The Constitution assures tribals of protection against exploitation, respect for their tradition and heritage, and assistance for the improvement of their socio-economic and educational status. And yet they happen to be the most adversely affected ethnic group. They have suffered on account of the development projects. To them, development is synonymous with deprivation. The tribals constitute approximately eight per cent of India's population. There are about 212 Scheduled Tribes. Article 46 stipulates educational and economic benefits and protection against social injustice and exploitation. Article 335 promises reservation in recruitment. Alienation Dams, factories and mines have made tribals the refugees of development. The Narmada Bachao Andalon, the movement in Chotanagpur, the anti-land alienation agitation in the South, the struggle for Bodoland and similar other conflicts symbolise the struggles against inevitable development. That uplift has impoverished the tribals and other communities living in the resource-rich regions. It is also a search of a new identity at a time when tribals are feeling alienated from their culture because of the threat to the natural resources around which generations have grown up. These are areas where their cultural, economic and social lives have evolved. For the Scheduled Tribes, education is essential not merely for economic development, but also for promoting the self-confidence that is required to face new challenges. It is heartening to note that education expanded at a faster rate among STs than at the level of the general population. For the latter, the percentage of literacy in 1971 over the 1961 figure was 27.30; the rate for STs over the same period was 32.3. According to the 1981 census, the literacy rate in the sub-plan area of Bihar was 27.2 per cent (higher than the general literacy of Bihar), against the all India rate of 36.17 per cent. The increase of literacy amongst the STs during 1961-71 had been faster than the growth of literacy among the general population, but the fact remains that the level of literacy is less than satisfactory. The Constitution provides for reservation in services and educational institutions. While their representation was almost zero in the ICS, there is a substantial number in the IFS, IAS, IPS and the Central services. Though there is no clear reservation policy in universities, yet out of 2,748 teachers in the 112 universities there were 20 belonging to the listed classes between 1975 and 1980. The lack of an integrated approach to tribal education has resulted in a disaster despite a considerable investment by the government. The pattern is not uniform. While the HRD ministry looks after the educational aspect, it is the home ministry that is chiefly concerned with tribal problems. A proper system of education for tribal children is yet to devised. Tribal children suffer from a sense of confusion. At the pre-primary stage, he/she is forced to a learn an "alien' language. Textbooks offer "alien' cultural symbols and the teachers come from an "alien'' cultural background. A tribal child is often befuddled, and prefers to stay away from school. Even those who complete their schooling remain perplexed. Tribalism has become a potentially deterrent force in the process of national integration, which itself has been reduced to a mere political slogan. It has not been possible to integrate the tribals with the national mainstream. Large-scale exploitation and perpetual indifference towards their problems have served to consolidate the distinct socio-cultural identities of tribals. Education has failed to be an agent of social mobility. It has been "the god that failed' because the benefits of educational development have been usurped by the upper strata of the society. Education has almost bypassed the lower socio-economic strata. Three factors are usually cited to explain tribal discontent. These are: conspiracy; exploitation; and development. The first explains tribal discontent in Jharkhand and Bihar by drawing parallels with the separatist movements of the north-east and the Khalistan movement in Punjab. The tribals remain the most backward, the poorest, the most illiterate and the most unhealthy. And this has come about despite the constitutional protection in terms of welfare and development. As regards economic exploitation, the region of Chotanagpur contributes 70 per cent of Jharkhand's revenue, but receives only 20 per cent. Only 5 per cent of the total land in Chotanagpur is irrigated, against 50 per cent in the rest of the state. Land alienation and job deprivation are the two other main reasons for the discontent. Tribals around Ranchi have suffered from land alienation as well. To them, land is dearer than life. The development-oriented theory of tribal discontent tries to explain it as a natural social process of political change and educational development. Educational aspirations, industrial and urban exposure and political participation are correlated with social and political discontent. The higher the level of education, the greater the industrial and urban exposure; higher the aspirations and socio-political modernity, the greater is the political participation and socio-political discontent. This pattern has been found to be common to both tribal and non-tribal workers. Most backward The tribals are the most backward ethnic group in India in relation to the main indicators of development: education, health and income. Their status is even worse than that of the Scheduled Castes, another backward group that is entitled to constitutional protection. Because of their extreme backwardness, the plight of the tribals is a matter of national concern. They constitute 8 per cent of the total population, but in certain parts of the country their number is substantial enough to make them a major segment of the population. Despite of their extreme backwardness, they have shown a spirit of rebellion against exploitation and injustice from the days of the Raj to the present government. Social psychologists have not offered any objective data-based explanation of tribal psychologies, protest and dissent. Neither the conspiracy theory nor the exploitation theory can adequately explain the dismal situation in Jharkhand. The development theory attempts to explain the discontent as a result of a combination of factors: increasing education and mass media exposure, industrialisation and urbanisation, aspiration and a sense of relative deprivation and political participation. A UNESCO preamble states that wars originate in the minds of men and therefore the defences of peace should be built therein. Accepting the truism, the attitude of the people of India should change towards the tribal. The author was Reader, Burdwan University