This book offers an interdisciplinary and empirically grounded exploration of how indigenous identity intersects with modern career aspirations among tribal women in the Dang region of South Gujarat, India. Drawing on field-based research aligned with India’s Viksit Bharat @ 2047 vision, it examines how young tribal women negotiate higher education, dignified livelihoods, and cultural preservation in a rapidly changing socio-economic context. Positioned at the intersection of tribal studies, gender studies, education, and development research, this book addresses a critically underexplored population: indigenous women as active agents of cultural continuity and social transformation.

Methodologically, this book combines quantitative analysis from a structured survey with rich ethnographic data gathered through extended immersive fieldwork, offering both statistical insight and narrative depth. The findings challenge the assumed opposition between tradition and modernity, demonstrating instead how cultural heritage can serve as a foundation for resilience, identity, and aspiration.

By documenting living traditions alongside educational trajectories and by proposing culturally responsive policy and pedagogical recommendations, this book contributes original evidence and perspectives to global debates on gender equity, indigenous empowerment, inclusion, and sustainable development.

Falguni P. Desai is Principal of Shri M.R. Desai Arts & E.E.L.K. Commerce College, Chikhli, affiliated with Veer Narmad South Gujarat University, India. She is an academic leader with over three decades of experience in higher education as an educator, researcher, and administrator. Dr. Desai holds postgraduate degrees in English, Sanskrit, and Education, and a Ph.D. in Comparative Literature. Her academic expertise spans English literature, Indian Knowledge Systems, ecofeminism, and Vedic studies, reflecting a strong commitment to interdisciplinary and culturally grounded scholarship. She has published widely in reputed national and international journals and is the author of several scholarly books. As a higher education leader, she has played a significant role in expanding access and improving educational outcomes for first-generation and tribal learners in the Dang and South Gujarat regions, integrating indigenous knowledge with contemporary pedagogical approaches.