Making “their” voices heard: In support of the Paniya community’s efforts to save their sacred groves – Tamil Nadu

A Voice Unheard : The Case of Paniya Sacred Groves | Read the full blog here >> Is the ‘holiness’ of a century old Hindu temple in a city of Pakistan different from that of a Paniya sacred grove in a remote tribal village in the Gudalur valley? […] Onan is a Paniya Karnavar (traditional … Read more

Calling for an alternative approach to protecting the ethnic art traditions of the country: Authentic art and craft of tribes reflect the vision of each community – Kerala

The Hindu, Thrissur, January 18, 2011 Art critic Kalyan Kumar Chakravarthy has cautioned against re-creating tribal and folk arts for the needs of the modern market. Addressing a seminar on ‘Folk and tribal arts: problems of understanding’ organised by the Kerala Lalithakala Akademi here on Monday, he noted that the authenticity of ethnic art forms was … Read more

Placing India’s tribal heritage in its historical and ecological perspective: Documentaries by filmmaker Sangita Datta – West Bengal & Sikkim

Brief excerpts from documentaries relating to tribal heritage – Showreel 2013 00:49 “The language of the Mundas“: CIIL’s series on Bhasha Mandakani: Bangala – Central Institute of Indian Languages (Govt. of India)03:14 “Righting the Historical Wrong“: A Film on The Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers [Forest Rights Act 2006] – University of Manchester;04:49 “The Paharias: An Endangered Tribe” – … Read more

Towards an alternative model of legal service delivery: The “Bilaspur Declaration” in the service of rural and tribal communities – Chhattisgarh

N. R. Madhava Menon, The Hindu Opinion, December 3, 20 To be able to deliver appropriate legal services to the rural and tribal communities, we need an alternative delivery system with a different model of legal service providers Delivery of legal services to the rich and the corporate class is organised not through individual lawyers … Read more

Resilience in the face of modernization: India’s Supreme Court protects the Dongria’s right to living in Niyamgiri forests – Odisha

[…] Twelve Dongria villages have now unanimously voted against Vedanta’s mine during consultations ordered by India’s Supreme Court in April 2013, because their religious, cultural and social rights would be jeopardized if mining were to go ahead. Dongria leader Lodu Sikaka said, ‘Our God lives in open space, you keep your God locked up with … Read more