THE LAND AND ITS TRIBAL POPULATION
In terms of area, Madhya Pradesh is the largest state
It
of the Indian union.
is strategically located and
Lying between the
occupies the heart of the country.
parallels of latitudes 17°-48 1
and 26°-52 1
North and the
Meridians of longitude 74°-2 1 and 84°-24' east, it is a land
locked
state surrounded by the
states
Bihar,
Orissa,
Maharashtra,
Rajasthan.
Andhra Pradesh,
of
Uttar
Pradesh,
Gujrat and
About 40% of the total area (274761 km 2 ) is in
the charge of forest department.
Large attachment areas add
not only to the diversity of its forest types but also to
the floristic composition.
Madhya Pradesh is characterised by black cotton soil
interespersed with iow sand stone hills which towards the
east and south merge into a succession of ridges forming an
~
arm of the great Vindhyachal ranges.
The elevation of the major hill chains ranges from 488610 m above ASL with several peaks-.
covered with luxuriant vegetation.
and
is
rice,
under cultivation.
jowar,
linseed,
The hily tracks are
The plateau is fertile
A number of crops such as wheat,
cotton,
maize,
groundnut,
sugarcane and pulses grow in the plateau region.
belongs to tropical dry deciduous type.
16
til,
The forest
Madhya
Pradesh
is
a ~p.!.,cal) region
with
fairly
heavy rainfall during the eastern monsoon season after hot
and dry summer,
succeeded by a dry spell which is broken
only by western monsoon, which is again followed bi a dry
Soil water is absorbed by plants during the dry
period.
spells; water from
loss.
lower level rises up to make good the
Most of the seasonal rainfall is drained off to the
sea through a network of seasonal rivers that cris-cross the
whole of MP.
Most of there rivers have their origin in the
Vindhachal ranges and discharge into the Narmada - Chambal
r
net work.
Topography of the Malwa plateau presents a picture of
r
undulating surface
interspersed with
cotton soil of th9 traps.
-
'gre~hya3
areas
of
rich black
The hill system is formed by the
~
range along the southern scapes of the
plateau of the spurs of the main chain.
Forest cover in Madhya Pradesh is nearly
32
percent
{about 1.55 lakh square km) of the total area of M.P.
The
forests are chiefly of Teak, Sal, Saja, Sala, Beheda, Herra
and Mahua.
There are 11 national parks and
spread over 17542 sq.km.
32
wild life sancturies
It is in this setting that the
tribal population of the state lies.
17
TRIBAL DEMOGRAPHY
According to the 1991 census the tribal population of
India, comprising over three hundred communities, was 87.758
million, constituting 10.46 or total Indian population.
this totality Madhya Pradesh,
Orissa,
In
Bihar and Rajasthan
account for 60% of the entire Scheduled Tribe population of
the country.
Madhya
Pradesh has
a
tribal
population
of
15399034
persons as per census of 1991 which comes to 23 percent of
the total population of the state.
As it is,
17.5 percent
tribal population of the country lives in Madhya Pradesh.
The scheduled zones extends over 13 districts and cover an
area of 25652
square miles,
which is approxim?tely 15
percent of the total area of the
sehed\ll~d
tribals
zones,
form
there
are extensive
considerable
state.
Besides
the
areas
in which
the
proportion
of
the
total
population.
Madhya Pradesh possesses the largest tribal population
in
India,
but
in
one
respect
i.e.
percent
of
tribal
population to total population it ranks second, coming after
Orissa which possesses 24.07 percent tribal population.'-·
In Madhya Pradesh the tribal population is scattered
practically all over the state, but a big portion of it is
concentrated in Bastar,
Bilaspur,
18
Durg, Raigarh,
Balaghat,
Chattisgarh,
Mandla,
Chhindwara and Betul districts
(For
further details see Table 1-4).
Of these tribal groups the most numerous are the Gonds
numbering over 15 lakhs.
They are scattered all over the
central and eastern parts of the state.
and Bhilales numbering more than 6
Bhils
lakhs,
The Kanwar,
mostly in the western districts.
lakh,
Next comes the
who
live
over three
live mostly in the districts of surguja, Raigarh and
Bilaspur.
