Educational Hurdles Faced by the Thoti Tribe of Andhra Pradesh

 

 

 

Educational Hurdles Faced by the Thoti Tribe of Andhra Pradesh

 

Introduction:

The word ‘education’ has become a buzzword in the debates of educationists, philosophers and social scientists from time to time. Generally it is conceived as training for better life and better social adjustment in a community or group. Education is a phase of the social process, which is fostered by society for the purpose of preparing its members for community life in the group. It gives opportunity to a child to develop the physical, mental and spiritual powers including the development of overall personality.  The education experts have also opined that education is catalytic for developing the economy by mediating the man power demand and labor supply.

 

According to Plato (1852), “education refers to the training given to socially accepted habits, virtues and instincts of children.”Saiyidan (1928) believes that “education is essentially a social affair and the school is charged by society with the duty of training and bringing up the youth.” It gives the opportunity for any social systems the given communities for learning and transmitting the culture and in socializing the individuals for good human beings.

           

Education is a cultural process which includes schooling as well as training on other aspects of social life i.e., values, customs, norms, antiquities, and so on. Though education is universal, its content varies from culture to culture and in temporal space and time. The main aim of education is to impart knowledge and transmit it from generation to generation. It provides ways and means for improving the present state of an individual through different systems and institutions. The over all progress of any country depends on the development of education.

 

The educational development is a prerequisite for social and economic development of any community. This is particularly true in the case of communities like Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes and other down-trodden people.

 

 As a result of such efforts, policy makers recognized the importance of education in nation building and thus more attention is being paid to this subject. It is fact that the tribal people in India are socially, economically, politically, and educationally backward and that intensive effort is required to protect them from exploitation and to bring them to the level of development. Anthropologists and Sociologists have observed that culture contacts with out proper education and preparation are harmful to the tribes and it creates many adjustment problems.

 

Education, which is part of total culture, means knowledge. It has a vital role to play and its aim is to develop insights and skills of people to deal effectively with their problems. It is a process of growth and development of human personalities and knowledge. More often education is equated with schooling, but in functional view education is equated to learning. The latter is very radical, in the sense it considers education is inherently life long process, starting in infancy and continuing through out adulthood.

 

The concept of education varies according to time and space, society, culture and at individual level. In all societies irrespective of tribal or non tribal, the aim is to impart knowledge, to pass on knowledge from one generation to another and to show ways and means for improving up on the existing knowledge. Importance of education in terms of literacy has been universally recognized irrespective of diverse societal patterns.  For tribals, it is more essential as they were economically and educationally backward since ages. Indian Constitution has identified the problems of Tribal people among the weaker sections of society and has made special provisions to check their exploitation and fillip to their upliftment. Education has been accepted as one of the main means of achieving this objective. Special educational incentives such as opening of Ashram schools, reservation of seats in educational institutions, provision of scholarships, mid-day meal etc., have been introduced for the benefit of tribal education. In spite of all these measures education has made little progress among the tribals.

 

Article-46 of the Indian Constitution lays down that the States shall promote the educational and economic interest of the weaker sections of the people and in particularly the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes and shall protect them from social injustice and all forms of exploitations.  To fulfill this objective, efforts have made by the Central and State governments and accordingly made budgetary allocations, but results are not up to the mark. Under these circumstances, various Non-Governmental Organizations swung into action to ameliorate the educational development of the tribal people.

 

In the post Independent India, various Commissions and committees have been constituted to study the aspects of tribal welfare and development and to make recommendation for improving education standard of the backward communities. They mainlyinculded report of U. N. O. Dhebar  Commission (1961) on the Scheduled Areas and Scheduled Tribes, the report of the committee of special Multipurpose Tribal Blocks by Verrier Elwin (1960), the report of the Backward Classes Commission study team on social welfare headed by SmitiRenuka Roy (1959), another report of the Backward Classes Commission headed by Kalekar, and report of the National Seminar on Tribal Education in India organized by the Tribal Education Union of the National Council of Educational Research and Training, etc. All these reports deal with tribal communities in India as a whole, but in implementation level, no effort has been made to overcome theeducational problems of the country in general and the problems of tribal areas in particular.

As per 2001census in addition, any other tribal block in a district , other than afore said 54 identified districts , which has Scheduled tribal male literacy rate is 21 % and tribal female literacy rate is 35% as per 2001 census are also covered.

 

Methodology and Data collection:

The present study is basically a qualitative as well as quantitative study aimed at understanding the status and problems of education of Primitive Tribal Group. The study was conducted among Thoti tribe in Danora village of Adilabad district in Andhra Pradesh and concentrated primarily on the community and the available schools in the village for data collation (government Primary, and High Schools, and Ashram Schools, Balawadi and Anganwadi Centers) namely Altogether there are 10 schools in Danora village and all these schools are covered under the present study.

 

In order to fulfill the objectives of the study, anthropological techniques are conceived as important for the study. These are mainly observation, structured ,scheduled, case study, group discussions, and formal and in formal interviews using detailed interview guide.

 

 The study is evaluative cum exploratory in the nature; a systematic and planned procedure was followed for undertaking this research work. Fieldwork is conducted from 15 -12-07 to 15 -01 – 07 . A structured scheduled was prepared for the collection of data. With this tool, maximum information regarding demographic particulars and literacy levels is collected. Since the respondents like students and parents are agriculture labourers, the researcher stayed in the study village and met them early in the morning and evening time for collecting the data. Initially the researcher had continuous interaction with the respondents for rapport building. Apart from informal interviews, structured interviews were conducted for collection of data from the school teachers and students and parents and drop out students in Danora village.

 

Data from secondary sources such as books, articles, published and un published  reports, Census reports, and government documents have been collected to get an overview of the existing literature and present status of tribal education in Andhra Pradesh. Statistical information on the existing schooling facilities in the district and study area is collected from ITDA and Education departments.

 

Sample size:

Out of the 28 villages with Thoti population in AdilabadDistrict , the village Dhanora is purposively as its is the only village with a maximum of 75 households with in the study village with regard to selection of subjects no sampling is adopted rather all categories of individuals like students, teachrs,parents, dropouts,and schools in the study are considered for study.

