Nomadic and semi nomadic tribes urged to address problems and issues and through their own voice – Rajasthan

Posted on 20/12/2012 by website administrator
Search select websites: Govt. of India, NGOs, Indian universities
and international organisations >>

JAIPUR: Chief minister Ashok Gehlot on Friday announced that his government is setting up a separate board for inclusive growth of de-notified, nomadic and semi nomadic tribes in the state. Addressing a gathering of tribesmen of different communities on the occasion of ‘Mukti Divas’ at Udyog Madian here, the chief minister urged them focus to more on the education of their children.

“Our government has decided that Vimukat, nomadic and semi nomadic tribes should have a separate board in the government. It will be a government body with a fulltime chairman and members. This board will help in addressing your problems and issues and through it your voice will now reach the cabinet and the government,” Gehlot said.

The setting up of board is seen as to woo the de-notified, nomadic and semi nomadic tribes ahead of the state assembly elections in 2013. As per the 2001 census, the consortium of 52 tribes in Rajasthan has a population of around one crore [10 million] and is the major vote bank of the Congress party.

The chief minister in his address also appealed to the people from different tribes to focus on educating their children so that they can take advantage of government schemes. “Without education, no caste has ever progressed. Educate your community so that you can progress in society and march along with the development of the country,” Gehlot added.

The tribes across the country celebrate August 31 as Mukti Divas. The day is observed to mark the occasion when in 1952 the first Prime Minister of India, Jawahar Lal Nehru, abolished the draconian law of Criminal Tribes Act formulated during the British rule. […]

Source: “Govt mulls separate board for tribals”, The Times of India (Jaipur), 1 September 2012
Address : http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2012-09-01/jaipur/33534937_1_chandrabhan-congress-party-semi-nomadic-tribes
Date Visited: Thu Dec 20 2012 20:41:09 GMT+0100 (CET)

Vimukat Jatis celebrate Mukti Divas

Amritsar, August 31 

The All-India Vimukat Jatis (denotified tribes) Sewak Sangh (AIVJSS) has urged the government to grant the Scheduled Tribe status to its 193 tribes.

Source: The Tribune, Chandigarh, India – Amritsar PLUS
Address : http://www.tribuneindia.com/2011/20110901/asrtrib.htm
Date Visited: Thu Dec 20 2012 20:47:39 GMT+0100 (CET)

[Bold typeface added above for emphasis]

Learn more about tribal culture and education in Rajasthan >>

“Tribal men and women mix freely, but with respect for each other [but] caste Hindu society in India is so convinced of its own superiority that it never stops to consider the nature of social organisation among tribal people. In fact it is one of the signs of the ‘educated’ barbarian of today that he cannot appreciate the qualities of people in any way different from himself – in looks or clothes, customs or rituals.” – Guest Column in India Today >>

Photo © The Hindu in The Adivasi in the mirror: The lynching of Madhu in Kerala must shock our conscience into recognising the dispossession of India’s tribals >>

“Casteism is the investment in keeping the hierarchy as it is in order to maintain your own ranking, advantage, privilege, or to elevate yourself above others or keep others beneath you …. For this reason, many people—including those we might see as good and kind people—could be casteist, meaning invested in keeping the hierarchy as it is or content to do nothing to change it, but not racist in the classical sense, not active and openly hateful of this or that group.” | Learn more about India’s caste system and the effects of “casteism” on tribal communities >>

“Tribal languages are a treasure trove of knowledge about a region’s flora, fauna and medicinal plants. Usually, this information is passed from generation to generation. However, when a language declines, that knowledge system is completely gone.” – Ayesha Kidwai (Centre for Linguistics, School of Language, Literature and Culture Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi) quoted by Abhijit Mohanty in “Seven decades after independence, many tribal languages in India face extinction threat” | Learn more about the work done by the People’s Linguistic Survey of India and endangered languages worldwide >>

“The notion of ‘mainstreaming’ needs to be challenged not just because Adivasi culture is being crushed, but also because Adivasi values and ways of life offer insights that the ‘mainstream’ needs. If we are to halt the destruction of ecosystems, we need to understand how closely biodiversity and cultural diversity are intertwined. Perhaps it is time to reverse the gaze and begin to learn afresh from Adivasis.” – Felix Padel & Malvika Gupta (The Hindu) | Learn more about the role of tribal communities in fostering biodiversity, ethnobotany and cultural diversity | Success stories | Tribal identity >>

“I think that by retaining one’s childhood love of such things as trees, fishes, butterflies and … toads, one makes a peaceful and decent future a little more probable, and that by preaching the doctrine that nothing is to be admired except steel and concrete, one merely makes it a little surer that human beings will have no outlet for their surplus energy except in hatred and leader worship.” – George Orwell | Learn more: Childhood | Customs | Games and leisure time | Literature – fiction | Storytelling >>

“The theoretical debate on caste among social scientists has receded into the background in recent years. [C]aste is in no sense disappearing: indeed, the present wave of neo-liberal policies in India, with privatisation of enterprises and education, has strengthened the importance of caste ties, as selection to posts and educational institutions is less based on merit through examinations, and increasingly on social contact as also on corruption.” – Harald Tambs-Lyche (Professor Emeritus, Université de Picardie, Amiens) in “Caste: History and the Present” (Academia Letters) | Learn more: Accountability | Democracy | Education and literacy >>

A Nomad Called Thief: Reflections on Adivasi Silence and Voice by Ganesh Devy >>
Publications >>

A call for harnessing the potential of Denotified Tribes, Nomadic and Semi-Nomadic Tribes for national development: “India’s labour force must be liberated from an abhorrent colonial doctrine (‘criminality by birth’)” – Report and Recommendations of the Technical Advisory Group | “Adivasi”, “Tribals” and “Denotified tribes” (classifications in different states) >>

Related posts

About website administrator

Secretary, Tribal Cultural Heritage in India Foundation (2010-2022)
This entry was posted in Assimilation, Colonial policies, Community facilities, Democracy, Education and literacy, Figures, census and other statistics, Government of India, History, Nomadic and Semi-Nomadic Tribes, Organizations, Press snippets, Rural poverty, Scheduled Tribe (ST), Seasons and festivals. Bookmark the permalink.