Full Description
This book offers an interdisciplinary and empirically grounded exploration of how indigenous identity intersects with modern career aspirations among tribal women in the Dang region of South Gujarat, India. Drawing on field-based research aligned with India's Viksit Bharat @ 2047 vision, it examines how young tribal women negotiate higher education, dignified livelihoods, and cultural preservation in a rapidly changing socio-economic context. Positioned at the intersection of tribal studies, gender studies, education, and development research, this book addresses a critically underexplored population: indigenous women as active agents of cultural continuity and social transformation.
Methodologically, this book combines quantitative analysis from a structured survey with rich ethnographic data gathered through extended immersive fieldwork, offering both statistical insight and narrative depth. The findings challenge the assumed opposition between tradition and modernity, demonstrating instead how cultural heritage can serve as a foundation for resilience, identity, and aspiration.
By documenting living traditions alongside educational trajectories and by proposing culturally responsive policy and pedagogical recommendations, this book contributes original evidence and perspectives to global debates on gender equity, indigenous empowerment, inclusion, and sustainable development.
