Adivasi / Adibasi

“Adivasi [Adibasi] – which is derived from Sanskrit – is applied to the dark-skinned or Austro-Asiatic indigenous groups of India (usually those from Eastern India). It is a commonly-used term in Jharkhand, Bihar, West Bengal and Odisha. It is also used by the local Mongoloid tribes of North Eastern India for the migrant workers who were brought in as indentured labourers to work in tea plantations during the colonial period. ‘Tribal’ is a very broad term in the English language, as we all know, and includes all the different indigenous groups of India.” – Santali poet, scholar and translator Ivy Imogene Hansdak (email dated 27 March 2020)
https://indiantribalheritage.org/?p=23032

Book on the distinctive ear ornaments of the northeastern “Seven Sister States”: Proudly worn by women and men – Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Meghalaya, Manipur, Mizoram, Nagaland and Tripura

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Read the full article by Dr. Waltraud Ganguly titled “Earrings in India”:https://asianart.com/articles/ganguly/17a.html Earrings have a special status in Indian jewellery; they are highly decorative and beautify the face. Moreover, they are a sign of identification for their wearers or for a geographic region. These signs of identity and social status are mostly given up in urban … Read more

Santal historian Sumit Soren in conversation with Dr. Daniel Rycroft – Jharkhand

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30th June is a red letter day for Santhals, 158 years ago [in 2013], on this day the Santhals of Damin-i-koh declared an open rebellion against tyranny and corruption.  It is a special day for all freedom loving people of the World, as the message of the Great Rebellion still echoes in the hearts and … Read more

“Bringing school dropouts back to the world of letters”: Thalir Trust, a school founded by three tribal youths – Kerala

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Source: “A chance to study again” by E.M. Manoj, The Hindu, 16 September 2015Address: http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/kerala/a-chance-to-study-again/article7657602.eceDate Visited: 17 October 2022 [Among] India’s biggest problems [is the fact that its] education system is failing it. At some 1.4bn, it has more people than China, and its economy is growing fast. It needs to make hundreds of millions … Read more

Continuation of colonial-era forest laws and mass evictions: Historical displacement of tribals from forests – Forest Rights Act

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Nitin Sethi, The Wire, 15 February 2019 State governments would have to undertake mass evictions if the court accepts a petition filed by wildlife groups. […]   If the court accepts the plea of petitioners, state governments would have to undertake mass evictions. The union ministry for tribal affairs estimates that by the end of November 2018, … Read more

Tip | Explore tribal culture in a larger context: A society in search of “a vision for itself that is morally defensible”

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This website is being maintained with the motto “Showcasing new initiatives in education“. To catch up with “what’s going on in today’s India”, suffice a few pointers to discussions in today’s India. Appreciating “tribal” or “Adivasi” traditions will shed new light on India’s cultural heritage in general. The challenge here is the fact that each tradition … Read more