“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
Social activists and policy planners got together here [in August 2011] to listen to the woes of the Kalbelia community, better known by the folk dance form named after it, at a jan sunwai or public hearing. A nomadic community, also referred to as saperas or snake charmers, jogis and nats – going by their … Read more
Source: “World listens to ‘Iron Lady of Jharkhand’ in the Big Apple” by Narayan Lakshman, The Hindu, New York, May 25, 2013 The HinduAddress : https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/world-listens-to-iron-lady-of-jharkhand-in-the-big-apple/article4747354.eceDate Visited: 11 March 2024 Anumeha Yadav, The Hindu, Ranchi, May 23, 2013 On Thursday, Cultural Survival, an international NGO, recognized the work of the leader of several of such people’s movements … Read more
Indu Netam, an Adivasi leader from Chhattisgarh, on Monday, slammed the plantation of eucalyptus and other commercial varieties of trees in tribal forest areas under Green India Mission (GIM), saying this was impacting their livelihoods. Addressing the media here on Monday, she said in the name of protecting the environment, fruit-bearing trees, medicinal and other … Read more
The Kattunayakans are a honey gathering community in the Gudalur valley. Over generations they have mastered the skills required to take honey out of hives. – Priyashri Mani (upload information 3 July 2012 on Youtube) | Credits: Adivasi Munnetra Sangam | Learn more >> “Don’t fund our eviction”: honey-collecting tribe pleads with US governmentJanuary 20, 2020 … Read more
The natural wealth with which much of tribal India is endowed is also its bane. The erstwhile Bastar district, one of the largest in the country, was first divided into three, and later into seven parts, each with a separate administrative system. In the guise of bringing governance closer to the people – let us, … Read more