Introduction
The term 'tribe' generally connotes, in English, a word indicating 'a group of primitive or barbaric clans under some recognized chiefs as per the Oxford Encyclopedia Dictionary (1983), though the Romans conceived it as political divisions and the Greeks equated it with fraternities. The European colonial administration extended in many parts of the globe and an idea about the autochthonese people of their occupied territory connected with other cultures led to their description as 'native' and sometimes, in derogatory parlance. as 'savages', 'aborigines' or the 'primitives'. Anthropologists are in a better position to interpret the term 'tribe' more meaningfully; but in all the cases, as it seems, it indicates a social group of simple kind, the members of which speak a common dialect, have single government and act together for some common purposes like welfare. The Notes and Queries (1951) defines 'tribe' as a politically or socially coherent and an autonomous group occupying or claiming a particular territory. G.S. Ghurye ultimately accepted them as 'Backward Hindus'. Elwin, in his writing, however described these groups as 'aboriginals' but grouped them into varied stages of acculturated processes. Das (1953) defines the term very fittingly in the following manner: A tribe generally has a common name, a common habitat, a common language, a common culture and a feeling of unity among its members as against members of other tribes. These common features give the tribe its individuality, and thereby keep it distinct and different from the other tribes or advanced groups. Majumdar (1967) defined 'tribe' as: Collection of families, or group of families, having a common name, members of which occupy the same territory, speak the same language and observe certain taboos regarding marriage, profession or occupation and have developed well assessed system of reciprocity and mutuality and obligations." Before India was colonized there was no equivalent indigenous word for the English term. tribe. The ancient Sanskrit word, atavika jana, which simply denoted agglomeration of individuals with specific territorial, kinship and cultural pattern, can hardly be equated to the term tribe. It was during areas, where it faced the opposition to annexation in the whole of the Indian subcontinent, that the tribe as a social category got crystallized through an oversimplified notion of their being animists, unlike the Hindus and Muslims. And only later some food gathering communities and shifting cultivators were added to the list of tribes. The first official designation was "forest tribe" followed by "primitive tribe (1931), "backward tribe" (1935), "Adivasi"-the original settlers (1948), and then "Scheduled Tribes" (1950). A tribe is an anthropological concept. Tribes are generally defined as a social group living in a definite area, having a dialect, cultural homogeneity and unified social organization. Scheduled caste and scheduled tribes are the most suppressed as well as disadvantaged section of our society due to their socio-economic exploitation and isolation over a long period of time. They lag behind the rest of the population of the country in terms of various socio-enonomic and political developmental parameters. According to Census of India 2011, 8.2% population out of total population of the country is tribal. In West Bengal there are 22 districts. According to Census of India 2011, total population of the State is 9,13,74,736. Out of them 4,69,27,389 are male and 4,44,20,347 are women. There are total 52,96,953 tribal population in West Bengal which constitutes 5.08% of the state's total population and 5.1% of India's tribal population. Alipurduar, Jalpaiguri, Purulia. Dakshin Dinajpur, Paschim Midnapur and Darjeeling are the highest tribal populated districts. There are 40 schedule tribes communities in the State. Out of the 40 communities 9 communities are shared 90% of total Scheduled Tribes population in the state. As per the 2001 census report total tribal population was 44,06,794. It is increased from 44,06,794 to 52,96,963 persons as per 2011 census report. The main objective of the research work is to analyse the ethnographic, socio-cultural, religious, economic status, health and believes of all the tribes of West Bengal. It is true that the ecology, social and economic conditions, ethnic habits of various tribes are quite different from one another through out the Bengal. Most of the tribal people are illiterate till date. So it is extremely essential to study the socio-economic conditions for their necessary upliftment to include them within the main stream people of India.
About the Book
The word 'Tribe' denotes the ancient inhabitants and their successors of a country having different social structure, culture, language, common religion and political organization. They are the particular portion of the larger Indian population. Their socio-cultural life is very distinguished and different from the mainstream scenario. These tribes are present in different states and union territories of India. In the post-independence period, they are categorized as 'scheduled Tribes' in our constitution. According to census of India, 2011 there are total 52, 96, 953 tribal population in West Bengal which constitutes 5.08% of the state's total population and 5.1% of India's tribal population. The book briefly discussed the socio-cultural life of the tribes of West Bengal. The book also explained the traditional religious faith, belief, community customs, and marriage systems of various tribes of Went Bengal. The book critically analyses the housing pattern, food habit, language, educational status, occupational dimensions of the tribes of Bengal. The book is certainly insightful for students and researcher of social sciences, specially for the researcher who have interest in tribal community.
About The Author
Dr. Rumki Bose (Majumdar), M.A (Specialization in South Asian Studies), M.Phil, Ph.D, Post Graduate Diploma in Mass Communication. She is a senior Assistant Professor of Political Science having more than 13 years teaching and research experience in UG and PG level. She pursued all her academic higher studies from Jadavpur University, Jadavpur, Kolkata - 700032, West Bengal. She is a faculty member of the Department of Political Science, Basanti Devi College, under University of Calcutta, West Bengal. Her research interest is in the area of Tribal Development, Local Governance, Public Policies, Gender issues and Women Empowerment. She has written some book chapters in various edited books from West Bengal and 15 articles in various national and international journals from India. She also participated and presented papers in multiple national and international seminars/conferences in India and abroad.
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