Tribal Studies in India: Interdisciplinary Perspectives and Approaches

By Prof. Sarbani Banerjee, Prof. Roluahpuia | IIT Roorkee

Learners enrolled: 553 | Exam registration: 31

ABOUT THE COURSE:

The course familiarizes students with the concepts and approaches to the study of tribal communities in India from an interdisciplinary perspective. It offers foundational understanding of the existing theories and important readings of this field of study. It provides case studies from different geographic regions of the country and uses multiple methods extending from artwork, visuals, scholarly essays, and critical social science theories. At the end of the course, students will be equipped with an understanding of tribal communities, issues faced by the communities, and new insights on contemporary tribal realities viz-a-viz modernity and globalization.

INTENDED AUDIENCE: Students, scholars, service and non-service backgrounds

Summary

Course Status :	Upcoming
Course Type :	Elective
Language for course content :	English
Duration :	12 weeks
Category :	Humanities and Social Sciences
Credit Points :	3
Level :	Undergraduate/Postgraduate
Start Date :	21 Jul 2025
End Date :	10 Oct 2025
Enrollment Ends :	28 Jul 2025
Exam Registration Ends :	15 Aug 2025
Exam Date :	02 Nov 2025 IST
NCrF Level	4.5 — 8.0

Note: This exam date is subject to change based on seat availability. You can check final exam date on your hall ticket.

Page Visits

Course layout

Week 1: Introduction: Historicizing the Concept of Tribe; Understanding the Concept of Tribe- Indigenous People, Adivasi, Janjati; Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs), De-notified Tribes/Criminal Tribes

Week 2: Understanding Tribes in India— Social Organization of Tribes; Tribal Economy; Political Institutions in Tribal Societies; Women in Tribal Society; Cultural Assimilation and Integration

Week 3: Sociological and Anthropological Perspectives of Tribes in India, Tribe-Caste Continuum, Tribe as Peasant, Tribe as Ethnic Group; Problems of Categories and Classifications; Methods and Approaches to the Study of Tribes

Week 4: Tribes during the Colonial Rule I: Integration and Annexation of Tribal Regions; Anti-colonial Movements and Resistance against Colonial Expansion; Case Studies on Chottanagpur and Lushai Hills; Tribes and the Indian National Movement

Week 5: Tribes during the Colonial Rule II: Administration of TribalAreas—Laws and Legislations; Resource Rights—Land, Water,and Forests; Dispossession and Conflict; Exploitation andIndentureship; Plantation Economy

Week 6: Tribes in Post-colonial India I: Constitution Making and the Role of Tribes; Constitutional Provisions for Tribes in India; Protective Discrimination and Welfare of Tribes

Week 7: Tribes in Post-colonial India II: Tribal Administration and Autonomy Provisions; Tribal Politics and Political Parties; Case Studies from Jharkhand and Northeast India (Nagaland, Mizoram, Meghalaya, and Manipur)

Week 8: Development and Tribes: Internal Migration and Socio-cultural Changes; Tribal Middle Class; Social Exclusion; Socio-economic Status of Tribes in the Post-reform Era

Week 9: Tribal Narratives: Oral Histories, Folklore and Myths, Songs, Performances, Rituals, Festivals, and Contemporary Tribal Literature

Week 10: Social Movements: Tribal Activism and Tribal Rights; Environmental Movements, Case Studies

Week 11: Globalization and Tribes- Popular and Digital Culture, Cultural Entrepreneurs and Influencers; Tribes and Social Media

Week 12: Tribal Studies and Humanities and Social Sciences; The Future of Tribal Studies in India- Current Trends and Scopes

Books and references

BK Roy Burman. Tribes in Perspective. Mittal Publications, 1994.
Virginius Xaxa. State, Society, and Tribes: Issues in Post-colonial India, 2008.
Nandini Sundar and T.N. Madan (eds.). The Scheduled Tribes and Their India: Politics, Identities, Policies, and Work. New Delhi, Oxford University Press, 2016.
GN Devy (ed.). Painted Words: An Anthology of Tribal Literature. New Delhi: Penguin Books, 2002.
Verrier Elwin. The Oxford India Elwin: Selected Writings. Delhi: Oxford University Press, 2009.
Hansda Sowvendra Shekhar. The Adivasi Will Not Dance: Stories. New Delhi: Speaking Tiger, 2015.
Ghanshyam Shah. Social Movements in India. New Delhi: Sage, 2004.

Instructor bio

Prof. Sarbani Banerjee

IIT Roorkee

Prof. Sarbani Banerjee earned her PhD in Comparative Literature from the University of Western Ontario (2015). Her areas of specialization include Postcolonial literatures and theory, Indigenous Studies, Post-Partition literature and cinema, Diasporic literatures. She worked as Dr. S. Radhakrishnan Post Doctoral Fellow (University Grants Commission, 2017-20). Currently, she is Assistant Professor of English in the Department of Humanities and Social Sciences at IIT, Roorkee.

Prof. Roluahpuia

Prof. Roluahpuia obtained PhD from the Tata Institute of Social Sciences. He has held fellow positions at the Centre for the Study of Developing Societies (CSDS), New Delhi, and a post-doc position from the Lakshmi Mittal and Family South Asia Institute, Harvard University. His area of research is in the field of Sociology of Tribes, Sociology of Development, and Borderland Studies. He is currently an Assistant Professor of Sociology at the Department of Humanities and Social Sciences at IIT, Roorkee.

Course certificate

The course is free to enroll and learn from. But if you want a certificate, you have to register and write the proctored exam conducted by us in person at any of the designated exam centres.

The exam is optional for a fee of Rs 1000/- (Rupees one thousand only).

Date and Time of Exams : November 02, 2025 Morning session 9am to 12 noon; Afternoon Session 2pm to 5pm.

Registration url: Announcements will be made when the registration form is open for registrations.

The online registration form has to be filled and the certification exam fee needs to be paid. More details will be made available when the exam registration form is published. If there are any changes, it will be mentioned then.

Please check the form for more details on the cities where the exams will be held, the conditions you agree to when you fill the form etc.

CRITERIA TO GET A CERTIFICATE

Average assignment score = 25% of average of best 8 assignments out of the total 12 assignments given in the course.
Exam score = 75% of the proctored certification exam score out of 100

Final score = Average assignment score + Exam score

Please note that assignments encompass all types (including quizzes, programming tasks, and essay submissions) available in the specific week.

YOU WILL BE ELIGIBLE FOR A CERTIFICATE ONLY IF AVERAGE ASSIGNMENT SCORE >=10/25 AND EXAM SCORE >= 30/75. If one of the 2 criteria is not met, you will not get the certificate even if the Final score >= 40/100.

Certificate will have your name, photograph and the score in the final exam with the breakup.It will have the logos of NPTEL and IIT Roorkee. It will be e-verifiable at nptel.ac.in/noc.

Only the e-certificate will be made available. Hard copies will not be dispatched.

Once again, thanks for your interest in our online courses and certification. Happy learning.

- NPTEL team