collaborative YouTube channel: Kaathadi >>
Success stories from Vidyodaya in Gudalur >>
More resources for the classroom >>
- Immerse yourself in the storytelling traditions valued among tribal communities
- Search for Indian publications by and about members of tribal communities
- Ask questions like “How many ‘Scheduled Tribes’ are there in India?”; and “What distinguishes them from other communities?” (‘tribal’ or otherwise)
- Understand the intentions of India’s founding fathers: Gandhi & Nehru
- Derive inspiration from Tagore’s vision of rural culture
- Counter misconceptions in and beyond the classroom
- Find posts with information about a particular community
- Use an interactive map to find museum collections across India
Learn from M S Swaminathan – a world renowned scientist – how biological diversity contributes to public health, people’s livelihood and environmental security in addition to food security: his call on fellow citizens to use and share resources in a more sustainable and equitable manner; outlining the long journey from the 1992 Earth Summit to a commitment to foster inherited knowledge through India’s Biodiversity Act and Genome Saviour Award; an award intended to reward those who are “primary conservers” – guardians of biological diversity!
More about the work of his foundation which “aims to accelerate use of modern science and technology for agricultural and rural development to improve lives and livelihoods of communities.” – www.mssrf.org | Regarding the issues of food security raised above, and the nutritional value of indigenous grains, seeds and millets, read an in-depth report that concludes that “the tribal food basket has always been diverse and nutritious” >>
Up-to-date reports by Indian experts and journalists
List of sites covered by this Google SafeSearch engine
Academia.edu (platform for academics to share research papers) – www.academia.edu
Archive.org – https://archive.org
Centre for Science and Environment – https://www.cseindia.org
Current Conservation – https://www.currentconservation.org
Development and Cooperation (D+C) https://www.dandc.eu
Down To Earth (India) – www.downtoearth.org.in
India Environment Portal – www.indiaenvironmentportal.org.in
Harnessing Nature Magazine – https://harnessingnature.online
Kalpavriksh Environmental Action Group – https://kalpavriksh.org
Mongabay-India – https://india.mongabay.com
M S Swaminathan Research Foundation – www.mssrf.org
Navdanya (protecting India’s biodiversity based food heritage) – https://navdanya.org
People’s Archive of Rural India – https://ruralindiaonline.org/
Third World Network (Penang, Malaysia) – https://twn.my
The Shola Trust (nature conservation in the Nilgiri region) – www.thesholatrust.org
TribalConnect (“uplift and benefit the community without adversely affecting or changing their vernacular”) – https://tribalconnect.org.in
WorldCat (“the world’s largest library catalog, helping you find library materials online”) – https://worldcat.org
More SafeSearch on this website
Search tips
Combine the name of any particular state, language or region with that of any tribal (Adivasi) community.
Add keywords of special interest (music, poetry, dance just as health, sacred grove and biodiversity); 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”.
Ask a question that includes “tribal” or “Adivasi”, for instance: “Adivasi way of life better?” (or “tribal way of life worse?”)
Specify any particular issue or news item (biodiversity, bonded labour and human trafficking, climate change, ecology, economic development, ethnobotany, ethnomedicine, global warming, 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”, “Himalayan tribe”, “Scheduled tribe Tamil Nadu census”, “ST Kerala census”, “Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Group Jharkhand”, “PVTG Rajasthan”, “Adivasi ST Kerala”, “Adibasi ST West Bengal” etc.
SafeSearch browser tips
If your (mobile) browser fails to display “embedded” media contents, Google maps and SafeSearch windows
Try another browser like Firefox, Chrome or Safari available on your device
Ensure your favourite browser is up to date
Close your present browser
Check your browser and mobile (gsm) settings:
e.g. permission for video or JavaScript
(seen under Preferences >Security >Enable JavaSript)
Restart your computer (smartphone, tablet)
Reconnect to your wifi network or connect to a different one
On some iPhone models the following helps:
>Settings >Safari >scroll down to:
SETTING FOR WEBSITES
Enable “Request Desktop Website” (All Websites) temporarily
Return to the map-post in Safari and “Reload”
Return to >Settings and disable “Request Desktop Website” again
Return to the post in Safari and “Reload”which should now display “embedded” contents as intended (with the convenience of browsing the mobile version on a small screen)
Note: similar solutions may also work with other mobile operating systems.
