Siddi and Hakki Pikki ‘critically endangered’ Of the 50 languages that are spoken in Karnataka, eight are potentially endangered and two critical endangered, according to a survey conducted by the Peoples’ Linguistic Survey of India (PLSI), an organisation that is conducting a nation-wide survey of Indian languages. Languages spoken by the tribal communities of Koraga, … Read more
Two novels that capture local history in English translationEach novel is written from a different angle, yet both chronicle the lives of people attached to their land and customs while facing the pressures imposed by mainstream society: one by male Malayalam writer ‘Narayan’ who hails from Kerala’s Malayarayar community; and the other by Rajam Krishnan … Read more
The Badagas are a unique community living mainly in the Nilgiris District in Tamil nadu in South India. They are also the single largest community of the Nilgiris. Though classified backward, a significant factor is the high status of their women says Indu K Malla, a Badaga writer of distinction, in her article ” The myth … Read more
This encyclopedia addresses the religions of a category of South Asians known as tribals, Ādivāsīs (“First Inhabitants”; or Janajātis, lit. “Class of People”; see also below), and, more recently, indigenous peoples. The three terms, “tribal,” “Ādivāsī,” and “indigenous peoples” are related, but have their own trajectories; they have come into use at different times and … Read more