The Korku,
1. 64
lakh,
localised in the Betul district.
are
almost
entirely
The Baiga one of the most
primitive tribes of the country numbering about 144000, live
in the forest areas of Shahdol, Mandla,
Balaghat, Bilaspur
and Surguja district.
Tribal Population Concentrations
Although tribal population is scattered through out the
state, there is heavy concentration of it in the districts
of eastern region forming
population of the region.
28.82 percent of the tribal
Tribals are not so numerous in
central region, being 14.30 percent of the total population
of the region.
Districtwise the tribals constitute 84. 72
percent of the total
population of
highest
in the
followed
Details
about other districts
state
following tables (Table 1-4).
19
by
Jhabua,
Bastar,
of MP
are
which
72.27
given
is the
percent.
in the
Density
The density of tribal population for Madhya Pradesh as
a whole is 39 persons per square mile.
density
is highest
in Jhabua
district
Per square mile
(167)
followed
by
Raigarh (94).
Despite the fact that tribal population is highest in
Bastar district (about 8.5 lakhs), their density amounts to
only 6 personsjSq.Km.
southern
reg ion
( 43
The tribes are densly populated in
persons/Sq. Km.)
whereas
they
are
sparsely populated in the Central region {28 personjsq.Km.).
20
Table 1:
List of tribes and their population as per 1991
census in Madhya Pradesh.
S.No.
Name of Tribe
01
Agariya
02
Andh
03
Baiga
176934
04
Bhaina
71145
05
Bharia; Bhumia or Bhumihar Bhumia
including Pando
06
Bhattra
07
Bhil & Bhilala including Ramlala
Barela; Palelia
08
Bhil-Mina, Bhtimiya including
Bharia and Paliha
09
Bhunjia
6605
10
Biar or Biyar
3859
11
Binjhwar
12
Birhul or Birhor
13
Damor, Damaria
14
Dhanwar
15
Garaba or Badha
16
Gond, Daroi and Pathari
547590
17
Halba or Balbi
173374
18
Kamar
19750
19
Karku
10005
20
Kawar, Kanwar, Kaur, Chattri
Population
17548
8
117795
71145
1595508
29276
57013
738
1884
24161
3728
21
410743
21
Keer
22
Khairwar
31770
23
Khairwar including Kondar
31139
24
Kharia
23228
25
Kol
114515
26
Kol (Dahait)
363215
27
Kolam
28
Kondh, Kond or Kandh
29
Korku
30
Korku including Bapchi, Mouasi,
Nihar, Bandhi or Bandeya
31
Korwa including Kodaku
32
Majhi
33
Majhwar
34
Mawasi
8808
35
Min a
1182
36
Mogia
1466
37
Munda
14007
38
Nagesia or Nagasia
60513
39
Nat, Navdigar & Kabutar
7492
40
Nihar
5082
41
Oraon, Dhanka & Dhangad
42
Panik a
43988
43
Pao
23074
44
Pardhan, patheri & Saroti
69633
45
Pardhi
6099
351
6899
27019
180983
67303
4138
33489,.
370652
1522
22
46
Pardhi including Bahelia or
Chita Parthi
47
Parja
8350
48
Sahania, Sosia or Sor
6311
49
Sahariya
5259
50
saonta or saunta
9709
51
Saour
27798
52
Sawar or Sawara
59535
53
Seharila
192109
54
Sahariya
1748
55
Sonr
1149
56
Asur, Bada Maria, Bhatola, Bhimma, 3221937
Bhutta, Koilabhuta Bhar, Maria,
Bisonhorn, Chota Maria, Damdami
Maria, Dhoba, Dhulia, Darla,
Gaiki, Gatta, Gaita, Gond Gowar,
Hill Maria, Kandra, Kaland,
Khatola, Koita, Koya, Khirwar
Kucha Maria, Kuchaki Maria,
Manna, Mannewar, Mogio Mudio
(~~t.)F Nagarchi, Nagwanshi,
Ohha, Raj, Sonjhari, Jhareka,
Thatia, Wade Maria
57
Unspecified
Source
10835
31360
Tribes and Tribal development by R.N.
