The Birhor in West Bengal state experience even more poverty than the ones in Jharakhand, Orissa, and Chhattisgarh, the other states of northeastern India where they live. According to a report issued last week, the poverty of the Birhor in West Bengal persists despite the efforts of the state government… Continue reading…
India’s most prestigious literary prize, the Sahitya Akademi Award, has just been given to Bhogla Soren for his latest published work, a play about the Santhali and Birhor peoples. The Sahitya Akademi, India’s National Academy of Letters, awards a plaque and a cash prize each year to the outstanding literary… Continue reading…
Societies that want to hold on to their peaceful traditions have to be concerned about whether the education of their children will change their cultures, their economies, and their social values. Adults as well as young people face the challenge that education poses for a society—the potential advantages to individuals… Continue reading…
Naxalite sabotage of an Indian express train late last week killed over 100 people and heightened tensions over the treatment of the Birhor and the other tribal peoples of eastern India. Media around the world carried the story of the horrible railway accident, and the increased severity of recent battles… Continue reading…
Birhor children in the Giridih District of India’s Jharkhand state have been attending school recently and doing well, according to a news report last week. Credit for the advances appears to belong to administrative officials of the district. Deputy District Commissioner Vandana Dadel put an integrated development plan in place… Continue reading…
Six Birhor men from a village in Jharkhand state willingly followed a middleman to a supposed work assignment on the other side of India, in Gujarat state, and they haven’t returned. The middleman promised they would have jobs in a brick kiln in Gujarat, that they would make good money,… Continue reading…
A news story two weeks ago about the death of the last surviving member of the Bo tribe, in the Andaman Islands, made an impact on the Birhor of Jharkhand state. Evidently, state government officials are concerned about the gradually diminishing numbers of Birhor, a worry that they share with… Continue reading…
Prof. B.K. Roy Burman, referred to 10 years ago as the “grand old man of Indian anthropology,” has just published a critical analysis of the roots of the Naxalite movement. His lengthy essay, over 11,000 words, appeared in the October 17th issue of Mainstream, an Indian current affairs weekly. The… Continue reading…
Prof. B.K. Roy Burman, referred to 10 years ago as the “grand old man of Indian anthropology,” has just published a critical analysis of the roots of the Naxalite movement. His lengthy essay, over 11,000 words, appeared in the October 17th issue of Mainstream, an Indian current affairs weekly. The… Continue reading…
Last week, the Telegraph, one of Calcutta’s major newspapers, published two different articles about the Birhor and the way they are perceived by the majority Indian society. The first article described the visit of some officials to a couple villages in the state of Jharkhand. The deputy commissioner of the… Continue reading…
