Tribal Culture and Local self Goverment

The 73rd Constitutional Amendment Act made way for Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs) as local self-governance mechanism through which the decentralization of political power would take place. These Institutions were envisioned to make the people a part of the planning process below the state-level. The states had to adapt and make such institutions an integral part of their governance systems by enacting their own laws in this regard. A considerable devolution of power had to take effect from the state-level to such institutions leading to an increase in the contribution of the voices at the grass-root level in the decision-making process of the country. This structure was modelled on the vision of Mahatma Gandhi about the self-sustaining village model.
The PRIs are normally evaluated on the basis of their performance on various aspects of self-governance.  Primary among them is the conduct of PRI elections. The states even today have different laws regarding the conduct of elections and the concerned Ministry is trying to thrash out the differences in this regard.  Devolution of financial powers comes next. In this regard even today the PRIs are dependent on Central and state funds with very little own sources of fund raising. Devolution of power is the other aspect on which progress of PRIs should be evaluated. Ministry of Panchayati Raj is continuing consultation with the states to deepen the process of decentralization of power. Constitution of District Planning Committees (DPCs) had been instituted to facilitate the process of decentralization. Twenty-four states have till date formed DPCs. Regarding extension of PRI system to tribal areas of nine identified states considerable progress have been made. On certain aspects like compliance of important subject laws like land acquisition, excise, forest produce etc. though not much progress has taken place. Gram Sabha has been made the centrepiece of this initiative where each citizen gets an equal opportunity to participate in the process. All the elected representatives have been made answerable to the Gram Sabha.
Given the state of devolution of the power to make the states more compliant with the provisions of this Act the Panchayati Raj Devolution Index was instituted to look at Constitutional and Political Devolution (PD), Administrative Devolution (AD), Financial Devolution (FID), Functional Devolution (FUD) and Devolution to Gram Sabhas (EGS). The current index takes care of these aspects through the judgment regarding framework, functions, finance and functionaries. With this backdrop, the study team undertook a survey to validate the data provided by the states through a structured questionnaire. The questionnaire was designed separately for the Nodal officer at the state-level, Panchayat Pradhan, and Panchayat person/secretary. The study team was mandated to look at the various aspects of devolution of power along with capacity building and accountability of PRIs. The nodal officer was asked about the 10-20 panchayats according to him/her among whom the best panchayats in the state may be located depending on his experience. The study team then randomly picked up the panchayats to be covered in the survey keeping in mind the overall sample frame.

The focus of this study is roadway safety in American Indian reservations. We provide new sources of data and policy- relevant findings to address the unusually high rates of roadway fatalities and injuries among American Indians. Qualitative methods were used to generate and analyze data from people with the most direct knowledge of and responsibility for reservation roadway safety. Four case studies were conducted in partnership with the tribal governments of the Red Lake, Fond du Lac, Leech Lake, and Mille Lacs reservations; these data sources include fieldwork (90 days), interviews (n=102), focus groups (n=8), and short surveys (n=220). These data are triangulated with data from FHWA’s 2016 nationwide survey of tribes and states (n=196). Key findings from this extensive data analysis are: 1. Pedestrian safety is a critical, yet under-recognized issue on reservations. This is unequivocal across all data sources and differentiates reservations from rural areas in general. 2. Reservation road engineering and repair are very high priorities according to both tribe and state governments. 3. Reckless driving is a multi-faceted concern, including not only impaired driving but also cell phone distraction and speeding. 4. Education and enforcement to increase seatbelt and car seat use are named as high priorities in the national survey. 5. Tribes need better cooperation with local, state, and federal agencies. Priorities include addressing data quality and sharing issues better inter-jurisdictional cooperation for infrastructure and enforcement. The study concludes with recommendations to improve roadway safety in reservations and for further research.

Home to the Chippewa (Ojibwa) and Cree (Nei-yahw) tribe, Rocky Boy’s Reservation is the smallest and youngest of the Montana Indian Reservations. The Cultural Resources Preservation Department houses the Tribal Historic Preservation Office and provides a multitude of services to the reservation community related to cultural research, education, and events. The CRPD is also able to provide employment opportunities for elders, working-age adults, and student interns while documenting cultural resources on reservation and maintaining government-to-government relationships to preserve resources on ancestral homelands off-reservation.

