Scheduled Tribes (also known as "tribals" or "adibasi/adivasi") are specific

indigenous peoples There is no generally accepted definition of Indigenous peoples, although in the 21st century the focus has been on self-identification, cultural difference from other groups in a state, a special relationship with their traditional territ ...

whose status is acknowledged to some formal degree by national legislation. Scheduled tribes of the

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

n state of West Bengal, as recognized by the Constitution of the Indian Republic; a total of 40 distinct tribes. Among those 40 tribes 3 tribes are " Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups" (PTGs).

Overview

As per 2001 census scheduled tribes numbering 4,406,794 persons constituted 5.5 per cent of the total population of the state.

Santal The Santal (or Santhal) are an Austroasiatic languages, Austroasiatic-speaking Munda peoples, Munda ethnic group of the Indian subcontinent. Santals are the largest tribe in the Jharkhand and West Bengal in terms of population and are also found ...

s constitute more than half (51.8 per cent) of the total ST population of the state. Oraons (14 per cent),

Mundas The Munda people are an Austroasiatic-speaking ethnic group of the Indian subcontinent. They speak Mundari as their native language, which belongs to the Munda subgroup of Austroasiatic languages. The Munda are found mainly concentrated in ...

(7.8 per cent),

Bhumij Bhumij may refer to: * Bhumij people, tribal ethnic group of India * Bhumij language, the language of Bhumij people * Bhumija, type of Shikhara {{Disambiguation ...

(7.6 per cent) and Kora (3.2 per cent) are the other major STs having sizeable population. Along with Santal, they constitute nearly 85 per cent of the state's total ST population. The Lodhas,

Mahali Mars Hand Lens Imager (MAHLI) is one of seventeen cameras on the ''Curiosity'' rover on the Mars Science Laboratory mission. Overview The instrument is mounted on the rover's robotic arm. It is primarily used to acquire microscopic images o ...

Bhutia The Bhutias (exonym; Nepali: भुटिया, "People from Tibet") or Drejongpas (endonym; , THL: dre-jong pa, "People of the Rice Valley") are a Tibetan ethnic group native to the Indian state of Sikkim who speak Drejongke, a Tibetic ...

s, Bedias, and Savars are the remaining STs, and having population of one per cent or more as per 2001 census report. West Bengal Scheduled Tribes Demographic

West Bengal Scheduled Tribes Demographic

More than half of the total ST population of the state is concentrated in

Medinipur Medinipur or Midnapore is a city known for its history in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is the headquarters of the West Medinipur district. It is situated on the banks of the Kangsabati River (variously known as ''Kasai'' and ''Cossye''). ...

Jalpaiguri Jalpaiguri (), is a city in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is the headquarters of the Jalpaiguri district as well as of the Jalpaiguri division of West Bengal, covering the jurisdiction of the five districts of North Bengal. The city is ...

Purulia Purulia, officially Purulia Sadar, is a city and a municipality in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is the headquarters of the Purulia district. It is located on the north of the Kangsabati River. Geography Location Purulia is locate ...

, and

Bardhaman Bardhaman (, ), officially Bardhaman Sadar, is a city and municipality in the state of West Bengal, India. It is the headquarters of Purba Bardhaman district, having become a district capital during the period of British rule. Burdwan, an a ...

districts. Of the remaining districts,

Bankura Bankura () is a city and a municipality in the state of West Bengal, India. It is the headquarters of the Bankura district. Etymology It comes from the old Austric word ráŕhá or ráŕho which means “land of red soil”.P.R. Sarkar Rarh - ...

, Malda,

Uttar Dinajpur Uttar Dinajpur (), also known as North Dinajpur, is one of the 23 districts of the state of West Bengal in India. The district is the part of Malda Division. Raiganj city is the headquarters of the district. This district bifurcated on 1 Ap ...

, and

Dakshin Dinajpur Dakshin Dinajpur (), also known as South Dinajpur, is a district in the Indian state of West Bengal, India. It was created on 1 April 1992 by the division of the erstwhile West Dinajpur District. The headquarters (sadar) of the district is at ...

have sizable ST population.

List of tribes

As per the Constitution (Scheduled Tribes) Order, 1950, the following were listed as scheduled tribes in

West Bengal West Bengal (; Bengali language, Bengali: , , abbr. WB) is a States and union territories of India, state in the East India, eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabi ...

. #

Asur Asur may refer to: *Asura, divine beings in Hinduism regarded as evil * ''Asur'' (film), a 2020 Indian Bengali-language drama film * ''Asur'' (TV series), a 2020 Indian Hindi-language web-series * Asur, Thanjavur district, a village in the state o ...

Baiga The Baiga are an ethnic group found in central India primarily in the state of Madhya Pradesh, and in smaller numbers in the surrounding states of Uttar Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand. The largest number of Baiga is found in Baiga-chuk in ...

# Badia, Bediya #

Bhumij Bhumij may refer to: * Bhumij people, tribal ethnic group of India * Bhumij language, the language of Bhumij people * Bhumija, type of Shikhara {{Disambiguation ...

Sherpa SHERPA (Securing a Hybrid Environment for Research Preservation and Access) is an organisation originally set up in 2002 to run and manage the SHERPA Project. History SHERPA began as an endeavour to support the establishment of a number of open ...

, Toto, Dukpa, Kagatay, Tibetan, Yolmo # Birhor # Birjia #Chakma #Chero # Chik Baraik #Garo # Gond #Gorait #Hajang # Ho # Karmali #

Kharwar Kharwar is a surname used by odh found in the Indian states of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Orissa and West Bengal in India and Sindh in Pakistan. Etymology The ''Khar'' grass is totem of the Kharwar. They don't cut or inju ...

#Khond #Kisan # Kora # Korwa #Lepcha #Limbu(Subba) # Lodha, Kheria, Kharia #Lohara, Lohra # Magh #

Mahli Mars Hand Lens Imager (MAHLI) is one of seventeen cameras on the Curiosity rover, ''Curiosity'' rover on the Mars Science Laboratory mission. Overview The instrument is mounted on the rover's robotic arm. It is primarily used to acquire micr ...

# Mal Pahariya #

Mech In science fiction, or mechs are giant robots or machines, typically depicted as piloted, humanoid walking vehicles. The term was first used in Japanese after shortening the English loanword or , but the meaning in Japanese is more inclusive ...

# Mru #

Munda __NOTOC__ Munda may refer to: Places India * Munda, a village in Hanumangarh district, Rajasthan, India * Munda Majra, a former village in Haryana, India * Munda Pind, a village in Punjab, India Pakistan * Munda, a village near Bilyamin in Kur ...

# Nagesia # Oraon #Parhaiya #

Rabha The Rabha people are a Tibeto-Burmese ethnic group who live mostly in the Northeast Indian state of Assam, with a lesser population in the adjacent state of West Bengal. They primarily inhabit the plains of Lower Assam and the Dooars, while some ...

#Sauria paharia #Subba/Limbu # Tamang

Demographics

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Scheduled Tribes in West Bengal Scheduled Tribes of India *

Overview

List of tribes

Demographics

See also

References