About the Book

Over the years, sociologists, anthropologists and the non-tribal masses have, deliberately or inadvertently, developed an image of a tribal as that of a sub-human being, fully deprived of the attributes of a civilized life. The present work seeks to study the developments among the Mina tribal society of Eastern Rajasthan.

The Minas lived in isolation for a long period of history. When the Criminal Tribe Act in 1952 was dropped, they began to come closer to the regional caste culture. Their isolation, thus, continued to give them survival in terms of tribal identity. The constitutional safeties and securities guaranteed to the Minas have brought about certain social and cultural changes among them. This has also changed the image of the Minas in particular and the other tribal groups in general. This new image has created problems of their social and cultural identity. They are now not only fully politicised but have also made their entry into government services. They have also attained some of the characteristics of modernity.

The book will be of special interest to researchers, policy makers and bureaucrats concerned with tribal development.

---

Contents

---

About the Author / Editor

S.L. Sharma is Associate Professor of Sociology at JRN Rajasthan Vidyapeeth University, Udaipur. He was selected twice by UGC and ICSSR, in 2004 and 2008 respectively, under Indo-French Cultural Exchange Programme to visit Paris (France) at Fondation Maison des Sciences de l’homme (FMSH). He has made several academic presentations in India and abroad. His areas of interest are Social Stratification, Social Change and Social Movement. His published works include “Ethnicity and Stratificaton Among Tribals in Urban Setting and Stratification Among Tribals.”

---