 

Study Area:

In order to select the study village, a Pilot study was conducted in 2007 in UtnoorMandal of Adilabad district in Andhra Pradesh. Keeping in view the objectives of the study, Danora village is selected for understanding of the status of Thoti education in the context of external interventions. The study village is situated in interior and having 75 K.m. distance from Utnoor nearby town. The main concentration of Thoti tribe located in the area of Dhanora village of Adilabad District. The villagers depend on forest and other natural resources for their sustenance. Fieldwork was conducted for a period of  December 15 – 12 -07 to 15  - 01 – 07 one month i.e., January 2007 continuously for collecting the requisite information. During Pilot study, frequent visits were made to the study village to understand the local situation and also to acquire familiarity with the local people.

 

 

Data collection:

The data collection has been done keeping in view the main objectives of the study during the course of the study. Initially, all the schools were surveyed with the help of key informant by visiting every school in the study village. Detailed Census schedule was used for the collection of data pertaining to the demographic and other details such as age, sex family details, education, landholdings, occupational patterns, material belongings, etc.

 

Intensive informal discussions with the teachers on enrolment and other relevant figures at village and school level for tribal students who appeared annual examination, number of passed and failed etc. Attendance  register of students  are very carefully examined  to find out the dropout students etc. Government and non-government officials and other functionaries were interviewed to understand the development process and its impact on education in the study area. Efforts were made to capture the natives’ perceptions on education and its advantages in socio-economic development.

 

Observation is an important  tool of anthropological fieldwork. The same has been used to get a better understanding of emic view of Thoti on formal education. It further helped the researcher in eliciting factors responsible for drop-out. Participation in economic activities and rituals in the village was given the opportunity in understanding the native’s perceptions on education. As a part of this, researcher also assisted them in their economic activities agricultural works, and accompanying them to weekly market, etc. It facilitated to have access with individuals and people less interested in open discussion. 

 

The teachers, parents and students of the area were interviewed through interview method. Group discussions were conducted to elucidate the attitude of parent towards sending their children to school, occupation of the earning members in the family number ofteachers and their qualification and experience the data related to different problems of education in the study area.It has also provided insight into the socialization and other non-formal methodsof  education by the Thoti community.

 

In the entire fieldwork, special emphasis was given to record the Thoti beliefs and practices in the village. BhumiPanduga and other resource related rituals and life cycle rituals were collected and customs and conventions behind those practices were probed.

 

Finally, data from all these sources have been verified through a discussion with a cross section of people, including teachers, village officials and representatives of Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) in the villages.

 

Tribal Education in India:

The development of literacy among the Scheduled Tribes is very low when compared other categories of population.  However tribal education status is different in Mizoram and Lakshadweep. It has reached 80 to 85 percentages.  In other North-East States like Nagaland, Sikkim, Manipur the rate is more than 60 percent (Census, 1991).

 

Where as states like Assam, Himachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Goa and  Tripura educational status is less than40 percentage when compared to all India average and Maharashtra, Gujarat, Karnataka and Arunachal Pradesh it is between 30 to 40 percentage.  Other States like Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Bihar, and Andhra Pradesh and UnionTerritory i.e., Dadra Nagar Haveli it has remained below 30.

 

Education development among the Tribes in the Andhra Pradesh:

The provision of free and compulsory primary education foe all children up to the age of 14 is a constitutional commitment under article 45. In Andhra Pradesh ,compulsory primary education act was introduced in the year  1961 for  the children in the age group 6 to 11 years with the adoption a of sub plan as a strategy for development in the tribal areas of nine Scheduled districts in Andhra Pradesh , the government has initiated education development among the tribal along with other economic and health programmes.

 

The new deal for the tribal not only impressed the tribal beneficiaries but also laid foundation for optimistic faith in potentiality of education as an instrument, which can help the tribal to reach new heights. The strategy has been adopted to bridge the gap between the tribal and non tribals to reduce the gap and regional imbalances. The ITDA is striving hard for implementation if educational development schemes covering a wide range of activities for bringing about qualitative improvement of the education in tribal areas of AdilabadDistrict .

 

There was an impressive increase in educational institutions since the inception of programmes are tribal developmental blocks in the area. The real education growth started and gained momentum during the five year plan period. Consequent on recognition of vital role played education in all around development process. Higher allocations were made and new programmes like Maabadi,SarvaShikshaAbhiyan all India educational survey (NEP) were added to educational sectors. Even though ,huge investment was made in this sector the results were not commensurate with the development efforts put in as the rate of literacy remained low. In order to enhance the educational status the tribals, the government has provided certain educational   facilities and concessions like scholarships for day scholars, notebooks ,stationary,clothing,hostels  facilities and midday meals, free ration to the student family.

 

Anthropology and education , and out of their works emerged a special branch of anthropology of education. Some of the concepts like culture, socialization or enculturation, innovation, diffusion which are of special relevance to education, particularly the education of ethnic minority learners and aboriginal groups.

 

The education system in the tribal communities of Adilabad agency socio- economic and cultural background, tribal welfare education institution tribal developmet agency area of (ITDA) Utnoor incurred towards the maintence of these institutions, supply of books and dress material to the students and steps taken for the improvement of students enrollment, tribal parents and students attitudes towards formal education, role of the teacher to strengthen the education system in the area incidence of dropouts, reasons for dropouts and tribal peoples perception about the value of education.

 

The study tried out in the ITDA area of Utnoor, which falls under Adilabad District of Andhra Pradesh . A sample of six schools and Dhanora village were covered for the study. A about 296 parent respondents were selected in order to know their attitude, value and opinion towards the educational functioning of the schools in the selected tribal village of ITDA Utnoor. The conventional anthropological methods like participant observation and scheduled, interview and case study were used to collect the data. Secondary sources of data were collected from ITDA Utnoor the study.

