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			{{Short description\|British-born Indian anthropologist, ethnologist and tribal activist}}
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	'''Verrier Elwin''' (29 August 1902 – 22 February 1964)<ref name="MCreg">{{cite book\|editor1-last=Levens\|editor1-first=R.G.C.\|title=Merton College Register 1900-1964\|date=1964\|publisher=Basil Blackwell\|location=Oxford\|page=143}}</ref> was a [[Great Britain\|British]]-born [[India]]n [[anthropologist]], [[ethnologist]] and [[tribal]] activist, who began his career in India as a [[Christian missionary]]. He first abandoned the clergy, to work with [[Mohandas Gandhi]] and the [[Indian National Congress]], then converted to [[Hinduism]] in 1935 after staying in a Gandhian ashram,<ref name=ka/> and split with the nationalists over what he felt was an overhasty process of [[Transformation of culture\|transformation]] and [[cultural assimilation\|assimilation]] for the tribals. Verrier Elwin is best known for his early work with the [[Baiga (tribe)\|Baigas]] and [[Gonds]] of [[Orissa, India\|Orissa]] and [[Madhya Pradesh]] in [[central India]], and he married a 13 year old member of one of the communities he studied. He later also worked on the tribals of several [[North East India]]n states especially [[North-East Frontier Agency]] (NEFA) and settled in [[Shillong]], the hill capital of [[Meghalaya]].<ref name=li>[[#li\|Linebaugh, p. 162]]</ref>		'''Harry Verrier Holman Elwin''' (29 August 1902 – 22 February 1964)<ref name="MCreg">{{cite book\|editor1-last=Levens\|editor1-first=R.G.C.\|title=Merton College Register 1900-1964\|date=1964\|publisher=Basil Blackwell\|location=Oxford\|page=143}}</ref> was a [[Great Britain\|British]]-born [[India]]n [[anthropologist]], [[ethnologist]] and [[tribal]] activist, who began his career in India as a [[Christian missionary]]. He first abandoned the clergy, to work with [[Mohandas Gandhi\|Mahatma Gandhi]] and the [[Indian National Congress]], then converted to [[Hinduism]] in 1935 after staying in a Gandhian ashram,<ref name=ka/> and split with the nationalists over what he felt was an overhasty process of [[Transformation of culture\|transformation]] and [[cultural assimilation\|assimilation]] for the tribals. Verrier Elwin is best known for his early work with the [[Baiga (tribe)\|Baigas]] and [[Gonds]] of [[Orissa, India\|Orissa]] and [[Madhya Pradesh]] in [[central India]], and he married a 13 year old member of one of the communities he studied. He later also worked on the tribals of several [[North East India]]n states especially [[North-East Frontier Agency]] (NEFA) and settled in [[Shillong]], the hill capital of [[Meghalaya]].<ref name=li>[[#li\|Linebaugh, p. 162]]</ref>

