Mahatma Gandhi’s educational initiative for tribal areas facing serious neglect: Tribal Research and Training Institute at Gujarat Vidyapith (Ahmedabad) – Gujarat

Set up in 1962, the Institute carries out studies on the life, culture and economy of the tribal people of Gujarat . It has done extensive documentation and created a data bank on the living conditions of various tribes. The Institute has also been the coordinating centre for anthropological studies. It has conducted training programmes … Read more

India’s tribal cultural heritage – Lakshadweep

Lakshadweep, which is a land in the deep Arabian Sea and is a part of the Indian Subcontinent, is recognised as the smallest Union Territory of India. The UT has one Lok Sabha constituency which is reserved for Scheduled Tribes (ST). Lakshadweep is a Lok Sabha / Parliamentary constituency in region of Lakshadweep in South … Read more

Giving Irula healing practices a place in modern medicine: A new source of livelihood for “one among the six oldest Adivasi tribes” – Puducherry & Tamil Nadu

The term Irula means being capable of finding one’s path in dark forests, according to an Irula myth | Read the full report in the Times of India here >> Born in nature’s lap, Irulas share a symbiotic relationship with Mother Earth. They reside in the hills of northern Tamil Nadu and are one among the six oldest … Read more

Film review of “Have you seen the Arana?”: Award winning documentary feature on Wayanad’s treasure trove of flora and fauna – Kerala

Online viewing: Trailer and more information >> Bikas Mishra writes about Sunanda Bhat’s documentary feature which won the John Abraham Award recently | Read the entire review here >> The Adiya people of Wayanad believe that their goddess has turned into the  lizard Arana. Earlier found everywhere, Arana is getting hard to spot nowadays. Filmmaker Sunanda Bhat uses the … Read more

Tip | Anthropology and more

Learn more about India’s tribal communities – their cultural heritage, current conditions and aspirations – with the help of the links seen below Despite their vast differences, anthropologists, including [Verrier] Elwin and [G.S.] Ghurye, as well as Srinivas and other Indian public figures and intellectuals, effectively erased or negated tribes’ worldviews and beliefs. When discussing … Read more