Storytelling and local history in tribal school curriculum: Gudalur region (Nilgiri) – Tamil Nadu

March 27th, 2013 

[…] A few of us have been busy over the last few weeks. We are trying to find ways to share stories of our local history with other in our school and family.

For many years, the Adivasis of the Gudalur region, and especially the Paniyas, were bonded labourers working for landowners. In the early 1960′s the Chettans, (a communtiy in a neighbouring state of Kerala ) migrated into regions inhabited by us. Often they cheated us with alcohol and false papers and took away our ancestral lands. Soon we were working as labourers on land that was once our own.

Almost 25 years ago, on December 5th, 1988 our adivasi communities- the Bettakurumbas, Mullukurmbas, Kattunayakans, Paniyas and Irulas came together to demand our right to land. Ten thousand adivasi women and men marched through Gudalur town. A stage was built where many people from our communities made inspiring speeches. All of us spoke in our adivasi languages dressed in our own clothes. For the first time the people of Gudalur heard our languages booming on loudspeakers. […]

But today, very few of us know about this historic protest in which our mothers and fathers took part. And so, we are collecting photographs and stories to show everyone what it was like then. […]

Source: chembakolli
Address : http://www.chembakolli.com/blog/
Date Visited: Sun Apr 07 2013 11:47:36 GMT+0200 (CEST)

About this blog

The Chembakolli Live blog was set up in 2006 with the aim of linking Adivasi communities around Chembakolli in south India with primary school students in the UK.

Since then many people have posted blogs on a variety of topics and there is a wealth of information and images on here about life in India.

Source: About the Chembakolli Live blog :: ActionAid UK
Address : http://www.actionaid.org.uk/index.asp?page_id=102828
Date Visited: Sun Apr 07 2013 11:54:12 GMT+0200 (CEST)

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