Nirmala Putul: A Santal poet questioning ‘development’ and ‘progress’ in modern civilization

Mountain Child by Nirmala Putul The mountain child —a fragment of the mountain —plays in the lap of the mountain Toddling up the mountainhe plants his feet in the mountain soilto rise like a mountainin the land of mountains The whole mountainlives inside the mountain childAnd in the lap of the mountainlives the scurrying mountain … Read more

Landless Kol tribe forest dwellers: Permission required to plant or use trees such as neem, amla and mahua – Uttar Pradesh

Though the Kols are anthropologically tribal, they are recognized as a Scheduled Caste in Uttar Pradesh. Not only has this deprived them of their traditional source of living-the forest, it has largely left them dependant and landless, languishing in silica quarries and sand mines. The Kols mainly inhabit the backward Bundelkhand and Baghelkhand regions bordering … Read more

An environment minister’s call for a change in the colonial outlook: “Forests, tribal forest dwellers and life forms living in forests complement one another and are not rivals”

Forests, tribals and wildlife are not rivals, says [former] environment minister Anil Madhav Dave addressing senior-level forest officers at the Wildlife Institute of India (WII) in Dehradun The meeting of state forest secretaries to develop mitigation measures for faster green clearances for projects in wildlife habitats, which began today, saw the environment minister Anil Madhav Dave … Read more

A craft workshop for Santal women in Purulia: Determined to overcome poverty – West Bengal

Source: courtesy Ratnaboli Bose, Daricha Foundation (by email, 5 October 2018)

Video | Creating stronger ties between the students, the school, and members of the Halakki: A people who grow ‘milky white rice’ – Karnataka

Here is a presentation on a school project that employed artists, local arts and cultural practices, and community knowledge systems to enhance arts education for its students. The Malenadu Educational and Rural Development Society (MEARDS), a registered, not-for-profit organisation working in the Uttar Kannada district of Karnataka, received a grant from IFA in 2018. This … Read more