Anthropology Current Affairs Magazine July 2020

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ANTHROPOLOGY CURRENT AFFAIRS MAGAZINE

JULY 2020
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CONTENTS
PAPER -1
PHYSICAL & ARCHAEOLOGICAL ANTHROPOLOGY
1. IISER team maps evolutionary dispersal patterns
2. Explained: What are human challenge trials, and why

are they controversial?
3. New Research: Protein identified as potential Achilles’

heel of coronavirus
4. Explained: This is how your body develops immunity
against an infection
5. HIV, TB, and malaria deaths to increase in low and

middle income countries in next 5 years: The Lancet
Global Health
6. Neanderthals and Covid-19, beyond the hype
7. What is Covaxin, India’s Covid-19 vaccine candidate;

how long before approval?
8. Indigenous people vital for understanding

environmental change
9.Archaeologists use tooth enamel protein to show sex

of human remains
10.Big brains and dexterous hands
SOCIO-CULTURAL ANTHROPOLOGY
11. After Mizoram, Nagaland bans sale of dog meat
12. From Manusmriti to Indian Matchmaking, tracing the

roots of arranged marriages
PAPER - 2
INDIAN & TRIBAL ANTHROPOLOGY
1. Reservation for Tribal Teachers
2. Initiatives of TRIFED amid COVID-19
3. The Forest Rights Act in Nagarahole.
4. The Lockdown Has Worsened the Plight of Odisha’s

Indigenous Bonda Community
5. Bhil Tribe and their demand for separate State.
6. GOAL Programme | Going Online As Leaders
7. For Gujarat tribal children with no TV or Internet,

school comes home on their teacher’s smartphone
8. Bastar has remained Covid-free. That’s because social

distancing is tribal norm, experts say
9. World Health Day 2020: How nutrition gardens helped

tribals in Odisha's Nagada
10. Tribes India e-Mart: Coming soon, an e-market place

only for tribal sellers
11. TRIFED-UNICEF CAMPAIGN FOR SHG
12. How tribal communities in Kerala are helping to stop

the spread of COVID-19
13. MAHE, NGO train Siddis for shot at Olympics
14. Adivasi Women Have Preserved Indigenous Seeds

For Many Generations
www.vishnuias.com (+91-7702170025)
6
PHYSICAL & ARCHAEOLOGICAL ANTHROPOLOGY
1. IISER team maps evolutionary dispersal patterns

(Paper 1 - 1.4 : Evolution)
Relate to Natural Selection (Density dependent

selection)
Study of biological movement is applicable to

epidemiology, conservation and agricultural pests
The prestigious U.S. biology journal Evolution has

published the findings of a team of researchers at the
Pune-based Indian Institute of Science Education and
Research (IISER) dealing with the dispersal patterns of
organisms across different environments.
The three scientists, Professor Suthirth Dey at IISER’s

Biology Department, Abhishek Mishra and Partha Pratim
Chakraborty, carried out experiments to study the
phenomena of ‘density-dependent dispersal’ by observing
around 29,000 fruit flies to see if evolution had modified
their tendency to move towards or away from crowded
regions.
“Many animals, including humans, move from one place

to another. Such ‘dispersal’ is generally to find resources
like food or escape from potential threats. The study of
7
this biological dispersal finds applications in

epidemiology, conservation of biodiversity as well as
control of agricultural pests,” said Prof. Dey.
The scientists authored a paper titled ‘Dispersal evolution

diminishes the negative density dependence in dispersal’,
which was published in Evolution last week.
Mr. Mishra observes that a number of factors influence

how, why or when individuals disperse, not least of it is
their population density.
“This is similar to people’s preferences of living in rural

(low-density) vs. urban (high-density) areas. Populous
areas often offer greater opportunities and more
socialisation, but also incur competition for space and
high costs. As a result, we can see movement of
individuals from scanty to crowded areas, and vice versa,
depending on the relative costs and benefits,” he said.
Likewise, non-human species, too, experience similar pros

and cons of ‘high’ versus ‘low-density’ areas.
“Just as some species live in large groups while others are

solitary, movement occurs away from a crowd in some
species and towards it in some others. This pattern,
termed as ‘density-dependent dispersal’, is central to our
understanding of which life forms occur where,” says
Prof. Dey.
8
Strangely, little is known about how or why ‘density-

dependent dispersal evolves’.
“In fact, there had been no report of an evolutionary

change in the direction of this movement in sexually
reproducing species. It was to address this that the team
published their findings in the journal. If we don’t know
how the pattern of density-dependent dispersal emerges
or changes over time, prediction of movement patterns
becomes difficult,” says Prof. Dey.
The team first “evolved” tens of thousands of fruit flies for

over 75 generations (or three years), thus making them
“better” dispersers than their ancestors.
“We observed around 29,000 fruit flies over this period to

see if evolution had modified their tendency to move
towards or away from crowded regions. Not only did we
find a sharp change in this behaviour owing to evolution,
but a crucial discovery was that the dispersal rates of
males and females had changed completely,” observes
Prof. Dey, adding while females had been dispersing more
than the males initially, the males overtook females in
movement after evolution.
He said that this finding was perhaps the first evidence for
an evolutionary reversal in the dispersal of the two sexes.
Prof. Dey says that by establishing that these behaviours
9
are evolutionarily malleable, the study highlights the need

to frequently assess movement patterns of ecologically
relevant species.
“On the one hand, moving further away from each other
hampers the survival chances of endangered species. On
the other hand, the very same behaviour accelerates the
takeover of an ecosystem by invasive species. Similarly,
this can affect pathogen spread via altered movement of
disease vectors,” he said.
2. What are human challenge trials, and why are they

controversial? Paper 1 - 9.8 and 12 (applied anthropology)
: here we can use anthropological analysis to determine
ethical and physiological considerations when
determining the conditions for Human Challenge trials
While human challenge trials are not new, they are

usually carried out in developing medications for
diseases which are considered less lethal and have been
better understood by scientists over the years, such as
malaria.
10
As laboratories around the world race to develop a

vaccine for the novel coronavirus, many people have
volunteered to take part in a controversial testing method
called human challenge trials. As of April 27, a global
initiative called 1DaySooner had registered 3,817 people in
52 countries who had signed up for such trials.
The method, which involves intentionally infecting

volunteers with the novel coronavirus, is being promoted
in order to “speed up” the process of preparing a vaccine.
How are vaccines usually developed?
In most regulatory regimes, vaccines take several years to

develop, and their development typically proceeds
through three phases of clinical trials.
11
In Phase 1, small groups of people receive the trial

vaccine. During Phase 2, the clinical study is expanded
and the vaccine is given to people who have
characteristics (such as age and physical health) similar to
those for whom the new vaccine is intended.
In Phase 3, the vaccine is given to several thousand people

and tested for efficacy and safety. During this phase,
participants either receive the vaccine or a placebo. The
efficacy of the vaccine is determined by comparing the
prevalence of infection in the group that was administered
the vaccine with the one which received a placebo. The
hypothesis that those in the vaccine group will be infected
significantly less is thus tested.
What are human challenge trials?
Under human challenge trials, participants of both the

vaccine group and placebo group upon consent are
deliberately exposed to the infection – thus are
“challenged” by the disease organism.
Proponents of the method believe that such trials could

save valuable time in developing a Covid-19 vaccine, as
researchers would not have to wait for participants to
contract the infection under real-world conditions.
A paper released on March 31 in The Journal of Infectious

Diseases by researchers Nir Eyal, Marc Lipsitch, and Peter
12
G Smith has proposed replacing Phase 3 with human

challenge trials.
The paper said, “Controlled human challenge trials of

SARS-CoV-2 vaccine candidates could accelerate the
testing and potential rollout of efficacious vaccines. By
replacing conventional Phase 3 testing of vaccine
candidates, such trials may subtract many months from
the licensure process, making efficacious vaccines
available more quickly.”
According to experts, such testing would also require

significantly less number of people than regular Phase 3
trials, which require thousands of volunteers.
As per the 1DaySooner website, “… by gathering detailed

data on the process of infection and vaccine protection in a
clinical setting, researchers could learn information that
proves extremely useful for broader vaccine and
therapeutic development efforts. Altogether, there are
scenarios in which the speed of HCTs and the richness of
the data they provide accelerate the development of an
effective and broadly accessible Covid-19 vaccine, with
thousands or even millions of lives spared (depending on
the pandemic’s long-term trajectory).”
Human challenge trials: The ethical concerns
13
While human challenge trials are not new, they are

usually carried out in developing medications for diseases
which are considered less lethal and have been better
understood by scientists over the years, such as malaria.
Critics have questioned undertaking such trials for Covid-

19, a potentially deadly disease for even those who are less
at risk, and which researchers are still in the early stages of
studying.
In a 2016 document titled ‘Human Challenge Trials for

Vaccine Development: regulatory considerations’, the
World Health Organization (WHO) stated: “Human
challenge studies have been conducted over hundreds of
years and have contributed vital scientific knowledge that
has led to advances in the development of drugs and
vaccines. Nevertheless, such research can appear to be in
conflict with the guiding principle in medicine to do no
harm. Well documented historical examples of human
exposure studies would be considered unethical by
current standards. It is essential that challenge studies be
conducted within an ethical framework in which truly
informed consent is given.
“When conducted, human challenge studies should be

undertaken with abundant forethought, caution, and
oversight. The value of the information to be gained
should clearly justify the risks to human subjects.
14
Information to be gained should clearly justify the risks to

human subjects,” it added.
3. New Research: Protein identified as potential Achilles’

heel of coronavirus (Paper 1 - 9.1 Immunogenetics and
9.8 Epidemiological Anthropology)
When SARS-CoV-2 infects us, the infected body cells

release messenger substances known as type 1
interferons. These attract our killer cells, which kill the
infected cells.
When the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 enters a human cell, it

hijacks the cell mechanism. One of its proteins, called
PLpro, is produced by the human cell itself after the virus
hijacks the cell mechanism. PLpro is essential for
replication of the virus. A new study in Nature has found
that pharmacological inhibition of PLpro blocks virus
replication and also strengthens our immune response.
When SARS-CoV-2 infects us, the infected body cells

release messenger substances known as type 1 interferons.
These attract our killer cells, which kill the infected cells.
SARS-CoV-2 fights back by letting the human cell produce
15
PLpro. This protein suppresses the development of type 1

interferons, which would have attracted our killer cells.
Researchers have now been able to monitor these

processes in cell culture. If they blocked PLpro, virus
production was inhibited, and the innate immune
response of the human cells was also strengthened.
To understand in detail how inhibiting PLpro stops the

virus, researchers in Frankfurt, Munich, Mainz, Freiburg
and Leiden have worked closely together and pooled their
biochemical, structural, IT and virological expertise. The
research was led by Goethe University and University
Hospital Frankfurt.
4. Explained: This is how your body develops immunity

against an infection
Paper 1 - Chapter 9.1 (Immunological methods) 9.8

(Epidemiological Anthropology)
A new antibody study suggests immunity to Covid-19

may be lost in months, yet notes antibodies are not the
only way the body develops immunity. What is the
other way, and does it put a limitation on the study?
16
A longitudinal study by the researchers from King’s

College London — first reported by The Guardian on
Sunday — has suggested that immunity to Covid-19
might be lost in months. The suggestion is based on a
steep drop in patients’ antibody levels three months after
the infection. A look at the findings, implications and
limitations of the new study, and the broader question of
how the body develops immunity against an infection:
What are the findings of the study?
The researchers analysed the immune response of 90

recovered Covid-19 patients and healthcare workers. In
their study, which is not yet peer-reviewed, they found
that antibodies that specifically help in neutralising the
coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 decreased 2-23-fold during an
18-65 day follow-up period. This is similar to the decrease
in antibodies seen in seasonal coronaviruses associated
with the common cold.
They suggested that immunity developed by the

formation of antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 lasts only a
few months, and recovered Covid-19 patients are likely to
remain susceptible and could get re-infected.
The analysis found “a potent” level of antibodies

produced in 60% of participants during the peak of their
infection; and that only 16.7% retained that level of
17
potency 65 days later. While the level of antibodies was at

a higher level in patients with severe symptoms, the
researchers said it is not clear why antibody response
correlates with disease severity. The researchers noted that
asymptomatic individuals also generate antibodies against
the virus.
What are the implications and the limitations of these

findings?
The researchers said the study has important implications

when considering widespread serological testing,
antibody protection against re-infection with SARS-CoV-2,
and the durability of vaccine protection.
In a separate statement issued by King’s College London,

