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 …
EIGHTEEN months after the Pinatubo erupted, much of the landscape in the Zambales, Pampanga and Tarlac provinces is blanketed by what looks like slurry, but is in fact volcanic sediment deposited by lahars -- thick, flowing mixtures of volcanic material and water. Lahars carry much more sediment than the muddiest …
NORMAL life in the Philippines is often disrupted by nature -- typhoons andoccasionallyvolcanic eruptions. The archipelago of more than 70islands is struck by typhoons several times each yearmainly between June and December. These storms can cause extensive damage and in some yearsup to 25 typhoons hit the country. Volcanoes are …
TRIBALS from 23 villages in Udaipur district, citing the potential displacement of 12,000 people, are gearing up for protracted battle with the government to scrap the proposed Manasi Wakal dam, intended to supply drinking water to Udaipur. The villagers allege the project, in fact, was conceived to meet the massive …
Seeking to regain its political base among the tribals in western Madhya Pradesh, the Bharatiya Janata Party has switched from championing the World Bank-funded Narmada dam -- its policy when it was in power -- and now wants the project to be reviewed. Party secretary Govindacharya, who recently inspected rehabilitation …
THE PRISTINE woods of the Biligirirangan Hills in Mysore district, a reserved forest, are marred by denudation that has left only a few eucalyptus and silver oak patches on the lower slopes. The destruction by contractors has wrought havoc on the Soliga tribals, who have lived in Biligirirangam for centuries. …
WHEN GUJJAR Zahur Hussain got into a trifling argument with a forestry official who was on his way to a temple in the Rajaji National Park, little did he expect what followed. That evening the official -- a deputy director of the park -- came to Hussain's hut accompanied by …
TO ENSURE poorer Indians may not wind up lining the gowns of unscrupulous lawyers, the Free Legal Aid Scheme was introduced in 1980 by the Union government. Since then, many voluntary agencies have complained of the extremely tardy implementation of the scheme, meant to benefit those with an annual family …
INTO THE HEART is an apt title for the autobiography of anthropologist Kenneth Good and the ethnography of the Yanomama Indians rolled into one, and for a romantic book that journeys into the heart of the unexplored Venezuelan jungle. When Good set off to study the Hasupuweteri Yanomama, he had …
ALL OVER the country, there are tensions around national parks and sanctuaries. People living in and around these forests see them as the last remaining sources of biomass and depend on them heavily to meet their fuel and fodder needs. Grazing and other regulations imposed by wildlife managers have cut …
WE WERE a group of college students on our way up to Kaza in the Spiti valley in Himachal Pradesh, and the large flocks of sheep that greeted us on our way were our first introduction to the world of the Gaddis. According to anthropological studies, the Gaddis are an …
THE WILDLIFE Protection Act of 1972 made illegal the traditional occupation of the Irula tribals of Tamil Nadu. Consequently, the tribals who specialised in catching snakes, rats and termites and in collecting medicinal herbs, took up agricultural labour and road laying -- jobs that could not sustain them through the …
THERE can be no sharper indictment of the government's attempts to protect the environment than this: After 20 years of spending money and effort, Project Tiger is in shambles. Experts say the fate of tigers in India may be worse than when this much-flaunted conservation bid was launched. Some even …
The public humiliation of B D Sharma, social activist and former Commissioner of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, has stirred up a hornet's nest. "It has come as a shock to all of us... But what else can you expect from the fascist regime of (Madhya Pradesh chief minister) Sunderlal …
"WE WILL stop all traffic on the Dehra Dun highway if our demands are not met by December 5," roared a crowd of more than 1,000 Gujjars and ban (rope) workers on November 5 at Mohand, 20 km from Dehra Dun, outside the Rajaji National Park (RNP). When the migrant …
ON AUGUST 9 the nation was observing the golden anniversary of the "Quit India" movement; that day, in Neralakuppe (A), a settlement of 40 Jainu-Kuruba households near the Nagarhole sanctuary in Karnataka, a different drama took place -- all the villagers fled to the jungle in fear. They were frightened …
I WONDER how many people know that practically none of the country's forest departments has any women field staff? A few women have got into the Indian Forest Service by passing the all- India entrance tests, but they belong to the elite officer cadre, and do not ordinarily interact with …
TRIALS conducted in Pali, Rajasthan, indicate, that the ramkathi babul (Acacia nilolica, variety cupressiformis), indigenous to Andhra Pradesh arid Maharashtra, is an appropriate agroforestry species in and areas, according to a report in Indian Farming. (Vol 4 1 No. 11) The tree rp-sprouts when cut provides nutritious fodder and tough …
Susana Devalle's monograph, with culture and protest in Jharkhand as the backdrop and not the main focus, is a welcome departure from run-of-the-mill accounts of ethnic movements. Her attempt to conceptualise ethnicity is a rough journey, full of pitfalls, not all of which she escapes. In the realm of ideas …
BETWEEN the radical and the official view of socio-economic developments, there is a middle ground of development ideology that does not readily find a voice on television. Catalysts for Change is one such series, made by the Centre for the Development of Instructional Technology (CENDIT). It was intended for Doordarshan, …
