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Synopsis It was decided by the Government of India in 1885 to make a comprehensive field survey for precise information about the way of life, manners and customs, rituals, marriage practices etc. of the tribes, castes, sub-castes of the country for better administration and ethnographic research. Civilian Risley was charged with Eastern India or the then ‘Bengal’. Six Years of intensive study and survey conducted by Mr. H.H. Risley, I.C.S. went before the publication of "The Tribes and Castes of Bengal" in 1891-92. The work was hailed by all the administrators, social scientists and ethnologists and still remains very important and significantly valid for Bihar, Orissa, Bangla Desh, West Bengal and Assam. Little has changed since and the publishers feel that a photo reprint of the main volumes will fill a void in our ethnographic studies.