Social Structure and Ethnicity in Indian Tribes

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India offers astounding variety in virtually every aspect of social life. Diversities of ethnic, linguistic, regional, economic, religious, class, and caste groups crosscut Indian society, which is also permeated with immense urban-rural differences and gender distinctions. Distinctions based on kinship, wealth and power among some tribal villages are as sharp as we find among the non-tribal villages. Tribals are not, theoretically, a part of Hindu social organisation, but they have always been in touch with wider society in India. They have been exploited economically and socially by the non-tribals living in tribal areas. A number of tribes have revolted against their exploitation. In India, 427 groups had been recognised as scheduled tribes in the year 1981.They formed approximately 8.08 per cent of the total Indian population. The tribes have segmentary, egalitarian system and are not mutually inter dependent, as are castes in a system of organic solidarity. They have direct access to land and no intermediary is involved between them and land. Social structure is closely related with the size of the group. The present book is an account of Indian tribes, their ethnic backgrounds and social structure. This book is useful not only as an ethnographic documentation, but it will help students, social scientists and social workers to understand the problems of the primitive tribe and possible prospects as well.

Namita Pandit is Professor, Department of Sociology, Ranchi University, Ranchi, Jharkhand. His several research papers have been published in reputed journals. He has also attended many national seminars.

India offers astounding variety in virtually every aspect of social life. Diversities of ethnic, linguistic, regional, economic, religious, class, and caste groups crosscut Indian society, which is also permeated with immense urban-rural differences and gender distinctions. Differences between north India and south India are particularly significant, especially in systems of kinship and marriage. Indian society is multifaceted to an extent perhaps unknown in any other of the world's great civilizations-it is more like an area as varied as Europe than any other single nation-state. Adding further variety to contemporary Indian culture are rapidly occurring changes affecting various regions and socioeconomic groups in disparate ways. Yet, amid the complexities of Indian life, widely accepted cultural themes enhance social harmony and order. In India, 427 groups had been recognised as scheduled tribes in the year 1981.They formed approximately 8.08 per cent of the total Indian population. In earlier times, they were known by their specific names such as the Gond, the Santhal, the Bhil etc. In modern Indian languages, new words like Vanyajati, Vanvasi, Pahari, Adimjati, Adivasi, Anusuchit jati, have been coined to designate the people called as tribe.

Unevenly distributed throughout the subcontinent, the tribes people are a vast majority in the northeastern states and Union territories: 88% in Nagaland, 80% in Meghalaya, and 70% in Arunachal Pradesh. Half of the country's tribal population is found in the three states of Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, and Orissa. Madhya Pradesh has over 8 million, that is, 20% of the population; Bihar has about 5 million, or 8075% of the population: Orissa has nearly 7 million. The numerically dominant tribes are four million Gonds of Central India (Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, and Andhra Pradesh), four million Bhils of Western India (Rajasthan and Gujarat), and three million Santals of Eastern India (Bihar, Orissa, and West Bengal). The smallest tribal community is the Andamanese, with a population of 19. The tribes have segmentary, egalitarian system and are not mutually inter-dependent, as are castes in a system of organic solidarity. They have direct access to land and no intermediary is involved between them and land. Social structure is closely related with the size of the group. An optimum size is absolutely necessary for a group to replicate itself socially and biologically. The issue of isolation and interaction is of critical importance in understanding social formation among the tribes. The idea that the tribes have always remained isolated is not based on history. Migrations in India were frequent for political, economic and ecological reasons. Distinctions based on kinship, wealth and power among some tribal villages are as sharp as we find among the non-tribal villages. Tribals are not, theoretically, a part of Hindu social organisation, but they have always been in touch with wider society in India. They have been exploited economically and socially by the non-tribals living in tribal areas. A number of tribes have revolted against their exploitation.

The present book is an account of Indian tribes, their ethnic backgrounds and social structure. This book is useful not only as an ethnographic documentation, but it will help students, social scientists and social workers to understand the problems of the primitive tribe and possible prospects as well.

Book's Contents and Sample Pages