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| Apr 22, 2007 |
Jharkhand tribals play ghost to attain tantrik power
April 22 - Dressed colourfully, their faces masked, the tribals play ghost and beat drums to appease Lord Shiva for acquiring the powers of tantra. It is celebration time in tribal Jharkhand.
The Tamar block and nearby villages inhabited by thousands of tribals are all geared up to celebrate the Koka festival that continues for three months. Tamar is 70 km from Ranchi.
The revelry begins after Holi, the festival of colours, and ends with the arrival of monsoons. The tribals celebrate Koka festival for attaining tantrik powers.
The people invoke Lord Shiva, who is considered as the master capable of bestowing tantrik power. Koka festival is also known Chaitra Parav or Bhokta Parav.
'There is a belief that Lord Shiva likes ghosts, trees and snakes, some of which are disliked by most. So we try to appease Shiva by faking as ghosts and invoking him to get tantrik powers,' said Sohan Lal Rai, a tribal.
The festival is gradually grabbing the attention of other communities too. The Mahtos, a backward caste, also participate and celebrate the festival.
'People from our caste are also celebrating the festival. There is strong feeling among the Koka celebrating people that if anyone wants anything and invokes Shiva, the wish will be fulfilled. The only condition is to remain like a ghost for a certain period of time,' said Ramthal Mahto.
The participants first take a dip in the river and then dress themselves as ghosts. A procession is taken to the temple of Shiva in the village with the beating of drums, songs, dance and chanting of hymns. In the temple, the priests perform the rituals.
The people celebrate the festival for other favours too.
'Some people celebrate to get good health, wealth and other things. Some pray for good crops. If a person's wish is fulfilled, then he vows before Lord Shiva to become a ghost for three to five years,' said Baitkunth Rai, another tribal.
It is believed that the festival started some 1,000 years ago, said V.S. Uppadhay, a retired professor of anthropology in Ranchi University.
http://www.rxpgnews.com/india/Jharkhand-tribals-play-ghost-to-attain-tantrik-power_
24810.shtml
No literate adult among 26 per cent rural families
At least 26 per cent of rural families in India and eight per cent of urban families have no literate member over the age of 15, says a National Sample Survey Organisation (NSSO) report.
The report - the third of a seven-part series based on employment-unemployment data of the NSS' 61'st round - says that in almost 50 per cent of rural families there is still no literate woman above the age of 15. This figure is naturally smaller in urban families, says the survey, placing female illiteracy above the age of 15 at 20 per cent.
Of the people surveyed, 73 per cent belonged to rural India, accounting for 75 per cent of the total population covered by the organisation. The literacy rate was 64 per cent during 2004-05, the report says, adding that it was 55 percent in rural areas and 75 percent in urban.
Sixty-four per cent of rural males and 45 per cent of rural females are literate. The literacy rates among their urban counterparts were much higher at 81 per cent and 69 per cent, respectively, said the report.
The highest incidence of illiteracy among those above the age of 15 is rural Bihar with records showing 38 per cent and the lowest is Kerala, recording only three per cent.
In urban areas, too, Kerala leads in literacy, with only one per cent of the state's population above the age of 15 turning out to be illiterate. Literacy is marginally higher among urban Biharis than urban Rajasthanis, with 16 percent illiteracy in Rajasthan cities as against 15 percent in Bihar towns. West Bengal stands marginally better at 14 per cent.
The proportion of non-literates was highest in the bottom monthly per capita expenditure (MPCE) class and it decreased gradually as the MPCE increased; this proportion was largely similar in rural and urban areas.
The literacy report, which provides statistics on literacy, attainment of general and technical education, current attendance in educational institutions, covers all of India except parts of Jammu and Kashmir, and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands that remained inaccessible through the year.
The level of literacy in Jammu and Kashmir is adequately high and the situation in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands is also better than most other states, said government sources.
http://www.hindustantimes.com/storypage/storypage.aspx?id=67049cca-0141-401c-a987
-e5be023229ca&ParentID=5bbb796b-3bda-48ae-84d5-d02a61f90409 &
Rag me, but don't Tag me
No one can deny that I am an extremely sociable being. I might be surly to a colleague on occasion. I may not meet up with friends for months. My extended family may have serious complaints about quantity time. But none of these lapses is caused by a congenital reluctance to be congenial. God promise!
