This book investigates how the concept of 'wildness' functioned as a political tool for forest communities in nineteenth-century Western India to resist dominant social hierarchies. Ajay Skaria, a scholar of South Asian history, utilizes archival research and social theory to examine the transformation of these communities under colonial rule. He argues that the imposition of colonial administrative categories fundamentally altered local identities, specifically through the creation of the 'adivasi' classification. The work provides a framework for understanding how environmental management and social identity were inextricably linked during the colonial era.

Scholars in the field of environmental history frequently cite this work for its nuanced approach to colonial administrative categories and indigenous identity. Readers often note the academic density of the prose, which requires a foundational understanding of South Asian colonial history to fully appreciate the author's arguments.