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

ePaper | “Criminality by birth” is an abhorrent colonial doctrine”: Harness the potential of Denotified Tribes, Nomadic and Semi-Nomadic Tribes for national development

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What is the “Criminal Tribes Act” all about?And what can be done to help the countless victims of stigmatization and deprivation? To learn more, download the full TAG report:“RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE TECHNICAL ADVISORY GROUP 2006” (Backup PDF, 1 MB, 361 pages) including the entire text of the final recommendations providing a road-map for the long … Read more

Continuation of colonial-era forest laws and mass evictions: Historical displacement of tribals from forests – Forest Rights Act

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State governments would have to undertake mass evictions if the court accepts a petition filed by wildlife groups. […]   If the court accepts the plea of petitioners, state governments would have to undertake mass evictions. The union ministry for tribal affairs estimates that by the end of November 2018, out of the 4.2 million claims received, … Read more

Tip | “Performing Identities: Celebrating Indigeneity in the Arts”: A book on local knowledge forms of indigenous communities across continents

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Performing Identities brings together essays by scholars, artists and activists engaged in understanding and conserving rapidly disappearing local knowledge forms of indigenous communities across continents. It depicts the imaginative transactions evident in the interface of identity and cultural transformation, raising the issue of cultural rights of these otherwise marginalized communities. About the Authors G. N. Devy … Read more

The Adivasi way of life: Utopian or worth emulating by ‘mainstream’ society? – An ongoing debate

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Anyone who has had some meaningful interaction with India’s indigenous or adivasi people, cannot fail to be touched by the encounter. There is a directness in them, an absence of artifice or guile, an almost childlike innocence, born of simplicity combined with a lack of greed and avarice. The more interior and untouched a village, … Read more

Tip | Ending “invisibility”: Find publications on Indian tribal culture – worldcat.org

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Several indigenous authors—Easterine Kire, Jacinta Kerketta, Dolly Kikon, Hansda Sowvendra Shekhar, Temsüla Ao, Joy Pachuau, Senganglu Thaimei, Gladson Dungdung, Veio Pou, Kham Khan Suan Hausing, Ngamjahao Kipgen, Hoineilhing Sitlhou and many more—are writing stories foregrounding their perspectives, concepts, and theories about tribes. This is a step towards undoing tribes’ invisibility in literature. Yet, discrimination against … Read more