A peep into the problems of muthuvan tribe in Edamalakudi Panchayath of Idukki District, Kerala Suresh S1, Aneesh M.R1, Mani K2 1Research Scholar, Dept. of Geography, University College, Thiruvananthapuram 2Principal, TMGC College, Tirur Online published on 3 July, 2021. Abstract The tribal population is identified as the aboriginal inhabitants who are physically and socially isolated from the mainstream and live in inaccessible hills and forest areas. In India tribals are known as 'Adivasis' meaning indigenous people. The Indian constitution gives special consideration for these ethnic minority groups, traditionally referred to as tribes or tribals as Scheduled Tribes (STs). ST constitutes around 8 percent of the total population in our country. The proportion of ST population in Kerala is 1.45 percent. The present study investigates the lights and shadows of Muthuvan tribes in Edamalakudi. The Muthuvan tribe is one of the most reclusive forest tribes living at Edamalakudi (the only tribal grama panchayat in Kerala) in Idukki district of Kerala. These people are still rooted in tradition. The road to democracy is not smooth in this panchayat. Children and pregnant women are not given nutrious food in time. Lack of basic facilities hurts this panchayat. Decline in growth rate is observed in this tribal community. Poor health status, high illiteracy, absence of medical facility, very poor accessibility, absence of electricity power and government rules put their life in misery and hardship. Misuse of birth control pill (Mala-D) affected more than 117 couple in this panchayat as they have no children (Giji K. Raman, 2015). Because of this now a days, Muthuvan population faces decline turning them into a rare tribe. If the government does not intervene urgently, the tribe would become extinct. Top Keywords Tribe, Muthuvan, Edamalakudi and Population growth rate. Top |