	In time he became an authority on Indian [[Tribe\|tribal]] lifestyle and culture, particularly on the [[Gondi people]].<ref name="ka">[http://www.kamat.com/kalranga/people/pioneers/elwin.htmTribal World of Verrier Elwin]{{dead link\|date=July 2016 \|bot=InternetArchiveBot \|fix-attempted=yes }} by K. L. Kamat,8 August 2000.		In time he became an authority on Indian [[Tribe\|tribal]] lifestyle and culture, particularly on the [[Gondi people]].<ref name="ka">[http://www.kamat.com/kalranga/people/pioneers/elwin.htmTribal World of Verrier Elwin]{{dead link\|date=July 2016 \|bot=InternetArchiveBot \|fix-attempted=yes }} by K. L. Kamat,8 August 2000.
	</ref> He served as the Deputy Director of the [[Anthropological Survey of India]] upon its formation in 1945.<ref>[http://www.anthsi.com/ Anthropological Survey of India] {{Webarchive\|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100311183127/http://www.anthsi.com/ \|date=11 March 2010 }} [[Anthropological Survey of India]], Kolkata, website.</ref> Post-[[Independence of India\|independence]],he took up Indian citizenship.<ref name=li/> Prime Minister [[Jawaharlal Nehru]] appointed him as an adviser on tribal affairs for north-eastern India, and later he was Anthropological Adviser to the Government of [[North-East Frontier Agency\|NEFA]] (now [[Arunachal Pradesh]].<ref name="bc">{{cite news\|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/4869778.stm\|title=British scholar's Indian widow in penury\|date=4 May 2006\|work=BBC News}}</ref>		</ref> He served as the Deputy Director of the [[Anthropological Survey of India]] upon its formation in 1945.<ref>[http://www.anthsi.com/ Anthropological Survey of India] {{Webarchive\|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100311183127/http://www.anthsi.com/ \|date=11 March 2010 }} [[Anthropological Survey of India]], Kolkata, website.</ref> Post-[[Independence of India\|independence]], he took up Indian citizenship.<ref name=li/> Prime Minister [[Jawaharlal Nehru]] appointed him as an adviser on tribal affairs for north-eastern India, and later he was Anthropological Adviser to the Government of [[North-East Frontier Agency\|NEFA]] (now [[Arunachal Pradesh]].<ref name="bc">{{cite news\|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/4869778.stm\|title=British scholar's Indian widow in penury\|date=4 May 2006\|work=BBC News}}</ref> His philosophy towards the north-east was partially responsible in its disconnect from the modern world.<ref>{{Cite journal\|last=Das\|first=Pushpita\|date=2008\|title=Management of India-China Border Area: A Case Study of Arunachal Pradesh\|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/45340743\|journal=Indian Foreign Affairs Journal\|volume=3\|issue=3\|page=100\|jstor=45340743\|issn=0973-3248}}</ref>
	The Government of India awarded him the third highest civilian honour of the [[Padma Bhushan]] in 1961.<ref name="Padma Awards">{{cite web \|url=http://mha.nic.in/sites/upload_files/mha/files/LST-PDAWD-2013.pdf \|title=Padma Awards \|publisher=Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India \|date=2015 \|access-date=July 21, 2015 \|url-status=dead \|archive-url=https://~~www~~.~~webcitation~~.org/~~6U68ulwpb?url=~~http://mha.nic.in/sites/upload_files/mha/files/LST-PDAWD-2013.pdf \|archive-date=15 ~~November 2014~~ \|df=dmy }}</ref> His autobiography, ''The Tribal World of Verrier Elwin'' won him the 1965 [[Sahitya Akademi Award]] in [[Sahitya Akademi Award to English Language Writers\|English Language]], given by the [[Sahitya Akademi]], India's National Academy of Letters.<ref>{{cite web\|url=http://www.sahitya-akademi.gov.in/old_version/awa10304.htm#english \|title=Sahitya Akademi Awards 1955–2007 \|publisher=[[Sahitya Akademi Award]] Official listing \|url-status=dead \|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100611080633/http://www.sahitya-akademi.gov.in/old_version/awa10304.htm \|archive-date=11 June 2010 }}</ref>
			The Government of India awarded him the third highest civilian honour of the [[Padma Bhushan]] in 1961.<ref name="Padma Awards">{{cite web \|url=http://mha.nic.in/sites/upload_files/mha/files/LST-PDAWD-2013.pdf \|title=Padma Awards \|publisher=Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India \|date=2015 \|access-date=July 21, 2015 \|url-status=dead \|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151015193758/http://mha.nic.in/sites/upload_files/mha/files/LST-PDAWD-2013.pdf \|archive-date=15 October 2015 \|df=dmy }}</ref> His autobiography, ''The Tribal World of Verrier Elwin'' won him the 1965 [[Sahitya Akademi Award]] in [[Sahitya Akademi Award to English Language Writers\|English Language]], given by the [[Sahitya Akademi]], India's National Academy of Letters.<ref>{{cite web\|url=http://www.sahitya-akademi.gov.in/old_version/awa10304.htm#english \|title=Sahitya Akademi Awards 1955–2007 \|publisher=[[Sahitya Akademi Award]] Official listing \|url-status=dead \|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100611080633/http://www.sahitya-akademi.gov.in/old_version/awa10304.htm \|archive-date=11 June 2010 }}</ref>

