India has two key social formations, the castes and the tribes. Both groups can be studied from the perspective of society (samaj) and culture (sanskriti). However, studies on castes largely deal with social structure and less on culture, while studies on tribes focus more on culture than on social structure. What has resulted from this bias is a general misunderstanding that tribes have a rich culture but lack social structure. This volume emerges out of an in-depth empirical study of the social structure of five Scheduled Tribes (STs) in Gujarat, western India, viz., Gamit, Vasava, Chaudhari, Kukana and Warli. It analyses and compares their internal social organisation consisting of institutions of household, family, lineage, clan, kinship rules and marriage networks. The book also deals with changes taking place in the social structure of contemporary tribal societies. While the focus is mainly on the data from tribes of western India, the issues are relevant to pan-Indian tribes. An important contribution to the studies on tribes of India, this book will be of great interest to students and researchers of anthropology, sociology, demography, history, tribal studies, social work, public policy and law. It will also be of interest to professionals working with NGOs and civil society, programme and policy formulating authorities and bureaucrats.

The Tribes and Castes of the Central Provinces of India is a four-volume ethnological study of the caste system written by Robert Vane Russell. The book is the result of the arrangement made by India's Government for the preparation of an ethnological account, dealing with the inhabitants of each of the principal Provinces of India. Although being a four-volume study, the study is basically divided in two parts. The first part, consisting of volume one, contains articles on the religions and sects of the people of the Central Provinces and the glossary of minor castes and other articles, synonyms, subcastes, titles and names of exogamous septs or clans. The second part, consisting of volumes two, three and four, contains descriptive articles on the principal castes and tribes of the Central Provinces.

This book is the result of the arrangement made by the Government of India, on the suggestion of the late Sir Herbert Risley, for the preparation of an ethnological account dealing with the inhabitants of each of the principal Provinces of India. The work for the Central Provinces was entrusted to the author, and its preparation, undertaken in addition to ordinary official duties, has been spread over a number of years.

According to the 2011 census, the population of ‘Kathodi’ tribe is 13,632 people. People of this tribe mostly live in Surat, Tapi, Dang, Narmada and Sabarkantha districts. They use herbs, fruits and roots as food. They hunt rabbits, deer, cocks and birds and use them for food. They were engaged in the profession of collecting catechu from its trees, so the tribe is known as ‘Kathodi’ tribe. In this modern time, machinery and factories are established to prepare catechu, so the old profession of preparing catechu by this tribe is stopped. Nowadays, people of this tribe have started farming works andWork of collecting forest products. To uplift the people of this tribe, various departments have tried by providing opportunities of self-employment and home industries. Literacy rate of this tribe is 23.54%. Irrespective of the influence of modernisation, urbanisation, industrialization and overall development in tribal areas there are still certain communities which are extremely backward. such tribal communities have been identified as primitive tribes. Kathodi is one of them.. This study belongs to Kathodi tribes. Such studies are very rare in Gujarat state.. The present research study is exploring nature study of the living conditions and social-economical positions of Kathodi tribes as an especially primitive community in Vijaynagar Taluka in Sabarkantha district which is located in Gujarat state. The study systematically presents the impacts of development schemes on the socio-economic conditions of Kathodi. It also throws adequate light on the problems associated with schemes both at the level of beneficiaries as well as at the promoters level too. . .

Colonial and Post-Colonial Identity Politics in South Asia analyses the colonial and post–colonial documentation and caste classification among Muslims in India, demonstrating that religion negotiated with regional social customs and local social practices whilst at the same time fostering a shared religious belief. The central question addressed in this is book is how different castes assert their identity for classification and how caste encountered colonial documentation. Identifying the colonial context of the documentation of caste among Muslims, and relying on colonial documentation in various census reports, Gazetteers, government or police records, ethnographic studies and travelogues, the author demonstrates the sheer diversity of attempts and caste among Muslims. The book deconstructs how under Colonialism Muslims were categorized into three broad but overlapping categories - Ashraf, Ajlafs and Arzals - and that Muslims were categorized into Asiatic, Non-Asiatic, Foreign, Mixed and Hindustani –Muslim categories. It argues that few colonial theories applied to Muslims. Finally, the author explores post-colonial documentation of castes among Muslims in various Commission reports, particularly in Backward class commission reports and its interplay in the reservation politics of the contemporary period and examines the growth of various Muslim caste organizations in different parts of India and their role in identity politics. Providing a new perspective on the issue of minorities in India, this book will be of interest to scholars of religion, Islam, history, politics and sociology of India.