“Adivasi [Adibasi] – which is derived from Sanskrit – is applied to the dark-skinned or Austro-Asiatic indigenous groups of India (usually those from Eastern India). It is a commonly-used term in Jharkhand, Bihar, West Bengal and Odisha. It is also used by the local Mongoloid tribes of North Eastern India for the migrant workers who were brought in as indentured labourers to work in tea plantations during the colonial period. ‘Tribal’ is a very broad term in the English language, as we all know, and includes all the different indigenous groups of India.” – Santali poet, scholar and translator Ivy Imogene Hansdak (email dated 27 March 2020)
https://indiantribalheritage.org/?p=23032
“The great diversity of music in India is a direct manifestation of the diversity and fragmentation of the population in terms of race, religion, language, and other aspects of culture. Yet the distinction between tribal music and folk music is not always clearly defined.” – N.A. Jairazbhoy To illustrate the above observation, namely “The distinction between … Read more
A champion for Adivasi rights, Xaxa played an active part in anti-displacement movements in central India. […] Xaxa passed away because of a heart attack. A native of the Jashpur district of northern Chhattisgarh, Xaxa had completed his PhD from Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) after receiving his masters in social anthropology from the University of … Read more
There once lived a carpenter by the name Kaliya. Kaliya went to the forests in the Amarkantak hills to fetch wood. One day as he was felling wood, Kaliya felt thirsty. As he went looking for water, Kaliya wandered deep into the forest …
Renowned writer and social activist Mahasweta Devi termed Adivasis as “the most civilised people” to whom Indian forests, rivers and mountains owe their survival. She praised their egalitarian social structure where nobody is greater than anybody, and where social evils such as dowry do not exist. Addressing students at the University of Hyderabad here on … Read more
On a very small scale compared to the widely promoted homogenising mega-schools, [alternative schools] respect diversity and are sensitive to the socio-cultural and political context of the children. […] The National Education Policy of 2020 is silent on the crucial question of integrating Adivasi knowledge. It appears to encourage multilingual education but calls for ‘philanthropic’ … Read more