GS Paper I 2025 · Q20
15 marks · 250 words Social empowerment, communalism, regionalism & secularism X-Ray · Core #22Does 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.
It asks 2 things — 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 · Official figures cited by NCERT show over half of those displaced by mining are tribals, so the two axes ring true, though they describe experience, not purpose.
Cover
- Yes, largely: dams (Sardar Sarovar), mines and industries in the Odisha–Jharkhand belt displaced tribals out of proportion; over half of mining-displaced persons are tribals.
- Rehabilitation often failed: cash without land, lost forest access, scattered resettlement and cultural alienation fed unrest.
- Rights axis: Fifth and Sixth Schedules, PESA 1996, Forest Rights Act 2006; Niyamgiri (2013) gave gram sabhas the decision.
- Human development: Eklavya schools, PM-JANMAN for 75 PVTGs, DAJGUA for 63,843 villages, Van Dhan, MSP for minor forest produce.
- Gaps: weak FRA implementation, land alienation, malnutrition, low literacy, poor health access.
- Opinion: development 'with' tribals — consent, land for land, gram sabha control — in the spirit of Nehru's tribal Panchsheel.
Close with · Measured against Nehru's tribal Panchsheel, the true axes of tribal development should be consent and dignity, not displacement and rehabilitation.
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).”
- By official figures, more than half of the persons displaced by mines and mining projects are tribals.NCERT Class 8, Social and Political Life III, chapter 5 ↗“According to official figures, more than 50 per cent of persons displaced due to mines and mining projects are tribals.”
- DAJGUA, launched on 2 October 2024, targets 63,843 tribal-majority villages in 549 districts, benefiting over 5 crore people.Pradhan Mantri Janjatiya Unnat Gram Abhiyan (PMJUGA) — PIB, Ministry of Tribal Affairs ↗“launched as Dharti Aaba Janjatiya Gram Utkarsh Abhiyan (DAJGUA) on 2nd October 2024, targets 63,843 tribal‑majority villages spread over 549 districts and 2,911 blocks in 30 States/UTs, benefiting over 5 crore”
Question: UPSC's CS (Main) 2025, GS Paper I — paper ↗. Approach: Minimalist IAS, checked 16 Oct 2026 (how we verify) — UPSC publishes no model answers. ·
Model answer· 329words · Minimalist IAS
India's 10.45 crore Scheduled Tribes (Census 2011) live largely in its forest, mineral and river tracts, and NCERT notes that, by official figures, over half of those displaced by mining projects are tribals. The two axes therefore ring true, but they describe tribal experience, not what development should mean.
Why the statement rings true
- Displacement: dams (Sardar Sarovar), mines and industries in the Odisha–Jharkhand belt uprooted tribals far out of proportion to their numbers.
- Failed rehabilitation: cash without land, lost forest access and scattered resettlement bred alienation and fed unrest.
- Policy framed on the axes: R&R packages and the 2013 land acquisition law with social impact assessment still centre on compensation.
Why it is not the whole picture
- Rights and self-rule: the Fifth and Sixth Schedules, PESA 1996 and the Forest Rights Act 2006 shift the question from compensation to consent.
- Niyamgiri (2013): the Supreme Court let gram sabhas decide whether mining violated their religious and cultural rights.
- Human development: Eklavya Model Residential Schools, PM-JANMAN (2023) for 75 PVTG communities, Van Dhan Kendras and MSP for minor forest produce.
- Village saturation: DAJGUA, launched on 2 October 2024, targets 63,843 tribal-majority villages across 549 districts.
- 1996: PESA
- 2006: Forest Rights Act
- 2013: Niyamgiri verdict
- 2023: PM-JANMAN
- 2024: DAJGUA
- Persisting gaps: weak FRA implementation, land alienation, malnutrition, low literacy and poor health access remain.
My opinion and way forward
- Experience, not purpose: development 'done to' tribals collapses into displacement and rehabilitation; development 'with' them widens the axes.
- Consent first: honour gram sabha decisions under PESA and FRA before any project, not after.
- Land for land: where displacement is unavoidable, give land, forest access and a share in project gains, not only cash.
- Tribal voices in delivery: staff schools, clinics and Van Dhan units with tribal youth.
Nehru's tribal Panchsheel asked that tribals grow along the lines of their own genius, with their rights in land and forest respected; measured against it, the true axes of tribal development are consent and dignity.
Prepared by Minimalist IAS to the answer standard of Shivam Singh (mentor, 7 years) · facts checked against official sources (how we verify) · updated 16 Oct 2026. UPSC publishes no model answers: compare your structure and coverage with this, then write your own.
