Social Exclusion of Tribal Agricultural Labourers: The Case of Adiya Tribal Community of Wayanad District

The tribal communities in Kerala constitute 1.4 percent of the general population. Despite, Kerala’s remarkable social sector development, it is observed that the tribal communities still remain the most vulnerable community in the state. Hence, the present study was an attempt to study the extent of social exclusion of Adiya tribal communities of Wayanad. Social exclusion was measured using five indicators and primary data was collected from 90 respondents, using structured questionnaire. The data obtained were analysed using descriptive statistics. The study revealed that Adiyas faced an overall exclusion of 66.38 percent. Analysis of extent of social exclusion indicator wise showed that economic exclusion was felt to the extent of 74.54 percent followed by political-legal exclusion (69.89%). Also, Adiya tribe experienced geographical exclusion to the extent of 69.76 percent followed by service exclusion (67.96%) and socio-cultural exclusion (48.92%) respectively. Further 50.00 percent of the respondents felt medium level of social exclusion. Considering the significant level of social exclusion faced by this tribal community, developmental interventions for the empowerment of Adiyas in social, economic and educational spheres for ensuring food and livelihood security and for defence against exploitation is the need of the hour.