Intensity of poverty among Yenadi tribes in Andra Pradesh: A micro level study

Abstract

The various tribal developmental programs have not created a perceptible impact on
the socioeconomic, education and health conditions of tribes. The tribes have participated in
various programs as wage earners. There was no coordination among different development
departments and the programs were formulated by following the routine mechanism of top-down
approach. The concept of sustainable development has to be properly understood and defined in
the context of tribal societies. The various indigenous methods followed by the tribes in eking out
their lively-hood and their social relationship with the flora and fauna of nature indicate the
input and the invisible mechanism for the sustainability of life supporting systems. Thus, the
understanding of tribal life and their socioeconomic conditions are crucial for tribal
development. Hence, an attempt is made to analyze the socio-cultural dimensions in tribal
development. Proper understanding of tribal communities, continuous dedicated fieldwork and
guidance, adoption of bottom up strategy with total transparency, participatory management and
genuine empowerment of local tribal groups are essential for making tribal communities as
partners in prosperity of the nation. In spite of spending large amounts in the tribal areas, the
gaps in the levels of development in tribal areas and outside are persisting. In the areas of
social, economic, education, health and infrastructure availability, these gaps are very glaring.
By keeping the above-cited views in mind, this paper identifies intensity of poverty among Yenadi
tribes in the study area.