Successful citizen journalism by tribals using their mobile phones – Chhattisgarh

V. Kumara Swamy, The Telegraph, Calcutta, Sunday, May 30 , 2010Bhan Sahu has a question for Bill Gates. She has heard about the Microsoft co-founder’s philanthropic activities and wants to know if mobile communication, like email, can be free. The question has been forwarded to Gates. Meanwhile, the 38-year-old social activist in Chhattisgarh is busy … Read more

Voices from the forest: poetry inspired by the Irula way of life – Tamil Nadu

 On first sight, says Lakshmanan, he was appalled at their condition. “They had nothing. The education and health conditions of the people were very bad. They had no community certificates,” he says. Lakshmanan left with a heavy heart, only to come back again and again. He accompanied members of the Tamil Nadu Pazhankudi Makkal Sangam, … Read more

Making rat catching an art form: the Irula and Korava – Tamil Nadu

JANAKI LENIN, The Hindu, December 14, 2012 […] The people who make rat catching an art form are the tribal people living in these parts, the Irula and Korava. Parrys’ is one of the busiest and most congested parts of Chennai city. At night, the Korava prowl through the empty alleys, watched suspiciously by packs of … Read more

Collaborative lifestyle, women’s inheritance have contributed to our uniqueness as humans – Tamil Nadu

 Should I stay or should I go? JANAKI LENIN, The Hindu, October 26, 2012 […] Traditionally, women of these communities — the Nair and Mappila of Kerala, the Khasi and Garo of Meghalaya, and the Nicobarese of the Nicobar Islands — stay at their parents’ home and inherit property. S. Anvar, a chronicler of South Indian … Read more