Rural poverty

“Although there has been a decline, the level of poverty in the tribal population is still much higher than the national average and the gap between the two continues to be one of the major issues of concern in poverty discourse in India.” – Virginius Xaxa (Delhi School of Economics) in “The Status of Tribal Children in India: A historical perspective” (Opportunities, Working Paper No. 7, 2011), Institute for Human Development India & United Nations Children’s Fund, India
https://indiantribalheritage.org/?p=10430

Similarities and differences between African diasporas in the Americas and those in India: Historical roots and customs of the Siddis – Gujarat, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra

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Sidis [Sidhi] in India are now completely assimilated into local communities. Sidis are settled in Gujarat, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra. When we think of African diasporas, we think of the Americas and the horrors of the slave trade, of African experiences of disruption and displacement. To most people it comes as a surprise that … Read more

“Fire in our Hearts”: Award winning tribal documentary – Thane/New York

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A documentary film made by fifteen year-old Jayshree Janu Kharpade, a tribal girl from Wada taluka of Thane district, has won an award in the Asian American Film Festival held in New York recently [in 2012]. Jayashree, who studies in Eklavya Parivartan Vidyalaya here, made the 27-minute-long documentary- ‘Fire in our Hearts’ on the lives … Read more

Adivasi focused films as educational tool (Open Space Ranchi) – Jharkhand

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On 20th February, two documentaries were shown amongst the students of Class IX, in Sarna Adivasi Madhya Vidyalaya in Pisca, a suburb area of Ranchi. It was a tribal area, with almost ninety percent Oraon students. When they saw ‘Kora Rajee’ (The Land of the Diggers) on the adivasi brothers / sisters of their’s who … Read more

Mushroom culture and bio-diversity in the Western Ghats – Tamil Nadu and Kerala

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People belonging to the kani tribe of the forests and hills of Kanyakumari district have wild mushrooms in their diet. They collect half-a-dozen species of mushrooms from the deep forests of the Western Ghats which has a rich repository of bio-diversity. Since the district receives rainfall from both the southwest and northeast monsoons, it aids … Read more

The Bhil of Central India – Madhya Pradesh

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The Bhil tribe is a proud and ancient ethnic group inhabiting the Western part of Central India with the highest concentration in Jhabua district of Madhya Pradesh State. Well over 1.5 million of them live as marginal farmers in almost 2000 villages. The members of the Bhil tribe possess a vast array of rich customs … Read more