administrator

School enrolment and literacy: State priorities towards education under colonial rule and since India’s independence – Gujarat, Jharkhand, Manipur, Rajasthan & West Bengal

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Why does China soar where India continues to struggle? The most basic reason is state priorities towards education. As of 1947, the literacy rate in India was barely 11%. But the Chinese emulated Japan’s earlier policy choices (and were themselves soon copied by the south east Asian “tigers”) by investing very heavily in primary education. … Read more

India’s tribal cultural heritage – Uttar Pradesh

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Uttar Pradesh is the most populous state of the country but has a small tribal population [namely] five major Scheduled Tribes and about 18 other tribal groups. Source: “An analytical study of socio-economic conditions of tribal farmers in Bijnor district of U.P. State”, PhD thesis by Mohammad Awais, 2013URL: https://shodhganga.inflibnet.ac.in/jspui/handle/10603/11218Date Visited: 14 September 2022 “Natpurwa … Read more

Marlavai Training Centre – model for present day education of tribal people – Andhra Pradesh

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Marlavai village in Jainoor mandal of Adilabad district was not this sleepy when Austrian anthropologist Christoph von Furer-Haimendorf was at work during the decade of 1940. He had launched his pioneering experiment in education of tribal people at this village. This experiment, christened Gond Education Scheme in Adilabad district, was the first concrete step in tribal … Read more

Sharing valuable rice varieties with farmers: Biodiversity for the sake of “vital nutrients and the ability to withstand flood, drought, salinity or pest infestations” – Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Odisha Maharashtra & West Bengal

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IN BRIEF India originally possessed some 110,000 landraces of rice with diverse and valuable properties. These include enrichment in vital nutrients and the ability to withstand flood, drought, salinity or pest infestations. The Green Revolution covered fields with a few high-yielding varieties, so that roughly 90 percent of the landraces vanished from farmers’ collections. High-yielding … Read more

The Power of Self-Interpretation: Ideas on Starting a Community Museum

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[…] To appreciate the potential of the community museum, consider the challenges local communities, especially disadvantaged ones, face today. The effects of globalization include persistent poverty, loss of cultural identity, accelerated migration, and disintegration of the bonds of unity and solidarity within local communities. In this context, the community museum is not a luxury, and … Read more