Papers by Bipasha R O S Y Lakra (Ursula)
Sociological Bulletin, Sage Publications, 2024
The Adivasi communities in Assam—Oraons, Mundas, Khariyas, Santals and
Gonds—originally 19th cent... more The Adivasi communities in Assam—Oraons, Mundas, Khariyas, Santals and
Gonds—originally 19th century-migrant tea plantation workers from middle
India, are locally called ‘tea-tribes’, or chah jonogoshti in Assamese. While their
counterparts in the original place have been listed as Scheduled Tribes since
1950, they are categorised as Other Backward Classes. Like other Adivasis, the
Assam Adivasis claim that they are the indigenous people of India and should
be recognised so in the adopted home of Assam. The local tribal groups and
others, while conceding that the Adivasis are tribe originally, resist the claim on
the plea that they alone are the sons of the soil of the region. Adivasi settlers’
contribution to the making of modern Assam is disregarded and they are construed
as migrant intruders. This article discusses the political overtone of claim
and counterclaim since the beginning of the ‘scheduling’ of the Indian tribe in
1950. It outlines how the ‘scheduling’ method successively disqualified the Assam
Adivasis’ claim. The politics of denial by the local groups in Assam has assumed
militant arrogance, resulting in violence against the Adivasis.
Report, 2014
The tribal communities face disregard for their values and culture, breach of protective legislat... more The tribal communities face disregard for their values and culture, breach of protective legislations, serious material and social deprivation, and aggressive resource alienation. Hence, the solution to these issues should enable the tribals to protect their own interests. Protecting the land and forest rights of tribal communities is equivalent to protecting their livelihoods, life and liberty. This remains one of the critical necessities of a welfare State. Therefore, laws protecting tribal land from alienation must be upheld at all costs; The right to natural resources in tribal lands has to be protected. They should only be accessed with the consent of the Gram Sabhas of the villages (both directly affected and in the zone of influence); While tribal lands hold much of the natural and mineral wealth of the nation, these resources cannot be alienated against their will. Moreover, communities who part with their lands have the right to share in the wealth and income so generated from its resources. Hence, a reasonable share of the wealth generated by the resources in their homelands must accrue to them by law, and the right to preservation of their language, culture and traditions, and to protect themselves against the loss of identity, must be recognized, protected, documented and allowed to thrive as a dynamic living culture.
REPORT OF THE HIGH LEVEL COMMITTEE ON SOCIO- ECONOMIC, HEALTH AND EDUCATIONAL STATUS OF TRIBAL COMMUNITIES OF INDIA, 2014
Prime Minister’s Office constituted a High-Level Committee (HLC) in August 2014, consisting of th... more Prime Minister’s Office constituted a High-Level Committee (HLC) in August 2014, consisting of the following members: Prof. Virginius Xaxa as Chairperson, Dr. Usha Ramanathan, Dr. Joseph Bara, Dr. K.K. Misra, Dr. Abhay Bang, Smt. Sunila Basant, and Dr. Hrusikesh Panda, Secretary, Ministry of Tribal Affairs, as Member-Secretary. The Committee was mandated to examine the socio- economic, educational and health status of tribal communities and recommend appropriate interventional measures to improve the same. The Committee formulated thematic sections based on various socio-economic parameters mentioned in the Terms of Reference and each theme was taken up by individual members based on their areas of expertise.
