International Journal of Advanced Research in ISSN: 2278-6236 Management and Social Sciences Impact Factor: 6.284 Vol. 5 | No. 2 | February 2016 www.garph.co.uk IJARMSS | 1 CONCEPT OF INDIAN TRIBES: AN OVERVIEW Dr. Nabarun Purkayastha* Abstract: Conceptualizing tribe is very difficult task. Scholars from sociology and social anthropology face tremendous hurdle to conceptualise and provide a universal definition of tribe. Distinctive ecological, geographical, socio-historical and cultural features give a unique identity to each and every tribe. Therefore, definition as well as conceptualisation demands contextualisation. Still scholars agree on some common features of tribes on the basis of which they are defined and conceptualized. Keywords: Tribes, India, Aborigine, Adivasi, Indigenous People *Assistant Professor, Department of Sociology and Social Work, University of Science and Technology, Meghalaya, India