Published Paper Details:

The indigenous population of the nation, known as Adivasi or scheduled tribes (STs), is among the poorest, vulnerable and most marginalized groups of the nation. Most of them remain at the lowest stratum of the society due to various factors like geographical and cultural isolation, low levels of literacy, primitive occupations and extreme levels of poverty. It is shocking to note that Kerala � a state with the remarkable achievements in human, and social (health) indicators � has excluded the tribal groups from its so-called achievements. So the basic facilities for Health and education itself are not inclusive for the tribal�s at the time of emergency.Land degradation and marginalisation are interconnected phenomena which are threatening the entire life-support system of tribal communities in Attappady. The population of Scheduled Tribes in Kerala has increased from 3, 64,189 in 2001 to 4, 26,208 in 2008-10.Of which the tribal population in Attappady is 27,121 and there are 192 tribal hamlets in Attappady.