TRIBES OF

INDIA
In 1944, B C Guha classified the Indian people into 6 Broad and 9 small categories:
1. The Negritos
2. The Proto-Australoids
3. The Mongoloids (a) Palaeo Mongoloids (b) Tibeto Mongoloids
4. The Mediterraneans, (Palaeo-Mediterraneans, Mediterraneans and Orientals)
5. The Brachycephals (Broad-headed people), Alpinoids, Dinarics and Armenoids
6. The Nordics
The racial groups of Negritos, Proto- Australoids and Mongoloids found in India are
considered to be Ethnic tribes.
 Distribution of Tribal Groups
1. The Negritos: They are found in Andaman and Nicobar and the hills of Travancore
and Kochi.
2. The Proto-Australoids : They occupy mostly the hilly and forested tracts of Central
and Southern India.
3. The Mongoloids
(a) Palaeo-Mongoloids
(i) Long-headed type
(ii) Broad-headed type (Assam & Himalayan Region and Myanmar border)
(b) Tibeto-Mongoloids - Leh, Laddakhm Bhutan and Sikkim.
The Palaeo-Mediterraneans Mediterraneans, Orientals, Nordics and Western broad-
headed people are considered to be the developed racial groups.
 Major Tribal Areas of India
Chanda Committee determined mainly five standards in 1960 to include any caste or
comunity into tribal group. These standards includes Geographical isolation, special
culture, characteristic of tribe, backwardness and shyness. There are total 461 tribes
in India out of which 424 are considered as the Scheduled Tribes. They are classified
into seven regions:
1. Northern Region
The tribes of the region of Jammu and Kashmir, Uttarakhand and Himanchal Pradesh
come under this region. They are Lahul, Lepcha, Bhotia, Tharu, Buxa, Jaunsari,
Khampa and Kanauta. They all have the characteristics of the Mongoloids racial
group. Bhotias are good businessmen and speak the language of Sino-Tibetan family.
2. North-Eastern Region
They are the tribes of Assam, Arunachal, Nagaland, Manipur, Tripura, Meghalaya
and Mizoram. The Lepchas are in Darling and Sikkim; The Apatani, Miri, Dafla
and Mishmi in Arunachal, the Nagas in Nagaland and eastern Assam, the Kukis
in Manipur and Tripura and the Lushais in Mizoram. Further, the Nagas are
divided into different sub-tribes such as Konyak in North, Tankhul in East, Kabui
in south, Rangma and Angami in West, Lahota and Fome in Central etc. The
Buddhist tribal Monpas, Sherdukpens and Khampatis Tawang in Arunachal
Pradesh. The Garo, Khasi and Jaintia tribes are found in Meghalaya. The
characteristics of the Mongoloid Racial Group are found in all the tribes of
North- Eastern Region. They speak the language of Tibeto- Burman and
Siamese-Chinese families. They are food collectors, hunters, farmers and
craftsmen.
3. Eastern Region

