Rural Development and Political Participation Among Tribals

Tribal identity has long since been an issue of much controversy and speculation. The classification colonial ethnographer’s depiction of ‘tribes’ as small, self contained, self-sufficient, homogenous and autonomous communities has been subjected to severe test both by the sociologist and the political economist. The present work assumes that the tribe is a ‘class’ configuration since a large segment of its population is an integral part of the peasant society and as such, participates in the process of change. The process of change has affected the social and economic structure, though in relatively small degrees, by introducing some sort of division of labour. As a corollary of economic differentiation, the traditional economic structure has weakened, no doubt but new political avenues have opened before the tribals. The book makes an attempt to study the pattern of tribal political behaviour especially their political participation in the context of changing economic scenario in an in-depth manner.