SIGNIFICANCE OF FORESTS IN TRIBAL VERNACULAR ARCHITECTURE: IN CONTEXT TO KHARIA TRIBE IN JHARKHAND,INDIA

Tribal community and their association with nature is deeply rooted. The primitive tribes in India and the world are settled around forests or islands and use their products for their livelihood. The style of architecture, art, culture, beliefs, socio-economic framework is guided by the local environment. As the primitive tribe remain secluded from the urban development and advancement, their beliefs and practices are limited and are based on real time experiences. The availability of resources around the community shapes the type of architectural and cultural practices of the tribe. The forest provides ample resources like wood, fodder, mud, straw, etc. which serves as construction materials, fuel, and source of livelihood for the ethnic community. The article throws light on the influence of forests and its resourceson the vernacular architectural style, the settlement pattern, dwelling units, construction technology and, materials which ultimately responds to the local climate, art, culture, socio-economic framework, and beliefs of the people.

Toward Decolonizing Development Education: Study Tours as Embodied, Reflexive, and Mud-up

The relevance of development studies has come under intense scrutiny with increasing calls for development education to decolonize its materials, pedagogies, and discursive practices. This article draws on a short-term study tour to India, where co-building a mud house with a tribal community and local university became a creative, intercultural site, encouraging reflexivity and learning through embodied insights. Such learnings “from” and “with” knowledges negated by Western modernity are in essence decolonial pedagogies, enabling students to critically examine their own preconceived ideas of development, while building skills to meaningfully navigate the contested contemporary field. Study tours, we argue, have immense potential toward decolonizing development education.

Health Benefits, Utilization and Characterization of Rhododendron arboreum (Ericaceae)

Rhododendron arboreum is a small tree, mostly found in the mountain areas with pale pink or deep pink flowers, widely spread throughout the world. It is a member of the Ericaceae family, and it is well-known for its lovely flowers. R. arboreum species is distributed widely among the 80°N and 20°S latitudes and is designated as ‘State flower’ of Himachal Pradesh (India) and ‘National flower’ of Nepal. Due to its many inherent phytochemical properties, it is used as a treatment for various diseases such as bacterial infection, diarrhoea, and headache, infamy, and fungal infections. The people living in the mountainous area historically use the flowers of this plant to make variety of products viz. juice, squash, jelly, syrup, pickle, honey. R. arboreum have several important polyphenolic and bioactive compounds such as saponins, flavonoids and steroids. This review highlights Rhododendron's nutritional properties, potential properties and medicinal properties and various products developed, which boost livelihoods of the rural tribal community for sustainable growth and treatment of various diseases.

Effectiveness of Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) Intervention for School going Children on Hygiene Practices, Absenteeism, Diarrhea, and Respiratory Infection: An Interventional Study Protocol

Introduction: Safe drinking water, sanitation and hygiene beyond the household, and particularly in the school setting, are crucial to the health and education of children. Ashram schools where children from tribal community are taking education in India are mostly ignored. Thus, inclusion of water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) in schools as part of the SDG, necessitates assessing the coverage and utilization in all types of schools; Government, private, funded including Ashram (residential) schools. Hence, we plan this research to study the effectiveness of proposed WASH in Ashram school with regards to hygiene practices, diarrheal diseases, respiratory infection and school absenteeism. Methods: Interventional study will be conducted in all eight Ashram schools of Wardha district. Baseline data regarding WASH practices and absenteeism, diarrhea, and respiratory infection will be collected. Intervention model for adopting safe WASH practices will be developed implemented in randomly selected four ashram schools. Survey and interview questionnaire will be adopted from UNICEF monitoring package modules. Children of forth, fifth and sixth classes (460), teachers, and Principles(8) will be interviewed; and school environment will be reviewed. After collection of post intervention data in ODK tool, descriptive statistics, two-sample t-tests and unadjusted mean percentages for all outcome variables were calculated by aggregating individual-level data to the school level. Conclusion: The intervention package is based on community mobilization and participation; life skill education, capacity building of school staff related to WASH. This will contribute to bring long term changes and improvement in health status and academic performance of school children.

Political Economy of Development in the Indian State of Nagaland: Issues and Challenges

The state of Nagaland came into existence in 1963, with the union government granting special status to the state under Article 371A of the Indian constitution. These special provisions safeguard the indigenous social and customary practices and economic resources from the interventions and policies of the union government sans state legislature’s concurring resolution on the same. The special status while protecting the aforementioned rights of the Nagas creates a contrasting duality of sorts—in that modern market based democratic and economic institutions coexist with the traditional institutions. This blending of the old and the new often creates contestations and contradictions within the state’s political, social and economic spheres. In understanding these issues besieging Nagaland, neoliberal narratives of development economics and policy prescriptions thereof may be ill-disposed. The present article attempts to unravel the factors arresting economic development in the state by analysing various macroeconomic indicators. It is suggested that at the core lies the conflict between an attempt to establish a modern market-based economy with private ownership and that of a tribal-community based economic rights with customary laws and practices. The imperative role of the state government is emphasised to provide a mechanism for resolving the economic questions and ushering in development while preserving the rights of the indigenous people.

The tribal community of the indigenous peoples of the North in the system of traditional nature management

The article considers the role and place of nomadic tribal communities of indigenous peoples of the North in administration of traditional nature management. It is shown that the emergence of such communities is due to a profound transformation of economic relations in the Arctic in the context of the transition to new economic conditions in the 90s of the XX century. The author gives the characteristic of such tribal communities in the municipal areas of the Arctic zone of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia). Using the example of the nomadic tribal community “Omoloy” in the Ust-Yansky district of the republic, he shows its role in the development of traditional nature management, ensuring employment and income of the local population. The author presents the scheme of interaction of the tribal community as a primary production unit with government authorities and other economic entities to ensure the socio-economic development of the Arctic territories and substantiates the measures for the harmonization of relations between tribal communities and mining companies in the context of the Arctic industrial development.