Impact of Covid – 19 on Baiga Tribe : A Preliminary Study

Abstract

Covid-19 came as a disaster for the whole world, and no one was left from facing its unfortunate consequences. The level of impact is different when it comes to the people living in rural areas and are still living in primitive life; the pandemic and sudden lockdown situation have led to a significant health threat to tribal people around the world, the tribal community already experiences poor access to healthcare, lacking essential services like clean water, sanitation, connectivity to main-city, awareness, education, etc. The tribal life is based on the community life of the social gathering, and deforestation has a significant impact on traditional livelihood, which compelled them to eke out a livelihood as migrant laborers in different cities of the country. The main objective of this paper is to study the life of the Baiga tribe who fall under PVTGs during Covid-19 and the impact of lockdown on the livelihood of this vulnerable group who lives in Dhanpuri -town, Burhar-block, Shahdol-district of Madhya Pradesh. Apart from analyzing the socio-economic effects of Covid 19, the paper endeavors to focus on the impact of the pandemic on Baiga tribe of the study area. The universe is a tribal area with 44.65% of the scheduled tribe population; the research design adopted is descriptive using qualitative and quantitative methods, including tools and techniques like observation, interview schedule, case studies, and FGD for collection and analysis of data. The paper's findings are that Covid -19 has a vast impact on the life and livelihood of the Baiga community.