Garo winter harvest festival: creating cultural awareness, generating employment – Meghalaya

The Garo tribe of Western Meghalaya celebrates the winter harvest with a three-day festival. Pheroze L. Vincent watches the Garos climb oiled poles, burst into war cries, and perform dances inspired by crabs and swaying plants. Appearances are deceptive. The mobile phones of bus conductors play Bob Dylan and Eminem booms in the Mi Dokan … Read more

Successful citizen journalism by tribals using their mobile phones – Chhattisgarh

V. Kumara Swamy, The Telegraph, Calcutta, Sunday, May 30 , 2010Bhan Sahu has a question for Bill Gates. She has heard about the Microsoft co-founder’s philanthropic activities and wants to know if mobile communication, like email, can be free. The question has been forwarded to Gates. Meanwhile, the 38-year-old social activist in Chhattisgarh is busy … Read more

Collaborative lifestyle, women’s inheritance have contributed to our uniqueness as humans – Tamil Nadu

 Should I stay or should I go? JANAKI LENIN, The Hindu, October 26, 2012 […] Traditionally, women of these communities — the Nair and Mappila of Kerala, the Khasi and Garo of Meghalaya, and the Nicobarese of the Nicobar Islands — stay at their parents’ home and inherit property. S. Anvar, a chronicler of South Indian … Read more

Government schemes and construct community halls for tribal community – Goa

The Times of India, Goa,  Oct 13, 2012 PANAJI: Tribal welfare minister Ramesh Tawadkar announced three more schemes for tribal people. Tawadkar announced the “Gagan Bharari Shiksha Yojana” to provide additional financial assistance to scheduled tribe students as the maintenance allowance given under the post-matric scholarship is inadequate to meet expenses on food and travel. […] … Read more

Rural development scheme promises more freedom to “people at the ground level” to make changes

The Centre [Government of India] has decided to modify flagship rural development schemes like Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MNREGA) to suit the needs of naxal-affected districts. While the schemes will be made more flexible, funds allocated to them will also increase. The decision was taken at a day-long consultation held by the … Read more