BENGALURU: The government has approved a dedicated Karnataka Adivasi Development Corporation with an allocation of Rs 33.36 crore, and the state’s first Tribal University on 120 acres in Challakere taluk, Chitradurga district. For Chief Minister DK Shivakumar, the two initiatives are the core of a “no one left behind” agenda for the state’s Scheduled Tribes.
The corporation is meant to cover 33 Scheduled Tribe communities, with focus on entrepreneurship, skill development, market support and sustainable livelihoods.
Karnataka already has development corporations serving different ST groups, but the government says particularly vulnerable communities, among them the Irula, Soliga, Jenu Kuruba, Kadu Kuruba, Kudiya and Siddi, need more attention. Many live in forest and forest-fringe areas where schools, markets, jobs and basic services remain hard to reach.
The proposed university would concentrate on tribal languages, literature, art, folklore, history and traditional knowledge, alongside research on tribal social structures, forest-based livelihoods and economic development. It would also offer skill-oriented and professional courses for tribal youth.
Shivakumar framed the policy with the aim of empowerment and Gandhi’s Gram Swaraj, with tribal women as entrepreneurs and settlements as centres of local enterprise. The Rs 33.36-crore fund for 33 communities is modest. The corporation could succeed or fail in its ability to leverage credit, market linkages and convergence with existing schemes. Forest-fringe producers typically lose value to intermediaries. Fair pricing for traditional products, through procurement, and certification, matters more than training.