A Paliyan woman was assaulted in broad daylight at a public bus stop in Tamil Nadu recently, prompting a series of three articles last week in the Times of India. The reporter focused the articles on changes in Paliyan society and the abusive attitudes toward the Paliyans held by some… Continue reading…
The four peaceful South Indian foraging societies included in this website have similar beliefs that tend to inhibit conflicts, and they have comparable techniques for resolving them when they do occur. Out of the 18 distinct foraging societies in South India, six have been extensively studied by anthropologists, and four—the… Continue reading…
Thangaraj, a 23-year old Paliyan man in Tamil Nadu, India, posted some complaints on Facebook about delays by government officials in dealing with problems in his community. His strategy for publicity worked, according to a news report last week. As the only person in the Alagammalpuram Colony near the city… Continue reading…
A news report in the Times of India last week connected Paliyan plant knowledge, ancient Tamil poetry, and the work of modern natural scientists. A Tamil poem is the focus of the story. During the so-called Sangam period of history in South India, from approximately 100 BCE to 100 CE,… Continue reading…
A peaceful protest march by tens of thousands of poor, landless, tribal peoples toward Delhi ended last Thursday in Agra when the government of India agreed to meet the demands of the marchers. The Rural Development Minister, Jairam Ramesh, signed an agreement with the march organizer, the NGO Ekta Parishad,… Continue reading…
In his book Non-Violent Resistance, Gandhi wrote that satyagraha is not a weapon of the weak, it is a tool of strength. He acknowledged the existence of passive resistance, particularly in the Christian tradition, but he dismissed it as a characteristic of weakness. Passive resistance does not completely exclude violence,… Continue reading…
Crowds came to the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Chennai last week to visit Pollinator 1, a bee festival that celebrated the art and science of beekeeping plus the culture of honey gathering by groups such as the Paliyan. The much publicized event, the first beekeeping festival held in India, attracted… Continue reading…
Crowds came to the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Chennai last week to visit Pollinator 1, a bee festival that celebrated the art and science of beekeeping plus the culture of honey gathering by groups such as the Paliyan. The much publicized event, the first beekeeping festival held in India, attracted… Continue reading…
The Paliyans are a “relatively non-violent peace loving innocent” tribe that once lived in the interior forests of western Tamil Nadu state, in southern India, according to a new blog about the people. Mr. A. Muthuvezhappan, the author of the blog, writes that they used to be a nomadic hunting… Continue reading…
A new post on a Paliyan blog last week proudly described the peaceful structures in their society, but it warned that their peacefulness, combined with their shyness, has increased their vulnerability to being exploited by corrupt outsiders. Using the pluralized form of their name from the Tamil language—one Paliyan, many… Continue reading…