In fact, I'm ready and willing whenever able to give time even to the local society for more dahlias or more dustbins, I natter with my Bihari ironing man, Gujarati milkman, Maharashtrian bai and Bengali fishmonger with dubious fluency but unflagging enthusiasm. I have even kept up a 10-minute banter from my window with a new neighbour before realising that my co-conversationist was their African cockatoo. Yes, I am an extravagant extrovert at the best of times. But these are the worst of times.
Net-net, I have turned into a bigger people-hater than Jonathan Swift, who infamously described mankind as "the most pernicious race of little odious vermin that nature ever suffered to crawl upon the surface of the earth". The trigger for my recent lapse into Antisocial Boor Syndrome is someone called Mohan who has 'Tagged' me.
I know the social networking site, Orkut, did great service for all the old friends needing to post messages for young Minal Panchal who died such a random death at Virginia Tech, but that's exceptional. 'Tagged' is the latest wave of this unstoppable invasion. I resisted being LinkedIn; i didn't Ryze to that earlier bait. Now I'm being stalked by this new Radar of the Lost Ark. All these people uploading my friendship are not even as amusing as those 'exiled aristocrats' offering to offload their fortunes on me.
Excuse me, I don't want to be tagged by Mohan. Or Sohan. Even Rohan. I don't want to amble over to his Inbox, and, over a cosy cookie, divulge to him my cell number, landline number, and birthday. There's nothing i can do to protect my email id because he has already laid his grubby paws on it, and invaded my space that's spelt with two separate words, both of them in small letters. The branded MySpace is an earlier atrocity from the same monster-pool as Tagged.
Who is this Mohan-Shohan, I'd like to know, and what makes him think i'd like to know-show him? Without a perfunctory 'please', let alone permission asked for in triplicate, he has 'added' me 'as a friend on Tagged'. And cheekily asked me to 'Respond or Mohan will think you said No. :('. I've learnt the basic rule of m@il talk: never click on unknown squares because you never know what Pandora's box you might enter.
Do me a favour, Mohan-whatever-you-are. Please don't 'add' me, please subtract me. Using the native lingo of your tribe, let me tell you vocally, unequivocally and ungrammatically, 'Please unsubscribe me'. Really, getting a cyber proposition for friendship is the equivalent of some tapori sidling up with a cocky "Aati kya Khandala?" Next, Mohan & Co will drawl out: "Clickenge, mailenge, chat karenge. Aur kya?"
Geeks! It's scary! First we insist on locking ourselves away from our real friends, and then we desperately seek out the company of virtual strangers. Every real-time culture boasts a philosophy of the great human bond, that every one is part of one huge interconnected family. But connectivity has distorted this reality. Vasudev kutumbakam has turned into some rag-Tag 'kutumbunkum'.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Rag_me_but_dont_Tag_me/articleshow/1935813.cms
Sen`s trust examines anganwadis
REALITY CHECK: The Pratichi Trust is studying facilities under the Centre's Integrated Child Development Services.
Pratichi (India) Trust, set up by Nobel laureate Amartya Sen, is bringing under the microscope the state of children under six through a study of the anganwadis in six districts of West Bengal.
The trust, run with funds from Sen's Nobel Prize money and central grants (undisclosed), has been conducting studies on health and education since 1998 and is all set to come out with its first report on anganwadis and the facilities available under the centrally-sponsored Integrated Child Development Services.
The ICDS is the only government-run service to provide nutrition and immunisation for children below six years. A report on children below the age of six done by volunteers across many states under the guidance of economist Jean Dreze was released by Sen last year. The report had found that the anganwadis run under the ICDS were in a very bad condition in many states.
The report had come last year just before the Supreme Court ruling that asked the central government to have an anganwadi under the ICDS in every human habitation.