Dr Katie Doores from the School of Immunology &
Microbial Sciences, who led the study, said “further
research is needed to determine the level of antibodies
required for protection from infection.” “We also need to
know more about the titre of antibody that is required to
prevent re-infection in humans,” she said.
Does a drop in antibodies result in losing immunity

against the virus?
Not necessarily. Antibodies are like fingerprints that give

us evidence that a pathogen (the coronavirus in this case)
has caused an infection and that the immune system has
18
responded. The antibodies usually remain in the blood for

a period of time and quickly activate the immune system
when the body is exposed to the pathogen again. Some
antibodies not only recognise when the pathogen returns,
but also protect the body for a lifetime from re-infection,
as in the case of measles. However, in the case of seasonal
flu, the antibodies give protection for a very small period.
In the case of the novel coronavirus, it is not yet clear how

long the antibodies provide a recovered person protection.
“Further studies are needed to determine the longevity of
the antibody response and what level of antibodies is
required to protect against re-infection,” the researchers
said in a statement. Until then, the presence of antibodies
only gives us the evidence that a person was exposed to
the virus.
The researchers flagged the fact that antibodies are just

one of the ways in which the body can fight a virus such
as SARS-CoV-2.
So, what is the other way?
The researchers make an observation: “… the role T-cell

responses generated through either infection or
vaccination play in controlling disease cannot be
discounted in these studies”.
19
T cells are a key component of the immune response

against a virus. A human body has two mechanisms of
immunity response within the adaptive immune system.
First is the humeral immune, which is also called
antibody-mediated immunity and has been discussed
above. However, when a virus enters a cell and can no
longer be detected by antibody-mediated immunity, a cell-
mediated immune response can take over to kill the virus.
Cellular immunity occurs inside the infected cell, and are

mediated by cells called T lymphocytes. These are the T
cells, which recognise the infected cell. Before that, these
cells have to be activated by interacting with an antigen
(virus)-presenting cell. Once the T cells are activated, they
clone themselves generating numerous T cells, and
destroy the infected cells.
During the process of activation, some of the T cells

remain inactive as memory cells. These produce more T
cells if the infection returns. Therefore, memory plays a
crucial role in providing cell-mediated immunity. There
are also helper T cells, which function indirectly by
communicating to other immune cells about potential
pathogens.
What is the evidence so far on cell-mediated immune

response to infection with SARS-CoV-2?
20
AIIMS Director Dr Randeep Guleria said data emerging

on immune response shows that cell-mediated immunity
is also activated in some cases and is giving protection
through T cells in the blood.
In a study published in the journal Cell, researchers from

Germany found that T cell clusters emerge over the course
of disease in recovering patients. It said T cells reactive to
SARS-CoV-2 have been identified in “individuals exposed
to other common cold coronaviruses”, therefore
suggesting that T-cell response detected in healthy
individuals is likely to be activated from the memory T
cells derived from this earlier exposure.
In a commentary published in Nature on July 7,

researchers from the US said T-cell reactivity against
SARS-CoV-2 was observed in unexposed people.
“However, the source and clinical relevance of the
reactivity remains unknown. It is speculated that this
reflects T cell memory to circulating ‘common cold’
coronaviruses. It will be important to define the
specificities of these T cells and assess their association
with Covid-19 disease severity and vaccine responses.”
In another article, published in the journal Immunity,

researchers from the US reviewed the immunology of
Covid-19 and posed two questions relating to T-cell
response: first, what is the contribution of T cells to initial
21
virus control and tissue damage in the context of Covid-

19; and second, how do memory T cells established
thereafter contribute to protective immunity upon
reinfection. The researchers wrote: “While the induction of
robust T cell immunity is likely essential for efficient virus
control, dysregulated T cell responses may cause
immunopathology and contribute to disease severity in
Covid-19.”
5. HIV, TB, and malaria deaths to increase in low and

middle income countries in next 5 years: The Lancet
Global Health
Paper 1 - Chapter 9.8 Epidemiological Anthropology

(Infectious diseases)
According to health data, malaria deaths worldwide

have reduced by half since 2000, but progress has stalled
as mosquitoes and parasites gain resistance to
treatment.
22
Some low and middle income countries (LMICs) could see

a surge in HIV, tuberculosis (TB) and malaria deaths by as
much as 10, 20, and 36 per cent, respectively, over the next
five years due to the Covid-19 outbreak’s impact on health
services, a new study published in The Lancet Global
Health on Monday has found.
Researchers estimate that in areas heavily affected by

these major infectious diseases, the public health impact of
Covid-19 on years of life lost (the number of years a
person would have lived had he or she not died of a
particular disease) could, in the worst case, be on a similar
scale to the direct impact of the pandemic itself.
23
“The Covid-19 pandemic and actions taken in response to

it could undo some of the advances made against major
diseases such as HIV, TB and malaria over the past two
decades, compounding the burden caused by the
pandemic directly,” says Professor Timothy Hallett from
Imperial College London, UK, who co-led the research.
“In countries with a high malaria burden and large HIV

and TB epidemics, even short-term disruptions could have
devastating consequences for the millions of people who
depend on programmes to control and treat these
diseases. However, the knock-on impact of the pandemic
could be largely avoided by maintaining core services and
continuing preventative measures,” he adds.
According to health data, malaria deaths worldwide have

reduced by half since 2000, but progress has stalled as
mosquitoes and parasites gain resistance to treatment. As
many as 94 per cent of deaths occur in sub-Saharan Africa,
where malaria claimed an estimated 380,000 lives in 2018.
Similarly, global HIV/AIDS deaths have halved in a

decade driven by the availability of antiretroviral therapy
(ART). In 2019, at least 690,000 people died from the
disease worldwide, the vast majority in LMICs.
An estimated 49 million lives were saved through TB

diagnosis and treatment between 2000 and 2015, but the
24
disease still claimed the lives of 1.8 million people in 2018

— with over 95 per cent of these deaths occurring in
LMICs.
In this study, the researchers assumed a basic

reproductive number (R0 – the average number of people
each individual with the virus is likely to infect) of three to
develop four different policy response scenarios to the
Covid-19 pandemic — no action, mitigation (which
represents a 45 per cent reduction in R0 for six months
using interventions such as physical distancing),
suppression-lift (a 75 per cent reduction in R0 for two
months) and suppression (a 75 per cent reduction in R0 for
1 year). Then they used transmission models of HIV, TB,
and malaria to estimate the additional impact on health
that could be caused in different settings, either by Covid-
19 interventions limiting routine programme activities or
due to Covid-19 cases overburdening the health system.
Overall, the findings suggest that the pandemic’s impact

varies according to the extent to which interventions
against Covid-19 cause long disruptions to activities, and
how successfully those measures reduce transmission of
SARS-CoV-2 and prevent the health system from being
overwhelmed.
The greatest impact on HIV is projected to be from

interruption to the supply and administering of ART,
25
which may occur during times of high health system

demand. In the worst case scenario, assuming no action or
suppression-lift, countries with high rates of HIV, typical
in parts of southern Africa (20 per cent prevalence among
15-49 year olds in 2018), could see up to 10 per cent more
deaths over the next five years than would occur without
Covid-19 disruptions — equivalent to 612 additional HIV
deaths per million population in 2020-2024.
The researchers suggest that offering individuals receiving

ART multi-month prescriptions or home delivery could
ensure they can access treatment even in periods of
highest health system demand.
For TB, the greatest impact is predicted to be from

reductions in timely diagnosis and treatment of new cases,
which could result from long periods of limited access to
health services due to Covid-19 containment measures. In
the worst case scenario, assuming suppression in
countries with a very high burden typical in southern
Africa (520 new cases per 100,000 population in 2018), TB
deaths could rise by as much as 20 per cent over the next
five years (equivalent to 987 additional TB deaths per
million population in 2020-2024) compared to when
services are functioning normally.
26
6. Neanderthals and Covid-19, beyond the hype (9.1

Human Genetics)
What a gene discovery means to understanding the

biology of this pandemic
For the last six months, geneticists around the world have
been working to understand whether variation in people’s
27
genomes may make a difference to Covid-19 infection risk

or severity. So far, geneticists have turned up only one
small area of chromosome 3 as a possible link. People in
Italy and Spain who were hospitalized with respiratory
failure from Covid-19 have a “risk” allele in a region
known as 3p21.31 around 1.7 times more often than the
population at large.
Now, a new preprint traces this risk allele to our

Neanderthal ancestors.
As a human evolution researcher, I’m always excited

when such discoveries prove relevant to humans today.
But when it comes to Covid-19, hype can be dangerous.
People who hear about this genetic connection may get the
idea that their 23andMe Neanderthal DNA data can tell
them their risk of Covid-19 infection. That’s just not true.
Environment and behavior matter much more to spread of

the virus than human genetics. For now, we must slow the
spread of the virus by social distancing and wearing
masks to reduce aerosol transmission. Vaccine
development is the greatest chance for defeating Covid-19
in the long run.
Human genetics may contribute some insight into the

biology of the virus and how it became such a threat. A
picture of how human genes matter to infection may help
28
explain why so many people remain asymptomatic. It may

also give greater insight about why the global pandemic
has affected some populations less than others.
What Neanderthal DNA has to offer is a time dimension.

Covid-19 is a new pathogen encountering human biology
that goes back a half million years.
It’s not easy to find out which human genes matter to

Covid-19 susceptibility. When most people think of genes
and traits, they imagine simple traits like blood types.
High school biology still mostly teaches these simple
examples of Mendelian pattern of inheritance, where a
single genotype determines the trait.
Only a handful of human traits follow such a simple

pattern. For most traits, hundreds or even thousands of
genes matter to variation. Each gene has a tiny effect, and
small effects are challenging to find.
Human geneticists identify small gene-trait connections

using a study design called a “genome-wide association
study”, or GWAS for short. These studies take a brute
force approach to genetics, examining millions of
genotypes across the genomes of thousands of people. The
larger the samples, the smaller the genetic effects that a
GWAS study can identify.
29
The state of the art in GWAS studies today involve

enormous population samples like the UK Biobank. In that
sample, 500,000 research participants have volunteered
their DNA along with detailed health records. For traits
that can be measured in the entire sample, like the height
and weight of participants, researchers have identified
thousands of genes that make a tiny difference. These
miniscule effects add up, allowing geneticists to make a
statistical prediction about a person’s height based on
thousands of genotypes. It’s not just sheer size that makes
these large studies valuable. With so many participants,
researchers can tease apart the importance of genes when
other factors also matter, such as age, socioeconomic
status, or location.
Emerging diseases are hard to study with GWAS, because

it is hard to gather such enormous samples. The Covid-19
Host Genetics Initiative (Covid-19 hg) is tracking studies
of genetics in Covid-19 cases internationally. In the most
recent Covid-19 hg release (June 2020), the UK Biobank
samples include only 1190 confirmed Covid-19 positive
cases. Right now, the best samples of Covid-19 patients
with genetic data remain too small to find most of the
human genes that may matter to infection or disease
progression.
30
Last month, the New England Journal of Medicine published

an early genetic study of around 1500 severe Covid-19
patients in Italy and Spain, a paper led by David
Ellinghaus. The study identified two areas of the genome
associated with greater risk of Covid-19. One of these
areas got most of the attention: it contains the ABO gene
locus, responsible for the common A, B, AB, and O blood
types. The results suggested that type A blood might
mean as much as a 50% greater chance of severe Covid-19
symptoms.
Today, this month-old ABO result looks like it is becoming

a cautionary tale of premature conclusions based on small
sample size. The Covid-19 hg site has added more studies,
now up to 6000 Covid-19 patients across Europe. ABO
does not seem to make a difference across this now-larger
patient group.
Scientists have been testing blood types for more than a

hundred years. Across that time many erroneous studies
have connected ABO to traits that have no plausible
connection to the gene. The Covid-19 connection at least
seemed plausible, but now it looks wrong. Maybe further
research will find that ABO does matter to Covid-19 in
some contexts but not others. But for the moment, the case
helps to emphasize that claims about gene associations
often turn out to be wrong.
31
One genetic risk factor from the Ellinghaus study so far is

holding up. That study found that the correlation of the
3p21.31 region with severe Covid-19 was strongest for a
polymorphism known as rs11385942. At this site, some
people have an extra adenine inserted into their genome.
In their study of Spanish and Italian Covid-19 patients,
Ellinghaus found that people carrying this extra “A” were
around 1.77 times more likely to be in the severe Covid-19
patient group than those who lacked this gene variant.
It may sound large, but this GWAS result actually reflects

a fairly small amount of the variation in Covid-19 risk in
the population. In the European populations that have
been examined so far, this extra “A” allele has a frequency
of around 8%. Around 15% of people carry at least one
copy of the allele, compared to around 24% of the Italian
and Spanish Covid-19 patient sets. That’s a significant
increase. But still, 76% of severe Covid-19 patients in these
European samples lack this “risk” allele entirely.
It’s also important to consider the ways that these early

GWAS studies may miss important factors. Researchers
starting from samples of severe Covid-19 cases are in a
poor position to correct for socioeconomic status, age, and
other effects that may change the effects of host genes on
the virus.
32
Even if this gene discovery does not predict much about

Covid-19 risk, it still may give a starting point to
investigate the biology of the disease. To go further,
geneticists will need to examine the 3p21.31 region more
closely. GWAS by itself does not identify which gene
variant actually causes an effect on a trait, or how it
works. The positive GWAS result at 3p21.31 tells
researchers they are getting warm. But even the strongest
hit, the extra “A”, may be only an innocent bystander,
linked to a nearby genetic change that affects Covid-19 in
some way.
The region covers several genes that may be interesting.

