In a process that began early in the last century and still continues, millions of adivasis or those belonging to the scheduled tribes have been denied their rights and access to natural resources, especially forests, whose products made up the chief source of their livelihood. Where they have not been labelled as encroachers and arbitrarily evicted, adivasis have also contributed to the ranks of people displaced by development projects. The proposed bill seeking to accord recognition to those scheduled tribes that once enjoyed such customary rights, is an attempt to set right historical injustices. Unfortunately, the bill itself has been a victim of misconception and misinformation.
