Bihar Regiment - Composition and Recruitment

Composition and Recruitment

About half of Bihar Regiment recruits are reported to consist of Adivasis. The word 'Adivasi' means 'original inhabitants' in Sanskrit, and therefore the term refers to the aboriginal people of India.

Some 67.76 million or 8.08 per cent of the population of India have been designated as 'Scheduled Tribes' (STs) - generally referred to as Adivasis. The term 'STs' indicates those communities specified by the President of India under Article 342 of the Constitution of India. 'Geographical isolation, distinctive culture, primitivity, shyness and economic backwardness ' are some of the criteria considered. Adivasis in India share many of the characteristics of other indigenous peoples of the world. However, a vital distinction of the Adivasis of the Indian subcontinent is their opposition to the caste system. As punishment for Adivasi resistance to British rule, "The Criminal Tribes Act" was passed by the British Government in 1871 arbitrarily stigmatizing groups such as the Adivasis (who were perceived as most hostile to British interests) as congenital criminals.