“They may be giving something to those who are in the villages [referring to ‘settled’ farmers], but the government is not checking in on us who are in the bush,” said Dayabhai Rabari, a member of the nomadic tribe of Rabaris, in an article about the living conditions of Rabaris in Covid times.
The above statement makes one wonder that if the government is so negligent in looking after the lives of the Rabaris, then what possible policies on education would it have introduced for their upliftment?
The even more important question is what education opportunities do girls from this nomadic tribe have, and how easily are they able to avail themselves?
Who Are The Rabaris?
The Rabaris, primarily pastoralists, inhabit the arid Kachchh region of Gujarat. Rumoured to be the descendants of Lord Shiva, sent to Earth to look after goddess Parvati’s camels, they have been given the status of a Scheduled Tribe by the government.
What provisions should the girls from this tribe have in state-funded education policies? This means that girls in the Rabari community should have access to the resources in the following schemes:
- The national scheme of setting up of Ashram Schools in Tribal Sub-Plan Areas by the Ministry of Tribal Affairs to provide residential schooling so that girls and children of Tribal Areas can find a conducive environment to study in.
- The national scheme of setting up hostels for girls and boys belonging to Scheduled Tribe communities aimed at promoting literacy among them by providing accommodation, without which they would have discontinued their education.
- A centrally administered scheme of providing Book Banks in which funds are provided to institutes for buying books for these marginalised communities.
- Providing centres for vocational training in tribal areas in order to develop skills among the youth and improve their socio-economic conditions.
The Ministry of Tribal Affairs had introduced coaching for Scheduled Tribe students to develop a level playing field for these economically disadvantaged groups compared to children from economically stable communities.
Strengthening education among Scheduled Tribe girls in low literacy districts. Although a central scheme, it is majorly implemented by various non-government organisations and certain factions of the State Government in order to bridge the gap between the general female population and tribal women.
What Is The Reality?
But the truth is that none of the facilities in these schemes is available to the girls of the Rabari tribe. In a research report by Caroline Dyer, the field research indicated that only 20.7% of the Rabari females were educated.
Should The Tribes Be Blamed For Low Literacy Numbers?
The government has long stressed that tribal communities have not been very welcoming of modern education practices and culture and seem to favour their traditional values. This, according to the government, has been the major cause of large-scale abhorrence for formal education among the tribal people. But has the government tried swaying the younger generation of tribal communities in accepting modern education?
Removing The Age-Old Misogynistic Traditions To Uplift Women
In recent times, the Rabaris had gone on to banish the sewing of Bharat (an art of needlework), as it had been a medium of dowry for ages. The community might have profited from this intricate art of embroidery. However, it still went on to stop its manufacture in order to empower its women and stop age-old malpractices. This just goes on to show how progressive this community of Nomadic tribes is!
What Needs To Be Done?
If the government had tried to bring them under the umbrella of education, they would have surely succeeded. But no such efforts have been made!
The government needs to realise that if they are able to uplift girls of this community, all shackles leading to these continued low literacy rates among Nomadic tribes would be broken. The government needs to work with the tribal communities and understand their needs as no one formula fits all. It can only do so if all these schemes are not just hollow words but backed up by action and dedication in their implementation.
The author is a Kaksha Correspondent as a part of writers’ training program under Kaksha Crisis.