Since language and culture have muscle and bone relationship, the existence of one in the
absence of another in unthinkable. But in practice, English language teaching has paid less
attention to the local culture. It is commonly believed that the insertion of foreign cultural
values is not in line with local cultural values. The insertion of local culture plays vital role in
promotion of nationalism, different local cultures and local cultural wisdom. Similarly, it
provides cultural identity and meaningful context for learning. Therefore, the main purpose
of this article is to shed light on the importance of local culture in the English language
classroom. In doing so, it aims at defining culture, language, shows relationship between them
and puts forth some pedagogical guidelines.

This paper aims to point out the resilience capacity that vernacular architecture has in its origins due to its continuous evolution over time, and its ability to adapt to the new established ecosystems after shocks and disasters. Furthermore, this paper investigates the contribution of the local building cultures on reducing the vulnerabilities of the urban and rural settlements of today. Indigenous knowledge can enhance resilience of social-ecological systems as this knowledge, accumulated through experiences, has demonstrated the ability to deal with complexity and changing of environmental factors. Unfortunately indigenous knowledge is not still adequately recognised as an instrument into the realm of science. With this present paper we aim to increase the awareness of learning resilient design principles from vernacular architectural culture and re-interpreting them in establishment of new urban strategies for the future cities. In particular, this research is deepened by examp...

Mau Forest, the home of the majority of the Ogiek people is located in the Rift Valley Province and straddles Kericho, Nakuru, Narok and Bomet districts .Traditionally, the Ogiek as hunter-gatherers have distinctive histories of interaction with the natural environment. Over the years, the Ogiek have inhabited in the Mau Forest with little impact on the environment. The paper focuses on the influence of hunting apprenticeship as Indigenous Form of Education for sustainable conservation of Wild life in Mau Forest of Kenya. The study was informed by the General Systems Theory and the Cultural Ecology Theory. The argument of the general systems theory is that the intricate relationship of the parts cannot be treated in isolation from the whole. In this case, an analysis of the Ogiek superstructure affirmed that the society’s institutions must be contextualized in their totality. Arguably, an understanding of the Ogiek in general is related to how the community interacts with nature. On the other hand, the cultural ecologists argue that there exist a clear link between the society’s culture, mode of subsistence and the natural environment. An ethno-historical approach was employed in the design, instrumentation, data collection, analysis and interpretation. To achieve systematic collection of data, purposive sampling techniques were used. Forty-five (45) members of the Ogiek community, mainly key cultural consultants were interviewed for the study. Cultural consultants provided the most complete and representative information about particular aspects of Ogiek life because of their experience and training. The main instruments for data collection were observation and interview schedules. In addition to oral interviews, this study used a variety of documentary sources. The information obtained from the various sources was checked for validity and reliability using triangulation as well as external and internal criticism approaches to data analysis. The paper reveals that hunting apprenticeship as indigenous education as practised by the Pre-colonial Ogiek society facilitated sustainable conservation of wild life in Mau Forest of Kenya. In essence, it was arguably revealed that the Ogiek hunting practice and broader socio-cultural contexts as well as human-animal relations incorporated a number of conventions and practices that helped to support and sustain wild life populations.

The prospects for democratic consolidation in Pakistan are extremely low. The cultural practice of tribally-dictating political choice at elections and the systematic violation of women's right to vote, coupled with the central role of the military in Pakistan's political affairs renders any other answer impossible. The way in which Pakistan's policymakers address the challenges of an assertive India led by Hindu nationalists, a conflict-ridden Afghanistan and the growing economic and military might of authoritarian China, depends in part on their domestic political pressures. A democratic system that rewards merit and is free from inappropriate military influence will clearly provide different pressures to a system of tribalism, militarism and corruption.

