Birhor
Cheating Tribal Peoples in India
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 author has been a member […]
Landless Birhor Misrepresented at Major Exhibition
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 state, K. K. Soan, accompanied […]
Birhor Dancing
Lugu Murmu, a young Birhor man, tells his guest, Markus Schleiter, “from the beginning we Birhor dance every week at our dancing place.” The visiting anthropologist recently described his experience observing a night of dancing in a village in Orissa, a state in India’s northeast region. Schleiter’s brief essay was posted last week in PDF […]
Birhor Learn Competitive Boxing
Some Birhor young people are learning about competition through a boxing instruction program in one of their communities. The Dhanbad District Amateur Boxing Association, located in the Dhanbad district of India’s Jharkhand state, is providing instruction, gloves, head-guards, and punching bags for the student boxers in Chalkari, a Birhor village. Paritosh Kumar, the boxing coach, […]
Human Rights Report Analyzes Birhor Deaths
Despite reports that Chhotan, a Birhor laborer, was receiving excellent care at a medical center in Ranchi, the capital of India’s Jharkhand state, the man died of his illness. The continuing deaths in the Birhor villages are prompting officials of non-governmental organizations into making renewed commitments to assist the tribal people. Ashutosh Mairh, a member […]
Birhor Man Receives Care in Major Medical Center
Chhotan Birhor, a 28 year old laborer in India’s Jharkhand State, is receiving excellent medical care because he has a potentially life-threatening illness. As part of its continuing series of news stories on the Birhor tribal society, the Telegraph of Calcutta last week carried an article that described the measures being taken to help the […]
Pregnant Woman Dies in a Birhor Village
The Telegraph of Calcutta focused once again last week on governmental neglect of the Birhor in India’s Jharkhand state. On Monday, May 11, a 22 year old pregnant woman, Jiramuni Devi, was examined by an auxiliary nurse-midwife in the village of Tulbul, Bokaro District in Jharkhand. She was nearing the end of her pregnancy. The […]
Birhor in Jharkhand Do Not Vote
Most of the Birhor families in the Bokaro District of Jharkhand State have been unaware of their right to vote in the Indian state and national elections, held last Thursday and today. The Birhor villages mentioned in a recent newspaper article, Tulbul and Khakhra Basti, are remote—miles from the nearest city. The 350 villagers have […]
Assistance for the Birhor in Jharkhand State
One of the districts of India’s Jharkhand State is making an attempt to provide substantial assistance for the health and welfare of the impoverished Birhor people. Local officials in the Bokaro District of the state, called Block Development Officers (BDOs), are being charged with the responsibility for making certain that the Birhor are safe and […]
Birhor Village Has a Drinking Problem
The Telegraph of Calcutta reported an odd story last week. It indicated that the Birhor in a village in Jharkhand are agitating for more liquor. Vishvendu Jaipuriar, author of the report, wrote that a young Birhor man from the Chatra district wrote to the state government requesting that the price of liquor be reduced. Sanjay […]
