ISSN (Print) - 0012-9976 | ISSN (Online) - 2349-8846

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Understanding the Political Shift in Bodoland

The spontaneous joy and enthusiasm among the Bodo people, notwithstanding the recent Bodo Peace Accord signed on 27 January 2020, needs to be interrogated in the context of “fractured identity” of Bodos and a perennial trend of “demographic challenge” that the history of the area is embedded in. Moreover, the changing contours of electoral politics in the wake of the Bharatiya Janata Party’s rise in the north-east (referred here as the “rising tide of saffron”) need examination. It is pertinent to argue that the accord, under the pretext of fulfilling their demands, may herald an unprecedented shift in the electoral politics and identity assertions of the Bodos.

Setting the Record Straight on Birsa Munda and His Political Legacy (Part-II)

Although the role of Birsa Munda has been seminal in championing the Adivasi cause, his political movements and legacy have been distorted, like other prominent Indian historical figures, including B R Ambedkar and M K Gandhi. Despite misrepresentations, Birsa Munda and his politics continue to inspire not just Adivasis but also Dalits and other marginalised sections in their pursuit of attaining social justice.

Setting the Record Straight on Birsa Munda and His Political Legacy (Part- I)

Although the role of Birsa Munda has been seminal in championing the Adivasi cause, his political movements and legacy have been distorted, like other prominent Indian historical figures, including B R Ambedkar and M K Gandhi. Despite misrepresentations, Birsa Munda and his politics continue to inspire not just Adivasis but also Dalits and other marginalised sections in their pursuit of attaining social justice.

Military History Meets Labour History

The Coolie’s Great War: Indian Labour in a Global Conflict 1914­–1921 by Radhika Singha, New Delhi: Harper Collins, 2020; pp 396, ₹699.

 

A History of the Socially Excluded in Odisha

Tribals and Dalits in Orissa: Towards a Social History of Exclusion, c 1800–1950 by Biswamoy Pati, New Delhi: Oxford University Press, 2019; pp 248, ₹945.

How Kerala’s Poor Tribals Are Being Branded As 'Mentally Ill'

Vol. 53, Issue No. 24, 16 Jun, 2018
Paternalistic governance of mental health practices and advocacy fail to locate mental health problems in the broader spectrum of personal, social, political, and economic lives.

Where to be Left Is No Longer Dissidence

What does it mean to be left in Tripura today? In retrospect, the success of the left in Tripura depended on the recognition of the contrarian geographical impulses of ethno-nationalism. It is argued that efforts by the left to eradicate these geographies of ethno-nationalism not only implied an abandonment of this mode of dissidence, but also that these efforts ensnared the left into gratuitous, quiet militarisation of the state underthe garb of peace and development.

Poverty and Deprivation among the Katkari

This article examines evidence for poverty and deprivation amongst the Katkaris, a Scheduled Tribe, in hamlets in Jahwar and Mokhada talukas of Palghar district, Maharashtra. It analyses how Katkaris are trapped in a vicious cycle of social, educational, and economic backwardness.

Majoritarian Rationale and Common Goals

Looking at existing policy instruments and goals, and the economic and social outcomes they promise to deliver, it is argued that majoritarian politics and social and cultural outcomes are not part of fringe thinking. The politics of hate actually works to build a consensus for ruling class economics. It is not surprising, therefore, that the only "nationalist outlook" of our times is to stand firmly behind the policy programme for the global investor.

Education for the Species

Respectable scientific opinion holds that the human species is on the verge of untimely extinction. According to Noam Chomsky, the so-called "least advanced" people are the ones taking the lead in trying to protect all of us from extinction. Informed by their ancient knowledge systems, indigenous populations across the world are resisting the plunder of the planet. However, indigenous knowledge systems are in radical conflict not only with global capitalism but with modern education itself, thus raising the issue of radical choice. The issue goes much beyond the classical domain of the pedagogy of the oppressed.

Forest Rights Act

The implementation of the Forest Rights Act, 2006 has been opaque and there is serious lack of awareness about its provisions not only among the benefi ciaries but also among the officials in charge of implementing it. Given the complaints from either side, it is time the government reviewed the law and also looked at the objections raised when it was first tabled as a bill.

What Murdered the “Mixed-Race” Jarawa Baby?

Rather than focusing on the role of the Jarawa man allegedly involved in the killing of an infant in the Andaman Islands, we should probe into the changing relationship of the Jarawa and non-Jarawa population of the island. A shift in the Jarawa identity and their changing relations with the non-Jarawa may have made them even more vulnerable. 

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