The present study consists the highly acclaimed concept of women empowerment among the tribals. It argues that the tribal social structure is different from hierarchical caste Hindu structure. In fact, there are multiple ethnic groups in the country, such as caste, tribe, linguistic and religious sects and each structural unit has its own identity and therefore autonomy. It is with this perspective that the present study examines the 73rd Constitutional Amendment, which gives political decentralization to the tribal women. It is for the first that the author has examined the tribal women power situation within the political institution of Panchayati Raj. She has made a thorough post-mortem of ground roots reality through sustained field work. What makes the present study is a pioneering work in its perspective of disempowerment. All through the work, the author argues that the tribal women have taken caste women as their modus of imitation due to long and continuous interaction provided by Panchayati Raj institutions. Disempowerment obviously is the process of Hinduising the tribal women and pushing them to the Hindu fundamentalism which is the root of our present day ethnic conflicts.
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