	==Early life and education==		==Early life and education==
	Harry Verrier Holman Elwin was born on 29 August 1902 in Dover. He is the son of [[Edmund Henry Elwin]], Bishop of [[Sierra Leone]]. He was educated at [[Dean Close School]] and [[Merton College, Oxford]],<ref name=MCreg /> where he received his degrees of BA First Class in English Language and Literature, [[Master of Arts (Oxbridge)\|MA]], and DSc. He also remained the [[Oxford Inter-Collegiate Christian Union#List of OICCU Presidents\|President]] of [[Oxford Inter-Collegiate Christian Union]] (OICCU) in 1925. He had a ~~brilliant~~ career~~{{Peacock term\|date=September 2020}}~~ at Oxford, where he took a Double First in English and in Theology, before being ordained a priest in the Church of England. He came to India in 1927, to join a small sect, the Christa Seva Sangh of Poona, which hoped to 'indigenise' Christianity.{{Citation needed\|date=September 2020}}		Harry Verrier Holman Elwin was born on 29 August 1902 in Dover. He is the son of [[Edmund Henry Elwin]], Bishop of [[Sierra Leone]]. He was educated at [[Dean Close School]] and [[Merton College, Oxford]],<ref name=MCreg /> where he received his degrees of BA First Class in English Language and Literature, [[Master of Arts (Oxbridge)\|MA]], and DSc. He also remained the [[Oxford Inter-Collegiate Christian Union#List of OICCU Presidents\|President]] of [[Oxford Inter-Collegiate Christian Union]] (OICCU) in 1925. He had a nice career at Oxford, where he took a Double First in English and in Theology, before being ordained a priest in the Church of England. He came to India in 1927, to join a small sect, the Christa Seva Sangh of Poona, which hoped to 'indigenise' Christianity.{{Citation needed\|date=September 2020}}

	==Career==		==Career==
	In 1926, he was appointed Vice-Principal of [[Wycliffe Hall, Oxford]] and in the following year he became a lecturer at [[Merton College, Oxford]]. He went to India in 1927 as a [[missionary]]. Over the years,he was influenced by the philosophies of [[Mahatma Gandhi]] and [[Rabindranath Tagore]]. He quickly threw in his lot with the Congress,winning Gandhi's affection and becoming a camp follower and occasional cheerleader to the popular movement against British rule. Seeking fuller immersion in the toil, the sufferings, the poverty of India, he resolved to make his home among the Gonds. He first joined Christian Service Society in Pune. The first time he visited the central India, now the states of [[Madhya Pradesh]], [[Chhattisgarh]], and parts of eastern [[Maharashtra]], was with an Indian from Pune, Shamrao Hivale. For the first time, he visited a remote village in the forests of Mandla district. Hivale and he were to spend some twenty years in Central India, living with and fighting for tribal rights. Their studies on the tribes are some of the earliest anthropological studies in the country. In January 1954, Elwin became the first foreigner to be accepted as an Indian citizen. In the same year, he was appointed anthropological adviser to the Indian Government, with the special reference to the hill tribes of the north east. Moving to Shillong, he served for a decade as a leading missionary of what he liked to call 'Mr Nehru's Gospel for tribes'. He died in 1964, a greatly esteemed public figure in his adopted land, the recipient of the Padma Bhushan and countless other medals and rewards. He participated in the [[Indian independence movement]],and in 1930 Gandhi said he regarded Elwin as a son.<ref name="Mandelbaum">{{cite journal\|last=Mandelbaum\|first=David\|title=Verrier Elwin (1902–1964)\|journal=American Anthropologist\|year=1965\|volume=67\|issue=2\|pages=448–452\|doi=10.1525/aa.1965.67.2.02a00140\|doi-access=free}}</ref>		In 1926, he was appointed Vice-Principal of [[Wycliffe Hall, Oxford]] and in the following year he became a lecturer at [[Merton College, Oxford]]. He went to India in 1927 as a [[missionary]]. Over the years, he was influenced by the philosophies of [[Mahatma Gandhi]] and [[Rabindranath Tagore]]. He quickly threw in his lot with the Congress, winning Gandhi's affection and becoming a camp follower and occasional cheerleader to the popular movement against British rule. Seeking fuller immersion in the toil, the sufferings, the poverty of India, he resolved to make his home among the Gonds. He first joined Christian Service Society in Pune. The first time he visited the central India, now the states of [[Madhya Pradesh]], [[Chhattisgarh]], and parts of eastern [[Maharashtra]], was with an Indian from Pune, Shamrao Hivale. For the first time, he visited a remote village in the forests of Mandla district. Hivale and he were to spend some twenty years in Central India, living with and fighting for tribal rights. Their studies on the tribes are some of the earliest anthropological studies in the country. In January 1954, Elwin became the first foreigner to be accepted as an Indian citizen. In the same year, he was appointed anthropological adviser to the Indian Government, with the special reference to the hill tribes of the north east. Moving to Shillong, he served for a decade as a leading missionary of what he liked to call 'Mr Nehru's Gospel for tribes'. He died in 1964, a greatly esteemed public figure in his adopted land, the recipient of the Padma Bhushan and countless other medals and rewards. He participated in the [[Indian independence movement]], and in 1930 Gandhi said he regarded Elwin as a son.<ref name="Mandelbaum">{{cite journal\|last=Mandelbaum\|first=David\|title=Verrier Elwin (1902–1964)\|journal=American Anthropologist\|year=1965\|volume=67\|issue=2\|pages=448–452\|doi=10.1525/aa.1965.67.2.02a00140\|doi-access=free}}</ref>

