Adivasi / Adibasi

“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

Village elders’ involvement has worked wonders: Adivasi kids from Nilgiris tribal hamlets now complete their basic education – Tamil Nadu

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COIMBATORE: A grassroots movement to keep Adivasi kids in school has seemingly worked wonders in over 320 tribal hamlets in Gudalur, Nilgiris. The Adivasi Munnetra Sangam, Gudalur, spearheaded a movement that prevents Adivasi children from dropping out of school, by involving local tribal communities in the process. Members of the Sangam said that in the … Read more

“Lessons that can teach us about humanity itself”: Collective and dignified survival celebrated at the Dongria Kondhs’ seed festival – Odisha

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There will always be a seed for everyone | To read the full article and view more photos, click here >> In the early summer month of April, around the magnificent Niyamgiri range in southern Odisha, the desi mango trees are already fruiting and mahua flowers have begun to blossom. Soon Kondh women will squeeze out the … Read more

India’s tribal citizens and the country’s urban mainstream: In search for schooling, work, food and dignity at home – Comment from New Delhi

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Fragile lives, ferocious changes: The story of my Adivasi maidby Renuka Narayan An important position paper with policy recommendations on India’s tribal citizens is currently under consideration with Government. Its outcome interests me because though they don’t make them more ‘mainstream’ than I, my life as an urban gipsy startles friends who have lived in one house … Read more

Sounding like a tiger: Rare musical instruments of Bardoli region – Gujarat

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SURAT: Even as the government spends crores on promoting tourism, its most ancient folk culture is dying a slow death. Within villages around Dang, traditional instruments and artists are waning. Cultural music and dance forms among the adivasis have evolved over centuries. Beautified by elements and nuances of their surroundings, these forms depict their very … Read more

eBook | Representations of Birsa Munda: Leader of the 1890 Munda rebellion – Jharkhand

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Imagine a 25-year-old who took on an empire, left an indelible mark on tribal rights across the country and was seen as a mystic and folk hero for hundreds of thousands. Few would have achieved so much in so short a time and it’s not surprising then that Birsa Munda’s portrait hangs proudly in India’s parliament. | … Read more