PVTGs & Indigenous Cultural Heritage

Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs), initially classified as Primitive Tribal Groups (PTGs) following the recommendations of the Dhebar Commission in 1973, represent the most marginalized indigenous communities in India. Criteria for PVTG status include pre-agricultural hunting-gathering technologies, declining or stagnant populations, extremely low literacy rates, and subsistence-level economies. India officially recognizes 75 PVTG communities across 18 states and the Union Territory of Andaman and Nicobar Islands, with Odisha hosting the largest number (13 groups). These communities preserve unique linguistic lineages, animistic belief systems, sacred groves, and traditional ecological knowledge, from the Great Andamanese and Sentinelese of the Bay of Bengal to the Birhors and Chenchus of the mainland.