Tip | Adivasis’ struggle for India’s freedom and Independence: The Last Heroes by P. Sainath

The Last Heroes remembers the lesser-known fighters from India’s freedom struggle. The book tracks the role of ordinary, everyday people in achieving Independence. Farmers, labourers, homemakers, forest produce gatherers, artisans and others who stood up to the British. The Last Heroes tells their stories, giving them they recognition they truly deserve. […]

By revealing the spectacular diversity of these foot soldiers who fought the great battles of freedom – Adivasis, Dalits, Muslims, Sikhs, and Hindus; OBCs, Brahmins; men, women and children, believers and atheists – The Last Heroes contends that Independence was not the gift of a handful of Oxbridge elites. […]

Newer generations of young Indians will never get to meet, see, speak, or listen to India’s freedom fighters. That’s why and for whom I wrote this book. For quite a while now, we see young people being robbed of their history, denied any knowledge of what India’s fight for freedom and Independence was about – and who it was who spearheaded that struggle.”

Source: “P Sainath’s second book, ‘The Last Heroes’, will be published 25 years after his iconic first book”, Scroll Staff, 10 October 2022
URL: https://scroll.in/article/1034653/p-sainaths-second-book-the-last-heroes-will-be-published-25-years-after-his-iconic-first-book
Date Visited: 11 October 2022

[Bold typeface added above for emphasis]

Photo and video recommendation: a voice from rural India worth being heard

Whether you plan a visit or seek to learn more about India’s rural life – perhaps inspired by the Gandhian social movement or Rabindranath Tagore – explore “a living journal, a breathing archive” in the Adivasi category of PARI: the People’s Archive of Rural India initiated by distinguished photo journalist-turned-activist P. Sainath, continually enriched by stories from all over India.

“In less than 200 years, photography has gone from an expensive, complex process to an ordinary part of everyday life. From selfies to satellites, most of the technology we use and spaces we inhabit rely on cameras. […] While photographic documentation can aid in shaping history, it can also be a window into the horrors of the past.” – Read more or listen to Butterfly Effect 9 – The Camera on CBC Radio Spark 26 May 2023 >>

“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 them.” – Vice President M. Venkaiah Naidu on the constitutional obligation to respect the cultural traditions of India’s tribal communities

Gandhiji at Prayer Time, Parnakuti, Poona (1944) by Chittaprosad, the great advocate of the rights of workers and revolutionary artists. | Learn more in “Gandhi, Secularism, and Cultural Democracy” by Vinay Lal >>
Gandhian social movement | Constitution | Adverse inclusion >>

“Air is free to all but if it is polluted it harms our health… Next comes water… From now on we must take up the effort to secure water. Councillors are servants of the people and we have a right to question them.” – Mohandas K. Gandhi, Ahmedabad address on 1 January 1918; quoted by his grandson, Gopalkrishna Gandhi, in “On another New Year’s Day: Mahatma Gandhi’s ‘khorak’ a 100 years ago” (The Hindu, 1 January 2018)

“The world has enough for everyone’s need but not for anyone’s greed.” – Mahatma Gandhi quoted by Medha Patkar and Baba Amte (Narmada Bachao Andolan)

“Tribals are subject to oppression and cruelty even after independence and still picked up by the investigating officers to cover up shoddy investigations.” – D.Y. Chandrachud (Chief Justice of India since 9 November 2022) quoted in “Members of De-Notified Tribes Picked Up to Cover Up Shoddy Investigations” | Learn more >>

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 >>

Find publications by reputed authors (incl. Open Access)

 

Search for an item in libraries near you:
WorldCat.org >>
Learn more

Adivasis in India’s Freedom struggle

Archery | Martial arts

Birsa Munda | Munda

Chhattisgarh | Chotanagpur

Childhood | Childrens rights: UNICEF India | Safe search

Colonial policies | History | Modernity

Games and leisure time

Hul (Santal rebellion 1855-1856)

People’s Archive of Rural India (PARI) | RuralIndiaOnline.org

Rights of Indigenous Peoples

Success Story | Tribal freedom fighters

Video | Hul Sengel: The Spirit of the Santal Revolution (1855) – Jharkhand

Video | Munda songs and dances – Jharkhand

Video | Tribal culture and natural resources: The Chota Nagpur (Chotanagpur) plateau of eastern India – Jharkhand