Tribal identity

“While benefiting from affirmative action in some cases, Adivasis or indigenous people in India also feel the claustrophobic confines of their identity which has been imposed on them by others, be it the colonial administrator, the colonial anthropologist, the missionary or the neo-liberal, neo-imperialist forces that rule global economy today.” – Santali poet, scholar and translator Ivy Imogene Hansdak  in “Is tribal identity relevant in today’s world?”, Inaugural Speech, National Conference “Tribes In Transition-II: Reaffirming Indigenous Identity Through Narrative” (2017)
https://indiantribalheritage.org/?p=23032

“The most beautiful dioramas illustrating tribal life”: Bharatiya Adimjati Sevak Sangrahalaya museum inspired by Mahatma Gandhi – New Delhi

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“AV Thakkar, a Gandhian nationalist and the one-time head of of the Harijan Sevak Sangh […] advocated for bringing tribes into the Hindu fold.” – Richard Kamei (doctoral candidate at the Tata Institute of Social Sciences in Mumbai) in “Uncivilising the Mind: How anthropology shaped the discourse on tribes in India” (Caravan Magazine, 1 March 2020) … Read more

eJournal | Limbu community temples as “visible markers of the ethnic community”: Emergence of a new ethnic identity – Sikkim

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To read or download the full issue, click here >> Emergence of a new ethnic identity When the kingdom of Sikkim was integrated into the Indian Union in 1975, the old order was disbanded and Sikkim became a state of the Indian Union. These political changes created the conditions for Limbu identity assertion. Mélanie Vandenhelsken explores … Read more

Audio | Learning an indigenous language “as any other language, which breaks down to a set of rules that you can learn bit by bit” – Canada

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Speaking Ojibwe an ‘act of defiance’ says 19-year-old language teacher | Read or listen to the full story >> Aandeg Muldrew is the the University of Manitoba’s youngest sessional instructor, teaching Introductory Ojibwe. (Submitted by Maeengan Linklater) Muldrew, who lives in Winnipeg, started learning the language from his grandmother when he was 10. She invited … Read more

Tip | Find information on the cultural heritage and relations of the “Seven Sister States” of northeastern India

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The seven sister states of northeast — Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, and Tripura — and the Himalayan state of Sikkim could well become India’s next music epicentre. – Ruhi Batra in the Times of India