The death of 20 elephants, killed allegedly by lightning, has brought Mikir Bamuni into spotlight. Good thing. People are now agitated, so much so that they are even talking about forceful land grabbing by Azure Solar Plant. Even before the death of those elephants, there was a movement going on against the land grabbing but…
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MISING MIGRANT WORKERS AND COVID19 PANDEMIC
Bangalore is a major destination for migrant workers belonging to the Mising community. The Misings are the second largest tribe in Assam in northeast India. Today morning, I spoke to Ghanadhar Jimey, who is the vice president of the Mising society of Bangalore, who is actively engaged in distributing relief materials to the workers stranded…
Read moreRohith Vemula, A dalit scholar commits suicide to get his voice heard
Rohith Vemula, a PhD scholar in Hyderabad University committed suicide on Sunday Evening. He was one of the 5 dalit scholars whom the university had asked to vacate their hostel rooms. Vemula was increasinly active politically and was known for speaking out on various issues. He left behind a suicide note…!!! Good Morning, I would…
Read moreAbu Tunturung-A folk story of the Miri Tribe in Assam
Long time ago in a village lived two boys with their father and stepmother. The stepmother, though not very fond of them, did not actually ill-treat them out of fear of the father. One day, the four of them went out into the forest to collect palm leaves. The two boys went together in one…
Read moreAttack on 19 year old Arunachal Student Brings India’s Racism back into Focus
Year 2005, a 19 year old girl from Mizoram was picked up forcefully and gang raped by few men in Dhaulakuan area of South Delhi. Year 2009, a 19 year old Manipuri girl was murdered after an attempted rape by an IIT student in Munirka. Come year 2010, a 30- year Mizo woman was gang…
Read moreThe Miris (Misings) according to John M’cosh
Foreword: Recently, a very good friend and a senior, sent me a digitized version of the Book. ‘TOPOGRAPHY OF ASSAM’ by John M’Cosh. The Book written as early as 1837, under the instruction of the then government talks extensively about the togography, society, demography and the culture of the then Assam. The book rightfully digitized…
Read moreSC/ST Prevention of Atrocities Act and North-East India-My Views
The Scheduled Castes and Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989 was enacted by the Parliament of India (Act 33 of 1989), to prevent atrocities against scheduled castes and scheduled tribes. The Act is popularly known as POA, the SC/ST Act, the Prevention of Atrocities Act, or simply the Atrocities Act. The Act states that, “despite…
Read moreThe cartoon controversy: Inside the mind of one ‘fanatic’ Dalit
By Anoop Kumar ‘I have an open mind, though not an empty mind. A person with an open mind is always the subject of congratulations. While this may be so, it must, at the same time, be realized that an open mind may also be an empty mind and that such an open mind, if…
Read moreAbsence of Dowry System in North-East-Romanticism or the Truth???
Let’s not get carried away. Dowry system does exist in North-east India too. It might not be as direct or discreetly observable like it is in the other regions of India. The recent highlight by the Aamir Khan show ‘Satyamev Jayate’ revealing that there is ‘no’ dowry system in the North-eastern states of India is…
Read moreGuardians of Garbage
By Timothy van der Veken When I first arrived here in India, I decided to travel for the first two weeks to see the south of India before heading up to Mumbai for my fieldwork. Traveling by myself in India offered many interesting experiences of discovery. Often, I would find myself in a position of…
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