In her rich ethnographic account of tribal women's struggle to claim their rightful share of landholdings in India, Nitya Rao delves into the lives of twenty-four Santal women over a period of eighteen months, from June 1999 to December 2000. As the title of this book implies, it is difficult for a Santal woman to cultivate land that is rightfully hers and at the same time retain her identity as a “good woman.” Maintaining one's identity is one of the key factors that Rao examines, as she sees land not merely as a material asset but also as a “key element in the identities of indigenous people” (p. 6). While the possession and cultivation of land works to fulfill a positive social identity for men, “women are unable to act as autonomous individuals in relation to land,” thus compromising their ability to fulfill a positive social identity through owning and cultivating land (p. 294).

In chapter 1, Rao introduces her audience to the struggles of the adivasi or indigenous peoples of two villages, Bagdiha and Chuapara. She also provides a conceptual framework that engages the work of postmodern scholars such as Gramsci, Foucault, and Bourdieu, and states two of her main working principles: first, “[a]ccepting a dynamic concept of power in the everyday interaction of individuals and institutions helps unravel the complexities of domination and empowerment, and is a core idea explored in this book” (p. 15); and second, “[i]n the case of land relations, an understanding of the multiple and interacting sites of engagement as well as multiple interests becomes critical” (p. 16). In chapter 2, she states her methodology and her own relationship with the Santals, which she describes as an “insider view” using mostly qualitative research tools (p. 42). In chapter 3, Rao examines how the Santals deal with the overwhelming poverty of their district. This is an excellent contribution in and of itself, as she illuminates the life-threatening livelihood insecurity that these families face daily.

Chapter 4 traces the history of agrarian movements in the area and allows one to see how a colonial system “with a preference for recording land titles in men's names” has exacerbated present-day problems for women (p. 144). Chapter 5 answers an important question: “If land is so important to the Santal people, why is production not better thus reducing poverty?” The first answer we get in the opening paragraph is not very satisfying and reflects an overemphasis on postmodern theorizing: “the control over land is seen in terms of the linkages between their [women's] productive and reproductive selves” (p. 146). Such phrases as “productive and reproductive selves” are overused without clarification or contextualization, and thus lead to confusion. Happily, Rao goes on to ask a series of questions in this chapter that are helpful in terms of framing the picture of why land is underutilized. “What is the material value of land in people's livelihoods? What are the constraints in terms of enhancing agricultural production? How far does the ownership of land contribute to household food security, poverty reduction, and to gender equality?” (p. 147). Her research reveals the following answers: “for men, land is prized for the status it gives, the sense of identity and rootedness, and membership in the village decision-making bodies, rather than its economic value alone” (p. 170). Control over land, however, appears to be a zero-sum game, and women are socially stigmatized by men when they are landholders, sometimes even accused of being dains or witches.

Chapters 6 and 7 are particularly interesting, as they delve deeply into Rao's ethnographic data. Chapter 6 recounts the ways in which the adivasi are defined by the state, the ways in which masculine identities have shifted within the villages, and the construction of identities through the performance of ritual activities. Chapter 7 discusses the various strategies that women have employed for holding on to land, including such measures as not registering the land in their name if it would anger male relatives and/or compromise cultivation already under way, and entering into a gharjawae marriage, in which an in-marrying son-in-law and daughter takes on the land of the women's parents.

The final three chapters focus on the court system (chapter 8), various development interventions (chapter 9), and a concluding chapter in which Rao attempts to “Reframe the Debate” (chapter 10). She then includes an impressive array of appendices that allow the reader to look more closely into the different households included in her study, the demographic indicators, and types of land disputes.

Rao has a deep commitment to her subject and an impressive command of her field. The stories of these twenty-four women really come across the page, and I would recommend this book for specialists in the fields of anthropology, development studies, South Asian studies, and feminist studies.