Adivasi’s ancient land rights protected by law: Farming and hunting for millennia without need for title deeds – Jharkhand

The state of Jharkhand is home to one of the largest Adivasi (tribal) populations in India. It is also the location of an estimated 40% of the country’s deposits of coal, iron ore, uranium and other minerals considered essential for India’s industrial and energy needs. […] In the early 21st century, India is experiencing unprecedented … Read more

Schools were a distant dream – Tamil Nadu Nomads Federation

It was nothing short of making the impossible possible. The bringing together of various groups of nomadic tribes like the Nari Koravars, Paliyars, Kaatu Naickers, Sholigars, astrologers, palmists, whip dancers, leather puppet showmen circus performers and many itinerant occupational category people to organize a conference was indeed a daunting task. The first conference of Tamil Nadu … Read more

Sensitive documentary about the Adivasis: “Ab Aur Waqt Nahin” (Running Out of Time) by Abhijay Karlekar – Jharkhand

UNTIL the 1990s, when the movement for a separate state gathered momentum, Jharkhand was not in the public mind. Carved out of southern Bihar, it came into being in November 2000. However, the region has a distinct geopolitical and cultural identity that goes back centuries. It is essentially a tribal territory with mainly four communities … Read more

Call for “opportunities for development available to all individuals”, not remaining silent on the predicaments of the poorest: Amartya Sen

“Amartya Kumar Sen, who turned ninety this month, was treated just the other day to a pre-birthday joke by the grace of social media. The Nobel Laureate was said to have died. […] Sen is a hundred things but is, in my thinking, above everything else, a great witness to some grotesque things human beings … Read more

UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples

Adopted by General Assembly Resolution 61/295 on 13 September 2007 The General Assembly,Guided by the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations, and good faith in the fulfilment of the obligations assumed by States in accordance with the Charter, Affirming that indigenous peoples are equal to all other peoples, while recognizing the … Read more