The study of anganwadis is being done in six selected districts of Jalpaiguri, Dinajpur (South), Murshidabad, Bardhaman, Bankura and 24 Parganas (South), which represent the range of geographical variation in the state.
"As the ICDS holds the key to ensuring good health for mothers and children up to the age of six, we felt evaluating its status and role was important. The findings will be on the basis of a survey of close to 300 households and should be ready in another eight months," Kumar Rana, senior research associate, Pratichi Research Team, said.
The preliminary field visits have been completed in four out of six districts chosen for the ICDS study — Bardhaman, Bankura, Jalpaiguri and 24 Parganas (South).
The Pratichi team's method of investigation is through studying a small number of institutions, going beyond readily provided data, and include both directly observed ground realities and findings based on extensive interviews and conversations.
The trust had recently released its findings on primary education, which said mid-day meals had improved attendance of children in schools from 50 per cent in the past to 75 cent now.
Set up in 1998, the research team has conducted studies in the field of primary education in six districts of West Bengal, a comparative health study involving Dumka (Jharkhand) and Birbhum (West Bengal), a comparative study of private and government schools in Birbhum (West Bengal), various types of government primary schools in Kolkata, and self-help groups in Birbhum and Cooch Behar
http://www.business-standard.com/common/storypage.php?autono=282112&leftnm=
3&subLeft=0&chkFlg =
Orissa to reduce govt job quotas
BHUBANESWAR, April 22: In the midst of a row over the Centre's move for quota in elite educational institutions, Orissa government today said it is contemplating to bring a bill in the next session of the assembly aiming to reduce reservation percentage for OBC candidates in government jobs.
Official sources today said the reservation for the OBC candidates could be reduced to 11 per cent from 27 per cent. The OBC candidates were getting 27 per cent reservation in jobs since December 1994. Nearly 65 per cent of seats were now kept reserved for different categories of candidates in government jobs.
''This is to contain the total ratio of reservation within 50 per cent in accordance with the Supreme Court interim order and a recent Orissa High Court judgement in this regard,'' Scheduled Tribe and Scheduled Caste development, minorities and backward class welfare minister Mr CP Majhi said.
He, however, said that there would be no change in the ratio of reservation for the ST and SC candidates in government jobs. While 22.5 per cent of seats were reserved for ST candidates, 16.25 per cent of seats remained reserved for the SC candidates.
''The ST and SC candidates would enjoy the reservation facilities as earlier,'' he said. ''We have no other option than reducing the reservation ratio for the OBC candidates. We cannot compromise with the interest of ST and SC candidates who are economically backward,'' said a senior official. The sources also said the government had also decided to implement reservation in contractual jobs. The government's move has irked a number of ruling party MLAs who held a meeting this evening to discuss the course of action if the government tables such a bill.
''We strongly oppose the government's move because reducing the quota for the OBC candidates would have a cascading effect on the society,'' said BJD MLA and former minister Mr Ranendra Pratap Swain. Sources said the OBC MLAs from different parties have been discussing the issue to chalk out strategies on how to meet the situation if the government tables such a bill in the Assembly.
http://www.thestatesman.net/page.news.php?clid=2&theme=&usrsess=1&id=154318
Chhattisgarh counts its elusive tigers
Raipur, Apr 21(ANI): Wildlife experts fanned out across the Achanakmar-Amarkanthak Biosphere Reserve in Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh on Saturday for a tiger headcount.
Alarmed by reports of large-scale poaching in tiger sanctuaries, around 100 officials used speedboats or walked through creeks looking for tell-tale footprints, or pugmarks, in the famous biosphere reserve.
"We have been to all the water holes for the census and have marked the pug marks and other markings based on other information provided by the villagers, the excreta etc," said D.N.Tripathi, a ranger.
"The work has not been compiled, but after collection of data, we will be able to know the exact number of tigers present here. So far, we have received reports of 10-12 tigers present here," Tripathi added.
Conservationists, who have been highly critical of the Government's efforts to protect tiger, have expressed reservations about the accuracy of the pugmark system. They say that the in the past, the method has masked the tigers dwindling numbers in the country's national parks.
