1. Political Economy of Hunger in
Adivasi Areas
Centre for Environment and Food Security
New Delhi, 2005

2. 1
Political Economy of Hunger in
Adivasi Areas
A Survey Research on Hunger in Adivasi Areas of Rajasthan & Jharkhand
Supported by:
HIVOS
Centre for Environment and Food Security
New Delhi, 2005

3. 2
Contents
Preface 3-5
Part – I 6-77
Executive Summary of Survey Report 6-18
Background information about Sample States and Districts 19-27
Key findings of Survey 28-77
Part – II 78-122
Political Economy of Hunger in Adivasi areas of India 78-122
Annexure - Tabulated data of Survey i-xix

4. 3
Preface
Political economy of hunger in Adivasi areas is inextricably linked to the political
ecology of development in post-Independence India. While the benefits of economic
growth and industrial development have substantially gone to the rich sections of the
society living in cities and towns, the ecological price of that progress has been
largely borne by poor communities of rural India, especially Adivasis. The 28th and
29th Reports of the Commissioner for Scheduled Tribes and Scheduled Castes in
1989 and 1990 reported that ‘colonization of tribals’ has been carried out in the
name of development, which has pushed the tribal people to the brink of survival.
A quick review of the major ‘hunger-events’ hogging the limelight in cosmopolitan
media in the last 25 years suggests that almost all the ‘hunger hot-spots’ of India lie
in the Adivasi areas and almost every starvation-victim is an Adivasi. What makes
Adivasis so vulnerable to starvation and endemic hunger? This survey research on
the “Political economy of hunger in Adivasi areas of Rajasthan and Jharkhand” is a
very tiny but sincere effort to get an answer to this vexed question.
The governments would like us to believe that hunger in tribal areas is because of
occasional droughts and “collapsed” PDS (Public Distribution System) in these areas.
But ‘collapsed’ PDS or drought are not even the tip of ‘hunger-iceberg’ in the Adivasi
areas. The germs of the malady lie much deeper. The core of this problem lies in the
structural changes in Adivasi economy in the last five and a half decades that have
depleted and destroyed the traditional livelihoods and food systems of these
communities.
Immediately after Independence, the Nehruvian development paradigm embarked
on building “temples of modern India”. The social and ecological costs of this
development have been largely borne by country’s Adivasi communities in terms of
physical displacement, destruction of subsistence base and gradual alienation from

5. 4
natural resources. It is these starving, hungry and poor Adivasis who have been
made to pay the “price of progress”. It is the same Adivasis whose survival base has
been sacrificed at the altar of “national interest” and “greater common good”.
These are the same people whose sources of livelihood have been appropriated by
invoking the “colonial Brahmastra” (ultimate weapon) of “eminent domain" of the
State. Whether it is mining or construction of big dams and mega power projects,
protection of forest or conservation of wildlife, Adivasis’ lives and livelihoods bore the
biggest brunt. The crisis has been further aggravated by the policies of globalization
and economic liberalization. Not only the promised “trickle – downs" dried up midway
but it is the same Adivasis, Dalits and poor who have been asked to pay the price of
Structural Adjustment Programmes, reduction in fiscal deficit, financial prudence, a
steep reduction in food subsidy and other social sector allocations etc.
This Report on the “Political economy of hunger in Adivasi areas of Rajasthan and
Jharkhand” is the outcome of both primary and secondary research on the issue
carried out during last two years by the Centre for Environment and Food security
(CEFS). This study is broadly divided into two parts. Part-I consists of the key
findings of the field survey on “hunger in Adivasi areas of Rajasthan and Jharkhand”
carried out among one thousand Adivasi households of these two states. Part-II of
this report is the outcome of our secondary research on the “Political economy of
hunger in Adivasi areas of India”.
This research report would not have been possible but for the generous help, kind
cooperation and unstinted support of innumerable activists, academics, experts,
NGOs and research institutes during this study. It is difficult to mention here names
of all those individuals and institutes who have helped us during this research study.
First and foremost, I must acknowledge that this study owes a lot to Prof. Ashis
Nandy and Dr. Prodipto Roy, not only for their expert advice and guidance for this
research, but also for the immense generosity and great dignity shown during all

6. 5
their support. Secondly, we are grateful to all the researchers and field investigators
who worked very hard to make this study possible. I must thank Mr. Saji M Kadvil,
Ms. Swati Baijal, Ms. Richa Bansal and Ms. Satya Singh for their sincerity in
research and research assistance for this study. I am so grateful to Dr. Shruti
Kshirsagar and Dr. Archana Sharma for their hard work during the field survey in
Udaipur and Dungarpur districts of Rajasthan. The field survey in Udaipur and
Dungarpur owes a lot to ASTHA (Udaipur) and Shri. Bhanwar Singh for helping us in
organizing the logistics for the field survey. I am also greatful to many activists of
Udaipur like, Shri. Kishore Saint, Shri. Mohan Singh Danghi and many others for all
their help.
The field survey in Jharkhand owes a lot to Mr. Shekhar from Ranchi. We are
grateful to him for all the help and support he provided us in organizing the logistics
for field survey in West Singhbhum and Gumla districts. Ms. Jyotsna Tirkey, Mr. Amit
Paty, Ms. Laxmi, Mr Jyoti Kumar and Mr. Suraj Kumar worked very hard during field
survey in West Singhbhum & Gumla districts. We are also grateful to Dr. Ramesh
Sharan and all those people from Jharkhand who helped us during our field research.
Last but not the least, this study would not have been possible but for the generous
grant provided by Hivos. Ms. Jamuna Ramakrishna from Hivos deserves special
thanks for her promptness, patience and utmost dignity shown during all her
dealings with CEFS.
Parshuram Rai
October 12th
2005
(Vijayadashmi)

7. 6
Part- I
Executive summary of survey research on hunger and poverty in
Adivasi areas of Rajasthan and Jharkhand
Out of a total 1000 sample Adivasi households from 40 sample villages in Rajasthan
and Jharkhand surveyed for this study, a staggering 99 per cent were facing chronic
hunger. The data gathered during this survey suggests that 25.2 percent of surveyed
Adivasi households had faced semi-starvation during the previous week of the
survey. This survey found that 24.1 percent of the surveyed Adivasi households had
lived in semi-starvation condition throughout the previous month of the survey. Over
99 per cent of the Adivasi households had lived with one or another level of endemic
hunger and food insecurity during the whole previous year. Moreover, out of 500
sample Adivasi households surveyed in Rajasthan, not a single one had secured
two square meals for the whole previous year.
Daily hunger Profile
Amongst total 1000 households asked as to whether they had eaten two square
meals on the previous day of the survey, only four respondents (0.4 per cent), two
each from Rajasthan & Jharkhand said that they had eaten two square meals on the
previous day. When they were asked whether they could get one square meal plus
one poor/partial meal on the previous day, only five households (0.5 per cent)
replied yes. Out of the remaining households, 47.9 per cent had eaten two
poor/partial meals, 34.7 per cent got one poor/partial meal plus one distress meal,
11.3 per cent could get just one poor/partial meal, 0.2 per cent had eaten only one
distress meal and 5 per cent of the surveyed Adivasis could eat only jungle food on
the previous day of the survey.

8. 7
This data suggests that at least 16.5 percent of the surveyed Adivasi households
had eaten either just one poor/partial meal or one distress meal or only jungle food
on the previous day of the survey. In other words, at least 16.5 per cent of sample
Adivasi households were facing either starvation or semi-starvation on the previous
day of the survey. While only nine families (1.8 per cent) in Rajasthan had survived
on Jungle food, 41 Adivasi households (8.2 per cent) in Jharkhand had to make do
with only jungle food on the previous day of the survey.
Proportion of Jungle food in total food intake on previous day
A staggering 62.4 per cent of sample Adivasi households said that the proportion of
jungle food in their previous day’s diet was zero, 16.9 per cent samples said that
one-fourth of their diet on the previous day consisted of jungle food, 9.9 per cent
families said that half of their diet on the previous day consisted of jungle food, 5.8
per cent said that it was three-fourth and 5 per cent Adivasi households said that
their full diet on the previous day consisted of only Jungle food. This data again
reinforces the previous finding that 5 per cent of Adivasis had eaten nothing but
jungle food on the previous day of survey. The use, access and availability of jungle
food and Minor Forest Produce (MFP) in Jharkhand (especially in West Singhbhum
district) is very high in comparison to that in Rajasthan. In the West Singhbhum
district of Jharkhand, MFP is still a major source of livelihood for many Adivasi
households.
Protein (Pulses & animal products) eaten on previous day
An alarming proportion of 76.6 per cent Adivasi households said that they could not
afford any pulse or animal product on the previous day of the survey. Only 23.4 per
cent of the samples had eaten some pulses or animal products on the previous day.
While 112 (22.4 per cent) samples from Rajasthan had eaten some pulses or animal
products, 122 (24.4 per cent) samples from Jharkhand were able to secure some
pulses or animal products on the previous day. While 388 (77.6 per cent) samples

9. 8
from Rajasthan could not afford any pulse or animal product on the previous day of
survey, the corresponding figure for Jharkhand was 378 (75.6 per cent).
Weekly Hunger Profile
To assess and ascertain the weekly state of hunger and food insecurity among
Adivasi households, they were asked as to what category of food was secured by
them for how many days of the previous week. When they were asked as to whether
they had eaten two square meals on all 7 days of the previous week, only one
respondent (0.01 per cent) replied yes. The remaining 999 (99.9 per cent)
households said that they could not get two square meals even on a single day of
the previous week. When asked as to how many of them for how many days of the
previous week could secure one square meal plus one poor/partial meal, 98.9 per
cent said that they could not afford this kind of food even for a single day of the
previous week. This weekly data on hunger again confirms that about 99 per cent of
Adivasi households in Rajasthan and Jharkhand were facing chronic hunger.
Only 216 (21.6 percent) out of 1000 surveyed households were able to secure even
two poor/partial meals on all seven days of the previous week.57 sample families
(5.7 per cent) had secured two poor/partial meals for 6 days of the previous week,
103 families (10.3 per cent) for 5 days of the week, 70 families (7 per cent) for 4
days, 59 families (5.9 per cent) for 3 days, 62 families (6.2 per cent) for only 2 days
of the week and 18 sample families (1.8 per cent) for just 1 day of the previous week.
Another 214 (21.4 percent) of the households had survived throughout the week on
just one poor/partial meal plus one distress meal per day. 99 sample Adivasi
households (9.9 per cent) had eaten one poor/partial meal plus one distress meal for
5 days of the previous week, 66 families (6.6 per cent) for four days of the week, 76
households (7.6 per cent) for 3 days of the week, 112 families (11.2 per cent) for 2
days and 71 families (7.1 per cent) for only one day of the previous week.

