A major hurdle of defining a tribe is that related with the problem of distinguishing the tribe from peasantry. Earlier anthropologists had not paid sufficient attention to the definition of tribal society, but tacitly assumed that what they were studying in Australia, Melanesia and Africa were various forms of tribal society. Further, unlike Bailey, the majority of Indian anthropologists have not given much serious thought to the problem of creating a definition of tribal society which will be appropriate to the Indian context. Now let us examine the problem specially in the Indian context. T.B. Naik (1960) raises the problem in proper perspective by talking of the criteria and indices of the tribal life in specifically Indian setting. What should be the criteria and indices of tribal life? Living in forest? Primitive religion? Geographical isolation? There are hundreds of tribal groups who are not living an isolated life. It is hoped that the book will be of immense importance to those dealing with the subject.
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