Paper short abstract:

Short Abstract; The paper deals with how urbanization, industrialization or modernization affected the tribal culture, which is now at the crossroads. What are the problems and solutions to it?

Paper long abstract:

The tribal people of Odisha, living in primitive condition for centuries and keeping them in isolation, they were almost unaware of the rapid change taking place in the plains. For the last fifty years the entire tribal population of Odisha has been exposed to a number of external forces - urbanization, industrialization, modernization, etc. These outer forces affected the socio-cultural life of the tribal people. Some of the good characteristics of the tribal society such as love of nature, attachment to land and forest, community feeling, sociability, hospitality, language, rituals, celebration of life through feasts and festivities are more or less affected due to socio- religious, economic and political influences.The general trend in India after independence is that the tribal people should be assimilated with the non-tribal society. This process of assimilation has affected the cultural aspects of the tribal people. The changes have definitely come in the life- style of the tribal people. But in the matter of changes , there are variations. Some of the tribal people are found to be quite progressive while a few small communities are still in a primitive stage. It is rather mixed phenomenon- changing and not changing. A balance must be struck between progress and the need to protect the environment and the interest of the tribal people without destroying their cultural values.