“We now had history on our side”: Poet Kamal Kumar Tanti on his search for identity – From Orissa, Jharkhand, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh and West Bengal to the tea gardens of Assam

The Assamese poet Kamal Kumar Tanti won the Sahitya Akademi Yuva Puraskar in the year 2012 for his book of poems, Marangburu Amar Pita. The phrase “Marangburu amarpita” can be roughly translated into English as “Marangburu, my father”. Marang Buru is the highest deity among some Adivasi communities of eastern and central India who follow … Read more

Tribal history covered in “India After Gandhi” by Ramachandra Guha

A tribute to Indian democracy capturing the pain and the struggle, the humiliations and the glories Review by KN Panikkar: “Democracy in practice”,  The Hindu, Tuesday, Jun 19, 2007 […] Guha is quite obviously an admirer of the achievements Indian democracy has attained in a largely hostile environment, vitiated by religious superstitions, caste prejudices and … Read more

In pursuit of “equality for all the citizens”: National Legal Services Authority asked to provide free legal consultations to Scheduled Tribes (ST) – Supreme Court

Source: “SC criticises poor implementation of SC/ST Act” by Legal Correspondent, The Hindu (National), December 22, 2016URL: https://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/SC-criticises-poor-implementation-of-SCST-Act/article16921754.eceDate Visited: 10 April 2017 The Jesuit priest, who had been arrested in the Bhima Koregoan case, died in custody on July 5, 2021, at the age of 84. Dear Stan,It’s now around a year to the day … Read more

“A book that fills a gaping hole in the literature on Adivasis”: A Rogue and Peasant Slave by Shashank Kela

The Nine Per CentBy Stan Thekaekara An incisive account of adivasi survival, from colonial risings to contemporary insurgencies IS IT an anthropological study by an academic, a textbook by a historian, a political polemic by an activist or a novel? Shashank Kela’s A Rogue and Peasant Slave is all of this and more. In his … Read more

“Tribal communities are a standing example” – National workshop highlights the role of tribal women in the preservation of eco historic cultural heritage in India

Mari Marcel Thekaekara, writer and Co-founder of ACCORD-Nilgiris says the tribal communities are a standing example of how women play a major role in preservation of eco historic cultural heritage in India “Once, I was walking with this young tribal girl through the forest and we stumbled upon a tuber. She plucked it, cut the … Read more