The view that tribes are primitive, isolated communities untouched by civilisation is fundamentally flawed. Scholars argue there is no coherent basis for treating tribes as "pristine" or pure societies uncontaminated by civilisation. Instead, tribes should be seen as "secondary" phenomena arising from exploitative and colonialist contact between pre-existing states and non-state groups.

By the 1970s, major definitions of tribe were shown to be faulty. The tribe-peasantry distinction did not hold in terms of size, isolation, religion, and means of livelihood. Tribes like Santhal, Gonds, and Bhils are very large and spread over extensive territory. Tribes like Munda and Hos have long turned to settled agriculture, while even hunting-gathering tribes like Birhors employ specialised households for making baskets and pressing oil.

Historically, adivasis were not always oppressed groups. There were several Gond kingdoms in Central India, such as Garha Mandla and Chanda. Many Rajput kingdoms emerged through stratification among adivasi communities. Adivasis exercised dominance over plains people through raids and services as local militias.

Tribes occupied a special trade niche, trading forest produce, salt, and elephants. The capitalist economy's drive to exploit forest resources and recruit cheap labour brought tribal societies in contact with mainstream society long ago. This clearly shows tribes have never been isolated from civilisation.