The Problems and Challenges of the Kadar Tribe of Kerala

Abstract

The present article unfurls the problems encountered by the Kadar tribe of Kerala. Kadar is one of the five particularly vulnerable tribal groups (PVTGs) located in the premises of Parambikulam Wildlife Sanctuary, in the Vazhachal Forest Division, to the south of it and in the vicinity of the Athirappilly Waterfalls on riverside of Chalakudy. The study highlights the problems encountered by this tribal community. The particular problems extracted from the study were lack of adequate finance, exploitation by the government officials, problems in finding employment for a minimum standard of living, lack of education, lack of stable income, threat of displacement, alcoholism among members of the family, long distance to educational, medical and commercial institutions, rules and regulations of the government, delay in getting the payments from government agencies, ill health and malnutrition, drain of forest resources and financial liability of the household, lack of infrastructure facilities like good roads to settlements, the existence of unwed mothers, no proper implementation of the Forest Regulation Act (2006) and no documents provided for the ownership of land.