Table Of ContentPolitics of Education in India
This book studies the state of tribal education in India. India has the single
largest tribal population in the world, yet the tribal community remains
one of the most economically impoverished and marginalized groups in the
country.
The volume
•• Examines the educational status of the tribal population and studies
developmental issues such as unemployment, illiteracy, caste
discrimination, and inequality faced by the community.
•• Studies the implementation and execution of welfare schemes,
initiatives, and reforms in place to tackle issues faced by tribal students
and identifies loopholes in the various centrally sponsored schemes.
•• Emphasizes the importance of the Right to Education Act and presents
policy implications for the educational uplift of India’s very many
millions of tribal people.
A critical study of the Indian education system, this book will be indispensable
to students and researchers of education, education policy, minority studies,
indigenous studies, sociology of education, and South Asian studies.
Ramdas Rupavath, Head, Centre for Human Rights, and Professor in the
Department of Political Science, University of Hyderabad, Telangana State,
India. His research interests include the Indian political process, democratic
theory and practice, tribal development in India, social movements,
education and politics in India, and the political party system in India. He
has published six books and several research papers.
Politics of Education in India
A Perspective from Below
Edited by Ramdas Rupavath
First published 2023
by Routledge
4 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN
and by Routledge
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Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
© 2023 selection and editorial matter, Ramdas Rupavath; individual
chapters, the contributors
The right of Ramdas Rupavath to be identified as the author of the editorial
material, and of the authors for their individual chapters, has been asserted
in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and
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or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means,
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registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation
without intent to infringe.
British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
A catalog record has been requested for this book
ISBN: 978-0-367-22076-1 (hbk)
ISBN: 978-1-032-28551-1 (pbk)
ISBN: 978-0-429-28552-3 (ebk)
DOI: 10.4324/9780429285523
Typeset in Sabon
by Deanta Global Publishing Services, Chennai, India
Contents
List of tables viii
Contributors ix
Acknowledgements xii
Foreword xiv
Abbreviations xvii
SECTION I
Introduction: A Historical Perspective 1
1 Adivasi Education and Politics in India: A Perspective from Below 3
RAMDAS RUPAVATH
SECTION II
Tribal Education: Achievements and Challenges 15
2 Community Participation in the Framework of
Decentralization: Move towards Local Self-Governance 17
SUNITA CHUGH AND CHARU SMITA MALIK
3 Livelihood Security through Land Distribution: An Empirical
Study on Chenchus of Andhra Pradesh 31
L. REDDEPPA
4 Education among Indian Tribes: A Far-Fetched Reality 48
AMIT RAJAK
5 Educational Development of Scheduled Tribe Children:
Opportunities and Challenges 54
MALLI GANDHI
vi Contents
6 Tribal Education in Rajasthan: A Policy Analysis 75
CHERUKU JEEVAN KUMAR
SECTION III
Politics of Tribal Education: Intervention of State and
Non-State Actors 87
7 Impact of Poverty on Education and Adivasis in India 89
RAMDAS RUPAVATH
8 Governance Reform and Implementation of Right to
Education (RTE) Act: A Case Study of Malabar Coastal Region 110
SALMAN A.K.
