Lock & hold

The jallikattu bull row in Tamil Nadu provokes the law v culture debate

Andaman isles should've been given indigenous names: Anvita Abbi

Prominent linguist and expert on Andamanese languages says the Ross, Neil and Havelock islands should have been given names from the Great …

Indigenous and tribal groups worry about loss of religious ethos over Uniform Civil Code

These communities worry the UCC will infringe on their constitutionally protected sociocultural practices and customary laws

IFR review: Here are some possible repercussions of rejecting reviewed forest right claims

Some 1.688 million people, whose claims have been re-rejected, face threat of eviction and food security

Displaced by settlers: Tribal communities in Kerala’s Attappady block are being alienated from their land

Laws in place to protect their rights, but no means to enforce it

Hunters are invited

At Pakke Tiger Reserve, NANDINI VELHO learns how a hunting tribe can be partner in conservation

Chhattisgarh sticks to its stand that governors have no discretionary powers in tribal matters

State response to Supreme Court ignores more recent apex court judgements and former attorney general's opinion on powers of governors under the …

SC vacates Madras HC order staying issue of pattas to forest dwellers

The Madras High Court had passed an interim order in April 2008 staying the issue of pattas in Tamil Nadu without its permission

Jungle story

How the world's first human-made forest is being sustained by an indigenous community in Assam despite a range of threats

Supreme Court bans tourism in Jarawa reserve

Turns down plea of Andaman administration to allow limited tourism and small government guest houses in buffer zone

Are the indigenous people of Andaman and Nicobar contracting COVID-19

Jarawas also very vulnerable; experts say administrative failure to blame for tribals getting infected

West Bengal: Illegal acquisition of forest land for Turga and Bandu Pump Storage Projects, claim tribal residents

Gram Sabha consent not taken for transferring the land, says forum for tribal communities

The land betrayal

Attappady's tribals have been alienated from their land by settlers as well as the government. This is the root cause of their poor health status …

New index for measuring backwardness of states soon

Composite development index to include criteria such as health and literacy, which are not included in the present backwardness indicators

We need conservation frameworks that empower, incorporate forest dwelling communities

The history of Project Tiger, which completed 50 years this year, reveals systemic exclusion of oppressed caste forest-dwelling communities

Early breastfeeding practices in India: Backwardness cuts through social spectrum

Children born in Goa (75.4 per cent) had the highest rate of early breastfeeding in the country, followed by Sikkim (69.7 per cent) and Odisha (68.…

How many Indians are pastoralists? No official data, but report says 13 mln

A figure of 35 million is often quoted, but without a source, claims report  

Women in Odisha village take charge to fast track community forest rights

This isn’t the first time women have come together to not only protect forests, but also voice their demand for recognition of the Forest …

Tourism to be prohibited in Jarawa reserve

Cabinet approves regulation declaring five km reserved area inhabited by the aboriginal tribe as buffer zone

Making slow headway

Hurdles in the way of a buffer zone in Arunachal tiger reserve

A lame duck Schedule of the Constitution

The true potential of the Fifth Schedule was diluted right at its conception

Centre reverses stand on governor's powers under Fifth Schedule

Assistant solicitor general's affidavit says the constitutional head of state has no discretionary powers over functioning of Tribes Advisory …

Kerala’s Kadars continue fight for assertion of their community forest rights

Their Gram Sabhas have passed resolutions under the Forest Rights Act as work has progressed on the Anakkayam Small Hydro Power Project

Ministries battle over applicability of Forest Rights Act

As development projects continue to receive Centre’s push, officials within the government fear that rights of tribal communities are …

Strangers in their own land

The final notification of the Great Himalayan National Park has jeopardised the livelihood of a tribe of migratory pastoralists. It has also …