Birhor
Birhor in West Bengal
The government of India’s West Bengal state is taking pains to keep the Birhor and the other tribal groups safe as long as the COVID-19 pandemic lasts. While most of the earlier news reports about the Birhor focus on their lives in Jharkhand state immediately to the West of Bengal, a news story dated April […]
Electricity Reaches a Birhor Village
On India’s Republic Day, January 26, the Birhor living in a small village in the state of Bihar were connected to the electric grid with the rest of modern India. Two days later, the Hindustan Times published a description of the village and the ceremonies involved with turning on the electricity. Light bulbs flickered on […]
Why Is the Birhor Population Declining?
Although the number of Birhor increased from 7,514 in the 2001 census of India to 10,726 in 2011, tribal rights activists claim that the population is now declining. According to a news story on July 25 in The Pioneer, an English language daily newspaper, a couple major research institutes are planning to conduct a study […]
Mining in the Saranda Forest
Mining for iron ore is destroying the Saranda Forest in the southern part of India’s Jharkhand state and causing serious health problems for the Birhor living in it. An article in the environmental news website Mongabay.com last week describes the growing destruction of the Sal trees, which dominate the forest. It is considered to be […]
Birhor Man Starves to Death
A Birhor man from Nawadih village in the Mandu Block, Ramgarh District of India’s Jharkhand state, died of starvation late on Tuesday, October 30, according to a news report last week. The 40-year-old Rajendrra Birhor left a wife, Shanti Devi, and six children. He was the sole wage earner for the family. Shanti Devi said […]
The Birhor Need to Bury their Dead
As a way of observing the International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples on August 9, the Telegraph sent one of its reporters into the village of Chalkari, in Jharkhand, to speak with the Birhor people. One of their major difficulties, they told him, was that they are having problems with burying their dead during […]
Advocate for the Birhor
A selfless 63-year old man from a rural village in the Jashpur District of Chhattisgarh has devoted his life to promoting the welfare of the Birhor people. The Hitavada, an English-language daily newspaper from Central India, published an account on July 6th of the work of Jageshwar Ram Yadav, who was recently recognized by the […]
Schooling for Birhor Children
The St. Robert’s High School in Hazaribagh has enrolled 24 Birhor children in a program sponsored by Tata Steel to provide free schooling to youngsters who show a strong interest and aptitude for education. The company covers all the costs of the residential education, such as fees, room and board, so the young Birhor can […]
Birhor Benefit from a Health Center
Photojournalist Tanmoy Bhaduri provided an upbeat assessment last week of an Anganwadi center, located in a Birhor community in a remote corner of India’s Jharkhand State. He met a Birhor woman who is trying to improve the health and nutrition of the women and children in the village, the primary mission of India’s Anganwadi centers. […]
Petty Theft by Some Birhor
The Times of India last Tuesday published a story about some Birhor people that was straight out of Victor Hugo’s Les Misérables, arguably one of the greatest novels of western literature. Like Jean Valjean, the major character in the novel, five Birhor men are facing lengthy prison sentences for the crime of petty theft. Valjean […]