Master10
Tribes & Indigenous Heritage Module

PVTGs & Indigenous Cultural Heritage

Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs), initially classified as Primitive Tribal Groups (PTGs) following the recommendations of the Dhebar Commission in 1973, represent the most marginalized indigenous communities in India. Criteria for PVTG status include pre-agricultural hunting-gathering technologies, declining or stagnant populations, extremely low literacy rates, and subsistence-level economies. India officially recognizes 75 PVTG communities across 18 states and the Union Territory of Andaman and Nicobar Islands, with Odisha hosting the largest number (13 groups). These communities preserve unique linguistic lineages, animistic belief systems, sacred groves, and traditional ecological knowledge, from the Great Andamanese and Sentinelese of the Bay of Bengal to the Birhors and Chenchus of the mainland.

Key Concepts & Examination Highlights

  • The Dhebar Commission (1960–61) created the category of Primitive Tribal Groups in 1973, which was renamed Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs) in 2006.
  • Odisha has the highest number of recognized PVTGs (13 groups) among Indian states.
  • The Andaman and Nicobar Islands are home to 5 PVTGs: Great Andamanese, Onge, Jarawa, Sentinelese, and Shompen.
  • PM-PVTG Development Mission was launched under the PM-JANMAN initiative to provide basic infrastructure and socio-economic support.
  • The Andaman and Nicobar Islands are home to five indigenous Negrito and Mongoloid PVTGs: the Great Andamanese, Onge, Jarawa, Sentinelese, and Shompen.
  • The PM-PVTG Development Mission and the Pradhan Mantri Janjati Adivasi Nyaya Maha Abhiyan (PM-JANMAN), launched in November 2023 with an outlay of over Rs 24,000 crore, targets holistic infrastructure for all 75 PVTG communities.
  • The Dongria Kondh tribe of the Niyamgiri Hills in Odisha worships the sacred mountain peak Niyam Raja and famously rejected bauxite mining in their sacred habitat through historic Gram Sabha resolutions in 2013.
  • The Bondo (Bonda) tribe, residing in the Malkangiri district of Odisha, belongs to the Austroasiatic linguistic group and maintains an egalitarian matriarchal social structure where women marry younger men.
  • The Toda tribe of the Nilgiri Hills in Tamil Nadu is renowned for its barrel-shaped thatched huts (Dogles), pastoral buffalo-centered rituals, and distinct black-and-red geometric embroidery (Pukhoor).
  • The Chenchu tribe, inhabiting the Nallamala forest range in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, is an ancient hunter-gatherer PVTG that speaks a Dravidian dialect.
  • The Asur and Birhor tribes of Jharkhand are indigenous PVTGs traditionally celebrated for indigenous iron-smelting metallurgy and nomadic fiber-craft woodcraft respectively.
  • The 75 recognized PVTGs are distributed across 18 States and one Union Territory, with Odisha possessing 13, Andhra Pradesh 12, and Jharkhand and Madhya Pradesh having several prominent groups.
  • The Great Andamanese, an indigenous Negrito PVTG on Strait Island, saw their population dwindle to around 50 individuals after near-extinction from colonial epidemics.
  • The Sentinelese of North Sentinel Island maintain complete voluntary isolation and hostility to outsiders, preserving Paleolithic-era foraging ways of life.
  • The Jarawa tribe of the South and Middle Andaman Islands transitioned from complete isolation to limited contact following road construction through their tribal reserve.
  • The Shompen are an indigenous Mongoloid PVTG of hunter-gatherers inhabiting the dense interior tropical rainforests of Great Nicobar Island.
  • The Birhor tribe of Jharkhand and Odisha is a nomadic Austroasiatic PVTG traditionally renowned as master ropemakers using Chop fibers and monkey trappers.
  • The Maria Gond (Madia Gond) of Gadchiroli, Maharashtra, is a PVTG that preserves traditional Ghotul youth dormitories and communal forest governance.
  • The Katkari tribe of Maharashtra and Gujarat is a PVTG traditionally skilled in extracting catechu (Kath) from Acacia trees and manufacturing charcoal.
  • The Sauria Paharia tribe inhabiting the Rajmahal Hills of Jharkhand practices traditional Kurwa (shifting cultivation) and speaks the Malto Dravidian language.
  • The Reang (Bru) tribe, recognized as a PVTG in Tripura, is celebrated for the Hojagiri folk dance where dancers balance on earthen pitchers while moving only their lower body.
  • The Kotwalia tribe of Gujarat is a recognized PVTG whose traditional livelihood revolves entirely around bamboo weaving, basketry, and crafting household articles.
  • The Cholanaikkan tribe of the Nilambur valley in Kerala is one of the last remaining cave-dwelling hunter-gatherer PVTGs in South India.
  • The Van Raji (Raji) tribe, inhabiting the dense forests of Pithoragarh in Uttarakhand, is an endangered PVTG known locally as the 'Kings of the Forest'.
  • The Anthropological Survey of India (AnSI), established in 1945 in Kolkata, is the premier scientific research agency documenting the cultural and genetic profiles of PVTGs.
  • Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs) are a special category of tribal communities identified by the Government of India based on four strict criteria: pre-agricultural technology, stagnant/declining population, extremely low literacy, and subsistence economy.
  • The Dhebar Commission in 1973 created the category of 'Primitive Tribal Groups' (PTGs), which was officially renamed 'Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups' (PVTGs) by the Ministry of Tribal Affairs in 2006.
  • There are currently 75 recognized PVTGs distributed across 18 States and one Union Territory (Andaman and Nicobar Islands).
  • Odisha possesses the highest number of PVTGs among all Indian states, with 13 recognized vulnerable tribal groups including the Dongria Kondh, Bonda, and Kutia Kondh.
  • The Pradhan Mantri PVTG Development Mission was launched in 2023 under the PM-JANMAN scheme with a financial outlay of ₹24,000 crore to provide holistic infrastructure, housing, and healthcare to PVTGs.
  • The Great Andamanese, Onge, Jarawa, and Sentinelese are four indigenous Negrito PVTGs residing in the Andaman archipelago.
  • The Sentinelese of North Sentinel Island remain one of the world's most isolated uncontacted hunter-gatherer tribal groups, protected under the Andaman and Nicobar Protection of Aboriginal Tribes Regulation, 1956.
  • The Koraga tribe of coastal Karnataka and Kerala are an indigenous PVTG traditionally engaged in basket-weaving from forest creepers and practicing the distinctive Dollu drumming tradition.
  • The Bonda (Bondo) tribe of Malkangiri district, Odisha, are a matriarchal Austroasiatic PVTG whose women wear brass neck-rings, bead necklaces, and a hand-woven bark skirt called 'Ranga'.
  • The Dongria Kondh tribe inhabiting the Niyamgiri Hills of Odisha worship the sacred mountain deity Niyam Raja and successfully protected their ancestral bauxite hills from commercial mining in 2013.
  • The Toda tribe of the Nilgiri Hills in Tamil Nadu are a vegetarian pastoral community living in barrel-shaped bamboo huts (Dogles) and practicing intricate red-and-black embroidery called 'Pukhoor'.
  • The Chenchus are a Dravidian-speaking food-gathering and hunting PVTG inhabiting the Nallamala forest range across Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.
  • The Birhor of Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh are a nomadic Austroasiatic PVTG traditionally specializing in rope-making from wild chop fibers, monkey hunting, and forest honey collection.
  • The Asur tribe of Jharkhand are an ancient iron-smelting PVTG possessing centuries-old indigenous metallurgical techniques to extract high-grade iron from laterite ores.
  • The Ghotul is a traditional youth dormitory institution of the Muria Gond tribe in Bastar, Chhattisgarh, where unmarried adolescents learn social customs, folklore, music, and community governance.
  • The Dhumkuria is a traditional youth dormitory system among the Oraon tribe of Jharkhand, divided into 'Jonkh-Erpa' for boys and 'Pelo-Erpa' for girls.
  • The Khasis of Meghalaya follow a matrilineal social system where lineage and ancestral property pass from mother to the youngest daughter (Khadduh), and husbands reside matrilocally.
  • The Living Root Bridges (Jingkieng Jri) of Meghalaya are bio-engineering wonders hand-woven by the Khasi and Jaintia tribes from the aerial roots of Ficus elastica trees across rushing rivers.
  • The Apatani tribe of the Ziro Valley in Arunachal Pradesh practice sustainable integrated wet-rice and fish aquaculture without animal traction, and are renowned for women wearing bamboo nose plugs (Yaping Hullo).
  • The Lepchas of Sikkim and Darjeeling call themselves 'Rongkup' (children of the snowy peak) and revere Mount Khangchendzonga as their spiritual sacred deity in indigenous Mun shamanism.
  • The Warli tribe of northern Maharashtra and Gujarat create geometric white rice-paste wall paintings symbolizing fertility, Mother Earth (Palaghata), and community life cycles.
  • The Santhals of Jharkhand, West Bengal, and Odisha are the third-largest Scheduled Tribe in India, speaking Santhali (written in the Ol Chiki script invented by Pandit Raghunath Murmu in 1925).
  • The Bhils are the largest tribal group in India according to the 2011 Census, famous for the sacred Pithora wall paintings and Ghoomar folk dances.
  • The Gonds form the second-largest tribal group in India, historically ruling autonomous kingdoms across central India ('Gondwana') and renowned for vibrant polychrome Gond art.
  • The Gujjars and Bakarwals of Jammu and Kashmir are transhumant pastoral tribes practicing seasonal migration between high-altitude alpine pastures (Margs) in summer and plains in winter.
Curriculum & Reference Sources: Ministry of Tribal Affairs (MoTA), Census of India, Anthropological Survey of India (AnSI).

