Covid-19 & Great Andamanese Tribe

Covid-19 & Great Andamanese Tribe

Relevance: G.S paper I: Society and Social Issues & G.S paper II: Governance: Health: Issues relating to development and management of Social Sector/Services relating to Health.

Why in News

The report of Covid-19 cases among the members of the Great Andamanese tribe is a matter of concern as the total population of the tribe is already low.

About Great Andamanese Tribe:

  • Great Andamanese is one of five PVTGs that reside in Andamans archipelago.
  • They speak Jeru dialect among themselves and their number stands at 51 as per the last study carried out by Andaman Adim Janjati Vikas Samiti in 2012.
  • Tuberculosis and alcoholism are widespread which makes them particularly vulnerable to Covid-19.

Tribes Found in Andamans:

  • In 1908, the term “Andamanese” referred to thirteen distinct tribal groups, each distinguished by a different dialect and geographical location. 

The Andamans accommodate main five vulnerable tribes: 

  •  The Jarwa, The Sentinelese, The Great Andamanese, Ongee and Shompen.

Hostile tribes-

  • The North Sentinelese tribe has been secluded for thousands of years and does not interact with the outside world.
  • The North Sentinelese is said to be hostile to the outsiders.

What is Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Group ( PVTG)?

  • Tribal communities are often identified by some specific signs such as primitive traits, distinctive culture, geographical isolation, shyness to contact with the community at large.
  • Some tribal groups have some specific features such as dependency on hunting, gathering for food, having a pre-agriculture level of technology, zero or negative growth of population and extremely low level of literacy. These groups are called Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups.
  • In 1975, the Government of India initiated to identify the most vulnerable tribal groups as a separate category called PVTGs and declared 52 such groups, while in 1993 an additional 23 groups were added to the category, making it a total of 75 PVTGs.

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