Parhaiyas

Context: The role of welfare schemes and policies for the Parhaiyas of Jharkhand.

About the Parhaiyas

• Parhaiyas is one of the nine Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs) of Jharkhand state.
• Mainly concentrated in Latehar and Palamau districts of Jharkhand state
• Parhaiyas are still lagging behind on most of the important indicators of development such as health, education, and income.
• Parahiya literally means “the burners of the forest” or “hill dweller.”
• People rely on the forest for their sustenance.
  • Collecting various types of forest produce such as roots, fruits and leaves and sell them at the local markets.
• Hunting is also one of the major sources of income.

About PVTGs

• Sub-classification of Scheduled Tribe, who are most vulnerable in certain parameter then the other Scheduled Tribe community.
• During the fourth Five Year Plan a sub-category was created within Scheduled Tribes
• Created based on the Dhebar Commission report.
• The features of such a group include
  • a pre-agricultural system of existence,
  • that is practice of hunting and gathering,
  • zero or negative population growth,
  • extremely low level of literacy in comparison with other tribal groups.
• Groups that satisfied any one of the criterion were considered as PTG.
• There are total of 75 PVTGs in India.

Source –   TH