Why are the tribals in India referred to as ‘the Scheduled Tribes’? Indicate the major provisions enshrined in the Constitution of India for their upliftment.

The term Scheduled Tribes is a constitutional-administrative category, not an anthropological one. Article 366(25) defines STs as those tribes or tribal communities deemed under Article 342, whereby the President, after consulting the Governor, notifies them in a public Schedule; hence they are called Scheduled Tribes. The Constitution (Scheduled Tribes) Order, 1950 issued the first list, and only Parliament can modify it. The Lokur Committee (1965) criteria guide inclusion: primitive traits, distinctive culture, geographical isolation, shyness of contact with the community at large, and backwardness.

Constitutional provisions for their upliftment

• Educational and economic: Article 15(4) special provisions; Article 46 directs the State to promote their educational and economic interests and protect them from social injustice and exploitation; Article 275(1) provides grants-in-aid for tribal welfare and scheduled-area administration.
• Employment: Article 16(4) reservation in public services; Article 335 requires ST claims to be considered in appointments consistently with administrative efficiency.
• Political: reserved seats in the Lok Sabha (Article 330), state assemblies (Article 332) and panchayats (Article 243D), with Article 334 extending legislative reservation.
• Administrative: Article 244 operationalises the Fifth Schedule (Tribes Advisory Councils, Governor's power to adapt laws) and the Sixth Schedule autonomous district councils in Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura and Mizoram; Articles 371A and 371G protect Naga and Mizo customary law.
• Institutional and protective: Article 338A creates the National Commission for Scheduled Tribes; Article 339 permits Union directions on scheduled-area administration; Article 19(5) allows restrictions on outsiders' entry and property rights to protect tribal interests.

Together these weave a framework of protection, representation and development, later reinforced by statutes such as PESA, 1996 and the Forest Rights Act, 2006.