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Though malaria is a disease which is preventable and treatable, it remains a major health problem among mass population. Like any other community the Khamtis have different perceptions on the cause and recognition of malaria. These perceptions vary depending on the cultural, educational and economic factors within the community which may have direct consequence for both preventive and treatment behaviour. The study aims to understand and generate a general picture on the perceptions, knowledge, attitude and practices related to malaria disease. The study was carried out in the villages known as Piyong and Nampong under Namsai district of Arunachal Pradesh. A survey schedule was administered to 100 randomly selected households. Only one person from each household was interviewed. The head of the household or any responsible resident above fifteen years of age was preferred for interviewing. The study reveals that the people of this community refer Khai-naaw-Mee as malaria, where Khai can be used interchangeably for other common sicknesses also. They perceived malaria to be caused by other factors such as the consumption of contaminated food and water, consumption of excess meats and bamboo shoots and some other activities like exposure to scorching heat and rain regardless of the real cause of biting of mosquitoes. Majority of the respondents (64%) have little to no knowledge on the process of malaria transmission. Acceptance of bed nets and indoor residual sprays (IRS) had been found to be satisfactory. Even though there is a higher rate of using mosquito bed nets there is a gap of knowledge in relation to malaria transmission within the community. Local ignorant perspective on the disease etiology, prevention and cure, needs to be corrected only then can a malaria free goal be achieved.

Keywords: Malaria, Socio-cultural, Khamti, Arunachal Pradesh, Control strategies, Knowledge and Perceptions.

Education plays an important role for a family and helps in the development of a society as well as an individual’s socio-economic status. This assumes more significance in a tribal dominated state like Odisha, with as high as sixty-two (62) tribal communities, including 13 Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs). The Scheduled Tribe (ST) population of Odisha stands at 95,90,756 persons as per 2011 census. This accounts for 22.85 % of the total population of the state and 9.17 % of the total tribal population of India. Of all the states of India, Odisha has the highest number of Scheduled Tribe communities and PVTGs in the country. Odisha’s tribes are at varied degrees of socio-economic development. At one end of the spectrum are communities that live in a somewhat isolated and archaic manner while retaining their basic culture, while at the other end are villages that are indistinguishable from typical farming communities (Ota et al. 2018).

Out of 30 districts, 9 districts are considered as tribal districts with 45.45% to 58.72% of Scheduled Tribe population as per 2011 Census. Most of these tribal communities are socio-economically lagging behind many others. They possess a rich cultural heritage and have developed their own knowledge systems, values, institutions, practices and economies, based often on sustainable management of natural resources. Likewise, indigenous peoples have their own cultural methods of transmitting knowledge. The Birhor, Hill Kharia Lodha, Mankidia, etc are some of the major pre-literate tribes inhabiting the Mayurbhanj district and they have a pre agricultural level of technology. They mostly subsist on collecting natural resources. Their way of life has impacted the spread of literacy in many ways. The Central Government implemented special provisions and with the collaboration of State government made schools for Hill Kharia primitive people which give them a better platform to strengthen their social and economic life. The present article discusses the major constraints and implementation of the development programmes of education among the Hill Kharia, within the broader perspective of their total way of life and their status of living. Hill Kharia, native of Mayurbhanj district of Odisha are living in the dense forest of the Similpal tiger reserve area.

Keywords: PVTG, Education, Development, Hill Kharia, Socio-economic

Tribes in India are considered as the most economically backward and one of the excluded communities, experiencing the problems of impoverishment, deprivation, marginalisation, added with food insecurity and hunger. The problems of food insecurity, poverty and malnutrition among tribals are primarily interconnected with the ecology and physical environment which they inhabit from centuries together and are adapted to it forcefully due to no other alternatives. The newly carved state of Andhra Pradesh consists of 34 tribes with the population of 27,39,919 (5.53 per cent) as per 2011 census, distributed in all the 13 districts varying in number. Large chunk of tribal population in A.P state is concentrated in tribal sub-plan areas of Visakhapatnam, Vizianagaram, Srikakulam, East Godavari, West Godavari, Kurnool, Prakasam, Guntur and Nellore. Based on geographical and ecological background of tribes in Andhra Pradesh state, they have been broadly classified into two categories, viz, 1) Hill tribes and 2) Plain tribes. Out of the total tribes 31 are hill tribes and 3 are plain tribes. The hill tribes’ population is mainly found in Eastern Ghats forest environment. Among hill tribes, further there are six tribes considered as Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs) namely 1) Chenchu 2) Gadaba 3) Kondh 4) Konda Reddy 5) Savara and 6) Porja. The criteria for classification of these tribes as PVTGs are pre-agricultural stage of economy, very low literacy, stagnant  or diminishing population and living in most economic backward condition. The severity of social exclusion, vulnerability, food insecurity and poverty are very much seen among PVTGs population inhabiting inaccessible interior forest areas of Eastern Ghats. More than 60 per cent of PVTGs population stand at below poverty line. Majority of its population does not have access to public health and nutritional programmes and are also unable to avail the public distribution system fully due to the location of such facility to far off places and inconvenient working timings of it to them. Once, forest ecology and its flora and fauna were the main sources for their food, subsistence, survival and livelihoods. Over exploitation of forest resources by the external and internal agencies periodically resulted in the depletion of the valuable energy sources and degradation of green vegetation, consequently leading to the extinction of certain plant and animal species, creating food problem among them. At present a section of PVTGs population used to live in degraded forest environment and was struggling for their survival.

This research paper tries to explain the food situation and trace out the interconnectedness between the problems of food insecurity, poverty and malnutrition among PVTG population living in Nallamalai forests, Rampachodavaram agency, Visakha agency and Seethampeta agency of Eastern Ghats forest environment in Andhra Pradesh. It also deals with the relationship between forest ecology and livelihood problems of these tribes. Further, it discusses about the food security, nutrition and health programmes, Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGs) of Government and its accessibility, availability and utilisation by different PVTGs in the study area. Lastly the paper explains about the role of government to mitigate these problems, experienced by the PVTG population in the field area and villages. The study population includes Chenchus in Nallamalai forests, Konda Reddis in Rampachodavaram agency, Kondh, Gadaba and Porjas of Visakha agency and Savara of Seethampeta agency1. The problem of this research work has been examined from both anthropological and ecological perspectives. Anthropological qualitative and quantitative methods, techniques and approaches were employed in the collection of empirical data in the field area, secondary source published material in the form of books, magazines and research articles have also been also utilised for writing this research paper. This research paper comprises of both semantic and scientific explanations of empiricism. It is mostly descriptive in nature based on anthropological etic and emic classifications along with ecological interpretations. It forms the part of the research work on the problem “Social exclusion, inclusion and integration of PVTGs in Andhra Pradesh”, Sponsored by ICSSR, New Delhi.

Keywords: Food resources, tribal ecology, food insecurity, Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups, Eastern Ghats, forest ecology.