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Predicted Questions with Model Answers
Q1 (5 marks — 50 words)
Write a note on the Bhil tribe — their population, distribution, and distinctive traditions.
Model Answer (EN): Bhil is Rajasthan's largest Scheduled Tribe, comprising 39% of the state's ST population (Census 2011). Concentrated in Banswara, Dungarpur, Udaipur, and Rajsamand, they are Rajasthan's original forest-dwelling community. Key traditions include Dapa pratha (bride price), Nata pratha (customary remarriage), Gavri (40-day Shiva folk theater after Raksha Bandhan), and Gair (stick circle dance at Holi). Bhils provided critical military support to Maharana Pratap — Rana Punja led Bhil archers at Haldighati (1576 CE).
Q2 (5 marks — 50 words)
What is the Saharia tribe and why is it designated as a Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Group (PVTG)?
Model Answer (EN): Saharia (Baran district) is Rajasthan's only Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Group (PVTG) — one of 75 PVTGs nationally. The PVTG designation is given to tribes with pre-agricultural subsistence economy, declining or stagnant population, low literacy, and minimal contact with mainstream society. Sahariya characteristics include dependence on Minor Forest Produce, Seharia village settlements called Saharanas, and high rates of malnutrition. PM-JANMAN (2023, ₹24,000 crore) specifically targets Sahariya welfare in Baran.
Q3 (5 marks — 50 words)
Explain Nata Pratha and Dapa Pratha as distinctive marriage customs of Rajasthan's tribes.
Model Answer (EN): Nata pratha is a customary remarriage/separation practice among Bhils, Meenas, and Garasias. A woman can leave her husband and live with another man after payment of a "nata price," conferring social legitimacy without formal divorce. Dapa pratha is the opposite of mainstream dowry — the groom's family pays a bride price (dapa) to the bride's family, reflecting women's economic value in Bhil and Garasia tribal societies. Both customs are legally unrecognised but socially binding.
Q4 (5 marks — 50 words)
What is the PESA Act, 1996, and how does it empower tribal communities in Rajasthan's Scheduled Areas?
Model Answer (EN): The Panchayats (Extension to Scheduled Areas) Act, 1996 (PESA) extends gram sabha powers to tribal Scheduled Areas under the Constitution's Fifth Schedule. In Rajasthan's Scheduled Area districts (fully: Banswara, Dungarpur; partially: Udaipur, Sirohi, Rajsamand, Pratapgarh, Baran), PESA grants gram sabhas authority over minor forest produce, land acquisition approval, minor water bodies, and prevention of alienation of tribal land. It mandates mandatory gram sabha consent before any land acquisition in Scheduled Areas.
Q5 (10 marks — 150 words)
Examine the major tribes of Rajasthan — Bhil, Meena, Garasia, and Saharia — their distribution, social customs, and constitutional safeguards.
Model Answer (EN): Rajasthan's Scheduled Tribes constitute 13.48% of the state's population (92.38 lakh persons, Census 2011), ranking the state 6th in absolute ST numbers nationally. Four tribes dominate demographic and exam relevance.
Bhil (39% of Rajasthan's ST population) are concentrated in the southern districts — Banswara, Dungarpur, Udaipur, Rajsamand — in the forested Aravalli-Vindhya zone. Historically, Bhils were the original forest-dwelling communities of Rajasthan; their military prowess supported Maharana Pratap (Rana Punja's Bhil archers at Haldighati, 1576 CE). Distinctive customs: Dapa pratha (bride price), Nata pratha (customary remarriage), and Gavri — a 40-day Shiva folk theater performed after Raksha Bandhan.
Meena (26% of Rajasthan's ST) is the second-largest tribe, distributed across eastern districts — Jaipur, Sawai Madhopur, Dausa, Karauli, Alwar — largely in agricultural plains. Meenas are among the most economically integrated STs; many serve in administrative and police services. Their marriage custom also includes Nata pratha.
Garasia (approximately 3.09 lakh, Census 2011) are found primarily in Sirohi, Abu Road, Pali, and Udaipur. Garasias are distinguished by Chhod pratha (wife-leaving custom) and Morum pratha (trial marriage before finalising union) — both reflecting greater female agency in marriage decisions. The Walar dance is Garasia's signature courtship folk dance.
Saharia (Baran district) is Rajasthan's only PVTG — characterised by pre-agricultural economy, forest dependence, and Saharana (village cluster) settlement pattern. PM-JANMAN (November 2023, ₹24,000 crore) specifically targets Saharia welfare.
Constitutionally, Article 342 empowers the President to specify STs; Fifth Schedule provides for Tribes Advisory Council; PESA Act, 1996, extends gram sabha powers to Scheduled Areas; Forest Rights Act, 2006, grants individual and community forest rights.
Q6 (10 marks — 150 words)
Assess the role of the Forest Rights Act, 2006, and PESA Act, 1996, in securing tribal rights in Rajasthan. What challenges remain in their implementation?
Model Answer (EN): The Forest Rights Act (FRA), 2006, and the Panchayats Extension to Scheduled Areas (PESA) Act, 1996, represent India's two most significant post-independence legislative interventions for tribal rights. Their combined intent is to reverse the historical dispossession of tribal communities from forest land and restore political agency to tribal gram sabhas.
FRA, 2006 grants individual forest rights (IFR) to tribals who were in occupation of forest land before 13 December 2005, and community forest rights (CFR) — including management rights over community forest areas — to gram sabhas in Scheduled Areas. In Rajasthan, implementation has been uneven: Bhil and Meena communities in Banswara, Dungarpur, and Udaipur have received IFR titles, but community rights recognition under CFR has lagged. As of 2024, Rajasthan has processed approximately 1.8 lakh FRA claims, but many remain pending due to incomplete documentation requirements.
PESA, 1996 empowers gram sabhas in Scheduled Areas with authority over minor forest produce, minor water bodies, local land transactions, and the power to prevent alienation of tribal land. Rajasthan's Scheduled Area covers Banswara, Dungarpur (fully) and five partially covered districts. However, PESA's implementation has been hampered by: (1) non-adaptation of state revenue and police laws to PESA requirements; (2) gram sabhas lacking financial and administrative capacity to exercise their powers; (3) persistent land alienation despite PESA provisions.
Critical challenges include: overlapping jurisdiction between state Forest Department and tribal gram sabhas, low tribal literacy preventing effective rights assertion, and the absence of a dedicated Rajasthan PESA Rules framework until very recently.