Indigenous peoples are equal to all other peoples, while recognizing the right of all peoples to be different, to consider themselves different, and to be respected as such […] all peoples contribute to the diversity and richness of civilizations and cultures, which constitute the common heritage of hu- mankind […] all doctrines, policies and practices based on or advocating superiority of peoples or individuals on the basis of national origin or racial, religious, ethnic or cultural differences are racist, scientifically false, legally invalid, morally condemnable and socially unjust, Reaffirming that indigenous peoples, in the exercise of their rights, should be free from discrimination of any kind. – United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples | Access the full document here >>
Alternative download link on this website (PDF, 154 KB) >>
Source: United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples
URL: https://www.un.org/development/desa/indigenouspeoples/wp-content/uploads/sites/19/2018/11/UNDRIP_E_web.pdf
Accessed: 30 May 2019
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights empowers us all. The principles enshrined in the Declaration are as relevant today as they were in 1948. […] We can take action in our own daily lives, to uphold the rights that protect us all and thereby promote the kinship of all human beings.
Source: United Nations manifesto on the purpose of celebrating “Human Rights Day” each year on 10 December
URL: https://www.un.org/en/events/humanrightsday/
Date visited: 25 July 2020
At the heart of all the violations of our human rights has been the failure to respect our integrity, and the insistence on speaking for us, defining our needs and controlling our lives.
Source: Karbi leader Dharamsing Teron quoted by Meenaxi Barkataki-Ruscheweyh in Performing Ethnicity to Resist Marginalisation: The Tangsa in Assam (PhD thesis. Amsterdam: Vrije Universiteit, 2015)
URL: http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/1039320680
Date visited: 25 July 2020
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 >>
See also
- Adverse inclusion
- Denotified Tribes, Nomadic and Semi-Nomadic Tribes – Report and Recommendations (Technical Advisory Group)
- Fact checking
- Imprisonment & rehabilitation
- Map | An alphabetical journey across India: from Andaman to West Bengal
- Search tips | Names of tribal communities, regions and states of India
- State wise population of Scheduled Tribes (ST) and their percentage to the total population in the respective states and to the total STs population
- “What are the Rights of Scheduled Tribes?– Government of India (National Commission for Scheduled Tribes, NCST)
- “What is the Forest Rights Act about?” – Campaign for Survival and Dignity
- “Who are Scheduled Tribes?” – Government of India (National Commission for Scheduled Tribes, NCST)
- Zonal Cultural Centres: List of “Component States” allocated to each centre

Tribal Literature by Ganesh Devy (ed.) | Bhashaebooks | Other publications >>
India is one of the oldest civilizations in the world with a kaleidoscopic variety and rich cultural heritage. It has achieved all-round socio-economic progress since Independence. As the 7th largest country in the world, India stands apart from the rest of Asia, marked off as it is by mountains and the sea, which give the country a distinct geographical entity. Bounded by the Great Himalayas in the north, it stretches southwards and at the Tropic of Cancer, tapers off into the Indian Ocean between the Bay of Bengal on the east and the Arabian Sea on the west.
Source: States and Union Territories – About India
URL: https://knowindia.gov.in/states-uts/
Date visited: 16 April 2020
Learn more about India’s 28 States and 8 Union Territories – From Andhra Pradesh to West Bengal >>
Research the above issues with the help of Shodhganga: A reservoir of theses from universities all over India, made available under Open Access >>
Tips: type the name of a tribal community, region or state in the search field seen below. For better results, combine search words of special interest to you: Adivasi, Indigenous or tribal with topics like artist, music, craft, poetry, literature, education, biodiversity, ethnobotany, festival, film, health, nutrition, forest or human rights
Technical support
Try the following in case Google Custom Search window or media contents are invisible here: (1) switch from “Reader” to regular viewing; (2) in browser’s Security settings select “Enable JavaScript”; (3) check Google support for browsers and devices | More >>
List of Indian magazines and web portals covered by the present Custom search engine | To search other sources safely, click here >>
Related posts
- Accountability | Adverse inclusion | Assimilation | Land rights | Rural poverty
- “Adivasi”, “Tribals” and “Denotified tribes”: Usage in legal and historical records, in textbooks, scholarly papers and the media – Classifications in different states
- Biodiversity | Hyderabad biodiversity pledge
- Boarding school | Education | Residential school | Tribal elders
- Colonial policies | History | Hul (Santal rebellion 1855-1856) | Tribal history covered in “India After Gandhi” by Ramachandra Guha
- Community facilities | Government of India | Networking | Organizations
- Continents, countries & regions: Africa | America & National Museum of the American Indian | Australia | Canada | Japan | New Zealand | Scandinavia | Tribal culture worldwide
- Customs | De- and re-tribalization | Globalization | Media portrayal | Misconceptions | Modernity | Particularly vulnerable tribal group
- Democracy| Constitution and Supreme Court | Jawaharlal Nehru’s “five principles” for the policy to be pursued vis-a-vis the tribals
- Eco tourism | Nature and wildlife | Shola Trust | Tourism
- eJournal & eBook | eLearning: Center for World Indigenous Studies
- Environmental history and what makes for a civilization – Romila Thapar
- Forest Rights Act (FRA) | Vanavasi
- Forest dwellers in early India – myths and ecology in historical perspective
- India’s Constitutional obligation to respect their cultural traditions
- People’s Archive of Rural India (PARI)
- Revival of traditions
- Storytelling | Success story | Videovolunteers
- United Nations Declaration for the Rights of Indigenous Peoples
- Universal Declaration of Human Rights: Towards “a life free from want and fear” for every ethnic group – United Nations
- “Who are Scheduled Tribes?”: Clarifications by the National Commission for Scheduled Tribes – Government of India