Except for few tribal groups like Jarawas and Sentinelese of Andaman and Nicobar Islands, tribes of India have never been completely isolated from the non-tribal societies.  Even though tribes of India were not completely secluded but still they retained their tribe identity and knowledge. In recent past, most of the tribal groups have been exposed to urbanization. Even now, in many parts of mainstream India, tribes are stereotyped as uncivilized and backward hence they are being greatly exploited. Many of them have been displaced from their land in name of building dams, steel and coal plants. A lot of tribal people have migrated to big cities in search of lucrative jobs and lifestyle but unfortunately most of them have ended up doing menial jobs. Their health has also deteriorated due to this exposure, lately they have been reported to suffer from diseases from which they have very less or no immunity. The nail in the coffin was the appalling report on “Video footage that showed Jarawa women being forced to dance naked for tourists”. It is very ironical that those Jarawas who in spite of being nearly at the centre of earthquake of  8.8 magnitudes in 2004, did not die either from the quake or the  subsequent tsunami were forced to surrender against the so called civilized people and were degraded to such an extent. It is high time that we start respecting the refined and indigenous knowledge of these tribal groups. There is no denying that proper educational and health institutes are needed in tribal belts but at the same time they should be given right to their way of living and identity. We really need to introspect within our existing welfare strategies that whether these strategies are leading to development or retrogression of these tribal groups.