The Asurs’ remembrance of their ancestors: A ‘particularly vulnerable’ tribal group – Bihar, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh & West Bengal

Chamru is an Asur, a ‘particularly vulnerable tribal group’ that dominates Sakhuapani’s population of about 2,000 and lives in villages spread over a radius of 10 to 20 km. Besides Jharkhand, members of the tribe live in pockets of Bihar, West Bengal and a few other states. The 2011 Census put the number of Asurs at … Read more

“India is unique in having a highly sophisticated minority rights protection system for its Scheduled Tribes”: Constitutional provisions and their implementation

The highly heterogeneous Adivasi (“original inhabitants”) represent India’s de facto indigenous peoples. De jure, however, they are not recognised as indigenous and are instead designated as Scheduled Tribes in the Fifth Schedule of the Indian Constitution. India is unique in having a highly sophisticated minority rights protection system for its Scheduled Tribes, which is, however, … Read more

Toda embroidery: an ancient art thriving in the Nilgiris – Tamil Nadu

The ancient Toda community people are the residents of Nilgiris that means ‘Blue Mountains’, popularly known as Ooty. Nilgiris is the abode of many interesting tribes and prominent among them are Todas, Kotas, Kurumbas, Irulas, Mullukurumbas and Paniyans. These Todas are said to be of pastoral community and speak Toda language, belonging to Dravidian family … Read more

In support of India’s tribal women: Find information provided on Government and NGO websites

The concept of a mixed economy as envisaged in the Indian constitution gave way to a modern free market economy. As a result, the ground gained over the previous two decades in the fight against poverty began to slide out from under them. Accordingly, they are not taken in when they are told again and … Read more

Human trafficking networks take advantage of desperate “migrant” families: high susceptibility of children in tourism locations

[…] COVID-19 and the lockdown has led to children of migrant workers and daily wage labourers being deprived of food, adding to the burden of families who are not able to make ends meet due to loss of wages. […] The situation is no better for migrant workers returning to their homes with no means … Read more