Decolonising Indian Anthropology

The book critically examines the historical distortions surrounding India's tribal communities as portrayed by Western anthropologists, re- vealing how these misrepresentations were deeply rooted in a colonial mindset that categorized these groups as the 'other'. The authors emphasize that the term 'tribe', as used by Western scholars, was a colonial imposition grounded in an evolutionary framework that deemed tribal societies 'primitive' and 'less advanced'. Such a viewpoint fostered the artificial separation of forest-dwelling populations through policies that designated forests exclusively for these so- called tribals, ultimately creating significant developmental disparities between forest and plains communities. Over time, these disparities evolved into what is now recognized as an 'anthropological divide'.