ABSTRACT
The hegemonic Kerala model not only has generated a range of outliers but also failed to accommodate its gender capital on equal terms. This failure is largely because Adivasi capital does not conform to conventional interpretations of mainstream capital, so it promotes deficit perspectives of capital, which are then fed into development paradigms. This chapter shows that citizenship rights for Adivasis in Kerala are vigorously contested with disempowering experiences of rights and asymmetrical power relationships in society, such as gendered and sexual abuse, questioning the mere identity of its political community.
