The popular culture comprises of music, film, television, sports and fashion. As diverse a form of media as they may be, they all transmit and communicate meanings. While meanings are effectively communicated through spoken as well as written languages, they can also be conveyed through symbols, insignia, totems or emblems, engraved on body as tattoos. Tattoos are a form of art or design made on the skin, which changes its pigment. Tattoos engraved on body as symbols signify varied meanings. They speak to society or simply to the members, making social life replete with messages. Similar to text, tattoos convey stories that may relate to existential questions like genealogy, identity, status, achievement, medicine/therapy as well as ontological relations like ancestors, spirits and animals. Tattoos being an integral part of all the cultures played significant functions like medicinal, spiritual, social and semiotic. The understanding and perception of tattooing as a practice itself has undergone several changes over different time periods. Further, tattooing as a cultural practice has attracted the interest of Anthropologists, Sociologists and Psychologists. This work tries to understand provenance of tattooing as a cultural symbol in aboriginal/primitive as well as modern societies and culturally specific meanings attributed to them in both Indian as well as other contexts. Keywords: Rites of passage, semiotics, subculture, sacred
Even after 75 years of Indian freedom, the ascriptive nature of caste resistance has not been able to totally outlaw the empirical separatist practices of segregation, untouchability, and caste discrimination. Over 200 million people in India are classified as “Untouchables,” a group stained by birth who are placed under the Hindu caste system, which regards them as impure and less than human. The practice of “untouchability” is a form of social discrimination that is prevalent in many parts of India, particularly in rural areas. Despite the constitutional abolition of “untouchability” in India under Article 17, the practice still pervades society, particularly towards the lower castes. Among these castes, the Dalits face a particularly harsh reality. Caste-based violence is byproduct of a centuries-old custom. This inequality has far-reaching consequences for the Dalits, hindering their ability to legitimize their claims to access education, employment, housing, religious rights and all basic human rights, dignity and respect. This paper looks into the issue of the above said violence with conceptual understanding with qualitative approach through case study method and focus group discussions for understanding resistance and retaliation of caste based violence and assertion in the state of Odisha, Kendrapara district. Keywords: Caste-based violence, dalits, human rights, gender, Odisha
Recognizing traditional knowledge with medical value among Indigenous people is indispensable to sustaining their way of life. However, legal complexities and challenges exist in recognizing the medical value of traditional knowledge, as it is orally transmitted and thus undocumented. While a global solution to such difficulties cannot employ a “one size fits all” approach and invokes multifaceted solutions within national regulatory and policy contexts, India has shown progress in this area. Yet, appropriate guidelines for incorporating the diverse medical knowledge of Indigenous people under a coherent framework must be developed so that Indigenous people can enjoy, and utilize, their rights regarding this knowledge. The objective was to unfold the current situation of traditional medicinal value among Indian Indigenous communities and find ways of recognizing this knowledge within India’s intellectual property rights (IPR) legal regime. The present study was based on secondary data sources. A specific literature review was done using the key word “Traditional Knowledge”, combined with “Intellectual Property Rights”, “Tribes”, “Medicinal Plant”, “Ethno-medicine”, “Folk Lore”, “Medical Anthropology”, “World Health Organization (WHO)”, “Traditional Knowledge Digital Library (TKDL)”, World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), “Patent Act”, “Illness and Sickness” and “India” on PubMed, Google Scholar and other relevant online and offline sources from March 2021 to September 2023. Our findings recommend a multi-tiered approach to documenting traditional medical knowledge, sensitive to regional diversities within India, as a necessary precursor to legal recognition. Therefore, a human rights approach, particularly from the viewpoint of cultural rights, could be a best fit both to recognize the traditional knowledge as a cultural right and to offer the community as the right holder of the knowledge. Hence, appropriate guidelines to that direction should be formulated for incorporating the dispersed traditional medical knowledge of Indigenous people under a coherent framework so that they can enjoy, and utilize, their rights to this knowledge especially in the diverse Indian context. Keywords: Traditional knowledge, Tribes, Intellectual Property Rights, Medicinal Plant, WIPO, WHO, Act, India
The annual Urs festival, celebrated at the Mazar in the town of Midnapore, West Bengal, is the most significant regional Muslim event. Although the festival is a regional event, yet the celebration is attended by people from outside the state and the country at the Pir's Urs festival at Jora masjid Mazar. The Urs festival is also celebrated in other Mazars to commemorate the death anniversaries of different Pirs. The researcher collected data using participant observation and interview methods to study the Urs festival in the Mazar. The main aim of this study is to documnet the events held during festival and to understand the maintenance of cross-border relationships between two countries through transnational movements in the Urs festival at Jora masjid specifically focusing on the impact of cross-border pilgrimage. This Urs festival, with its regional origins, attracts participants from various regions and even from other countries, highlighting its global importance. This event commemorates the death anniversary of a respected Pir in the town and draws followers from diverse geographical areas, emphasizing its international appeal. However, information on the other Urs festivals in the town has also been provided here. Keywords: Mazar, Urs, Muslim, Transnationalism, Impact.
India stands as a mosaic of diversity, its cultural heritage and intricate social fabric enhancing its complexity. Within this context, a distinct amalgamation of ethnic groups, each distinguished by culture, language, and traditions, finds its abode. However, this tapestry bears threads of fading identity and existential turmoil that intertwine with the De-notified, Nomadic, and Semi-nomadic communities. Hence, this research explores the critical factors surrounding the ethnic identity of these communities within India, simultaneously delving into the influence exerted by globalisation upon their livelihood practices and the anomalies in self-identity amid the diverse Indian milieu. The study is rooted in an investigation encompassing five communities: Dhara/Dhibar, Bansphor/Bansforda, Khurpalta, Muriari, and Savar. These communities are drawn from clusters in West Bengal, Jharkhand, Bihar, and Uttar Pradesh. Purposive and snowball sampling techniques were employed to identify and select the community members as participants, followed by the collection of data through numerous qualitative methods, including semi-structured interviews, observation, field notes, and focus group discussions. In addition, existing literature was undertaken to supplement existing knowledge through literary sources, governmental reports, and unpublished reports. The study’s findings illuminate how the erosion of traditional livelihood practices has propelled these communities to the verge of marginalisation, concurrently exacerbating the intricacies of their identity predicament in their daily life. Keywords: de-notified; nomadic; ethnic identity; Indian communities; marginalised groups; intersectionality; social inclusion; social justice; identity struggle; livelihood
