“We want our young generation to be rooted in our specific culture and to have good opportunities to take their fate into their own hands. Using our language is essential. What alphabet we use in school, matters less. We tell our students about Ol-chiki [the Santali alphabet invented in 1925 and one of India’s 22 official languages since 2004] – encouraging, but not forcing them to learn it.”– Boro Baski in “The pros and cons of Ol-chiki” (D+C Development and Cooperation, e-Paper April 2021)
https://www.dandc.eu/sites/default/files/pdf_files/dc_2021-04.pdf
https://indiantribalheritage.org/?p=21581
Bengali literature celebrated the natural, healthy Santal way of living, the black lissome Santal women providing a counterpoint to the pale cloistered ladies of urban Calcutta. Source: Partha Mitter. The Triumph of Modernism: India’s Artists and the Avant-garde, 1922–1947, p. 29
There is a need to reclaim descriptions of the tribes; the onus must reside with the tribes themselves, since they have endured these portrayals for far too long. Richard Kamei in “Uncivilising the Mind: How anthropology shaped the discourse on tribes in India” (Caravan Magazine, 1 March 2021) The Great Story-Wall is a 100 metre … Read more
[Bold typeface added above for emphasis] Courtesy Dr. Ivy Hansdak, Assistant Professor, Department of English, Jamia Millia Islamia University New Delhi (email 4 October 2017) Source: Report for the ICSSR-sponsored Two-Day National Conference Tribes In Transition-II: Reaffirming Indigenous Identity Through Narrative organised by The Department of English & Outreach Programme Jamia Millia Islamia (New Delhi, … Read more
First words: Pratham Books launches a publishing project to promote Indian tribal languages This 10-book series has been published in Odia and the languages used by four tribal communities in Odisha (Kui, Saura, Munda and Juanga), in the Odia script. “They are the first-ever books for the reading pleasure of children in these languages,” says … Read more