The rs11385942 itself falls within an intron of the LZTFL1
gene. Nearby CCR9 and CXCR6 produce chemokines, a
variety of signaling molecule that can attract immune cells
to sites of infection in the body. One of the more famous
members of the chemokine gene family, CCR5, is well-
known in human medicine for a common gene variant
that produces strong resistance to HIV. It is possible that
similar immune effects lie behind the association of
3p21.31 and Covid-19. Or it might be a different clue to the
host response to the virus.
Without more study, it’s not clear whether the increased

risk comes from greater susceptibility to initial infection,
greater progression to symptomatic status, or faster
33
progression to respiratory failure. It may be all of the

above.
If the last ten years of human genomics teaches us

anything, it’s this: As researchers study larger samples of
patients, they will identify more parts of the genome that
matter to Covid-19, with smaller and smaller effects. The
collective effect of many genes may add up to a more
revealing picture than the single locus that is showing up
so far.
So how do Neanderthals figure in to this story?
The authors of the new study, Hugo Zeberg of the

Karolinska Institutet and Svante Pääbo of the Max Planck
Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, looked closely at
the 3p21.31 region to see which of the SNP alleles in this
region are found in ancient genomes from Neanderthals.
Over the last ten years, Pääbo’s team has obtained high-
quality genome sequences from three Neanderthals: the
Vindija 33.19 individual from Croatia, the Altai
Neanderthal from Denisova Cave, Russia, and the
Chagyrskaya 8 specimen from Chagyrskaya Cave, Russia.
All these Neanderthal genomes share the extra “A” that
scored highest for Covid-19 risk in the Ellinghaus study.
Out of these specimens, the Vindija 33.19 individual in

particular carried 12 out of the 14 linked SNP alleles for
34
Covid-19 risk from the 3p21.31 region. This strong match

suggests that the DNA sequence, or haplotype, that carries
these SNP alleles may have originated with Neanderthals.
The Altai and Chagyrskaya Neanderthal specimens did
not carry as many of these SNP alleles, but do appear to
carry closer relatives of this risk haplotype than most
living people who do not carry it. It is not a feature of all
ancient genomes; the Denisovan genome lacked the SNP
alleles that Ellinghaus and coworkers tied to Covid-19
risk.
At the same time, Zeberg and Pääbo looked at a database

of genome samples from around the world. According to
their preprint, the Neanderthal risk haplotype is rare or
absent today in most of East and Southeast Asia, and also
absent in sub-Saharan Africa. In Europe, the haplotype
has a modest frequency of around 5–10%. It also occurs in
Native American samples at a similar low frequency. In
present-day samples from India, Pakistan, and
Bangladesh, the risk haplotype is very common, 40% or
more in some places.
I have to say, this is one area where the preprint’s analysis

doesn’t fully add up. Zeberg and Pääbo claim that the
“Neanderthal core haplotype” is absent in sub-Saharan
Africa and East Asia. But 1000 Genomes Project data have
the extra “A” allele at frequencies around 5% in African
35
population samples. Possibly some African individuals

have inherited this allele separately from the Neanderthal
haplotype shared by many other modern people. Or the
Neanderthal haplotype occurs in a substantial number of
Africans that the preprint has somehow missed. In either
case, it calls into question the importance of the
Neanderthal connection for Covid-19 risk. Hopefully
Zeberg and Pääbo will straighten this out before
submitting their paper for publication.
There’s nothing magical about getting a gene from

Neanderthals. Evolution will make use of any source of
genetic variation, as long as it happens to have an
advantage in the environment where a population lives.
With around 2% of human genomes tracing back to
Neanderthal ancestors, we can expect that one in fifty
GWAS hits will probably be to Neanderthal gene
variants.
Genes from the Neanderthal population reflected a half

million years of adaptation to their own environments.
The physical environments of Neanderthals were different
in some ways from those of their contemporaries in Africa.
They experienced different seasonality, temperature and
sunlight regimes, as well as a different range of plant and
animal foods. Their social and disease environments may
36
also have differed in some ways from those of Africans.

But there was also a lot of overlap.
Stephen Jay Gould once suggested that if we could rewind

the tape of evolutionary history and start it again from the
beginning, it would come to a very different outcome. His
idea was that evolution makes use of random variations,
meaning that chance and contingency rule in the long run.
Our Neanderthal ancestors and African ancestors began
from a common place and gene pool, sometime before
500,000 years ago. Once they started to separate, each
population ran a different tape. Each experienced different
evolutionary changes. Their tapes ran in different ways.
A few of the genetic changes in Neanderthals might have

been useless or deleterious if they happened instead to
Africans. They were adaptive or tolerated in the
Neanderthals’ environment but not in Africa. These are
cases where we might say that rewinding the tape would
make no difference. A few of those genetic changes have
left a striking sign in today’s population: so-called
“Neanderthal introgression deserts” are stretches of
human chromosomes where no living person has a
sequence like Neanderthals.
Some other parts of the genome show an opposite pattern,

with Neanderthal sequences surprisingly common in
today’s people. One of these may be the haplotype across
37
3p21.31, now 40% or higher in some parts of South Asia.

Such common Neanderthal variations are examples where
rewinding the tape might have yielded a different
outcome. Africans might have evolved this gene, but
instead the Neanderthals did. The outcome might reflect
contingency — some advantage specific to Neanderthal
environments. Or it might be chance, with Neanderthals
getting the luck of the draw. Either way, it looks like the
haplotype may have been valuable to the ancestors of
today’s South Asian people.
What we have learned from Neanderthal DNA is that our

species had an evolutionary trick that Gould never
considered: We created our own mix tape. Repeated
mixture and hybridization between ancient branches of
our family tree meant that one population could capture
the favorable mutations of another. Modern people took
some of the best parts of the evolution of our relatives and
made them our own.
In 10 years since the first Neanderthal genome sequence,

we’ve learned a lot about how their genes mattered to our
recent ancestors. Some of the most common Neanderthal
genes today relate in some way to immunity or pathogen
defense. These include variations of the human leukocyte
antigen (HLA) gene system, a Neanderthal haplotype
across the OAS1, OAS2, and OAS3 genes that encode
38
enzymes related to innate immunity to RNA viruses, a

variant of the STAT2 gene related to innate immunity, and
others.
In 2018, David Enard and Dmitri Petrov examined the 20%

of proteins — more than 4000 in all — known to interact in
some way with viruses. They found that the genes that
code for these proteins were more likely to include
Neanderthal introgression than other parts of the genome.
In particular, proteins that interact with RNA viruses have
the most Neanderthal gene variations today. Enard and
Petrov did not specifically consider coronaviruses in their
study, but these are also RNA viruses.
Examples like these give fascinating insight into our

biology and history. Scientists have begun to revise the
way we think about viruses and other pathogens in our
evolution. Viruses are mostly invisible to paleontologists
who are used to studying ancient skeletons. Today the
hottest action in Neanderthal science includes in vitro
analysis of cells expressing Neanderthal genes. Human
evolutionary science has come a long way.
That makes it even more of a mistake to apply obsolete

ideas about genetics to a newly-emerging pandemic.
Epidemiologists continue to emphasize that the most
important steps to reduce Covid-19 transmission are social
distancing and wearing masks to reduce aerosol spread of
39
the viruses. No gene makes people immune.
The virus is raging in the United States today, and

people’s Neanderthal ancestry is not making any visible
difference to that. The highest incidence is among Blacks
and Latinos, a function of the higher rate of spread in
urban areas and — over the last few weeks — in Texas,
Florida, and Arizona. The Navajo Nation and some other
tribes have also experienced very high incidence of the
virus. Epidemiologists point to many factors that underlie
the disparity of Covid-19 spread in these groups, from
multigenerational households and reliance on public
transportation, to obesity and other long-term health
stresses, to a greater proportion of people working in
front-line professions.
40
None of those factors are genetic. Behavioral and cultural

factors are leading this pandemic, many of them
reinforced by a history of poverty and racism.
It may be that more details about the host genetics of

Covid-19 will lead to insights about some of the virus’s
mysteries. It remains to be explained why so many
infected people remain asymptomatic, and why some
people become superspreaders. As geneticists gain access
to larger samples of Covid-19 patients, they will find more
and more genes that contribute to disease progression.
But for now, it’s important to be clear about the emerging

pandemic. There is no genetic test that can predict
Covid-19 risk. Generalized ancestry from one population
or another does not protect anyone from infection.
Neanderthals are an interesting sidelight to understand
the research, but they’re not a guide for anyone’s health.
7. What is Covaxin, India’s Covid-19 vaccine candidate;

how long before approval? (Paper 1 - Chapter 9)
India's Covid-19 vaccine candidate Covaxin: How does
41
Covaxin compare to other vaccine candidates around the

world? Where does it figure in the global race for a
Covid-19 vaccine?
Covaxin coronavirus vaccine candidate: Bharat Biotech
plans to begin its phase I and II trials in July, but is unsure
of the overall timeline for testing and approving its
vaccine.
The Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation

(CDSCO) has allowed Bharat Biotech India (BBIL) to
conduct human clinical trials for ‘Covaxin’, an
indigenously developed Covid-19 vaccine candidate.
Trials are scheduled to start across India in July.
What is ‘Covaxin’ and how was it developed?
The vaccine candidate was developed by BBIL in

collaboration with the National Institute of Virology
(NIV). NIV isolated a strain of the novel coronavirus from
an asymptomatic Covid-19 patient and transferred it to
BBIL early in May. The firm then used it to work on
developing an “inactivated” vaccine — a vaccine that uses
the dead virus — at its high-containment facility in
Hyderabad.
“Once the vaccine is injected into a human, it has no

potential to infect or replicate, since it is a killed virus. It
just serves to the immune system as a dead virus and
42
mounts an antibody response towards the virus,” said the

company, adding that inactivated vaccines usually have a
proven safety record.
Covaxin then underwent pre-clinical testing on animals

such as guinea pigs and mice to see if it is safe before the
firm approached CDSCO for approval to move on to
human trials.
What does the approval mean for India?
The Drug Controller General of India, who heads CDSCO,

has given BBL approvals for phase I and II clinical trials.
This brings India a step closer to finalising a domestically
developed Covid-19 vaccine at a time when the country’s
cases continue to surge.
The first phase, usually conducted on a small group, tries

to find what dosage of the vaccine is safe for use, whether
it is effective in building their immunity to the virus, and
whether there are side effects. The second phase is
conducted on a group of hundreds of persons fitting the
description of those for whom the vaccine is intended,
using characteristics like age and sex. This phase tests how
effective the vaccine is on the population group being
studied.
43
How many more stages of testing would the vaccine

have to go through before approval?
Vaccines, like most new drugs, are meant to follow a

testing process of four stages, starting with pre-clinical
tests and ending with phase III studies conducted on
thousands of patients. After approval from the regulator,
the firm has to continue monitoring the use of its vaccine
on patients and submit post-marketing surveillance
details, which checks for any long-term unintended
adverse effects.
BBIL plans to begin phase I and II trials in July, but is

unsure of the overall timeline for testing and getting final
approval.
“At the moment we are not sure how the vaccine is going
to perform in the humans, as clinical trials are about to
commence. Based on the success results of phase I and
phase II, we will progress to the larger clinical trials.
Thereafter, the licensure timelines will be set out upon
receiving regulatory approvals,” said BBIL.
What other Indian companies are working on a Covid-

19 vaccine candidate? What stage are they at?
These include Zydus Cadila, Serum Institute of India and,

since earlier this month, Panacea Biotec.
44
While Panacea is still in the pre-clinical stage, it is not clear

whether Zydus and Serum have completed their
preclinical studies and have also applied to CDSCO for
approval to conduct human trials yet.
How does Covaxin compare to other vaccine candidates

around the world?
Covaxin has reached a more advanced stage of testing

than two other vaccine candidates that BBIL is developing
through global collaborations — one in collaboration with
Thomas Jefferson University, and the other with the
University of Wisconsin-Madison and vaccine maker
FluGen. Both candidates are currently in the pre-clinical
stage, according to the World Health Organization’s draft
landscape of Covid-19 candidate vaccines.
However, it is far behind in the global race. The

frontrunner is AstraZeneca, whose candidate ChAdOx1-S
with the University of Oxford is already at phase III trials.
Serum Institute has an agreement to manufacture this
vaccine.
Moderna is close to beginning phase III trials for its LNP-

encapsulated mRNA vaccine candidate with the US
National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.
Apart from Covaxin, which is not listed among the

vaccines being tried globally, at least six other candidates
45
are in Phase I/II trials and another five are in Phase I trials
globally.
Globally, Zydus Cadila’s DNA plasmid and measles

vector vaccines as well as Serum’s codon deoptimised live
attenuated vaccine, which it is developing with
Codagenix, are still in the pre-clinical stage, according to
WHO.
8. Indigenous people vital for understanding

environmental change (Ecological Anthropology Paper-1)
How local knowledge can help manage ecosystems and

wildlife
Summary:
Grassroots knowledge from indigenous people can
help to map and monitor ecological changes and
improve scientific studies, according to new research.
The study shows the importance of indigenous and
local knowledge for monitoring ecosystem changes
46
and managing ecosystems. The team collected more

than 300 indicators developed by indigenous people
to monitor ecosystem change, and most revealed
negative trends, such as increased invasive species or
changes in the health of wild animals.
The study, published in the Journal of Applied Ecology,

shows the importance of Indigenous and local knowledge
for monitoring ecosystem changes and managing
ecosystems. The team collected more than 300 indicators
developed by Indigenous people to monitor ecosystem
change, and most revealed negative trends, such as
increased invasive species or changes in the health of wild
animals. Such local knowledge influences decisions about
where and how to hunt, benefits ecosystem management
and is important for scientific monitoring at a global scale.
"Scientists and Indigenous communities working together

are needed to understand our rapidly changing world,"
said lead author Pamela McElwee, an associate professor
in the Department of Human Ecology in the School of
Environmental and Biological Sciences at Rutgers
University-New Brunswick. "Many Indigenous peoples
have unique abilities to notice ecosystems altering before
their eyes by using local indicators, like the color of fat in
hunted prey or changes in types of species found together.
Scientists wouldn't be able to perform these kinds of
47
observations over the long run for many reasons,

including costs and the remoteness of some areas. So
Indigenous knowledge is absolutely essential for
understanding the cumulative impacts of biodiversity loss
and ecosystem degradation."
Indigenous and local knowledge is the practical

information that people use to manage resources and pass
on between generations. Such knowledge benefits
conservation initiatives and economies that depend on
natural resources in vast areas of the world.
The study follows the Global Assessment Report on

Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services released last year by
the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on
Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services. That report was the
first global ecological assessment to use Indigenous and
local knowledge as a source of evidence.
The new study, by researchers at many institutions who

were part of the global assessment, provides background
on how the report tapped into Indigenous knowledge
systems and lessons learned. Working with these local
sources of information in ecological research and in
management requires a deliberate approach from the start,
additional resources and engagement with stakeholders
reflecting diverse worldviews, McElwee said.
48
"Partnering with Indigenous peoples can help scientists

and researchers understand how natural and cultural
systems affect each other, identify trends through diverse
indicators and improve sustainable development goals
and policies for all," she said.
9.Archaeologists use tooth enamel protein to show

sex of human remains
A new method for estimating the biological sex of human

remains based on reading protein sequences rather
49
than DNA has been used to study an archaeological site in

Northern California. The protein-based technique
gave superior results to DNA analysis in studying 55 sets
of human remains between 300 and 2,300 years old.
The work is published July 17 in Scientific Reports.
The method targets amelogenin, a protein found in tooth

enamel, said _rst author Tammy Buonasera,
postdoctoral researcher working with Glendon Parker,
adjunct associate professor in the Department of
Environmental Toxicology at the University of California,
Davis. The technique was developed in Parker's
laboratory.
Buonasera, Parker, Jelmer Eerkens, professor of

anthropology, and colleagues compared three methods for
sex determination: the new proteomic method; DNA
analysis; and osteology, or analysis of the size, shape and
composition of the bones themselves. They applied these
methods to remains from two ancestral Ohlone
villages near Sunol, California. The site is being excavated
by the Far West Anthropological Research Group of
50
Davis in collaboration with the Muwekma Ohlone tribe.
Amelogenin is a protein found in tooth enamel, the

hardest and most durable substance in the human body.
The gene for amelogenin happens to be located on both
the X and Y sex chromosomes, and the amelogenin-Y
protein is slightly different from amelogenin-X.
The method works by retrieving a tiny amount of protein
from a tooth. All proteins are made up of a chain of
amino acids, so the protein is analyzed to give the amino
acid sequence, which then defines the protein. Each
of the 20 naturally occurring amino acids is specified by a
three-letter code in DNA, so it is possible to work
backward from the amino acid sequence and figure out
the likely DNA code.
Superior to existing methods

The researchers were able to determine the sex of all of the
remains using the new protein method and all but
have using DNA methods. Results from osteology and
proteomics agreed in almost all cases, although
51
examining bones themselves was only effective for about

half the skeletons.
The protein method allowed them to estimate sex for

children, which is not possible from osteology. It was
reliable even when the signal from DNA was weak.
"This is a more sensitive technique for older skeletons
where we would expect more DNA degradation," Parker
said.Being able to determine the biological sex of human
remains provides a greater window into the persona of
each individual. Anthropologists are interested in
determining biological sex because sex interacts with
health and can have a large impact on how people form an
identity and are treated within a society, Eerkens said.
"Almost every human society around the world

incorporates sex and gender as a way to classify people,
and these can affect your status and who you associate
with in society," Eerkens said. While gender and biological
sex are not the same thing, they are linked, so the ability to
estimate sex gives archaeologists important
insight when attempting to understand the cultural
aspects of gender, which are not as readily preserved.
52
For example, in a society based on small villages, people

often have to find mates outside their village. Depending
on cultural rules, either men or women will leave the
village to marry.
10.Big brains and dexterous hands (Biological factors in

human evolution Paper-1)
53
People are very skilled with their hands, but take a very
long time to learn various dexterous abilities. It takes
babies generally around five months before they can
purposely grip an object. Learning more complicated
skills such as eating with fork and knife or tying one's
shoelaces can take another five to six years. By that age,
many other primate species already have o􀃠spring of
their own. Why do we take so much longer than our
closest relatives to learn fine motor skills?
Brain development in primates follows fixed patterns
54
Sandra Heldstab, an evolutionary biologist in the

Department of Anthropology at the University of Zurich,
and her colleagues Karin Isler, Caroline Schuppli and
Carel van Schaik observed 36 different primate species
over a period of more than seven years to try to answer
this question. She studied 128 young animals in 13
European zoos from birth until the age at which they had
reached adult-level dexterity. What surprised her was that
all species learned their respective manual skills in exactly
the same order. "Our results show that the neural
development follows extremely rigid patterns - even in
primate species that differ greatly in other respects,"
says Heldstab.
Large brain needed for dexterity

The researchers found, however, big differences in the
specific fine motor skills of adults from different
primate species. Large-brained species such as macaques,
gorillas or chimpanzees can solve much more
complex tasks using their hands than primates with small
brains such as lemurs or marmosets. "It is no
coincidence that we humans are so good at using our
hands and using tools, our large brains made it possible.
55
A big brain equals great dexterity," says Heldstab.
Humans develop fine motor skills later than primates
Dexterity comes at a cost, however: In species with large

brains like humans, it takes a long time for infants to
learn even the simplest hand and finger movements. "It's
not just because we are learning more complex skills
than lemurs or callitrichids, for example. It's mainly
because we do not begin learning these skills until much
later," says Heldstab. The researchers think that the reason
for this may be that the larger brains of humans
are less well developed at birth.
Essential to have enough time to learn
In addition, learning takes time and is ineffcient, and it is

the parents who pay for this until their offspring are
independent. "Our study shows once again that in the
course of evolution, only mammals that live a long time
56
and have enough time to learn were able to develop a

large brain and complex fine motor skills including the
ability to use tools. This makes it clear why so few species
could follow our path and why humans could
become the most technologically accomplished organism
on this planet," concludes Sandra Heldstab.
SOCIO-CULTURAL ANTHROPOLOGY
11. After Mizoram, Nagaland bans sale of dog meat
(Paper 1 : Chapter 2.1 - Cultural Relativism)
57
This article is posted to allow you to question and reflect

on the question of Cultural Relativism and Animal rights
(similar to the debate vs Human rights)
The Nagaland government has decided to ban commercial

import and the sale of dog and dog meat. The Mizoram
government had taken a similar decision in March.
“The State Government has decided to ban commercial

import and trading of dogs, and dog markets, and also the
sale of dog meat, both cooked and uncooked,” Nagaland’s
Chief Secretary Temjen Toy said on July 3.
58
He added that the decision in this regard was taken by the

Cabinet headed by Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio.
The announcement followed an appeal by the Federation

of Indian Animal Protection Organisations (FIAPO), an
apex body of animal rights groups, to the Nagaland
government to ban the sale, smuggling and consumption
of dog meat besides enforcing stringent animal welfare
laws.
“We are once again hit by shock and horror at recent

images that have emerged from ‘animal markets’ in
Dimapur (Nagaland’s commercial hub) where dogs are
seen in terrified conditions, tied up in sacks, waiting at a
wet market for their illegal slaughter, trade and
consumption as meat,” FIAPO executive director Varda
Mehrotra said in a statement on July 2.
The FIAPO said it has been engaging with the Nagaland

government since 2016, underlining how dogs suffer
because of the demand for meat. It also claimed to have
carried out undercover investigations on dog meat in the
northeast.
Dogs smuggled
The organisation said dogs are smuggled regularly to
Nagaland from Assam and West Bengal. A dog, caught in
59
Assam for rupees 50, is sold for ₹1,000 in Nagaland’s

wholesale market.
“Dog meat sells for rupees 200 per kg on the streets of

Nagaland, which is about rupees 2,000 per dog,” it said.
Nagaland and Mizoram-bound vehicles carrying dogs tied

in gunny bags with their heads sticking out are frequently
caught in Assam. But many such vehicles slip through the
security cordons.
12. From Manusmriti to Indian Matchmaking, tracing

the roots of arranged marriages
Ignoring the commercial part of this article, it throws

some light on social institution of MARRIAGE from a
sociologist point of view throughout the history of India
in different societies. The books and definition referred in
this article can be noted.
Is Marriage still relevant in India Today ...?

Sociologists agree that the arranged marriage system is
drawn from the idea of maintaining caste purity. At the
same time, the concept of arranged marriage was also
deeply rooted in political and economic necessities.
60
The concept of the Indian marriage, particularly of an

arranged marriage is of immense fascination in the West.
As a young student in America a few years back, I would

frequently meet inquisitive foreigners, intrigued by the
unique socio-cultural practices in India. From food to
films and family, there was much about the Indian social
and cultural landscape that was of interest to the average
American. Undoubtedly though, the most common subject
to come up during these discussions was that of arranged
marriage. A heated conversation with one of my
professors, I remember, was one wherein she decidedly
told me how she was repulsed by almost everything she
61
read about India- the poverty, the unhygienic and

crowded public transport systems, slums, and so much
more. Yet she truly desired to fly down to India at least
once in her lifetime, to be witness to an Indian marriage
ceremony.
The concept of the Indian marriage, particularly of an

arranged marriage is of immense fascination in the West.
The recent Netflix series, ‘Indian Matchmaking’ addressed
to an international audience, provides a glimpse into the
strange Indian way of finding a mate. “In India marriage
is a very big fat industry,” says ‘Mumbai-based’
matchmaker Sima Taparia, as she opens the show.
Taparia, the protagonist of the eight-part series, owns a
marriage bureau called ‘Suitable rishta’ in Mumbai. Her
clientele is primarily restricted to affluent families in India
and Indians abroad.
For the benefit of her audience, Taparia introduces the

concept of marriage in India in the following words: “In
India, we don’t say arranged marriage. There is marriage
and then there is love marriage. The marriages are
between two families. The two families have their
reputation and many millions of dollars at stake. So the
parents guide their children, and that is the work of a
matchmaker.”
62
Over the course of the next eight episodes, Taparia and

her clientele’s insistence on fair, tall, beautiful partners,
the need for compromise and flexibility, horoscope
matching etc., has opened up heated conversations across
social media on what is being perceived as a problematic
depiction of marriage. At the same time, the series has also
opened up a debate on the very nature of ‘arranged
marriages’.
The ancient roots of the arranged marriage system
It is interesting that despite the fact that Indian art and

literature from ancient times has been obsessed with the
idea of infatuation and romance, when it comes to
marriage, the decision taken by the elderly family
members is given utmost importance. Sociologists
working on the marital systems in India agree that the
arranged marriage system is drawn from the idea of
maintaining caste purity.
A 2009 study on the economics of marriage undertaken by

Abhijit Banerjee, Esther Duflo, Maitreesh Ghatak and
Jeanne Lafortune, suggests that “despite the economic
importance of this decision, “status”-like attributes, such
as caste,continue to play a seemingly crucial role in
determining marriage outcomes in India.” “In a recent
opinion poll in India, 74 per cent of respondents declared
to be opposed to inter-caste marriage,” write the
63
economists, adding that even now matrimonial

advertisements in newspapers continue to be classified
into caste buckets.
The Manusmriti, the text on which the caste classifications

were put in place among Hindus, provides an interesting
insight into the way ancient society in India understood
marriage. “It advocates marriage to be a social obligation,
rather than an individual’s private pleasure,” writes
psychologist Tulika Jaiswal in her book, ‘Indian arranged
marriages: A social psychological perspective’.
Hindu scriptures written between 200 BCE and 900 CE list

out eight different ways of acquiring a mate: Brahma,
Daiva, Arsha, Prajapatya, Asura, Gandharva, Rakshasa,
and Paisacha. Out of these, only the first four were
considered religious, while the remaining four were
alliances resulting from romance or abduction. “The first
four kinds pertain to arranged marriages in which the
parental couple ritually gives away the daughter to a
suitable person, and this ideal continues to be maintained
in the Hindu society,” writes sociologist Giri Raj Gupta in his
article, ‘Love, arranged marriage and the Indian social
structure.’ Gupta goes on to explain that as opposed to the
religious and caste aspect of arranged marriages among
the Hindus, the Muslims and Christians in India viewed
64
marriage as a ‘civil contract’. However, even in that case,

marriages were almost always arranged by the families.
At the same time, the concept of arranged marriage was

also deeply rooted in political and economic necessities.
Author Sabita Singh in her detailed study of marriages in
medieval Rajasthan writes that political marriages were
particularly common during the period of state formation
when marital alliances were used for “enlarging one’s
territory, ending enmity, and for increasing power and
status”.
As Singh explains, “the evolving patterns of such

matrimonial alliances reflected the changing status of the
Rajput clans within the medieval political hierarchy.”
“When the Rathores of Marwar rose to prominence in the

mid-fifteenth century, marriage alliances with them were
keenly sought after. Similarly, with the entry of clans like
the Shekhawat and Baghela into the mansabdari system of
the Mughals, their increased prestige was reflected in the
matrimonial arena as well,” she writes.
Warfare and territorial ambitions were infact the biggest

factors behind the existence of polygamy among the
ruling elite. “Polygamous marriages of most Rajput rulers
and chiefs was one way of maintaining political network
65
of sagas which could always be called upon in an

emergency,” writes Singh.
Economics as well as geography at the same time were

factors behind the existence of polyandry in large parts of
India, particularly the mountainous regions.
Not just in India
Despite the multiple ways in which arranged marriages

have existed in India, it is important to note that it is
definitely not a practise that is restricted to the South
Asian subcontinent. The institution of marriage has played
socio-political and economic roles across the world. In
Japan, for instance, the institution of arranged marriage
which is still quite prevalent, is traced back to the 16th
century when the military class or ‘samurai’ introduced
the practice called ‘miai’ to protect military alliances
among warlords.
The predominance of arranged marriages continues to be

seen in Turkey as well, where as recent as 2016, a report
published by the Turkish Statistics Institute revealed that
45 per cent of young Turkish women aged between 15-24
agreed to finding a partner through an arranged marriage.
Yet another interesting case is that of China, where in 1950

the new Marriage Law was enacted by Mao Zhedong. The
objective was to abolish the feudalistic style of arranged
66
marriages, to give priority to individual consent in

marriage. The revision of the marriage law was connected
to the land reforms made during the Communist
revolution, and it officially put out the message that
women were no longer “objects of their father’s
commercial transactions or their husband’s dominions.”
Despite the reforms though, a 2017 report in the BBC notes
that parents remain heavily involved in their children’s
marital decisions and often resort to matchmaking
services. The series ‘Indian matchmaking’ needs to be
watched and critiqued keeping in mind the socio-political,
religious roots of the institution of marriage in India and
around the world, as well as the way in which it has
evolved. A report published in the New York Times in the
year 2000 reveals how South Asians have been
increasingly resorting to matrimonial websites to choose a
partner for themselves, keeping out their families from the
business. Interestingly though, despite the appearance of
free will in choosing a partner for oneself, the report
reveals that individuals continued to use the age-old
criteria of caste, complexion, religion etc. Seen in this
context, perhaps Seema Taparia’s hotly debated match
making skills, will appear to be nothing more than a
reflection of the society we live in.
67
INDIAN & TRIBAL ANTHROPOLOGY
1. Reservation for Tribal Teachers
Context: A five-judge Constitution Bench of the