Last year, the government was criticized after reports said that the entire tiger population, (18) at the Sariska Tiger Reserve, one of the nation's most prized reserves, had been killed by poachers and that the tiger population was falling rapidly.
In response, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh formed a Special Task Force to suggest ways to protect tigers.
The latest tiger census will use specially designed computer programmes, camera traps and radio-callers tracked through satellite to avoid any duplication in recording pugmarks.
A century ago, there were about 40,000 tigers in the country but now the official estimate is around 3,700.
Some environmental groups say the number could be as low as 2,000. Tigers are killed for their organs and bones, which are used in increasingly popular traditional Chinese medicine and can fetch up to 50,000 dollars in the black market.
http://www.dailyindia.com/show/135356.php/Chhattisgarh-counts-its-elusive-tigers
IIM admissions: SC/ STs hurt, OBCs wait
The human resources development ministry seems to have violated the Supreme Court interim order of March 29 that explicitly said the stay on admissions in the Indian institutes of management (IIMs) did not apply to reservations for scheduled caste (SC) and scheduled tribe (ST) candidates.
The ministry had, on late Thursday evening, directed all IIMs to put on hold admissions till further notice. Highly placed sources in the six IIMs told FE that the HRD ministry was giving conflicting signals and blamed it for the "lopsided interpretation of the Supreme Court interim order".
The interim order said, "It would be desirable to keep on hold the operation of the Central Educational Institutions (Reservation in Admission) Act, 2006, so far as it relates to Section 6 thereof of the other backward classes (OBC) category only. We make it clear that we are not staying the operation of the statute, particularly, Section 6, so far as the SC and ST candidates are concerned."
This clearly means that admissions for SC/ST candidates should not be put on hold even if the impasse over the OBC quota is not resolved.
Of the 1,350 seats for the two-year post-graduate programme at the six IIMs, nearly 300 are earmarked for SC/STs. On the other hand, the number of seats being created for OBC students in the current year as part of the first phase of quota implementation would be a mere 90-100.
Future Tense
• Late on Thursday, HRD ministry directed all IIMs to put on hold admissions till further notice
• IIMs feel the ministry was giving conflicting signals; blamed it for a lopsided interpretation of SC order
• The interim order clearly states that admissions for SC/ST students should not be put on hold
"By holding back the lists pending the court's final judgment, not only are the general category students affected but the interests of SC/ST students are being harmed as well," said an IIM chief.
"The ministry seems to be interpreting the court order to suit its own OBC agenda. It is obvious there is a discrimination between backward classes with a clear tilt towards OBCs at the moment," noted an IIM faculty member. "This being the case, how can the ministry expect us to toe its line and hold back our admission lists when it is not following the Supreme Court interim order in letter and spirit itself," asked another IIM faculty member..
http://www.financialexpress.com/fe_full_story.php?content_id=161983
Adivasi Contributions to Indian Culture & Civilization
Adivasi traditions and practices pervade all aspects of Indian culture and civilization, yet this awareness is often lacking in popular consciousness, and the extent and import of Adivasi contributions to Indian philosophy, language and custom have often gone unrecognized, or been underrated by historians and social scientists.
Although popular myths about Buddhism have obscured the original source and inspiration for it's humanist doctrine, it is to India's ancient tribal (or Adivasi) societies that Gautam Buddha looked for a model for the kind of society he wished to advocate. Repulsed by how greed for private property was instrumental in causing poverty, social exploitation and unending warfare - he saw hope for human society in the tribal republics that had not yet come under the sway of authoritarian rule and caste discrimination. The early Buddhist Sanghas were modelled on the tribal pattern of social interaction that stressed gender equality, and respect for all members. Members of the Sanghas sought to emulate their egalitarian outlook and democratic functioning
At that time, the tribal republics retained many aspects of social equality that can still be found in some Adivasi societies that have somehow escaped the ill-effects of commercial plunder and exploitation. Adivasi society was built on a foundation of equality with respect for all life forms including plants and trees. There was a deep recognition of mutual dependence in nature and human society. People were given respect and status according to their contribution to social needs but only while they were performing that particular function. A priest could be treated with great respect during a religious ceremony or a doctor revered during a medical consultation, but once such duties had been performed, the priest or doctor became equal to everyone else. The possession of highly valued skills or knowledge did not lead to a permanent rise in status. This meant that no individual or small group could engage in overlordship of any kind, or enjoy hereditary rights.