 

 

Several innovations on the educational development under way, attempts to remove backwardness of the Scheduled tribes through education have been slow owing to various drawbacks primary being the lack of basic educational knowledge and awareness every person shall be able to benefit by education through basic learning of expression and numeric ability.

 

The most primitive tribes majority of the tribal population stand below the poverty line and facing the problems like indebtedness, illiteracy, malnutrition and exploitation. The interior tribals still live relatively in isolation since India’s independence our government is spending some amount for improving the literacy rate the tribals, apart from other population.

 

All most all the communities living in the rural and urban and tribal areas availed the government sponsored formal education to educate their children, but the tribes has proved to be slow in availing such facility due to certain cultural barriers, constraints and limitations. In order to improve the literacy rate among the tribals certain special provisions extended to them, but still the development in the educational sphere taking place in a slow pace manner in the tribal areas of certain states including Andhra Pradesh.

 

 

Traditional Institutions of Education:

 

There has been a lot of cultural change among Oraons, but they have still preserved their traditional educational center of institution known as the Dhumukuria. It is in this Dhumukuria that traditions are passed from mouth to mouth, from older age group of youths and from youths to younger to younger ones. The parents and the elders of the village initiate the child into different customs and traditions of their community and group.

 

The Jonkh - Erpa for the boys and Pello –Erpa the girls were once found in almost all villages. But at present they are not much active. Earlier it was an effective economic originastion for purposes of food quest, a useful seminary for the training of youth men in their social and other duties and institution for magical religious observances calculated to secure success in

hunting and augment the procreative power of the young men so as to increase the number of the hunters in the tribe.

In tribal societies skills and knowledge are transmitted to the younger generation through the process of socialization and also we see special institutions for this purpose the Oraon of Chota Nagpur had their own traditional institution for imparting education to its young once. Dhamukuria known as Joinkherpa is the youth dormitory for boys. Similarly youth dormitory for girls is popularly and local known as ‘’Peerapa’’

 

Oraon boys were admitted to the membership of the Dhamukuria at about eight years of age and the membership is compulsory. In the dhamukuria institutions tribal children are properly and educated in order to face future eventualities of life and cope ages with the cultural requirements. Apart from informal education the Oraon of barambe have the facilities of formal education . Such facilities for formal education are extended to them       through the institutions formed by government or by missionaries however the response to such facilities is very poor.

 

1.      Holding the school in the evening

2.      Making reading materials available to them free of cost

3.      Midday meals should be served to attract the students and their parents.This will be minimize the diseases growing out of the hunger 

4.      The teachers should not only be tribals but should be also have necessary zeal and aptitude for the development of their own brethren

5.      Non formal education may also be fruitfully tried among them.

 

Illiteracy and exploitation:

The tribal populations exploitations by minor government officials , as well as money lenders, landlords and other agents of vested interest , can largely be traced to their illiteracy and general ignorance of the world outside the narrow confines of their traditional environment .

Their inability to cope with the many novel forces impinging now a days on tribal villages and on an economy which had remained virtually unchanged for centuries is by no means due to any innate lack of intelligence. As long as they operate with in their familiar atmosphere, tribals evidence as much personality, skill and even true wisdom as they are faced by social attitudes rooted in a different system they become insecure and often behave in a manner detrimental to their own interest.

Brought up in a system in which all communications are by word of mouth, and hence used to trusting verbal statements , they get confused by constant reference to documents and written rules , which increasingly determine all aspects of rural life. Unable to read even the receipt given by an official and obliged to put their thumb impressions on documents which they cannot understand, they are easy victims of any fraud or misrepresentation which more educated exploiters are likely to devise.

 

It is obvious , therefore , that a medium of literacy is indispensable as a first step towards enabling tribals to operate with in the orbit of the advanced communities dominating the economic and political scene. The disadvantages under which illiterate tribals labour are multiplied in the case of those who do not even speak and understand the language of the dominant population , and hence can not communicated with officials except through better educated fellow tribes acting as interpreters.

Student’s problems:

Most of the tribal habitats are not provided with the school due to their geographical inaccessibility and smallness of the community. As such the nearest school may be at a distance of 2 – 4 kilometers. Tribal students are  faced by this problem of  distance of schools so they are not going to school regularly.

Experience has shown that the boy or the girl is an economic asset to a tribal family and therefore sending them to school upsets the traditional pattern of division of labour as referred by Elwin (1963). It is well known that girls usually help their mothers at home in all possible ways  and boys work in the field in the agricultural seasons .In non agriculture seasons they are usually engaged in the collection of petty forest produces and firewood , grazing goats and cattle, hunting and fishing under these circumstances the parents just can not send them to school at all. 

Elwin (1963) has stressed that the factors of the school in NEFA should  aim at and has suggested that school become much a tribal institution as Dormitory to attract students. He has expressed his view about the school textbooks and suggested the importance of language so that the students can follow teaching without much difficulty.

FurerHaimendorf (1944) has traced out the back ground and discussed the problems among the Gond tribal children who faced lot of problems at the time of reading and writing because they faced language problems which is taught in the classroom.

Village dormitory is a kind of training institution for unmarried boys and girls. Dormitory is a kind of school where the tribal youths of either sex learn how to perform their conjugal and social duties as also the lore of the clan. Existence of dormitories hasbeen reported among the tribal societies jakuns of Malaya ,thebattacks of Sumatra , the irgots of Phippines , the Borror and most of the American tribes (Grigson 1944)

The dormitories are chiefly meant for imparting social education to the tribal children. The Tribal areas, sense cooperation and competition and sexual maladjustment among the students . The author Nityananada (1958) feels the government prescribed regional   language should also be taught to the tribal children along with their own language. He has discussed the various problems faced by the tribal children in the primary ashram schools. Educational systems among the tribals should be taught with a well planned system of education especially meant for tribal areas. N.V.Bapat (1961) has given suggestions that girls education should get priority and various measures to bring improvement among the tribals in the field of education have been made. 

Problems of education of Scheduled Tribe students with particular reference to the  extent to wastage and extent to which the Scheduled tribes shows their preference for different types of education. Enrollment of scheduled tribes enrollment by type of institution bring the period 1960 to 1961 problems of enrollment of the scheduled tribe children at different stages of education has also been discussed.