Several resolutions were recorded in the meetings of the Chhattisgarh Biodiversity Committee, under the Chairmanship of Dr. Kalyan Kumar Chakravarty, in March 2021, to nurture and protect the connection between cultural diversity and biological diversity nurtured trans generationally by tribal communities of Chhattisgarh. It was decided to showcase the collaborative efforts of the State Government, with the participation of tribal communities, to locate and conserve heritage sites and landscapes all over the state, that have outstanding examples of bio cultural diversity; to evolve a sui generis community intellectual property right regime, for excluding exploitation and ensuring sustainable harvesting practices; to promote, as World Heritage, sites that demonstrate the tangible and intangible heritage of strategies and features of the community management of human and natural resources; and, to formulate a Working Plan to incorporate and disseminate the innovative conservation practices, undertaken with tribal participation. The field initiatives would be exhibited, and discussed on national and international platforms.

Odisha is known for her colourful festivals. The festivals are numerous, spread over all the twelve months of a year. The village life centres on agriculture. Therefore, there is an intimate relationship of festivals with the numerous agricultural operations that take place. Orissa Festivals are also observed as part of Hindu religious faith. Dates for Orissan festivals are determined by the traditional Hindu calendar. The specialties of most of the Orissa festivals are that, on these occasions, much merry¬making is done, new clothes are worn and special dishes are prepared at home. The Orissa cuisine is at its test in these functions. Delicious dishes prepared include small cakes known as Pitha' and also sweets made from milk. Festivals carry forward people's tradition and cultural heritage. A brief List of major festivals of Orissa during is Calendar year as January : Makar, Dhanu Yatra February: Magha Saptami, Saraswati Puja March : Dola Yatra (Holi), Siva Ratri April : Sokastami, Mahavisuva Sankrati, Rama Navami May : Jhamu Yatra, Chaita Parva June : Sitalsasthi, Raja Festival July : Car Festival (Rath Yatra) August : Jhulan Yatra, Rakhi PurnimaSeptember : Ganesh Puja October: Durga Puja, Kumar Purnima, Diwali, Nuakhai November : Kartika Purnima, Aunla Nabami December : Prathamastami. 'Traditional Food ' might sound boring, since of late there has been an increasing trend to consume or cook foodstuffs which are trendy or are promoted by big brands. Well, these are fine once in a while but alarmingly, these are fast replacing the traditional diets on a routine basis besides causing serious health problems. On a contrary, traditional meals have been developed with time and methods of cooking preserved through years keeping in mind the usefulness of ingredients. These dishes aren't just a part of our culture but are also a storehouse of nutrients. In Each festival, there is a certain type of food which have Nutritional value, Socio-cultural, seasonal impact with relation to Culture and heritage of the common man some of them being very rare and typical grandma's recipes which our children may never be able to relish. Ironically many of these are also being reintroduced as health foods. But the fact is that it's a legacy we have inherited and should preserve it. It should not be confined to temple Prasad or to be consumed on select occasions only. Mothers and homemakers should try and introduce as many. The Cope of this paper is to make alive this cuisine in the Modern era

The Tribal Philosophy is an emerging philosophy. This does not mean that tribals had no philosophy of life earlier. They are living out the philosophy every day. The tribals’ philosophy is a lived philosophy characterised by an egalitarian and abiding
interrelationship and intercommunion of the divine, human and nature. Their ‘seeing’ and ‘being’ is immediate, wholistic and primordial. 
This particular concept of transcending individuality to community, I realized when I was studying Indian Tribal Philosophy as part of an M. A. Philosophy Programme. I was living out the tribal philosophy but realized it later. Therefore I wanted to study more about it.