Such a value-system was sustainable as long as the Adivasi community was non-acquisitive and all the products of society were shared. Although division of labor did take place, the work of society was performed on a cooperative and co-equal basis - without prejudice or disrespect for any form of work.
It was the simplicity, the love of nature, the absence of coveting the goods and wealth of others, and the social harmony of tribal society that attracted Gautam Buddha, and had a profound impact on the ethical core of his teachings.
(To this day, sharing is a vital and integral part of the philosophy of the Mullakurumba Adivasis of South India. When the Mullakurumbas go hunting a share is given to every family in the village, even those who may be absent, sick or cannot participate for any other reason. An extra portion is added for any guest in the village and even a non-tribal passersby will be offered a share. Not sharing is something they find difficult to comprehend.)
Nevertheless, tribal societies were under constant pressure as the money economy grew and made traditional forms of barter less difficult to sustain. In matters of trade, the Adivasis followed a highly evolved system of honour. All agreements that they entered into were honoured, often the entire tribe chipping in to honor an agreement made by an individual member of the tribe. Individual dishonesty or deceit were punished severely by the tribe. An individual who acted in a manner that violated the honor of the tribe faced potential banishment and family members lost the right to participate in community events during the period of punishment. But often, tribal integrity was undermined because the non-tribals who traded with the Adivasis reneged on their promises and took advantage of the sincerity and honesty of most members of the tribe.
Tribal societies came under stress due to several factors. The extension of commerce, military incursions on tribal land, and the resettling of Brahmins amidst tribal populations had an impact, as did ideological coercion or persuasion to attract key members of the tribe into "mainstream" Hindu society. This led to many tribal communities becoming integrated into Hindu society as jatis (or castes) while others who resisted were pushed into the hilly or forested areas, or remote tracks that had not yet been settled. In the worst case, defeated Adivasi tribes were pushed to the margins of settled society and became discriminated as outcastes and "untouchables".
But spontaneous differentiation within tribal societies also took place over time, which propelled these now unequal tribal communities into integrating into Hindu society without external violence or coercion. In Central India, ruling dynasties emerged from within the ranks of tribal society.
In any case, the end result was that throughout India, tribal deities and customs, creation myths and a variety of religious rites and ceremonies came to absorbed into the broad stream of "Hindu" society. In the Adivasi traditions, ancestor worship, worship of fertility gods and goddesses (as well as male and female fertility symbols), totemic worship - all played a role. And they all found their way into the practice of what is now considered Hinduism. The widespread Indian practice of keeping 'vratas', i.e. fasting for wish-fulfillment or moral cleansing also has Adivasi origins
Mahashweta Devi has shown that both Shiva and Kali have tribal origins as do Krishna and Ganesh. In the 8th century, the tribal forest goddess or harvest goddess was absorbed and adapted as Siva's wife. Ganesh owes it's origins to a powerful tribe of elephant trainers whose incorporation into Hindu society was achieved through the deification of their elephant totem. In his study of Brahmin lineages in Maharashtra, Kosambi points to how many Brahmin gotras (such as Kashyapa) arose from tribal totems such as Kachhapa (tortoise). In Rajasthan, Rajput rulers recognised the Adivasi Bhil chiefs as allies and Bhils acquired a central role in some Rajput coronation ceremonies.
India's regional languages such as Oriya, Marathi or Bengali developed as a result of the fusion of tribal languages with Sanskrit or Pali and virtually all the Indian languages have incorporated words from the vocabulary of Adivasi languages.
Adivasis who developed an intimate knowledge of various plants and their medicinal uses played an invaluable role in the development of Ayurvedic medicines. In a recent study, the All India Coordinated Research Project credits Adivasi communities with the knowledge of 9000 plant species - 7500 used for human healing and veterinary health care. Dental care products like datun, roots and condiments like turmeric used in cooking and ointments are also Adivasi discoveries, as are many fruit trees and vines. Ayurvedic cures for arthritis and night blindness owe their origin to Adivasi knowledge.
