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

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

Justice, social, economic and political equality for all citizens: Ramachandra Guha on safeguards for minorities, backward and tribal areas enshrined in the Indian Constitution

This essay was first published in the Economic and Political Weekly (August 11, 2007) under the title, “Adivasis, Naxalites, And Indian Democracy” and is republished here with the author’s permission as it – unfortunately – remains as relevant today. […] On 13th December 1946, Jawaharlal Nehru moved the Objectives Resolution in the Constituent Assembly of … Read more

Storytelling enables tribal children to develop communication skill and leadership qualities – Tamil Nadu

Source: “Empowering indigenous voices through oral narrative” by P. S. Suresh Kumar, The Hindu, 10 August 2012Address : http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/tp-tamilnadu/article3749059.eceDate Visited: Fri Aug 10 2012 20:43:41 GMT+0200 (CEST)

India’s tribal, folk and devotional music: Secular and ceremonial songs – An overview

“The great diversity of music in India is a direct manifestation of the diversity and fragmentation of the population in terms of race, religion, language, and other aspects of culture. Yet the distinction between tribal music and folk music is not always clearly defined.” – N.A. Jairazbhoy To illustrate the above observation, namely “The distinction between … Read more

The status and spread of Santali in different regions of India: A flourishing language hardly in need of being “revived”

Santali is not a dead language in the first place so it does not need to be “revived”! I have grown up in Santal Parganas where people speak Santali in their homes, in the marketplace, attend church service in Santali (in the Lutheran churches) and sing hymns in Santali. […] Finally, the Santals of Santal … Read more