Verrier Elwin (1963) has also suggested that school should become as much as a tribal institution of Morung (dormitory). The studies of Aiyappan (1948), G.K. Koppihar (1956) recognizes the importance of vocational and incentive based education in tribal schools as tribal children are showing less interest towards rigid and academic type of formal education. The works of Vyas and Choudhary (1990) research on the problems of ‘Drop-outs in Tribal Situation’ in Rajasthan reveals that the stagnation is the major problems in Drop-out rates.

In an evaluative study conducted by Jha (1985) on hostels and ashram schools of tribal girls, it is observed that like majority of beneficiary schemes meant for tribals, the economically rich amongst the tribal community availing the education facilities of these newly formed hostels and ashram schools.

The number of poor students admitted in hostels was much lower than the number expected and the organizers of these hostels were neither trained nor qualified. The hostel rooms were overcrowded and did not havebasic facilities.

 

Teacher problems:

The teachers working in tribal area schools are encountered with certain specific problems in discharging their duty of teaching, which may include communication problem. Can understand the regional language which the teacher speaks, the account and the high vocabulary used are difficult for them to fallow. 

The teachers while teaching in the  class they face language problem  as they are not in a person to speak tribal dialect. Even though the students.  While teaching if they used visual charts and documentary films the students understand lessons easily. Lack of proper administrative and supervision of schools in the tribal areas is also important constraint this is difficulty to solve as communication being bad and terrain difficult, the schools in such areas are hardly visited by the inspecting staff. This is also partly due to low level of motivation and commitment among inspecting staff. Which are again matched by the low level of motivation and commitment among the teachers. 

Poor residential facilities for teachers further make them resort to get themselves transferred from schools regularly. In rainy seasons particularly they absent themselves from schools for want of protection from rain. Teachers faced many problems because of proper residence in the tribal areas the teachers staying out side of the tribal community.

 

Among Saora tribal students Panda found that the Oriya  boys and girls possessed better personality adjustments than the least an cultured Saora boys and girls with the aim of understanding out the nature of impediments and hurdles to the over all educational programmes of the tribal people of Orissa Panda (1989) conducted empirical study and some of his findings are:

1.      Medical facilities provided to tribal school children was very poor

2.      A majority of teachers felt that the syllabus was not suitable to the daily usage of tribal children.

3.      Teachers participation in workshop / seminars was very poor

4.      Teachers properly teaching in the classrooms

5.      Many students teaching should not understood

6.      Many students felt that they were unable to pursue their studies well because they had in sufficient reading and writing materials

7.      The relationship between teachers and students was cordial

8.      Teachers having knowledge to tribal languages  / dialects people cultural taits of tribal people should be given appointment preferably the local educate people who are willing to stay and serve in the tribal areas should be appointed

9.      Educated wives of the teachers serving in the tribal areas should be appointed to attract more number of tribal girls.

Socio - Economic problems:

Among the tribal people economic conditions observed to be very poor and therefore large proportion of tribal parents, who get their children enrolled in primary schools due to persuasion of teachers and others , withdraw their children from school when they need their assistance in household or economic activities.

It is common observation to find that a majority of tribal parents withdraw their wards from the school when they need them during agricultural season. It is generally found that a Scheduled tribe child becomes economically useful to the family at the age of 10 or even below as such his going to school at this age is clear economic loss. For girl students there is yet another reason for dropout. Many tribal parents do not desire their daughters who are in primary school to go beyond primary schooling.

A large proportion of them educate girls only up to the educational level for which facilities are locally available .Most village schools in the tribal area have facilities for education up to standard fourth only then children go for work helping the parents and earning money. Tribal people in general are poor and are found at low economic statues. Low motivation for learning, low self estimate and the like create problems in their education.

This is partially because of the existing system of education which is primarily based on urban, non tribal middle class culture. The typical school with its urban middle class values, medium of instruction, system of evaluation with non tribal teachers does not suit the tribal environment. The concepts, ideas and themes alien to the tribal people are generally contained in the textbooks. Which generate negative attitude and inferiority complexion among the tribal learners .Even the non tribal teachers have developed negative ethnic stero types and prejudices against the tribal people. If the teacher’s expectation is low then the pupil tends to satisfy him by his poor performance.

Parent’s problems:

Parents play important role for the child to join the school . In tribal areas most of the parents are either illiterates or not highly educated to value the system of formal education.

Due to the persistent poverty the tribal parents depended up on the children’s  economic support in the tribal areas and hence they look at the child as an immediate economic asset. Under this perception the tribal parent cannot visualize the importance of education and feel that keeping children in schools is  non - remunerative (Yatindra Singh 1994).

The parents of the children should be assured that higher education to their wards would not in any way keep them way from their children. The scholarships and stipends to the tribal students studying in schools and colleges should be disbursed on time to prevent students and their parents from borrowing money on high interests from others. So that payment of their scholarships should be decentralized and it should be paid in the first week of every month . The amount of scholarship to be tribal students be enhanced appropriately as the present one compared to the living is very low. As children are normally helpful to parents in their assistance in their activities rather than sending them to schools.

A review of the studies on tribal education give a panoramic picture of the issues related with and the problems encountered in the course of spread of literacy among the tribes. As each tribe is a cultural entity by itself with its own world view the depth of each problem  varies from tribe to tribe and location to location. And the case of the most backward tribes is much different from the other tribes. Here  attempt is made to understand the cultural fabric of Thoti and their and their literacy levels with the following objectives.

Book Review

 

Book Review:

Joseph S. Thong. (2012). Head Hunters Culture- Historic Culture of Nagas. New Delhi: Mittal Publications. Pp. 175 + xv. ISBN: 81-8324-154-9. Price: Rs. 495/-.