	He came out with numerous works on various tribal groups in India, the best acclaimed being those on Maria and Baigas.		He came out with numerous works on various tribal groups in India, the best acclaimed being those on Maria and Baigas.
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	* ''A New Deal for Tribal India''. Abridgement of the tenth Report of the Commissioner for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes for the year 1960–61. Ministry of Home Affairs, 1963.		* ''A New Deal for Tribal India''. Abridgement of the tenth Report of the Commissioner for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes for the year 1960–61. Ministry of Home Affairs, 1963.
	* ''When the World was Young: folk-tales from India's hills and forests''. Publication Div., Ministry of Information & Broadcasting, Govt. of India, 1961.		* ''When the World was Young: folk-tales from India's hills and forests''. Publication Div., Ministry of Information & Broadcasting, Govt. of India, 1961.
	* ''The Tribal World of Verrier Elwin: ~~an autobiography~~''. Oxford University Press, 1964.		* ''[[The Tribal World of Verrier Elwin\|The Tribal World of Verrier Elwin: An Autobiography]]''. Oxford University Press, 1964.
	* ''Religious and Cultural Aspects of Khadi''. Sarvodaya Prachuralaya, 1964.		* ''Religious and Cultural Aspects of Khadi''. Sarvodaya Prachuralaya, 1964.
	* ''Democracy in NEFA.''. North-East Frontier Agency, 1965.		* ''Democracy in NEFA.''. North-East Frontier Agency, 1965.
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	{{wikisource\|Chronology of Mahatma Gandhi's life/India 1932}}		{{wikisource\|Chronology of Mahatma Gandhi's life/India 1932}}
	* The Muria and Their Ghotul by Verrier Elwin		* The Muria and Their Ghotul by Verrier Elwin
	* Warren E. Roberts, 'Verrier Elwin (1902–1964)', ''Asian Folklore Studies'' 23:2 (1964), 212–14		* Warren E. Roberts, 'Verrier Elwin (1902–1964)', ''[[Asian Folklore Studies]]'' 23:2 (1964), 212–14
	* The Tribal World of Verrier Elwin, An Autobiography, ''Oxford University Press (1964)''		* [[The Tribal World of Verrier Elwin\|The Tribal World of Verrier Elwin, An Autobiography]], ''Oxford University Press (1964)''
	* [http://www.india-seminar.com/2001/500/500%20verrier%20elwin.htm Beating a dead horse] Verrier Elwin		* [http://www.india-seminar.com/2001/500/500%20verrier%20elwin.htm Beating a dead horse] Verrier Elwin
	*Resources related to research : [http://www.berose.fr/ BEROSE - International Encyclopaedia of the Histories of Anthropology]. [http://www.berose.fr/rubrique777.html?lang=en "Elwin, Verrier (1902-1964)"], Paris, 2019. (ISSN 2648-2770)		*Resources related to research : [http://www.berose.fr/ BEROSE - International Encyclopaedia of the Histories of Anthropology]. [http://www.berose.fr/rubrique777.html?lang=en "Elwin, Verrier (1902-1964)"], Paris, 2019. (ISSN 2648-2770)
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	[[Category:1902 births]]		[[Category:1902 births]]
	[[Category:1964 deaths]]		[[Category:1964 deaths]]
			[[Category:People from Shillong]]
	[[Category:Protestant missionaries in India]]		[[Category:Protestant missionaries in India]]
	[[Category:Converts to Hinduism from Christianity]]		[[Category:Converts to Hinduism from Christianity]]
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	[[Category:English Protestant missionaries]]		[[Category:English Protestant missionaries]]
	[[Category:20th-century anthropologists]]		[[Category:20th-century anthropologists]]
			[[Category:People associated with Shillong]]

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2021-07-05T03:18:50Z

Removed thumbnail image format in infobox per WP:INFOBOXIMAGE

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{{EngvarB|date=September 2014}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2014}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Verrier Elwin
| image = Verrier Elwin.jpg
| caption = Verrier Elwin
| alt =
| birth_date = {{Birth date|df=y|1902|8|29}}
| birth_place = [[Dover]], [[England]]
| death_date = {{Death date and age|df=y|1964|2|22|1902|8|29}}
| death_place = [[Delhi]], India
| alma_mater = [[Merton College, Oxford]]
| notable works = ''The Baiga'' (1939)<br />'' The Muria and their Ghotul'' (1947)
| nationality = British, later Indian
| known_for = Study of [[Tribes of India]]
| occupation = [[anthropologist]], [[ethnologist]]
| awards = [[Padma Bhushan]] {{small|(1961)}}
}}

