Bastar - Fade-out of a Tribal Culture

 Bastar is a major part of the state of Chhattisgarh. It is to be reached from the rail-head of Raipur, by a drive of about 150-160 miles. One may also reach the main headqaurters at Jagdalpur by train from Vishakhapatnam that runs to Kirandul near the Bailadilla Hills; this train journey is  picturesque with many high bridges and tunnels.

The population of Bastar was mainly tribals of Gond origin, such as the Muria, Bison-horn Maria, the Hill Maria, the Dhurwa, Poroja, and others. They were living in the hills and forests of Bastar, around the villages (now towns) of Antagarh, Kondagaon, Narayanpur, Jagdalpur,  Dantewada and Sukma. It was a difficult life as the terrain is hilly and the soil  stony. But they still had their songs, and dances, their arts and crafts. Their gods and goddesses like Burha Deo and Telgin Mata had their abode in the same hills and forests. 

But with time, trade and commerce with neighbouring districts and states increased. This affected tribal life in many ways, and the old practices, the old songs and dances were progressively discarded. Whether Bastar will still be able to hold on to what is distinctive about  their culture only time will tell. 

India Current Affairs - the Sino-Indian Border Conflict

 Ever since the latest series of Sino-Indian border frictions started in May 2020, this has been much debated and discussed on the media. Even a couple of days ago, an overseas specialist who has done research on this topic implied in a major newspaper interview that the border problem is a product of British thoughtlessness in the matter. 

To cross-check I went back to my book "A Conflict in Thin Air" published in 2016 by Cinnamon Teal Publishing. In this I could identify the treaties between India and Tibet or China on the following occasions - (a) Between Kashmir (then under the  Maharaja, Gulab Singh) and Tibet in 1842, (b) Between Ladakh and Tibet in 1852, (c) the Cheffo Convention between Britain and China in 1876, (d) British India and China Treaty of 1890 setting out the configuration of the Tibet-Sikkim border, (e) the Simla Agreement of April 1914, which China signed and then repudiated and (f) the India-China Agreement on border trade in 1954. As to specifically about an understanding or appreciation about the  border, I can only refer the scholar concerned to the several maps that British India produced from 1840s to 1890s, especially about Ladakh. At least 3 or 4 attempts were made by British India to have the Chinese authorities to agree to joint surveys from 1870s to 1920s but to no avail.

All these records are available in the India Office Library in London, and references will be found in the books by Dr. Alastair Lamb , Dorothy Woodman and others. To paraphrase Shakespeare in the play "Julius Caesar" -- "The fault, dear China, lies not in our stars, but within you".