The author of this book has presented descriptive information of the Naga tribe who were once known for head- hunting. Head- hunter’s culture is a very old tradition once practiced by the Nagas, inhabited in the states of Nagaland, Manipur, Assam in India and in Myanmar who migrated from the South East Asian countries long past. This tribe is differing from rest of the communities of India in origin, language, food habits, dress pattern, beliefs, religion, social customs and tradition. It is said that they used to chop the head of their enemies after the battle is over and bring those at home as a memory of victory in addition to prove their valour and to appease their god in order to increase their fertility, good luck and well being of their people. The practise of head- hunting resides in the heart of the Naga culture and all other life cycle rituals and activities and also inter woven with this. The inseparable part of the Naga culture like village society, construction of house, construction of village gate and its decorations, chieftainship, dress and ornaments, occupation, rituals, marriage, clan system, fairs and festivals, etc. are all centred round and linked up with head- hunting and Feast of Merit which are same in almost all the sections of Naga tribe except some minor variations from village to village, clan to clan, etc. This is a distinctive feature of the Naga tribe which makes it different from the rest of Indian communities which is generally governed by caste system, zamindari system, jajmani system, etc.

Although many books has been written on Nagas by many British administrators, Christian Missionaries, Naga National Workers, journalists, travellers, military personels, local administrators, academicians, researchers and son on, but so far as the author’s knowledge, no comprehensive book that covering all the aspects of the culture of the head- hunting community has been written to quench our thrust for knowledge. Hence, through this book the author tried to present us a complete picture of Naga culture. Various components of traditional Naga society have been described in brief.

In present day also, in the interior rural villages one can see the historic culture still prevalent without any change and are transmitted from one generation to another through the aged people whose ways of life have not changed for centuries. Apart from it, the material culture likes the wood carving craft, cloth weaving, pot making, dresses and ornaments, weapons, tattooing, dyeing, folk songs, dances, etc. also served the author as primary data to reconstruct the traditional culture of the Nagas. For the collection of first hand data he also applied  participation observation method. The data are also collected from the information received from the informant from the field and from the books listed in the bibliography. For the collection of data, the author has gone through very systematic method like library method, historical method, documentary method, questionnaire method, schedule method, interview method and participant observation method.

This book serves as a guideline for the students, research scholars, academicians and teachers of Social Sciences like anthropology, ethnography, sociology, culture, tribal studies, law, society and technology. The book is also very helpful to know more about the life style of the Naga head- hunters. Apart from it, it will serve to the candidates who are preparing for competitive exams, college and university exams related to tribal culture and society. The administrators also be benefited from this book who were serving in tribal and backward areas as this book is proving information related to tribal culture, their ways of life, tribal beliefs, values, customary laws and justice, political and social organization and other relevant informations. Through this book the author tried to document those lost intangible and tangible culture heritages that are lost or about to lose.

Published in: 

Mekal Insights, Year 12 Vol. IV, Issue 1. ISSN: 0975-010X. (p.110-111).

 

Threats to Archaeological Sites and Suggestion to Generate Awareness among the People: A Brief Communication

 

Threats to Archaeological Sites and Suggestion to Generate Awareness among the People: A Brief Communication

Introduction:

Archaeology is the primary source of knowledge of evolution of primitive culture. In fact Archaeology is the only sources to know the past human activities, when the written records are totally absent. Simply It has been defined as the “Science of ancient remains” i.e. tools, pottery, artifacts, monuments etc. Moreover, systematic and scientific study of past remains (left by past human) considered it as ‘Science’. Science, which brings out some absolute indisputable fact. All Archaeological site and material spread over the surface and beneath the surface are invaluable; nevertheless some Archaeological sites and monuments have been reached the verge of ending. The growth of mass tourism, natural disasters, environmental degradation, rapidly increasing urbanization, Religious conflicts are among many threats to archaeological sites and heritage. They must be preserved and conserved and for that Education plays very important role.

However, it is the matter of debate whether our cultural heritage is being protected. Are rules for protection and conservation being enforced?  What are the hurdles? What the steps can be taken to remove hurdles to protect archaeological sites and monuments. Whatever problem is there we should understand it and try to resolve from the point of view of economic interest, as well as cultural interest.

Through this paper we are trying to enlighten the type of threats and solution to preserve and conserve the Archaeological sites and monuments.

According to the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act, 1958 charged the central/state Department of Archaeology with responsibility for the protection of important cultural sites. Under the Act, sites had been classified under three categories:

1)      Monuments of national importance which are protected by the Central Government;

2)      Monuments of religious or cultural importance which are protected by the State government; and

3)      Monuments which are neither centrally nor state protected, but which are considered to be an important part of cultural heritage.

Under the same Act, charged authorities are permitted to take suitable measures to ensure the preservation of protected sites and monuments under threat from misuse, decay or economic activity.

Above clauses say about only protected archaeological sites and monuments. But question arises for unprotected archaeological sites and monuments which are under threat. The Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH), a private non- governmental organization (NGO) based in New Delhi, has estimated that there are 70,000- odd historical monuments in India. Other estimates put the figure at more than 100,000; Whereas Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) declares 5,000-odd monuments out of 70,000 as ‘protected monuments’.    The ASI is solely responsible for those 5,000-odd monuments, but the rest of the monuments which are more than 50,000 in number, are completely unattended. The fate of unprotected monuments and sites is highly uncertainly. 

Negligence: Negligence is the one of the biggest threat to protected as well as unprotected sites and monuments. If we see the Delhi, capital of India there are eight such monuments, including Masjid Moth, Lal Gumbad , Humayun’s Tomb and Khirki Mosque among others, are lying in a neglect object according to ASI (Archaeological survey of India). These monuments are under grave threat from garbage dumps emitting noxious gases. Tourists, who enthusiastically come to visit Historic Monuments, are welcomed by mounds of garbage and foul smell.

For example, a Lodhi era tomb which is unprotected monument based in New Delhi had been converted into living quarters for a family for three generations.

In March 2009, The times of India carried a story of encroachment of the Atgah Khan tomb located in the Nizammuddin dargah area of New Delhi has been used encroached by 12 families by INTACH. In December 2009, the print media broke a story on how the prtotected haveli of the great Urdu poet Mirza Ghalib was used to host a wedding reception.