What does it mean to be Indigenous?
Indigenous Peoples can be identified according to certain characteristics:
They are politically and socially marginalized.
Most importantly, they self-identify as Indigenous Peoples.
They share an ancestral link with those who inhabited a country or region before they were colonized or before other peoples became dominant.
They have a strong link to particular territories and the surrounding natural resources.
They have distinct social, economic or political systems, which they are resolved to maintain and reproduce.
They have a distinct language, culture and beliefs.
There are more than 5,000 different Indigenous Peoples around the world comprising 476 million people – around 6.2% of the global population. They are spread across more than 90 countries in every region and speak more than 4,000 languages. | Learn more (Amnesty International) >>
Source: “INDIGENOUS PEOPLES’ RIGHTS” by Amnesty International
URL: https://www.amnesty.org/en/what-we-do/indigenous-peoples/
Date Visited: 10 May 2025
Learn more on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, their Languages & linguistic heritage & Tribal culture worldwide >>
Learn more about “Priya’s Mask” and related titles on priyashakti.com >>
When your neighbour is a tiger | People’s Archive of Rural India
People living near or within the forest in the Bandipur National Park and the Sundarbans revere as well as fear the tiger. Their proximity to tigers, leopards, crocodiles and other big animals often causes violent confrontations, but it has also inspired myths and conservation. Here are PARI’s tales from tiger territory >>
Suggestions
- Take the Guided tour of this website (also available for offline reading)
- Enjoy a Virtual journey across India and explore other interactive maps
Up-to-date information
- use the Safe Google Search link (“Making the Internet a safer place to surf for children”).
- search select periodicals and type “tribal youth”, “trees tribal community”, “tribal school Odisha” (or any similar combination of keywords) to get a fair picture of the challenges faced by tribal communities in modern Indian society; and also to appreciate the new opportunities seized by India’s tribal youth.
“The smart boy or clever girl who is deprived of the opportunity of schooling, or who goes to a school with dismal facilities (not to mention the high incidence of absentee teachers), not only loses the opportunities he or she could have had, but also adds to the massive waste of talent that is a characteristic of the life of our country.” – Nobel Awardee Amartya Sen in The Argumentative Indian (Penguin Books, 2005), p. 344 | Find this and other books published in India >>
Related: Tribal Children’s Right to Education | Childhood | Ekalavya (Eklavya, Eklabya), EMR & Factory schools | Childrens rights: UNICEF India >>
Information about and by the Government of India (policies, reports etc.) & NGO’s
- Government of India – Category (posts on this website)
- Search select websites – Govt. of India, NGOs and international organisations
- National Commission for Protection of Child Rights: NCPCR (posts on this website)
- Welfare of tribal communities – check https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/topic/ministry-of-tribal-affairs
- Zonal Cultural Centres (posts on this website)
Search publications via Indian publishers & libraries:
Virginius Xaxa & Ganesh Devy or G.N. Devy >>
See also
Adverse inclusion | Casteism | Rural poverty
Anganwadi | Community facilities | Ekalavya
Demographic Status of Scheduled Tribe Population of India (Census figures 2011)
Fact checking | Figures, census and other statistics
Human Rights Commission (posts) | www.nhrc.nic.in (Government of India)
Search tips | Names of tribal communities, regions and states of India
“The world sells humans. What kind of world is this?” – Hindi Movie “Kamla” revisited
“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)
Information on projects handled by Unicef and United Nations
- Unicef (United Nations Children’s Fund)
- search posts on this website (all posts containing Unicef)
- search Unicef’s website unicef.org (keywords used “tribal India”; also use your own keywords in the Search window)
- Unesco (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation)
- search posts on this website (all posts containing Unesco)
- search Unesco’s websites and in.one.un.org and whc.unesco.org (keywords used “tribal India”; also use your own keywords in the Search window)
Gandhian social movement | Warli art and culture >>