A Brief History Historically, the governing body in Assam was a fusion of tribal and non-tribal institutions. The system prevailing during the Ahom rule is the origin to the Panchayati Raj System in Assam. Ahom Rule The Ahoms, who had ruled Assam for nearly six hundred years (1228-1826 AD), had built up a social structure and a system of local administration wherein a rudimentary form of panchayat for handling local matters could be found. Constituted by elderly experienced representative of the people in the rural areas concerned, the panchayats were generally utilized for settling local disputes. The mel and the khel systems were prevalent in medieval Assam. The usual meaning of mel is a meeting of assembly, or a tribunal. Khel meant a clan or fraternity. People belonging to different castes were required to work in one khel. This led to the growth of a sense of fraternity among them. Assamese society of those days was a combination of several territorial and vocational khels. People belonging to different khels were settled in each village and within their limits they gave some evidence of a functioning democracy. The promulgation of the Assam Local Self-Government Act,1915, brought about a change of approach. The act provided for the establishment of the village panchayat, for the first time on a formal and legal basis. It also provided for an elective non-official majority in the panchayat and for the election of non-officials as chairpersons and vice-chairpersons. Subsequently, in 1926, another act was passed, this time as a panchayat act because of the failure of the panchayat scheme under the act 1915 act. The functions of the village authority under the act of 1926 were listed as water supply, medical relief and sanitation. The outcome of the act of 1926 was that some village authorities were found to exist only on paper, and out of those that functioned, a sizeable number turned out to be ineffective for want of suitable machinery and necessary resources. Thus, despite formal establishment, panchayat institutions under the British proved to be a dismal failure. Post Independent Period-The Assam Rural Panchayat Act, 1948 In 1948, the Assam Rural Panchayat Act was passed to aim at achieving an all round development of the village Governments. The Act provided for the division of rural Assam into several Rural Panchayat areas. Each Rural Panchayat consisted of a number of villages. Each village, again, had a Primary Panchayat. All adult persons in the Primary Panchayat area had the right to vote. The Act empowered the Primary Panchayat to set up an executive authority. Accordingly each Primary Panchayat had an Executive body comprising minimum of 9 and maximum of 15 members including the President and the Vice President of the Primary Panchayat. A Rural Development Officer under the Deputy Commissioner of the

"Islamization of Bedouin judiciary among the tribes of Awlad Aly in Matrouh, Egypt.

سعت الحرآة الإسلامية خلال العقدين الماضيين إلى إحداث تغيرات اجتماعية في المجتمع البدوي بصفة عامة.يأتي ذلك في إطار الرغبة نحو تأسيس مجتمع إسلامي جديد، ليس في البادية فحسب، وإنما في المجتمع المصري ككل. تهدف هذه الدراسة إلي رصد أبعاد عملية أسلمة القضاء البدوي بين أولاد علي بمطروح، والتي نتج عنها تأسيس القضاء الشرعي آنمط من الحكم يقوم على فض المنازعات بتطبيق نصوص من الشريعة الإسلامية. تكمن أهمية الدراسة في تقليل الفجوة المعرفية القائمة حول أسلمة المجتمع البدوي، ولفت انتباه صناع القرار إلى أهمية الإسراع في تحقيق الاندماج الاجتماعي للبدو في مصر. تم الاعتماد على بيانات ميدانية باستخدام أدوات البحث الكيفي ببعض القبائل. ورآزت الدراسة على اسلمة المجتمع البدوي، والتغيرات المصاحبة لهذه العملية، وأهمها دور المهاجرين في التوجهات الدينية، وآذلك تأثير التعليم على تكوين عصبية دينية بدوية، وتجاوب النخبة البدوية الجديدة معها. ورصدت الدراسة مظاهر التغير في القضاء البدوي عبر مراحله المختلفة، بدءا من التوسط في النزاع، ثم التفاوض حول المشورة، وجلسات التحقيق، وإصدار الحكم، وصولا إلى تدابير تنفيذ الحكم الشرعي.
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During the past two decades, the Islamic movement sought to ring about social changes in the Bedouin community in general. This comes within the framework of the desire to establish a new Islamic society, not only among Bedouins in the desert, but in the Egyptian society as a whole. The study aims at monitoring the dimensions of the islamization process of Bedouin judiciary rules among the tribes of Awlad Aly in Matrouh, which resulted in the establishment of Islamic ruling as a mode of governance for conflicts resolution. The importance of the study is to reduce the gap in the existing knowledge about the Islamization of the  Bedouin community, and to draw the attention of decision-makers to the importance of accelerating the achievement of social integration of the Bedouin in Egypt. The study relied on field data using the tools of qualitative research for some tribes. The study focused on the Islamization of the Bedouin community, and the changes associated with this process, the most important of which is the role of migrants in religious orientation; the impact of education on the composition of Bedouin religious fanaticism; and the response of the new elite Bedouin to the Islamization. The study monitored the manifestations of the change in the Bedouin judiciary  system through the various stages from mediating in the disputes, to negotiation advice and hearings, sentencing, leading to measures to implement the Islamic ruling.

