Inequities in maternal child health, education, and empowerment among tribal population in India

BACKGROUND: The well-known phenomenon of tribal disadvantage in India requires constant monitoring to ensure diligent attention to equitable protection of tribal people’s right to life. METHODOLOGY: This study, based on an analysis of secondary data from the National Data Analytics Platform database in different tribal communities in Indian states, charts the differential progress of tribals by establishing a gap. RESULTS: Huge differences were observed in the total fertility rate among the tribal population across the states, with the lowest in Sikkim (1.02) and Delhi NCT (1.24) and the highest in Bihar (2.98) and Meghalaya (3.07). Similarly, family planning is a matter of great concern as contraceptive usage showed wide disparities with the tribal women of Meghalaya (28.0%) and Mizoram (30.9%) on one end of the spectrum and that of Uttarakhand (77.9%) and Delhi (75.7%) on the other end. An association was demonstrated between the literacy gap in any state and the percentage of ST population below the poverty line. The patriarchal social structure in mainland India and matriarchal structure in North-Eastern India were also evident in tribal population. Financial independence ranged from 29.5% in Andhra Pradesh to nearly 67% in Karnataka. Similarly, mobile phone penetrance among tribal women ranged from 25.8% in Madhya Pradesh to nearly 90% in Sikkim. CONCLUSION: While many households in these tribes still lack basic amenities, notable differences regarding maternal child health, education, health insurance, and overall empowerment were identified, supporting arguments for devising more sophisticated differential forms of intervention.