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Infectious diseases have exposed the tribes (scheduled tribes, Adivasis, indigenous people) to more critical risks than other communities in India. Considering their disparate possession of power, privileges and resources, and the available data, the article situates tribes in the context of coronavirus pandemic in India by using the vulnerability framework. It reflects upon the strengths, weaknesses and uncertainties of tribes and the lack of structural support for them in the emergent crisis of pandemic. It argues that compounded vulnerabilities of tribal communities due to Covid-19 are attributed to their historical location in the socio-economic, cultural and political realms and the lack of access to resources and opportunities in the post-colonial Indian society.

As the identification of Scheduled Tribes (STs) is left to the state government -which bases decisions on political considerations rather than the established criteria for identification of STs -there are bound to be emerging demands for inclusion in the list of STs. Meanwhile, in the name of extending welfare projects and affirmative action to tribal people, the state is legitimizing its control over tribal resources. For STs, the important issue is not integration into mainstream society, nor development by any outside agency, but recognition as peoples in their own right, treatment as equal partners, and control over their lands and livelihoods and, through this, the ability to develop themselves.

Scheduled Tribes (STs, indigenous people) are one of the most marginalised communities in the political sphere. Political marginalisation of STs due to historical injustices has compelled the Indian state to explore alternative means to ensure adequate representation for them by adopting a political reservation system. Political reservation has, therefore, become their primary means of political empowerment, wherein it has ensured the redistribution of political resources in favour of the marginalised communities. Against this backdrop, the article explores the location of tribal communities in the colonial political system and the reasons for their disproportionate representation, the nature and dynamics of ST reserved constituency and the effects of political reservation on these communities. Further, the article concludes by suggesting that the political reservation system has brought both hope and despair among the STs.