"

The aim of this paper is to analyze the course of state building during the Mandate period as a dynamic process which gave rise to a new socio-political field, both modern and traditional at the same time: the Hashemite state of Transjordan (1923). The state-building process was not only a direct consequence of the interaction between Hashemite and British interests in the Near East, but rather the result of the interaction and effective overlap of these elements with the particular socio-political tribal system of Transjordan. Firstly, the paper will describe the local socio-political structure of Transjordan during the 19th century. It was during that period that the process of intertwining and overlapping between the logic of the ‘tribe’ and that of the ‘state’ began. Secondly, the paper describes the particular administrative structure of the Hashemite Emirate of Transjordan, which was based on a division between tribal administration and modern European administration. Thirdly, the paper describes how British colonial policies worked with the Hashemite method of rule and how the Muslim and Christians tribes of Transjordan reacted, raising the first political national movement and signing the National Pact (1929-1936). Finally, the paper describes the achievements of the British-Hashemite and National Pact.

Tribes are a unique identity in India. Their characteristics differ from place to place in the subcontinent. In such a situation, administering such communities residing in pockets throughout the country is a handy task. This paper explains the governance of tribes by figuring out the conceptual understanding, challenges and problems in administration of tribes in India.

Tribal theology(ies) can produce appropriate knowledge and praxis for tribal Christians using a proper methodology(ies). Choosing a suitable methodology is critical for developing relevant and dynamic theology. Here, theology and methodology are interrelated and go hand in hand. In other words, the outcome of any theology is determined by the methodology applied. If an appropriate methodology is not selected, the theology constructed will have a systemic flaw and be irrelevant to the church and society. Therefore, picking an appropriate methodology will decide what kind of theology one produces. And out of several methodologies proposed and applied in tribal theology, the researcher would like to adopt communitarianism as the most realistic approach to tribal theology. Thus, this paper attempts to evaluate the existing methodologies in tribal faith expression. Not only that, but the researcher also once again recommends a communitarian approach as a viable methodology in tribal theology.

This paper presents the empirical findings of implementation of the Provisions of Panchayat (Extension to Scheduled Areas) Act, 1996 (PESA) and its implications for making decentralised governance effective in scheduled areas of Odisha. It highlights how the Panchayats , the Palli Sabhas and the Gram Sabhas as unit of decentralised governance are functioning under the provision of the PESA Act based on field level evidences. In this context, a main objective of this paper was to understand how the Panchayats are institutionalised and made functional in these areas based on the field data collected from two tribal (scheduled area) districts (Sundargarh and Koraput). The main research questions of this paper are (i) what are the evidences of the implementation of this Act in Odisha and how it is implemented?, and (ii) how the Panchayats are functioning in these areas under the PESA Act? Based on the quantitative data collected from 300 households (244 ST Households and 56 others) from the two districts and qualitative data through the process of Focus Group Discussions (FGDs) and in-depth discussions, this paper tries to address the above key research questions. The key findings of the paper shows that in the scheduled areas, the enactment of the PESA Act has been emerged as an important landmark for making Panchayats effective and inclusive. In the case of two districts (Sundargarh and Koraput) the Panchayats under the legal framework of the PESA Act have become instrumental in strengthening the local polity and economy through promoting peoples' participation, formulating local development plans and implementing socioeconomic development programmes. The Palli Sabhas (Village Assembly) and the Gram Sabhas (Panchayat Assembly) have emerged as two grassroots institutions. The nature and extent of