'''Verrier Elwin''' (29 August 1902 – 22 February 1964)<ref name="MCreg">{{cite book|editor1-last=Levens|editor1-first=R.G.C.|title=Merton College Register 1900-1964|date=1964|publisher=Basil Blackwell|location=Oxford|page=143}}</ref> was a [[Great Britain|British]]-born [[India]]n [[anthropologist]], [[ethnologist]] and [[tribal]] activist, who began his career in India as a [[Christian missionary]]. He first abandoned the clergy, to work with [[Mohandas Gandhi]] and the [[Indian National Congress]], then converted to [[Hinduism]] in 1935 after staying in a Gandhian ashram,<ref name=ka/> and split with the nationalists over what he felt was an overhasty process of [[Transformation of culture|transformation]] and [[cultural assimilation|assimilation]] for the tribals. Verrier Elwin is best known for his early work with the [[Baiga (tribe)|Baigas]] and [[Gonds]] of [[Orissa, India|Orissa]] and [[Madhya Pradesh]] in [[central India]], and he married a 13 year old member of one of the communities he studied. He later also worked on the tribals of several [[North East India]]n states especially [[North-East Frontier Agency]] (NEFA) and settled in [[Shillong]], the hill capital of [[Meghalaya]].<ref name=li>[[#li|Linebaugh, p. 162]]</ref>

In time he became an authority on Indian [[Tribe|tribal]] lifestyle and culture, particularly on the [[Gondi people]].<ref name="ka">[http://www.kamat.com/kalranga/people/pioneers/elwin.htmTribal World of Verrier Elwin]{{dead link|date=July 2016 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} by K. L. Kamat,8 August 2000.
</ref> He served as the Deputy Director of the [[Anthropological Survey of India]] upon its formation in 1945.<ref>[http://www.anthsi.com/ Anthropological Survey of India] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100311183127/http://www.anthsi.com/ |date=11 March 2010 }} [[Anthropological Survey of India]], Kolkata, website.</ref> Post-[[Independence of India|independence]],he took up Indian citizenship.<ref name=li/> Prime Minister [[Jawaharlal Nehru]] appointed him as an adviser on tribal affairs for north-eastern India, and later he was Anthropological Adviser to the Government of [[North-East Frontier Agency|NEFA]] (now [[Arunachal Pradesh]].<ref name="bc">{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/4869778.stm|title=British scholar's Indian widow in penury|date=4 May 2006|work=BBC News}}</ref>
The Government of India awarded him the third highest civilian honour of the [[Padma Bhushan]] in 1961.<ref name="Padma Awards">{{cite web |url=http://mha.nic.in/sites/upload_files/mha/files/LST-PDAWD-2013.pdf |title=Padma Awards |publisher=Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India |date=2015 |access-date=July 21, 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://www.webcitation.org/6U68ulwpb?url=http://mha.nic.in/sites/upload_files/mha/files/LST-PDAWD-2013.pdf |archive-date=15 November 2014 |df=dmy }}</ref> His autobiography, ''The Tribal World of Verrier Elwin'' won him the 1965 [[Sahitya Akademi Award]] in [[Sahitya Akademi Award to English Language Writers|English Language]], given by the [[Sahitya Akademi]], India's National Academy of Letters.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.sahitya-akademi.gov.in/old_version/awa10304.htm#english |title=Sahitya Akademi Awards 1955–2007 |publisher=[[Sahitya Akademi Award]] Official listing |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100611080633/http://www.sahitya-akademi.gov.in/old_version/awa10304.htm |archive-date=11 June 2010 }}</ref>

==Early life and education==
Harry Verrier Holman Elwin was born on 29 August 1902 in Dover. He is the son of [[Edmund Henry Elwin]], Bishop of [[Sierra Leone]]. He was educated at [[Dean Close School]] and [[Merton College, Oxford]],<ref name=MCreg /> where he received his degrees of BA First Class in English Language and Literature, [[Master of Arts (Oxbridge)|MA]], and DSc. He also remained the [[Oxford Inter-Collegiate Christian Union#List of OICCU Presidents|President]] of [[Oxford Inter-Collegiate Christian Union]] (OICCU) in 1925. He had a brilliant career{{Peacock term|date=September 2020}} at Oxford, where he took a Double First in English and in Theology, before being ordained a priest in the Church of England. He came to India in 1927, to join a small sect, the Christa Seva Sangh of Poona, which hoped to 'indigenise' Christianity.{{Citation needed|date=September 2020}}

