Description
The authors emphasize that the term ''tribe'', as used by Western scholars, was a colonial imposition grounded in an evolutionary framework that deemed tribal societies ''primitive'' and ''less advanced''. Such a viewpoint fostered the artificial separation of forest-dwelling populations through policies that designated forests exclusively for these so- called tribals, ultimately creating significant developmental disparities between forest and plains communities. Over time, these disparities evolved into what is now recognized as an ''anthropological divide''.