This paper deals with the colonial world of historians who are trying to reinvent the monolithic and colonial construction of tribal identity in post colonial India with an objective of reinforcing and preserving tribal identity but with the same colonial method of identity formation based on territorialisation. This territorial based identity formation is now being used and sustained by the neoliberal political and economic ruling and non-ruling elites to exploit the tribals. The upper caste and class Hindu social order finds potentiality in the idea which can be helpful for them to sustain the social hierarchy based on exploitation and inequality. The paper locates colonial and capitalist logic of identity formation which serves the elites and helps to sustain inequality and exploitation in the tribal societies in India. Postmodern logic of identity formation is working as a base for neoliberal capitalist economy with the process of Hinduisation. As such identity formation divides the people on territorial grounds. The paper divided into four parts; i.e. the first part talks about the philosophical basis of identity formation, the second part deals with the identity formation based on land and territory, third part documents the debates on tribal identity formation in post colonial India, the fourth and last part of this paper is trying to establish capitalist logic in the territorial based identity formation.

Keywords: Colonial, Tribal, Identity, India