10. 9
2.8 percent of the households had survived by eating just one poor/partial meal a
day throughout the previous week. 30 sample families (3 per cent) had eaten just
one poor/partial meal for 5 days of the previous week, 40 samples (4 per cent) for
four days of the week, 58 families (5.8 per cent) for 3 days of the week and 96
families (9.6 per cent) for 2 days of the week. This data suggests that 25.2 percent
of surveyed Adivasi households in Rajasthan and Jharkhand had eaten only one
poor/partial meal for 2-7 days of the previous week.
Ten Adivasi households (1 per cent) could barely secure one distress meal- a-day
throughout the previous week. Another three families had eaten only distress food
for 6 days of the week, 7 families for 3 days of the week and 11 families for 2 days of
the previous week. This data suggests that 31 (3.1 per cent) Adivasi families had
eaten either for the whole previous week or for a significant part of it only one
distress meal-a-day.
The data on weekly hunger clearly suggests that 28.3 per cent of sample Adivasi
households had survived for the whole or significant part of the previous week by
eating just one distress meal-a-day or one poor/ partial meal- a- day. In other words,
28.3 per cent of sample households had lived in semi-starvation condition during the
previous week of survey.
Jungle food consumption during previous week
Among the total sample Adivasi households, 62 per cent said that they did not eat
any jungle food during the previous week of survey, 15.2 per cent said that
approximately one-fourth of their diet consisted of jungle food during previous one
week, 8.2 per cent samples said that half of their diet during the week consisted of
jungle food, 6.7 per cent said that it was up to three-fourth and 7.9 per cent samples
said that 75-100 per cent of their previous week’s diet consisted of jungle food only.

11. 10
Protein (pulses & animal products) consumption during previous week
40.2 per cent of sample Adivasi households could not afford any pulse or animal
product even for a single day of the previous week. 20.8 per cent samples could
afford these items for just one day of the week, 22 per cent for 2 days in the week,
8.3 per cent for 3 days, 4.6 per cent for 4 days, 2.1 per cent for 5 days, 0.4 per cent
for 6 days and only 1.6 per cent of samples had eaten some source of protein on all
7 days of the previous week.
Monthly Hunger Profile
998 households (99.8 per cent) said that they could not secure two square meals
even for a single day of the previous month. Out of the remaining two households,
one had got two square meals on just one day of the previous month and only one
household (0.01 per cent) had taken two square meals for the whole month. Not a
single of the 500 households surveyed in Rajasthan had eaten two square meals
even on a single day of the previous month. When asked as to how many of them
for how many days of the previous month could afford one square meal plus one
poor/partial meal a day, the answer was no less shocking. A staggering 98.4 per
cent of the households said that they could not secure for a single day of the
previous month even this kind of food. The data on monthly hunger profile suggests
that since only one family had secured two square meals and another two families
had secured one square meal plus one poor/partial meal for the full month, the
remaining 997 Adivasi households (99.7 percent) were facing chronic hunger during
the previous month of the survey.
When asked as for how many days of the previous month they had secured two
poor/partial meals a day, 36 per cent said that they could not get this kind of food
even for a single day of the previous month and only 15.2 per cent said that they had
eaten this kind of food for the whole month. 13.7 per cent of the sample households
had eaten this category of food for 25-30 days, 11.3 per cent for 20-25 days, 7.4 per

12. 11
cent for 15-20 days, 11.4 per cent for 10-15 days and 3 per cent of households had
eaten this kind of food for 5 days of the previous month.
When asked as for how many days of the previous month they had eaten one
poor/partial meal plus one distress meal a day, 14.5 per cent of total samples said
that for the whole month they had eaten only this kind of food, 11.8 per cent for 10-
15 days of the month, 10.9 per cent for 15-20 days, 14 per cent had eaten for 20-25
days and 3.6 per cent for 25-30 days of the previous month. While 12.4 per cent
Adivasi households from Rajasthan had eaten only this category of food on all days
of the previous month, 16.6 per cent samples from Jharkhand had eaten this kind of
food on all days of the previous month. 5 per cent of samples from Rajasthan had
eaten this kind of food for 25-30 days, 11.2 per cent for 20-25 days, 10.6 per cent for
15-20 days and 11.2 per cent for 10-15 days. The respective figures for Jharkhand
are 2.2 per cent, 16.8 per cent, 11.2 per cent and 12.4 per cent.
When asked as for how many days of the previous month they had survived only on
one poor/partial meal, 1.9 per cent among total samples said that for the whole
previous month they could secure only this kind of food, 1.1 per cent for 25-30 days
of the month, 3.2 per cent for 20-25 days of the month, 3.9 per cent for 15-20 days
of the month and 14 per cent of the Adivasi households had survived on this kind of
food for 10-15 days of the previous month. This data suggests that 24.1 percent of
the surveyed Adivasi households had eaten only one poor/ partial meal-a-day for 10-
30 days of the previous month.
Two Adivasi households among total samples had survived the full previous month
by eating only one distress meal-a-day, one sample for 25-30 days, two samples for
20-25 days, 5 samples for 15-20 days, 20 samples for 10-15 days, 3 samples for 8
days and another 20 samples for 5 days of the previous month. The data on this
count suggests that 5.4 per cent of Adivasi households had survived for more than 5
days of the previous month only eating this category of food. The proportion of

13. 12
samples surviving only on this category of food for more than 10 days of the month
is 3.4 per cent.
Three families from the total samples had no food at all for 10 days of the previous
month, 1 sample for 8 days of the month, 5 samples for 5 days, 7 samples for 4 days,
another 5 samples for 3 days, another 7 samples for 2 days and 3 samples for one
day had no food at all. It is interesting to note that all except one of these samples
are from Rajasthan. While only one family from Jharkhand could not secure any food
for 5 days of the previous month, there were 30 families from Rajasthan who could
not eat any food for 1-10 days of the previous month. This variation is most probably
because of higher availability of jungle food and minor forest produce in Jharkhand
in comparison to Rajasthan. Rajasthan sample villages had veryscarce jungle food.
The monthly hunger profile of the sample Adivasi households clearly shows that
24.1 percent of the households had eaten only one poor/ partial meal-a-day for 10-
30 days of the previous month, 3.4 per cent of the households had survived by
eating only one distress meal-a-day for more than 10 days and 2.8 per cent samples
had not eaten any food for 2-10 days of the previous month. This data suggests that
30.3 per cent of Adivasi households were facing semi-starvation during the previous
month of survey.
Jungle food consumption during previous month
59.9 per cent of sample households said that they did not eat any jungle food during
the previous one month of survey. 18.3 per cent said that approximately one-fourth
of their diet consisted of jungle food during previous one month, 7 per cent samples
said that half of their diet during the month consisted of jungle food, 7.9 per cent said
that it was up to three-fourth and 6.9 per cent samples said that about 75-100 per
cent of their previous month’s diet consisted of jungle food only.

14. 13
Protein (pulses& animal products) consumption during previous month
33.3 per cent of samples could not get any pulse or animal product even on a single
day of the previous month. 3.7 per cent could get it on just one day, 10.7 per cent for
two days of the month, 6.5 per cent for three days, 8 per cent for four days, 10.4 per
cent for five days, 2.8 per cent for six days, 2.5 per cent for seven days, 5.7 per cent
for eight days, 0.2 per cent for nine days, another 5.7 per cent for ten days, 6 per
cent for 12-15 days, and remaining 4.5 per cent samples for 16-30 days of the
month. These figures suggest that only 10.5 per cent of Adivasi households could
eat some pulses or animal products for 12-30 days of the previous month. The
remaining 89.5 per cent of samples either did not get these items at all or did not get
for more than ten days of the month.
Annual Hunger Profile
A staggering 99.8 per cent of Adivasi households said that they could not get two
square meals even for a single month of the previous year. Of the remaining two
samples, one had secured two square meals only for one month and just one (0.1
per cent) had eaten two square meals for the whole previous year. Therefore, it is
clear that 99.9 per cent of surveyed households were facing one or another level of
hunger and food insecurity throughout the previous year. Moreover, out of 500
sample Adivasi households surveyed in Rajasthan, not a single had secured two
square meals for the whole previous year. Therefore, it is extremely distressing to
note that 100 per cent of sample Adivasi households in Rajasthan were facing
chronic hunger throughout the previous year. When asked as for how many months
of the previous year they could secure one square meal plus one poor/partial meal a
day, 99 per cent of the samples said that they did not get this kind of food even for a
single month of the previous year. Two samples had secured this category of food
for 11-12 months, one for 10 months, one for 8 months, one for 6 months, one for 5
months, one for 4 months and three samples had secured this kind of food for just 1
month of the previous year.

15. 14
When asked as for how many months of the previous year they did manage to get
two poor/partial meals-a-day, only 8.1 per cent of total samples said that they could
afford this kind of food for all months of the previous year. 27 per cent of the
respondents said that they did not get this kind of food even for a single month of the
previous year. 2.2 per cent of the respondents had secured this kind of food just for
1 month of the year, 8.7 per cent for 2 months, 4.2 per cent for 3 months, 19.2 per
cent for 4 months, 7.7 per cent for 6 months, 7.4 per cent for 8 months, 6.1 per cent
for 10 months and just 8.1 per cent of the Adivasi households had secured this kind
of food for 12 months of the previous year.
When asked as for how many months of the previous year they did get one poor/
partial meal plus one distress meal-a-day, only 2.7 per cent said that they had
secured this kind of food throughout the year, 21.7 per cent of the samples could not
get this kind of food even for a single month of the year. 7.7 per cent of the
households had eaten this kind of food for 2 months of the previous year, 15.7 per
cent for 4 months, 17.9 per cent for 6 months, 14.1 per cent for 8 months and 3.1
per cent had eaten this kind of food for 10 months of the previous year.
When asked as for how many months of the previous year they had to survive on
just one poor/partial meal–a-day, 1.3 per cent said that they could get only this kind
of food for the whole year, 3 per cent had to survive on this kind of food for 8 months
of the previous year, 2.7 per cent for 6 months of the year, 15.6 per cent for 4
months, 23.8 per cent for 2 months and 10.8 per cent of Adivasis had to make do
only with this kind of food for 1 month of the previous year. This data implies that
22.6 per cent of Adivasi households in these sample states had to survive only on
this kind of food for 4-12 months of the previous year.
There were 11 (1.1 per cent) Adivasi households who had survived by eating only
distress food for 5-11 months of the previous year. Another 39 (3.9 per cent) families
could eat only this kind of food for 4 months, 50 (5 per cent) families for 3 months,
102 (10.2 per cent) families for 2 months and 77 (7.7 per cent) families for 1 month

16. 15
of the previous year. This data implies that 10 per cent of sample Adivasi
households had to survive only on distress food for 3-11 months of the
previous year. If this figure is combined with 22.6 per cent of samples who had
survived for 4-12 months only on one poor/ partial meal, we get a very
disturbing figure of 32.6 per cent of sample Adivasi households living in semi-
starvation during the previous one year of survey.
There were 3 (0.3 per cent) Adivasi households who had survived on only jungle
food for 2 months and 26 (2.6 per cent) samples for 1 month of the previous year. All
3 samples who had survived on jungle food for 2 months were from Rajasthan. Out
of the 26 samples who could get only jungle food for 1 month of the previous year, 9
(0.9 per cent) were from Rajasthan and 17 (1.7 per cent) were from Jharkhand.
There were 57 (5.7 per cent) Adivasi households who had not eaten any food
whatsoever for one month of the previous year. However, this state of hunger was
not suffered at a single stretch but was spread over the whole year. Therefore, it
does not necessarily cause “starvation deaths”. But this is definitely a firm indicator
of the state of semi-starvation prevailing in this group of Adivasi households. Out of
these 57 samples, 42 (4.2 per cent) were from Rajasthan and only 15 (1.5 per cent)
from Jharkhand.
Jungle food consumption during previous one year
51.4 per cent of households said that they did not eat any jungle food during the
previous one year of survey. 23.2 per cent said that approximately one-fourth of their
diet consisted of jungle food during previous one year, 7.9 per cent samples said
that half of their diet during the year consisted of jungle food, 9.1 per cent said that it
was up to three-fourth and 8.4 per cent samples said that 75-100 per cent of their
previous year’s diet consisted of jungle food.

