Absence of a dowry-system, divorce by mutual consent, and widow-re-marriage: On the high status of women in Badaga communities (Nilgiri) – Tamil Nadu

The Badagas are a unique community living mainly in the Nilgiris District in Tamil nadu in South India. They are also the single largest community of the Nilgiris. Though classified backward, a significant factor is the high status of their women says Indu K Malla, a Badaga writer of distinction, in her article ” The myth … Read more

Stories behind the masks – Santhal scroll depicting a VIP visit

An exhibition in New Delhi that gives a glimpse of diverse storytelling traditions in India. IGNCA lay enveloped in an eerie silence during the mega cultural festival held during the just-concluded Commonwealth Games in the Capital. Security issues are believed to have spoilt the party. However, with ‘Akhyan’, an exhaustive month-long event put together by SNA and … Read more

The depiction of Santal culture in modern art: Jamini Roy (National Gallery of Modern Art) – New Delhi

Jamini Roy was one of the earliest and most significant modernists of twentieth century Indian art. From 1920 onwards his search for the essence of form led him to experiment with dramatically different visual style. His career spanning over nearly six decades had many significant turning points and his works collectively speak of the nature … Read more

North-Eastern Areas – Scheduled Districts Act of 1874, political and constitutional changes

Over six years after its signing, the Bodoland Accord is yet to usher in substantive changes on the ground [i.e. at the date of pulication in 2002]. […] The Sixth Schedule, extensively amended since the adoption of the Constitution, along with the Fifth Schedule (applicable to the scheduled areas and the Scheduled Tribes outside the … Read more

“Tribal development so far is mechanical, ineffectual, and vague”: An Anthropological Dialogue on Tribal Development Strategies in India

The concept of development has different connotations in different contexts. In a narrow sense, ‘it means, change, and progress, either whole or, partial’. There are people with difference of opinion regarding development. […] In 1951, the government of Indiahad started making efforts to raise the general standard of living of the weaker sections as well … Read more