The tribes of Jharkhand, West Bengal, Odisha and Bihar are

covered in this region. The tribes of Odhisa are Juang,
Kharia, Khond and Bhumij. The tribes of Jharkhand are
Munda, Oraon, Santhal, Ho and Birhor. Moreover, the tribes
like Santhal, Munda and Oraon are also found in West
Bengal. They all are related to the Proto-Australoid Racial
Group. Their skin colour is either black or deep brown. Also,
they have long head, small flat nose and light curly hairs.
They are of the Austric language family and speak Kol and
Munda languages.
4. Central Region
They are the tribes of Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh,
Western Rajasthan and northern Andhra Pradesh. The
major tribes of Chhattisgarh are Gond, Baiga, Maria and
Abujhamaria. They are largely concentracted in Mandla
district of Madhya Pradesh and Bastar district of
Chhattisgarh. These tribes are also found in eastern
Andhra Pradesh. These all tribes are related to the Proto-
Australoids.
5. Western Region
They are the tribes of Gujarat, Rajasthan, Western
Madhya Pradesh and Maharasthra. The major
tribes of Rajasthan are Bhil, Bhil Garasia, Meena,
Banjara, Sansi and Saharia; of Gujarat are
Mahadeokoli, Bali and Dabla while Jayanti live in
Western Madhaya Pradesh. These all tribe are
related to the Proto-Australoids. They all speak the
language of the Austric family.
6. Southern Region
They are the tribes of Central and Southern Western Ghat,
who are expanded towards the 20°S latitude. The tribes of
Western Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Western Tamil Nadu
and Kerala come under this category. The most important
tribes of the Nilgiri region are Toda, Kota and Badaga. The
Polyandry system is prevalent among the Toda tribes.
Moreover, the other major tribes of the southern region
are Kurumba, Kadar, Paniyan, Chenchu, Allar, Nayak, Chetti
etc. They are related to the Negritos. They speak the
language of Dravidian family.
7. Island Region
The tribes of Andaman and Nicobar and
Lakshdweep groups come under this category. The
major tribes of Andaman and Nicobar are
Shompen, Onge, Jarwa and Sentinali, who are
gradually getting extinct. They are related to the
Negrito racial group. Their economic activities
include fish-catching, hunting, food gathering etc.
 Vanbandhu Kalyan Yojana
Union Ministry of Tribal Affairs on 28 October, 2014
launched Vanbandhu Kalyan Yojana (VKY) for
welfare of Tribal people and particularly to improve
human development indices of tribal people. The
scheme was launched during the meeting of the
Tribal Welfare Ministers of States/UTS. The scheme
was launched on pilot basis in one block each of the
States of Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh,
Himachal Pradesh, Telangana, Orissa, Jharkhand,
Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan, Maharashtra and Gujarat.
 S.N. State Tribal Community
1. Jammu and Kashmir 1. Bakarwal
2. Changpa
3. Sippi
4. Dongra
2. Himachal Pradesh 1. Gaddi
2. Fangwali
3. Gujjar
5. Bihar 1. baiga
3. Uttarakhand 1. Jaunsari
2. Buksa
3. Bhotia
4. Raji or Banraut

4. Uttar Pradesh 1. Tharu

2. Agariya
3. Kharwar:
6. Sikkim 1. Sherpa
2. Lepcha
3. Bhutia
7. Rajasthan 1. Sahariya
2. Bhil
3. Mina
4. Garasiya
5. Merat
8. Madhya Pradesh 1. Baigas
2. Banjara
3. Gond
4. Kol
5. Korku
6. Bhil
7. Sahariya
8. Pardhi
9. Panika
10.Agariya
9. Gujarat 1.Todiya
2.Koli
3.Bhil
4.Dafar
5.Patliya
10. Maharashtra 1.Koli
2.Warli
11. Chhatisgarh 1.Kodaku
2.Saur
3. Maria
4. Halwa
5. Abujhamaria
12. Jharkhand 1.Santhal
2.Munda
3.Uraon
4.Ho
13. West Bengal 1. Hajong
2. Santhal
14. Meghalya 1. Angami
2. Khasi
15. Arunachal Pradesh 1. Nishi
2. Mismi
3. Dafla
4. Abore
5. Apatani
16. Assam 1.Bodo
2.Dimash
3.Mikir
17. Manipur 1.Kuki
18. Mizoram 1.Lushie
2.Mao
19. Tripura 1.Riyang
2.Naushiya
20. Odisha 1.Bhumij
2.Koya
3.Bonda
4.Bhuieyan
5.Saora
6.Khond
21. Telangana 1. Chenchu
22. Andhra Pradesh 1. Koya
2. Banjara
3. Gond (India’s largest
tribal community)
4. Yarukala
23. Karnataka 1. Kurgi
2. Paniyan Nilgiri Hill
24. Kerala 1.Toda (Largest tribal
community of
south India)
2.Kurumba
3.Mopla
4.Iyala
5.Kadar
25. Tamilnadu 1.Malaiya
2.Adyan
26 Nagaland 1.Naga
2.Angami
3.Konyak
27 Lakshadweep 1.Vashi
28 Andaman and 1.Andamani
Nicobar island 2.Nicobari
3.Jorwa
4.Onge
5.Sentilese
6.shompen