Understanding the challenges faced by Adivasi Society: “We will follow our beliefs, customs, deities, rituals, culture, in our own way”

As demands for a Sarna religious code in Census 2021 grow in Jharkhand, RSS-backed outfits are busy trying to convince the tribal people that they are Hindus. Abhinay Lakshman reports on the efforts of Sarna outfits to resist Hindu organisations and Christian missionaries alike, and define their identity through their religion. […] “Christian missionaries first … Read more

An environment minister’s call for a change in the colonial outlook: “Forests, tribal forest dwellers and life forms living in forests complement one another and are not rivals”

Forests, tribals and wildlife are not rivals, says [former] environment minister Anil Madhav Dave addressing senior-level forest officers at the Wildlife Institute of India (WII) in Dehradun The meeting of state forest secretaries to develop mitigation measures for faster green clearances for projects in wildlife habitats, which began today, saw the environment minister Anil Madhav Dave … Read more

A craft workshop for Santal women in Purulia: Determined to overcome poverty – West Bengal

Source: courtesy Ratnaboli Bose, Daricha Foundation (by email, 5 October 2018)

Updates on the Convention on Biodiversity: Conservation to be “connected to livelihood” – Hyderabad biodiversity pledge

Goa villages to document biodiversity PANAJI: Goa has become the second State after Kerala to constitute Biodiversity Management Committees in most of its village panchayats, according to Pradip V. Sarmokadam, Member Secretary, Goa State Biodiversity Board.The move is aimed at forming People’s Biodiversity Registers (PBRs) in villages, which as many as 75 villages are already … Read more

An education programme for children from 62 tribal groups: Enabling “Bhasa Sikshak” language teachers to combine children’s mother tongue with Odia and English – Odisha

Source: Bhasa Sikshaks who teach tribal children in Odisha innovatively by Natasha Badhwar, The Hindu (Magazine), 23 April 2016Address: https://www.thehindu.com/features/magazine/natasha-badhwar-on-bhasa-sikshaks-who-teach-tribal-children-in-odisha-innovatively/article8508587.eceDate Visited: 9 August 2020 To be taught in a language other than one’s own has a negative effect on learning. [Starting a child’s education in the mother tongue] allows teachers and students to interact naturally and … Read more