Changing Phases of Kerala’s Development Experience and the Exclusion of Scheduled Tribes: Towards an Explanation

The study examines whether the Scheduled Tribes of Kerala are excluded from the development experience over the period or not. We found that in terms of literacy rates, average years of schooling, retention rate and availability of basic amenities, the STs are relatively deprived. Also, while a higher proportion of general population is engaged in tertiary sector over the period; in the case of STs, a major share of population are still stuck with primary sector. All these indicate that the STs of Kerala are excluded groups both in the lopsided as well as in the virtuous phases of development. The study also advances an explanation to the observed exclusion of the Scheduled Tribes in both the phases.