There are four blocks in this course comprising of 16 units which have been prepared by experts on the subjects.

Block 1 deals with ‘Introduction to Tribal Society and Culture’. The block has attempted to highlight the tribal religions and social systems as well as their rites of passage which is distinctive of every tribal group. The language, art and culture of the tribes are also discussed in the block.

Block 2 is on ‘Tribal Society in Transition’. It provides information about how the tribal societies in India have been in transition from the governance to the economy to the shift in the gender and class within the tribal society. It also points out the intersection between gender, class and caste in relation to Tribes.

Block 3 and Block 4 are about the ‘Tribal Identity and Ethnicity I and II’. The two blocks highlights the concept of difference and inequality among the tribes as well as the tribal identity in the modern world. The block also touches the issue of alienation and migration, which is prevalent among the tribal groups of different regions and also talks about the employment trends of the tribals among other issues.

Dr. Saumya is an Assistant Professor at School of Social Work, Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU), New Delhi, India. Prior to joining IGNOU, she taught at University of Delhi as Lecturer in Department of Social Work. She has received Visiting Fellowship to Shanghai Open University, China in 2014 and Commonwealth Fellowship in 2018 to attend the 32nd Annual Conference of AAOU at Hanoi, Vietnam. She has won the 2018 Young Innovator Award for her paper at 32^nd Annual Conference of The Asian Association of Open Universities (AAOU). She has published books and many articles and presented several papers in national and international seminars.

Research Area: Open and Distance Learning, Tribal issues, Migration and Community Organization