• Understand historical and organic linkages between Indian tribes and civilisation.
• Analyse the formation of diverse identities of tribal cultures in Indian civilisation.
• Gain insights of tribal social institutions and their role in promoting the values of justice, co-existence, equality and sustainable living.
• Understand the role of tribal leaders in India’s freedom struggle.

UNIT- I On the Concept of Tribe in India (4 hours)

• Concept of Tribe
• Distribution and classification
• Features of tribes in India
• Tribes as a significant component of Indian Civilisation

UNIT- II Tribal Social Institutions (5 hours)

• Systems of Kinship
• Family and its types
• Gender relations
• Rules of marriage
• Tribal Polity and Indigenous governance

UNIT- III Tribal Worldview (3 hours)

• Tribal religion and symbolism
• Folklore, myths and legends among tribes
• Cosmogony and schemas of living
• Oral history and tribal poetry
• Change and Continuity

UNIT - IV Tribes and National Freedom Movement (3 hours)

• Tribal movements and protests during colonial rule
• Cultural, social, and political impact of Tribal movement
• Role of tribes in India’s freedom Struggle

• The students shall visit various museums having artefacts on tribal heritage
• The students shall connect , network and participate in the cultural and food festivals of various tribal communities located in Delhi .
• The students are required to visit the newly created Centre for Tribal Studies at Department of Anthropology which also has a historic museum with rich collection of tribal artifacts on livelihood and human evolution.
• The students shall prepare small experiential notes highlighting the process of learning of human values from culturally diverse groups.
• The Students will be encouraged to make small ethnographic films of not more than of 2/3 minutes duration on various aspects of tribal life. In addition photo albums and video clippings should be collected on tribal life.
• At the end of the semester, the students will submit a brief project report on any aspects of tribal life, highlighting the aims, methods and the findings (2000 words)

• Beteille, Andre. 2008. ‘Concept of Tribe with Special Reference to India’. In S.K Chaudhury and S.M Patnaik edited Indian Tribes and the Mainstream. Published on behalf of Ethnographic and Folk Culture Society, Lucknow by Rawat Publications, Jaipur.
• Patnaik ,S. M. 1993 Patriarchy among the Parajas : Innocuous Tradition or Invisible Violence ? Indian Anthropologist Vol.23 No 1 PP 65-71
• Sachchidanand Joshi and Satyendra Singh (2023) Janjati Gaurav, Published by Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts, New Delhi, Janpath
• Srivastava, V.K. 2008 Concept of Tribe in the Draft National Policy. Economic and Political Weekly .Vol 43 , No 50
• Vidyarthi, L.P. 1977. Tribal Culture of India: Concept Publishing company. New Delhi

• Fürer-Haimendorf, Christoph von. 1985. Tribal Populations and Cultures of the Indian subcontinent (Chapter 1). E.J. Brill. Leiden
• Patnaik , N. 2002 Folklore of Tribal Communities (Chapter 1). Gyan Publishing House , New Delhi
• Xaxa, Virginius. 2008. State, Society, and Tribes: Issues in post-colonial India. Pearson Education India , New Delhi