Santosh Bakshi (1984)
23
Sharma and
Table 2: Tribal population of Madhya Pradesh in 1991.
MP
Population
% of tribals
Tribal
Male
Female
Population tribals tribals
to total
Population
Total
66181170
15399034
7758174
7640860
23.27
Rural
50842233
14652730
7365693
7287037
28.82
Urban
15338837
746304
392481
353823
4.86
Table 3: Tribal population in Madhya Pradesh from 1951-1991.
Census year
Total
population
M.P.
1951
26071637
4863580
18.65
1961
32372408
6678410
37.32
1971
41654119
8387403
25.59
1981
52178844
11987031
42.92
1991
66181170
15399034
23.37
Tribal
population
24
Percent
population
Table 4:
Districtwise tribal population of Madhya Pradesh.
Total tribal
population
MADHYA PRADESH
Rural
Urban
15399034
50842233
15338837
298665
286224
12441
1529888
1501309
28579
01
Balghat
02
Bas tar
03
Betul
4431J2
428615
14517
04
Bhind
3291
1419
1872
05
Bhopal
41205
11523
29682
06
Bilaspur
873741
829156
44585
07
Chhatarpur
43482
41615
1867
08
Chhindwara
540708
507923
32785
09
Darnoh
111114
108489
2625
10
Datia
6780
5989
791
11
Dew as
155493
141748
13745
1.2
Dhar
731272
706082
25190
13
Durg
298059
249062
48997
14
East Niiriar
383231
374413
8818
15
Gun a
157426
148000
9426
16
Gwalior
40976
30441
10535
17
Hoshangabad
220038
204412
15626
18
Indore
100913
67884
33029
19
Jabal pur
474466
404690
69776
20
Jhabua
968372
940886
27486
25
785587
773408
12179
Mandsaur
74625
68066
6559
23
Morena
95216
92914
2302
24
Narsimhapur
101368
96113
5255
25
Panna
102520
98089
4431
26
Raigarh
821477
797659
23818
27
Raipur
714027
676806
37221
28
Raisen
126254
120939
5315
29
Raigarh
32775
30379
2396
30
Rajnandgaon
362355
349841
12514
31
Rat lam
226156
216669
9487
32
Rewa
193105
178734
14371
33
Sagar
139467
132117
7350
34
Satna
202412
188760
13652
35
Sehore
85643
79566
6077
36
Seoni
369827
363882
5945
37
Shahdol
807764
746493
61271
38
Shajapur
24452
22793
1659
39
Shivpuri
127762
122807
4955
40
Sidhi
418004
410929
7075
41
Surguja
1117577
1084515
33062
42
Tikamgarh
38850
35930
43
Ujjain
29160
21742
7418
44
Vidisha
42689
40584
2105
45
West Nimar
937710
913115
24595
21
Mandl a
22
26
.
-~
.
2920
NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL INITIATIVES
As indicated by Husain
Medicinal
and Aromatic
of Central Institute of
(1980)
Plants,
Lucknow,
one
of
the
main
'
objectives of research projects on medicinal plants in India
is the improvement of
agrotec~nology
of indigenous medicinal
plants as well as the introduction into cultivation those
plants
whose products are
yet
imported
into
India..
In
order to economically use many of the promising traditional
plant
resources
practices,
ind~enous
~i!L)
••!II-~
through
the
use
of
modern
technological
concerted effects are being made to develop
technologies and improve those already available.
,
Following are some of the efforts made in this direction.
Agrotechnology
has
already
been
developed
scale cultivation of Dioscorea deltoidea and
for
large
D. floribunda.
High diosgenin clones of D.
deltoidea containing more than
6%
been
diosgenin have
already
isolated and are being
multiplied for testing (Husain, 1980).
Agrotechnology for cul ti vat ion of Costus
speciosus
(Zingiberacere), · a new source of diosgenin, has also been
9eveloped and clones having more than 3% diosgenin have also
·,
·~
.
been isolated.
A
high
alkaloid
strain
of
Hyoscyamus
muticus,
containing 4% alkaloid has been introduced in the country
and necessary technology for large scale cultivation of this
27
plant in India has also been made available.