In this article, we have made an attempt to study the impact of various types of development inputs on the socioeconomic life of the Lodha community in the three administrative blocks of Paschim (West) Medinipur district in West Bengal. The study
was conducted in connection with an Impact Assessment Survey under the Rastriya Sama Vikas Yoyona (RSVY) and Indira Awas Jojana (IAY) Schemes. The present study revealed that the major constraints of the implementation of the developmental inputs
among the Lodhas lie in their landlessness and poverty. It was found that the distribution of patta land to landless Lodha families by the Government was not done properly. On the other
hand,developmental inputs like brick built houses were not
properly planned and suffered from lack of maintenance. Some of high technologydevelopmental inputs like solar cells distributed to the poor and landless Lodha families were found to be of no use to the beneficiaries since many of them sold the solar cells to
the wealthy neighbours. Finally, we recommended some suggestions in the concluding section of the article for better implementation of developmental inputs given under the RSVY and IAY schemes.

The article offers a short overview of the fifteenth century conditions that favored the strengthening of blood ties in the villages of the Scutari region in northern Albania during the Venetian and Ottoman reigns. The author argues that by favoring and preserving the special status of brotherhood clans that operated on strong blood ties, the subsequent Venetian and Ottoman administrations contributed to the rise of great tribes in northern Albania during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. The conclusions are based on a comparative analysis of examples from the Catasto Veneto di Scutari, 1416–1417 and The Ottoman Defter of Scutari 1485.

The demand for janajatikaran (scheduled tribe status) in Assam has emerged as one ofthe important debates in civil society, media and academic discussions in recent times. Six ethnic communities, including Koch Rajbanshis, in Assam are vigorously demanding
scheduled tribe (ST) status for themselves. These communities claim that they belong to the “indigenous tribes” of Assam, but the government has been continuously declining their demand for ST status on the ground that the community embraced Hinduism and lost its tribal characteristics long ago.

How and why did a labor union organizer from Goa, a former Naxalite student cadre from West Bengal, and a Jesuit priest from Tamil Nadu end up as spokespersons for adivasi rights in contemporary Jharkhand? What caused their political discourse to shift from tribal/adivasi  to indigeneity? Might indigeneity be an ideology for these activists?

To answer these interrelated questions, this paper analyzes the oral histories of three leading indigenous rights activists in Jharkhand, formerly south Bihar. In these self-narratives, I focus on the ways in which these middle-class activists have crafted their political ethics with reference to “indigenous communities” in India and beyond. I argue that “indigeneity” functions in Jharkhandi activist discourses as a marker of a distinctive post-materialist turn in bourgeois politics. The defense of the indigenous or primitive speaks to deep-seated existential crises among bourgeois activists, who seek to simultaneously transcend the modern domains of state and capital as well as locate an authentic space of political ethics and critique in imagined adivasi collectivities. 

By acting as patrons of “primitive” peoples  who purportedly avoid lying, the state, and the money economy, indigeneity activists assume vanguardist roles in ways that satisfy, firstly, the bourgeois critique of electoral democracy in post-Mandal India and, secondly, the post-Naxalbari desire for an independent left outside the existing communist party alternatives. These twin sources of the Jharkhandi activist’s self may be often complementary, but, at the same time, there are very real tensions between them. As the three activist tales in this paper demonstrate, independent left activists, for example, often takes bourgeois politics in contemporary India as their ideological point of departure; the bourgeois celebration of the individual is, similarly, at odds with the leftist quest for post-capitalist collectivities. Nonetheless, these tensions come to the fore most clearly when we consider the limited popular support enjoyed by these activists, especially when ordinary adivasi men and women refuse to assume what Michel Rolph-Trouillot (2003) famously called the “savage slot.” 

This kind of rejection, in fact, further fuels the existential crises that propel indigeneity activism in Jharkhand today insofar as it prompts the unending bourgeois search for a “purer,” more ethical self that claims to be the antithesis of politics yet aspires to a total politics that suffuses every individual belief, act, and idiosyncrasy. This paper thus sheds light on the politics of the anti-political and the modernity of anti-modernism in contemporary India. """

According to the report of Committee of Land Reforms and State Agrarian Relations (CLSR), the total forest land diverted for non-forest use in Chhattisgarh between 1980 and 2003 was 1.71 lakh hectares, out of which 67 percent was for mining. ((CLSR), 2009) The Union environment ministry has given environmental clearance for open cast coal mining in Parsa in Chhattisgarh’s dense Hasdeo Arand forests, in a decision that could have far-reaching consequences for forest cover conservation in India.