Genesis and Salient Features of Modern Indian Political Thought COURSE INTRODUCTION The term 'mod... more Genesis and Salient Features of Modern Indian Political Thought COURSE INTRODUCTION The term 'modern' may have different interpretations which make it difficult to exactly trace the date of origin of modern Indian political thought. However, it can be said that it generally covers the 18 th , 19 th and 20 th century. Bidyut Chakrabarty and Rajendra Kumar Pandey (2009) in their book, Modern Indian Political Thought: Text and Context have argued that modern Indian political thought involves three related issues of 'nation', 'nationalism' and 'national identity'. Needless to say, these themes were missing in the writings of ancient Indian political thinkers. Broadly, modern Indian thought can be divided into two phases. The first phase was of 'Social Reform'. Thinkers of this phase were more concerned with the internal regeneration of indigenous society. The second phase, more complex and textured in many ways, is the phase that we can designate as the nationalist phase. The concerns in this phase shift more decisively to issues of politics and power, and of freedom from colonial rule. It is important to remember that what we are calling the 'nationalist phase' is merely a shorthand expression, for there were precisely in this period, many more tendencies and currents that cannot simply be subsumed under the rubric of 'nationalism'. At the very least, there are important currents like the Muslim and the Dalit that mark the intellectual and political 'search for the Self' in this period. According to Ramdhari Singh Dinkar, modern Indian political thought could be seen as Indian response, resistance and mobilisation of the Indian tradition to British colonial conquest of India. Through the spirit of renaissance, there was an attempt to adapt to the Western modernity in a positive way while through revivalism, Indian tradition tried to respond to British colonialism by reaction and resistance (Himanshu Roy and M P Singh, 2017). It can be highlighted that the enlightenment that started in Europe in the 18 th century did lead to voices which justified superiority of the Europeans over the other civilisations. Modern Indian political thinkers not only sought to infuse pride in Indians by highlighting its rich cultural heritage, but some also tried to critique the Western civilisation. Gandhi's critique of Western civilisation as one which lacked moral and spiritual dimensions, is a case in point. This course covers some of the important thinkers from modern Indian political thought. It is divided in five blocks. Block 1 introduces modern Indian political thought with one unit, Genesis and Salient Features of Modern Indian Political Thought. Block 2 deals with the encounter with modernity and the question of reforms. It covers ideas of Rammohan Roy and Pandita Ramabai. Block 3 highlights Vivekananda's and Gandhi's ideas on tradition. Block 4 highlights imaginaries of the nation and the world through thinkers like Ambedkar, Tagore, Nehru, Lohiya and M N Roy. Iqbal's and Savarkar's views about community and nation find a mention in Block 5.
SUMMERHILL IIAS REVIEW; INDIAN INSTITUTE OF ADVANCED STUDY, SHIMLA, 2020
from the jotedars by raiding their houses. People's courts were established and judgments passed.... more from the jotedars by raiding their houses. People's courts were established and judgments passed. The upheaval in the villages continued till July. The tea garden workers struck works a number of times in support of the peasants. 2 The movement had a life span of roughly five years (1967-1972), which was spatially sporadic and limited to small areas. In this stance, the questions that concern this paper are: what is the importance of engaging with the Adivasis in the Naxalbari movement? To what extent the ethnic or Adivasi consciousness (owing to Santal Hul or Birsa Munda movement) cater to the mass mobilization in Naxalbari? The Naxalbari movement has been one of the most sought after peasant movements, carried forward by the urban elites and their likes, hence generating resistance, dissents, as well as hope for the languishing oppressed Adivasi peasantry. Amidst these varying perspectives, I am most concerned with forms of representation of the most secluded and silenced voices of Naxalbari movement, whose history goes undocumented or unheard, as compared to those whose ideas may be represented such as the rural elites and the activists who are non-Adivasis. In addition, the present study would analyse the political significance of Naxalbari movement, which otherwise is termed as 'revolutionary' in the history of peasant, radical or tribal movements. Therefore, based on my examination of primary sources such as structured and unstructured recording of narratives and engaging into discussions with the then participants of Naxalbari movement, I argue that the mass base in the Naxalbari movement comprised Adivasi communities such as Oraon, Munda and Santal tribes whose role has been seriously undermined and underrated in the popular historiography of the said movement. Naxalbari, ideologically and practically, provided such a base for a revolutionary armed struggle. The mass base of the Naxalbari movement in North Bengal comprised Adivasi settlers from the Central Indian tribal belt namely-Oraon, Munda and Santal tribes.
