Figures, census & other statistics

“India is home to nearly 20 Cr. [200 million] traditional forest-dwelling Adivasis and OTFDs [other forest dwelling communities], who derive their subsistence and livelihoods from forest and forest resources over several generations and thousands of years.” – Research team (Sayantani Satpathi, Shambhavi Singh & Subhodeep Basu) in “Revisiting the Forest Rights Act: Status of Implementation with respect to Land Tenures and Collection of Minor Forest Produce” (Bharat Rural Livelihoods Foundation New Delhi, 12 July 2019)
https://www.academia.edu/41756309
https://indiantribalheritage.org/?p=10151

eJournal | “Folk practitioners are an integral part of one of India’s many local cultures”: New light on a wide spectrum of Traditional Indian Medicine (TIM)

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Maarten Bode, “Traditional Indian Medicine (TIM) is not just Ayurveda” in IIAS Newsletter (International Institute for Asian Studies) | No.70 | Spring 2015, p. 47 The manifesto in the Focus section ‘Theorizing Heritage’ (the Newsletter #69) gives me the opportunity to discuss the political nature of narrowing the many forms of contemporary Traditional Indian Medicine … Read more

Video | An Ethnographic film by Sathya Mohan: The economy, social organization, religion and mythology of the Koyas – Andhra Pradesh

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Watch this and other video documentaries by Sathya Mohan on Vimeo: THE KOYAS (Parts 1 & 2) >> This award-winning ethnographic film in two parts made by Sathya Mohan deals with the nature-man interaction and the associated belief system. It examines the features of the environment and ecology in relation to the Koyas economic system – the interaction … Read more

“Higher Education is a distant dream”: Report on the feasibility of setting up a Tribal University (“autonomous institution / knowledge centre”) – Kerala

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FEASIBILITY STUDY REPORT ON SETTING UP A CENTRAL TRIBAL UNIVERSITY OR ITS REGIONAL CENTRE IN KERALA STATE View or download the full report here >> Kerala State Commission for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, Thiruvananthapuram on its notice dated 31.01.2014 cited, enquired the feasibility of setting up a Tribal University in Kerala. The Kerala State … Read more

Proto-Dravidian languages that have survived or intermingled with others across northern India: “Living examples of ancient Dravidian languages”

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Old Dravidian | Read the full article here >> In the historical past Proto-Dravidian was spoken throughout India. When the Turanians and the Aryans came to India through the Khyber and the Bolan Passes respectively, and mingled with the local population of the North, the North Indian languages of Proto-Dravidian origin changed to a great extent. … Read more

On protecting one’s unique culture and tradition while gaining access to education and “modern civilization”: Dambaru Sisha, the first MLA from the reclusive Bonda community – Odisha

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Priya Ranjan Sahu, Hindustan Times  Bhubaneswar, May 23, 2014 The Bondas, one of India’s most primitive tribes living in the remote hills of Odisha’s Malkangiri district, turned a new leaf on Friday. Dambaru Sisha, 34, took the oath of office as the first MLA from the reclusive tribes that remained untouched by civilization for centuries. … Read more