Hasdeo Arand is one of the largest contiguous stretches of very dense forest in central India, spanning about 170,000 hectares. Parsa is one of the 30 coal blocks in Hasdeo Arand and is owned by the Rajasthan Rajya Vidyut Utpadan Nigam Ltd (RVUNL). The mine, which has a capacity of 5 metric tonnes per annum, will be operated by Rajasthan Collieries Limited (RCL), a unit of Adani Enterprises Limited.

It received forest clearance in February 2019. This happened even though in 2009, the Hasdeo Arand forest area had been declared a no-go zone for mining, following submission of the CLSR Report to the Government of India and the Prime Minister’s Office. Its diversion for mining is perhaps the single largest diversion ever. The government’s decision to approve open cast coal mining is alarming as this type of mining involves digging for coal after removing all the vegetation and soil from the area, and it raises serious concern for the future of country’s forests.

Throughout the world, indigenous peoples live on ancestral land and territories, governed by their cultural and traditional norms and values. Their lives and livelihoods are heavily dependent on natural resources and these are managed in a way which is similar to that envisioned by the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG). In recent years, however, governments and corporations have been grabbing and exploiting indigenous community land and establishing industries in these resource-rich areas – for example in Odisha, India. In the Telighana village of Sundargarh, indigenous people are struggling to protect their land, as their rights are not recognised. Their fight is an example and a source of inspiration.

""Liberalism is widely regarded as a modern intellectual tradition that defends the rights and freedoms of autonomous individuals. Yet, in both colonial and postcolonial contexts, liberal theorists and policymakers have struggled to defend the rights and freedoms of political subjects whom they regard as “primitive,” “backward,” or in more politically-correct terms, “indigenous” (Pagden 1982; Damodaran 2006b; Viswanathan 2006; Jung 2008). Liberalism thus recurrently encounters its primitive other, a face-off that gives rise to a peculiar set of dilemmas and contradictions for political theory, policy, and practice in colonial and postcolonial contexts (Ivison 2002; Ivison et al 2000; Banerjee 2006; Ghosh 2006). In what ways can postcolonial law rid itself of its colonial baggage? How can the ideal of universal liberal citizenship overcome paternalistic notions of protection? How might “primitive” subjects become full and equal citizens in postcolonial societies?

To explore these dilemmas and contradictions, I study the intellectual trajectory of “primitivism” in India from the construction of so-called tribal areas in the 1870s to legal debates and official reports on tribal rights in contemporary India. As such, this paper has two principal aims: firstly, to read closely the legal provisions justifying colonial and postcolonial rule over tribal populations in order to highlight the ambiguities and paradoxes of primitivism as an ideology of rule in India, and secondly, to understand these legal texts in their proper intellectual and political contexts in order to develop an historically-inflected understanding of the continuing tension between the constitutional ideal of liberal citizenship and the disturbing reality of tribal subjecthood produced by colonial and postcolonial states in India. In doing so, I seek to put into conversation the small but influential literature on liberalism and modern empire with the voluminous writings on colonial anthropology and administration in British India.

My approach in this paper may be termed interpretive or hermeneutical. I read primary legal texts closely with particular attention to continuities and shifts in their languages and concepts. Furthermore, I situate these texts in their historical contexts in order to better appreciate how the hermeneutics of these texts share a two-way relationship with real-world policy and practice. For the colonial period, I focus on the Scheduled Districts Act (1874), selected administrative and missionary writings on tribal areas and peoples, and extracts from colonial constitutions and commissioned reports. For the postcolonial period, I study the debates over the Constitution of India and its provisions for scheduled tribes, key legislation and court decisions on tribal rights and livelihoods, and reports on tribal development from the 1960s onwards. Lastly, I invoke secondary sources by historians, political theorists, and anthropologists that explore the historical relationship between liberalism and modern empire as well as ideologies of rule that have used anthropological knowledge to justify their raison d’êtres.""

