The book "White as Milk and Rice - Stories of India's Isolated Tribes" penned by Nidhi Dugar Kundalia is an intriguing narrative on the indigenous tribal people in India and the struggles of their existence.
"Each time a new set of invaders charged into the Indian subcontinent, the Indian tribals were pushed further back into the shadows, where they learnt to survive on what was available. Subsequently, they came to be called 'savages'. In the recent past, thanks to modern encroachments and development, they have been forced back into 'civilised' society, which they neither understood or were prepared for," says Kundalia, a journalist who mostly writes on socio-cultural issues, documenting human lives and their journeys through various settings.
She also points out that over the years, various act have been passed with the intention of protecting 'tribals' against mainstream society, strengthening 'tribal' cultural institutions, while at the same time furthering their integration with mainstream society.
However, "over the last few decades, rapid urbanisation has affected the character of their lives; the loss of their innocence and the damage to the environment are, perhaps irreversible. As the country grapples with new laws, climate changes and policies these marginalised lives serve as a dire warning", Kundalia writes adding that the book is her "humble attempt to not bring this margin to the centre, but to make the margin a place of reality".
Is someone in the Ministry of Tribal Affairs listening?
(IANS)
