“Nations don’t make us human – languages make us human [and] behave like civilised beings.” – Ganesh [G.N.] Devy (co-founder, People’s Linguistic Survey of India) in a video interview (Scroll.in, 25 November 2017)
https://www.facebook.com/scroll.in/videos/1600744976675043/
https://indiantribalheritage.org/?p=24320
Ever since the Portuguese travel writers and missionaries decided to describe the vast variety of ethnic and occupational groups and sects of the Indian subcontinent in terms of “caste” and “tribe”, the terms have stuck to society as long-worn masks that start becoming one’s real personality. The result is that today no Indian describes society … Read more
Esther Elias, The Hindu, Coimbatore, July 9, 2012 | To read the full story and view more images, click here >> The Gass Forest Museum located within the 100-year-old TNFA has many stories to tell. It hosts South India’s largest collection of forestry artefacts including timber and non-timber forest produce, geological samples, tribal armaments and … Read more
The exhaustive, community-based work to bring all languages on record in the People’s Linguistic Survey of India also revealed the fate of the country’s multilingualism, says the project’s chairperson The release of the People’s Linguistic Survey of India (PLSI) report at Gandhi Smriti in Delhi on September 5 will mark a significant milestone for 63-year-old … Read more
India’s endangered languages “Kolami, Koya, Gondi, Kuvi, Kui, Yerukala, Savara, Parji, Kupia. Do these names ring a bell? No, right? They are all native tribal tongues that have immensely contributed to enrich the language and culture of Telugu people. But these languages are dying due to a plethora of reasons — lack of practice, absence … Read more
Siddi and Hakki Pikki ‘critically endangered’ Of the 50 languages that are spoken in Karnataka, eight are potentially endangered and two critical endangered, according to a survey conducted by the Peoples’ Linguistic Survey of India (PLSI), an organisation that is conducting a nation-wide survey of Indian languages. Languages spoken by the tribal communities of Koraga, … Read more