Indological Research Institute

22/08/2026

ಆನೆಗಳ ಸಾಂಪ್ರದಾಯಿಕ ಮಾರ್ಗಗಳನ್ನು ಯಾವುದೇ ರಾಜ್ಯವೂ ತಡೆಯುವಂತಿಲ್ಲ: ಸುಪ್ರೀಂ ಕೋರ್ಟ್

ಮಾನವ–ವನ್ಯಜೀವಿ ಸಂಘರ್ಷಕ್ಕೆ ಆನೆಗಳ ಸಾಂಪ್ರದಾಯಿಕ ಸಂಚಾರ ಮಾರ್ಗಗಳನ್ನು ತಡೆಯುವುದು ಪರಿಹಾರವಲ್ಲ ಎಂದು ಸುಪ್ರೀಂ ಕೋರ್ಟ್ ಹೇಳಿದೆ.

ಆನೆಗಳು ಸಂಚರಿಸುವ ಸಾಂಪ್ರದಾಯಿಕ ಮಾರ್ಗಗಳಲ್ಲಿರುವ ಅಡೆತಡೆಗಳನ್ನು ಗುರುತಿಸಿ ತೆರವುಗೊಳಿಸಲು ದೇಶಾದ್ಯಂತ ಸಮೀಕ್ಷೆ ನಡೆಸುವಂತೆ ಕೇಂದ್ರ ಸರ್ಕಾರಕ್ಕೆ ನ್ಯಾಯಾಲಯ ನಿರ್ದೇಶನ ನೀಡಿದೆ.

ಅಲ್ಲದೆ, ಆನೆಗಳನ್ನು ಓಡಿಸಲು ಬೆಂಕಿಯ ಉಂಡೆಗಳು (ಫೈರ್‌ಬಾಲ್‌ಗಳು) ಮತ್ತು ಮೊನಚಾದ ಕಬ್ಬಿಣದ ಸ್ಪೈಕ್‌ಗಳನ್ನು ಬಳಸುವುದನ್ನು ನಿಷೇಧಿಸುವುದನ್ನು ಖಚಿತಪಡಿಸಿಕೊಳ್ಳುವಂತೆ ಸುಪ್ರೀಂ ಕೋರ್ಟ್ ಸೂಚಿಸಿದೆ.

12/07/2026

Sonthal (Santhal) – Bhaugulpore Hills
Colonial Ethnographic Photograph | c. Late 19th Century

This historical photograph portrays two members of the Santhal (Sonthal) community from the Bhaugulpore (Bhagalpur) Hills, a region historically associated with present-day Bihar and Jharkhand. Captured during the colonial period, the image reflects one of the earliest photographic records of an Indigenous community whose identity has long been rooted in forests, agriculture, and a profound relationship with the natural environment.

The Santhals are among the largest Indigenous communities in eastern India, known for their rich oral traditions, vibrant music and dance, distinctive artistic expressions, and deep ecological knowledge. Their cultural life is closely intertwined with seasonal cycles, sacred groves, and collective community practices.

Like many colonial ethnographic photographs, this image should be understood within its historical context. Such photographs often documented Indigenous peoples through the lens of classification rather than cultural understanding. Today, they serve as important archival records while inviting us to reinterpret the lives and histories of these communities with greater dignity and anthropological insight.

Every archival photograph is more than an image, it is a fragment of lived history that connects us to the resilience and cultural heritage of Indigenous peoples.

12/07/2026

Dosadhs (Dusadh), Bihar

This rare colonial-era photograph depicts members of the Dosadh (Dusadh) community of Bihar. The Dusadh are one of the historically significant Dalit communities of eastern India, traditionally associated with agriculture, village security, and military service. Today, they are recognized as a Scheduled Caste in India and have a rich cultural heritage shaped by resilience, labour, and social transformation.

Colonial ethnographic photographs such as this provide valuable historical documentation, but they should also be interpreted critically. Many were staged and classified according to colonial ideas about caste and "tribes," reflecting the perspectives of the photographers rather than the lived realities of the communities themselves.

12/07/2026

Cole Community, Chotanagpur

This rare colonial-era photograph, labelled "Cole, Chota Nagpur," documents Indigenous people of the Chotanagpur Plateau (present-day Jharkhand). During the British colonial period, the term "Cole" or "Kol" was used broadly to describe several Adivasi communities, including the Munda, Ho, Oraon, and Bhumij, rather than a single tribe.

Historical photographs like this are valuable archival records, but they should also be viewed critically, as many were staged and classified through a colonial lens. Today, they serve as important reminders of the rich cultural heritage, resilience, and histories of the Indigenous communities of central India.

12/07/2026

Korava Group

Colonial Ethnographic Photograph | c. Late 19th Century | Albumen print, c. 1880–1900

Three Korava men are depicted with traditional bows and arrows, reflecting a livelihood closely connected with forests, hunting, and indigenous ecological knowledge. Historically, the Korava community practiced hunting, gathering, basket weaving, bamboo craftsmanship, and itinerant trade across South India.

While this photograph offers a glimpse into their material culture, it also represents the colonial ethnographic gaze, where communities were often photographed and classified according to occupation. Today, such images are valuable not only as historical records but also as reminders to reinterpret indigenous histories with dignity, context, and respect.

Every archival photograph tells two stories, one about the people portrayed, and another about the society that chose to document them.

Today, Korava communities are found across Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, and parts of Kerala, where many have transitioned into settled livelihoods while continuing to preserve elements of their cultural heritage.

26/06/2026

EARTH OFFERINGS 🌍

Earth Offerings brings together the practices of Fastin Pedros, Savia Mahajan, and Thembi Nala, exploring our enduring relationship with the earth through clay, memory, and totemic forms.

At the heart of this exhibition, Fastin Pedros transforms clay into vessels of storytelling where urns, animals, and symbolic forms become living archives of ancestry, identity, and cultural exchange.

Developed through an in-house residency at Studio KAASH alongside Savia Mahajan, Pedros' works reflect clay as both material and metaphor: shaped by the elements, carrying histories, and imagining futures.

Curated by Veeranaganakumari Solanki, Earth Offerings invites us to reflect on a timeless.

question: What does the earth offer us, and what do we return to it?

06/06/2026

A remarkable prehistoric archaeological landscape has been discovered in the Gandikota–Diguvapatnam region of Andhra Pradesh, revealing evidence of human occupation from the Lower Palaeolithic to the Historical period. 🏺⛰️

Researchers documented 35 rock shelters adorned with ancient paintings depicting hunting, fishing, wildlife, daily life, handprints, and symbolic motifs. These extraordinary findings offer new insights into the cultural heritage of the Penna River Valley and South India's prehistoric past.

14/05/2026

“These ancient household tools, identified by experts as belonging to prehistoric humans, stand as remarkable evidence that our Nandi region nurtured a thriving civilization even before the era of Ashoka.”

01/05/2026

04/04/2026

A city long celebrated as one of the great urban centers of the ancient world is now proving to be even older-and more complex-than previously believed. New excavations at Mohenjo-daro, the iconic Indus Valley site in present-day Pakistan, have pushed its urban roots back several centuries, reshaping how archaeologists understand the rise of early cities in South Asia.