MAKE MOST OF THE KNOWLEDGE NETWORK, JOIN ACADEMIC RESEARCH FOUNDATION

This paper links public policy and community formation. The pivotal concern is the dislocation and re-location of members of the community over a period of time. Diaspora is used as a discursive signifier for such community. The policies deliberated are those that form the fulcrum of Canada’s immigration and integration policy. Qualitative field study on the Indian diasporic community is received from Montreal, Vancouver and Delhi. Analysis suggests that the Indian diaspora in Canada grow in strength using the social capital etched through ethnic networks and organizations. This in turn is possible due to the Canada’s immigration (point system meant to test skill and adaptability of immigrants) and well as integration (multiculturalism) policies.

KEYWORDS: Indian diaspora. Community formation. Public policy. Multiculturalism. Canada.

In developing countries like India, women face multifaceted and challenging barriers to modern contraceptive use. These barriers include a complex interplay of demographic, social, cultural, and economic factors. The influence of a male partner on a female’s reproductive health decisions is also an important area of reproductive health research that has garnered greater attention in the last decade. The present study was conducted inMehnja village and Ghuggar village of  Palampur Block, Kangra district of Himachal Pradesh, ndia. Only one married woman of reproductive age group (20 to 30 years) from each household was considered. The unit of study included 350 women in all. The objective of this research was to study the available methods of contraception in the area and the status of women in decision making for determining the family size. The results revealed that the respondents were in favour of accepting birth control methods and limiting child birth, thereby focusing more on giving a better life to their children in all possible ways rather than raising more children with lesser facilities. Also, education played a very important role in creating awareness among the village people regarding the birth control methods.

KEYWORDS: Family planning. Birth-control methods. Decision making. Palampur block. Himachal Pradesh.

While underling the literature from the broader perspective, the paper shows how cultural memory has unfolded oral literature through folklore. Oral literature generally does not stress on authorship as it is collectively owned and every member of the community has the right to narrate as per one’s ability and genius. Narration is essentially based on memory that has been handed down from generation to another since folklore it is not preserved in the form of text. It is imperative to study and analyse folklore to understand the tribal society as folklore constitute the body of cultural memory and cultural knowledge as well as it determines the identity of the tribal. Folklore is anything that includes traditional arts, literature, information, knowledge and practices, which are disseminated through oral or over a long history that constitute part of the behavioural mode of everyday life.

KEYWORDS: Cultural knowledge. Oral literature. Identity. Folklore. Mao-Poumai tribes. Manipur. Nagaland. Northeast India.

Anencephaly accounts for one of the most common birth defects and are associated with a high mortality and morbidity. The main objective of this research was to determine maternal risk factors, the most common clinical presentations of anencephaly and assess maternal awareness on folic acid supplementation and its preventive role in occurrence of anencephaly. This was a hospital based case finding study that covered 60 patients with anencephaly and their respective mothers conducted in hospitals in Bangalore Medical College & Research Institute from 2014 to 2017. The results showed that experiencing any febrile illness, taking medications during pregnancy, consanguinity, have been associated with the birth of the fetus with anencephaly. Only 14% of mothers were aware of preventive role of folic acid in the development of anencephaly. The study emphasizes the complexity of the etiology behind anencephaly, variability of its presentation and yet unsatisfactory awareness among mothers about folic acid and its beneficial role in preventing anencephaly.

KEYWORDS: Anencephaly. Risk factors. Maternal awareness. Victoria Hospital. Bangalore.

More than 70% of population in India even today are found to live in villages. The tribal population in the district of Visakhapatnam is mainly concentrated in agency tracts of Eastern Ghats. The adivasis (tribals) population in the agency areas sparsely distributed in small clusters. In general the tribal habitats are scattered homestead type, and the tribal people are experiencing with physical isolation and segregation due to the geographical and ecological factors. Many tribal villages are lacking proper infrastructural facilities and not developed much. This paper deals with the social, cultural, educational, political, economic and developmental aspects of Lammasingi village, located in the tribal sub-plan area of Paderu of Visakhapatnam district. It clearly depicts about the life of adivasis in the tribal settlement Lammasingi, which has ecological and atmospheric significance in Andhra Pradesh State. In recent times it gained tourist importance also.

KEYWORDS: Lammasingi. Eastern Ghats. Tribal village. Tribes. Castes. Paderu. Economic deprivation. Inclusive growth. Development. Visakhapatnam district.

The prevalence of undernutrition is considered to be the major public illhealth issue and causes premature mortality and morbidity among people of many developing countries. The objectives of the present study are to determine the prevalence and effect of certain socio-economic and demographic factors on undernourished children. The cross-sectional study was carried out among 543 Nyishi tribal children (215 boys and 328 girls) aged 1-4 years of Papum Pare District of Arunachal Pradesh, Northeast India. Anthropometric measurements of height and weight were measured using standard procedure. The age-sex specific Z-score values and body mass index (BMI) was calculated. The prevalence of stunting, underweight and thinness was determined by using and comparing with the WHO (2007) reference. The results of the binary logistic regression analysis showed that sex, age, the dependent children and the toilet facility in the area are found to have significant effect on the child undernourishment (p<0.05). Though the specific causes of undernutrition prevailing in the pre-school children could not be ascertained from this present study but results highlighted the problem of undernutrition among the children. An appropriate nutritional intervention program and strategies are needed to improve the undernutritional status among the children of the Nyishi tribe .

