Encouraging centuries-old life-skills of Irulas: Eking out a living outside forests – Tamil Nadu

Janaki Lenin’s book [My Husband and Other Animals], a compilation of her popular column in The Hindu MetroPlus, offers insights into her husband Rom Whitaker’s fascination for animals, particularly snakes When he came to Madras, Rom was introduced to the Irulas, who quickly became his buddies, sharing, as they did, a common love for snakes. … Read more

Video | The Birhor tribe: A hunting and food gathering tribe of central India – Bihar

The video contains a documentation of Birhor Tribe of Bihar. The Birhor Community, hunting and food gathering tribe of Bihar, Central India. Living in leaf huts called kumbhas, the Birhor maintain their close links with nature and still rely on hunting and food gathering as a mode of subsistence. The film gives glimpses of community … Read more

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

Mahatma Gandhi interested in promoting the Adivasi culture – Adivasi Sanskriti Sangam in New Delhi

To foster a better understanding of the unique lifestyle of tribal communities, Gandhi Smriti and Darshan Samiti is hosting a three-day cultural event of Adivasi communities at Gandhi Darshan opposite Raj Ghat here beginning this Wednesday. To be attended by social activists, intelligentsia and tribals hailing from 18 States, “Adivasi Sanskriti Sangam” seeks to emphasis … Read more

Two novels on West Ghat tribal cultural heritage: Changing perceptions of land and its ownership – Kerala & Tamil Nadu

Two novels that capture local history in English translationEach novel is written from a different angle, yet both chronicle the lives of people attached to their land and customs while facing the pressures imposed by mainstream society: one by male Malayalam writer ‘Narayan’ who hails from Kerala’s Malayarayar community; and the other by Rajam Krishnan … Read more