17. 16
Protein (pulses & animal products) consumption during previous year
30.8 per cent of sample households in Rajasthan and Jharkhand could not secure
any pulse or animal product even for one month of the previous year. Less than 1
per cent of sample households were able to eat some pulses or animal products
during the whole previous year. 3.8 per cent could secure these items for 7-11
months, 8 per cent of samples had eaten these protein sources between 4-6 months,
7.3 per cent for three months, 19.4 per cent households had eaten these items for
two months and 29.2 per cent households were able to eat these sources of protein
hardly for one month in the previous year. To put these figures differently, 86.7 per
cent of Adivasi households in Rajasthan and Jharkhand either could not eat any
pulse & animal product or did eat for hardly three months during the year. Therefore,
these figures clearly suggest that at least 86.7 per cent of Adivasi households were
suffering from severe protein deficiency and were vulnerable to many opportunistic
diseases. Severe protein deficiency among Adivasi children is responsible for very
high infant mortality rate in these areas and this problem has now assumed alarming
proportions in Adivasi areas of India.
Food Stocks at Home
To assess and understand the immediate level of hunger and food security of the
Adivasi households, they were asked as to how much of food stock they had at
home. 4.7 per cent of the households had no food stock at all on the day of survey,
18.7 per cent had less than 10 kg of food grains at home, 45.9 per cent of them had
less than 50 kg, 15.9 per cent had less than 100 kg, 13 per cent had between 100-
150kg, 3.4 per cent 150-200 kg, 6.5 per cent had 200-250 kg, 1.3 per cent between
250-300 kg, 4 per cent between 300-350 kg, 0.4 per cent had between 350-400 kg
and there were only 9.7 per cent of households who had more than 400 kg of food
grains at their home on the day of survey.

18. 17
Adivasis’ own perception about their state of food security
To get Adivasis’ own perception about their current state of food security in
comparison to that 2-3 decades ago, they were asked as to whether their household
food security had improved or weakened in last 25 years. A staggering 90.6 percent
of total samples said that their food security had weakened.
Reasons for decline in food security
To know Adivasis’ views about the processes and main reasons behind the decline
in their household food security in recent past, they were asked to identify three
main reasons for the same out of a list of 9 probable reasons (1. Land alienation;
2.Decline in MFP/deforestation/degradation; 3.Decline in livestock; 4.Decline in
actual wages; 5.Decline in work availability; 6. Growth in family size; 7. Development
projects; 8.Conservation of forests/wildlife; 9.Others) given to them. 54.9 per cent of
the respondents identified decline in availability of minor forest produce (MFP) due
to deforestation and degradation of forests as the most important reason for
weakening of their food security.
Access & availability of PDS
While Rajasthan and Jharkhand had a combined proportion of 74 per cent of sample
households possessing ration cards and only 26 per cent without ration cards, the
segregated data of both these sample states gives a strikingly different picture.
While only 6.2 per cent of Rajasthan households were without ration cards, 45.8 per
cent of Jharkhand Adivasi households did not possess any ration card.
Out of the combined proportion of 74 per cent of households in possession of ration
cards in two sample States, 40.5 per cent of households possessed APL (above
poverty line) cards, 50.1 per cent had got BPL (below poverty line) cards, 9.2 per
cent had Antyodaya cards and only 0.1 per cent possessed Annapoorna cards. Out

19. 18
of 50.1 per cent card holding samples who had BPL cards, only a tiny 9.2 per cent
households said that they were getting their regular quota of ration. Remaining 90.8
per cent samples were taking either partial or no ration at all. While 13.1 per cent of
BPL samples from Rajasthan said that they were availing their regular quota of
ration, only 3.8 per cent of Jharkhand samples could say so.
PDS supplier’s refusal to give full quota was the biggest reason for Adivasis’ inability
to avail their full ration entitlement; because the highest proportion of samples (28.2
per cent) identified this as reason for the same. An overwhelming 80.9 percent of
Adivasi households were not satisfied with the functioning of PDS shops and
behaviour of PDS dealers. Our data has revealed slightly better functioning of PDS
shops in Rajasthan in comparison to Jharkhand. While the proportion of dissatisfied
households was 75.7 per cent in Rajasthan, that proportion in Jharkhand was as
high as 87.9 percent.

20. 19
Background information about sample states and districts
Adivasis constitute 8% (83,580,63 in the Census, 2001) of the total population of
India, consisting of 461 groups. Among them about eighty percent live in the ‘central
belt’, extending from Gujarat and Rajasthan in the west to West Bengal and Tripura
in the east, and across the states of Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Chattisgarh,
Bihar, Jharkhand and Orissa. Most of the remaining twenty percent live in the North
Eastern States of Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Arunachal Pradesh and Sikkim
and in the Island Union territories of Dadra and Nagar Haveli, Andaman and Nicobar,
and Lakshadweep. A few of them live in the southern states of Kerala, Tamil Nadu
and Karnataka. Andhra Pradesh has the largest concentration of tribal population
among the southern states of India. About 95% of Adivasis live in rural areas, less
than 10% are itinerant hunter-gatherers but more than half depend upon forest
produce for their livelihood.
According to the 1991 Census figures, 42.02 percent of the Scheduled Tribe
populations were main workers; of whom 54.50 percent were cultivators and 32.69
per cent agricultural laborers. Thus, about 87 percent of the main workers from
these communities were engaged in primary sector activities. The literacy rate of
Scheduled Tribes is around 29.60 percent, as against the national average of 52
percent. More than three-quarters of Scheduled Tribe women are illiterate. These
disparities are compounded by higher dropout rates in formal education resulting in
disproportionately low representation in higher education. Not surprisingly, the
cumulative effect has been that the proportion of Scheduled Tribes below the
poverty line is substantially higher than the national average. The estimate of
poverty made by Planning Commission for the year 1993-94 shows that 51.92
percent rural and 41.4 percent urban Scheduled Tribes were still living below the
poverty line.

21. 20
Rajasthan
According to 1991 Census, Adivasis consititute 12.4 Per cent (31,25,506) of
Rajasthan’s total population. However, the southern districts of Udaipur, Banswara,
Dungarpur, Chittorgarh, Rajsamand and Sirohi have a tribal population which is over
70% of the total population. Two prominent scheduled Tribes of Rajasthan are the
Bhils and the Meenas. The Bhils are mostly concentrated in the hill-locked districts
of Udaipur, Dungarpur and Banswara while the Meenas are settled mainly in Jaipur,
Sawai- Madhopur and Udaipur districts. Other Scheduled Tribes of Rajasthan are
Garasias and the Sahrias. The Garasias are concentrated inPali and Sirohi districts,
while Sahrias are limited to a pocket of two tehsils in Baran district. Bhils form the
most significant tribal group in the State. Saharias are the most undeveloped tribes
of Rajasthan.
Adivasi dominated southern Rajasthan is rich in forests, forest wealth, mines,
minerals and stone quarries, fertile lands and rivers, with a high average rainfall
which sets it apart from the rest of arid Rajasthan, used to be one of the most lush
and wealthy areas of Rajasthan. Fifty eight years of ‘independence’ and ‘freedom’
have left it naked and deforested, covered with the open sores of indiscriminate
mining. All its forest and mineral wealth have been drained to enrich the non-tribal
populations. The tribals, through a process of ‘internal colonisation’, have been
marginalised over the years and have yet to understand how centrally-made rules,
regulations and laws in faraway Delhi and Jaipur have deprived them of all their
natural resources and wealth.
Udaipur
Out of total 11 Panchayat Samittees in Udaipur district, 7 are in Tribal and 4 are in
general area. Because of this reason the Udaipur district is regarded as Tribal
dominated. Only 17% of the total geographical area of district is under cultivation.
The main Kharif crop of the district is Maize, which is staple food of the farmers of
this region. The average annual Rain-Fall of the district is 673 mm. The Adivasi
population in Udaipur district is 963712 (1991 census).

22. 21
List of sample villages
Village Panchayat Tehsil
Samoli Samoli Kotra
Rajpur Gura Kotra
Sada Sada Kotra
Tibarni Ka Khet Dang Kotra
Sirval Malwa Ka Chaura Kotra
Varela Gudail Salumbar
Bicchri Bicchri Girwa
Parei Kharbar Sarada
Kharbar Kharbar Sarada
Kyari Kyari Sarada
Dungarpur
Dungarpur district is situated in southern most part of Rajasthan. In East and North it
borders on Banswara and Udaipur districts respectively while it adjoins the State of
Gujrat in South & West. Dungarpur is the smallest district of the state covering
385592 hacts only, which is 1.13% of the total area of Rajasthan. Most parts of the
district are hilly. The over all land productivity is rated to be low for the whole district
with somewhat better conditions found in its southern & western corners. The
average rainfall of the district is 710mm.According to 2001 census, the total
population of the district is 1107037, just 1.967% of the total population of State. The
percentage of ST population in the district as per 1991 census is 65.84.Most of the
district is inhabited byBhil Adivasis who live in widely dispersed villages.
As per 2001 census, the percentage of working, marginal and non- working
population is 24.63, 23.75 and 51.62 respectively. The main occupation of working
population is agriculture. The total geographical area of district is 385592 hects as
per land records. Out of this 186784 hects is cultivable and 134786 hect. is
uncultivable. During 2001-2002 the gross cultivated area was 150904 hect. while net

23. 22
area sown was 121005 hect. and 61241 hect. was forest land. The percentage of
area sown against total geographical area was 31.38 while percentage of net
irrigated area to net area sown was 14.15% only.
List of sample villages
Village Panchayat Tehsil
Palbada Palbada Bichhiwada
Bhovali Palbada Dungarpur
Talaiya Talaiya Bichhiwada
Bijuda Shishodh Bichhiwada
Ved Jhalukuan Bhichhiwada
Nareli Mewar Bhichhiwada
Rajpur Gadapattapeeth Seemalwada
Gudawada Seemalwada Seemalwada
Nanoda Dhambola Seemalwada
Gadabateshwar Nagariya seemalwada

24. 23
Jharkhand
In the state of Jharkhand, the Adivasi population has dropped from around 60% in
1911 to 27.67% in 1991
District Wise Population Details of Jharkhand
Sl.
No.
Name of District Area in
Sq. km
Total
Population
ST
Population
SC
Population
1 Ranchi 7573.68 2214088 964422 123239
2 Lohardagga 1490.80 288886 162964 10919
3 Gumla 5320.94 707555 493563 25608
4 Simdega 3756.19 446421 323425 35691
5 Palamu 4015.16 1182770 106254 324223
6 Latehar 3660.47 467071 211580 99507
7 Garhwa 4044.22 801350 125432 190830
8 West Singhbhum 5290.21 1080780 717708 49385
9 Saraikela
Kharsawan
2724.55 707175 260361 40111
10 East singhbhum 3533.35 1613088 466572 77194
11 Dumka 3716.36 950853 443285 52763
12 Jamtara 1801.98 544856 178199 51331
13 Sahebganj 1705.98 736835 228990 49304
14 Pakur 1805.59 564253 278331 21484
15 Godda 2110.45 861182 216047 72893
16 Hazaribagh 5965.35 1836068 223571 280700
17 Chatra 3706.22 612713 23487 198668
18 Koderma 1311.63 394763 3528 57789
19 Giridih 4887.05 1496189 148342 202084
20 Dhanbad 2074.68 1949526 171741 312467
21 Bokaro 2860.82 1454416 177123 197365
22 Deoghar 2478.61 933113 119085 115697
(Source: http://Jharkhand.nic.in)

