari Korwa with Surguja.
• Calling Kanwar the largest tribe. It is the Gond.
• Quoting an OBC share from the Census. The Census does not count OBCs.
• Using the ghotul sensationally. Describe it as a youth institution for socialisation.

Memory aids

• "A-B-B-K-P": Abujhmadia, Baiga, Birhor, Kamar, Pahari Korwa, the five PVTGs.
• "Ghasidas, Satnam, Jaitkham, 18 December": the Satnami card.
• "Ram on the body": the Ramnami Samaj.

Summary

Scheduled Tribes formed about 30.6 per cent of the population in 2011, led by the Gond, with five PVTGs and a distinctive institution in the Muria ghotul. On the plains, the Satnami movement of Guru Ghasidas, the Ramnami Samaj and Kabirpanth gave marginalised groups a distinct identity.

Welfare rests on the Fifth Schedule, PESA and the Forest Rights Act, with ashram schools, EMRS, PM-JANMAN and Van Dhan among the programmes.

Exam protocol

• Pair each tribe and PVTG with its region.
• Give each movement its founder, community and symbol.
• Describe tribal institutions neutrally, and link welfare to rights, not only schemes.