Tribal Women of Arunachal Pradesh

The present Arunachal Pradesh is a conglomeration of 25 tribes and over 100 sub-tribes. For a variety of historical and cultural reasons, they were kept out of the mainstream for centuries together resulting in a primitive economy of the region. Topography and climate too contributed their share to keep them aloof. Though the society is patriarchal, women are the major bread winners. Except in policy making, they have considerable freedom in their day-to-day life. However, very little is written about these simple, hard working, and beautiful women. The book is an in-depth study covering various socio-economic dimensions of women in Arunachal Pradesh. The author has performed a challenging task of collecting data from far-flung areas spread over five districts with a minimum of logistics. The study has covered five major tribes of Arunachal Pradesh, and the author has conceptualised, and has indeed displayed a deep sense of commitment to a sensitive subject. Coverage of issues has been very thorough. A number of workable suggestions are proposed to bring these women into the mainstream, and bring about their emancipation.

V.M. Rao (b. 1954) holds a doctorate in Dairy Economics and is currently working as Professor and Head, Department of Research & Publications at Vikunth Mehta National Institute of Cooperative Management, Pune. He has earlier worked with National Institute of Rural Development, Hyderabad (1984-88) and Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad (1988-92). On a British Council’s fellowship, Prof Rao visited Belgium, Finance, Luxembourg. The Netherlands, and United Kingdom. He has authored/co-authored five books: (a) Dairy Farming: Socio-Economic Analysis of Milk Production (1991), (b) Castor Economy: A Profile and Analysis of India and International Market (1991), (c) International Castor Oil Market: An Econometric Analysis (1994) (d) Developing Agro Enterprises among Farm Women: A Case of Amuil (2000), and (e) Empowering Farm Women through Dairy Cooperatives: A Study in Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka. Besides these books, he has published over 60 research papers. His areas of interest are: (a) animal husbandry economics, (b) agri-business management and (c) gender-related issues. He has completed 16 research studies sponsored by Government of India, ICSSR, and other state governments in the above areas during 1980-2002. At present Prof. Rao is engaged in: (a) Evaluation of Women: Dairy Project of Rajasthan Co-operative Dairy Federation, and (b) Integrating Tribal Women into Cooperatives: An Experience of Girijan Cooperative Corporation Limited (Andhra Pradesh).