25. 24
Adivasis of Jharkhand
TRIBES POPULATION % in Tribal
population
literacy within
Tribe
Asur 7783 0.13 10.62
Baiga 3553 0.06 4.22
Banjara 412 Lowest 12.38
Bathaudi 1595 0.03 16.93
Bedia 60445 1.04 10.82
Bhumij 136110 2.35 16.45
Binjhia 10009 0.17 14.52
Birhor 4057 0.07 5.74
Birjia 4057 0.07 10.50
Chero 52210 0.09 17.30
Chick Baraik 40339 0.69 20.17
Gond 96574 1.66 20.00
Gorait 5206 0.09 16.61
Ho 536524 9.23 17.71
Karmali 38652 0.66 13.30
Kharia 141771 2.44 24.86
Kharwar 222758 3.83 17.22
Khond 1263 0.02 15.99
Kisan 23420 0.40 13.41
Kora 33951 0.58 9.28
Korba 21940 0.38 6.14
Lohar 169090 2.91 12.71
Mahli 91868 1.59 12.74
Mal Paharia 79322 1.37 7.58
Munda 845887 14.56 22.16
Oraon 1048064 18.05 23.28
Parhaiya 24012 0.41 15.30
Santhal 2060732 35.47 12.55
Sauria Paharia 30269 0.68 6.87
Savar 3014 0.05 9.55
Unspecified 6660 0.1 3.94
TOTAL 5810867 100.00 16.99
(Source: http://Jharkhand.nic.in)
West Singhbhum
West Singhbhum district came into existence when the old Singhbhum district
bifurcated in 1990. At present West Singhbhum has 15 blocks and two
administrative Sub-divisions. The district is full of hills alternating with valleys, steep

26. 25
mountains, and deep forests on the mountain slopes. The district contains one of the
best Sal forests and its SARANDA (seven hundred hills) forest area is known world
over. West Singhbhum district forms the Southern part of the newly created
Jharkhand State and is the largest district in the State. The annual average rainfall in
the district is about 1422 mm. The greater part of West Singhbhum district is
covered by the iron-ore series. The minerals found in the district include: 1.
Chromites 2. Magnetite 3. Manganese 4. Kainite 5. Lime Stone 6. Iron Ore 7.
Asbestos 8. Soap-stone.
West Singhbhum district is rich in natural resources. With about 55 per cent of total
population of the district, Adivasis constitute majority of population in West
Singhbhum district. The tribes found in the district are -1. Asur 2. Baiga 3. Banjara 4.
Bathudi 5. Bedia 6. Binjhia 7. Birhor 8. Gond 9. Gorait 10. Ho 11. Kurmali 12. Kharia
13. Kharwar 14. Khond 15. Kisen 16. Chero 16. Chik Baraik 17. Lohara 18. Mahli 19.
Munda 20. Oraon 21. Parhaiya 22. Kora 23. Korwa 24. Santhal 25. Sawar 26.
Bhumij
List of sample villages
Village Panchayat Block
Otadiri Ikshakuti Sonua
Kupui Otadiri Chakradharpur
Aaita Dumardiha Sadar Block
Maudi Dumardiha Sadar Block
Baipe Otadiri Chakradharpur
Nungadi Kadamdiha Goelkera
Bamiabasa Bamiabasa Tonto
Mauda Bamiabasa Tonto
Ramsai Bara Jhinkpani Tonto
Saransia Bara Jhinkpani Tonto

27. 26
Gumla District
Gumla district is covered by dense forests, hills and rivers. It is situated in the
southwest portion of the Jharkhand State. This district was carved out of Ranchi
district in 1983. Previously it was a sub-division of old Ranchi district. Till 30th
April
2001, Gumla district consisted on 2 sub-divisions viz Gumla and Simdega. But after
the creation of Jharkhand State, a new district of Simdega was carved out of Gumla
district in 2001. Now, Gumla district consists of only one sub-division namely Gumla.
Total area of the district is about 5327 sq. km. The total population of district as per
1991 census is 706489. With 68 per cent of the total population of the district,
Adivasis constitute majority of Gumla’s population.
80% of the district population depends on agriculture. Farmers practise traditional
agriculture and are fully dependent on monsoon. They use traditional ploughs and
ox or buffaloes to plough their lands. In Gumla district the cultivable land is 329686
hectares. Irrigation facilities available (as per 1981 census) were only 2.62%, which
has now increased to 22056 hectare i.e. 6.69%. The remaining 307630 hectares of
land is un-irrigated. The main crop of this district is paddy. Beside this, maize, pulses
& oil seeds are also grown in different areas of Gumla district.
The forest cover of the district is 1.35 lakh hectares out of the total 5.21 lakh
hectares of land i.e. around 27% of the total area of the district. Important forest
products are Saal seeds, Kokun, Lac, Tendu leaves, Karanj, Chiraunji etc. The
major trees are Sal Bija, Gamhar, Kathal, Jamun, Mango, Bamboo, Neem etc.
Sisai, Bharno and Kamdara blocks have plain lands while other areas are mostly
undulating in nature. There is a hill range named as ‘Ghera-pahar’, which starts from
Palkot block area and continues up to Bishunpur block area. These elevated plateau
areas of Bishunpur and Ghaghra blocks are locally known as ‘PAT’ area. These PAT
areas are made-up of volcanic rocks. Earlier the average annual rainfall in the
district was 1400-1600 mm, but the recent statistics has shown a decline in the
average annual rainfall to about 1000-1100 mm.

28. 27
Gumla district is a backward district as compared to other districts of the State. The
district has a total population of 706489 and total families of 133131. Out of 133131
families 99512 families live below poverty line i.e. they are BPL families, as per
survey conducted in the year 1997. It shows that the poverty ratio is 74.75%. There
are only 1929 skilled workers in the district.
List of sample villages
Village Panchayat Block
Ghaghara Redawa Seesai
Chailitoli Murgu Seesai
Supali Murgu Seesai
Birkera Redawa Seesai
Joriya Karanj Bharno
Omesera Karanj Bharno
Chatakpur Pandariya Seesai
Khartanga Turiamba Bharno
Marasilly Bharno Bharno
Muhgaon Bharno Bharno

29. 28
Key Findings of the Survey Research on Hunger and Poverty
in Adivasi Areas of Rajasthan and Jharkhand
The findings of a survey research on hunger in Adivasi areas of Rajasthan and
Jharkhand carried out by New Delhi-based Centre for Environment and Food
Security (CEFS) are revealing but shocking. It is distressful to note that out of total
1000 Adivasi households from 40 sample villages in Rajasthan and Jharkhand
surveyed for this study, a staggering 99 per cent were facing chronic hunger. The
data gathered during this survey suggests that 25.2 percent of surveyed Adivasi
households had faced semi-starvation during the previous week of the survey. The
data also suggests that 24.1 percent of the surveyed Adivasi households had lived in
semi-starvation condition throughout the previous month of the survey. Over 99 per
cent of the Adivasi households had lived with one or another level of endemic
hunger and food insecurity during the whole previous year. Moreover, out of 500
sample Adivasi households surveyed in Rajasthan, not a single had secured two
square meals for the whole previous year.
Sample Size and Methodology
The Field survey for this research was carried out during March-June 2004 in forty
Adivasi villages of four Adivasi-dominated districts, two each from Rajasthan and
Jharkhand. Udaipur & Dungarpur districts of Rajasthan, and West Singhbhum &
Gumla districts from Jharkhand were purposively selected for a household survey
among 1000 Adivasi households. From every sample district 10 sample Adivasi
villages and from every sample village 25 Adivasi households were purposively
selected for the household survey. The total sample size of Adivasi households was
1000, 500 samples each from Rajasthan and Jharkhand. Only villages with over 75
per cent of Adivasi population were selected for sample survey. Another criteria
followed in the selection of sample villages was that it should not be located within a
distance of 20 kilometers from the district headquarters to avoid the urban bias in

30. 29
those villages. In the selection of household samples, only one category of
households were excluded, i.e.- those with regular salaried income.
Socio-economic profile of sample Adivasi households
Out of the total sample size of 1000 Adivasi households surveyed, 60.1 per cent of
respondents were male and 39.9 per cent female, 68.75 percent of respondents
were illiterate, 95.1 per cent lived in thatched and mud houses, 96.4 per cent were
without electricity, 84.7 per cent without water availability within 1000 meters of their
house, 99.7 per cent were without toilet and a horrifying 99 per cent of Adivasis were
facing chronic hunger. On the basis of these socio-economic indicators, it
would be only logical to conclude that these Adivasis are living in appaling
conditions, grinding poverty and their depth of deprivation defies all
imaginations of a deprived human life.
Household Assets
To get an elementary assessment of the level of poverty and deprivation among
sample Adivasi households in Rajasthan and Jharkhand, they were asked as to how
many of ten listed household assets (1.Blanket, 2.Pair of shoes, 3.Bicycle, 4.cooker,
5.Kerosene stove, 6.Radio, 7. T.V, 8. Torch, 9. Clock/Watch, 10.Others) were
available in their homes. We were shocked to find that 10.4 per cent of Adivasi
households did not have any of these listed items in their homes. Moreover, there
was not even a single Adivasi household from the 1000 samples which possessed
more than 4 household items from this list. 32.2 per cent of samples possessed
blanket and pair of shoes. While 44 per cent of households from Rajasthan
possessed blanket and a pair of shoes, only 20.4 per cent of Jharkhand samples
possessed these two items. Only 8.8 per cent of the samples were in possession of
4 items from the given list. Proportion of samples possessing any 4 listed household
assets was only 4 per cent in Rajasthan and 13.6 per cent in Jharkhand.

31. 30
Occupation of Adivasi Households
Out of the total 1000 sample Adivasi households, a staggering 82 per cent were
agriculturists, 14.8 per cent daily wagers, 1.8 per cent MFP (minor forest produce)
gatherers, 0.6 per cent were either handicaps or too old to earn and 2 per cent
belonged to other occupations. State-wise segregation of the data suggests that
87.2 per cent of samples from Rajasthan were agriculturists, 12 per cent daily
wagers, 0.2 per cent handicaps or too old and 0.6 per cent belonged to other
occupations. Among the Jharkhand samples, 76.8 per cent were agriculturists, 17.6
per cent daily wagers, 1.8 per cent MFP gatherers, 0.4 per cent handicaps & aged
and 3.4 per cent belonged to other occupations.
Nature of House
Amongst the total sample households, only a tiny 0.7 per cent had pucca houses,
4.2 per cent samples had semi-pucca houses, a staggering 90.5 per cent had mud-
houses and remaining 4.6 per cent were living under thatched roofs. In the state of
Rajasthan, 1 per cent samples were living in pucca houses, 5.2 per cent in semi-
pucca, 91.2 per cent in mud houses and 2.6 per cent were living under thatched
roofs. Among Jharkhand samples, 0.4 per cent had pucca house, 3.2 per cent semi-
pucca, 89.8 per cent had mud-houses and 6.6 per cent were living under thatched
roofs. It is interesting to note that while only 13 samples from Rajasthan were living
under thatched roofs, there were 33 samples from Jharkhand living under thatched
roofs. This data suggests that 95.1 per cent of sample Adivasis in Rajasthan and
Jharkhand were living in either thatched or mud houses.
96.4 per cent of the sample Adivasi households had no electricity connection. While
92.8 per cent of Rajasthan households were without electricity, not a single sample
Adivasi household in Jharkhand had any power connection whatsoever. It is one of
the most cruel ironies of Indian development process that native inhabitants of
Jharkhand which supplies coal to most thermal power plants of the country are still

