Learn more about tribal communities in West Bengal

Lessons in sustainable development, Unity in Diversity: “We shall first have to give up this hubris of considering tribes backward” – Vice President of India’s Foundation Day lecture

Vice president delivers “first foundation day lecture of NCST” | To download the official transcript, click here >> While delivering the Foundation Day lecture, the Vice President asked that 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 … Read more

Video | Marriage customs of the Santals: A large mural created by village artists to express their cultural identity – West Bengal

Marriage Reception A Santal marriage takes five days and involves various, often complex, rituals. On the day of the Gidi-chumara (Marriage Reception) the women arrive to bless the bride and groom with grass and grains of rice which are kept in a basket. The high wooden turmeric crusher called akhur (on the right) indicates that … Read more

Audio | CBC Unreserved on “Decolonizing the classroom: Is there space for Indigenous knowledge in academia?” – Canada

Priyamvada Gopal on the rights of indigenous peoples (Adivasi in India): Colonialiality is a dynamic we need to be alert for as much in the present even within so-called independent, decolonized countries [quote from 31:30 onwards] Listen to the full episode including an interview with author Priyamvada Gopal (53:59) on CBC radio >> Priyamvada Gopal’s … Read more

Spreading benefits evenly across Rajasthan’s tribes: On differences within a state having an above-average tribal population – Rajasthan

Rights for forgotten tribes Predictably, public discourse on the Gujjar-state-Mina  (as the census spells them) standoff in Rajasthan has centred on two, or, at best, three issues […] It is easy to forget, in the midst of all this noise, that the Minas are not the only Scheduled Tribes (STs) in Rajasthan. But everyone, ranging from … Read more