Supreme Court held it unconstitutional to provide
100% reservation for tribal teachers in schools located
in Scheduled Areas across the country.
Key Highlights of the Judgement
 The case stemmed from a legal challenge to

January 10, 2000 order issued by the erstwhile
State of Andhra Pradesh Bench providing 100%
reservation to the Scheduled Tribe candidates, out
of whom 33% (1/3rd)shall be women, for the post
of teachers in schools located in the Scheduled
Areas of the State.
 Now, the court held that 100% reservation is
discriminatory and impermissible. The
opportunity of public employment is not the
prerogative of few.
 A 100% reservation to the Scheduled Tribes has
deprived Scheduled Castes and Other Backward
68
Classes also of their due representation. The court

referred to the Indira Sawhney judgment, which
caps reservation at 50%.
 The court noted the 2000 notification was a
“misadventure” the erstwhile State had embarked
on to save an identical one issued in 1986. The 2000
notification was given retrospective effect to bring
to life to its predecessor of 1986.
 The government is “duty-bound” to periodically
review the reservation process to ensure that the
benefits “trickle down and are not usurped by”
the affluent in these categories (OBCs and the
SC/STs).
RESERVATION IN INDIA
Reservation is primarily given to 3 groups: Scheduled

Castes, Scheduled Tribes, and Other Backward
Classes, abbreviated as SC, ST, and OBC respectively.
These are groups that have faced social and economic
discrimination in the past and/or the present and were
severely underrepresented in public life.
 Originally reservation was only given to SCs and

STs but was later extended to OBCs in 1987 after
69
the implementation of the Mandal Commission

report.
 Today anyone whose forefathers belonged to
ST/SC community gets the benefits of reservation
irrespective of his present socioeconomic status.
 There are income caps on EWS (Economically
weaker sections) and OBCs (Other backward
classes).
How effective has been this reservation system in

India?
It is observed that even after 70 years of reservation the

backward classes haven’t been benefitted the way they
should have been and reservation keeps getting
extended after every 10 years. One of the major reasons
for this is no income cap on ST/SC reservations unlike
OBC and EWS reservations where there is an income
cap so that once a person is benefitted by reservation
and is capable of earning a livelihood, he is no longer
entitled to reservation.
As there is no concept of creamy layer in ST/SC

reservations, even the son, grandson and great grand
son of any other class A officer gets the benefits of
reservation who himself got reservation.
70
So majority of the benefits get siphoned off by the

affluent ST/SC’s and are not able to percolate to the
lower strata. Even the Supreme Court has directed the
central government to introduce creamy layer concept
in ST/SC reservation, but this is not possible because of
vote bank politics.
2. Initiatives of TRIFED amid COVID-19
Context: TRIFED under Ministry of Tribal Affairs is

proactively responding to the COVID-19 pandemic
situation. These initiatives of TRIFED amid COVID-19
are aimed at lending extra support to the tribals in this
unprecedented times.
TRIFED is responding by addressing the issues arising

out of the long period of lock-down with a set of
immediate, medium term and long term initiatives.
Key Highlights of the Initiatives
The actions relating to protecting tribal interests during

Covid-19 Lockdown (and the staggered period
thereafter) as required can be classified under three
heads as follows:
 Publicity and Awareness Generation.
71
 Personal Protective Healthcare.

 NTFP Procurement.
Short Term measures: Social Distancing Awareness
 Van Dhan Samajik Doori Jagrookta Abhiyaan: It

was launched with an aim of educating Tribals
engaged in gathering NTFPs in forest areas, on
covid-19 response, key preventive behaviour like
social distancing, home quarantine, hygiene tips
through a two-tired training program (Training of
Trainers and SHG training), using digital means
such as webinars, facebook live streams etc.
Medium and Long Term measures : Livelihoods
 Amendments in the list of exemptions amid

COVID-19: To ensure relief to crores of tribals
dependent on gathering of forest produce, the
Ministry of Home Affairs was approached for
necessary amendments in the list of exemptions in
the guidelines for second phase of lockdown.
o The Ministry of Home Affairs has issued
Revised guidelines on 16th April 2020

allowing Collection, harvesting and
processing of non-timber Minor Forest
72
Produce (MFP) by scheduled tribes and other

forest dwellers.
o These exemptions are timely as the peak
harvesting season has set-in in many regions.

 Apart from above, Ministry of Tribal Affairs have
asked TRIFED to focus on revamping the
Minimum Support Price (MSP) for MFP to
enhance tribal livelihood in these testing times.
 Following the direction of Ministry of Tribal
Affairs, TRIFED has initiated steps for
operationalizing MSP operations in all states at
primary markets called haat bazaars.
Other Initiatives
VAN DHAN SAMAJIK DOORI JAGROOKTA

ABHIYAAN: TRIFED teamed up with UNICEF and
WHO for launching a digital campaign spreading
awareness about the importance of social distancing
amid the coronavirus crisis in India.
UNICEF is providing the necessary IEC materials (

posters, flyers, leaflets, brochures, booklets, messages
for health education sessions, radio broadcast or TV
spots etc) for the campaign christened as “Van Dhan
73
Samajik Doori Jagrookta Abhiyaan OR Van Dhan

Social Distancing Awareness Movement”.
3. The Forest Rights Act in Nagarahole.
The varied responses of Adivasis living in and around

Nagarahole Tiger Reserve NTR to the prospect of living
within the forest as offered under the Scheduled Tribes
and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of
Forest Rights) Act, 2006.
The Forest Rights Act: Genesis and Implementation

The FRA, enacted in 2006, is a historic legislation that aims
to redress the historical injustices inflicted on forest-
dwelling Scheduled Tribes (STs) and other traditional
forest dwellers by recognising their rights over
forestlands. This injustice stems from exclusionary forest
protection policies and laws that have held sway since the
colonial period.
The FRA recognises two types of rights to land:

individual and community.
According to the act, the occupation of land of up to four

acres for the purpose of habitation or cultivation prior to
13 December 2005 can be recognised as the individual
74
rights of a family; meanwhile, the community rights

provision recognises collective ownership and the
collection, use, and disposal of minor forest produce
traditionally collected.
Another important provision, Section 3(2) of the FRA

allows certain facilities, which are prohibited under forest
and wildlife protection laws, to be established inside the
forest for the welfare and development of the inhabitants.
These include schools, dispensaries, shops, roads, electric
lines, and drinking water. However, such facilities are
provided based on the collective recommendations of the
gram sabha, and not the requests of individual families.
As is well known, forest policies adopted by the colonial
and postcolonial administrations in India dispossessed
many Adivasi communities of their lands (Asher and
Agarwal 2007).
In many cases, Adivasis resisted such exclusion, leading

to the formulation of region-specific policies, especially in
areas with large Adivasi populations, to protect their land
and provide them a certain level of authority and
autonomy over their resources. Examples of such laws
include the Chotanagpur Tenancy Act, 1908, the Santhal
Parganas Tenancy Act, 1949, the Assam Land and
75
Revenue Regulation (Amendment) Act, 1964, and the

Provisions of the Panchayats (Extension to Scheduled
Areas) Act, 1996 (Bijoy 2008; Upadhya 2005). However,
while national-level forest protection policies have existed
since the colonial period, a centralised, pan-Indian
legislation to protect the rights of Adivasis was absent till
the FRA was enacted in 2006. The implementation of the
FRA in different parts of India highlights its variable
impact. In Chhattisgarh and Gujarat, for example,
although not all rights were granted, Bandi (2015) argues
that the FRA gave a “psychological boost” to the Adivasis
by assuring them that their land would not be taken away.
According to the Community Forest Rights–Learning

and Advocacy (CFR–LA) report (2016), in several regions,
such as Gadchiroli district, Maharashtra, Biligiri
Rangaswami Temple Tiger Reserve, Karnataka, and
Dindori district, Madhya Pra desh (MP), community
rights were successfully established (CFR–LA 2016).The
report also claims that local communities stopped
commercial forestry in many areas where community
forest rights were confirmed (CFR–LA 2016: 13). However,
it also notes that, in many areas, forest departments have
been more hostile towards granting community rights
than individual rights (Agarwal 2018; CFR–LA 2016;
Kumar et al 2017).
76
According to the report, one reason for this is that forest

departments believe that recognition of community
rights will weaken their control over the forest. Thus, the
forest departments have adopted various strategies to
retain their control over forests, entangling and derailing
the issue in several places in the process (CFR–LA 2016).
Another concern raised by scholars about the sustenance
of community resources is that the current generation of
Adivasis is more interested in generating an income from
the forest than protecting it. Hence, they often indulge in
illegal extraction of forest resources, threatening the long-
term survival of community forests—an argument put
forward by forest department in Uttar Pradesh against the
recognition of community rights (Agarwal 2018). Field-
level studies on the implementation of the FRA offer
important insights into the successes and failures of the act
in different regions and point to possible reasons for these
varying outcomes.
However, most studies do not provide an in-depth

understanding of how local Adivasis, who are the subjects
of the FRA, have responded to or engaged with the act.
One exception is Ramanujam’s (2017) study of the Baiga
Chak region of MP, which shows that despite the
77
impressive implementation of the FRA on paper, fractures

have emerged on the ground. Here, many people are not
interested in claiming community rights despite having
received titles. He notes the various local conditions
contributing to this response, such as degrading forest
quality, which made people sceptical about their future
inside the forest, and the gradual withdrawal of NGOs,
which compromised their readiness for collective action.
Additionally, some people depend on the timber-felling
operations of the forest department of MP for their
livelihoods, while others resent it since it destroys the
place of their gods and ancestors’ spirits and affects their
sources of medicines, food, and fodder. Moreover, the
younger generation aspires for an urban lifestyle rather
than a life in the forest (Ramanujam 2017).
The range of local responses to the FRA provides insight

into the gaps between policy formulation and
implementation, suggesting that centralised policies and
laws formulated at the national level may be incapable of
accommodating local conditions and aspirations. In the
next section, I discuss Such specificities for the NTR.
Nagarahole Tiger Reserve: A History of Evictions
NTR is spread across two districts of Karnataka—Kodagu
and Mysore—older forests; swampy grasslands, known
78
locally as hadlu; settlements of Jenu Kurubas, Betta

Kurubas and Yeravas, the three main Adivasi
communities of NTR, all listed as STs in Karnataka Several
Adivasi settlements continue to be situated inside NTR,
although their presence has reduced drastically since the
1970s, when these forests came under a stricter wildlife
conservation regime following the enactment of the Indian
Wildlife Protection Act, 1972.
Many Adivasis spoke about evictions that continued for

more than a decade after 1972, resulting in the complete
abandonment of some of their older settlements, such as
Halehalli and Ajjapura, which were situated deep inside
the forest and away from the main roads. These displaced
communities were forced to shift, either to other
settlements within the reserve and closer to the main
roads, or to locales in the forest periphery (such as
Hosahalli and Maradahalli). Some Adivasis moved to
settlements that were entirely outside the forest, such as
Kanakapura, or to the line houses maintained inside the
coffee plantations for its workers. This coercive action of
the forest department officials created a sense of fear
among the Adivasis of NTR, and over the next three
decades, many families were gradually forced to leave
their homes and agricultural lands. Prior to the 1970s,
79
most Adivasis used to cultivate paddy or practice kumri

cultivation inside the forests.
After the 1970s, the demand for labour inside NTR

reduced severely due to the complete ban on all human
activities in the forest. Consequently, Adivasis ventually
became heavily dependent on coffee plantations and
agricultural labour outside the forest, which significantly
modified their earlier, everyday
associations with the forest.
NGO Interventions in Nagarahole
During the 1980s, the evictions led to the establishment of

several Adivasi rights NGOs in the region. providing
educational and nutritional support to Adivasi children;
facilitating the establishment of Adivasi-led organisations
and collaborating with these organisations in filing court
cases against the forest department; organising protests to
demand rights and welfare for Adivasis; and conducting
awareness programmes on women empowerment,
80
indigenous knowledge, and traditional Adivasi practices.