32. 31
condemned to live without any electricity in their homes. It seems to be the
proverbial case of darkness under the lamp. 84.7 per cent of sample households in
the two states had no source of water either in their house or within visible distance.
The proportion of households without water availability was 98.8 per cent in
Rajasthan and 70.6 per cent in Jharkhand. 99.7 per cent of sample households were
without toilet. All the 500 sample households from Rajasthan were without toilet. But
3 samples from Jharkhand had toilets in their house.
Gender of Respondents
Out of 1000 sample households surveyed, 60.1 per cent of the respondents were
male and 39.9 per cent female. In Rajasthan samples, 53.6 per cent of respondents
were male and 46.4 per cent female. In Jharkhand, 66.6 per cent respondents were
male and only 33.4 per cent female.
Education level of Respondents
Educational Level of respondents
Illiterate
69%
Barely literate
4%
Up to primary school
9%
Up to middle school
10%
Up to high school
6%
Up to college
2%
Illiterate
Barely literate
Up to primary school
Up to middle school
Up to high school
Up to college

33. 32
Among the total sample Adivasi respondents, 68.7 per cent were illiterate, 4.4 per
cent barely-literate, 8.8 per cent had received primary schooling, 10.3 per cent had
middle schooling, 6.1 per cent had received education up to high school and only 1.7
per cent of Adivasi respondents had studied in college.
Among 500 Rajasthan respondents, 76.2 per cent were illiterate, 5 per cent barely-
literate, 9 per cent had received primary schooling, 7.4 per cent had middle
schooling, 2 per cent had received education up to high school and only 0.4 per cent
of Adivasi respondents had studied in college.
Among 500 Jharkhand respondents, 61.2 per cent were illiterate, 3.8 per cent
barely-literate, 8.6 per cent had received primary schooling, 13.2 per cent had
middle schooling, 10.2 per cent had received education up to high school and 3 per
cent of Jharkhand respondents had received college education.
It is interesting to note here that level of education among Jharkhand samples was
much higher than that in Rajasthan. While 76.2 per cent of Rajasthan respondents
were illiterate, only 61.2 per cent among Jharkhand respondents were illiterate.
While only 7.4 per cent of Rajasthan respondents had enjoyed schooling up to
middle school, 13.2 per cent of Jharkhand samples had this level of schooling. As
against a low 2 per cent of Rajasthan respondents who had received education up to
high school and 0.4 per cent up to college, among Jharkhand samples, 10.2 per cent
had studied up to high school and 3 per cent up to college level.
Migration
26.2 per cent of surveyed households
said that at least one member from
each family had migrated to some
town or city in search of livelihood.
73.8 per cent samples said that none
Proportion of Migration
No
74%
Yes
26%
Yes
No

34. 33
of their family members had gone anywhere in search of livelihood. While 27.4 per
cent of Rajasthan samples said that their family members had migrated to cities and
towns in search of work, 25 per cent among Jharkhand samples did say so.
Hunger among Adivasi Households
Daily hunger Profile
It is distressful to note that out of total 1000 Adivasi households from 40 sample
villages spread over four districts of Rajasthan and Jharkhand surveyed for this
study, a staggering and shocking over 99 per cent were facing chronic hunger.
Out of the total 1000 households asked as to whether they had eaten two
square meals1
on the previous day of the survey, only four respondents (0.4
per cent), two each from Rajasthan & Jharkhand said that they had eaten two
square meals on the previous day. When they were asked whether they could get
one square meal plus one poor/partial meal 2
on the previous day, only five
households (0.5 per cent) replied yes. Out of the remaining households, 47.9 per
cent had eaten two poor/partial meals, 34.7 per cent got one poor/partial meal plus
one distress meal3
, 11.3 per cent could get just one poor/partial meal, 0.2 per cent
had eaten only one distress meal and 5 per cent of the surveyed Adivasis could eat
only jungle food on the previous day of the survey. It means that at least 5 per cent
of sample Adivasi families were unable to secure any of the above six
categories of food on the previous day of the survey and it would not be an
exaggeration to suggest that they were on the verge of starvation.
This data suggests that at least 16.5 percent of the surveyed Adivasi households
had eaten either just one poor/partial meal or one distress meal or only jungle food
on the previous day of the survey. In other words, at least 16.5 per cent of
1
Square meal : Meal consisting of adequate cereals + at least one source of protein (pulses or
animal products) + some vegetable.
2
Poor/partial meal : Inadequate cereals with hardly any vegetables or protein sources.
3
Distress meal : Hardly one-fourth quantity of required cereals. Broth (Rabari) made of water and
wheat flour is a typical distress/famine food in Adivasi area of Rajasthan and rice brew(Handiya) in
Jharkhand.

35. 34
sample Adivasi households were facing either starvation or semi-starvation on
the previous day of the survey. It is interesting to note here that while only nine
families (1.8 per cent) in Rajasthan had survived on Jungle food, 41 Adivasi
households (8.2 per cent) in Jharkhand had to make do with only jungle food on the
previous day of the survey.
Hunger profile of previous day
1.80.4 0.8
38.2
18.2
0
8.2
47.9
57.6
35.2
4.4 0.40.20.4
34.2
34.7
11.3
0.2 50.50.4
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
Two square
meals
One square
meal+ one
poor/partial
meal
Two
poor/partial
meals
One poor/
partial
meals
One poor/
partial
meal+ one
distress
meal
Only one
distress
meal
Only jungle
food
Category of foods
Percentage
Rajasthan
Jharkhand
Both
Rajasthan:
Out of 500 Adivasi households surveyed in Rajasthan, only two households (0.4
percent) had eaten two square meals on the previous day of the survey. There was
only one Adivasi household (0.2 percent) which had secured the second–best
category of food enlisted in survey schedule (one square meal plus one poor/partial
meal) on the previous day of survey. Out of 500 sample households surveyed in
Rajasthan, 288 households (57.6 per cent) had to make do with only two poor/partial
meals (third-best enlisted category of food). The fourth-best enlisted category of food
(one poor/partial meal plus one distress meal) was secured by 176 families (35.2
percent) of Adivasis on the previous day of the survey. Twenty two Adivasi

36. 35
households (4.4 per cent) had eaten only one poor/partial meal on the previous day
and two families (0.4 per cent) had survived only on one distress meal. The
remaining 9 Adivasi households (1.8 per cent) from 500 Rajasthan samples were
unable to secure any of the above six categories of food on the previous day of the
survey and had to survive only on jungle food (wild roots, leaves, grass, fruits,
vegetables etc collected from forest).
Jharkhand:
Out of 500 Adivasi households surveyed in the state of Jharkhand, only two families
(0.4 per cent) had eaten two square meals on the previous day of the survey. Four
families (0.8 per cent) had secured one square meal plus one poor/partial meal. 191
samples (38.2 per cent) had eaten two poor/partial meals, 171 samples (34.2 per
cent) could eat only one poor/partial meal plus one distress meal and a staggering
91 households (18.2 per cent) had to make do with only one poor/partial meal on the
previous day of the survey. It is shocking to note that 41(8.2 per cent) Adivasi
households in Jharkhand had eaten only jungle food and nothing else on the
previous day of the survey. This data suggests that 26.4 per cent of Jharkhand
samples had eaten either only jungle food or just one poor/partial meal on the
previous day.

37. 36
Proportion of Jungle food in total food intake on previous day
Proportion of Jungle food in total food intake on previous day
91.2
6
0.8 0.2 1.8
33.6
27.8
19
11.4
8.2
62.4
16.9
9.9
5.8 5
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
Zero One forth Half Three fourth Full
Proportion
Percentages
Rajasthan
Jharkhand
Both
To assess the proportion and understand the role of jungle food in Adivasis’ present
food basket, they were asked as to what was the proportion of jungle food in their
diet of the previous day. 62.4 per cent of sample Adivasi households said that the
proportion of jungle food in their previous day’s diet was zero, 16.9 per cent samples
said that one-fourth of their diet on the previous day consisted of jungle food,9.9 per
cent families said that half of their diet on the previous day consisted of jungle food,
5.8 per cent said that it was three-fourth and 5 per cent Adivasi households said that
their full diet on the previous day consisted of only Jungle food. This data again
reinforces the previous finding that 5 per cent of Adivasis had eaten nothing but
jungle food on the previous day of survey.
The state-wise segregation of this data suggests that the role and proportion of
jungle food in the food security of Jharkhand Adivasis is much larger than in the
case of Rajasthan. While 456 (91.2 per cent) samples from Rajasthan said that
proportion of jungle food in their previous day’s diet was zero, only 168 (33.6 per
cent) samples from Jharkhand had not eaten any jungle food on the previous day of

38. 37
survey. As against only 30(6 per cent) samples from Rajasthan whose previous
day’s one-fourth diet consisted of jungle food, 139 (27.8 per cent) households from
Jharkhand said that one-fourth of their diet on the previous day consisted of jungle
food. While only 4 (0.8 per cent) samples from Rajasthan said that half of their diet
on the previous day consisted of jungle food, this proportion for Jharkhand was 95
(19 per cent). Again, only 1 (0.2 per cent) sample from Rajasthan said that their
previous day’s three-fourth diet consisted of jungle food, 57 (11.4 per cent) Adivasi
households from Jharkhand said that three-fourth of their previous day’s diet
consisted of jungle food. While only 9 (1.8 per cent) of families from Rajasthan said
that their full diet on the previous day consisted of jungle food, 41 (8.2 per cent)
families from Jharkhand said that their full diet on the previous day of survey
consisted of only jungle food.
The use, access and availability of jungle food and Minor Forest Produce (MFP) in
Jharkhand (especially in West Singhbhum district) is very high in comparison to that
in Rajasthan. In the West Singhbhum district of Jharkhand, MFP is still a major
source of livelihood for many Adivasi households. Dozens of head-loads and cycle-
loads of fuelwood and other MFP being carried by groups of Adivasis is still a very
common sight on all the roads leading to Chaibasa (district headquarters of West
Singhbhum). It was interesting to find a young Graduate Adivasi in one village of
West Singhbhum district earning his livelihood by just cutting and selling fuelwood.
Protein consumption on previous day
Most of the available literature on hunger in Adivasi areas of India suggests that
large number of Adivasis suffer from protein-energy-nutrition deficiency (PEN
syndrome). This PEN syndrome is believed to be responsible for very high infant
mortality rates among Adivasi communities. To assess and ascertain the level of
protein availability or protein deficiency in Adivasis’ diet, sample Adivasi households
were asked as to whether they had eaten any pulse or animal product on the
previous day of the survey. An alarming proportion of 76.6 per cent Adivasi

39. 38
households said that they could not afford any pulse or animal product on the
previous day of the survey. Only 23.4 per cent of the samples had eaten some
pulses or animal products on the previous day of the survey. While 112 (22.4 per
cent) samples from Rajasthan had eaten some pulses or animal products, 122 (24.4
per cent) samples from Jharkhand were able to secure some pulses or animal
products on the previous day. While 388 (77.6 per cent) samples from Rajasthan
could not afford any pulse or animal product on the previous day of survey, the
corresponding figure for Jharkhand was 378 (75.6 per cent).
Pulses or animal products eaten on previous day
22.4
24.4 23.4
77.6
75.6 76.6
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
Rajasthan Jharkhand Both
PercentagesofYes/No
Yes
No
Weekly Hunger Profile
To assess and ascertain the weekly state of hunger and food insecurity among
Adivasi households, they were asked as to what category of food was secured by
them for how many days of the previous week. When they were asked as to whether
they had eaten two square meals on all 7 days of the previous week, only one
respondent (0.01 per cent) replied yes. The remaining 999 (99.9 per cent)
households said that they could not get two square meals even on a single
day of the previous week. When asked as to how many of them for how many

