EDITOR'S NOTE - Dr. Costantino Faillace,
Editor,
Ciampino, Rome, Italy cfaillace@hotmail.com
Since I started my tribal village water
program in the Pune District of India in 1989, I have
been interested in knowing more about the Adivasi people
who live in these villages. Many questions came to my
mind, such as :
- Who are the Adivasis ( or Tribals, as
they are also called)?
- Where do they come from?
- Why do they live in such a backward
condition?
- Which programs and projects could be
implemented in an attempt to uplift their
extremely poor living conditions?
- Did they ever resist the oppressing
classes?
- Why do they drink liquor in excess of
their financial capacity?
- Why have they not been integrated into
the Indian society over the centuries?
- Are there basic cultural aspects that
have favoured their isolation or was it the
established caste system of the Indian society
that created the persisting disparity?
To all these questions, and more, I found the
answers primarily in reading three useful books:
1. "The coming of the Devi - Adivasi
Assertion in Western India"
Written by David Hardiman
Oxford University Press Delhi, 1987.
This book, contributing significantly to the
first part of this short description of the Adivasi
communities, includes also a long list of published
and unpublished reports and studies regarding the
tribal people
2. "A Review of Tribal Research
Studies"
Edited by Dr. Govind Gare,
Tribal Research and Training Institute, Pune,
1988.
This report, contributing significantly to the
second part of this short description of the Adivasi
communities, contains 32 articles on various aspects
regarding the tribal people. Some of the articles
evaluate the results of studies, research and
development projects which were carried out by the
government in its effort to uplift the living
conditions of the Adivasi people in Maharashtra in
the past thirty years.
3. "Tribal Life and Forest"
Edited by Devendra Thakur and D.N. Thukur,
Deep & Deep Publications - F-159, Rajiouri
Garden, New Dehi-110027.
This informative description of tribal life
was quite interesting, though its information was
sparsely included in the short description of the
Adivasi communities.
Two additional publications on Tribal People in India
were consulted. They are :
4. "Tribes of India"
by Christoph Von Furer-Haimendorf,
Oxford University Press Delhi , 1991
This book would be of interest to
anthropological researchers, socialogists, and
geographers. It describes the different tribal groups
and discusses their interrelatedness.
5. "Mirage of Health and
Development"
by Dr. N. Jain and Dr. R. Tribhuwan,
Vidya Nidhi Publication Pune, 1996
This book covers more recent studies of the
health status of the Adivasis and the health
development efforts in the Maharashtra state. It has
numerous statistical data on illness, distribution
and time of occurrences. It includes valuable
"suggestions to plan and execute health care,
nutritional and development programmes for the
tribals". There is a significant bibliography
related to Tribal affairs.
The information provided in the following
article is a selection of key paragraphs taken, in most
cases, entirely from the first three books mentioned
above. It explains, in a condensed form, some of the main
economic and cultural aspects of the Adivasi society and
gives an answer to the questions listed above.
Originally, this short
description of the Adivasi communities
was meant exclusively for personal use with the purpose
to better understand the Adivasi civilization while
implementing the rural village water program sponsored by
the editor. This information, although not exhaustive,
allowed Dr. C. Faillace to better understand the
heritage, behavior and needs of the Adivasi. This
understanding resulted in a successful on-going rural
tribal village water program in the Maharashtra state of
India.
Only recently, realizing that this infomation
may be valuable to other professionals, researchers and
NGOs, the editor decided it would be worth sharing this
information in hopes that it will inspire others who have
a vision of uplifting the lives of the poor in any corner
of the world, and more specifically the Adivasis as they
are in great need of help in health, nutritional aspects,
education and overall life-enhancing development
programs.
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