Synopsis The three essays in this book develop a systematic critique of the romanticized notions of tribal life, identity and ecology that informs so much of today's scholarship as well as the popular perceptions and everyday commonsense relating to these themes. The author has examined genesis of certain visions found in the work of Verrier Elwin, the grand old man of Indian anthropology and tribal policy, and has shown how it links up with the contemporary realities of ethnicity, caste and community in India and a hegemonic Hindutva vision.