Many Adivasis are also employed by these NGOs.
The NGOs organise events that celebrate the traditional

practices and lives of the Adivasis, In addition, some of
these NGOs have aligned themselves with national and
global indigenous rights movements, and their members
often participate in events organised by these larger rights
networks within and outside India. Local Adivasi
organisations created by these NGOs are also entrenched
in these networks. Since the enactment of the FRA, their
advocacy for claims to ancestral lands under the banner of
self rule has received a further impetus. Since the 1990s, a
few other NGOs that advocate for forests and wildlife
conservation—besides those working on Adivasi rights—
have emerged. Their agenda of conserving wildlife and
forests by creating inviolate forest areas has led them to
support and actively participate in shifting Adivasis
outside the forest. Hence, Adivasi rights NGOs and
conservation NGOs have clashed on many issues.
While Adivasi rights NGOs blame conservation NGOs for

forcing people out of the forest, conservation NGOs argue
that Adivasi rights NGOs encourage activities prohibited
in the forest, such as collecting forest produce and cutting
81
timber, and also inhibit the development of Adivasi

communities by keeping them inside the forests. In turn,
Adivasi rights NGOs blame conservation NGOs for co-
opting a few prominent Adivasi leaders of NTR by
offering them cash incentives and jobs on the condition
that they subscribe to a government-sponsored
compensatory relocation scheme.
4. The Lockdown Has Worsened the Plight of Odisha’s

Indigenous Bonda Community
Women who are central to the Bonda economy, say

that they cannot harvest forest produce and the local
haats are closed. The lockdown has jeopardised not
only their livelihoods but food and nutritional
security as well.
Bondaghati (Odisha): Perched on the southern edge
of Odisha, in Malkangiri district, is the forested hill
region of Bondaghati, home to one of the 13
Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs) in
the state, namely the Bonda. They are believed to be
82
part of the first wave of migration out of Africa,

about 60,000 years ago.
The Bondas, who have had an intimate connection

with the forest and the sustainable life it signified,
have been affected by deforestation and changes in
traditional farming practices for some time now.
Collecting minor forest produce (MFP) partly for
their use and partly for sale at the weekly haat is
what has given them some cash income.
Due to their remote habitat, buyers or traders hardly

visit Bonda villages to procure their harvested MFP.
Therefore, it is at the local haats that most Bonda
women sell their harvests. Some of the major forest
produce they harvest for income generation,
includes hill brooms; the siyali leaf, used for making
plates; siyali seeds; siyali bark, used to make rope;
and salap, a kind of mild alcoholic juice harvested
from the salap tree mostly found in Bondaghati.
Most of these products are perishable except for
siyali bark which is mainly used to make rope. Berry
83
varieties such as sindhikoli and chotodimbri are also

harvested. They too are highly perishable.
The unprecedented situation brought upon by an

extended lockdown has jeopardised the livelihoods,
food and nutritional security of around 12,000
Bondas who live in 32 villages covering an area of
around 130 square km, in Khairput block, as per the
2011 Census. According to tribal rights activists,
“In the absence of urgent and pragmatic action by
the state government, the situation can further
worsen.”
Over the years, the Bondas have been seeing the

yield from subsistence agriculture reducing.
Subsequently, the income generated from selling
surplus agro-produce has also reduced. Bonda
women brew traditional liquor from millets, rice and
jackfruit, selling it at the local haats, which provides
them a steady flow of cash all year round. MFP and
traditional liquor are critical sources of income
generation for these communities – and both
84
activities are out of bounds for them due to the

lockdown.
Whether it is working on land, collecting MFP, or

selling it in haats, women are central to the Bonda
economy. It is they who talk about the impact of the
lockdown on their existence. Budai, Chhanki and
Sombari belong to the upper Bonda communities,
which inhabit the villages located on the slopes of
Bondaghati. They fall under the Mudulipada and
Andrahal panchayat (the villages of all three fall
under the former). Those who reside on the foothills
of Bondaghati are known as the lower Bonda
communities.
For the upper Bonda communities in particular, the

impact of the closure of local haats has been
catastrophic. “The local haat is the nerve centre of
Bonda communities and the heart of their village
economy,” says Sukesh Mridha, project coordinator
with the Centre for Youth and Social Development,
a nonprofit organisation, in Malkangiri. The haats
are not significant for their economic aspect alone;
85
they also provide a space for the reclusive Bonda

people to communicate with each other, share ideas,
news and information, Mridha explains. Several
local civil society organisations, even the authorities,
have on occasion conducted sensitization
programmes at the weekly haats to ensure a wider
outreach of key information for the Bonda
communities.
The lockdown has made the task of disseminating

vital information on COVID-19 among the Bonda
communities a daunting challenge. PDS bottlenecks
According to civil society organisations, about 70%
of Bonda households are covered under the public
distribution system (PDS). Santosh Sukla, secretary
of Parivartan, a not-for-profit organisation working
with the indigenous communities in Malkangiri,
explains the reasons why several Bonda households
are excluded from the PDS.
“Non-linkage of Aadhar with ration cards have

deprived the Bonda people of PDS supplies, and
86
some people have lost their cards, too,” says Sukla.

In the case of many Bondas, the names on their
ration cards are not exactly the same as in their
Aadhar cards, and that prevents them from
accessing the PDS.
“Although the state government has recently
announced that every household will get PDS
rations, even those who don’t have Aadhar cards,
local authorities are not paying heed to it, says
Sukla.
However,those who have their PDS cards have

received ration for three months from the
government. In order to address the bottlenecks in
the PDS system, a Skype interaction was conducted
with Minister of Food Supplies and Consumer
Welfare Co-operation, Ranendra Pratap Swain. The
interaction was organised by Vasundhara, a not-for-
profit organisation in Bhubaneswar, working with
the indigenous communities on issues of lands
rights, forest governance and livelihood
development. The issue of food and nutritional
security However, development practitioners from
87
the region believe that accessing PDS food supplies

is not sufficient to holistically address the issues of
food and nutritional securities among the Bonda
people.
“Their nutritional intake is far below the accepted

standard,” says Rajesh Pattanayak, district project
officer, Public Health Resource Society (PHRS), a
not-for-profit organisation working with the Bonda
and forest dwelling communities, on promoting
food security and access to better healthcare
services in Malkangiri. Pattanayak has several
reasons for holding this view. Since the Bondas
depend on rain-fed agriculture, access to nutritional
food in the off-season depends on the quantum of
harvest and income raised from selling forest
produce gathered mostly by women.
Due to the variation in rain, temperature and soil

moisture, the Bondas have consistently reported
substantial yield reduction of their traditional crops
such as millets, pulses and cereals lately. Clearly, the
88
pandemic and the lockdown induced by it has

exposed long-standing issues regarding the nature
of engagement that the state and civil society
organisations need to have with the remote Bonda
communities. Engagement cannot be a euphemism
for one-way communication. It needs to be a
conversation which pays heed to their voices and
worldview and paves the way for interventions
ensuring their livelihoods, food and nutritional
security, and cultural confidence.
5. Bhil Tribe and their demand for separate State.
(PAPER – 2 INDIAN & TRIBAL ANTHROPOLOGY)
89
Bhils or Bheels are an Indo-Aryan speaking ethnic

group in West India. They speak the Bhil languages, a
subgroup of the Western Zone of the Indo-Aryan
languages. As of 2013, Bhils were the largest tribal
group in India. Bhils are listed as indigenous people of
the states of Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh,
Maharashtra and Rajasthan—all in the western Deccan
regions and central India—as well as in Tripura in far-
eastern India, on the border with Bangladesh.
The word Bhil is derived from “Veel” which means
“bow” in the Dravidian language. The Bhil tribe is
called the “Dhanush Purush of India” because they are
very adept in Dhanush learning. Sub- categories of the
tribe 1. Ujaliya / Kshatriya Bhil: – Ugaliya Bhil is
90
basically the Kshatriya who went into the forests at the

time of Mughal invasion. 2. Langot Bhil:- They are the
original Bhils living in the forests, their custom is still
old. These mainly live in Madhya Pradesh.
In Rajasthan, Rana Poonja Bhil ji is remembered, who

along with Maharana Pratap, defeated the Mughals.
The portrait of Bhil this warrior is inscribed on the
royal insignia of Mewar and Mayo College. As of 2013,
the Bhil community was the largest tribal community
in India with a total population of 1.7 crore.
Tribal occupation
The source of income for the Bhils is agriculture and
animal husbandry. Poultry and labour also source of
income of this community. The Bhils have knowledge
of the manufacturing of handloom products also. Many
years ago, Bhil rajas (kings) permitted immigrants from
the plains to settle in the hill regions. To safeguard
their independence and rule, the Bhil fought against
the Moghals, the Maratha, and the British. Many Bhil
are being threatened by the Sardar Saravor Dam
project, which when completed will flood the land
91
where many Bhil currently live. Though re-settlement

plans have been discussed, they remain incomplete.
Why separate State

The demand for creating a separate Bhil state in India is
mainly arising from the tribal belt of Rajasthan,
Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat. These Bhil people want
that migrant people of this community should be
brought back to their original place with full dignity.
These people also demand that the tribal communities
should have first right on natural resources. There is a
demand to make the Bhil state by merging some
districts of Rajasthan, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and
Maharashtra. These districts are Dungarpur, Banswara,
Pratapgarh in southern Rajasthan, Ratlam, Jhabua,
Alirajpur, Dhar, Petlawad, etc. of Madhya Pradesh,
while the eastern districts of Gujarat include
Panchmahal Godhra, Dahod and Dang while the
northern districts of Maharashtra include Nashik, and
Dhule.
11 crore population
92
According to the census of India, the country had a

Tribal population of 3 crores in the year 1961 which
increased to 10.42 crore in the 2011 census, which has a
decadal growth rate of 23.7%.
The highest number of tribes lives in Madhya Pradesh

i.e. 14.7% of the total percentage of tribes in India
followed by Maharashtra (10%) and then in Odisha at
9.2%. Keep in mind that tribes constitute 8.6% of the
total population of India and 11.3% of the total rural
population of India.
6. GOAL Programme | Going Online As Leaders
93
Union Minister for Tribal Affairs Shri Arjun Munda

launched the “GOAL (Going Online As Leaders)”
programme of the Ministry of Tribal Affairs (MoTA).
What you need to know about GOAL Programme?
 The GOAL (Going Online As Leaders) Programme

of Ministry of Tribal Affairs has been launched in
partnership with the social networking giant,
Facebook.
 The GOAL programme is designed to provide
mentorship to tribal youth through digital mode.
 The digitally enabled program envisages to act as a
catalyst to explore hidden talents of the tribal
youth, which will help in their personal
development as well as contribute to all-round
upliftment of their society.
 In this program, 5000 scheduled tribe youth (to be

called as ‘Mentees’) will get an excellent
opportunity to get training by experts from
different disciplines and fields (to be called as
‘Mentors’).
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 There will be 1 mentor for 2 mentees.

 The program aims to enable Scheduled Tribe (ST)
youth in remote areas to use digital platforms for
sharing their aspirations, dreams and talent with
their mentors.
 Starting with 5000, the programme can be
extended to cover any number of tribal persons
who show keen interest in being mentored to
achieve their goals.
Other Details about the Programme
 The IT based system is designed to match mentors

and mentees so that they are from similar
profession and preferably speak same language.
 The selected mentees will remain engaged in the
program for nine months or 36 weeks comprising
of 28 weeks of mentorship followed by eight weeks
of internship.
 The program will focus on three core areas –
Digital Literacy, Life Skills and Leadership and
Entrepreneurship, and on sectors such as
Agriculture, Art & Culture, Handicrafts & Textiles,
Health, Nutrition, among others.
 All the selected mentees will be provided with
smartphones and Internet access (for one year) by
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Facebook along with exposure to various external

forums that will give opportunity to the
participants to showcase their entrepreneurial
skills and leadership abilities.
 Efforts will be made to integrate the program with
other government schemes such as Mudra Yojana,
Kaushal Vikas Yojana, Jan Dhan Yojana, Skill
India, Start Up India, Stand Up India, among
others.
7. For Gujarat tribal children with no TV or Internet,

school comes home on their teacher’s smartphone
The Home Learning Programme, for classes 3-12, was

launched on June 15 to ensure that the new academic
session is not affected by the pandemic. But in
villages like Zerjitgadh, this has brought new
challenges.
IT’S 8.30 am, and time for Pravinsinh Jadeja, a primary

school teacher in Gujarat’s tribal district of Dahod, to
leave home for work. But instead of the freshly painted
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two-room school in Zerjitgadh village, the 43-year-old

takes a detour on a narrow mud road, cutting through
farms and hillocks, to an open backyard.
This is his classroom for the day. And the seven

children with him, studying in Class 3, are all he could
find on the way for an hour-long session with online
material on his smartphone and books in his bag.
The seven are among the 60 out of 87 children in

classes 3-5 at the primary school who do not have
Internet or TV to access the state government’s Home
Learning Programme aired on DD Girnar. And Jadeja
is among about 30 teachers across 10 villages in Dahod
who “have gone out of their way” to voluntarily ensure
that these students don’t fall by the wayside.
“We have been with these children from the time they
started going to school, and we want them to be a part
of this new learning process,” says Jadeja.
“Only three students in the school have TVs at home,

which cater to a maximum of about 20 other students
keeping social distancing norms in mind. The others
are being tutored in groups at their homes by teachers.
The school has three teachers, including the principal,
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who take turns to visit children and conduct classes,”

says an official.
The Home Learning Programme, for classes 3-12, was

launched on June 15 to ensure that the new academic
session is not affected by the pandemic. But in villages
like Zerjitgadh, this has brought new challenges.
Jadeja’s class begins on his 5.5 inch Android

smartphone with a live session on DD Girnar’s
YouTube channel. The lesson is titled “Pani Anmol Che
(Water is Precious)”, and Jadeja frequently hits pause
to ask questions to the seven students seated on a cot.
The session is interrupted by heavy winds and a

patchy network, and also by the mooing of a cow and
the song of a cyclist passing by. But Jadeja is quick to
draw attention back to the next task — maths
homework, and assignments for the next class on
Friday.
“The major task is to locate the students, many of

whom accompany their parents or grandparents to
farms. Another challenge is to keep them
involved…the idea of learning from a phone is new. It
is also important to ensure that they understand what
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the educator is saying,” says Somsinh Mohaniya, the

school principal.
“Without a blackboard and chalk, it’s difficult to

understand what is being taught,” says Mittal Ninama,
a Class 5 student. “But it is fun to study from the
teacher’s mobile, and we wait for him.”
“These teachers are our only hope,” says Soma Bhagat,

whose backyard is the classroom for the day. “My three
sons and their wives work as contract labourers in
Vadodara. There is no smartphone or TV at home. So I
ensure that my grandchildren are ready by 9 am for the
home classes.”
Dahod has 1,53,195 students enrolled in classes 3-5 of

government primary schools. The latest daily data
shows that only 60,425 (39.44 per cent) accessed the
Home Learning Programme on Wednesday. Of the
2,13,228 students in classes 6-12 of government schools,
only 90,318 (42.35 per cent) accessed the programme
that day.
According to 2018 data from the Department of

