Tiger conservation and tourism – its impact on the people in and around the tiger reserves

The Supreme Court order [2012] to ban tourism in core tiger reserves, and decisions to shoot poachers at sight find favour with some conservationists, the middle class and media. But what will their impact be on the people who live in and around the tiger reserves, asks Tarsh ThekaekaraTiger numbers are on the rise. Not … Read more

eJournal | Call for rural schools in tune with local needs: Achieving Unesco’s goal of “integrated education”

Enrolment rates have improved in India, but especially in rural areas, the quality of primary education remains too poor. Our assessment was written by a member of the Santal community, one of India’s many Adivasi tribes. By Dr. Boro Baski Experience tells us that the mid-day meals and other schemes that serve retention at the … Read more

Contemporary Adivasi art

“There was no train when I came to the village as a young bride of 11 and no thieves either! No telephones, no watches none of these modern things that I now put into my work,” she laughs. “I was so lonely in my husband’s house, I started making clay figurines. Birds, beasts and animals, … Read more

Dial the Jackfruit Van: Uravu team ‘unlocking’ the jackfruit power – Kerala

National jackfruit fete to unveil a veritable treat At a time when much is being said about food security, a widely-available fruit that is nutritious and most parts of which can be put to good use in the kitchen, is being totally shunned by Keralites. And it is a tree which could be spotted in … Read more

“Urbanites should connect and preserve tribal life, just as we should preserve nature”: Adi Bimb festival NSD Chairman Ratan Thiyam – West Bengal

On the sidelines of the “Adi Bimb” festival, NSD Chairman Ratan Thiyam speaks of the need to appreciate and emulate the wisdom of tribal people. The National School of Drama organised a Festival of Tribal Music, Dance and Theatre, titled “Adi Bimb”, at Dwaronda village, near Santiniketan in the District of Birbhum in West Bengal … Read more