Adivasis also played an important role in the development of agricultural practices - such as rotational cropping, fertility maintenance through alternating the cultivation of grains with leaving land fallow or using it for pasture. Adivasis of Orissa were instrumental in developing a variety of strains of rice.
Adivasi musical instruments such as the bansuri (flute) and dhol (drum), folk-tales, dances and seasonal celebrations also found their way into Indian traditions as did their art and metallurgical skills.
In India's central belt, Adivasi communities rose to considerable prominence and developed their own ruling clans. The earliest Gond kingdom appears to date from the 10th C and the Gond Rajas were able to maintain a relatively independent existence until the 18th C., although they were compelled to offer nominal allegiance to the Mughal empire. The Garha-Mandla kingdom in the north extended control over most of the upper Narmada valley and the adjacent forest areas. The Deogarh-Nagpur kingdom dominated much of the upper Wainganga valley, while Chanda-Sirpur in the south consisted of territory around Wardha and the confluences of the Wainganga with the Penganga.
Jabalpur was one of the major centers of the Garha-Mandla kingdom and like other major dynastic capitals had a large fort and palace. Temples and palaces with extremely fine carvings and erotic sculptures came up throughout the Gond kingdoms. The Gond ruling clans enjoyed close ties with the Chandella ruling clans and both dynasties attempted to maintain their independence from Mughal rule through tactical alliances. Rani Durgavati of Jabalpur (of Chandella-Gond heritage) acquired a reputation of legendary proportions when she died in battle defending against Mughal incursions. The city of Nagpur was founded by a Gond Raja in the early 18th century.
Adivasis and the Freedom Movement
As soon as the British took over Eastern India tribal revolts broke out to challenge alien rule. In the early years of colonization, no other community in India offered such heroic resistance to British rule or faced such tragic consequences as did the numerous Adivasi communities of now Jharkhand, Chhatisgarh, Orissa and Bengal. In 1772, the Paharia revolt broke out which was followed by a five year uprising led by Tilka Manjhi who was hanged in Bhagalpur in 1785. The Tamar and Munda revolts followed. In the next two decades, revolts took place in Singhbhum, Gumla, Birbhum, Bankura, Manbhoom and Palamau, followed by the great Kol Risings of 1832 and the Khewar and Bhumij revolts (1832-34). In 1855, the Santhals waged war against the permanent settlement of Lord Cornwallis, and a year later, numerous adivasi leaders played key roles in the 1857 war of independence.
But the defeat of 1858 only intensified British exploitation of national wealth and resources. A forest regulation passed in 1865 empowered the British government to declare any land covered with trees or brushwood as government forest and to make rules to manage it under terms of it's own choosing. The act made no provision regarding the rights of the Adivasi users. A more comprehensive Indian Forest Act was passed in 1878, which imposed severe restrictions upon Adivasi rights over forest land and produce in the protected and reserved forests. The act radically changed the nature of the traditional common property of the Adivasi communities and made it state property.
As punishment for Adivasi resistance to British rule, "The Criminal Tribes Act" was passed by the British Government in 1871 arbitrarily stigmatizing groups such as the Adivasis (who were perceived as most hostile to British interests) as congenital criminals.
Adivasi uprisings in the Jharkhand belt were quelled by the British through massive deployment of troops across the region. The Kherwar uprising and the Birsa Munda movement were the most important of the late-18th century struggles against British rule and their local agents. The long struggle led by Birsa Munda was directed at British policies that allowed the zamindars (landowners) and money-lenders to harshly exploit the Adivasis. In 1914 Jatra Oraon started what is called the Tana Movement (which drew the participation of over 25,500 Adivasis). The Tana movement joined the nation-wide Satyagrah Movement in 1920 and stopped the payment of land-taxes to the colonial Government.