Methods
have
also
been
developed
for
commercial
cultivation of Duboisia myoporoides as a source of hyoscine.
Indigenous
cultivation
containing
of
agrotechnology
(Claviceps
ergotoxine,
production.
has
has
been
ergot
purpurea),
been
developed
recently
a
for
fungus
introduced
into
This technology has been further improved
through the use of genetical methods.
Indigenous
agrotechnology
has
been
developed
for
getting higher yields tif belladonna in Kashmir Valley.
Attempts are also being made to
strain of
The
important
isolate a
high alkaloid
Atropa belladonna.
production
of
subject
since
early
times
keen
interest
in
Government taking a
medicinal
plants · has
and
been
due
ipecac,
senna,
psyllium,
the
its potential! ties,
India is now a major supplier of plant drugs
cinchona,
to
an
rauvolfia,
such as
<;.:..,.
~iostorea,
digitalis, opium, ergot and belladonna to the world market.
Factors
such
as
soil,
rainfall,
altitude,
method
of
cultivation, time of collection, storage, marketing as well
as research and development form part and parcel of largescale cultivation of different medicinal and aromatic plants
in India to make these ventures economically viable.
28
The
total
angiosperm
approximately 18000 species,
flora
plants
have
pharmacopoeia
~~comprise
for
been
use
India
Surprisingly, only 3% of
recognized
as
comprises
of which 2500 species posses
medicinal or aromatic properties.
~
of
drugs
of
by
the
vegetatable
Indian
origin
40% of the listings in the Indian pharmacopoeia.
Mohan Ram (1980) at the 67th session of the Indian Science
Congress,
noted that identifying new sources of drugs,
enhancing their yield, substituting those being largely
imported into India, and promoting those having high export
potential, are among the major tasks to be undertaken.
further stated,
He
"Another important lacuna in India is to
collect, collate and disseminate
k~owledge
on the medicinal
plants for research and utilisation.
During
technlq~es
drugs
the
last
few
decades
modern
scientific
have been applied for an appraisal of indigenous
with
the
objective
of
bringing
the
different
traditional systems of medicine into the mainstream of world
medicine.
In
this
effort,
the
role
of
the
Central
Drug
Research Institute, Lucknow, the premier institution in this
area
is
noteworthy.
An
integrated
multidisciplinary
programme has been adopted for investigation of indigenous
plants and traditional remedies. Each plant
extract is put
through a primary screen of about 100 tests covering a wide
range of biological activities antifertility, antimicrobial,
antiprotozoal,
antihelminth,
29
anticancer
etc.,
effects
on
central nervous and cardio-vascular systems and on lipid and
carbohydrate metabolism.
The active plants are subjected to
detailed
biological
chemical
and
studies
and
active
constituents are further evaluated for development as drugs.
National Bureau of Plant Genetic Resources in New Delhi
has
responded
improvement
in
to
the
yield
increased
and
pharmaceutical industry.
content
world
of drug
pressure
for
plants
the
by
One of the important contemporary
developments for upgrading yield is the application of the
genotype concept in medicinal plants in the same manner has
been done for agro-horticultural crops, and intensified
germplasm collections are being developed (Gupta and Mittal,
1978).
One of the species being investigated ,in this
connection is Rauvolfia serpentina, which is indigenous to
India and has
bee~of
traditional medicine of ayurveda
as well as of various ethnic groups in
the~imal~yas. ~
Information regarding the genes controlling production
of chemical constituents in medicinal plants, and the genes
which block or control a particular step in the biosynthetic
pathway, are essential prerequisites in genetic improvement
programmes.
CSIR
in
detailed
To this end, the Regional Laboratory (RRL) 'o·f
Jammu
has
collected
morphological,
germplasm
and
cytogenetical
carried
and
out
chemical
investigations on the following species: Ammi majus, Atropa
Atropa
belladonna,
30
Catharanthus
roseus,
Claviceps
Chrysanthemum
speciosus, Datura innoxia, Datura metel,
Dioscorea
deltoidea,
Dioscorea
esculentum,
Hyoscyamus niger,
~ostus
purpurea,
Datura stramonium,
composita,
Fagopyrum
~·
Papav:Tr--somn~ferum
and
Rauvolfia serpentina (Sobti et al., 1980).
