Video | “The Siddis: A Forgotten People”: UN in Action – Gujarat
United Nations – Gujarat in western India is home to more than 20,000 Siddis [Sidhi], an ethnic group of African descent. But today, many live on the fringes of society in …
Figures carefully drawn with attention to detail, proportion and symmetry – rock art discovery in Tamil Nadu
A big rock art site has been discovered at Kovanur, Perianaickenpalayam taluk, 30 km northwest of Coimbatore in Tamil Nadu. The site has about 60 paintings, both group compositions and …
Tiger conservation and tourism – its impact on the people in and around the tiger reserves
The Supreme Court order [2012] to ban tourism in core tiger reserves, and decisions to shoot poachers at sight find favour with some conservationists, the middle class and media. But …
Preserving tribal culture and maintaining control over their own affairs: Adi ‘Hill Men’ – Arunachal Pradesh
With political changes afoot in Burma, policy wonks and businessmen are taking a new look at India’s Northeast for economic and geopolitical calculations, but there’s a more colourful reason that …
The Shola Trust Gudalur – Tamil Nadu
NGO Profile – Sanctuary Asiamagazine February 2011: In Gudalar, at the edge of the Mudumalai Tiger Reserve, a small committed group of volunteers work to protect India’s shola forests – a mosaic of …
Indian forests, rivers and mountains owe their survival to Adivasis: “the most civilised people” – Mahasweta Devi
Renowned writer and social activist Mahasweta Devi termed Adivasis as “the most civilised people” to whom Indian forests, rivers and mountains owe their survival. She praised their egalitarian social structure …
Slideshow | Ancient rock art and modern graffiti: Continuity of tribal tradition since 1500 B.C. – Tamil Nadu
India has about 5,000 rock art sites, next only to Australia and South Africa, where prehistoric people have recorded life as they saw it, in paintings, engravings and carvings. Finding …
Tips | Nature, wildlife and more
Gandhi believed that giving more importance, value and relevance to practical skills, and applying traditional knowledge to solving day-to-day problems were essential for the development of rural India. – Bunker …
Understanding the forest the way city kids understand traffic lights and zebra crossings – ActionAid’s schools team
Guest blogger Mari Marcel Thekaekara is a human rights activist and writer based in Gudalur, Tamil Nadu. She co-founded ACCORD (Action for Community Organisation, Rehabilitation and Development) in 1985 to work …