Kanpur Philosophers ISSN 2348-8301, Volume-9, Issue-1, No. 4, 2022 Page | 23 Kanpur Philosophers ISSN 2348-8301 International Journal of humanities, Law and Social Sciences Published biannually by New Archaeological & Genological Society Kanpur India Vol. IX, Issue I No.4 : 2022 ASSIMILATION OF SANTHAL IN LAKHIMPUR DISTRICT Tarali Das, Research Scholar. Sociology, USTM (ICSSR Doctoral Fellow) Dr. Nabarun Purkayastha. Assistant Professor. Sociology. USTM Abstract Assimilation of tea tribe in Assam is one of the oldest subject to study, where tea-tribes are originally Tribal people in their principal settlement. They are acquiring other backward class in Northeastern region. In Lakhimpur District also the Santhal are still fighting for their original identity. With the gradual changing of time, they started interact with the Assamese society and other local people after the Britishers left. They have started adopting the local language to communicate. In this way they slowly assimilated with the greater Assamese society. This paper is an attempt to study the impact of Assimilation on their tribal life. Most of the components are based on ethnographic method, therefore participant observation has done with a sample size 60 household from three tea garden. Keywords: Assimilation, Tribe, Identity, Tribal Life, Teagarden, Santhal Introduction The term tribe generally means an ethnic group, geographically isolated or semi-isolated, identified with one particular territory and having distinct social, economic and cultural traditions and practices. In Indian context, the term has undergone further change, particularly in post-independence period. 1 A tribe can be defined as a social section within a traditional society that consists of families that are connected through lines of economic, social, blood or religious ties, and also share a common dialect and culture. The word ‘Tribe’ is nowhere defined in the constitution of India, which has been content to declare, in its Article 342, that the Scheduled Tribes are ‘the tribes or the tribal communities or Parts of or groups within tribes or tribal communities’ which the president may specify by public notification. As these groups are presumed to form the oldest ethnological sector of the population, the term ‘Adivasi’ (‘Adivasi and original inhabitant’) has become fairly popular. The International Labour Organization has classified them as indigenous. Some tribal groups in India have always tried to assimilate with Hindu neighbored. Santhal is one of the major tribal groups in India. They migrated in North-East India during British period. Gradually they are assimilated with local people. This study mainly highlighted the impact of assimilation in their tribal life. Conceptual framework Scholars from different discipline have studied assimilation process in different way. Scholar like Ghurye (The Scheduled Tribes1959), highlighted nature and feature of assimilation of Indian tribes into