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Synopsis This book is part of the prestigious people of India (POI) project launched in 1985 to generate a brief, descriptive anthropological profile of all the communities of India, studying the impact on them of change and the development process, and the linkages that bring them together. This revised edition of the first volume in the series serves not only as an introduction but also as a summing up of this project. Field studies of sixty-two communities were conducted afresh and most chapters revised to incorporate the new information generated. The book deals with the trends and latest findings, provides a comprehensive overview, and addresses issues that have been raised since the first publication of this widely reviewed and discussed series, through which it was possible to identify, locate and study 4635 communities throughout India. Acclaimed as an ethnographic endeavour more ambitious than any other in the world, the POI project has made India one of the leading countries in terms of information and knowledge about its people, and will influence social science research and culture policy for many years to come. It is the first step towards building up a comprehensive information system on the people of India, and reflects the vibrant process of the transformation of the Indian people. It will be invaluable reading for students, researchers, planners and administrators, sociologists, anthropologists, and other scholars.