“Adivasis no longer walk among the elephants without fear” – Human animal conflict on the rise – Tamil Nadu, Kerala & Chhattisgarh

On March 30 [2012], Kokila, an Adivasi woman, was collecting firewood with a few friends near Kozhikolly village in the Devala area of Gudalur taluk, 50 km below Udhagamandalam, when she was charged by an angry elephant. It hurled her to the ground. Mercifully, I hope, she died instantly. The elephant kicked her around like … Read more

“My paintings show my lived experiences and all that is happening in the world around me”: Tribal forms in a contemporary world –  Chhattisgarh

Source: “Chasing dreams with art” by Jitha Karthikeyan, The New Indian Express, 20 July 2023URL: https://www.newindianexpress.com/cities/chennai/2023/jul/20/chasing-dreams-with-art-2596489.htmlDate Visited: 4 October 2023

“Irulas are very knowledgeable about medicinal plants”: Interview with Zai Whitaker, Director of the Irula Tribal Women’s Welfare Society – Tamil Nadu

The ITWWS is a women’s community-based development organization established in 1986. It was founded with the aim of protecting natural resources, empowering Irula women and using the Irula tribal knowledge of forest resources for economic prosperity. The organization started with five villages and now covers an area of over 100 villages in 4 districts. Because … Read more

Time for an apology to the world’s Indigenous peoples: Residential schools, exploitation of natural resources and ill treatment in the name of “progress”

One of many broken agreements was that children were to be educated “whenever the Indians of the reserve shall desire it” in schools on the reserves. But rather than instruction being optional for those bands who desired it, as agreed, the state abducted Indigenous children and forcibly confined them in residential schools far from their … Read more

Sacred forests and groves in the West Ghats – Goa, Karnataka & Kerala

Forests have been the lifeline for tribals and other forest dwelling communities since distant past. Communities have been setting aside certain patches of land or forest dedicated to a deity or village God, protected and worshipped called Devachirai in Goa. […] Address : http://mohan-pai.blogspot.com/Date Visited: Sat Aug 27 2011 11:39:13 GMT+0200 (CEST) Palaeolithic, Mesolithic and Neolithic … Read more