De-constructing the term “tribe/tribal” in India: a post-colonial reading

The British colonial administrator-ethnographers in India were pioneers who surveyed and carried out expeditions on tribes but often their methods were doubtful. Their survey reports and papers became the source of precious information about such province and at the same time a tool for their continuous development of colonial administration. However by using official machinery and tour for collecting data they bypassed the ethical consideration of research. Their writings in many ways ended up contorting tribes as being synonymous with being backward, uncivilized and barbarous. This study critically analyzes the notion of tribes in India as perceived and studied by anthropologists. It also interrogates the Ontology and Epistemic premises of their Knowledge Production on tribes in India. The paper concludes by discussing the various issues on tribal discourse in India.