Awadhesh C. Sinha started his teaching and research career at Gujarat Vidyapeeth, Ahmedabad, from where he moved on to the Indian Institutes of Technology, Kanpur and Delhi, before finally going to North-Eastern Hill University, Shillong, where he taught sociology for over three decades and handled various responsibilities, including that of the Dean of the School of Social Sciences. He is one of the pioneers in Eastern Himalayan research and has published several highly acclaimed books and numerous articles on this region. The present book is the outcome of his tenure as a National Fellow of the Indian Council of Social Science Research tenable at Nehru Memorial Museum and Library, Teen Murti House, New Delhi.