Telecommunications, the service area-wise Internet
subscription stood at 8.26 million in rural Gujarat, and
23.16 million in the state’s urban areas.
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“Dahod is socio-economically backward, with rampant

migration over the years. Earlier, children used to
travel with their parents but have now started to stay
back for education. We are trying to ensure that they
continue to do so,” says D B Patel, District Primary
Education Officer.
8. Bastar has remained Covid-free. That’s because social

distancing is tribal norm, experts say
The whole world might be battling the Covid-19

pandemic, but the tribal region of Bastar in
Chhattisgarh has remained free of worry on this
count. Bastar, with a population of about 35 lakh,
has not registered a single case. Local leaders,
administrators and experts say this has happened
for two main reasons
The tribals’ traditional way of life is conducive to

maintaining social distancing, and The
government has been proactive in spreading
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awareness about the precautions necessary to

combat the disease. Tribal people have not only
physically resisted the entry of outsiders in their
villages, but have also voluntarily informed local
anganwadi workers and health department
officials to quarantine those who returned to the
villages and tried to enter their houses secretly.
Social distancing a tribal norm Anthropologist

Rajendra Singh, the first person to earn a
doctorate on the life of Abujhmadia tribals,
explained how social distancing is the norm for
tribals of the region. The boundaries of their
houses are very large, to keep the neighbours at a
distance, unlike urban residences or even modern
villages, where houses are bunched together.
Tribals maintain adequate physical distance, as

they walk mostly in rows, instead of groups.
Work’ for them mainly means collecting things
from the forest, which is again not a group
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activity, so they are able to maintain distancing.

They only go to the markets once a week. Singh
added that this is why the government’s role in
helping Bastar’s tribals in the time of Covid-19
was limited to just alerting them to be extra
vigilant towards distancing.
“All anganwadi workers and health officials

needed to do was to just speak to them in their
dialects and convince them to maintain social
distancing at all time. The tribals took care of
everything else themselves. Barriers were erected
at the boundaries of several tribal villages to
prevent outsiders from sneaking in.
In case migrant workers coming back from other

states managed to enter the village, they were
immediately brought to the attention of local
health workers, and sent into isolation by the
villagers themselves.”
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Tribal political leader and former Union minister

Arvind Netam agreed that their traditional way of
life was the “proper way” to keep a disease like
Covid-19 at bay. “The world must learn from
them,” Netam said. “Tribals are also naturally
immune to several diseases, as they still thrive
upon forest products like fruits, root vegetables
and various herbal products. “They might know
the scientific significance of the lockdown, but
tribals are very aware about keeping distance
from others, and are able to maintain social
distancing in their routine life.
9. World Health Day 2020: How nutrition gardens helped

tribals in Odisha's Nagada
Tribals in Nagada suffer from severe malnutrition, other

health issues.
A tribal woman in Nagada stands next to her nutrition

garden
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There are approximately 582 people who belong to the

Juang tribe in Odisha’s Nagada. This tribe is one of the 13
particularly vulnerable tribal groups in the state.
Nagada is a cluster of hamlets, located at Mahagiri

mountain range in Odisha’s Jajpur, about 94 kilometres
away from district headquarters.
One of the main reasons why Nagada remained

untouched by development over the years was its
inaccessibility.
Government outreach services were unable reach

inhabitants of this cluster because it was in a remote area
with poor infrastructure, including a lack of roads. Tribals
in Nagada suffered from severe malnutrition and other
health issues as a result. The village lacked basic amenities
needed for survival.
Nagada made headlines in July 2016, when 19 children

died from severe malnourishment within a month. The
state government immediately took action to not only
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address malnutrition, but also improve issues of
infrastructure development. Metal roads were
constructed, ponds were excavated, electricity was
brought in, anganwadis were made and houses were
constructed under the Pradhan Mantri Gramin Awaas
Yojana.
The government also focused its attention on enhancing

the livelihoods of the community, providing nutritious
food to children under the age of six years and more
through different line departments and social assistance
schemes.The Odisha Livelihoods Mission (OLM) also took
instant action to address the needs of the community.
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A tribal woman in Nagada examines produce from her
nutrition garden
The Odisha government and OLM felt that a focused

intervention was needed to create an enabling
environment for the overall well-being of the people in
Nagada. This called for combining strategies for
immediate and long-term intervention, with non-profit
Trickle Up chosen as a partner by OLM to lead the
initiative.
Trickle Up realised that while food security could be

ensured for poor households in Nagada through the
public distribution system, it was not enough for overall
development of the mind and body.
Food diversity was required to receive wholesome

nutrition and develop to a person’s full potential.
This was absolutely critical for pregnant mothers, lactating

mothers and for children below six years of age.
The community in Nagada lacked the resources and

proper awareness to ensure food diversity and optimum
intake of nutritious food.
The Solution
The Trickle Up team working in Odisha faced this
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challenge by deciding to implement what is known to be
one of the best solutions to tackle the difficult issue of
malnourishment: The creation of nutrition gardens for
families.
The promotion of nutrition gardens can reduce 70 per cent

of the diseases caused by deficiency of vitamin A,
according to a survey by the Food and Agriculture
Organization in 2011.
A nutrition garden appropriately utilises space at the front

and rear ends of a house to grow fruits and vegetables that
can not only sustain the family, but also support their
dietary requirements. Seasonal vegetables are grown by
utilising locally available waste and other materials as
manure or fertiliser. They can be used for long periods to
fulfill the daily needs of the household.
Approximately 60 households from Nagada adopted the

practice of having a nutrition garden in their household
during the kharif season, while 34 households adopted
this practice during the rabi season.
Azim Premji Philanthropic Initiatives supported training

needs to start and maintain the gardens. They also
supported the procurement of seeds. These gardens
ensure regular supply of the required amount of
nutritious vegetables to the families.
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A new addition to the behaviour change process was the
introduction of the food festival in the community.
During this festival, the community is encouraged to cook

together and eat together, while the field staff
demonstrates new and nutritious ways to cook and eat
papaya and yam – the abundantly available local produce
that the community is not used to eating.
The initiative aims to add to the nutrition value of the

food, while changing eating habits. These processes have
not just contributed to behaviour change, but also initiated
healthy habits into the system of community living in
Nagada.
Nutrition gardens encourage the optimisation of locally

available resources for communities that stay in areas with
fewer resources and limited connectivity.
The aim of Trickle Up is to have nutrition gardens

throughout the year so that it actively contributes in
reducing malnourishment rates in the community.
10.Tribes India e-Mart: Coming soon, an e-

market place only for tribal sellers
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*Objective : To bring around 5 lakh tribal artisans online,

thus connecting them to a larger national and
international market*
Around 5 lakh tribal items across 20,000 categories,

including textiles, paintings, home decor items, jewelry,
and metal crafts, will be available on the website.
Tribal artisans will soon be able to sell their products at
the click of a mouse with the government gearing up to
launch a specialised e-marketplace for them this
Independence Day. “We will launch the website – Tribes
India e-Mart – on Independence Day on August 15. It will
be similar to selling your products on e-commerce giants
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Amazon or Flipkart. The difference is just that it will be
only for tribals,” Managing Director of TRIFED Praveer
Krishna said.
A trial run of the e-marketplace will continue from July 30

to August 14. The government had set up Tribal
Cooperative Marketing Development Federation of India
in 1987 with an aim to provide fair price for products of
tribals across the country. The agency functions under the
Union Tribal Affairs Ministry. Krishna said tribal artisans
will be trained and asked to register themselves as sellers
on the website.
“The staff at our 15 regional offices across the country and

state government officials working with TRIFED will train
these tribals and help them get registered,” he said. The
objective is to bring around 5 lakh tribal artisans online,
thus connecting them to a larger national and
international market, he said.
Around 5 lakh tribal items across 20,000 categories,

including textiles, paintings, home decor items, jewelry,
and metal crafts, will be available on the website. The
products of tribal sellers will undergo a strict quality
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check and a committee will fix prices for each item.
There will be local collection centres from where the

products will be supplied across the country. For every Rs
100, Rs 70 will go to the tribals sellers, Krishna said. “We
will start with around 5,000 tribal artisans on July 30. The
target is to connect 5 lakh tribal artisans to the platform
and give them access to a larger market,” he said.
“This is in line with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s

vision of an aatmanirbhar (self-reliant) India. Our motto is
‘go vocal for local, go tribal’,” he said. The worth of a shirt
they (tribals) sell in local markets for Rs 200 is Rs 1,000 in
Delhi, Krishna said, explaining the economics behind the
idea.
Best quality organic products will be delivered to buyers,

who will have the option to return the item within 15 days
if they are not satisfied with it, he said. On Saturday,
Union Tribal Affairs Minister Arjun Munda launched
tribal products on Government e-Marketplace (GeM).
This will help government departments and officers

purchase tribal products directly from the website without
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going through a lengthy process of floating a tender and
receiving bids, Krishna explained. With more and more
people going online to meet their various needs be it for
business operations, shopping and communication, an
important strategic push has been to adopt an all-
encompassing digitization drive to map and link its
village-based tribal producers, Munda said.
TRIFED has also partnered with other e-commerce portals

such as Amazon, Flipkart, Snapdeal and PayTM to
provide market access to its tribal artisans.
11. TRIFED-UNICEF CAMPAIGN FOR SHG
Context: TRIFED-UNICEF campaign for SHG (Self Help

Group) is to be launched to ensure Tribal Gatherers carry
on their work safely without facing any problem.
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Key details about TRIFED-UNICEF Campaign for SHG
In order to ensure tribal gatherers carry on their work

safely, TRIFED has collaborated with UNICEF for
developing a digital communication strategy for
promoting a digital campaign for Self Help Groups
(SHGs) involved in this work, highlighting the importance
of Social Distancing.
UNICEF would provide the necessary support to be

circulated to the SHG centers in the form of Digital
Multimedia content, Webinars for Virtual trainings (basic
orientation on COVID response, key preventive
behaviours), Social Media campaigns (on social
distancing, home quarantine, etc.) and Vanya Radio.
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TRIFED has reached out to the Art of Living Foundation’s
#iStandWithHumanity Initiative with a Stand With
Tribal Families component in providing much needed
food and ration for survival of the tribal community.
About Self Help Groups (SHGs)
Self-Help Groups (SHGs) are informal associations of

people who choose to come together to find ways to
improve their living conditions. It can be defined as self
governed, peer controlled information group of people
with similar socio-economic background and having a
desire to collectively perform common purpose.
Villages face numerous problems related to poverty,

illiteracy, lack of skills, lack of formal credit etc. These
problems cannot be tackled at an individual level and
need collective efforts. Thus SHG can become a vehicle of
change for the poor and marginalized. SHG rely on the
notion of “Self Help” to encourage self-employment and
poverty alleviation.
Origin of SHGs
 The Origin of SHG in India can be traced to formation

of Self-Employed Women’s Association (SEWA) in
1970. The SHG Bank Linkage Project launched by
NABARD in 1992 has blossomed into the world’s
largest microfinance project.
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 NABARD along with RBI permitted SHGs to have a
savings account in banks from the year of 1993. This
action gave a considerable boost to the SHG
movement and paved the way for the SHG-Bank
linkage program.
 In 1999, Government of India, introduced Swarn
Jayanti Gram Swarozgar Yojana (SGSY) to promote
self-employment in rural areas through formation
and skilling of SHGs.
 The programme evolved as a national movement in
2011 and became National Rural Livelihoods
Mission (NRLM) – world’s largest poverty
alleviation programme.
 Today, State Rural Livelihood Missions (SRLMs) are
operational in 29 states and 5 UTs (except Delhi and
Chandigarh).
About TRIFED
The Tribal Cooperative Marketing Development

Federation of India (TRIFED) came into existence in 1987.
It is a national-level apex organization functioning under
the administrative control of Ministry of Tribal Affairs.
TRIFED has its Head Office located in New Delhi and has
a network of 13 Regional Offices located at various places
in the country.
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The ultimate objective of TRIFED is socio-economic
development of tribal people in the country by way of
marketing development of the tribal products such as
metal craft, tribal textiles, pottery, tribal paintings and
pottery on which the tribals depends heavily for major
portion of their income.
12. How tribal communities in Kerala are helping to stop

the spread of COVID-19
In many tribal colonies, branches of the thorny

Indian coral tree have been fixed on the doors of
most houses to prevent the entry of strangers.
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Tribal communities in Kerala have been practising

physical distancing as a way to curb the local spread
of COVID-19.
The people have been following the government's

directions to prevent the virus infection among the
community. According to the forest and tribal
welfare officials, the community is well aware about
COVID-19 precautions. The people are following
practices like frequent hand washing and wearing
masks correctly, said officials.
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In many tribal colonies, branches of the Indian coral

tree (Mullumurukku) have been fixed on the doors
of most houses to prevent the entry of strangers.The
thorns in the branches are meant to discourage
people from entering unnecessarily.
Shelvi, a resident of Marayoor Indira Colony in

