Bettakurumba

Appropriate education for Adivasi children: The Vidyodaya School model at Gudalur – Tamil Nadu

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The Viswa Bharati Vidyodaya Trust (VBVT) is a community-based organisation working with the Bettakurumba, Kattunayakan, Mullakurumba, and Paniya Adivasi communities of the Gudalur valley in Tamil Nadu. All four communities are recognised by the Government of India as Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs), reflecting both the depth of their Indigenous heritage and the systemic disadvantages … Read more

Learn more about tribal communities in Tamil Nadu

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Indian forests, rivers and mountains owe their survival to Adivasis: “the most civilised people” – Mahasweta Devi

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Renowned writer and social activist Mahasweta Devi termed Adivasis as “the most civilised people” to whom Indian forests, rivers and mountains owe their survival. She praised their egalitarian social structure where nobody is greater than anybody, and where social evils such as dowry do not exist. Addressing students at the University of Hyderabad here on … Read more

“We are nothing without the forest, and the forest is nothing without us”: Kattunayakans in the Nilgiris, one of the last few remaining honey gathering communities of the world – Tamil Nadu

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Living in the Nilgiris, the Kattunayakans are one of the last few remaining honey gathering communities of the world. Over many generations they have mastered the skills required to tap honey and they take great pride in their knowledge and expertise. For the tribal community, honey gathering is of social, cultural, economic and spiritual relevance. … Read more

“Rethinking tribals”: Articles on Adivasi culture in Folio Special issue

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Ever since the Portuguese travel writers and missionaries decided to describe the vast variety of ethnic and occupational groups and sects of the Indian subcontinent in terms of “caste” and “tribe”, the terms have stuck to society as long-worn masks that start becoming one’s real personality. The result is that today no Indian describes society … Read more