40. 39
days of the previous week could secure one square meal plus one poor/partial meal,
98.9 percent said that they could not afford this kind of food even for a single day of
the previous week. This weekly data on hunger again confirms that about 99 per
cent of Adivasi households in Rajasthan and Jharkhand were facing chronic hunger.
Only 216 (21.6 percent)out of 1000 surveyed households were able to secure even
two poor/partial meals on all seven days of the previous week.57 sample families
(5.7 per cent) had secured two poor/partial meals for 6 days of the previous week,
103 families (10.3 per cent) for 5 days of the week, 70 families (7 per cent) for 4
days, 59 families (5.9 per cent) for 3 days, 62 families (6.2 per cent) for only 2 days
of the week and 18 sample families (1.8 per cent) for just 1 day of the previous week.
Another 214 (21.4 percent) of the households had survived throughout the week on
just one poor/partial meal plus one distress meal per day. 99 sample Adivasi
households (9.9 per cent) had eaten one poor/partial meal plus one distress meal for
5 days of the previous week, 66 families (6.6 per cent) for 4 days of the week, 76
households (7.6 per cent) for 3 days of the week, 112 families (11.2 per cent) for 2
days and 71 families (7.1 per cent) for only one day of the previous week.
2.8 percent of the households had survived by eating just one poor/partial meal a
day throughout the previous week.30 sample families (3 per cent) had eaten just one
poor/partial meal for 5 days of the previous week, 40 samples (4 per cent) for four
days of the week, 58 families (5.8 per cent) for 3 days of the week and 96 families
(9.6 per cent) for 2 days of the week. This data suggests that 25.2 percent of
surveyed Adivasi households in Rajasthan and Jharkhand had eaten only one
poor/partial meal for 2-7 days of the previous week.
Ten Adivasi households (1 percent) out of the total samples could barely secure one
distress meal- a-day throughout the previous week. Another three families had eaten
only distress food for 6 days of the week, 7 families for 3 days of the week and 11
families for 2 days of the previous week. This data suggests that 31(3.1 per cent)

41. 40
Adivasi families had eaten either for the whole previous week or for a significant part
of it only one distress meal-a-day.
The data on weekly hunger clearly suggests that 28.3 per cent of sample Adivasi
households had survived for the whole or significant part of the previous week by
eating just one distress meal-a-day or one poor/ partial meal- a- day. In other words,
28.3 per cent of sample households had lived in semi-starvation condition
during the previous week of survey.
Jungle food consumption during previous week
Among the total 1000 sample Adivasi households, 62 per cent said that they did not
eat any jungle food during the previous week of survey, 15.2 per cent said that
approximately one-fourth of their diet consisted of jungle food during previous one
week, 8.2 per cent samples said that half of their diet during the week consisted of
jungle food, 6.7 per cent said that it was up to three-fourth and 7.9 per cent samples
said that 75-100 per cent of their previous week’s diet consisted of jungle food only.
State-wise segregation of data about proportion of jungle food in the diet of previous
week clearly suggests that consumption of jungle food in Jharkhand was much
higher than that in Rajasthan. While only 32 per cent of Jharkhand samples had not
consumed any jungle food, a huge 92 per cent of Rajasthan households had not
eaten any jungle food during previous week. Against 23.4 per cent of Jharkhand
households whose one –fourth of diet consisted of jungle food, only 7 per cent of
Rajasthan samples said that one –fourth of their diet consisted of jungle food. While
only one sample (0.2 per cent) from Rajasthan could say that half of his family’s diet
consisted of jungle food, 81 samples (16.2 per cent) from Jharkhand said that about
half of their diet during the week consisted of jungle food. Again, while 13.4 per cent
of samples from Jharkhand said that three-fourth of their diet was made of jungle
food, not a single sample from Rajasthan did say so. While only 4 samples (0.8 per
cent) from Rajasthan said that 75-100 per cent of their diet during previous week

42. 41
consisted of jungle food, 75 samples (15 per cent) in Jharkhand said that 75-100 per
cent of their diet during the week consisted of jungle food.
Protein (pulses & animal products) consumption during previous week
40.2 per cent of sample Adivasi households in Rajasthan and Jharkhand could
not afford any pulse or animal product even for a single day of the previous
week. 20.8 per cent samples could afford these items for just one day of the week,
22 per cent for 2 days in the week, 8.3 per cent for 3 days, 4.6 per cent for 4 days,
2.1 per cent for 5 days, 0.4 per cent for 6 days and only 1.6 per cent of samples
had eaten some source of protein on all 7 days of the previous week.
While 41 per cent among Rajasthan samples could not get any pulse or animal
product even for a single day during the week, 14.4 per cent had eaten some pulses
or animal products on just one day of the week,25 per cent for two days of the week,
9.8 per cent for three days, 5.2 per cent for four days, 2.4 per cent for five days, 0.2
per cent for six days and only 2 per cent throughout the week. In Jharkhand, 39.4
per cent of Adivasi households could not eat any source of protein during the
previous week, 27.2 per cent could get it only on one day of the week, 19 per cent
for just two days, 6.8 per cent for three days,4 per cent for four days, 1.8 per cent for
five days, 0.6 per cent for six days and only 1.2 per cent households on all seven
days of the previous week.
Monthly Hunger Profile
To understand the level of hunger and food insecurity among 1000 sample Adivasi
households during the previous one month of the survey, they were asked as to how
many days of the previous month they had eaten two square meals. 998
households (99.8 per cent) said that they could not secure two square meals
even for a single day of the previous month. Out of the remaining two
households, one had got two square meals on just one day of the previous month

43. 42
and only one household (0.01 per cent) had taken two square meals for the whole
month. It is important to note here that not a single of the 500 households
surveyed in Rajasthan had eaten two square meals even on a single day of the
previous month. When asked as to how many of them for how many days of the
previous month could afford one square meal plus one poor/partial meal a day, the
answer was no less shocking. A staggering 98.4 per cent of the households said that
they could not secure for a single day of the previous month even this kind of food.
The data on monthly hunger profile suggests that since only one family had secured
two square meals and another two families had secured one square meal plus one
poor/partial meal for the full month, the remaining 997 Adivasi households (99.7
percent) were facing chronic hunger during the previous month of the survey.
When asked as for how many days of the previous month they had secured two
poor/partial meals a day, 36 per cent said that they could not get this kind of food
even for a single day of the previous month and only 15.2 per cent said that they had
eaten this kind of food for the whole month. 13.7 per cent of the sample households
had eaten this category of food for 25-30 days, 11.3 per cent for 20-25 days, 7.4 per
cent for 15-20 days, 11.4 per cent for 10-15 days and 3 per cent of households had
eaten this kind of food for 5 days of the previous month.
It is interesting to note here that there is striking variation between Rajasthan and
Jharkand data on this count. While 104 Adivasi families (20.8 per cent) from
Rajasthan had eaten two poor/partial meals on all days of the previous month, only
48 households (9.6 per cent) from Jharkhand had eaten two poor/partial meals on all
days of the previous month. While only 144 households (28.8 per cent) from
Rajasthan could not get this kind of food even for a single day of the previous month,
216 households (43.2 per cent) from Jharkhand could not secure this kind of food
even for a single day of the previous month. While 76(15.2 per cent) samples from
Rajasthan had eaten this kind of food for 25-30 days of the previous month, that
figure for Jharkhand is only 61(12.2 per cent) families. While 69 samples (13.8 per
cent) from Rajasthan had eaten this kind of food for 20-25 days, 49(9.8 per cent)

44. 43
families for 15-20 days and 34(6.8 per cent) families for 10-15 days of the previous
month, these figures for Jharkhand are respectively 44(8.8 per cent), 25(5 per cent)
and 80 samples (16 per cent).
When asked as for how many days of the previous month they had eaten one
poor/partial meal plus one distress meal a day, 14.5 per cent of total samples said
that for the whole month they had eaten only this kind of food, 11.8 per cent for 10-
15 days of the month, 10.9 per cent for 15-20 days, 14 per cent had eaten for 20-25
days and 3.6 per cent for 25-30 days of the previous month. While 12.4 per cent
Adivasi households from Rajasthan had eaten only this category of food on all days
of the previous month, 16.6 per cent samples from Jharkhand had eaten this kind of
food on all days of the previous month. 5 per cent of samples from Rajasthan had
eaten this kind of food for 25-30 days, 11.2 per cent for 20-25 days, 10.6 per cent for
15-20 days and 11.2 per cent for 10-15 days. The respective figures for Jharkhand
are 2.2 per cent, 16.8 per cent, 11.2 per cent and 12.4 per cent
When asked as for how many days of the previous month they had survived only on
one poor/partial meal,1.9 per cent among total samples said that for the whole
previous month they could secure only this kind of food, 1.1 per cent for 25-30 days
of the month,3.2 per cent for 20-25 days of the month,3.9 per cent for 15-20 days of
the month and 14 per cent of the Adivasi households had survived on this kind of
food for 10-15 days of the previous month. This data suggests that 24.1 percent of
the surveyed Adivasi households had eaten only one poor/ partial meal-a-day for 10-
30 days of the previous month.
State-wise segregation of this data once again shows very striking difference
between Rajasthan and Jharkhand. While only 0.8 per cent of sample families from
Rajasthan had to survive on only this category of food for all 30 days of the previous
month, 3 per cent of Jharkhand samples had eaten only this kind of food for all 30
days of the previous month. 1.4 per cent of Rajasthan samples had survived only on
this kind of food for 20-25 days, 1.8 per cent for 15-20 days, 6.2 per cent for 10-15

45. 44
days and 8.8 per cent for 5 days of the previous month. The corresponding figures
for the state of Jharkhand are 5 per cent, 6 per cent, 21.8 per cent and 4.4 per cent.
Two Adivasi households among total samples had survived the full previous month
by eating only one distress meal-a-day, one sample for 25-30 days, two samples for
20-25 days, 5 samples for 15-20 days, 20 samples for 10-15 days, 3 samples for 8
days and another 20 samples for 5 days of the previous month. The data on this
count suggests that 5.4 per cent of Adivasi households had survived for more than 5
days of the previous month eating only this category of food. The proportion of
samples surviving only on this category of food for more than 10 days of the month
is 3.4 per cent.
Three families from the total samples had no food at all for 10 days of the previous
month, 1 sample for 8 days of the month, 5 samples for 5 days, 7 samples for 4 days,
5 samples for 3 days, 7 samples for 2 days and 3 samples for one day had no food
at all. It is interesting to note that all except one of these samples are from Rajasthan.
While only one family from Jharkhand could not secure any food for 5 days of the
previous month, there were 30 families from Rajasthan who could not eat any food
for 1-10 days of the previous month. This variation is most probably because of
higher availability of jungle food and minor forest produce in Jharkhand in
comparison to Rajasthan. Rajasthan sample villages had very scarce jungle food.
This underscores the importance of forests in providing livelihood and food security
to tribals especially during distress and drought conditions. Forests used to function
as buffer between Adivasis and hunger. Forests used to provide insurance against
hunger and starvation in traditional tribal economy. With rampant destruction,
depletion, degradation and diversion of forests, that traditional cushion has
disappeared in most parts of Adivasi areas of India.
The monthly hunger profile of the sample Adivasi households clearly shows that
24.1 percent of the households had eaten only one poor/ partial meal-a-day for 10-
30 days of the previous month, 3.4 per cent of the households had survived by

