Narratives on Tribes in Transition : Complexities in Indian Scenario

The present volume intends to bring together seldom-researched empirical and theoretical accounts of the lives of the tribal people in India, who happen to be beneficiaries as well as 'victims' of change and progress.

The whole process of change noticed in human societies is not so uniform, rather it varies with the kind of society owing to the typologies like tribal, caste, rural, urban, traditional, complex, etc. The circumstantial and/or volitional forays into cultural and technological innovations have also led to humans either adapting or maladapting to the same. Tales of such (mal) adaptive behaviour abound in the socio-cultural milieu of many cultural minorities and indigenous populations across the world. The contemporary scenario of the tribal people's tryst with the changes ensuing either due to internal and/or external factors is, in fact, a mosaic of opportunities and ordeals. The present volume have created a space or the representation of the tribal people of India by building a platform for voicing out their concerns in the context of encountering change.

I sincerely hope that the 'stories', narrated in this volume will reward the readers with insights and a strong intent to delve deeper into the lives of the tribal people of India.

Dr. Jesurathnam Devarapalli ( b. 1964) is an Associate Professor in the Department of Anthropology, Pondicherry University, Puducherry. Specialized in Social Anthropology Dr. Devarapalli is passionate towards research in Ecological Anthropology, Medical Anthropology, Tribal Studies and Indigenous Knowledge Systems. With 25 years of teaching experience behind him, he has forty research publications in reputed journals, which further establish his credibility as an expert in Anthropological studies. He has successfully organized nine national seminars on the issues related to tribal people of India.