Background

• The Northeastern Region occupies a special position as far as the status of Scheduled Tribes and Scheduled Caste communities of the country is concerned. 
• The region is by and large inhabited by various tribal communities, and four (Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Mizoram and Nagaland) of the eight states  are tribal-majority states.
• The indigenous economic system, particularly in tribal areas, is heavily dependent on certain ecological parameters like land, forest and water. Thus, there is an essential inter-relationship between the ecology and the communities. 
• Unfortunately, land, forest and water have come under tremendous pressure in the Northeast since the colonial period.
  • Pursuing its divide-and-rule policy, the British had kept the tribal communities secluded from the other communities of the country on the pretext of protecting them. 
• Land alienation among tribal communities is a major problem, which in turn has led to large-scale insecurity, often also triggering socio- political and ethnic conflicts.
• Displacement induced by development projects has also remained an issue, and small gaps continue to remain here and there despite rehabilitation schemes undertaken by the government.

Government Initiatives

• In the post-Independence era, though the Sixth Schedule to the Constitution came into force with the basic objectives of (i) providing for the administration of tribal areas in Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura and Mizoram and (ii) safeguarding the rights of the tribal population in these states.
• On the political front, representation in elected bodies including Lok Sabha and State Legislative Assemblies however has ensured due reservation of seats for both ST and SC communities. 
• Pradhan Mantri Janjatiya Unnat Gram Abhiyan: It is for improving the socio-economic condition of tribal communities, by adopting saturation coverage for tribal families in tribal-majority villages and aspirational districts. The major schemes are – (i) Providing pucca house for eligible Households with other entitlements, (ii) Improving Village infrastructure, (iii) Skill Development Entrepreneurship promotion and enhanced livelihood and self-employment, (iv) Increasing Gross Enrolment Ratio, and (v) Ensuring enhanced access to quality health facilities.
• Dharti Aaba Janjatiya Gram Utkarsh Abhiyan: This ambitious program aims to address critical gaps in social infrastructure, health, education, and livelihood development across approximately 63,000 tribal villages across the country. 

Performance of North Eastern states across various indicators

• Sex Ratio: In most states across the Northeast, the sex ratio is much above the national average of 943. States which have sex ratio above the all-India average are – Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram and Tripura.
• Infant Mortality Ratio (IMR): While the All-India IMR stood at 28 during 2020, IMR in six northeastern states except Assam and Meghalaya were below it.
• Gross Enrolment Ratio(GER): GER of all Northeastern states were above the national average at the Primary and Elementary levels during 2021-22.