Conservation of cultural monuments cannot be possible only through Government agencies due to visible and invisible causes .Since we have millions of monuments scattered over a diverse physical , cultural and social  landscape , government agencies cannot not conserve all of them individually .Protection through force  and laws is not a productive method of conservation without awareness. Law without awareness and awareness without understanding values don’t help conservation. There arise the need for a method of ‘local public participation’ in heritage management .Conservation should be sustainable for long run .Sustainable  Conservation  need income generation .For income generation community leadership and Responsible tourism are effective tools .Government should enact laws and regulation for its implementation

This Article argues that the national debate on Indian gaming wrongly focuses on the issue of off-reservation gaming and other symptoms of the current imbalance in Indian gaming law, rather than addressing the fundamental reason for the imbalance. The Article first describes the history of Indian
gaming law that led to Congress’s enactment of the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (“IGRA”) in 1988 and explains the  delicate balance that the IGRA created between state and tribal interests. The author suggests that the Supreme Court’s Seminole Tribe decision in 1996 ruptured this balance by  invalidating the IGRA provision that extended federal jurisdiction to claims against states for failure to negotiate gaming compacts with tribes in good faith. As a result of the imbalance, states have been able to impose revenue sharing
agreements of questionable legality and fairness on tribes. This, in turn, has led tribes to pursue expanded gaming opportunities off-reservation and to invoke a procedure of uncertain validity that allows the Secretary of the Interior to prescribe gaming compacts between tribes and states. The Article proposes a legislative fix designed to restore the intended balance of the IGRA in a politically salable manner. The primary elements of the proposal are ratification of all existing revenue sharing agreements to which the concerned
tribes consent, a requirement that all future gaming compacts include revenue sharing, and ratification of the Secretary’s procedure for prescribing fair gaming compacts.

The focus of this study is roadway safety in American Indian reservations. We provide new sources of data and policy- relevant findings to address the unusually high rates of roadway fatalities and injuries among American Indians. Qualitative methods were used to generate and analyze data from people with the most direct knowledge of and responsibility for reservation roadway safety.

Four case studies were conducted in partnership with the tribal governments of the Red Lake, Fond du Lac, Leech Lake, and Mille Lacs reservations; these data sources include fieldwork (90 days), interviews (n=102), focus groups (n=8), and short surveys (n=220). These data are triangulated with data from FHWA’s 2016 nationwide survey of tribes and states (n=196).

Key findings from this extensive data analysis are:
1. Pedestrian safety is a critical, yet under-recognized issue on reservations. This is unequivocal across all data sources and differentiates reservations from rural areas in general.
2. Reservation road engineering and repair are very high priorities according to both tribe and state governments.
3. Reckless driving is a multi-faceted concern, including not only impaired driving but also cell phone distraction and speeding.
4. Education and enforcement to increase seatbelt and car seat use are named as high priorities in the national survey.
5. Tribes need better cooperation with local, state, and federal agencies. Priorities include addressing data quality and sharing issues better inter-jurisdictional cooperation for infrastructure and enforcement. The study concludes with recommendations to improve roadway safety in reservations and for further research.

In this article, we have made an attempt to study the impact of various types of development inputs on the socioeconomic life of the Lodha community in the three administrative blocks of Paschim (West) Medinipur district in West Bengal. The study was conducted in connection with an Impact Assessment Survey under the Rastriya Sama Vikas Yoyona (RSVY) and Indira Awas Jojana (IAY) Schemes. The present study revealed that the major constraints of the implementation of the developmental inputs among the Lodhas lie in their landlessness and poverty. It was found that the distribution of patta land to landless Lodha families by the Government was not done properly. On the other hand, developmental inputs like brick built houses were not properly planned and suffered from lack of maintenance. Some of high technology developmental inputs like solar cells distributed to the poor and landless Lodha families were found to be of no use to the beneficiaries since many of them sold the solar cells...