“We have much to learn from their culture”: Deriving hope and inspiration from the rich tradition of democratic living in Adivasi society

Cultivating the elements of adivasi way of life in the society at large is the need of the hour, opined renowned development economist Jean Dreze on Wednesday BHUBANESWAR: Cultivating the elements of adivasi way of life in the society at large is the need of the hour, opined renowned development economist Jean Dreze on Wednesday. … Read more

India’s tribal cultural heritage – Rajasthan

Landless Kol tribe forest dwellers: Permission required to plant or use trees such as neem, amla and mahua – Uttar Pradesh

Though the Kols are anthropologically tribal, they are recognized as a Scheduled Caste in Uttar Pradesh. Not only has this deprived them of their traditional source of living-the forest, it has largely left them dependant and landless, languishing in silica quarries and sand mines. The Kols mainly inhabit the backward Bundelkhand and Baghelkhand regions bordering … Read more

An environment minister’s call for a change in the colonial outlook: “Forests, tribal forest dwellers and life forms living in forests complement one another and are not rivals”

Forests, tribals and wildlife are not rivals, says [former] environment minister Anil Madhav Dave addressing senior-level forest officers at the Wildlife Institute of India (WII) in Dehradun The meeting of state forest secretaries to develop mitigation measures for faster green clearances for projects in wildlife habitats, which began today, saw the environment minister Anil Madhav Dave … Read more

A craft workshop for Santal women in Purulia: Determined to overcome poverty – West Bengal

Source: courtesy Ratnaboli Bose, Daricha Foundation (by email, 5 October 2018)