During British rule, several revolts also took place in Orissa which naturally drew participation from the Adivasis. The significant ones included the Paik Rebellion of 1817, the Ghumsar uprisings of 1836-1856, and the Sambhalpur revolt of 1857-1864.
In the hill tribal tracts of Andhra Pradesh a revolt broke out in August 1922. Led by Alluri Ramachandra Raju (better known as Sitarama Raju), the Adivasis of the Andhra hills succeeded in drawing the British into a full-scale guerrilla war. Unable to cope, the British brought in the Malabar Special Force to crush it and only prevailed when Alluri Raju died.
As the freedom movement widened, it drew Adivasis into all aspects of the struggle. Many landless and deeply oppressed Adivasis joined in with upper-caste freedom fighters expecting that the defeat of the British would usher in a new democratic era.
Unfortunately, even fifty years after independence, Dalits and Adivasis have benefited least from the advent of freedom. Although independence has brought widespread gains for the vast majority of the Indian population, Dalits and Adivasis have often been left out, and new problems have arisen for the nation's Adivasi populations. With the tripling of the population since 1947, pressures on land resources, especially demands on forested tracks, mines and water resources have played havoc on the lives of the Adivasis. A disproportionate number of Adivasis have been displaced from their traditional lands while many have seen access to traditional resources undercut by forest mafias and corrupt officials who have signed irregular commercial leases that conflict with rights granted to the Adivasis by the Indian constitution.
It remains to be seen if the the grant of statehood for Jharkhand and Chhatisgarh ameliorates the conditions for India's Adivasis. However, it is imperative that all Adivasi districts receive special attention from the Central government in terms of investment in schools, research institutes, participatory forest management and preservation schemes, non-polluting industries, and opportunities for the Adivasi communities to document and preserve their rich heritage. Adivasis must have special access to educational, cultural and economic opportunities so as to reverse the effects of colonization and earlier injustices experienced by the Adivasi communities.
At the same time, the country can learn much from the beauty of Adivasi social practices, their culture of sharing and respect for all - their deep humility and love of nature - and most of all - their deep devotion to social equality and civic harmony.
Notes
Abhishek Sheetal from the Munda tribe in Jharkhand wrote to us emphasizing how traditionally tribal societies valued gender equality, respect for nature and equality of all trades. This Munda fable is particularly illustrative:
There was a king who lost a war with Munda tribals. He sent a messenger to the king of Mundas. The messenger looked around but could not find the king or his palace. He asked one farmer as to where to find the king. The farmer replied, "He was here a while ago, let me see (he looks around)....Oh there he is (pointing to a man plowing his fields with his bullocks)... He is working there."
References:
1. What is Living and What is Dead in Indian Philosophy - Debiprasad Chattopadhyaya
1b. Stcherbasky: Buddhist Logic (New York, 1962), Papers of Stcherbasky - (Calcutta - 1969,71)
2. The Indian Historical Review, Vol. 16:1,2 Baidyanath Saraswati's review of P.K Maity, Folk-Rituals of Eastern India
3. Bulletins of the ICHR (Indian Council of Historical Research)
4. Studies in the History of Science in India (Edited by Debiprasad Chattopadhyaya)
5. Adivasi: A symbiotic Bond - Mari and Stan Thekaekara (Hindu Folio, July 16, 2000)
Note: The term Adivasi has been used broadly to represent those classified as Scheduled Tribe under the Indian constitution. Roughly speaking, the term translates as aboriginal or native people (or native dwellers).
Some Dalit activists now prefer to also be characterized as Adivasis. Others seek to bring all of India's oppressed groupings under the 'Bahujan Samaj' umbrella. While the term Harijan is largely out of favour, there are some who simply identify with the government designated terms ST (scheduled tribe) and SC (scheduled caste).
Although, districts with large Adivasi populations are to be found almost throughout India, the majority of India's Adivasis hail from Jharkhand, Chhatisgarh and Orissa. Tripura, Arunachal, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram and Nagaland also have large Adivasi populations. There are also districts in Assam, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Andhra and Tamil Nadu with sizeable Adivasi populations
http://india_resource.tripod.com/adivasi.html
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