Bastar Dasara in Jagdalpur (July – October): Ancient customs and modernity – Chhattishgarh

In the heart of Bastar, where the beauty of the jungle holds sway, is a Dasara celebration unchanged by the passage of time | Read the full story and view more photos here >> She’s attired in a shocking pink sari tied till the knees, adorned with chunky armbands and anklets in silver, double nose-pins in gold, and … Read more

Tribal education in the a heavily forested areas of Bastar: “The traditional ‘school’ was in the ghotul” – Chhattisgarh

Mrs Uma Ram, Professor & Head Department of English Government Kakatiya PG College, Jagdalpur, Bastar, Chhattisgarh Bastar, a part of Dandakaranya inancient time, is both a district as also a division in Chhattisgarh. Till 1997, it was a single district division in Madhya Pradesh. Bastar today is a division with five districts namely Bastar, Kanker, Dantewada, Narayanpur … Read more

“Woodsmoke and Leafcups”: A book that opens up the full joy of tribal life without romanticisation – Bastar

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

Tip | Search articles on tribal history, politics and literature on Ramachandra Guha’s website

We met adivasis who had been persecuted by the Naxalites, and other adivasis who had been tormented by the Salwa Judum vigilantes [i.e. “a strange, not to say bizarre, example of bipartisan co-operation“]. The situation of the community was poignantly captured by one tribal, who said […] “placed between the Maoists and the vigilantes, we … Read more