Role of Ethnic minorities in Indian Freedom Struggle

Abstract

The Adivasi are the heterogeneous tribal groups across the Indian subcontinent. The term Adivasi, a 20th-century construct meaning “ancient inhabitants”, is now widely used as a self-designation by many of the communities who are officially recognized as “Scheduled Tribes” in India and as “Ethnic minorities” in Bangladesh. They constitute approximately 8.6% of India’s population
(around 104.2 million, according to the 2011 Census) and about 1.1% of Bangladesh’s population (roughly 2 million, 2010 estimate). Though claimed to be the original inhabitants of India, many present-day Adivasi communities formed after the decline of the Indus Valley Civilisation, harboring various degrees of ancestry from ancient hunter-gatherers, Indus Valley Civilisation,
Indo-Aryan, Austroasiatic and Tibeto-Burman language speakers. Only tribal people of Andaman Islands remained isolated for more than 25000 years.There were tribal reform and rebellion movements during the period of the British Empire, some of which also participated in the Indian independence movement or attacked mission posts.