The book traces the British Government's policy towards the aboriginal people of Orissa, particularly the Kandhs, and the reaction it caused in the people. The study of the British tribal policy is worthwhile because the main problem faced by the administration then persists even today-the problem of how to improve tribal life without causing, as an inevitable outcome, progressive detribalisation; How to modernise tribal life with destroying in the process the distinctive features of tribal tradition and culture.