KEYWORDS: Nyishi tribe. Pre-school children. Undernutrition. Stunting. Underweight. Papum Pare District. Arunachal Pradesh,

Baluchuri weave is a style of brocade weaving introduced during the eighteenth and nineteenth century in India. The craft originated and derived its name from the village of Baluchar (present day Jiaganj) in Murshidabad district of West Bengal. The prime focus of the craft was its elaborate and intricate pallu / anchal or the end piece, the border and butis or sprigs scattered on the field of the saree (India traditional dress for women). The saree was initially patronized by the Mughal ruler Murshid Quli Khan (first Nawab of Bengal serving from 1717 to 1727) and gained popularity among nobles and traders of that time. However, due to various reasons this craft got almost extinct, it has been revived again in the last century through the initiative of Central Government and have been prospering since then. The present work has been done in spatio-temporal frame. The evolution was analysed through secondary data, existing samples and visuals along with primary field data. The present status of the craft was analysed through extensive primary research and field study and through in-depth personal interviews as well. The survey of the two different markets i.e., Delhi and Kolkata, was conducted in two stages through structured questionnaire. The results generated were quite interesting affirming a great huge scope for further research. The present paper discuses on the rise, the gradual decline and the revival of and spread of this craft again by the initiative of the Indian government.

KEYWORDS: Baluchar (Jiaganj). Murshidabad district. Textile. Saree. Motif. Baluchuri weave. Brocade weaving. West Bengal.

Tribal society is characterized by relative isolation from larger cultural influences, has a relative cultural homogeneity and a simple technology. Like any other society tribal society has also been undergoing different changes over time due to various factors such as industrialization, urbanization, modernization, and contact with their Hindu counterparts. The present paper is based on a study conducted among tribal communities, namely Tharu and Oraon of West Champaran district of Bihar. The main objective of the study is to check whether exposure to the modern forces has any impact on these tribal societies and if yes, to what extent these tribal societies have been affected? The study is based mainly on the qualitative techniques of in-depth interviews, observation and focus group discussions. The findings reveal that these tribal communities are also undergoing changes due to the exposure from the modern forces, but the rate of change is quite slow and is not affected much by the established socio-cultural norms. The traditional institutions such as family, marriage and kinship still hold a strong place in the lives of these tribal communities.

KEYWORDS: Tribal society. Tharu. Oraon. Urbanization. Modernization. Impact study. Transition and change. Gaunaha block. West Champaran. Bihar.

The present paper discusses on the ethno-medical uses of plants by the Konda Reddi tribal people of Khammam district of Telangana. The health care practices among tribal societies are an important part of their culture. Tribal people have their own indigenous knowledge stock and the people have encouraged health care practices connected with their culture, tradition and ecosystem. For the last several years the tribal people here have been witnessing a gradual erosion of their ecology and traditional therapeutic practices with the ruthless encroachment of human settlements in their area. At the same time the advent of contemporary medicinal practices have remained much less accessible to these poor tribals, but however, some of the modern medicinal practices have found entry into their indigenous health care system. In the present study an attempt has been made to present some details of the traditional medicines or herbal medicines used by the Konda Reddi tribal people for the treatment of their many health problems.

KEYWORDS: Ethno-medicine. Medicinal plants. Konda Reddi. Tribe. Khammam district. Telangana.

Forest plays an important role in the tribal economy and has been a source of subsistence and livelihood for them since a long past. The tribal economy is largely based on forest and includes various economic activities like hunting, food gathering, shifting cultivation, settled agriculture, handicraft etc. Forest and tribals are economically interrelated and interdependent. The women in tribal society occupy an important place than their counterparts in other communities as the responsibility of looking after the family economy and management of the family largely depend on them. As the inhabitants of the forest, tribal women act as the collectors, users and sellers of different forest products. They collect fuel wood for cooking and wage earning. They collect minor forest produces for consumption as well for selling in local markets. The present paper which is written on the basis of an empirical study deals with the changing economic activities of tribal women residing in two forest villages namely Icchey and Dhotrey Forest villages in Darjeeling Himalaya. Presently, they are engaged in the profession or economic activity associated with ‘homestay’ which is their new vocation. The existing paper intends to discuss how the traditional economic activities of the tribal people especially of the tribal women, are affected by this new economic venture and how far it helps them to improve their status.

KEYWORDS: Forest village. Icchey and Dhotrey forest villages. Homestay. Tribal women. Sherpas and Tamangs. Kalimpong and Darjeeling districts. West Bengal.

Tarak Chandra Das is still known as one of the best ethnographers of the pioneering generation of anthropologists in India. His field based study on the Purum Kukis of Manipur (1945) had attracted the attention of quite a good number of anthropologists in India and abroad including Claude Levi-Strauss, Rodney Needham and Surajit Sinha. Under the initiative of Surajit Sinha, a restudy of the Purums was undertaken by a team of anthropologists from the Anthropological Survey of India during the early 1980s. Das was also successful in conducting team fieldwork which was exemplified in his published research on Bengal famine (1949) and that was repeatedly referenced by the Nobel Laureate economist Amartya Sen in his famous book Poverty and Famines (1999). Interestingly, apart from his success as a meticulous ethnographer and an excellent teacher, Tarak Chandra Das was also a brilliant armchair anthropologist in his time. In this paper, I have chosen five anthropological publications of Das, which were neither the result of his own fieldwork nor attempts towards the construction of ethnographies. In these important publications, the role of T. C. Das as an ethnographer was switched over to the role of an armchair anthropologist. In these articles, Das made sincere efforts to provide, (i) explanations for the existence of a culture complex around a food item; (ii) role of anthropology in nation building; (iii) policy critique of a legislation; (iv) a futuristic vision on an institution in a nation state; and (v) a comparative and macro view of the religious beliefs of the Indian tribes.

KEYWORDS: T. C. Das. History of anthropology. Professional ethnographer. Armchair anthropology. Indian anthropology. West Bengal.