Adivasis, Migrants and the State in India

`This well-researched and well-written book addresses the seminal issue of rehabilitation of migrants that has confronted the Indian State since independence. Taking the example of the Dandakaranya Project, under which East Bengal migrants were rehabilitated in eastern India, it shows how this impacted on the Adivasis of the region, triggering competition and conflict between communities over access and control over scarce resources. The study provides an excellent exploration of the relationship between the state and migrants, how group conflicts emerge, their socio-economic and cultural repercussions, resulting in domination and political marginalisation of the Adivasis as also triggering Naxalite activity in Odisha. An excellent addition to migration studies, the book will provide a framework for future research on this continuing challenge.' Sudha Pai, Former National Fellow, Indian Council of Social Science Research, New Delhi; Former Rector (Pro-Vice Chancellor) and Professor, Centre for Political Studies, School of Social Sciences, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, India `A much-needed exposition of the conflict over resources between Bengali migrants and native Adivasis in central and eastern India, and the state's role in further marginalising the Adivasis.' Alpa Shah, Associate Professor, Department of Anthropology, London School of Economics and Political Science, London, UK