Like protected sites there are many unprotected and unlisted sites and monuments such as Someshwar Temples and Manikgarh Fort in Chandrapur of Madhya Pradesh, and Tipu’s Fort in Shrirangapatanam, Mysore are neglected by government and civic body.                                

Theft and Smuggling: Smuggling is a very serious threat to ancient antiquities all over the world. If we look back into our history we will find that there are many political up and down in every part of the world including our country which led to looting and plundering of wealth and property. India has a long history of smuggling of antiquities e.g. robbery in ancient temples by Mahmud Ghazni and other Muslim invaders. Later on during the colonial period British officials has also sent precious artifacts, stones, sculptures and paintings to Great Britain. In present day scenario we find that a lot of sculptures and other artifacts are smuggled from various places of India because of the very high rate these antiquities have high demand in international market. Very recently the noble medal of Rabindranath Tagore has been stolen from the museum of Santi Niketan and till now it was not recovered. This is a very shameful act from our part. Such state of affairs is not only a national crime but also a cultural sin.

Demolition of archaeological Monuments: Unawareness towards archaeological sites and antiquities led to the demolition of cultural heritage. Because of the greed and profit builders build their construction on ancient sites, stone crushers are set near hilly areas and ancient caves consist of precious rock paintings were damaged by their economic activities. If some how the basement and structure of temple or ancient monument is found unearth in village area, the villagers usually take out the bricks, stones, wood and other important things of that monument for the construction of their own houses or they sell it. Villagers sometimes apply cement on sculptures and monuments because of this act dating becomes difficult and often the its historical importance get lost. Application of oil paint on the temple wall sometimes destroys ancient wall painting. Application of sindur (vermilion) on sculpture demolished their identity and it become very difficult to know iconography character of that sculpture.

See the pathetic condition of 1,000-year-old Siva temple, protected by state government’s Archaeology Department based at Manambadi village neglected. Now it is facing the threat of demolition for expansion of a road under the Thanjavur-Vikkiravandi four-way project of the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI). Temple is in pathetic condition. It’s vimana in a dilapidated condition and enveloped by creepers. The stone structure below the vimana, with intricate sculptures, and the sanctum sanctorum with a Siva lingam are intact. 

Destruction by tourists: Cultural heritage are important tourist spots for both national and international visitors. Generally tourists who come to see the nation's heritage and monuments celebrate picnic and parties there. Eating, drinking and other activities are unlawful works which are performed. Tourists write their names and address, spit on the walls of the monuments disrupt the nature of that. This is a very shameful act. The activities of such literate fools brought our cultural sites in danger.

See the photograph where we can see the grotesque things done by human being. You have seen the walls or the pillars of some old monuments being scribbled and scratched and have the most unwanted things written. In every Historic monument, we find such nonsense arts of some vile artists who do not know the value of cultural monuments but are on the verge of destroying them. People don’t aware the significance of beauty and don’t have the sense of respect towards cultural assets. 

Encroachment: Encroachment is also a big problem because it is responsible for the demolition and destruction of archaeological monuments and sites. Because of the increasing price of land, unavailability of land and space crisis has brought archaeological sites in danger zone. Temple lands are often being encroach by villagers and used for cattle grazing. Builders are also capturing the archaeological areas and uprooted monuments. This is the main problem in modern day. Many of the archaeological sites in urban India are encroached by the public buildings and hotels. This often condemned the beauty of the monument. Apart from it due to pollution and over population of the cities led to the damage of the ancient monument. Example may be given to Taj Mahal of Agra and Victoria Memorial Hall of Kolkata. The milky white marble monuments are getting faded and becoming black due to the pollution. Smoke release from the factories, oil refineries, cars and street food stalls is the major cause of pollution. Now problem is becoming dangerous because of the fast development of cities. Need a strong and systematic step to tackle such type of problem.

We found the latest example of encroachment threat of archaeological site in Sisupalgarh, Bhubaneswar. On 24^th June 2014 Express news service published the pathetic condition of Sisupalgarh, 2,500- year-old fortified settlement. Though it is protected site but there is no conservation plan for it by ASI or State Government.

His site excavated by B.B. Lal in 1948-50. The area was spread over 562.68 acres of land, but today only 0.775 acres remain under ASI’s control. While 40 to 45 acres is under State Government, the rest are private land holdings. According to newspaper more than 2,000 buildings have come up inside the fort area, violating norms of the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains (AMASR) (Amendment and Validation) Act, 2010. Many more structures have come up within 100-metre radius of the site, particularly the 16 pillars of Sisupalgarh.

Same activity has been done in Chandrawati, ancient site of Udaipur. For an industrial corridor project some portion of land of Chandrawati site has been acquisition by railway department, where a railway line has been proposed.

Natural Disaster:  Natural phenomenons come without knocking the door, when it comes, destroy everything. Catastrophic damages by earthquake, flood, cloud burst, heavy rainfall and volcano eruption or others disaster either loss of life or ruin of structural buildings. Flood in Srinagar, cloud burst in Uthrakhand,earthquake in gujrat, tsunahmi in Tamilnadu are few example of natural disaster which ruin life and our valuable cultural assets which never get back.

 AHMEDABAD: Feb. 2, 2001. The 600 year old monument Jhulta Minara or Shaking Minarets was among the dozens of ancient monuments which partially collapsed or were damaged during the 7.9 magnitude earthquake.

Archaeology and Education:

As Archaeology has contributed a lot to the history, culture and other social and life sciences, it has been recognized as a reliable source of knowledge. In India, particularly, historic archaeology has been related to the background of traditional norms of our past. The reason is clear in terms of as set chronological documentation of different historical periods. India has the quality of unity in diversity. People belonging to various languages, religions, castes, colour, creed and ethnic groups are living together in this land. Apart from it India possesses long history. Our present political, social and economical conditions are deeply rooted in the past. Hence, study of History is very important in India. From primary level to the higher level of education, History is one of the major subjects in Indian education. It is necessary for every child to know about the country's past. Knowledge of history is not only useful to know about the past, but it is also useful to solve present problems and ensure a bright future. As we know History and Archaeology are closely related, problems in country's history and causes of social- economical problems have generally been investigated by archaeological researchers and scholars. It is very important to train and educate children in matters related to archaeology and to generate awareness among them in order to protect and preserve the national heritage.

