Decolonising Indian Anthropology : A Civilisational Approach to the Inter-Relationship among People of the Forests, Hills and Plains

The authors emphasize that the term 'tribe', as used by Western scholars, was a colonial imposition grounded in an evolutionary framework that deemed tribal societies 'primitive' and 'less advanced'. Such a viewpoint fostered the artificial separation of forest-dwelling populations through policies that designated forests exclusively for these so- called tribals, ultimately creating significant developmental disparities between forest and plains communities. Over time, these disparities evolved into what is now recognized as an 'anthropological divide'.