Member(s) of any of the heterogenous Indigenous communities of India and Bangladesh, whose social formations, cultures and religions are distinct from the countries’ mainstream caste society. The term, from Sanskrit adi (‘first or originary’) and vasi (‘inhabitant’), was popularised and likely coined by Gandhian activist AV Thakkar in the 1930s.

India has over 100 million Adivasis, comprising more than 700 groups concentrated mostly in the central and northeastern forests and mountains; in Bangladesh the population is smaller, comprising at least 27 groups. The largest group in both countries is the Santhal; other populous groups include the Bhil and Munda in India and the Chakma, Marma and Mandi in Bangladesh. Adivasi peoples have developed in part from the subcontinent’s earliest inhabitants, who experienced increasing displacement as a result of the Indo-Aryan migration and the gradual establishment of Brahmanical caste society in the plains from the sixth century BCE on. While several non-Aryan groups were assimilated into caste society — which often entailed enslavement or persecution — many resisted, fled, or otherwise avoided the state, forming autonomous communities in remote regions.

The category ‘Adivasi’ does not necessarily refer to unchanging historical communities — the movement of people into and out of caste society was a continuous, dynamic process throughout precolonial history; besides being variously involved with mainstream states, Adivasis were sometimes organised in influential states of their own, such as the Gond kingdom. British administrative policies further marginalised these groups, which were classified ‘tribes’ by colonial anthropologists. The Indian constitution’s list of Scheduled Tribes now includes most Adivasi groups; others are designated among Scheduled Castes; however, the term ‘Adivasi’ sometimes also includes Denotified and Nomadic Tribes. Bangladesh does not have comparable constitutional designations for Adivasis.