 

Various aspects of our cultural heritage like the major cultural traditions, their origin and present significance must be included in the syllabus. The different types of rituals, religious ceremonies and other traditions which were performed in the past should be taught to the students at various levels of our education system in an interesting manner. As we know that in Indian universities Archaeology is considered under the subject matter of History whereas in America Archaeology is taught as a subject matter of Anthropology. This diversification of subject can also be formulated in India. The formulation of diversification of subjects can also be introduced in India. Archaeology should link up with other disciplines also. Archaeology is related to various other subjects. So, if this subject is taught with the other subjects thin generally people get aware with this subject. Environmental awareness, division of labour, division of social responsibilities and ethical values are normally found in cultural tradition. If the knowledge of cultural traditions and their origin would be given to the students in scientific manner, then it will be useful to understand present social, economic, religious and political scenario. The education approach towards Archaeology should aim at:

 

a: Creation of awareness among the people.

b: Projection of archaeological findings to academic circles and common people through popular media.

c: Historical treatment of cultural traditions.

d: Adaptation of  instructional measures.

e: A clear plan and vision for future research.

 

Archaeology today needs an educative solution with a meaningful cause. Archaeology as a specialized subject is not merely the issue of classroom study or limited up to books. it should be spread to the masses informally and formally.

 

The education system today needs to be modified. There should be a basic course of Archaeology at school level. There should be a specialized course at university at Graduation level and the research oriented course works at Post Graduation. The task of educating the student should be limited to the teachers who were fully trained in excavation, exploration, documentation, preservation and conservation.

 

In view for promoting archaeological researches a fruitful planning is essential with joint ventures of Archaeological Survey of India, University Grant Commission, State Archaeology Department, various research organizations and institutions. Infact employment opportunities in the field of archaeological investigations, tourism and heritage management should be increased. Proper funding should be there to carry out such projects actively and in scientific manner. There should be no administrative hurdles. Due to lack of job opportunities students generally do not prefer to take up this subject as their career. Now a day they run for the professional courses. Hence, job opportunity must be there in the field of archaeology.

 

Suggestions:

In modern days a firm consciousness in archaeology among all the classes and masses is necessary. Because of the absence of this, many sites and remains are destroyed and shifted elsewhere illegally simply due to ignorance. Such practices damage the multi dimensional cultural heritage and national pride. Some suggestions are given below in order to increase the awareness.

a: Active grass root level of workers by offering them salary on voluntary basis for the protection, safe guard and preservation of the archaeological materials. Similar services may also assigned to many NGO's, self motivated organizations and motivated persons.

b: There must be an effective communication between the grass root workers and archaeological authorities.

c: Mass communication and information technology should work to create such awareness among the people. Seminar, workshop may also be conduct at various universities and social organizations. It may also include display of exhibitions, dramas, films, websites or such other creative programmes.

Conclusion:

In present scenario, throughout the country threat to Archaeological sites and monuments has become serious problem.  Despite the existence of legislation, national policy and international conventions for preservation and conservation of Archaeological sites and monuments but still damage and destruction are routinely occurring because in our country the level of public awareness is low towards archaeological monuments. For this government needs to introduce Archaeology as a subject in preliminary level of education. People should know the value of cultural heritage monuments since childhood because monuments present who we are and where we come from. Thus, they will take interest and make programmes for protecting invaluable monuments. Government and Non-Government Organization should spread the awareness among the people through regular workshops, interactive sessions, seminars, conferences and media.

Furthermore, Government, Non-Government organization and citizen of nation have to give much more attention to protect cultural heritage monuments which are like grappling irons that bind one generation to another.

Published in: 1.      EUPHEUS (2015), Volume: 2, No. 2. ISSN: 2348-9774. (p. 67-71).

 

 

Book Review

 

Book Review:

Satyajeet Roy (2012).  Culture of India. New Delhi: Abhijeet Publications. Pp. 280.  ISBN: 978-93-5074-022-4. Price: Rs. 1070/-

Reviewed by

Pritish Chaudhuri

pritish.chaudhuri@gmail.com

Abstract

The following article is on a book review. This studied book provides a general view about the culture and heritage of India. Apart from providing the history of India this book also highlights the major religions, fairs and festivals, music, literature, diversity, etc.

India has a very rich cultural background along with very ancient cultural heritage preserved for thousands of years. The geographical vastness, varied religion, different languages and dialects, population variation, etc. has given birth to cultural spectrum. The other factors that also added flavour to its cultural spectrum are art, literature, fairs and festivals, customs, beliefs, tribal culture, flora and fauna, etc. The author has focused on all these above mentioned points in this book. He mainly highlights the Indian religions, society, fairs and festivals, dance, music, paintings, literature, languages, ethnicity, rituals, etc.

India is a birth place and home land of world’s famous religions such as Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism. These religion originates in India and spread all over the world. Later on the culture of India was influenced by the Islamic invasions and subsequent Islamic rule from 10^th century. The Persian, Arabic and Turkish cultures had also left a deep impact on Indian culture. For example, the Mughals brought the Central Asian culture with them which was later on amalgamated in Indian culture. Indian culture has been influenced by various religions, cultures and traditions of the world from time to time which resulted in the mixture of values, beliefs, folk idioms, art forms, etc. The regional diversity, languages, religion, etc. has given birth to different customs. The varied forms of Indian culture exist in their totality all through the Indian territory. The religious influence is quite prevalent in its classical form chiefly found in rural areas and small villages, whereas the urban life is now a days influenced by the globalization. The British ruled over India for nearly two hundred years which paved the way to imbibe western culture and practices. Now English is spoken and understood in almost all over India. It is also a co- official language of India. According to the author, India is divided into many parts in terms of linguistic diversity; two hundred sixteen of them are spoken by a group of ten thousand persons or more. All the languages are mainly derived from Indi- Aryan languages and Dravidian languages. The Indo- Aryan languages are mainly spoken in north India whereas the Dravidian languages are spoken in south India. According to the constitution of India, both Hindi and English are the official languages for communication. The other twenty two languages are scheduled for official use by the State Government. The author has also provided the list of other eighteen significant languages (Aangika, Kokborok, Wagdi, Marwari, Chhattishgarhi, Magahi, Awadhi, Tulu, Kodava, Dogri, Persian, French, Portuguese, Bodo, Santhali, Sikkimese, Dzongkha and Dakkhini) and one minority language ‘Mahl’ which is very informative to know about the linguistic diversity of India. Sanskrit is not only the oldest language of India but also one of the classical languages of the world and is equated with Latin and Greek languages of Europe. This language has wide cultural and religious significance.

