Examines how people living in the Sundarbans perceive the mangrove forests and its man-eating tigers. This book focuses on the environment in contemporary Bangladesh, and offers a different frame of reference to understand social relations in the Indic world.

Acclaimed for its unique ecosystem and Royal Bengal tigers, the mangrove islands that comprise the Sundarbans area of the Bengal delta are the setting for this pioneering anthropological work. The key question that the author explores is: what do tigers mean for the islanders of the Sundarbans? The diverse origins and current occupations of the local population produce different answers to this question - but for all, 'the tiger question' is a significant social marker. Far more than through caste, tribe or religion, the Sundarbans islanders articulate their social locations and interactions...