Adivasi, also known as tribal people, are the native or indigenous people of India. ‘Adi’ in Sanskrit and in major Indian languages means old or first and ‘Vasi’ means settlers. There are an estimated 84 million Adivasi in India in 613 communities, the largest number of indigenous people of any country the world.

Tribal culture in India is both rich and diverse but remains marginalized from the mainstream of society economically, politically and socially. The majority of Adivasi communities subsist below the poverty line and have little opportunity to access education, engage in democratic decision making or other means of breaking the cycle of indebtedness and disadvantage to which they have been historically subjected.

National Advocacy Council for Development of Indigenous People (NAC-DIP) is a country level forum for advocating the causes of marginalized Adivasi communities in India. It is an informal platform used by a number of organizations, facilitated by NGOs, to implement development programmes among Adivasi.

NAC-DIP has a membership of 152 Adivasi communities, from across 18 states, and a network involving 225 independent non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and community based organizations (CBOs). It is pluralist and decentralised, encouraging all to experiment in the field of development with strategies for the betterment of Adivasi communities and simultaneously share their experiences of success for replication. It does not have a constitution, regulations or even a managing committee but in the eight years since its formation it has organised several national conventions and consultations advocating for the cause of Adivasi at various states and country level.

NAC-DIP is promoted by People’s Rural Education Movement (PREM), an humanitarian, secular, non-political and non-profit making, voluntary development organization which has worked in Orissa since 1984. In 1992 it extended its operations to Andhra Pradesh and in 2004 to Tamil Nadu, Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh.