North East India, the erstwhile greater Assam, presently the land of seven sister States is very often called an 'anthropological museum' for her providing shelter to numerous populations of various ethnic affiliation, having different social structure and cultural heritages.
North East India's diversified culture and people has attracted the attention of many anthropologists from different parts of the globe. History of anthropological research in North East India started more than one hundred years back from today. During the formative period a number of studies in the sphere of social anthropology in this region was published by a good number of British Administrators and Civil Servants besides reports of travellors and missionaries with main emphasis to know the indigenous people, especially the tribal ones, primarily for administrative purpose. Physical anthropology was also casually dealt with in those monographs in terms of anthropometric characters to understand racial affinity of the constituent population. However, most of these studies suffer from personal bias and other methodological flaws. After India's Independence, a few scholars from India and abroad had taken up ethnographic as well as morphogenetic studies with dedication, and had done commendable works in broadening the horizon of anthropology of the region.
Despite the early start of anthropological research activities in the North East, till today, however, whatever has been done on the life and style of the people of this easternmost remote corner of the country has not been adequate enough compared to its vast and numerous unexplored areas. Further, it has also been realized that, anthropological literature on non-tribal population, which is considered to be a major tool for development of the people and the region, is too scanty, sporadic and sketchy to ness as well-planned research. There has, mention its worthiness therefore, been the great need of precise documentation of the reliable information on the people of North East India that needs to be obtained through serious scientific studies by the present-day anthropologists. The present volume has been compiled with a view to filling in the lacunae through the writings of a distinguished and dedicated team of anthropologists. The work is expected to provide a glimpse of anthropological perspectives of the People of North East India to all concerned. The scholars who have contributed the articles have longstanding field experience with the people of North East India. The articles dealing with rich empirical data reflect a multidisciplinary approach and have covered a wide range of anthropological panorama. They range from biological issues to social concern.
The volume contains a collection of eighteen articles pertaining to some important facets of anthropology like studies on ethnic elements, inter-group variability, human growth, bio-social and medical anthropological aspects, colourful cultural life, tribal institutions, process of Sanskritization, forms of political system, identity dynamics etc. among the vast and varied types of People of North East India. The volume specially covers the tribal inhabitants, muslim and tea-garden immigrants of the region. The volume, however, in no way can claim to have projected a thorough picture of the multifarious people of the region, but a good cross-section of man, society and culture of North East region is here reflected.
My endeavour will be well rewarded if this treatise proves to be informative, useful and thought provoking to the scholars and researchers as well as administrators, planners and policy makers.
Hindu (935)
Agriculture (118)
Ancient (1085)
Archaeology (754)
Architecture (563)
Art & Culture (910)
Biography (702)
Buddhist (544)
Cookery (167)
Emperor & Queen (565)
Islam (242)
Jainism (307)
Literary (896)
Mahatma Gandhi (372)
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