Is primitivism a consequence of the natural evolution of some human societies? Or is it a conscious choice by such societies to evade state power? In The Roots of the Periphery, Bhangya Bhukya sets out to answer these questions by taking as his focal point the case of the Gond dynasty of the erstwhile Chanda region of Deccan India. He examines the evolution of Gond society over an extensive period, demonstrating how the British colonial government created anadministrative divide between the plains and the hills, thus stereotyping hill and forest communities as isolated, primitive, barbaric, and uncivilized in order to deny them self-rule.