The books have always taught us that we youngsters are the future generation of India. According to research, this fact is not entirely true. We youngsters do not represent the entire generation in India. There is another commodity, living far away from the reach of the powerful media. They are the rich generation of India’s Adivasi (tribal) communities. Adivasis make up eight percent of India’s population. They stand as an unknown identity of our nation altho their rich culture has always contributed to the diversity of India.

The tribes in India form a significant part of the total population. As the new technologies emerged and India took a step forward to development, these tribes started drowning in the crisis. The law ignores that they are the citizens of our country; there are numerous contradictions about reservation, yet there is no answer that will improve their condition. The tribals are facing several serious problems. The major among these are poor economic conditions. Most of the tribals lead a life of poverty and hardships. As they lead a

nomadic life, their children don’t get formal education. Most of the tribal people do not have adequate money to start their ventures. The banks are not prepared to lend them because they keep moving around from place to place. The other major problem faced by our tribals is that they do not live at proper places where they have access to water, sanitation, transportation, and other facilities necessary for their growth. Apart from the financial loss during this lockdown, brutal acts against humanity have come into notice. A 13-year-old girl from tribal-dominated Sundargarh district in Odisha, on a fine day, decided to go and visit a nearby fair in the Biramitrapur area on 25th marc. A sudden lockdown got announced, and the fair got canceled, and the little girl left stranded in the area wanting to go home but no reasonable means to do so. After some while, she was spotted by patrolling police. She was brought to the police station by the cops. She got raped by the very inspector in charge of the police station Anand Chandra Majhi. Since that day, she was repeatedly summoned to the police station and raped again and again. The girl got pregnant, and the cops with her stepfather conducted an abortion at a local community clinic. A protection officer filed a complaint against the officers, the doctor, and the stepfather. The inquiry is still pending; as usual, it was difficult to find this detailed report of this barbaric crime which was supposed to be the national headline. Also, a disturbing video of a tribal girl brutally thrashed, by her family members, allegedly for eloping with a man from her village was found on social media. In the viral video, a man is holding both the hands of the girl, while two other men thrash her repeatedly. MS Bhabhor, Superintendent of Police, Chhota Udepur district told that the victim was a 16-year-old woman, a resident of Rangpur village in the district. Local news reports confirmed that the incident was from Chhota Udepur district in Gujarat and that the girl belongs to a tribal family. The reports further said that the teenager was beaten in public by her family members for allegedly eloping with a man from the village.

If you are wondering why you should contribute towards their development, Here is why-The first and the most important reason is that dignity of all communities should be respected and no community should be living in such harsh conditions like these tribes. Secondly, the tribal communities have consistently contributed to the diverse culture of the country. They are experts in wildlife and nature conservation, know various sustainable agriculture and living practices ethnomedicine, and have a rich culture of stories, literature, art, and dance forms. So why not protect our culture?

Also, they help to protect our environment. fight climate change and build resilience to natural disasters. These people have continued to experience extreme acts of inhumanity mentioned above. The contradictions continue to evolve for ages, yet no significant improvement has come into notice. Gandhiji coined a term for them – Harijans yet we treat them like they are the lowest rung of the society. Remember when you bestow respect for the tribal communities you offer honor towards your nation.