Kadar
Kerala Fails to Protect Tribal Societies
A report prepared by some tribal activists accuses the government of Kerala of undermining the rights of the scheduled tribes living in the state. To judge by an article published last week in the Deccan Chronicle, a major South Indian newspaper, the report appears to have focused on two of the highly peaceful societies in […]
Exorcising Kadar Spirits
An odd story appeared in a reputable Indian newspaper at the beginning of last week alleging that the Kadar have deeply rooted superstitions about the spirits of their dead. The newspaper account was based on supposedly reliable government agency information, not on a reporter’s speculation. The essence of the story was that staff members of […]
Kadar Gaining Self Confidence
A couple months ago, some Kadar were working to restore one of their worship sites in Kerala’s Vazhachal Forest when forestry department officials going past asked them to stop. They politely refused, citing their rights under India’s Forest Rights Act (FRA). According to a report last week by Sibi Arasu in The News Minute, a […]
A Dam Proposal that Doesn’t Die
The government of Kerala has made it clear that they do not plan to give up on the Athirappilly project, despite opposition from experts, conservationists and the local Kadar people. A news report last week in The Hindu, one of India’s leading newspapers, described the latest government maneuvers that they hope will result in damming […]
The Peaceful Kadar Fight for their Rights
The state of Kerala has apparently not counted on the strenuous opposition of the Kadar to government plans for proceeding with a big hydroelectric power project on the Chalakudy River. The small, peaceful tribe of about 2,000 people staged a demonstration in March to show the importance of forests to their way of life. Now […]
Kadar Strive to Save their Forest
Last week, V. K. Geetha, a very active Kadar woman leader, wrote an eloquent appeal for saving their forest from a hydropower dam. Instead of focusing on the potential destruction of two Kadar communities posed by the threatened Athirappilly Dam, as numerous past news reports have done, her letter was a paean of praise for […]
The Kadar Are in the News
Ten years ago, during the first full year of this website, almost nothing was reported in the Indian news about the then obscure Kadar society. The situation has changed dramatically since then. Three news reports on the Kadar were published last week alone. This society and its problems seem to have captured the attention of […]
Paliyan and Kadar Dances
Every year on August 9, people in many countries organize events to celebrate the International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples. Ekta Parishad, an organization in India’s Tamil Nadu state, convened a celebration in the city of Madurai on Monday the 10th that included Paliyan and Kadar people from the Anaimalai Hills of Tamil Nadu and […]
Kerala and its Peaceful Societies Part 1, the Kadar
The Kadar living in the Anapantham Colony had to move to another location, Sasthanpoovam, nearly 10 years ago when their colony was nearly destroyed by landslides. A mother and a child had been killed in the tragedy. By 2010, they had moved to temporary shelters in the new community and, according to a news report […]
A Dam Could Destroy Indigenous Communities [journal article review]
Kerala tries to include its citizens in decision-making as a way of strengthening local communities, but it has not succeeded as far as the Kadar are concerned. The Indian state’s Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB) has made few attempts to integrate its plans for power generation with the culture of its indigenous communities, a recent […]
