Encouraging centuries-old life-skills of Irulas: Eking out a living outside forests – Tamil Nadu

Janaki Lenin’s book [My Husband and Other Animals], a compilation of her popular column in The Hindu MetroPlus, offers insights into her husband Rom Whitaker’s fascination for animals, particularly snakes When he came to Madras, Rom was introduced to the Irulas, who quickly became his buddies, sharing, as they did, a common love for snakes. … Read more

Elephants & tigers: Recurring motifs and issues for India’s tribal communities

“The tribals I was told about are elephant people. As far back as any one can remember, they have taken care of elephants. They understand elephants as no one else does. They grow up with elephants, and the elephants with them.” – Edward Rice in Mother India’s Children >> Some tribal communities inhabit regions where wild animals … Read more

Video | The Birhor tribe: A hunting and food gathering tribe of central India – Bihar

The video contains a documentation of Birhor Tribe of Bihar. The Birhor Community, hunting and food gathering tribe of Bihar, Central India. Living in leaf huts called kumbhas, the Birhor maintain their close links with nature and still rely on hunting and food gathering as a mode of subsistence. The film gives glimpses of community … Read more

A coalition of individuals and organizations dedicated to the promotion of peace and social justice in South Asia: The International South Asia Forum (INSAF)

“We, the members of South Asian Diaspora located in North America and Europe, desire peace, harmony and good neighborliness among the countries of South Asia, and social justice and economic wellbeing for the people there. We also have a responsibility to make a contribution in these directions. Over the years many of us have been … Read more

Giving Irula healing practices a place in modern medicine: A new source of livelihood for “one among the six oldest Adivasi tribes” – Puducherry & Tamil Nadu

The term Irula means being capable of finding one’s path in dark forests, according to an Irula myth | Read the full report in the Times of India here >> Born in nature’s lap, Irulas share a symbiotic relationship with Mother Earth. They reside in the hills of northern Tamil Nadu and are one among the six oldest … Read more