The Battle for the Badge: Why Assam’s ‘Tribal’ Expansion has Sparked a Fire
In anthropology, a “tribe” is often defined by social structure, isolation, and culture. In...
Category: Contemporary Case Studies
More Than Instinct: How Chimpanzees Use Logic and Reason to Update Their Beliefs
For centuries, philosophers and scientists defined humans as the “rational animal.” We believed that...
Celebrating Identity, Cementing Integration: The Politics of Janjatiya Gaurav Divas
In recent years, November 15th has become a significant date in India’s official calendar....
From Kanke to China: The Kung Fu Warrior Breaking Adivasi Stereotypes
In the popular imagination, tribal women are often depicted through a lens of shyness,...
From Margin to Mainstream: The New Museum Reframing Tribal History as Revolution
For much of India’s history, the story of its tribal communities has been told...
“Good on Paper, Far from Reality”: The Tragic Failure of Tribal Health in Melghat
For decades, the story of malnutrition in India’s tribal regions has been a persistent...
The Face of a Neanderthal, Written in “Junk” DNA: How Three Tiny Genetic Tweaks Made a Different Kind of Human
We all know the classic, “chunkier” face of a Neanderthal—the prominent brow, the large...
Beyond Beneficiaries: The State’s New Pivot to Tribal Entrepreneurship
For decades, the dominant image of India’s tribal communities in national policy has been...
A Planetary Scale Force: How Human Movement Outweighs All Wild Animals Combined
In the story of our planet, the movement of animals—migrations of elephants, flocks of...
The Price of Thought: Why a Warm Body and Big Babies Were the Secret to Big Brains
The human brain is an evolutionary masterpiece, but it comes at a staggering price....