“India, also known as Bharat, is a Union of States. It is a Sovereign Socialist Secular Democratic Republic with a parliamentary system of government.” – Constitution of India
Source: National Portal of India
Learn more about the Indian Constitution and decisions by India’s Supreme Court >>
States and Union Territories
India, a union of states, is a Sovereign, Secular, Democratic Republic with a Parliamentary system of Government. The President is the constitutional head of Executive of the Union. In the states, the Governor, as the representative of the President, is the head of Executive. The system of government in states closely resembles that of the Union. There are 28 states and 8 Union territories in the country.[*] Union Territories are administered by the President through an Administrator appointed by him/her. From the largest to the smallest, each State/UT of India has a unique demography, history and culture, dress, festivals, language etc. This section introduces you to the various States/UTs in the Country and urges you to explore their magnificent uniqueness…
[*] From 29 states and 7 Union since the publication of “The Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019” by the Ministry of Law and Justice, New Delhi, on 9th August 2019. Major changes concern the status of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh, henceforth listed among the 8 separate “Union territories” (formerly 7); and as a result of this change, the omission of Jammu and Kashmir (along with Ladakh) from the earlier list of 29 “States”. “Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu” are now grouped together as one, rather than two separate “Union territories”.
Source: States and Union Territories – About India
URL: https://knowindia.india.gov.in/states-uts/
Date visited: 4 September 2021
More information about possible changes as regards tribal communities are found here | Nutrition >>
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A constitution which guarantees: “The State shall not discriminate against any citizen” – The Sovereign Republic of India | Learn more >>
Basics
Tribal Cultural Heritage in India in the 21st century (printfriendly PDF)
Forest dwellers in early India – myths and ecology in historical perspective
Education
Background guide for education (free eBook)
Childhood | Child marriage | Children’s right to Education
! Contact: National helpline Childline & report trafficking
Customs | Marriage customs | Social conventions
Free comic books (Unicef)
Survival Int. on tribal education
Video | “Nations don’t make us human – languages make us human”: Ganesh Devy
Health, environment & nature
Biological Diversity: What is the Biodiversity Act?
Forest dwellers in early India – myths and ecology
Issues
Assimilationist & isolationist positions
“Casteism” and its effect on tribal communities
Denotified Tribe vs. “criminal tribe“
Fighting exploitation and women’s stigmatization
Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups & Endangered languages (interactive map)
President of India
National development and the development of tribal communities are linked
Government of India, national & international organizations
Endangered languages: Peoples’ Linguistic Survey of India
Govt. of India, NGOs, Indian universities and international organisations
Govt. What are the Rights of Scheduled Tribes (ST)
Human Rights Commission (posts) | www.nhrc.nic.in (Government of India)
India’s Constitutional obligation to respect their cultural traditions
India’s 28 States and 8 Union Territories
National Commission for Scheduled Tribes | Related posts
Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTG)
People’s Linguistic Survey of India | Volumes (PLSI) | PeoplesLinguisticSurvey.org
Universal Declaration of Human Rights & International Convention against Torture
Women | Safe search | President Droupadi Murmu on women’s empowerment
Legal provisions
Child rights & Right to education handbook
Constitution and Supreme Court
Denotified, nomadic and semi-nomadic (“hidden”) tribes: Classifications in different states
Forest Rights Act (FRA) | Legal rights | What is the Forest Rights Act about?
India’s Constitutional obligation to respect their cultural traditions
Right to Information Act (RTI)
Scheduled Tribes (ST) | Who are Scheduled Tribes?
Who is a forest dweller under this law, and who gets rights?
Resources
Adivasis’ struggle for India’s freedom and Independence
Anthropology & Anthropological Survey of India
The Anti-Autocracy Handbook: A Scholars’ Guide to Navigating Democratic Backsliding | Backup (PDF, 500 KB)
Books on tribal culture and related resources
Fact checking | Factchecker.in | Safe search examples with keywords:
“factchecker.in rural india“| “factchecker.in adivasi tribe“
Figures, census and other statistics | Primitive Tribes in Andaman and Nicobar Islands (Census 2011)
Indian magazines and web portals – news coverage and analysis
Indigenous knowledge: biodiversity, ecology, health, nutrition, nature, wildlife
Languages and linguistic heritage
Nehru’s 5 Principles: Panchsheel
News update in Indian periodicals: Tribal Affairs
People’s Linguistic Survey of India | Volumes (PLSI) | PeoplesLinguisticSurvey.org
Learn more
Find up-to-date information provided by, for and about Indian authors, researchers, officials, and educators
List of sites covered by this Google SafeSearch engine
Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment (ATREE) – www.atree.org
Freedom United – www.freedomunited.org
Government of India (all websites ending on “.gov.in”)
Kalpavriksh Environmental Action Group – https://kalpavriksh.org
Shodhganga (a reservoir of Indian theses) – https://shodhganga.inflibnet.ac.in
Survival International – www.survivalinternational.org
UCLA Digital Library – https://digital.library.ucla.edu
Unesco – https://en.unesco.org
Unesco digital library – https://unesdoc.unesco.org
Unicef – www.unicef.org
United Nations – www.un.org/en
Video Volunteers – www.videovolunteers.org
WorldCat (“the world’s largest library catalog, helping you find library materials online”) – https://worldcat.org
Search tips
Combine the name of any particular state, language or region with that of any tribal (Adivasi) community.
Add keywords of special interest (music, poetry, dance just as health, sacred grove and biodiversity); learn about the rights of Scheduled Tribes such as the “Forest Rights Act” (FRA); and the United Nations “Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples”, “Universal Declaration of Human Rights”, “women’s rights”, or “children’s right to education”.
Ask a question that includes “tribal” or “Adivasi”, for instance: “Adivasi way of life better?” (or “tribal way of life worse?”)
Specify any particular issue or news item (biodiversity, bonded labour and human trafficking, climate change, ecology, economic development, ethnobotany, ethnomedicine, global warming, hunter-gatherers in a particular region or state, prevention of rural poverty, water access).
For official figures include “scheduled tribe ST” along with a union state or region: e.g. “Chhattisgarh ST community”, “Himalayan tribe”, “Scheduled tribe Tamil Nadu census”, “ST Kerala census”, “Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Group Jharkhand”, “PVTG Rajasthan”, “Adivasi ST Kerala”, “Adibasi ST West Bengal” etc.
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>Settings >Safari >scroll down to:
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Enable “Request Desktop Website” (All Websites) temporarily
Return to the map-post in Safari and “Reload”
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Return to the post in Safari and “Reload”which should now display “embedded” contents as intended (with the convenience of browsing the mobile version on a small screen)
Note: similar solutions may also work with other mobile operating systems.
Research: explore PhD theses from all over India
Shodhganga (Open Access)
Tips for using interactive maps
Toggle to normal view (from reader view) should the interactive map not be displayed by your tablet, smartphone or pc browser
For details and hyperlinks click on the rectangular button (left on the map’s header)
Scroll and click on one of the markers for information of special interest
Explore India’s tribal cultural heritage with the help of another interactive map >>