==Career==
In 1926, he was appointed Vice-Principal of [[Wycliffe Hall, Oxford]] and in the following year he became a lecturer at [[Merton College, Oxford]]. He went to India in 1927 as a [[missionary]]. Over the years,he was influenced by the philosophies of [[Mahatma Gandhi]] and [[Rabindranath Tagore]]. He quickly threw in his lot with the Congress,winning Gandhi's affection and becoming a camp follower and occasional cheerleader to the popular movement against British rule. Seeking fuller immersion in the toil, the sufferings, the poverty of India, he resolved to make his home among the Gonds. He first joined Christian Service Society in Pune. The first time he visited the central India, now the states of [[Madhya Pradesh]], [[Chhattisgarh]], and parts of eastern [[Maharashtra]], was with an Indian from Pune, Shamrao Hivale. For the first time, he visited a remote village in the forests of Mandla district. Hivale and he were to spend some twenty years in Central India, living with and fighting for tribal rights. Their studies on the tribes are some of the earliest anthropological studies in the country. In January 1954, Elwin became the first foreigner to be accepted as an Indian citizen. In the same year, he was appointed anthropological adviser to the Indian Government, with the special reference to the hill tribes of the north east. Moving to Shillong, he served for a decade as a leading missionary of what he liked to call 'Mr Nehru's Gospel for tribes'. He died in 1964, a greatly esteemed public figure in his adopted land, the recipient of the Padma Bhushan and countless other medals and rewards. He participated in the [[Indian independence movement]],and in 1930 Gandhi said he regarded Elwin as a son.<ref name="Mandelbaum">{{cite journal|last=Mandelbaum|first=David|title=Verrier Elwin (1902–1964)|journal=American Anthropologist|year=1965|volume=67|issue=2|pages=448–452|doi=10.1525/aa.1965.67.2.02a00140|doi-access=free}}</ref>

He came out with numerous works on various tribal groups in India, the best acclaimed being those on Maria and Baigas.

After India attained independence in 1947, he was asked by Nehru to find solutions to the problems that emerged among the tribal peoples living in the far northeastern corner of India, the [[North East Frontier Agency]] (NEFA). He was also a Fellow of the [[Indian National Science Academy]].<ref>{{cite book|last=Science Academy|first=Indian National |author-link=Indian National Science Academy|title=Biographical memoirs of fellows of the Indian National Science Academy, Volume 20|year=1995|page=101}}</ref> Elwin entered into an agreement which prohibited the entry of [[Sadhu|Sadhus]] into Nagaland with Nehru.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Only Nagaland safe from sadhus in India|url=http://indianculture.gov.in/archives/only-nagaland-safe-sadhus-india|access-date=2021-02-24|website=INDIAN CULTURE|language=en}}</ref>

The historian [[Ramachandra Guha]]'s biography ''Savaging the Civilized: Verrier Elwin, His Tribals, and India'' (1999) brought renewed attention in India to Elwin's life and career.

==On Ghotul==
Verrier Elwin wrote – "The message of the [[ghotul]] – that youth must be served, that freedom and happiness are more to be treasured than any material gain, that friendliness and sympathy, hospitality and unity are of the first importance, and above all that human love – and its physical expression – is beautiful, clean and precious, is typically Indian."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cgnet.in/FT/ghotul |title=Archived copy |access-date=13 February 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071030033420/http://www.cgnet.in/FT/ghotul |archive-date=30 October 2007 }}</ref>

