Alienation is a major problem associated with the tribes. The tribes were alienated from their own lands. The landlords or moneylenders of the plains gradually replaced the tribal landlords. The situation slowly improved and the tribes are now in a much better condition than in pre-independent era.
Ghurye lists a number of socio-cultural and economic problems of the tribes of India in view of their distinctions. Some tribes represent aristocracy, landlords and noblemen; others consist of the Hinduised sections of tribesmen; and thirdly, there are tribes and some sections from among them who are still largely isolated from the non-tribal population.