“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
NGO Profile – Sanctuary Asiamagazine February 2011: In Gudalar, at the edge of the Mudumalai Tiger Reserve, a small committed group of volunteers work to protect India’s shola forests – a mosaic of montane evergreen forests and grasslands found only at high altitude (more than 1,500 m. above mean sea level) regions within the tropics.In India, shola forests … Read more
He is British by birth, but prefers to call himself an Indian. Having lived in this country for three decades now, Felix Padel, the great great grandson of father of evolution Charles Darwin, has closely worked on Adivasis in eastern India. A freelance anthropologist trained at Oxford and Delhi University, Padel has also authored a … Read more
Learn more about the Madia community, locate it on a map, view a series of photos and watch a series of videos >> Lalsu Nogoti is an independent elected member of the Zila Parishad in the district of Gadchiroli, Maharashtra. He is also the first lawyer from the Madia Gond Adivasi community in that district. … Read more
WHEN Gujarat was burning between 27 February and 4 March [2002], the tribal belt on the eastern border of Gujarat was quiet. The only exception was the two districts of Panchmahals for which Godhra is the main town. Elsewhere in the tribal areas, tribals, Hindus and Muslims continued to coexist peacefully. The only disturbing sight … Read more
In a major victory, tribal people in Maharashtra’s Thane district have managed to get information on forest land titles through the Right to Information Act. They were demanding this information for months, with over a thousand of them going on a “RTI Satyagraha” in April [2013]. Finally, the State’s Chief Information Commissioner, Ratnakar Gaikwad, has … Read more