Communities that are in minor. Adivasis as a current minor community in India. A lot more about it inside.
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3. Content
Minority Community
Characteristics of Minority Group
Ethnic Minority Community
Ethnic Minority Communities around theWorld
Ethnic Minority Communities in India
Adivasis
Cultural Background
Hardships
Champion of Adivasis
4. Minority Community
Minority community is a culturally, ethnically, or racially distinct group that
coexists with but is subordinate to a more dominant group. Subordinacy is the
chief defining characteristic of a minority group.
Sociologist LouisWirth defined a minority group as “a group of people who,
because of their physical or cultural characteristics, are singled out from the
others in the society in which they live for differential and unequal treatment,
and who therefore regard themselves as objects of collective discrimination.”
5. The role of minority groups varies from society to society depending on the
structure of the social system and the relative power of the minority group. For
instance, the degree of social mobility of a member of a minority group depends
on whether the society in which he lives is closed or open.
A minority may disappear from a society via assimilation, a process through which
a minority group replaces its traditions with those of the dominant culture.
However, complete assimilation is very rare.
Efforts to forcibly eliminate a minority from a society have ranged from expulsion
to mob violence, ethnic cleansing, and genocide.These forms of oppression
obviously have immediate and long-term negative effects on those who are
victimized.They typically devastate the economic, political, and mental health.
The late 19th and early 20th centuries saw widespread mob violence against
minorities, including pogroms against Jews (in Russia) and lynching of blacks,
Roman Catholics, immigrants, and others in the United States.
6. Characteristics of Minority Group
According to Charles Wagley and Marvin Harris (1958), a minority group is
distinguished by five characteristics:
(1) unequal treatment and less power over their lives
(2) distinguishing physical or cultural traits like skin color or language
(3) involuntary membership in the group
(4) awareness of subordination
(5) high rate of in-group marriage. Additional examples of minority groups might
include the LBGT community, religious practitioners whose faith is not widely
practiced where they live, and people with disabilities.
7. Ethnic Minority Community
An ethnic minority is a group of people who differ in race or color or in national,
religious, or cultural origin from the dominant group — often the majority
population — of the country in which they live.
9. Ethnic Minority Communities in India
India is known for its rich and varied traditions and is one of the important
representatives of the cultures of Asia.There are over 1, 652 different languages
spoken in India.The ethnic groups are identified as castes or clans and groups
have no official status after the Indian Independence in 1947.
However, there are scheduled castes and tribes registered as a part of positive
ethnic discrimination.There are over 6000 ethnicities in India and each one of
them is differentiated according to language, religion, caste and communities
each following a different tradition and culture.
12. Who are Adivasis?
The word ‘Adivasi’ is derived from Sanskrit and means ‘the earliest inhabitants'.
The Adivasis are indigenous peoples and are believed to be the first inhabitants of
India. Adivasis have distinct languages, religions and forms of self-government,
together with a deep bond to their land and respect for nature. 8% of India’s
population are Adivasis.There are over 500 different Adivasi groups in India.
Adivasi communities do not have any hierarchy among them.They are totally
different from communities organized around principles of the caste system.
The religion of Adivasis is different from Islam, Hinduism or Christianity.The
Adivasis worship their ancestral, village or nature spirits.
13. Cultural Background
Adivasis in India have consistently contributed to the diverse culture of the
country.They are experts in wildlife and nature conservation, have knowledge
of various sustainable agriculture and living practices, ethno-medicine and
have a rich culture of stories, literature, art and dance forms.
16. The Adivasis were pushed out of the forests of Jharkhand and they had to migrate
to other parts of India and the world.The Adivasis experienced hardship and
death during the migration. Five lakh Adivasis had perished in these migrations.
When forests were cleared for mining a majority of tribals are displaced. Wide
areas of forest land were submerged under water when many dams were built in
India after 1947. Due to this many Adivasis were displaced from the States of
Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Orissa and Jharkhand.
In the North east, Adivasi lands are war-torn and occupied by the military.
There are 54 national parks and 372 wildlife sanctuaries in India.These Parks
cover an area of 1, 09,652 sq km. of forest land.The Adivasis were evicted from
these forests.
Hardships faced by the Adivasis
17.
18. Jaipal formed an Adivasi Mahasabha in
1938 which asked for a separate state of
“Jharkhand”, to be carved out of Bihar.
To the tribals of Chotanagpur, he was
Marang Gomke or “Great Leader”.
In the constituent assembly, Jaipal
Singh came to represent the tribals not
just of his native plateau, but also of all
of India.
Jaipal Singh Munda
Champion of Adivasis