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 “participatory guarantee system” (PGS Organic Council): A renewed effort to sustain the lives and cultures of indigenous communities – Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve

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Rich Forests: Making a living under the canopy […] PGS has been received enthusiastically in India and elsewhere. The PGS Organic Council was registered in Goa, India, in April 2011. Since then, the Government of India – under the national project on organic farming – has officially launched the participatory guarantee system (PGS India) for organic produce. In India … Read more

Bringing indigenous knowledge systems into a “pedagogy of the collective”: Kora, Munda, Oraon, Mahli and Santal communities’ egalitarian value system is a source of strength – West Bengal

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Santal educationist Dr. Boro Baski describes the effects of the ‘Pass-Fail’ policy introduced by the West Bengal government in an essay published on on 25th November 2019 by the Bengali daily Anandabazar Patrika >> Text: Courtesy Boro Baski by email 7 December 2019Photo © Anandabazar Patrika Adivasi learner and ‘pass-fail’ policy by Dr. Boro BaskiEnglish … Read more

Report on JAGWAR Santal Literary Meet 2013 – Jharkhand

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JAGWARSantal Literary Meet 2013: Santal Onolia Helmel 2013A Report The first Santal Literary Meet – in Santali named “JAGWAR: Santal Onolia Helmel” – was held at the Johar HRD Centre, Dumka, Jharkhand, on 23-24 January 2013. It began with the Inaugural Session in which the Convener, Ms Ivy Imogene Hansdak, spoke of the contributions made … Read more

Nirmala Putul: A Santal poet questioning ‘development’ and ‘progress’ in modern civilization

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Mountain Child by Nirmala Putul The mountain child —a fragment of the mountain —plays in the lap of the mountain Toddling up the mountainhe plants his feet in the mountain soilto rise like a mountainin the land of mountains The whole mountainlives inside the mountain childAnd in the lap of the mountainlives the scurrying mountain … Read more

“We have much to learn from their culture”: Deriving hope and inspiration from the rich tradition of democratic living in Adivasi society

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Cultivating the elements of adivasi way of life in the society at large is the need of the hour, opined renowned development economist Jean Dreze on Wednesday BHUBANESWAR: Cultivating the elements of adivasi way of life in the society at large is the need of the hour, opined renowned development economist Jean Dreze on Wednesday. … Read more