Research on populations of different social rank: “The genetic heritage of the earliest settlers persists”

The word “tribe” itself, in fact, has always been a contentious term. Due to the lack of an adequate term, indigenous people chose to adopt it to identify their place in the world. The narrative is changing today. […] Tribes are people with a functional social order, culture, customs, cosmology and metaphysics. They must be … Read more

eJournal | Irish Journal of Anthropology: Special issue on Adivasi identity

TABLE OF CONTENTS GUEST EDITORIAL GENERAL EDITOR’S INTRODUCTION NOTES ON CONTRIBUTORS 11 HARALD TAMBS-LYCHE COMMENT ONWILL INDIA HAVE TO LIVE WITH CASTE FOR ALL TIME TO COME? ARTICLES 14 HARALD TAMBS-LYCHEDOMINATION BY HEGEMONY, OR FORCE COUNTERED BY RESISTANCE? THE INDIAN CASTE ORDER BETWEEN SCOTT AND GRAMSCI 31 SANJUKTA DAS GUPTAFROM REBELLION TO LITIGATION: CHOTANAGPUR TENANCY … Read more

Understanding the challenges faced by Adivasi Society: “We will follow our beliefs, customs, deities, rituals, culture, in our own way”

As demands for a Sarna religious code in Census 2021 grow in Jharkhand, RSS-backed outfits are busy trying to convince the tribal people that they are Hindus. Abhinay Lakshman reports on the efforts of Sarna outfits to resist Hindu organisations and Christian missionaries alike, and define their identity through their religion. […] “Christian missionaries first … Read more

Landless Kol tribe forest dwellers: Permission required to plant or use trees such as neem, amla and mahua – Uttar Pradesh

Though the Kols are anthropologically tribal, they are recognized as a Scheduled Caste in Uttar Pradesh. Not only has this deprived them of their traditional source of living-the forest, it has largely left them dependant and landless, languishing in silica quarries and sand mines. The Kols mainly inhabit the backward Bundelkhand and Baghelkhand regions bordering … Read more

Video | Hanmi: A Treasure Trove of Oral Heritage – Karnataka

Hanmi is the one of the few artists who has mastered the oral epic songs and other verbal art. She belongs to Gamokkalu tribe from Uttara Kannada district Karnataka. Sadly now Hanmi is the only person in her community who can sing the entire Mahabharata and we are losing time. There is an urgent need … Read more