GS Paper I 2025 · Q20
15 marks · 250 words Social empowerment, communalism, regionalism & secularismDoes tribal development in India centre around two axes, those of displacement and of rehabilitation? Give your opinion.
Approach · directive: “give your opinion”
What it asks · Assess whether displacement and rehabilitation define tribal development in India, and argue for a broader, rights-based view.
The question has 2 parts — answer each
- State whether displacement and rehabilitation have been the two axes of tribal development — the evidence for and against
- Give your opinion: argue for a broader, rights-based view and the way ahead
Open with · Tribal areas hold much of India's forests, minerals and river sites, so 'development' has often reached tribals first as displacement.
Cover
- Yes, largely: dams, mines and industries (e.g., Sardar Sarovar, mineral belts of Odisha–Jharkhand) have displaced tribals disproportionately.
- Rehabilitation has often failed: cash compensation, loss of forest access and community life, cultural alienation — fuelling unrest.
- Legal correctives: Fifth and Sixth Schedules, PESA 1996, Forest Rights Act 2006, and the 2013 land acquisition law with social impact assessment.
- Niyamgiri (2013): the Supreme Court let gram sabhas decide on religious and cultural rights — consent over mere compensation.
- But development is wider: Eklavya schools, PM-JANMAN for PVTGs, Dharti Aaba Janjatiya Gram Utkarsh Abhiyan, Van Dhan and MSP for minor forest produce.
- Gaps remain: weak FRA implementation, land alienation, malnutrition, low literacy and poor health access.
Close with · Displacement and rehabilitation have dominated tribal experience; development must now proceed with consent, on tribal terms, in the spirit of Nehru's Panchsheel for tribals.
Add value (verified)
- PM-JANMAN (2023) targets 75 PVTG communities; the ST population was 10.45 crore in Census 2011. Cabinet approves Pradhan Mantri Janjati Adivasi Nyaya Maha Abhiyan — PIB, Nov 2023 ↗“India has ST population of 10.45 crore as per 2011 census, out of which 75 communities located in 18 States and the Union Territory of Andaman and Nicobar Islands have been categorized as Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs).”
Question: UPSC's CS (Main) 2025, GS Paper I — paper ↗. Approach: Minimalist IAS, checked 30 Sept 2026 (how we verify) — UPSC publishes no model answers. ·
Model answer · 304 words (UPSC limit 250) · Minimalist IAS
Tribal areas hold much of India's forests, minerals and dam sites, so 'development' has reached the 10.45 crore Scheduled Tribes (Census 2011) first as displacement — which is why the two axes feel definitive, though they should not be.
Why the statement rings true
- Displacement: dams (Sardar Sarovar), mines and industries in the Odisha–Jharkhand mineral belt uprooted tribals far out of proportion to their share of the population.
- Rehabilitation as failure: cash compensation without land, loss of forest access, scattered resettlement and cultural alienation bred resentment that fed unrest.
- Policy itself came to be framed around these axes — from R&R packages to the 2013 land acquisition law with social impact assessment and consent.
Why it is not the whole picture
- Rights, not resettlement: the Fifth and Sixth Schedules, PESA 1996 and the Forest Rights Act 2006 shift the question from compensation to consent and self-governance.
- Niyamgiri (2013): the Supreme Court let gram sabhas decide whether mining would violate their religious and cultural rights — consent over compensation.
- Human development: Eklavya Model Residential Schools, PM-JANMAN (2023) for 75 PVTG communities, Dharti Aaba Janjatiya Gram Utkarsh Abhiyan, Van Dhan Kendras and MSP for minor forest produce.
- Yet gaps persist: weak FRA implementation, land alienation, malnutrition, low literacy and poor health access.
My opinion
- Displacement and rehabilitation describe the tribal experience of development, not its purpose; development 'done to' tribals will always reduce to these two axes.
- The way forward is development 'with' them, in the spirit of Nehru's tribal Panchsheel: growth along their own genius, respect for their rights in land and forest, their own people in administration, no over-administration, and results judged by human quality rather than money spent.
Displacement and rehabilitation have dominated tribal experience; development must now proceed with consent and on tribal terms, so that the axes become rights and dignity.
Written by Minimalist IAS from facts checked at source (how we verify) — a little fuller than exam length, so every part of the question is covered; in the hall, keep the structure and trim the detail. UPSC publishes no model answers: compare your structure and coverage with this, then write your own.