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 …
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, …
When the Karnataka government announced substantial reservation of seats for the "backward and the oppressed classes" in the state's panchayats in 1992, it was welcomed by most experts and analysts. They felt grassroots democracy in India would flourish if the weaker sections of society were guaranteed representation. However, when panchayat …
AFTER the reserved forests surrounding Bhimashankar, a pilgrim spot in Pune district, were converted in 1985 to what is now known as the Bhimashankar Wildlife Sanctuary (BWS), the 3,000 tribals living around it have been victims of animal terror. Wild boars, attacking in herds of upto 25, damage more crop …
SUNLIGHT has been used for thousands of years to heat or cool buildings. Originally a matter of mere survival, it has since become an expression of the human need to harness solar energy and create a better world for themselves. Historical records suggest the formidable powers of the sun, both …
A PROPOSED Australian law that allows aborigines to claim land has been criticised by the country's business community, which fears it could curb mining. The proposed native land-title legislation arose from a 1992 high court ruling that recognised the native title to land under the country's common law. The ruling, …
The recent death in police firing of 15-year-old Rahimat Punya Vasave, a tribal from Surung village in Dhule district in Maharashtra, created ripples of protest all the way to the Capital. Three other tribals were injured in the firing when villagers of Akrani taluk in Dhule district -- one of …
• Since the beginning of this century, about 75 per cent of the genetic diversity among agricultural crops has been lost. • In India, agronomists predict just ten rice varieties will soon cover three-quarters of the total rice-cultivating area in place of more than 30,000 varieties. • Rice, wheat and …
The sixth general meeting of the Indian Council of Indigenous and Tribal Peoples, which began in Delhi on November 15, sounded a strong warning in its inaugural session on the persisting trend of displacement of indigenous people in India. "The argument that this (displacement) is necessary for development has been …
ANYBODY reading the national media would have thought that environmental issues had precious little to do with the current round of elections in the states of Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Delhi. But the stories that our reporters have brought back show that nothing could be farther …
Elders of the Navajo tribe still recount the legend of how the Bear, a great medicine being (What on earth does this mean?), instructed them to use a forest root for treating parasites, stomach problems and infections. There is now growing scientific evidence that this and other legends are based …
INDIA'S conservation laws have become the scourge of local communities in and around national parks and sanctuaries. The restrictions governing these protected areas curtail the indigenous peoples' access to natural resources to the extent their very survival becomes threatened. On the other hand, several cases have come to light of …
IN THEIR quest for cultivable land, tribals have cleared more than 2,025 ha of virgin forest in the Hadgarh sanctuary in Orissa's Keonjhar district in less than two years. According to the Antyodaya Chetana Kendra (ACK), a voluntary organisation that has been working in the area for nearly a decade, …
A SCIENTIST employed with the Girijan Cooperative Corporation Ltd in Visakhapatnam, Y Durga Prasad, has isolated the world's first biological substance, which can bind with about 18 toxic metals, many of them found in industrial wastes. Significantly, the substance, found in the seeds of a nut (Strychnos potatorum) traditionally used …
DESPITE being warned about the pitiable plight of the Uru Eu Wau Wau Indians in northwest Brazil, the World Bank (WB) did not stop to consider the effect on the tribals of a road construction project it was financing in the region. And now, unfortunately, the warnings are coming true. …
Shifting cultivation has been criticised as unscientific and blamed for the environmental problems in the hills. Do you agree? On the contrary, shifting agriculture is a fine example of how a production system can be adapted to an ecological niche. Very often shifting cultivation is talked about as a single …