46. 45
eating only one distress meal-a-day for more than 10 days and 2.8 per cent samples
had not eaten any food for 2-10 days of the previous month. This data suggests
that 30.3per cent of Adivasi households were facing semi-starvation during
the previous month of survey.
Jungle food consumption during previous month
59.9 per cent of sample households in Rajasthan & Jharkhand said that they did not
eat any jungle food during the previous one month of survey. 18.3 per cent said that
approximately one-fourth of their diet consisted of jungle food during previous one
month, 7 per cent samples said that half of their diet during the month consisted of
jungle food, 7.9 per cent said that it was up to three-fourth and 6.9 per cent samples
said that about 75-100 per cent of their previous month’s diet consisted of jungle
food only.
State-wise segregation of data about proportion of jungle food in the diet of previous
month again suggests that proportion of jungle food consumption in Jharkhand is
much higher than that in Rajasthan. While only 31.6 per cent of Jharkhand samples
had not consumed any jungle food during previous one month, a huge 88.2 per cent
of Rajasthan households had not eaten any jungle food during previous month.
Against 25.6 per cent of Jharkhand households whose one –fourth of diet consisted
of jungle food, only 11 per cent of Rajasthan samples said that one –fourth of their
diet consisted of jungle food. While only one sample (0.2 per cent) from Rajasthan
could say that half of his family’s diet consisted of jungle food, 69 samples (13.8 per
cent) from Jharkhand said that about half of their diet during the previous month
consisted of jungle food. Again, while 15.8 per cent of samples from Jharkhand said
that three-fourth of their diet consisted of jungle food, not a single sample from
Rajasthan did say so. While only 3 samples (0.6 per cent) from Rajasthan said that
75-100 per cent of their diet during previous month consisted of only jungle food, 66
samples (13.2 per cent) from Jharkhand said that 75-100 per cent of their diet during
the previous one month consisted of jungle food.

47. 46
Protein (pulses& animal products) consumption during previous month
33.3 per cent of samples out of 1000 Adivasi households from Rajasthan and
Jharkhand could not get any pulse or animal product even on a single day of
the previous month. 3.7 per cent could get it on just one day, 10.7 per cent for two
days of the month, 6.5 per cent for three days, 8 per cent for four days, 10.4 per cent
for five days, 2.8 per cent for six days, 2.5 per cent for seven days, 5.7 per cent for
eight days, 0.2 per cent for nine days, another 5.7 per cent for ten days, 6 per cent
for 12-15 days, and remaining 4.5 per cent samples for 16-30 days of the month.
These figures suggest that only 10.5 per cent of Adivasi households could eat some
pulses or animal products for 12-30 days of the previous month. The remaining 89.5
per cent of samples either did not get these items at all or did not get for more than
ten days of the month.
In Rajasthan, 33.6 per cent households could not eat any pulse or animal product
during the previous month of the survey, 2.6 per cent could get it on just one
day,11.2 per cent for only two days, 4.6 per cent for three days, 7.4 per cent for four
days, 6.8 per cent for five days,1.8 per cent for six days, 2.8 per cent for seven days,
another 7.4 per cent for eight days, 0.2 per cent for 9 days and 6.6 per cent for ten
days of the month. 8.2 per cent of Rajasthan Adivasis did get it for 12-15 days and
remaining 6.8 per cent for 16-30 days of the month. To put these figures differently,
while only 15 per cent of Rajasthan samples could secure some pulses or animal
products for 12-30 days of the previous month, a huge 85 per cent of samples either
did not get it at all or did not get for more than ten days of the month.
33 per cent of Jharkhand households had not eaten any pulse or animal product
during previous month, 4.8 per cent had secured it for just one day, 10.2 per cent for
two days,8.4 per cent for three days, 8.6 per cent for four days, 14 per cent for five
days, 3.8 per cent for six days, 2.2 per cent for seven days, 4 per cent for eight days,
0.2 per cent for nine days, 4.8 per cent for ten days, 3.8 per cent for 12-15 days and
remaining 2.2 per cent for 16-30 days of the month. In other words, only a tiny 6 per

48. 47
cent of Adivasis in Jharkhand had eaten some pulses or animal products for more
than 15 days of the previous month. The remaining 94 per cent either did not eat
these items on any day or did not eat for more than 15 days of the month.
It is interesting to note here that while 6.8 per cent of Rajasthan households had
secured these products for 16-30 days of the previous month, only an abysmal 2.2
per cent of Jharkhand samples could get these items for the same period. Moreover,
while 1.6 per cent of Rajasthan samples had secured these sources of protein for
the full month, only 0.6 per cent of Jharkhand households had secured some pulses
or animal products throughout previous month. These figures clearly suggest that
consumption of pulses and animal products was slightly better in Rajasthan in
comparison of Jharkhand. However, it must be remembered that consumption of
jungle food is much higher in the case of Jharkhand.
Annual Hunger Profile
To assess and understand the level of hunger and food insecurity among these
1000 Adivasi households of Rajasthan and Jharkhand during previous one year of
the survey, they were asked as for how many months of the previous year they
could secure two square meals-a-day. A staggering 99.8 per cent of Adivasi
households said that they could not get two square meals even for a single
month of the previous year. Of the remaining two samples, one had secured
two square meals only for one month and just one (0.1 per cent) had eaten two
square meals for the whole previous year. Therefore, it is clear that out of 1000
Adivasi households surveyed, 99.9 per cent of them were facing one or
another level of hunger and food insecurity throughout the previous year.
Moreover, out of 500 sample Adivasi households surveyed in Rajasthan, not a
single had secured two square meals for the whole previous year. Therefore, it
is extremely distressing to note that 100 per cent of sample Adivasi
households in Rajasthan were facing chronic hunger throughout the previous
year.

49. 48
When asked as for how many months of the previous year they could secure one
square meal plus one poor/partial meal-a-day, 99 per cent of the samples said that
they did not get this kind of food even for a single month of the previous year. Two
samples had secured this category of food for 11-12 months, one for 10 months, one
for 8 months, one for 6 months, one for 5 months, one for 4 months and three
samples had secured this kind of food for just 1 month of the previous year.
While one sample from Rajasthan had secured for 11 months of the previous year
this kind of food, one could get for 8 months and one another did get just for 6
months of the year. In Jharkhand, one had secured this kind of food for 11months,
one for 10 months, 1 for 5 months, 1 for 4 months and 3 had secured this kind of
food for 1 month of the previous year.
When asked as for how many months of the previous year they did manage to get
two poor/partial meals-a-day, only 8.1 per cent of total samples said that they could
afford this kind of food for all months of the previous year. 27 per cent of the
respondents said that they did not get this kind of food even for a single month of the
previous year. 2.2 per cent of the respondents had secured this kind of food just for
1 month of the year, 8.7 per cent for 2 months,4.2 per cent for 3 months,19.2 per
cent for 4 months, 7.7 per cent for 6 months, 7.4 per cent for 8 months, 6.1 per cent
for 10 months and just 8.1 per cent of the Adivasi households had secured this kind
of food for 12 months of the previous year.
While 116 (23.2 per cent) samples from Rajasthan did not get this kind of food even
for a single month of the previous year, that figure for Jharkhand is 154 (30.8 per
cent). 57 (11.4 per cent) samples from Rajasthan had secured this kind of food for
12 months,12 (2.4 per cent) for 11 months, 33 (6.6 per cent) for 10 months, 14 (2.8
per cent) for 9 months, 46 (9.2 per cent) for 8 months, 10(2 per cent) for 7 months,
45 (9 per cent) for 6 months, 17 (3.4 per cent) for 5 months, 68 (13.6 per cent) for 4
months, 33 (6.6 per cent) for 3 months, 35 (7 per cent) for 2 months and 14 (2.8 per
cent) samples for just 1 month. The corresponding figures for Jharkhand are 24 (4.8

50. 49
per cent) samples for 12 months, 17 (3.4 per cent) for 11 months, 28(5.6 per cent)
for 10 months, 18(3.6 per cent) for 9 months, 28 (5.6 per cent) for 8 months, 4 (0.8
per cent) for 7 months, 32(6.4 per cent) for 6 months, 2 (0.4 per cent) for 5
months,124 (24.8 per cent) for 4 months, 9 (1.8 per cent) for 3 months, 52 (10.4 per
cent) for 2 months and 8 (1.6 per cent) samples for just 1 month.
When asked as for how many months of the previous year they did get one poor/
partial meal plus one distress meal-a-day, only 2.7 per cent said that they had
secured this kind of food throughout the year. 21.7 per cent of the samples could not
get this kind of food even for a single month of the year. 7.7 per cent of the
households had eaten this kind of food for 2 months of the previous year, 15.7 per
cent for 4 months, 17.9 per cent for 6 months, 14.1 per cent for 8 months and 3.1
per cent had eaten this kind of food for 10 months of the previous year.
While 131 (26.2 per cent) samples from Rajasthan could not secure this category of
food even for a single month, that figure for Jharkhand is 86 (17.2 per cent). 6 (1.2
per cent) samples from Rajasthan had eaten this kind of food for 1 month,35 (7 per
cent) for 2 months, 25(5 per cent) for 3 months,66 (13.2 per cent) for 4 months,36
(7.2 per cent) for 5 months,86 (17.2 per cent) for 6 months,22 (4.4 per cent) for 7
months, 51 (10.2 per cent) for 8 months, 1 (0.2 per cent) for 9 months, 20 (4 per cent)
for 10 months, 7 (1.4 per cent) for 11 months and only 14 (2.8 per cent) samples
from Rajasthan had eaten this kind of food for 12 months.
The corresponding figures for the state of Jharkhand are 27 (5.4 per cent) samples
for 1 month, 42 (8.4 per cent) for 2 months,17 (3.4 per cent) for 3 months,91 (18.2
per cent) for 4 months,14 (2.4 per cent) samples for 5 months,93 (18.6 per cent) for
6 months,8(1.6 per cent) for 7 months,90 (18 per cent) for 8 months,8(1.6 per cent)
for 9 months, 11 (2.2 per cent) for 10 months and only 13 (2.6 per cent) households
had secured this kind of food for 12 months.

