The volume focuses on the deprivation of the Adivasis in India, situating the study in the broader regional, national and international contexts. It discusses a range of issues relating to gender, class, poverty, child mortality, linguistics and livelihood of the Adivasis supported by case studies from the different states of India which have large Adivasi populations. It stresses on their rights to access services as well as their rights to their productive resources, land and forests and their active involvement in political governance. Experts deal with the impact of climate change on the future of these indigenous people. They are also concerned with agricultural transformations in shifting cultivation in North-east India and their implications for land management, gender and institutions. They take up the challenges of rapid economic growth like displacement and reconstruction of livelihoods for the Adivasis incorporating community representatives’ perspectives on development processes.