Idukki, said, “The Health Department officials
informed us about the virus infection. As per the
direction from the Health Department, we wash our
hands when we return home after work. In addition
to this, we follow physical distancing."
Wayanad district Scheduled Tribes Development

Department officer, C Ismail, said, “The department
has already provided masks and soap to the tribal
families in the district. The soap and masks were
provided with their ration food items. The health
workers and tribal development officials have
provided information to the community about the
virus and the people are aware about the
seriousness of the infection. They are practising
hand wash and physical distancing to prevent the
spread of the virus.”
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Tribal people in Kerala practising hand washing
“In addition, the department will provide assistance

to make more masks for the tribal community. The
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Tribal Development Department will select trained

persons from their community to stitch the masks
and the department will manage the costs," he
added.
Samagrashiksha Kerala (SSK) Idukki district

programme officer, Dhanya T Vasu, told TNM, “The
Deputy Director of Education (DDE) office provided
sanitisers to each Multi Grade Learning Centre
(MGLC) to sanitise the hands of the tribal children
before they attend the online classes in the MGLCs.
The tribal people and kids wear masks before
reaching the centres. Soap is available in all shops in
the tribal hamlets.”
Idukki Tribal Development officer, Santhoshkumar,

S told TNM, “The Tribal Development Department
provided two free soaps each to the tribal people to
assure hand washing. After COVID-19 began to
spread, the tribal people decided to move from their
homes only for urgent needs."
The remote tribal settlement of Edamalakudy inside

the Munnar forest division announced a lockdown
from July 1 to prevent the spread of the virus.
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Vyas, a resident and a volunteer of an MGLC at

Edamalakudy, said, "The tribal people decided to
follow the lockdown, and outsiders were not
allowed to the village. Those who wished to travel
for emergencies to Munnar, Mankulam or any other
town, were required to stay in their homes under
quarantine for the next 14 days.”
“We provided awareness about the infection and the

people have followed the directions,” he said.
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13. MAHE, NGO train Siddis for shot at Olympics
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Bridges of Sports (BOS), a non-profit focusing on

providing access to children to learn, play and excel
in athletics, have worked with communities in
Karnataka, Orissa and Madhya Pradesh. It has
trained over 1800 children in athletics.
Started with the support of few Indian Olympians,

the organization is supported by Infosys
Foundation, Micheal and Susan Dell Foundation,
IIMB, Deshpande Foundation, and N/Core. It has
recently signed an agreement with the Manipal
Academy of Higher Education (MAHE).
As a part of an agreement between BOS Foundation

and MAHE, 17 athletes (10 – 17 years age group)
from BOS Foundation, will receive scientific, athletic
training from sports scientists during the
performance training camp to be held in Manipal
from May 20th – 6th June.
The majority of the athletes come from an Indo-

African tribal community called the Siddis and have
struggled for basic amenities due to lack of
resources and social exclusion. All of these athletes
are being trained to compete for the 2024 Olympics.
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The Siddis are settled primarily in Yellapura,

Haliyal, Mundgod and Sirsi taluks of Karnataka.
They have been in India for over 500 years. Studies
have pointed that Siddis in Karnataka, much like in
other parts of India, have remained isolated, and
economically and socially neglected, predominantly
settled in forest dwellings.
This limits access to resources and opportunities in

more ways than mere logistics. In 1987, the Sports
Authority of India (SAI) started a scheme to train
members of the Indo—African Siddi community.
Around 65 members of the community were initially
chosen to be trained in athletic events as part of the
‘Special Area Games Scheme’. The scheme was
discontinued six years later, and although further
efforts were made to revive the scheme in the 2000s,
it was criticized for its short-sightedness, lack of
inclusiveness and proper coaches.
In an attempt to revive these efforts, BOS are

building a sustainable sports ecosystem in North
Karnataka which is home to one of the most
naturally athletic Siddi Community. The
organisation’s annual grassroots community
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league—PATANG (planning athletic training and

nurturing grassroots) helps in talent identification,
after which the athletes are enrolled in and
supported at each level of their development.
Children within 20% of the national records are

given specific training by youth coaches. Along with
daily monitoring and development, they are also
provided with basic nutrition support, training
shoes, and equipment. Only the best talent—who
are within 15% of national records are then trained
by senior coaches and are given complete nutrition
support, sport science, and sports psychology
support. Besides athletic training, BOS also conduct
sessions for parents, team building activities, and
personality development workshops for the athletes.
Who are Siddi tribe?
Siddis are a unique tribe that has African ancestry

and lives in South Asia. They are mainly found in
three Indian states—Gujarat, Karnataka, and
Andhra Pradesh—and according to the latest
census, their total population size is about 0.25
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million. The first documented record of Siddis in

India dates to 1100 AD when the Siddis settled in
Western India. By the thirteenth century, substantial
numbers of Siddis were being imported by the
Nawabs and the Sultans of India to serve as soldiers
and slaves. The major influx of Siddis occurred
during the 17th–19th centuries when the Portuguese
brought them as slaves to India.
The Siddis (Afro-Indians) are a tribal population

whose members live in coastal Karnataka, Gujarat,
and in some parts of Andhra Pradesh. Historical
records indicate that the Portuguese brought the
Siddis to India from Africa about 300–500 years ago;
however, there is little information about their more
precise ancestral origins. Here, we perform a
genome-wide survey to understand the population
history of the Siddis. Using hundreds of thousands
of autosomal markers, we show that they have
inherited ancestry from Africans, Indians, and
possibly Europeans (Portuguese). Additionally,
analyses of the uniparental (Y-chromosomal and
mitochondrial DNA) markers indicate that the
Siddis trace their ancestry to Bantu speakers from
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sub-Saharan Africa. We estimate that the admixture

between the African ancestors of the Siddis and
neighbouring South Asian groups probably
occurred in the past eight generations (∼200 years
ago), consistent with historical records.
Bridge of Sports’ role
On August 15, 2016, the Bridges of Sports

Foundation was founded. It was incubated at IIM
Bangalore, as a non-profit start-up set up. This NGO
is trying to empower and integrate underprivileged
communities using the sports ecosystem. Its
Founder Nitish M. Chiniwar explained: “Quite
simply we aim to provide children from backward
communities the opportunity to learn, play and
excel in sports.”
14. Adivasi Women Have Preserved Indigenous Seeds
For Many Generations
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This festival gives us hope,” said Balabati Majhi.

She and other Adivasi women from the Kutia
Khond community were preparing to attend the
local indigenous seeds festival. Their village,
Burlubaru, surrounded by hills and dense forest,
was bustling with the preparations. The women
were singing and dancing to the beats of
traditional drums, the dhap and tamuk, holding
small earthen pots filled with indigenous seeds on
their heads.
They had gathered at the shrine to Dharani Penu
(Earth Goddess) at the centre of their village.
After a puja performed by the village priest, they
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starting moving in a procession to the festival site

– an open field near their village in
Tumudibandha block of Odisha’s Kandhamal
district,
“We perform a puja for a good harvest.
Sometimes, we also offer our deity a goat and
hen. A good harvest feeds us the whole year. At
the festival, we exchange seeds with others, so we
also pray for a good harvest for those who take
seeds from us,” said 43-year-old Balabati, whose
family cultivates millets and maize on two acres.
Balabati and around 700 Adivasi women farmers

from the villages of Kotagarh, Phiringia and
Tumudibandha blocks attended the annual seeds
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festival this year. Organised around the time of

the harvest in March, the event is an occasion to
exhibit and exchange traditional seeds, revive lost
varieties and speak of farming practices.
Kuleladu Jani, 48, also from the Kutia Khond
community in Burlubaru village (of
Belghar panchayat), said that in the past they
celebrated the festival in their own villages, and
would visit relatives’ houses in other nearby
villages to exchange seeds. “We never bought
seeds from the market,” she added. Since the
revival of the festival, she has collected numerous
varieties of millet seeds and cultivated them in
her two-acre farmland.
The festival grew into a revitalised and larger
gathering – the Burlang Yatra – around 2012,
when researchers from the Millet Network of
India, local organisations, and the local
administration came together with local youth
and villagers in organising the event.
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During the ‘yatra’, the farmers display seeds of

finger millet, foxtail millet, little millet, jowar,
maize, oilseeds, pulses and vegetables, besides
several varieties of paddy, edible wild roots and
locally-grown herbs. These are ritualistically
exchanged at the end of the day. These are good
quality seeds, said 38-year-old Pramiti Majhi of
Nandabali village, resistant to pests and diseases,
high in nutrition and yield.
“Our heirloom seed doesn’t need any fertiliser to
grow,” added Kuleladu. “We use cow dung, and
our crops grow well, the produce is tastier [than
crops grown from seeds bought from the market],
and we can save some seeds for the next sowing
season.”
13
1
At the festival, the women also spoke of their

experience of preservation and techniques of
sowing. In many Adivasi and rural communities,
women are the primary caretakers of indigenous
and heirloom seeds – in addition to their various
other roles from sowing to harvesting. “It is
knowledge that passes from one generation to
another. The women collect, preserve and plan
the sowing of seeds,” said Pranati Majhi of
Majhiguda, who cultivates millet, sorghum and
corn.
“After harvesting, we leave some plants in the
land to dry in direct sun rays,” said Parbati Majhi
of Paramala hamlet of Kotagarh block. “Once they
13
2
dry, we pluck and separate these seeds and store

them in an earthen pot. We put cow dung paste in
the outer layer of the pot to protect it from
insects.”
In several villages here, the Kutia Khond
community focuses on millet-based mixed
farming. Advasi communities in Kandhamal have
traditionally consumed millets, but over time,
these were replaced by the rice given on the
public distribution system – though millet-rich
foods remain popular in many villages here. “The
rice we get [on the PDS] has no taste and no
strength,” said Dhainpadi Majhi, 45, of Baripanga
village, “but millet gives you strength and fills
your stomach for a longer time.” Millets, added
Saswanti Badamajhi, 46, of Jharighati village,
“give us energy to climb hills and work for loger
hours.”
Towards the end of the day-long festival, after
dances to the beats of drums, horns and cymbals,
amid shrilling chants, the women converge at the
indigenous seeds kept at the centre of the ground.
13
3
After a ritualistic exchange, with different

varieties folded in sal leaves, small pieces of paper
or knotted in their saree pallus, they start walking
back home.
13
4

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ANTHROPOLOGY CURRENT AFFAIRS MAGAZINE

(Welcome To Vishnu IAS online )

EBOOKS & UPSC PRELIMS USPC MAINS VIDEO FOR DAILY

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OPTIONAL SUBJECTS BOOKS, STATE PCS, SSC, BANKING

PHYSICAL & ARCHAEOLOGICAL ANTHROPOLOGY

1. IISER team maps evolutionary dispersal patterns

2. Explained: What are human challenge trials, and why

3. New Research: Protein identified as potential Achilles’

5. HIV, TB, and malaria deaths to increase in low and

6. Neanderthals and Covid-19, beyond the hype

7. What is Covaxin, India’s Covid-19 vaccine candidate;

8. Indigenous people vital for understanding

9.Archaeologists use tooth enamel protein to show sex

10.Big brains and dexterous hands

12. From Manusmriti to Indian Matchmaking, tracing the

INDIAN & TRIBAL ANTHROPOLOGY

1. Reservation for Tribal Teachers

2. Initiatives of TRIFED amid COVID-19

3. The Forest Rights Act in Nagarahole.

4. The Lockdown Has Worsened the Plight of Odisha’s

5. Bhil Tribe and their demand for separate State.

6. GOAL Programme | Going Online As Leaders

7. For Gujarat tribal children with no TV or Internet,

8. Bastar has remained Covid-free. That’s because social

9. World Health Day 2020: How nutrition gardens helped

10. Tribes India e-Mart: Coming soon, an e-market place

11. TRIFED-UNICEF CAMPAIGN FOR SHG

12. How tribal communities in Kerala are helping to stop

13. MAHE, NGO train Siddis for shot at Olympics

14. Adivasi Women Have Preserved Indigenous Seeds

PHYSICAL & ARCHAEOLOGICAL ANTHROPOLOGY

1. IISER team maps evolutionary dispersal patterns

Relate to Natural Selection (Density dependent

Study of biological movement is applicable to

The prestigious U.S. biology journal Evolution has

The three scientists, Professor Suthirth Dey at IISER’s

“Many animals, including humans, move from one place

this biological dispersal finds applications in

The scientists authored a paper titled ‘Dispersal evolution

Mr. Mishra observes that a number of factors influence

“This is similar to people’s preferences of living in rural

Likewise, non-human species, too, experience similar pros

“Just as some species live in large groups while others are

Strangely, little is known about how or why ‘density-

“In fact, there had been no report of an evolutionary

The team first “evolved” tens of thousands of fruit flies for

“We observed around 29,000 fruit flies over this period to

Prof. Dey says that by establishing that these behaviours

are evolutionarily malleable, the study highlights the need

2. What are human challenge trials, and why are they

While human challenge trials are not new, they are

As laboratories around the world race to develop a

The method, which involves intentionally infecting

How are vaccines usually developed?

In most regulatory regimes, vaccines take several years to

In Phase 1, small groups of people receive the trial

In Phase 3, the vaccine is given to several thousand people