9 Education and Adivasis’ Cultural Transformation: A
Perspective from Below 119
RAMDAS RUPAVATH
10 Challenges and Opportunities in Formal Schooling of
De-Notified Tribes: A Case Study of Kaikadi Community in
Aurangabad District of Maharashtra 139
SUNIL SONWANE
SECTION IV
Approaches to Tribal Education 149
11 Access and Gate-Keeping Force in Higher Education: A
Narrative Analysis of Students’ Experience in Higher Education 151
BHARAT CHANDRA ROUT
12 Tribal Girls and Dropping Out: The Politics of Girls’ Schooling 164
PANKAJ DAS
13 Issues of Educational Governance in Fifth Scheduled Areas 175
NAYAKARA VEERESHA
Contents vii
14 Education, Cultural Issues, and Politics: Some Reflections
from Todas of the Nilgiris 184
JAKKA PARTHASARATHY
15 Tribal Population of Gujarat and Their Educational
Conditions in the Milieu of Gujarat Model of Development 190
SALU D’ SOUZA
16 Educational System for the Tribes in India: The Need for
Redesigning 201
SATCHIDANANDA MISRA
17 Social Justice Education and Politics of Social Justice 210
HIMANSHU SEKHAR MISHRA
18 Linguistic Politics and Education Policy: A Case Study of
Rajbanshis 219
NANDINI BASISTHA
19 Monastic Education in Ladakh and the Possibilities of
Engaging with Tradition as a Source for Education 227
M.N. RAJESH AND ARNAV K. ANJARIA
Glossary 235
Index 236
Tables
3.1 Expenditure and Extent of Land Purchased from
2000–2001 to 2006–2007 36
3.2 Number of Beneficiaries Who Have Taken Up
Own Cultivation 37
3.3 District-Wise Area and Yield Distribution under
Different Crops 38
3.4 Generation of Income from Different Occupations 42
3.5 Improvement of Family Annual Income before and
after Land 43
3.6 Families Crossed the Poverty Line after Land 44
3.7 Shift of Per Capita Income before to after Land among the
Families 46
6.1 Scheduled Tribe Literacy Rate and Gap, 1961–2011 77
6.2 Budgetary Allocation 84
7.1 Gender Distributions of Children of the Respondents –
District-Wise 94
7.2 Major Sub-castes of STs 95
7.3 Ownership Status of the House in Which Residing 96
7.4 Types of House 97
7.5 Basic Facilities in the House 99
7.6 Difficulty in Getting Admission to School 104
7.7 Reasons for Irregular Attendance 106
8.1 Number of Pupils in LP and UP at Tanur Sub-district 115
13.1 Notified List of Fifth Scheduled Areas 176
13.2 Districts of FSA with Low Literacy Rate (<35%) 177
13.3 Selected Indicators of Elementary Education in Low
Literacy Rate Districts of FSA 178
13.4 Union Government Policies/Programs/Schemes to Promote
Education among Adivasis 181
13.5 Dropout Rates for All Categories, SCs, and Adivasis (STs) 182
13.6 Contributing Factors for the High Dropout Rates among
Adivasis 182
Contributors
Amit Rajak, Department of Political Science, University of Hyderabad, Tel-
angana State, India. He has been working on education in West Bengal.
Arnav K. Anjaria, Assistant Professor of Politics and International Rela-
tions, Amity University of Social Sciences, New Delhi, India. Expert in
China and Tibetan studies. Editor for EthnoGeoPolitics. He has pub-
lished in the field of Tibetan issues.
Bharat Chandra Rout, Fulbright Fellow, USA, Institutions of Eminence
Secretariat, University Grants Commission, Ministry of Education, New
Delhi, India.
C. Jeevan Kumar, Assistant Professor, Department of Public Policy, Law and
Governance, Central University of Rajasthan, Kishangarh, India.
Charu Smita Malik, Associate Professor, National Centre for School Lead-
ership, National Institute of Educational Planning and Administration,
and Senior Consultant, National Centre for School Leadership, National
Institute of Educational Planning and Administration, India.
Himanshu Sekhar Mishra, Assistant Professor, Department of Political Sci-
ence, Utkal University, Odisha, India. He holds a PhD from Jawaharlal
Nehru University, New Delhi, India, and has published numerous articles
in the field of social justice, law, and governance.
Jakka Parthasarathy, Director (Retd), Tribal Research Centre, Ooty, Ben-
galuru, India. One of the most renowned academics in India, he has con-
ducted research on Nilgiri tribes, modern housing and education loans
from banks, and issues like land alienation, indebtedness, deprivation
of rights over forest produce, and lack of basic amenities like drinking
water, electricity, and health facilities. He has published many books and
articles in national and international journals.
