Order of the Supreme Court in the matter of Sugra Adiwasi & Others Vs Pathranand & Others dated 29/04/2025. The bench of Justice Pamidighantam Sri Narasimha and Justice Joymalya Bagchi directed the state of Madhya Pradesh as well as the central government through the the Ministries of Tribal Affairs and …
Year Vilalge/police station Description 1953 Pipra Five thousand santhals perfromed Gopikandar bitlaha on a boy and a girl for having illicit sexual relations. Both their houses were damaged 1956 Kharibari The police had to open fire at Maheshpur; 20,000 Santhals assembled to perform the bitlaha for sexual intercourse between a …
WHEN Ganga Murmu, a 5-month pregnant Santhal tribal of Bhangabandh village in West Bengal's Medinipur district, was raped in February by the son of the landlord in whose field she used to work, the members of her community decided to take the law into their own hands. Instead of going …
KISKI Suraksha is a film made by Shree Prakash, who spent several months watching and documenting a movement in progress. Netarhat is a small but pretty hill station in the Palamau district of Bihar. In and around Netarhat, there are several tribes that have long been declared close to extinction …
A GROUP of adivasis in Chattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, are confident that they will no longer be cheated by the patwari. Shedding centuries of mathematical ignorance, the tribals have grasped the concepts of the weights and measures, with the help of origami -- traditionally associated with creating beautiful figures by folding …
A FIERCE battle, albeit verbal, has broken out in the US between scientists and native Indians. The bone of contention is the remains of ancient Indians dating back to 800 BC, that lie in the Hall of Records, Annapolis, Maryland. The Indians want the bones of their ancestors back, so …
What have been the major sources of inspiration for your poetry? My experiences in my village. The school in which I studied was across the river from my village, and ferrying across was a normal thing, just as swimming was. Memories of the many moods of the river, the nights …
The Maldhari community of Saurashtra, reputed to be among the oldest inhabitants of this region, were traditionally livestock breeders, pastoral nomads roaming the wilds in search of the elusive green. This profile of the community exposes the havoc that environmental myths can wreak upon the lives of ordinary people. Pastoral …
MAYAN Indians are turning the tables on ranchers near Bachajon town in Mexico's Chiapas state. Just about 175 years after they were forced off their lands, the Indian supporters of the rebel Zapatista National Liberation Army have occupied more than 28,000 ha of their ancestral land around Bachajon. Cattle, food …
RAMPACHODAVARAM in the Eastern Ghats of the East Godavari district of Andhra Pradesh is where the Rampa Rebellion of 1879 started. Well-known in official circles as a punishment posting, these places have, of late, become challenging, especially for police personnel brought in to check growing Naxalite activities in the hills. …
INDIAN filmmakers have tackled the subject of Adivasis before, but the film under review this fortnight is the most ambitious in recent years. Tapan K Bose's Jharkhand was meant to be part of a trilogy, but the other two didn't get made because the filmmaker ran out of resources. Bose …
THE dismal state of aboriginal health has prompted both doctors and the government to make health care of the native Australians their top priority. Brendan Nelson, federal president of the Australian Medical Association (AMA), has said aboriginal health is the "number one public health problem in Australia". According to AMA, …
BRITAIN is having a hard time reconciling its business interests and its self-professed environmental concerns. Although the British firm GEC-Alsthom has supplied turbine generators for China's Daya Bay nuclear power station near Hong Kong, the British establishment has vociferously protested against the setting up of the plant. There are fears …
Why were you chosen as a trainee? I was interested because of the money I could earn. Over a period of six months, 15 other poor women like me were trained. Are all of them caretakers of handpumps? No, only nine of us were assigned pumps. We undertake repair works …
Tribals in Chhotanagpur, living in questionable safety around the 188 sq km Netarhat Firing Range, are preparing to launch a protest movement against the proposed acquisition of their land by the army's 23 Infantry Division. The acquisition would displace about 100,000 inhabitants and periodically uproot another 150,000 during actual test …
Nothing brings more discomfort to modern vice than a scuffing from elderly tradition. Tribal folk performers are now being used by state government-sponsored cultural troupes in rural Andhra Pradesh to campaign against alcoholism. The project was implemented following a statewide ban on the sale of arrack from October 1 last …
THE VILLAGERS of Gawandwadi in Maharashtra's Raigad district no longer fight over fish and water. Instead, they meet regularly to discuss strategies to share them. And, Dharmi Marohar Gavanda of the village, which is in Karjat tribal block, does not have to walk 3 km in the hot summer to …
Tribals in Nagarahole National Park in Karnataka are opposing a state government plan to relocate them within the park, claiming it would adversely affect their way of life. According to the plan, the 6,145 tribals living in 54 settlements spread over the park are to be relocated in a 2,000-ha …
FOR THE residents of San Cristobal de las Casas in Mexico's poverty stricken southern state of Chiapas, the New Year began with a bang. Just minutes into 1994 -- as locals and tourists ushered in the New Year with music and fireworks -- Uzi-toting, machete-wielding guerillas of the Zapatista National …
"WE WILL be back. The revolution will continue." Such was the graffiti left by the Zapatista National Liberation Army as they withdrew from San Cristobal de las Casas in the face of the Mexican army. The abortive uprising in Chiapas province indicates clearly that the poor and powerless even now …
THE CORDILLERA People's Alliance (CPA), a grouping of 120 indigenous people's organisations in northern Philippines, has called for a halt to the Human Genome Diversity Project. The project has been launched to collect blood samples, tissue and hair samples from endangered communities all over the world, to preserve biodiversity. However, …
