The Gond community: Discoveries in Indian history – Indus Valley, Chhattisgarh, Telangana & Karnataka

Gonds living in central and southern India could have migrated from the Indus Valley civilisation – Karnataka
Possibly “a revolutionary find” that links the adivasi Gond tribe to the Indus Valley civilisation, which flourished between 2500 B.C. and 1750 BC. Eleven of the Hampi pictographs resemble those of the civilisation, according to Dr. K.M. Metry, Head and Dean, Social Sciences, Kannada University, Hampi; Dr. Motiravan Kangali, a linguist and expert in Gondi language and culture from Nagpur, Maharashtra; and his associate Prakash Salame, also an expert in Gondi. If the discovery stands the scrutiny of experts in the field, it would mean that the Gonds living in central and southern India could have migrated from the Indus Valley civilisation. | Read more >>

Learn more about the Gond community >>

The decade after Independence saw a ‘dramatic closing of the gap between protohistoric and early historic India. The idea of the IVC [Indus Valley Civilisation] as an isolated proto-historic civilisation began to be challenged. Archaeologists began making connections between the IVC and later early historic settlements. In essence, the research suggested that the Harappan civilisation was not some mysterious forgotten society. It was part of a larger cultural milieu that survived its demise [including] a plethora of other cultures—some contemporary with the Harappan and others following its demise—in areas across western and central India as also in the Deccan.

Source: Monuments Matter by Nayanjot Lahiri, quoted in “The Dig” by Sowmiya Ashok (Fiftytwo.in, 2 April 2021)
URL: https://fiftytwo.in/story/the-dig/
Date Visited: 4 June 2021

Find scholarly books, poetry and fiction relating to tribal culture – Indian publishers

List of sites covered by this Google custom search engine

https://adivaani.org

https://ansi.gov.in

https://bhasharesearch.org

https://www.dkagencies.com

https://gndevy.in

https://india.oup.com

https://harpercollins.co.in

https://www.mittalbooks.com

https://www.orientblackswan.com

https://penguin.co.in

https://www.routledge.com

To find children’s and educational books or search Indian periodicals, magazines, web portals and other sources safely, click here >>

Search tips

Combine the name of any particular state, language or region with that of any tribal (Adivasi) community.

Add keywords of special interest (health, nutrition endangered language, illegal mining, sacred grove); learn about the rights of Scheduled Tribes such as the “Forest Rights Act” (FRA); and the United Nations “Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples”, “Universal Declaration of Human Rights”, “women’s rights”, or “children’s right to education”.

Specify any other issue or news item you want to learn more about (biodiversity, bonded labour and human trafficking, climate change, ecology, economic development, ethnobotany, ethnomedicine, global warming, Himalayan tribe, hunter-gatherers in a particular region or state, prevention of rural poverty, water access).

For official figures include “scheduled tribe ST” along with a union state or region: e.g. “Chhattisgarh ST community”, “Scheduled tribe Tamil Nadu census”, “ST Kerala census”, “Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Group Jharkhand”, “PVTG Rajasthan”, “Adivasi ST Kerala”, “Adibasi ST West Bengal” etc.

In case the Google Custom Search window is not displayed here try the following: (1) toggle between “Reader” and regular viewing; (2) in your browser’s Security settings select “Enable JavaScript” | More tips >>

Research the above issues with the help of Shodhganga: A reservoir of theses from universities all over India, made available under Open Access >>

It is true that the progress of culture in India, though continuous, was not uniform. It did not proceed in a straight line, but in undulations like the waves of the sea.”– P.T. Srinivasa Ayyangar, Introduction to The Stone Age in India (10 December 1925) >>

Up-to-date reports by Indian journalists and experts

Learn more

Adivasi (Adibasi)

“Adivasi”, “Tribals” and “Denotified tribes”: Usage in legal and historical records, in textbooks, scholarly papers and the media –  Classifications in different states

Anthropology | Irish Journal of Anthropology | The Johar Journal | Folio Special issue

Colonial policies | History | Indus Valley | Mohenjo Daro

eBooks, eJournals & reports | eLearning

eBook | Background guide for education

Ekalavya (Eklavya)

Forest Rights Act (FRA) | Hunter-gatherers | Nishad (Nishada, Sanskrit Niṣāda, “tribal, hunter, mountaineer, degraded person outcast”) | Vanavasi (Vanvasi, Vanyajati)

India’s Constitutional obligation to respect their cultural traditions

Jawaharlal Nehru’s “five principles” for the policy to be pursued vis-a-vis the tribals

Particularly vulnerable tribal group (PVTG)

Remembering Birsa Munda: The charismatic tribal leader who shook the British Empire – Jharkhand

Rights of Indigenous Peoples

Scheduled Tribes | Classifications in different states

Tagore and rural culture

Video | Adivasi Academy & Museum of Adivasi Voice at Tejgadh – Gujarat

Video | Tribes in Transition-III: “Indigenous Cultures in the Digital Era”

What is the Forest Rights Act about?
Who is a forest dweller under this law, and who gets rights?

Tips for using interactive maps

Toggle to normal view (from reader view) should the interactive map not be displayed by your tablet, smartphone or pc browser

For details and hyperlinks click on the rectangular button (left on the map’s header)

Scroll and click on one of the markers for information of special interest

Explore India’s tribal cultural heritage with the help of another interactive map >>