Indigenous Heroines- A saga of tribal women of India

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This book is the first of its kind that unearths the leadership position of tribal women in India. The women profiled are some of the real heroes, who inspire us to believe in oneself, dream big, and to never leave the battle until triumph. They waded through the utmost adverse life-situations and became the torch bearers and springboard of hope for all of us.

The book unearths and presents three generations of tribal women leadership in India and portrays their existence in Indian history, both in past and modern contexts.

It also shares the life stories of women from across the country, ranging from freedom fighters :

Rani Gaidinliu from Manipur,

Helen Lepcha and Putalimaya Tamang from Sikkim and Darjeeling;

Dashriben Chaudhari– one of the foot soldiers of Mahatma Gandhi from Gujarat;

Gaura Devi – mother of Chipko Movement from Uttarakhand;

C.K. Janu – indigenous land rights activist from Kerala,

Vasamalli Kurdtozn– daughter of the Blue Mountains and Guardian of Toda Culture from Ooty in Tamil Nadu,

Poorna Mallavath – World’s youngest woman to scale the Mt. Everest from Andhra Pradesh;

Tulasi Munda – An Agent of Change from Odisha,

Dayamani Barla – Iron Lady of Jharkhand,

Soni Sori – the Prisoner of Conscience from Chhattisgarh

The Hockey Heroines-

          Sumrai Tete,

          Asunta Lakra

          Jyoti Sunita Kullu.

The women profiled in the book are some of the real heroes, who inspire us to believe in oneself, dream big, and to never leave the battle until triumph. They waded through the utmost adverse life-situations and became the torchbearers and springboard of hope for all of us.

 

Alma Grace Barla is an Adivasi writer from the Sundargarh district of Orissa, she was one of the 26 Fellows selected to participate in the 2013 Indigenous Fellowship Programme of the United Nations Human Rights Office in Geneva.

She can be reached at- http://almabarla.com/

Editor

Editorial Team of Adivasi Resurgence.

2 thoughts on “Indigenous Heroines- A saga of tribal women of India

  • January 25, 2016 at 11:10 am
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    A rare and much needed tribute was due to the adivasi women heroines …… all the names are worth th accolade but I have an issue with Tulasi Munda …… being from Odisha and having worked with adivasi communities there for twi decades I would like to state that all those working with advise communities in Odisha know that Tualsi Munda has been an open supporter of industrialisation and a sponsor of Tata’s Kalinga Nagar plant and has never openly sided with the adivasis resisting corporate greed driven grabbing of adivasi people’s land, lives, culture and identity so please relook at honouring Tulasi Munda as an adivasi heroine …… she has won popular Government support as a social worker in Odisha but as a crusader for adivasi people’s rights, she has never been given any acknowledgement from her own people ……

    Reply
    • June 2, 2017 at 6:01 pm
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      Your view is appreciated but we cannot ignore her contribution in the field of education. For me and for many she is still a hero…. Many adivasi social activists from Odisha have similar view on Tulasi Munda’s position and objected to publish her story. Infact I had objections on every story. I asked them why didn’t they object to other non-adivasi writers and publishers ? Our people/adivais rarely acknowledge their own people….They like to criticize more than appreciating good work, this my life experience. Take the case of Dayamani and Soni Sori, how did people reject their leadership and commitment by not voting them in the last election? Dayamani has expressed in the interview that Nagri movement failed due to lack of peoples’ support and absence of proper leadership when she went to jail ! Even APJ Abdul Kalam was criticized by his community over his stand on Islam and civil society groups over his stand on the Koodankulam Nuclear Power Plant – he was accused of not consulting/speaking with the local people !!!

      Reply

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