==Personal life==
Elwin married a Raj [[Gond people|Gond]] tribal girl called Kosi who was a student at his school at Raythwar (Raithwar) in [[Dindori district]] in Madhya Pradesh on 4 April 1940. They had one son, Jawaharlal (Kumar), born in 1941. Elwin had an ex-parte divorce in 1949, at the [[Calcutta High Court]], writing in his autobiography, "I cannot even now look back on this period of my life without a deep sense of pain and failure" <ref>''The Tribal World of Verrier Elwin. An autobiography'', [[Oxford University Press]], Bombay, 1964, p. 138.</ref> In 2006, Kosi was still living in a hut in Raythwar, their son Kumar having died. Kosi's second son, Vijay, also died young.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/4869778.stm|title=British scholar's Indian widow in penury|date=2006-05-04|work=BBC News|access-date=2020-01-29|language=en-GB}}</ref> Elwin remarried a woman called Lila, belonging to the Pardhan Gond tribe in nearby Patangarh, moving with her to Shillong in the early 1950s. They had three sons, Wasant, Nakul and Ashok.<ref>''The Tribal World of Verrier Elwin: an autobiography''</ref> Elwin died in Delhi on 22 February 1964 after a heart attack.<ref name="tr">[ How a tribal girl's life became a book on sex] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140203090717/http://expressindia.indianexpress.com/news/ie/daily/19990305/ige05051.html |date=3 February 2014 }} ''[[Indian Express]]'', 5 March 1999.</ref><ref name="el">{{cite news|url=http://expressindia.indianexpress.com/news/ie/daily/19990310/iex10076p.html|title=Elwin and Kosi were incompatible|date=10 March 1999|work=The Indian Express}}</ref> His widow Lila died in Mumbai in 2013, aged about 80, shortly after the demise of their eldest son, Wasant.<ref>Teresa Rahman, "Lila, wife of anthropologist Verrier Elwin, passes away", ''The Hindu'', July 20, 2013. http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/lila-wife-of-anthropologist-verrier-elwin-passes-away/article4933079.ece. Accessed 15 November 2016.</ref> His marriage to Lila connected Verrier to [[Jangarh Singh Shyam]], the Gond artist.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Indigenous Artists India|last=Nair|first=Sunita|publisher=Sunita Nair|year=2018|isbn=978-93-5311-387-2|location=Mumbai|pages=16}}</ref>

==Works==
* ''Christian Dhyana''. Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, 1930.
* ''The Dawn of Indian Freedom'', with Jack Copley Winslow. G. Allen & Unwin, 1931.
* ''Gandhi: the Dawn of Indian Freedom'', with John Copley Winslow. Fleming H. Revell company, 1934..
* ''Truth about India: can we get it?''. G. Allen & Unwin, 1932.
* ''Mahatma Gandhi: sketches in pen, pencil and brush'', with Kanu Desai. Golden Vista Press, 1932.
* ''Songs of the Forest: the folk poetry of the Gonds''. with Shamrao Hivale. London: G. Allen & Unwin, 1935.
* ''Leaves from the Jungle: Life in a Gond Village''. John Murray Publishers Ltd, 1936.
* ''The Agaria''. H. Milford, Oxford University Press, 1942.
* ''The Aboriginals''. H. Milford, Oxford University Press, 1944.
* ''Folk-songs of the Maikal Hills''. with Shamrao Hivale. H. Milford, Oxford University Press, 1944.
* ''Folk-songs of Chhattisgarh''. G. Cumberlege, Oxford University Press, 1946.
* ''The Muria and their Ghotul''. Oxford University Press, 1947.
* ''Myths of Middle India'', Indian Branch, Oxford University Press, 1949.
* ''Bondo Highlander''. Oxford University Press, 1950.
* ''Maria Murder and Suicide'', Oxford University Press, 1950.
* ''The Tribal Art of Middle India: a personal record''. Indian Branch, Oxford University Press, 1951.
* ''Tribal Myths of Orissa''. Indian Branch, Oxford University Press, 1954.
* ''The Religion of an Indian Tribe''. Oxford University Press, 1955.
* ''Myths of the North-east Frontier of India, Volume 1''. North-East Frontier Agency, 1958.
* ''India's North-east Frontier in the Nineteenth Century''. Oxford University Press, 1959.
* ''The Art of the North-east Frontier of India, Volume 1''. Pub. North-East Frontier Agency, 1959.
* ''[[The Fisher-Girl and the Crab]]''
* ''A Philosophy for NEFA''. S. Roy on behalf of the [[North-East Frontier Agency]] (NEFA), 1960.
* ''A New Deal for Tribal India''. Abridgement of the tenth Report of the Commissioner for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes for the year 1960–61. Ministry of Home Affairs, 1963.
* ''When the World was Young: folk-tales from India's hills and forests''. Publication Div., Ministry of Information & Broadcasting, Govt. of India, 1961.
* ''The Tribal World of Verrier Elwin: an autobiography''. Oxford University Press, 1964.
* ''Religious and Cultural Aspects of Khadi''. Sarvodaya Prachuralaya, 1964.
* ''Democracy in NEFA.''. North-East Frontier Agency, 1965.
* ''Folk Paintings of India''. Inter-national Cultural Centre, 1967.
* ''The Kingdom of the Young'', Oxford University Press, 1968.
* ''The Nagas in the Nineteenth Century''. Oxford University Press, 1969.
* ''A New Book of Tribal Fiction''. North-East Frontier Agency, 1970.
* ''Folk-tales of Mahakoshal''. Arno Press, 1980.
* ''The Baiga''. Gian Pub. House, 1986.
* ''Verrier Elwin, Philanthropologist: Selected Writings'', Ed. Nari Rustomji. North-Eastern Hill Univ. Publications; Oxford University Press, 2002, {{ISBN|0-19-565801-9}}.

