A holistic view of the world of adivasis under the British: Understanding the encroaching colonial ideals and intentions in the name of development and civilization

Adivasis in Colonial India – Survival, Resistance and Negotiation by Biswamoy Pati (Orient BlackSwan, 2011) How do we define ‘adivasis’? A post-modernist approach will situate them as ‘colonial constructs’. However, as this book goes to show, tribals were not just a colonial creation. They were a part of south Asian reality at the time of India’s … Read more

Tip | Get inspired by the “success stories” of tribal education in India and beyond

Networking, respect for the culture nurtured by local communities and knowing the aspirations of modern tribal youth – these factors help rural children realize their full potential. In recent time, modernity has triggered tribal consciousness empathetically. Increasingly available facilities are pushing the educated and informed tribal groups to seek (new) identity among majority in the Indian society. […] So it is very … Read more

Bhimayana, an award winning graphic novel on Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar illustrated by Gond artists: Storytelling at its very best

Bhimayana: Experiences of Untouchability. Graphic novelon Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar with art by award winning Gond artists Durgabai Vyam and Subhas Vyam; story by Srividya Natarajan and S. Anand. Navayana Publishing >> Critically acclaimed as “a magnificent work of breathtaking art that symbolises the soul-stirring biography of an exceptional leader” and “a must-read for every child and adult in the nation and … Read more

New light on hunter-gatherers in Narmada Valley, Indus Valley Civilisation and modern India’s cultural and linguistic diversity: Anthropological Museum Kolkata – West Bengal

A new museum in Kolkata tells the tale of how modern humans in the Indian subcontinent evolved from ancestors who arrived about 12.3 million years ago from Africa, during the Pleistocene era. Set up by the Anthropological Survey of India (AnSI), the museum traces the history of human evolution in this part of the world through … Read more

India’s tribal cultural heritage – Nagaland