“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
11/06/2013 – by Boro Baski The hot season is the toughest time of the year in rural India. Adivasi communities struggle to cope […] In our Santal tribal villages of West Bengal, summer is a tough time. This season is marked by burnt grass in the fields, leafless trees, dried-up ponds, cracked land surfaces, hot … Read more
A revealing set of US studies has got Urvashi Butalia thinking about how the rich behave in Delhi. My office is located in an urban village in the heart of Delhi. Originally surrounded by fields where people grew crops, these areas now house apartment blocks and shopping malls. All that’s left of the old village is … Read more
Professor GN Devy feels that alternate media should be used to make literature reach to a wider audience Parul Bajaj, Indian Express, Tue Jul 19 2011 Almost everyone in India knows the Mahabharata, but no one has read it. Listening is also a literary experience and oral and written traditions cannot be separated. With literature comes … Read more
One of the youngest, most resource-rich and forested states of India, Chhattisgarh has a population of about 25 million, more than three-quarters of which live in rural and remote parts of the state. Many of them are tribal groups working in small farming communities, known for their ancient traditions and intricate handicrafts. However, it is … Read more
Watch a film produced on the occasion of the 150th anniversary of the Santal Hul [“Santal revolution” of 1855-56] >> Director and Producer: Daniel J. Rycroft, University of East AngliaCo-Director: Joy Raj Tudu (Indian Confederation of Indigenous & Tribal People)Co-Producer: D. Mardi (Indian Confederation of Indigenous & Tribal People)Coordinator: John Jantu Soren (Indian Confederation of Indigenous & Tribal … Read more