Sample Solved Questions & Concept Explanations

8 Verified Concept Questions
Q1.EASY

Which Indian state is home to the highest number of Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs), with 13 recognized communities including the Bondo, Dongria Kondh, and Chuktia Bhunjia?

Q2.MEDIUM

Which commission appointed by the Government of India in 1960–1961 recommended the creation of a distinct category originally designated as 'Primitive Tribal Groups' (PTGs)?

Q3.HARD

Which Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Group (PVTG) is indigenous to the dense tropical forests of Great Nicobar Island and is classified anthropologically within the Mongoloid racial lineage, distinct from the Negrito tribes of the Andamans?

Q4.EASY

How many tribal communities are currently recognized as Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs) across India by the Ministry of Tribal Affairs?

Q5.EASY

According to the Census of India 2011, which tribal community constitutes the largest tribal group by population in India?

Q6.EASY

The renowned 'Hornbill Festival', celebrated annually in December to showcase rich indigenous tribal folklore and arts, is held in which state?

Q7.EASY

Characterized by white pigment geometric stick figures on mud walls depicting harvest, hunting, and the 'Tarpa' dance, Warli folk painting originated in which Indian state?

Q8.EASY

Which uncontacted hunter-gatherer Negrito PVTG inhabits a completely isolated, legally protected island in the Andaman archipelago?