Why tribal communities in Kerala are on the receiving end of the digital disconnect

An indigenous woman fetching firewood from the forests in Wayanad, Kerala. (file image) | Photo credit: Getty Images

Karutha, a senior citizen of Pathrachal tribal settlement located in Edavaka grama panchayat of Mananthavady in Kerala’s Wayanad district, has not received food grains under the Public Distribution Scheme (PDS) for over six months.

When tribal social activists tried to solve this, they found a tricky problem. Her fingerprints could not be compared to an electronic point-of-sale scanner at a local fair-price store to verify her identity. “Since the names of none of her immediate family members are on the ration card, Ms. Karutha is now forced to rely on her neighbors and other relatives for food grains,” says one of the activists.

This is one of many examples of the crisis faced by tribal communities in Kerala, even as uniform digital policies are implemented in a fairly universal manner.

C. Manikandan, an educationist from Wayanad says, “Linking of Aadhaar card with mobile number for OTP verification is mandatory for availing government benefits and services like health cards, ration cards and widow pensions. But most of the tribal population does not own a mobile phone or have a permanent number,” he says. Even if they have smartphones, network coverage is not available in many places.

Access to the health card

Mr. Manikandan points out that as a result, even patients in hospitals are unable to get health cards on time during emergencies. “They are even pushed to the point where their health is seriously compromised. They do not seek medical treatment at all. Without any outside help, these communities are reduced to a state of complete helplessness,” he says.

School admissions are too affected

Problems arise when children also seek admission to a school for which birth certificate and Aadhaar card are mandatory. A parent from Cheruvayal in Wayanad, who does not wish to be quoted, says Aadhaar card applications are being rejected due to spelling variations in local names in birth certificates. Some of these parents who have not completed their school education are then asked to produce their school leaving certificate to verify their identity.

Mr. Manikandan argues that due to the digital disconnect, eligible people cannot renew their ration cards or claim social security pensions.

The problem is not unique to Wayanad; it also exists in districts like Palakkad, Malappuram and Idukki. K. Santhosh Kumar, an activist, points out that 24% of Kerala’s tribal community lives in forests where digital access is difficult.

“Community members who live in tribal settlements or colonies adjacent to forests face a similar problem. Even though they have smartphones, many of them are not yet aware of using the device for various services,” he says.

Mr Kumar says that designing government policies is problematic because the geographical and technological constraints these communities face are often overlooked in the process. “They do not consider the concerns of the communities. The end result is exclusion of tribal people from the schemes,” he adds.

Published – 24 Jul 2026 11:23 IST