First President from a tribal community: Why did it take so long?

With a new President in place who belongs to the Santhal tribe, the focus of attention is now on why it took so long for someone from this community to reach the highest seat of power in India.

One answer is education - and the lack of tribal access to it.

Experts say there are many problems.

In different parts of India, forest dwellers speak in their own language. So communication – and education – has to be in that language. There are many role models for forest people who are legends in resisting plainsmen – not enough to act as catalysts and draw them towards education.

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On the other hand, forest dwellers and tribes have improved their lot over the years. Determined efforts by the government in making education accessible have achieved desired results. Although whether that is appropriate education remains a moot question.

The most dismaying fact is that tribals have a very high dropout rate. 

Dropout rate is the proportion of students who leave school during the year, as well as those who complete the grade but fail to enrol in the next grade the following school year to the total number of pupils/students enrolled during the previous school year. It is a critical indicator, reflecting lack of educational development and inability of a given social group to complete a specific level of education.

Fresh efforts will likely be made to include tribal populations in India’s mainstream development narrative, now that a tribal is a President of India. At almost 9 per cent of the population, they are too numerous to forget.