The Indigenous Peoples and Their Rights| Class 12 Political Science Notes

The Indigenous Peoples and Their Rights is a subpart of the Class 12 Political Science Chapter 6 that is entitled Environment and Natural Resources. This section talks about the Indigenous Peoples and their definition per the United Nations. The United Nations defines the Indigenous Peoples as the descendants of those people who lived on this territory many years ago. As per the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) resolution of 2007, the Indigenous Peoples have certain rights in terms of cultural heritage, traditional knowledge, cultural expression, and knowledge regarding the different flora and fauna. They have the right to maintain, control, protect, and develop them as they want. 

In this article, we will discuss the Class 12 Political Science Chapter 6 subpart The Indigenous Peoples and Their Rights in detail. 

The Indigenous Peoples and Their Rights – Overview

Class 12 Political Science Chapter 6 subpart The Indigenous People And Their Rights discusses some major aspects and rights related to the Indigenous People by considering the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) resolution of 2007. Here is the detailed overview as mentioned below. 

• As per the United Nations, the indigenous people are the descendants of peoples who inhabited the present territory of a certain country a long time ago. This inhibition took place when different persons of various cultures arrived from different parts of the world to stay in that place.
• These people gradually raised their voices and took a stand in the context of world politics. They demanded to treat them equally as the other communities of that specific country. 
• There are so many places in this world where these indigenous people started to live including South America, Central America, India, and different parts of South-East Asia. 
• Indigenous people started to come together with an appeal to consider them and their existence. They asked the authorities to count them as enduring communities with their self-identity. 
• As per the Indian context, the Schedule Tribes are the indigenous people and around 8 percent people of the country fall under this specific category. 
• There are so many issues related to the Indigenous People And Their Rights. So many indigenous communities were neglected and became restricted from joining domestic and international politics for a long time. They gradually formed the World Council of Indigenous Peoples in 1975 and it became the first NGO amongst the 11 Indigenous People NGOs. These 11 NGOs already received consultative status in the forum of the United Nations.  

Represtation In World Politics and Total Counts

In the context of world politics, there are almost 30 crore indigenous people who share the same interests and are spread around the world including India. Almost 20 lakh people live in the Cordillera region of the Philippines, 10 lakh people live in Chile who belong to the Mapuche tribe, 6 lakh tribal people in the Chottogram hills of Bangladesh, and so on. Like other communities, these people also raised their voices to speak for their struggles with different agendas to secure their rights. 

There are so many places in this world where these indigenous people started to live including South America, Central America, India, and different parts of South-East Asia. They came forward and appealed to the government to count their existence and give them an identity. ‘Since times immemorial’ is a specific phase that is used for the Indigenous people of Canada. It refers to these people continuing their occupancy of the lands in different locations of the world from where they actually belong. The loss of land is considered the loss of an economic base. It is a major threat to these people. 

India – The Indigenous Peoples and Their Rights

In India, the Indigenous Peoples and Their Rights are reserved by the Constitution. Around 8 percent of the people of India belong to a Schedule Caste background and are Indigenous Peoples. Mostly they are the hunter and gatherer community and, majorly depends on the cultivation to live. As per the Indian Constitution, they have rights regarding their autonomy and land rights as clarified under Article 15(4) and 46. 

So many years back, they had free access to so much land for their cultivation. During and after the British period the whole structure has been changed. Today they have certain rights in terms of cultural heritage, traditional knowledge, cultural expression, and knowledge regarding the different flora and fauna. They have the right to maintain, control, protect, and develop them as they want.  

Conclusion

The United Nations defines the Indigenous Peoples as the descendants of those people who lived on this territory many years ago. Class 12 Political Science Chapter 6 subpart The Indigenous People And Their Rights discusses some major aspects and rights related to the Indigenous People by considering the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) resolution of 2007. There are so many places in this world where these indigenous people started to live including South America, Central America, India, and different parts of South-East Asia.  As per the Indian Constitution, they have rights regarding their autonomy and land rights as clarified under Article 15(4) and 46.

The Indigenous Peoples and Their Rights- FAQs

Who are called indigenous peoples?

Indigenous peoples are the holders of unique languages, knowledge systems and beliefs and possess invaluable knowledge of practices for the sustainable management of natural resources.

How can we protect the rights of indigenous peoples Class 12?

We can protect the rights of indigenous people with regard to environment in the following ways : (i) They must be allowed to have free access to as much land as they could cultivate. (ii) The governments should accept the existence of indigenous people as enduring communities with an identity of their own.

Who are India’s indigenous people?

Adivasis, as their name reflects, are the earliest inhabitants of the subcontinent and once inhabited much larger areas than they do at present.

What is the biggest problem for indigenous people?

Indigenous people are more likely to live in extreme poverty and suffer higher rates of landlessness, malnutrition and internal displacement than other groups.

What do the indigenous want?

Indigenous groups are also pursuing greater self-determination, recognition of their rights and renewed relationships with other governments outside of self-government negotiations