Which of the following arguments are correct about tribes in India ?
(A) Adivasis were always the oppressed group, as they are now.
(B) Tribes were absorbed in Hindu society through Sanskritisation.
(C) Tribes occupied a special trade niche, trading forest produce, salt and elephants.
(D) Adivasis often exercised dominance over the plains people through their capacity to raid them.
Choose the correct answer from the options given below:
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 2
The correct answer is Option (2) → (B), (C) and (D) only
(A) Adivasis were always the oppressed group, as they are now. Incorrect. Adivasis were not always the oppressed groups they are now. There were several Gond kingdoms in Central India, such as Garha Mandla and Chanda, and many so-called Rajput kingdoms of central and western India emerged from stratification among adivasi communities themselves.
(B) Tribes were absorbed in Hindu society through Sanskritisation. Correct. A large body of writing describes the ways in which tribes were absorbed into Hindu society over the ages: through Sanskritisation, acceptance into the Shudra fold after conquest by caste Hindus, and acculturation.
(C) Tribes occupied a special trade niche, trading forest produce, salt and elephants. Correct. Tribes were never cut off from the wider economy. They occupied a special trade niche, trading forest produce, salt and elephants.
(D) Adivasis often exercised dominance over the plains people through their capacity to raid them. Correct. Far from being always weak, adivasis often dominated the plains people through their capacity to raid them, and through their services as local militias.
NCERT (2025-26): “3.2 Tribal Communities … The discussion on caste-tribe differences was accompanied by a large body of literature on the mechanisms through which tribes were absorbed into Hindu society, throughout the ages – through Sanskritisation, acceptance into the Shudra fold following conquest by caste Hindus, through acculturation and so on.…” “…Nevertheless, the idea that tribes are like stone age hunting and gathering societies that have remained untouched by time is still common, even though this has not been true for a long time. To begin with, adivasis were not always the oppressed groups they are now – there were several Gond kingdoms in Central India such as that of Garha Mandla, or Chanda. Many of the so-called Rajput kingdoms of central and western India actually emerged through a process of stratification among adivasi communities themselves. Adivasis often exercised dominance over the plains people through their capacity to raid them, and through their services as local militias. They also occupied a special trade niche, trading forest produce, salt and elephants.…” |