Social work theorists have begun talking about a fundamental shift in social work education, marked as the rise of decoloniality and decolonial thinking. Within this context, distinct social work formulations that make a fundamental break from past paradigms are being posited in the form of decolonial social work. In India, decolonial social work is constituted primarily by two theories—Tribal Social Work and Dalit Social Work. The former arising directly out of British colonialism and the latter premised on an anti-caste social work perspective. Taking the case of tribal policy with specific reference to principles of governance vis., tribes an attempt is made to historicise the same from a decolonial social work lens. The article contextualises tribal policy in India, lays the framework of decolonial social work, historicise principles of governance from a decolonial lens, draws out the underlying political structure that embeds these principles and throws new light on key theoretical debates concerning policy practice.

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This article engages with International Social Work education. The subject is new, and in many countries, especially in India, content for teaching has only begun to be formulated. While many attempts are being made across the world to provide international social work with a sound theoretical base, these efforts are only beginning to take shape in India. This article traverses the thinking, experience, and insights of a social work educator who has engaged in such a process – the development and teaching of a course on international social work for postgraduate students of an institute in Mumbai.