The Tribal Affairs Ministry on December 7 insisted in the Rajya Sabha that the population of Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs) was not in decline, citing information provided by the Office of the Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India (ORGI).
State-wise Census data provided by the Ministry to a Parliamentary panel last year, however, clearly shows that these tribal groups saw their numbers fall almost 40% in at least nine States and Union Territories in the first decade of this century.
In his question in the Rajya Sabha, BJP MP Rakesh Sinha had sought details about why the population of PVTGs were declining consistently, and what the government was doing to protect their culture and identity.
