1. In Provinces other than Assam, with the exception of the Laccadive Islands of Madras and the Spiti and Lahaul area of the Punjab, there are no excluded areas. In both of these excluded areas the population is not ethnically tribal. In the Laccadive Islands the islanders are Muslims of the same stock as the Moppillahs of Malabar. In Minicoy they are believed to be of Sinhalese origin. In Spiti and Lahaul the inhabitants are of Tibetan origin. In the remaining partially excluded areas of Provinces other than Assam the principal tribes to be found are Santhal, Gond, Bhil, Munda, Oraon, Kondh, Ho and Savara, Many minor tribes like Korku, Pardhan, Kol, Bhumij, Warli also inhabit the areas. The total population (*Including Assam, the total population of the tribes in the Provinces is 15.9 million) of all the tribes, excluding Assam, is about 13 million of which approximately 8 million inhabit the partially excluded areas. With the exception of certain small tribes like the Bonda Porja and the Kutia Kondh of Orissa, all the remaining tribes have experienced varying degrees of sophistication and come into contact with people of the plains and advanced tracts. Although the tribals living in the non-excluded areas are often hard to distinguish from the plains people among whom they live, they are generally in a backward condition which is sometimes worse than the condition of the Scheduled Castes. It is not possible therefore to leave them out of consideration on the ground that only the tribes in the partially excluded areas need attention. All the tribes of Provinces other than Assam, whether living in the plains or in the partially excluded tracts, should, as one whole be treated as a minority. As regards Assam, conditions in the hill districts of which the Naga Hills, the Lushai Hills and the North Cachar Hills have been excluded are on a totally different footing and the atmosphere, particularly in these excluded areas, is one which is not to be found elsewhere. These areas must therefore be treated separately from the rest. As regards plains tribals the total number of whom, excluding Sylhet, comes to approximately 1.5 million according to census figures, about seven lakhs are tea-garden labour from various parts of the country [not included in the Schedule B to the Government of India (Legislative Assemblies Order) 1936] are not to be taken into account as tribes of Assam. The tribal population of the excluded and partially excluded areas comes to about 8 lakhs. In Assam there are in addition the frontier tracts and tribal areas in which conditions of settled administration prevail only to a very small extent and large areas cannot be said to be under regular administration at all. Even now, in the northern frontier tracts, Tibetan tax-collectors make inroads and, in the Naga tribal area, head-hunting goes on. The administration of these areas still involves contact with foreign States and problems of defence.