Pharmacological
screening
and
studies
on
(- 1
M
5
the
comparative efficacy of some indigenous anthelmint~ hC!,Ye
been
undertaken
by
Satyanarayana
Rao
( 1980)
of
the
Seeds of Butea
and Carica
papaya
and
leaves
of
Aristolochia
are claimed by the indigenous system of medicine
to be effective against worms causing ascariasis.
r
Important work on the treatment of diabetes mellitus by
using the leaves of Gymnema sylvestre is being carried out
at the University of Madras (Radha Shanmugasundaram et al.,
1981 a, b).
This plant has been used to treat diabetes in
India for 2000 years by traditional medical practitioners.
Modern
research
indicates
that
indeed
the
Gymnema
hypoglycemic effect in controlling blood glucose.
experiments have shown that the plant has a
effect for long periods,
has
a
Recently
beneficial
eve'ri' after the preparation is
withdrawn.
Chadha and Kashyap {1980) have reported about the state
institutions which are undertaking studies on medicinal
31
A good deal of research work on different aspects
plants.
of medicinal plants is being done at the various institutes
under the CSIR, ICAR and ICMR, at various institutions under
Central Council for Research in ayurveda and Siddha, in the
Universities, R & D units of the pharmaceutical firms.
Central
Institute
of
Medicinal
and
Aromatic
Plants,
Lucknow, is one of the premier research centres for carrying
out R
&
D work on medicinal and aromatic plants.
It also
acts as a 'clearing house' for techno-economic data relating
to investigated plant and disseminates information through
publication of monographs and bulletins.
National Botanical Research Institute (NBRI), Lucknow,
which
in fact
is
concerned with
an
economic
survey,
botany
improvement
laboratory,
is
and
culture
tissue
also
aspects of medicinal plants.
Regional Research Laboratories
and Bhubaneshwar are among the
engaged
in
cultivation,
(RRL)
at Jammu,
Jorhat
other research centres
improvement,
and
introduction
of
medicinal and Aromatic plants.
The revival of interest in herbal drugs has accelerated
the processes
leading to generation of
medicinal plants.
information on
So much interest has accumulated that the
~
retri~ of this information has become a
process.
laborious
To process and supply this massive amount of
32
information
in
an
organised
Information Directorate
manner
(PID)
Plants Information Services'
sectoral
information
Publications
of the CSIR has
service system under the name of
the
the
and
launched a
'Medicinal and Aromatic
(MAPIS) . The MAPIS is one of
centres
under
the
National
Information System of Science and Technology (NISSAT) .
Recent revival
of
interest
and respect
to medicinal
plants stems from a realization by such august bodies as the
World Health Organisation
Organization
{FAO),
(WHO),
the
Development Organization
Food and Agricultural
United
(UNIDO),
Nations
etc.
(Penso,
Industrial
1980)
that
nearly 90% of the world's rural population has been kept in
reasonable health due to their almost exclusive reliance on
herbalists and traditional healers not recognised by modern
system
of
medicine
i.e. · by
government
like
agencies.
Furthermore, WHO commitment to improve the health conditions
of all peoples under their slogan
11
Health for all by the
year 2000 11 has called for a serious assessment of the
that herbal medicine can play
in the
attainment
rol~
of this
noble ci"bjective.
International Union of Biological Sciences {IUBS)
has
responded to the call of the WHO to update the information
available on medicinal plants from all regions of the world,
and to inject botanical and biochemical knowledge into the
system
created
for
gathering
33
and
documentation
of
information.
It is the aim of the medicinal plants
of the IUBS and
to
make
the international Biosciences Network (IBN)
information
pharmaceutical
Group
available
industries
to
phytochmists
particularly
in
and
developing
countries, so that they become more aware of the potential
plant materials from their regions.
The
International
Council
for
Development
of
Under-
Utilized Plants (ICDUP), a private, non profit international
body, was established to encourage knowledge about, and use
of,
so
far
neglected
plants
benefitting humankind.
34
that
have
the
potential
of