Are 'indigenous people' those who were previously known as 'tribals', 'natives', 'aborigines' or 'ethnic minorities'? What is the use of
The governments of South Asia are in a bind. With vocal support being expressed worldwide for indigenous peoples, they do not want to appear reluctant in endorsing the spirit. At
Trekking in the Himalaya has received a lot of publicity in Western media. Tour companies sell the image of a comfortable adventure without any stress or suffering, with the sahib
The trekking industry exploits the hill porter, little realising that short-term greed invites long-term disaster. A minimum portering wage must be fixed. There should be more, not less,
If there was a movement called Chipko to save the trees of Uttarakhand, let us not forget the Ped Kato Andolan, the short-lived but significant agitation to chop down
In a movement which gained its momentum in part because of the sheer potency of the word 'Chipko', who uttered it first and who first hugged a tree
Uttarakhand has had a long involvement with forest protests, whose latest incarnation was Chipko. Villagers have been reacting primarily to policies of the State, either the hill durbar, the Lucknow
The perceived dangers of a "Greater Sikkim" are discussed by Mohan Ram in a recent article in the New Delhi Pioneer, excerpted here, whose starting point is the
A good tune echoes in the mind. That is why, perhaps, governments the world over try to reinforce their ideologies by finding the "right" words for the tune.
The Sep/Oct 1993 of Himal had an article on missionaries, which referred to Capuchin priests and Kathmandu Christians who were forced to m igrate to Bettiah after Prithvi Narayan
Classical music managed to escape the court boundaries of the ruling Nawabs and Maharajas in India to delight mass audiences of concerts, television and radio. But in Nepal, both classical
Each of Bhaktapur town's 200 or so music groups has its own rituals and functions. This is an account of how the members of one such music group
