IDENTITY POLITICS OF TRIBAL COMMUNITIES IN ODISHA a CASE STUDY OF HO TRIBE 1820 1965

Abstract

In recent years identity politics and the issue of land rights have made the adivasi newlineincreasingly assertive in Indian political life. Beyond the sphere of politics several newlinegovernmental and non-governmental organizations involved with welfare and research newlineamong the tribal group have contributed to the increasing visibility of the marginalized tribal newlinecommunities. This process, however, is often based on a concept of the tribe as a given and newlineunproblematic. Ideologues of tribal identity movements have fostered the development of the newlinenotion of a singular, unified, pan-tribal identity for the tribal for their respective regions, newlineconcentrating on their perceived similarities. This gives rise to and essentialist conception of newline tribe . At the same time, academic research over several years has depicted individual tribes newlineas undifferentiated, united and geographically concentrated. Tribal groups have been newlineisolates and as static communities whose traditional society and economy collapsed under newlinethe pressure of new economic and political forces unleashed under colonialism. Fractures newlineand cleavages within any tribal community did not receive much attention other than being newlinetreated as the effects of the penetration of the Hindu cultural influence and sanskritisation newlinemovements of the semi-tribal chiefs. newlineThus, among these tribes in Odisha the newline