The Adivasi Question Issues of Land, Forest and Livelihood by Indra Munshi

The term subsumed communities very different from one another in terms of demographic size, linguistic and cultural traits, ecological conditions, material conditions of living, but essentially ‘primitive’, ‘backward’ and ‘uncivilised’ in character.

The term ‘tribe’ was used by the colonial government in India to categorise a large number of groups who did not fit the categories of ‘caste’ or ‘Hindu’. Indra Munshi retired as Professor, Department of Sociology, University of Bombay. It presents diverse perspectives in the form of case studies specific to different regions and provides valuable analytical insights.īringing together contributions by well-known sociologists, historians and environmental activists, this book will be an indispensable read for students and scholars of sociology, anthropology, environmental studies, political science, and policy-analysts. The articles, drawn from writings of almost four decades, discuss questions of community rights and ownership, management of forests, the state’s rehabilitation policies, and the Forest Rights Act and its implications. It analyses how the colonial government forced a section of the adivasis to take up cultivation on lower rates of assessment, thereby making them dependent on the landlord- moneylender-trader nexus for their survival. The British brought tribal land under their control and weaned the adivasis away from shifting cultivation. The introduction examines how the loss of land and livelihood began under the British administration. The Adivasi Question situates the issues concerning the adivasis in a historical context while discussing the challenges they face today. Invasion of adivasi territories, for the most part, commenced during the colonial era and later intensified during the post-colonial period. This systematic alienation, however, is not a modern-day phenomenon. Many have been forced to migrate to other rural areas, the urban fringes or cities in search of work, leading to further alienation. Deprived of their traditional livelihoods, an alarmingly large number of adivasis have been displaced to make way for development projects. Depletion and destruction of forests have eroded the already fragile survival base of adivasis across the country.

The Adivasi Question Issues of Land, Forest and Livelihood by Indra Munshi