From the various periods of history, the culture of India was influenced and moulded by the invaders and immigrants who resulted in the mixture and absorption of various traditions, customs, beliefs, ideas, etc. The practices, rituals, languages, traditions, art, architecture and monuments are the examples of this co- mingling of culture from centuries.

In present day, there is cultural diversity all over India. All the parts and regions of India have its own distinct cultural identity. Despite of its diverse nature, India is known for its ‘unity in diversity’ because of its common history.

Conclusion:

This book serves as a reference book and guideline for the students, research scholars, academicians and teachers of Social Sciences like history, culture, tribal studies, law, society and technology. The book is also very helpful to know more about the rich cultural heritage of India. Apart from it, it will serve to the candidates who are preparing for competitive exams, college and university exams related to India history, culture, tribal culture and society. The administrators also are benefited from this book that as this book is proving information related to the past history and present scenario of India tribal and other relevant information. The purpose of this book review is to provide a reference to the scholars who are searching theme on the history, culture, diversity related matters of India. Sometimes all books are not always available everywhere, hence, book review serves as a summery in order to provide a basic information on the related issues.

Published in:   ADROITIC, Volume. 2, No. 1. ISSN: 2349-6274. (p. 30-31).

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Book Review

 

Book Review:

Paulinus R. Marak. (2005). The Garo Tribal Religion: Beliefs and Practices. Kolkata: Maulana Abul Kalam Azad Institute of Asian Studies. Anshah Publishing House.  Pp. 122. ISBN: 81-8364-002-8. Price: Rs. 280/-, US$ 18.

Reviewed by

Dr. Pritish Chaudhuri

pritish.chaudhuri@gmail.com

PGT, History

Central Public Sr. Sec. School, Udaipur,

Rajasthan.

 

The present book presented us with a vivid description of the origin and migration of the Garo tribe. It describes the existence of the Garos with the different tribal groups settled in the Garo hills of Meghalaya. The basic content of the study is focused on the beliefs and practices of the said tribe. The author throws light on the Garo religion. The Garos are descended from Tibeto- Burman race of the Tibeto- Chinese family. Originally they lived in north western China between the upper waters of Yang-tse-kiang and Ho-ang-ho. Then they migrated to India and gradually by passing through various places of West Bengal and Assam finally they settled down in the Garo Hills of Meghalaya and in some parts of Bangladesh for centuries. On the basis of the cultural and linguistic differences the Garos are divided into eleven groups. There is a great controversy regarding the origin of the Garos. Now they call themselves as ‘A-chiks’.

One of the characteristic features about this tribe is their ancient animistic religious beliefs and practices which they perform. They worship numerous deities in day to day life. They earnestly believe in supernatural powers. They perform many rituals, ceremonies including animal sacrifice in order to appease those deities. This entire religious system controls their life and they pray to god to secure their life and wellbeing of their own people.  The Garo people believe in the existence of good and evil spirits. They call them as ‘Mites’. There is no written record about their religion but only by oral transmission, their myths, beliefs, rituals, etc. are still practices. The Nokma and Kamal has a very important role to play in the Garo village society. The Nokma is the village chief and Kamal is the village priest. Both hold higher status in the local social hierarchy. The village chief is the politically powerful person whereas the priest is the spiritual leader. All the matters related to society, disputes, etc. are settled down by their village chief. Kamal is responsible for the performance of all village festivals, rituals and ceremonies. He use to conduct marriage ceremony and death rituals both.  

The Garos are mostly the agriculturist community and they practice jhum cultivation. Their belief in dreams is strictly followed. As for instance, in the first ceremony of jhum cultivation, if anybody have a bad dream he abandons the plot of land which he was about to cultivate. On the contrary, if anybody dreams of plenty of sand collected in the front place of his house, it signifies that he will get plenty of production from the field. In this way there are number of dreams that are related to their beliefs and incorporate those in their real life. However, we can call it a blind faith or superstition.

Many religious ceremonies are performed in connection with ailments. The Garos offer sacrifices for their sick people. They have a strong belief that the sickness, diseases, bad omen or curses fallen over them because of their disobedience against the law of nature and deities.

The author has also mentioned the funeral ceremony and the concept of death and rebirth of the Garo tribe in detail. There are many rituals associated with this ceremony. According to Garo legend, there is no occurrence of death as such. All human are immortal and they are reincarnated to a new body. The author has pointed out all the process and system of cremation in a chronological manner. Besides the religious beliefs, they also believe in certain superstition that death can be caused by a simple process of practising a kind of snippings. Witchcraft, black magic, ghosts and spirits are common among them.

Although majority of the Garo population are converted into Christianity, but there are many ancient festivals and functions that are still now practiced. The conversion of Christianity has affected their ethnic religion. From all those above mentioned beliefs and practices the author has traced the process of acculturation. The ancient traditions still inherit in the mind of the Garos.

This book is very helpful for the future researchers and scholars who are willing to work in this particular tribe. This book will help as a guideline or as reference book that gives us a baseline survey data about the culture of Garo tribe of Meghalaya with its geographical location.

Published in :    Sodh Patrika, Year. 70, No. 1-4. ISSN: 0975-6868. (p. 208-209).

 

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