A STUDY ON THE WORKING OF SELF HELP GROUPS (SHGS) AMONG IRULA TRIBES IN NILGIRIS DISTRICT

Abstract

In tribal community, women are considered worthier than any other communities, because they are very much hard workers and thus their entire family depends on them. But however, tribal women face many problems and challenges in getting a sustainable living. The Tribal development Strategy, especially tribal women development needs more attention, improvement and betterment to make tribal women empowered. As majority of tribals live in abject poverty, SHGs plays a vital role in raising their status above the poverty line through implementation of various poverty alleviation programmes and providing them with financial and other support for taking up self – employment and income generation activities. In Tamil Nadu, among the 36 scheduled tribes, the Government of India has identified six communities as Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups. They are (i) Todas, (ii) Kotas, (iii) Kurumbas, (iv) Irulas, (v) Paniyans and (vi) Kattunayakas. Hence the researchers have selected one (Irula Tribe) among the six Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups. The paper has attempted to analyse the contribution of SHGs among Irula tribes in Nilgris district.