An argument that well-meaning indigenous rights and development claims and interventions may misrepresent and hurt the very people they seek to help, based on extensive ethnographic research in eastern India

In the Shadows of the State suggests that well-meaning indigenous rights and development claims and interventions may misrepresent and hurt the very people they intend to help. It is a powerful critique based on extensive ethnographic research in Jharkhand, a state in eastern India officially created in 2000. While the realization of an independent Jharkhand was the culmination of many years of local, regional, and transnational activism for the rights of the region’s culturally autonomous indigenous people, Alpa Shah argues that the activism unintentionally further marginalized the region’s poorest people. Drawing on a decade of ethnographic research in Jharkhand, she follows the everyday lives of some of the poorest villagers as they chase away protected wild elephants, try to cut down the forests they allegedly live in harmony with, maintain a healthy skepticism about the revival of the indigenous governance system, and seek to avoid the initial spread of an armed revolution of Maoist guerrillas who claim to represent them. Juxtaposing these experiences with the accounts of the village elites and the rhetoric of the urban indigenous-rights activists, Shah reveals a class dimension to the indigenous-rights movement, one easily lost in the cultural-based identity politics that the movement produces. In the Shadows of the State brings together ethnographic and theoretical analyses to show that the local use of global discourses of indigeneity often reinforces a class system that harms the poorest people.

"“Alpa Shah’s In the shadows of the state is both… thought provoking and… highly accessible…. Shah’s work presents a valuable contribution to discussions surrounding the relationship between rural adivasi communities and the deep sources of inequality and misrepresentation which continue to affect their lives…. [A]n important work.”" - Contemporary South Asia

"“This work is a powerful critique of those who speak in the name of the poor Adivasis in Jharkhand but use them only as a means for advancing their own interests; whether it is the ‘developmental state’ or the indigenous rights activists or political parties. In its meticulous research, the book explores the dangers of ’culture-making’ in the name of the indigenous population. The study provides much insight for those who are interested in questions regarding the nature and functioning of the Indian state, caste system and indigenous rights activism as well for the Left movement in India.”" - Journal of Contemporary Asia

"“In the Shadows of the State is a simple, engaging, and beautifully written book that makes a significant and original contribution to the global literature on the politics and practice of indigeneity, and to the rich body of critical geographical and anthropological research on tribal life and politics in Jharkhand and eastern India. It should be required reading for all scholars and activists committed to resolving the awkward relationship between indigeneity and indigence.”" - Journal of Asian Studies

"“A brilliant ethnography…. Shah has succeeded in bringing a place, its people and their social and political relations to life. It is a pleasure to read, and an example of the possibility of skillful and expressive writing immersed in the texture of everyday life to enhance academic analysis.”" - Environment and Planning D

"“Shah uses eight years of field experience among the Munda in the recently independent (2000) state of Jharkhand to demonstrate the limitations of identity politics in the liberation of the rural poor and marginalized in India. . . . Highly recommended. Most levels/libraries.”" - Choice

"“Throughout the book aspirations, desires, and frustrations are all expressed by respondents in ways that do not fit the ways tribal communities are viewed by many of their external supporters. This is uncomfortable territory for many scholars and activists, yet the author forces readers to rethink their own positions and the choices we all make in our work. This is an outstanding book of importance for its content and the challenges it sets out to its readers.”
" - Asian Studies Review

" "A must-read for those interested in the politics of indigenous rights activism and its intersection with issues of governance and the environment."" - Agriculture and Human Values