Usage of ‘tribe’ traceable to colonial census authorities

The term ‘tribe’, as is widely known, subsumes enormous complexities—both anthropological and historical. However, the British India Censuses used to enumerate tribes as Animists until the 1931 Census, in which they were categorised as those practicing ‘Tribal Religion’. Thus, up to the 1941 Census, the criterion of primitive or tribal religion enabled the British census authorities to bypass many complex anthropological issues surrounding the notion of ‘tribe’ or ‘tribal’. | Learn more >>
Tribal culture and society characterised by comparatively high levels of autonomy, equality, and social position of tribal women >>
The author is a Professor, Gokhale Institute of Politics and Economics, Pune.

Source: “‘Who Is Civilised?’: In Praise of Tribal Traditions, Society, and Culture in India” by Arup Maharatna, Mainstream, Vol XLVIII, No 40, September 25, 2010 – Mainstream Weekly
Address : http://www.mainstreamweekly.net/article2337.html
Date Visited: 18 January 2021

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