Assimilation

“In contemporary practice, the tribal memory is greatly undermined. There is general insistence that tribal children attend schools where non-tribal children attend schools, that they use medicines manufactured for others and that they adopt common agricultural practices. All because the world has very little time to listen patiently to the tribals, with their immense knowledge and creativity.” – Ganesh [G.N.] Devy in Painted Words: An Anthology of Tribal Literature, quoted by Santali poet, scholar and translator Ivy Imogene Hansdak in “Is tribal identity relevant in today’s world?”, Inaugural Speech, National Conference “Tribes In Transition-II: Reaffirming Indigenous Identity Through Narrative” (2017)
https://www.indiantribalheritage.org/?p=23032

“They do so not just for themselves but for the larger good of the country and the ecological health of the world”: In support of a syllabus reflecting Adivasi knowledge systems and ways of life

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Source: “Adivasis Protest Awarding of World Congress of Anthropology 2023 to KISS” (Forward Press, 23 July 2020)URL: https://www.academia.edu/43929808/Date Visited: 28 November 2020 Mother’s love is unconditional, it is all-protective, all-enveloping; because it is unconditional it can also not be controlled or acquired. Its presence gives the loved person a sense of bliss; its absence produces … Read more

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

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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

Tip | Search articles on tribal history, politics and literature on Ramachandra Guha’s website

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We met adivasis who had been persecuted by the Naxalites, and other adivasis who had been tormented by the Salwa Judum vigilantes [i.e. “a strange, not to say bizarre, example of bipartisan co-operation“]. The situation of the community was poignantly captured by one tribal, who said […] “placed between the Maoists and the vigilantes, we … Read more

Reduce the trust deficit between the administration and the tribals in India’s “rurban” country: Former Minister for Rural Development

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Source: “Cities and Migration”, UN-HabitatURL: https://unhabitat.org/gccm-cities-and-migrationDate Visited: 22 August 2023 Most Indian cities—of which 59 have populations of over a million people—lack adequate housing, sanitation, clean water, health care, education, public transport, trees and shade. According to the UN, in 2020 roughly half of India’s urban households lived in slums. This is a huge problem. … Read more

New light on hunter-gatherers in Narmada Valley, Indus Valley Civilisation and modern India’s cultural and linguistic diversity: Anthropological Museum Kolkata – West Bengal

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A new museum in Kolkata tells the tale of how modern humans in the Indian subcontinent evolved from ancestors who arrived about 12.3 million years ago from Africa, during the Pleistocene era. Set up by the Anthropological Survey of India (AnSI), the museum traces the history of human evolution in this part of the world through … Read more