“Agriculture provides the safest livelihoods” – Eastern region

Though India is hit hard by the Covid-19 pandemic, our small cluster of two Adivasi villages in West Bengal has not suffered infections yet. We do feel the economic impacts of course. […] Farm work has continued quietly. To many Santals, one lesson of the pandemic has been that agriculture provides the safest livelihoods. It … Read more

Video | Santal flute played by Gokul Hansda: Reviving traditional culture in Santal villages around Santiniketan – West Bengal

Gokula Hansda – Santal bamboo flute (Har tiriyo) Gokula Hansda is a Santal educator and co-founder of Kulhidhuri, an organization devoted to preserving and reviving traditional Santal culture. Its members collect and sing traditional Santal songs at festivals throughout West Bengal, Jharkhand and Bihar. They wish to re-establish these songs as part of the informal education of … Read more

Video | “Santali language and the music are the two important life lines for the existence of the Santal tribe in the modern world”: Gai Gupi Kada Gupi (The story behind the song) by Boro Baski

By Boro Baski The first ten years of my childhood were the golden time of my life. Those were my herding days where I used to tend the cows and goats in the fields, in the nearby jungle and by the river side with the girls and boys of my village. Those were the days, … Read more

Video | Disaibon Hul – An Adivaani book on the 1855 Santal ‘Hul’ Rebellion – Jharkhand

The Hul was a valiant effort of the Santal people to free themselves from the oppressive powers of the landlords, moneylenders and the British crown. More than 150 years after the epic struggle of our warriors led by Sido and Kanhu Murmu, we want to honour their sacrifice by retelling the story of their gallantry … Read more

eJournal | “Children learn best in their mother tongue as a prelude to multilingual education”: Understanding India’s “Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education” – Unesco

Many children speak a home language that differs from the language of instruction in education programs. Research confirms that children learn best in their mother tongue as a prelude to and complement of bilingual and multilingual education. Whether children successfully retain their mother tongue while acquiring additional languages depends on several interacting factors. Studies show … Read more