School enrolment and literacy: State priorities towards education under colonial rule and since India’s independence – Gujarat, Jharkhand, Manipur, Rajasthan & West Bengal

Why does China soar where India continues to struggle? The most basic reason is state priorities towards education. As of 1947, the literacy rate in India was barely 11%. But the Chinese emulated Japan’s earlier policy choices (and were themselves soon copied by the south east Asian “tigers”) by investing very heavily in primary education. … Read more

Audio | The Muskoka Summit on the Environment – Canada

Restoring our relationship with nature from lake beds to treetops Indigenous peoples have all around the world have principles and values that we can learn from, that will help us to understand what our responsibility is here. (9:33) What’s emerging is a consciousness amongst society in general, is the necessity for working for the continuation … Read more

Video | “This land is mine. I will get it back: The struggle of women from the Rana Tharu community – Uttarakhand

Many Adivasis have lost their land in Uttarakhand. But Kamla Devi of Pindari village and Mangola Singh of Nandpur are resisting usury, fraud and gender prejudice to get back their farmland and secure their rights | Read the full story on PARI: People’s Archive of Rural India >> From the earth that Kamla Devi toils … Read more

Cultural values of “the world’s largest tribal population”: Focus on crafts, linguistic diversity and the missing link in India’s development story – Akshara

India is a colourful country comprising a staggering variety of cultures and communities. Each section has its own needs and requirements and among all, we tend to forget the most sidelined community – the tribals. […] India has the world’s largest tribal population and it is also the most economically underprivileged in our country. One … Read more

From Adivasi and Scheduled Tribes to Indigenous Peoples: “Tribes In Transition-II: Reaffirming Indigenous Identity Through Narrative” (National Conference)

Parallel Session 3: The ‘Tribe’ defined in Social SciencesChaired by: Prof. Bipin Jojo, TISS, MumbaiPaper Presenters: Shreya Jessica Dhan (JNU, New Delhi), Anu Krishnan (TISS, Mumbai), Pradyumna Bag (JMI, New Delhi), Evy Mehzabeen (JNU, New Delhi). Shreya Jessica Dhan, in her paper “Defining the ‘Tribe’ in State Discourse: From Adivasi and Scheduled Tribe to Indigenous Peoples”, … Read more