Books by Bipasha R O S Y Lakra (Ursula)
Pandemic Perspectives Praxis and Policy. ISBN 978-93-94915-42-8, 2023
The chapter
examines the viability of oral narratives as a social science research
tool to evalua... more The chapter
examines the viability of oral narratives as a social science research
tool to evaluate the conflict during COVID-19 times when field
work was difficult. It has also taken into account the oral narratives
of the Adivasi militants, internally displaced people (who have been
victims of Bodo insurgency in 1996-98) exercised through digital
medium and telephonic interviews. Through these engagements it
has sought to fill the normative and theoretical gap in the subject,
which is analysed on the basis of existing literature, both primary and
secondary as well as employment of virtual oral narratives as a tool of
major research method.
Uploads
Papers by Bipasha R O S Y Lakra (Ursula)
Gonds—originally 19th century-migrant tea plantation workers from middle
India, are locally called ‘tea-tribes’, or chah jonogoshti in Assamese. While their
counterparts in the original place have been listed as Scheduled Tribes since
1950, they are categorised as Other Backward Classes. Like other Adivasis, the
Assam Adivasis claim that they are the indigenous people of India and should
be recognised so in the adopted home of Assam. The local tribal groups and
others, while conceding that the Adivasis are tribe originally, resist the claim on
the plea that they alone are the sons of the soil of the region. Adivasi settlers’
contribution to the making of modern Assam is disregarded and they are construed
as migrant intruders. This article discusses the political overtone of claim
and counterclaim since the beginning of the ‘scheduling’ of the Indian tribe in
1950. It outlines how the ‘scheduling’ method successively disqualified the Assam
Adivasis’ claim. The politics of denial by the local groups in Assam has assumed
militant arrogance, resulting in violence against the Adivasis.
Books by Bipasha R O S Y Lakra (Ursula)
examines the viability of oral narratives as a social science research
tool to evaluate the conflict during COVID-19 times when field
work was difficult. It has also taken into account the oral narratives
of the Adivasi militants, internally displaced people (who have been
victims of Bodo insurgency in 1996-98) exercised through digital
medium and telephonic interviews. Through these engagements it
has sought to fill the normative and theoretical gap in the subject,
which is analysed on the basis of existing literature, both primary and
secondary as well as employment of virtual oral narratives as a tool of
major research method.
Gonds—originally 19th century-migrant tea plantation workers from middle
India, are locally called ‘tea-tribes’, or chah jonogoshti in Assamese. While their
counterparts in the original place have been listed as Scheduled Tribes since
1950, they are categorised as Other Backward Classes. Like other Adivasis, the
Assam Adivasis claim that they are the indigenous people of India and should
be recognised so in the adopted home of Assam. The local tribal groups and
others, while conceding that the Adivasis are tribe originally, resist the claim on
the plea that they alone are the sons of the soil of the region. Adivasi settlers’
contribution to the making of modern Assam is disregarded and they are construed
as migrant intruders. This article discusses the political overtone of claim
and counterclaim since the beginning of the ‘scheduling’ of the Indian tribe in
1950. It outlines how the ‘scheduling’ method successively disqualified the Assam
Adivasis’ claim. The politics of denial by the local groups in Assam has assumed
militant arrogance, resulting in violence against the Adivasis.
examines the viability of oral narratives as a social science research
tool to evaluate the conflict during COVID-19 times when field
work was difficult. It has also taken into account the oral narratives
of the Adivasi militants, internally displaced people (who have been
victims of Bodo insurgency in 1996-98) exercised through digital
medium and telephonic interviews. Through these engagements it
has sought to fill the normative and theoretical gap in the subject,
which is analysed on the basis of existing literature, both primary and
secondary as well as employment of virtual oral narratives as a tool of
major research method.