IWGIA's activities in India
IWGIA has concentrated its project support to two areas of India: North-East India and Jharkhand. In North-East India, activities have mainly focused on supporting the indigenous peoples' self-determination and constructive agreements with the state. Currently, IWGIA supports the Naga Women's Union of Manipur to implement a project that aims to create more harmonious relationships among people and communities in conflict-ridden Manipur state by promoting the inclusion of women in decision-making bodies and by means of networking and lobbying. This project has been on-going since 2004 and an evaluation is planned for November/December 2006.
In Jharkhand, IWGIA has supported the Bindrai Institute for Research Study and Action (BIRSA) since 2000. The aim of the project "Forest Rights Campaign: for restoration of the indigenous peoples' forest rights in Jharkhand" is to reclaim and strengthen the communal rights of the indigenous peoples of Jharkhand over their ancestral forests. With this project, the Save the Forest Movement (Jharkhand Jangal Bajao Andolan) emerged as a Jharkhand-wide indigenous grassroots movement and is now leading the campaign. An evaluation of the project conducted in November 2005 concluded that one of its important achievements had been that it had provided a common platform for forest rights movements working at local level in different parts of Jharkhand.
Other initiatives supported in India include support to the National Consultation on the Draft National Policy on Tribals. In February 2004, the Indian government's Ministry of Tribal Affairs posted the Draft Policy on their website and invited comments. Since there were, however, no further proactive efforts to consult with indigenous and tribal organizations or other actors who could provide valid inputs to the draft, indigenous rights advocates took the initiative and devised a nationwide consultation process that started in the regions and culminated in a national-level workshop in the capital, Delhi. The workshop ended with a declaration, a press conference and a meeting with the Minister for Tribal Affairs and the Cabinet Minister for Panchayat Raj (local government).
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 People: Munda
Photographer: Christian Erni
 People: Tangkhul Naga
Photographer: Christian Erni |