==Further reading==

* ''Scholar gypsy: A study of Verrier Elwin'', Shamrao Hivale. N.M. Tripathi, 1946.
* ''Anthropology and archaeology: essays in commemoration of Verrier Elwin, 1902–64''. Ed. Mahesh Chandra Pradhan. Oxford University Press, 1969.
* ''An evaluative study of Verrier Elwin, folklorist'', by Bhabagrahi Misra. Indiana University, 1969.
* ''Verrier Elwin: a pioneer Indian anthropologist''. Asia Pub. House, 1973. {{ISBN|0-210-40556-2}}.
* ''Verrier Elwin and India's north-eastern borderlands'', by Nari Rustomji. North-Eastern Hill University Publications, 1988.
* ''Din-sevak: Verrier Elwin's life of service in tribal India''. Daniel O'Connor, Christian Institute for the Study of Religion & Society, Bangalore, 1993. {{ISBN|81-7214-069-X}}.
* ''Savaging the Civilized — Verrier Elwin, his tribals and India'', Ramchandra Guha. University of Chicago Press; OUP. 1999.
* ''Against ecological romanticism: Verrier Elwin and the making of an anti-modern tribal identity'', by Archana Prasad. Three Essays Collective, 2003.
* ''Verrier Elwin as remembered by his family and friends'', by B. Francis Kulirani, Bibhash Dhar. Anthropological Survey of India, 2003. {{ISBN|81-85579-80-6}}.
*''[https://books.google.com/books?id=INWSqBXundYC&printsec=frontcover&dq=Verrier+Elwin+-inauthor:%22Verrier+Elwin%22&lr=&cd=2#v=onepage&q&f=false Between Ethnography and Fiction: Verrier Elwin and the Tribal Question in India]''. Tanka Bahadur Subba, Sujit Som, K. C. Baral (eds.). New Delhi: Orient Longman, 2005. {{ISBN|81-250-2812-9}}.
* {{cite book|last=Sharma|first=Suresh Kant |title=Discovery of North-East India|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rpMAQe5bRM8C&q=Verrier+Elwin+-inauthor%3A%22Verrier+Elwin%22&pg=PA1|year=2005|publisher=Mittal Publications|isbn=978-81-8324-036-9|chapter=1. The North East Frontier Agency by Verrier Elwin}}
* Rousseleau, Raphaël (2019). [http://www.berose.fr/article1797.html « Verrier Elwin, du missionnaire gandhien à l’ethnopoète philanthropologue (1928-1939) »], in Gaetano Ciarcia & André Mary (ed.), ''Ethnologie en situation missionnaire'', Les Carnets de Bérose n° 12, Paris, BEROSE - International Encyclopaedia of the Histories of Anthropology, pp. 250–278.

==See also==
*[[Christoph von Fürer-Haimendorf]]

==References==
{{reflist}}
* {{cite book|last=Linebaugh|first=Peter |title=The Magna Carta manifesto: liberties and commons for all|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fjeT8gR2TmgC&q=Verrier+Elwin+-inauthor%3A%22Verrier+Elwin%22&pg=PA162|year=2008|publisher=University of California Press |isbn=978-0-520-24726-0}}

==External links and further sources==
{{wikisource|Chronology of Mahatma Gandhi's life/India 1932}}
* The Muria and Their Ghotul by Verrier Elwin
* Warren E. Roberts, 'Verrier Elwin (1902–1964)', ''Asian Folklore Studies'' 23:2 (1964), 212–14
* The Tribal World of Verrier Elwin, An Autobiography, ''Oxford University Press (1964)''
* [http://www.india-seminar.com/2001/500/500%20verrier%20elwin.htm Beating a dead horse] Verrier Elwin
*Resources related to research : [http://www.berose.fr/ BEROSE - International Encyclopaedia of the Histories of Anthropology]. [http://www.berose.fr/rubrique777.html?lang=en "Elwin, Verrier (1902-1964)"], Paris, 2019. (ISSN 2648-2770)

{{Sahitya Akademi Award for English}}
{{PadmaBhushanAwardRecipients 1960–69}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Elwin, Verrier}}
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