Hinduisation of Schedule Tribes vis-a-vis Codified Hindu Law

Tribal people have their own distinct identity. The Constitution of India safeguards their distinct identity. To achieve desired Constitutional goal codified Hindu law exempts Schedule tribes from its application. The whole idea of such impunity is to protect the tribal customary laws governing the matters related to marriage, inheritance, succession etc. Nonetheless, the fact of Hinduization of tribals has always been a matter of discourse. On one hand it is considered as a process of integration of tribal into mainstreams of society. On the other hand the effects of hinduization of tribals became a matter of concern. Hinduized Schedule tribes have been claiming parity with Hindus in matter of application of codified Hindu law. This work brings forth the sociological and legal aspect of Hinduization of tribals. In addition to this, the work also endeavors to study the efforts of Judiciary in protecting the rights of tribal people despite the legislative bar contained in Codified Hindu law.