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

Tapestry of traditions for our children: Language building through reading – Jharkhand, West Bengal, Odisha, Bihar & Assam

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A language building through reading initiative in collaboration with the Tribal Cultural Heritage in India Foundation, Amsterdam, The Netherlands. | Who is adivaani >> Why does adivaani do books? Books keep history, heritage and identity alive; books reinvent, reinterpret and make relevant voices, thoughts, ideas and dreams. In the words, language, imagery and pages that books are made of are the … Read more

Adivasi mahouts who never beat their elephant: In search of workable solutions for dealing with rogue elephants – Tamil Nadu

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Mari Marcel Thekaekara, New Internationalist, November 5, 2013 | Read the full blog here >> […] Living as we do on the edge of the Mudumalai Wildlife Sanctuary, we hear many elephant stories, not all pretty. Our much-maligned forest department gets a lot of flack from animal rights activists for catching and taming rogue elephants. All of us … Read more

“Absence of a concept of ownership”: Karkala Conference on tribal communities – Karnataka

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The Hindu, Karkala (Udupi District), April 18, 2010 Writer and former Vice-Chancellor of Hampi Kannada University Chandrashekhar Kambar said on Saturday that the Government should take help from sympathetic scholars belonging to tribal communities in understanding the needs and problems of tribal people. He was presiding over the inauguration of the two-day second tribal sammelan, … Read more

Resilience in the face of modernization: India’s Supreme Court protects the Dongria’s right to living in Niyamgiri forests – Odisha

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[…] Twelve Dongria villages have now unanimously voted against Vedanta’s mine during consultations ordered by India’s Supreme Court in April 2013, because their religious, cultural and social rights would be jeopardized if mining were to go ahead. Dongria leader Lodu Sikaka said, ‘Our God lives in open space, you keep your God locked up with … Read more

Peaceful coexistence with elephants: Avoiding human-animal conflict as part of tribal culture – Tamil Nadu

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Shruti Agarwal, Gudalur, 30 September 2013 A Bettakurumba man watches a herd of elephants at close quarters | Read the full blog and view more photos here >> Coexisting with elephants would seem unthinkable and impossible to most of us. Yet adivasis in Gudalur have done so for generations and continue to do so. They share their home, the … Read more