51. 50
When asked as for how many months of the previous year they had to survive on
just one poor/partial meal–a-day, 1.3 per cent said that they could get only this kind
of food for the whole year, 3 per cent had to survive on this kind of food for 8 months
of the previous year, 2.7 per cent for 6 months of the year, 15.6 per cent for 4
months, 23.8 per cent for 2 months and 10.8 per cent of Adivasis had to make do
only with this kind of food for 1 month of the previous year. This data implies that
22.6 per cent of Adivasi households in these sample states had to survive only on
this kind of food for 4-12 months of the previous year.
While 6 (1.2 per cent) samples from Rajasthan had survived only on one poor/partial
meal-a-day for all 12 months of the previous year, that figure for Jharkhand is 7 (1.4
per cent). 1 (0.2 per cent) sample from Rajasthan had eaten this kind of food for 11
months of the previous year, 3 (0.6 per cent) for 10 months, 2 (0.4 per cent) for 9
months, 6 (1.2 per cent) for 8 months,2 (0.4 per cent) for 7 months,10(2 per cent) for
6 months, 2 (0.4 per cent) for 5 months, 28 (5.6 per cent) for 4 months, 23 (4.6 per
cent) for 3 months, 106 (21.2 per cent) for 2 months and 66 (13.2 per cent) families
for 1 month. The corresponding figures for Jharkhand are 5 (1 per cent) families for
11 months, 3 (0.6 per cent) families for 10 month, 7 (1.4 per cent) families for 9
month, 24 (4.8 per cent) for 8 months, 2 (0.4 per cent) for 7 months, 17 (3.4 per cent)
for 6 months, 5 (1 per cent) for 5 months, 128 (25.6 per cent) for 4 months, 27 (5.4
per cent) for 3 months, 132 (26.4 per cent) for 2 months and 42 (8.4 per cent)
families for one month.
There were 11 (1.1 per cent) Adivasi households who had survived by eating only
distress food for 5-11 months of the previous year. Another 39 (3.9 per cent) families
could eat only this kind of food for 4 months, 50 (5 per cent) families for 3 months,
102 (10.2 per cent) families for 2 months and 77 (7.7 per cent) families for 1 month
of the previous year. This data implies that 10 per cent of sample Adivasi
households in Rajasthan and Jharkhand had to survive only on distress food
for 3-11 months of the previous year. If this figure is combined with 22.6 per
cent of samples who had survived for 4-12 months only on one poor/ partial

52. 51
meal-a-day, we get a very disturbing figure of 32.6 per cent of sample Adivasi
households living in semi- starvation during the previous one year of survey.
9 (1.8 per cent) samples from Rajasthan could eat only distress food for 5-11
months, 34 (6.8 per cent) for 4 months, 50 (10 per cent) for 3 months, 56 (11.2 per
cent) for 2 months and 34 (6.8 per cent) for 1 month of the previous year. 2 (0.4 per
cent) samples from Jharkhand had eaten only distress food for 5-11 months, 5 (1
per cent) for 4 months, 46 (9.2 per cent) for 2 months and 43(8.6 per cent) samples
for 1 month of the year.
There were 3 (0.3 per cent) Adivasi households who had survived on only jungle
food for 2 months and 26 (2.6 per cent) samples for 1 month of the previous year. All
3 samples who had survived on jungle food for 2 months were from Rajasthan. Out
of the 26 samples who could get only jungle food for 1 month of the previous year, 9
(0.9 per cent) were from Rajasthan and 17 (1.7 per cent) were from Jharkhand.
There were 57 (5.7 per cent) Adivasi households who had not eaten any food
whatsoever for one month of the previous year. However, this state of hunger was
not suffered in continuation but was spread over the whole year. Therefore, it does
not necessarily cause “starvation deaths”. But this is definitely a firm indicator of the
state of semi-starvation prevailing in this group of Adivasi households. Out of these
57 samples, 42 (4.2 per cent) were from Rajasthan and only 15 (1.5 per cent) from
Jharkhand.
Jungle food consumption during previous one year
51.4 per cent of households in Rajasthan & Jharkhand said that they did not eat any
jungle food during the previous one year of survey. 23.2 per cent said that
approximately one-fourth of their diet consisted of jungle food during previous one
year, 7.9 per cent samples said that half of their diet during the year consisted of

53. 52
jungle food, 9.1 per cent said that it was up to three-fourth and 8.4 per cent samples
said that 75-100 per cent of their previous year’s diet consisted of jungle food.
State-wise segregation of data about proportion of jungle food in Adivasis’ diet of
previous one year again confirms that proportion of jungle food consumption in
Jharkhand is much higher than in the case of Rajasthan. While only 25 per cent of
Jharkhand samples had not consumed any jungle food during previous one year, an
overwhelming 77.8 per cent of Rajasthan households had not eaten any jungle food
during previous year. Against 26.8 per cent of Jharkhand households whose one –
fourth of diet consisted of jungle food, only 19.6 per cent of Rajasthan samples said
that one –fourth of their diet consisted of jungle food. While only four samples (0.8
per cent) from Rajasthan could say that half of their families’ diet consisted of jungle
food,75 samples (15 per cent) from Jharkhand said that about half of their diet
during the previous year consisted of jungle food. Again, while 18.2 per cent of
samples from Jharkhand said that three-fourth of their diet consisted of jungle food,
none of the samples from Rajasthan could say so. While only 9 samples (1.8 per
cent) from Rajasthan said that their 75-100 per cent of diet during previous year
consisted of jungle food, 75 samples (15 per cent) from Jharkhand said that 75-
100 per cent of their diet during the previous one year consisted of jungle food.
Protein (pulses& animal products) consumption during previous year
It is shocking to note that 30.8 per cent of sample households in Rajasthan and
Jharkhand could not secure any pulse or animal product even for one month
of the previous year. Less than 1 per cent of sample households were able to
eat some pulses or animal products during the whole previous year. 3.8 per
cent could secure these items for 7-11 months, 8 per cent of samples had eaten
these protein sources between 4-6 months, 7.3 per cent for three months, 19.4 per
cent households had eaten these items for two months and 29.2 per cent
households were able to eat these sources of protein hardly for one month in the
previous year. To put these figures differently, 86.7 per cent of Adivasi households in

54. 53
Rajasthan and Jharkhand either could not eat any pulse & animal product or did eat
for hardly three months during the year. Therefore, these figures clearly suggest that
at least 86.7 per cent of Adivasi households were suffering from severe
protein deficiency and were vulnerable to many opportunistic diseases. Severe
protein deficiency among Adivasi children is responsible for very high infant mortality
rate in these areas and this problem has now assumed alarming proportions in
Adivasi areas of the country.
Among Rajasthan samples, only 1.4 per cent had secured some protein source
throughout previous year, 29.2 per cent could not eat any pulse or animal product
during the whole previous year, 25 per cent could get it for just one month, 17.4 per
cent for two months, 9.4 per cent for three months, 4.6 per cent for four months, 2.8
per cent for five months, 3.4 per cent for six months and 5.4 per cent for 7-12
months. These figures clearly suggest that 81 per cent of households in
Rajasthan either did not eat any pulse or animal product or did eat only for 1-3
months during the previous one year.
In Jharkhand, only two sample households (0.4 per cent) had eaten some pulse or
animal product throughout previous year. 32.4 per cent of households did not get
any pulse or animal product to eat during the previous one year, 33.4 per cent
samples had eaten it for just one month, 21.4 per cent for two months, 5.2 per cent
for 3 months and only 7.4 per cent for 4-12 months of previous year. To put these
figures differently, an alarming 92.4 per cent of Adivasi households in
Jharkhand either did not eat any pulse or animal product or did eat only for 1-3
months of the previous one year.
Food Stocks at Home
To assess and understand the immediate level of hunger and food security of the
Adivasi households, they were asked as to how much of food stock they had at
home. 4.7 per cent of the households had no food stock at all on the day of

55. 54
survey, 18.7 per cent had less than 10 kg of food grains at home, 45.9 per cent
of them had less than 50 kg,15.9 per cent had less than 100 kg,13 per cent had
between 100-150kg, 3.4 per cent 150-200 kg,6.5 per cent had 200-250 kg,1.3 per
cent between 250-300 kg, 4 per cent between 300-350 kg, 0.4 per cent had between
350-400 kg and there were only 9.7 per cent of households who had more than 400
kg of food grains at their home on the day of survey.
Food stocks at home - Both States
6.5
3.4
13
15.9
45.9
18.7
4.7
0.6
1.9
0.6
0
1.3
4
0.4
0.5
1.7
3.2
0.2
0.50.1
0.1
0.2 No stock
Less than 10
0-50
50-100
100-150
150-200
200-250
250-300
300-350
350-400
400-450
450-500
500-550
550-600
600-650
650-700
700-750
750-800
800-850
850-900
900-950
950-1000
In Rajasthan, 4.6 per cent of Adivasi households had no food stock, 17.4 per cent
had less than 10 kg of food grains, 54.6 per cent had less than 50 kg, 14.4 per cent
50-100 kg, 15.6 per cent had 100-150 kg, 3 per cent 150-200 kg, 5.8 per cent 200-
250 kg, 0.8 per cent 250-300 kg and only 5.8 per cent had more than 300 kg of food
grains in their homes on the day of survey. In Jharkhand, 4.8 per cent households
had no food grains in their homes, 20 per cent had less than 10 kg, 37.2 per cent
less than 50 kg, 17.4 per cent 50-100 kg, 10.4 per cent 100-150 kg, 3.8 per cent
150-200 kg, 7.2 per cent 200-250 kg, 1.8 per cent 250-300 kg and 22.2 per cent
households had more than 300 kg of food grains in their homes. It is striking to note
here that while only 5.8 per cent of Rajasthan households had more than 300 kg of

56. 55
food grains in their homes, 22.2 per cent of Adivasi households in Jharkhand had
over 300 kg of food grains in their homes.
Adivasis’ own perception about their state of food security
Proportion of households with declined food security
13.4
94.6
86.6
5.4
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
Rajasthan Jharkhand
States
PercentagesofYes/No
Yes
No
To get Adivasis’ own perception about their current state of food security in
comparison to that 2-3 decades ago, they were asked as to whether their household
food security had improved or weakened in last 25 years. A staggering 90.6
percent of total samples said that their food security had weakened. Only 9.4
per cent of Adivasis said that their household food security had improved in
comparison to 25 years ago. State-wise segregation of the response to this question
suggests that while 94.6 per cent of Rajasthan Adivasis think that their food security
has weakened in last 25 years, only 86.6 per cent of Jharkhand Adivasis perceived a
decline in their household food security.
Reasons for decline in food security
To know Adivasis’ perception about the main reasons for the decline in their
household food security in recent past, they were asked to identify three main

57. 56
reasons for the same out of a list of 9 probable reasons given to them, (1. Land
alienation; 2.Decline in MFP/deforestation/degradation; 3.Decline in livestock;
4.Decline in actual wages; 5.Decline in work availability; 6. Growth in family size ;
7.Development projects; 8.Conservation of forests/wildlife; 9.Others). 54.9 per cent
of the respondents identified decline in availability of minor forest produce
(MFP) due to deforestation and degradation of forests as the most important
reason for weakening of their food security. Decline in work availability was
identified as the second most important reason for their chronic hunger. They
identified decline in livestock as the third important reason for their plight. Growth in
family size was identified as the fourth reason, land alienation as fifth, decline in
actual wages as the sixth, other factors as seventh, conservation of forests and
wildlife as eighth and development projects as the ninth most important reason for
their weakened food security.
State-wise segregation of data gives some interesting variations in the perception of
state samples. While highest proportion ofsamples from Rajasthan identified decline
in MFP/deforestation and degradation of forests as the most important reason for the
weakening of their food security, decline in work availability was identified by highest
proportion of Jharkhand respondents as the most important reason for their
deteriorating food security. While decline in livestock was identified as the second
most important reason by Rajasthan Adivasis, Jharkhand Adivasis identified decline
in MFP due to deforestation as the second most important reason for their plight.
Rajasthan Adivasis said that decline in work availability was the third important
reason for their poor food security and those from Jharkhand felt that decline in
actual wages was the third biggest factor behind their chronic hunger.
It is interesting to note here that while Rajasthan samples think that growth in family
size is the fifth biggest factor for their deprivation, those from Jharkhand hold it as
the fourth biggest factor for their weakened food security. It was striking to find that
land alienation was not identified by any of the sample states as one of the top three
factors involved in the decline in Adivasis’ household food security. Land alienation