Historians have generally focused on the ‘extraordinary’ forms of protest while speaking of the lives of oppressed social groups, but the basic survival strategies of these groups are often overlooked in research. The fact that excluded groups have managed to survive has, hidden right beneath the surface, a whole range of complexities, while also demonstrating their ability to resist dominant social orders. Biswamoy Pati’s posthumous volume on the lives of the tribals and dalits/outcastes in Orissa, from c. 1800 to 1950, shows how such communities were further impoverished by both colonial government policies and the chiefs of the despotic princely states. Colonial knowledge systems, constructions of the ‘criminal tribe’, and agrarian settlements affected tribals and dalits crucially. These marginalized groups were connected with the national movement. However, their inherited problems remained unresolved even after Independence. Examining these and several other issues such as adivasi strategies of resistance, indigenous systems of health and medicine, the colonial ‘medical gaze’, conversion (to Hinduism), the fluidities of caste formation, as well as the development of colonial capitalism and urbanization, the author presents a broader view of their struggle and endurance.

This Work, Drawn Largely From Oriya Sources, Provides A Much-Needed Analysis Of An Important But Often Neglected Topic. This Is The First Book That Provides A Comprehensive Assessment Of The Many-Sided Contributions Of Gourisankar Roy, Fakir Mohan Senapati, Radhanath Roy, Baikunthanath De And Maharaja Krushana Chandra Bhanj Who Were Some Of The Foremost Among The Makers Of Modern Orissa. It Explores The Evolution Of This Area, Its Problems And Triumphs, And Studies The Thoughts And Deeds Of These Five Towering Personalities Of Orissa In The Second Half Of 19Th Century. It Provides An Overall Picture Of The Different Aspects Of 19Th Century Orissa, Social, Political And Cultural. The Text Is Accessible To A Broad Readership And Will Be Of Service To Students And Scholars At All Levels.