Tribal Politics – adivasi culture, language, and religion in Encyclopedia of India

Tribal Politics The “tribal” peoples or adivasis of India, according to the 2001 census, constitute roughly 8.1 percent of the country’s population, some 83,6 million people, classified under 461 different communities. They occupy a belt stretching from the Bhil regions of western India through the Gond districts of central India, to Jharkhand and Bengal, where … Read more

TribalConnect Magazine: A call for acknowledging contributions to society, nature and the environment

TRIBAL NOISE | 09 Excerpt: Isak Munda From off beaten tracts to be unbeaten– Grace Nivedita SithaRaman (Wunn) This is the day when i shall hold you in wonder! When I disclose to you a tribal labourer. In the green corner of the tribal hamlet of hilly Sambalpur, In the state of Jaganatho – Odisha, … Read more

Lighting up villages with solar power and doing other challenging things: Kudumbashree Adivasi women’s group of Edamalakudi – Kerala

The adivasi women of Edamalakudi, Kerala’s remotest panchayat, have formed a headload workers’ group, helped light up their villages with solar power, and practice group farming in wild elephant territory. All are Muthavan tribals. Almost all are members of Kerala’s extraordinary anti-poverty and gender justice movement – Kudumbashree. They are also neighbours of Chinnathambi, the … Read more

“Real history is created by ordinary people”: Mahashweta Devi (1926-2016), a writer who became a voice of marginalised communities

Mahashweta Devi, a writer who became a voice of marginalised communities Mahashweta Devi was not just an onlooker, but a responsible representative of the downtrodden and the ignored population of India She always believed that the real history is created by ordinary people. For her, the endless source of inspiration for writing used to lie … Read more

Mahasweta Devi: A model in which activism and writing can reflect upon each other

Mahasweta Devi was born in 1926 in the city of Dacca in East Bengal (modern day Bangladesh). As an adolescent, she and her family moved to West Bengal in India. Born into a literary family, Mahasweta Devi was also influenced by her early association with Gananatya, a group who attempted to bring social and political … Read more