From welfare to rights.
Who are we?
Adivasis (indigenous peoples) have distinct culture and identities, which are rooted in their sacred relationship to lands, territories and the natural environment.
Their knowledge about lands, territories and natural environment is learned from ancestors, and their unique customs, languages and customary laws are different from non-Adivasis.
Historically, Adivasis have been colonized, assimilated, oppressed, exploited, and discriminated by the state, corporations and those in political power. These situations made Adivasis dependent on the State, and eventually this unequal relationship has led to immense poverty, vulnerability, marginalization within Adivasi communities. State-backed ideas of Adivasis as backward, ignorant or even uncivilized is ironic in this regard.
Where we work
Gudalur taluka is in the Nilgiris Mountains, a pocket of reserved forest, timber industry, tea plantations and luxury tourism in northern Tamil Nadu. All play a role in continuing the dispossession of indigenous land, making livelihoods and dignity impossible for the region’s Adivasis.
Adivasis in the Nilgiris
Adivasis have resided in the Nilgiris for many centuries. There are nine ethnic groups scattered in the area: Toda, Irular, Paniyar, Jenu Kurumbar, Betta Kurumbar, Mulla Kurumbar, Kattunaikar, Kothar, and Alu Kurumbar.
As for their development, they are still isolated from the mainstream. The Indian government has implemented many welfare schemes, policies, and reservation since independence for Adivasi development, without addressing the real issues facing the community.
Our communities have lost many of our ways of living and traditions. This is what we are trying to revive. I believe it’s only with empowerment and self-respect that this will happen…and this has to come from within our Adivasi community. It shouldn’t be imposed from outside. That would never last.
Sobha Madhan, District Coordinator and Area Secretary
An Adivasi Federation
Nine community leaders from each of the nine Adivasi communities have come together to create a platform called the Nilgiris Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups Federation (NPVTG).
The Nilgiris Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups Federation is run by Adivasis in Gudalur taluka. Established in 2014, its early work focused on implementing welfare schemes. Since 2017, a rights-based agenda has been taken up. Currently, the Federation’s five main thematic areas of focus are:
Forest Rights Act (FRA) implementation
Monitoring Tribal Sub-Plan (TSP) spending, a Ministry of Tribal Affairs (MoTA) initiative by the Government of India
Representation in meetings with the Tribal Development Council (TDC) at the district level
Education
Collecting information about alienated land in the Nilgiris