Tribes and Analogous Peoples in India

Contemporary Issues

The concepts of " Tribe" and " Tribal identity" in Indian context are very complex and contested.The politics of inclusion in and exclusion from 'Scheduled Tribe ' list adds to the din at regional and national levels. The claims as well as preferences of tribes to the attributes of Adivas is in tum equated with ' indigenous people ' also are largely contested. In spite of the lack of national unanimity, the perception of the tribes of India as part' of the world indigenous peoples has gained wider acceptability. The proclaimed welfare policy of 'main streaming' of tribes has met with severe resistance. What constitutes the reality of tribal situation in time and space can only be provided by periodical sound anthropological studies. The papers in this volume deals with-four major themes: Ethnicity and cultural identity of tribes; Endangerment of indigenous languages of tribes ; Issues and perspectives of tribal development in multiple cultural contexts; and Impact of globalization on livelihood systems and occupational patterns of tribes in India. Understanding the dynamics of development among the tribes and communities with analogous socio-cultural and techno-economic dispositions require anthropological approach. Responsible national and regional collaboration of the agencies involved and ensuring informed participation of the communities and peoples concerned in developmental works can alleviate the deprivations as discussed in the presentations. B Francis Kulirani, is former Deputy Director (Cultural) Anthropological Survey of India, Kolkata. Kulirani obtained his MSc degree from the Pune University and Doctoral degree from the University of Calicut. He has 35 years long research career across the various regions of the country and conducted field studie s. He has written/edited ten books and many articles in national/international journals. He was awa:ded Shastri Indo- Canadian Research Fellowship. Kulirani is a member of the International Union of Anthropological and Ethnological Sciences (IUAES) and was a delegate to the 16th World Congress (Kunming, China) and 17th World Congress (Manchester, United Kingdom) of the IUAES. Kulirani is Founder Secretary of the Anthropological Association, Mysore and a Life Member of the Indian National Confederation and Academy of Anthropologists (!NCAA), Kolkata. He is Life Member of the North East India Council of Social Science Research, Shillong and one of the former Presidents. He is member of the Editorial Board of The Indian Journal ofAnthropology