Tribal Cultural Heritage in India Foundation

This website is all about “Showcasing new initiatives in education”. It is inspired by a fundamental commitment to human rights by India’s founding fathers:

India is a secular state with a constitution committed to the unique demography, history and culture of each state and union territory – knowindia.gov.in >>

In the words of the Vice President of India, referring to the needs of our times – those felt in India just as in the rest of the world – while commemorating 150 years of the Mahatma Gandhi, “we shall first have to give up this hubris of considering tribes backward. Every tribe has a rich and living cultural tradition and we must respect them […] not only social courtesy to respect their cultural traditions but it is also our Constitutional obligation. As we are looking for ways of sustainable development, these groups can teach us lessons in sustainable development. […] There can’t be a better example of Unity in Diversity.”

On similar lines, we may consider a special video message by M.S. Swaminathan, India’s most respected experts on food security worldwide, who not merely reminds fellow citizens of the scientifically proven fact that the nation’s ‘primary conservers’ often are tribal farmers. The pioneering foundation he has established is proving on a daily basis why these ‘guardians of biological diversity’ are entitled to protection under the law known as Biodiversity Act (published by the National Biodiversity Authority).

“The tribal food basket has always been ­diverse and nutritious, including maize, minor millets like kodo and kutki, oil seeds like ramtila, along with fruits, leaves, ­rhizomes, mushrooms, meat and fish. […] We have pushed them out of their complementary relationship with ecology, way of life and time-tested nutrition.” | Learn more >>

Continue your exploration of India’s tribal cultural heritage by …

• taking a guided tour of this website
• browsing what’s new and interesting
• exploring audio resources, slideshows and video contents from various sources 
• enjoying a virtual journey across time and space: from the Indus Valley Civilisation to  modern India and beyond
• reading some of the success stories to understand India’s tribal heritage
• listening to music (both traditional and contemporary): as well as free eBooks and eJournals

… and deepen your understanding by

• immersing yourself in the storytelling traditions valued among tribal communities
• searching for Indian publications by and about members of tribal communities
• asking questions like “How many ‘Scheduled Tribes’ are there in India?”; and “What distinguishes them from other communities?” (‘tribal’ or otherwise)
• understanding the intentions of India’s founding fathers: Gandhi & Nehru
• deriving inspiration from Tagore’s vision of rural culture 
• finding posts with information about a particular community
• using an interactive map to find museum collections across India

Kindly think of any “free person” – including girls and boys – when contemplating the following message in our present context:
“He who has not surrendered his free will and abdicated his intelligence and independent thinking, who does not blindly act on the teachings of others, who does not blindly accept anything without critically analysing and examining its veracity and usefulness […] I call him a free man.” – Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar (who was more than the “drafter of the Constitution”) | Learn more >>

“Tribal communities are a standing example of how women play a major role in preservation of eco historic cultural heritage in India.” – Mari Marcel Thekaekara (writer and Co-founder of ACCORD-Nilgiris) | Learn more >>

Tips: type the name of a tribal community, region or state in the search field seen below. For better results, combine search words of special interest to you: Adivasi, Indigenous or tribal with topics like artist, music, craft, poetry, literature, education, biodiversity, ethnobotany, festival, film, health, nutrition, forest or human rights

Technical support

Try the following in case Google Custom Search window or media contents are invisible here: (1) switch from “Reader” to regular viewing; (2) in browser’s Security settings select “Enable JavaScript”; (3) check Google support for browsers and devices | More >>

List of Indian magazines and web portals covered by the present Custom search engine | To search other sources safely, click here >>

1. www.indiatoday.in
2. www.india-seminar.com
3. www.livemint.com
4. www.outlookindia.com
5. www.ruralindiaonline.org
6. scroll.in
7. www.sanctuaryasia.com
8. www.tehelka.com
9. www.thebetterindia.com
10. www.theweek.in

“We have to write our own stories, about our issues, from our own perspectives” – Abhay Xaxa, a “Fiercely Unapologetic Adivasi Scholar-Activist | Read more >>

More tips

• browsing with a small portable device (smartphone)
• tips for teachers and students
• tips for visitors and lovers of Indian culture

Thank you for your interest, suggestions and other feedback!

Credits
Banner photo and art: courtesy Arun VC (Kerala)