Great Andaman tribe test COVID-19 positive

• Five members of the Great Andamanese tribe, a Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Group (PVTG), have tested positive for COVID­19. The Great Andamanese is one of five PVTGs that reside in the Andamans archipelago and this is one of the first cases of COVID­19 infection among the endangered PVTGs of the region.
• The infections were detected when the administration tested all members of the tribe last week.
• Some members travel between Port Blair and Strait Island and a few do odd jobs in the city so they catch the virus. 
• The Great Andamanese, who number just 74, speak Jeru among themselves. The five PVTGS residing in Andamans are Great Andamanese, Jarawas, Onges, Shompens, and North Sentinelese. 
• Meanwhile, the administration has also tested 35 members of the Onge tribe, who reside primarily on the Dugong Creek of the Little Andaman Island. All the test reports are negative
• Emphasizing that the administration was making all efforts to contain the spread of the virus among the PVTGs
• The Shompen and North Sentinelese, who live in isolation, are difficult to reach out to and contact.

Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs)

• In India, the tribal population makes up 8.6% of the total population.
• PVTGs are more vulnerable among the tribal groups. Due to this factor, more developed and assertive tribal groups take a major chunk of the tribal development funds because of which PVTGs need more funds directed for their development.
• In 1973, the Dhebar Commission created Primitive Tribal Groups (PTGs) as a separate category, which are less developed among the tribal groups. In 2006, the Government of India renamed the PTGs as PVTGs.
• In this context, in 1975, the Government of India initiated to identify the most vulnerable tribal groups as a separate category called PVTGs and declared 52 such groups, while in 1993 an additional 23 groups were added to the category, making it a total of 75 PVTGs out of 705 Scheduled Tribes.
• PVTGs have some basic characteristics - they are mostly homogenous, with a small population, relatively physically isolated, absence of written language, relatively simple technology and a slower rate of change, etc.
• Among the 75 listed PVTG’s the highest number is found in Odisha.

Source: The Hindu