“Rethinking tribals”: Articles on Adivasi culture in Folio Special issue

Ever since the Portuguese travel writers and missionaries decided to describe the vast variety of ethnic and occupational groups and sects of the Indian subcontinent in terms of “caste” and “tribe”, the terms have stuck to society as long-worn masks that start becoming one’s real personality. The result is that today no Indian describes society … Read more

South India’s largest collection of forestry artefacts: The Gass Forest Museum in Coimbatore – Tamil Nadu

Esther Elias, The Hindu, Coimbatore, July 9, 2012 | To read the full story and view more images, click here >> The Gass Forest Museum located within the 100-year-old TNFA has many stories to tell. It hosts South India’s largest collection of forestry artefacts including timber and non-timber forest produce, geological samples, tribal armaments and … Read more

“NGOs in India are facing many challenges”: A country with the largest number of active non-government organizations – The world’s largest democracy

First official estimate [2010]: An NGO for every 400 people in India India has possibly the largest number of active non-government, not-for-profit organizations in the world. A recent study commissioned by the government put the number of such entities, accounted for till 2009, at 3.3 million. That is one NGO for less than 400 Indians, … Read more

Building bridges among diverse language communities, strengthen Indian multilingualism and cultural pluralism: Bhasha’s people’s eco-cultural survey of India – Gujarat

The exhaustive, community-based work to bring all languages on record in the People’s Linguistic Survey of India also revealed the fate of the country’s multilingualism, says the project’s chairperson The release of the People’s Linguistic Survey of India (PLSI) report at Gandhi Smriti in Delhi on September 5 will mark a significant milestone for 63-year-old … Read more

Tip | Which are India’s endangered languages? (interactive map)

India’s endangered languages “Kolami, Koya, Gondi, Kuvi, Kui, Yerukala, Savara, Parji, Kupia. Do these names ring a bell? No, right? They are all native tribal tongues that have immensely contributed to enrich the language and culture of Telugu people. But these languages are dying due to a plethora of reasons — lack of practice, absence … Read more