Aizawl: Development and the Tribal Question in India, the second Cambridge University Press book by Dr Roluahpuia, was launched at BSI Hall, Khatla, on Wednesday.
The edited volume examines India’s growth story from the perspective of tribal communities, highlighting questions of development, land rights, exclusion and inequality.
The book is co-edited by Roluahpuia, associate professor at IIT Roorkee, and Prof Virginius Xaxa, visiting professor at the Institute for Human Development, New Delhi. Mizoram Higher and Technical Education Minister Dr Vanlalthlana, who also holds the School Education and Information and Communication Technology portfolios, formally launched the book.
Speaking at the event, Vanlalthlana said discussions on genuine development must begin with a critical examination of what it means to be “tribal”.
He said tribal communities had long been perceived as backward, forest-dwelling populations that hindered development. Large infrastructure projects, including roads, dams, mining and industrial establishments, often led to the acquisition of tribal lands and forests in the name of the greater public good, he added.
The minister said the government was open to drawing on specialised knowledge from higher education institutions. He encouraged academics and research scholars to ensure their work contributed to policymaking and transformative social change.
The book comprises 12 chapters divided into four sections: Locating Tribal Development; Being Tribe/Adivasi; Extractions and Exclusion; and Development and Transformation.
It examines tribal experiences across India, including in Kerala, Jharkhand, Manipur, Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Odisha, Telangana and Nagaland.
The volume also discusses the Fifth and Sixth Schedules of the Constitution, inequalities within tribal societies and the varying effects of development on different communities.
The opening chapter, written by the editors, situates tribal communities within India’s development discourse. Xaxa revisits the Elwin–Ghurye debate on tribal policy, while Roluahpuia examines whether privatisation can address tribal land problems.
The editors said the book grew out of a seminar they organised and took three years to reach publication.
Following the launch, Dr Joseph K. Lalfakzuala, assistant professor at Government T. Romana College, moderated a discussion on the book’s themes. The panel included Dr Anthony Lalchhuanmawia, guest faculty at Pachhunga University College; Dr Kimi Colney, EastMojo Mizoram correspondent and ICSSR post-doctoral fellow; and Dr B. Lalzarliana, assistant professor of sociology at Mizoram University.
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