STRATIFICATION AND SOCIAL CHANGE AMONG TRIBALS: An Anthropological Study among the Sherdukpens of Arunachal Pradesh

This book is a valuable addition to the context of understanding the tribal situation of Arunachal Pradesh; and also for a critical cognition on the nature of inequality and stratification among the Sherdukpens. Sherdukpen is one of the major tribes of Arunachal Pradesh inhabiting the western most part of the state. The people of this community have a rich cultural heritage; their dance forms, songs, arts and crafts of magnificent beauty have enriched the culture of the state.
Sherdukpen society is passing through a crucial phase of transition. This study attempts to understand the historicity and nature of stratification in the Sherdukpen society. An attempt has been made to see the implications of material as well as economic life on stratification within the society and on various traditional socio-political institutions, religious systems and on social structure and value systems. The work is based on extensive fieldwork on migration narratives and their economic, social and political life.

Rinchin Megejee, a science graduate from Jawaharlal Nehru College, Pasighat, did his postgraduation in anthropology from Rajiv Gandhi University in the year 2005. By the same year he got engaged with Anthropological Survey of India as Junior Research Fellow. Later, he was selected for the Rajiv Gandhi National Fellowship for his Ph.D programme. He left the Survey in 2008 to work as full time scholar and was also voluntarily engaged in teaching from 2008–2010, as part of UGC guidelines. He is the first Sherdukpen to achieve the Doctoral Award in Philosophy. Presently he is running an NGO “Green Saviour” at his home town Bomdila, Arunachal Pradesh.