STRUGGLE FOR SURVIVAL: The Adivasis, the tribal peoples of Bangladesh, face an uncertain future. Their rights to land are ignored o:r stolen from them, the forests they inhabit are disappearing, their labour is exploited, their languages, cultures and way of life are regarded as inferior. They face discrimination and frequent violence from landlords, police and forest guards. The Adivasis of Bangladesh outlines the perilous existence of the Adivasis. Written by Father Richard W. Timm, a resident of Bangladesh and human rights campaigner for 30 years, it gives an overview of Bangladesh and its peoples, summarizes the continuing urgent situation in the Chittagong Hill Tracts, and presents a detailed account of the problems facing the Adivasis of the plains - landlessness, ecological destruction, violence and discrimination. Particular attention is given to the Mandi (Garo) people. Published by the Minority Rights Group in conjunction with the Coordinating Council for Human Rights in Bangladesh ( CCHRB), this important report also makes specific and detailed recommendations to ensure a viable future for the Adivasis in a democratic Bangladesh. Please note that the terminology in the fields of minority rights and indigenous peoples’ rights has changed over time. MRG strives to reflect these changes as well as respect the right to self-identification on the part of minorities and indigenous peoples. At the same time, after over 50 years’ work, we know that our archive is of considerable interest to activists and researchers. Therefore, we make available as much of our back catalogue as possible, while being aware that the language used may not reflect current thinking on these issues.

This book explores the transitions in the adivasi identity as well as in the political representation of adivasi communities in Bangladesh. It traces the use of categories such as “primitive”, “tribe”, and “adivasi” in post-colonial Bangladesh, both in the political discourse and in everyday life. The volume studies the history of these essentialized categories used for indigenous communities within the hierarchies of power and identity. It also analyses the diverse articulations of indigeneity through ethnographic narratives, exploring the formations of newer traditions and identity. The author highlights the persistence of the terms “simple” and “primitive” in contemporary discourses while also sharing examples of complex mediations and appropriation of these categories by adivasi groups in Bangladesh. This book will be of interest to researchers and students of sociology, social ethnography, social and cultural anthropology, indigenous studies, exclusion studies, development studies, political sociology, and South Asian studies.

Legal Pluralism and Governance in South Asia and the Diasporas contributes to the already heated debate about legal pluralism and the ontology of law by shifting the attention toward the relationship between what is treated as law and its impact on governance at the fora of dispute resolution. This book addresses sensitive issues such as gender rights and alternative dispute resolution in India, Hindu and Muslim personal laws in South Asia and in Europe, cross-border white violence, the change to Islamic legal traditions under Western domination, women’s inheritance in Pakistan and in the disputed territory of Gilgit Baltistan, indigenous rights and resistance at the India-Bangladesh border, and customary laws of nomadic groups in India. The authors deploy a variety of views that point at the pros and cons of legal pluralism and also integrates its opponents. They show how constructions of identity, religion, and power have historically informed the conceptualisation of secularism which may be an ideal, sometimes able to provide for perceptions of accountable governance, but also generating dividing worldviews. This book was published as a special issue of the Journal of Legal Pluralism and Official Law.

As people grow older, cultural issues arise. Recognizing how social influences guide and restrict people leads to a better understanding of one’s self and helps people as they age. The Handbook of Research on Multicultural Perspectives on Gender and Aging provides emerging research on midlife issues, physical aspects of aging, and the emotional value in the context of the culture in which people are living. While highlighting topics such as elderly disabilities, quality of life, and gender dimensions, this publication explores self-esteem in older members of society. This book is an important resource for academicians, healthcare professionals, professionals, researchers, and students seeking current research on the social and cultural characteristics of growing old.

This volume brings together a collection of essays analysing the current scenario in South and Southeast Asia with respect to the position of minority groups. Based on an in-depth investigation of some of the lasting minority–majority conflicts of the post-colonial period in countries that often escape comparison, the articles are a rich and critical exposition of the social, economic, cultural and political dimensions of these struggles. The central question being addressed is that of community rights in the modern nation-state and how these are being understood by the two concerned parties and, where and when, thereof, a situation of conflict arose.

The treatment of religious minorities in China regularly makes headlines in the West. In recent years, China’s treatment of the Falungong and its policies in Tibet and, to a lesser extent, Xinjiang, have attracted much comment, but this is rarely informed by an understanding of how China’s policies towards religious minorities as a whole have developed. This new MRG Report, Religious Minorities and China, fills that gap, providing an authoritative overview of the major world religions in China, Tibet and Xinjiang since 1949. The Report gives a history of the efforts of the Chinese Communist Party to control and, during the Great Leap Forward and the Cultural Revolution, to attack religious institutions. It describes how, since the ‘Reform and Opening’ of 1978 onwards, officially registered religious groups are tolerated and have some representation in a national forum. Unofficial groups, however, are regarded as unpatriotic. The Report focuses on Buddhism, Christianity and Islam, which the state considers synonymous with separatist movements and a threat to China’s territorial integrity. Tibet and Xinjiang, with their Buddhist and Muslim populations respectively, are contested territories, and freedom of religion and association in these areas is particularly liable to suppression. The Report also looks at the rise of the new religions, focusing on the Falungong. It concludes with a set of Recommendations, urging China to implement the provisions of international standards on minority rights and freedom and to fulfil its obligations under the instruments to which it is party. Please note that the terminology in the fields of minority rights and indigenous peoples’ rights has changed over time. MRG strives to reflect these changes as well as respect the right to self-identification on the part of minorities and indigenous peoples. At the same time, after over 50 years’ work, we know that our archive is of considerable interest to activists and researchers. Therefore, we make available as much of our back catalogue as possible, while being aware that the language used may not reflect current thinking on these issues.

The conflicts in the Great Lakes sub-region of Africa, in particular the terrible genocide in Rwanda in 1994, have been reported on at length. However, little is known or written about one of the poorest and most vulnerable communities in the region, the Batwa Pygmies. Pygmies live in a considerable number of Central African countries. They are believed to be the original inhabitants of the equatorial forests of Central Africa. But the Batwa have been displaced and marginalized, first by incoming agriculturalists and pastoralists in the nineteenth century, subsequently, during the colonial period, by the advent of large-scale logging, and most recently by the establishment of game parks. The severe inter and intra-state conflicts of the past decade have undermined their livelihoods and culture even further. The Report focuses on the Batwa living in Burundi, eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda and Uganda. It provides an historical account of the Batwa of the region and shows how they have sought to accommodate themselves to changing circumstances, describing their contemporary ways of life as potters and labourers, and their talents as performing artists. Most urgently, it examines the multiple ways in which their rights are violated and documents the ways in which Batwa are now mobilizing to defend and promote their rights. Please note that the terminology in the fields of minority rights and indigenous peoples’ rights has changed over time. MRG strives to reflect these changes as well as respect the right to self-identification on the part of minorities and indigenous peoples. At the same time, after over 50 years’ work, we know that our archive is of considerable interest to activists and researchers. Therefore, we make available as much of our back catalogue as possible, while being aware that the language used may not reflect current thinking on these issues.

Despite having been equated with the ancient Abyssinian cultures of Amhara and Tigray for centuries, there are at least 80 different ethnic groups within Ethiopia. Until recently, there has been little understanding of their cultures and traditions. Ethiopia has traditionally been governed from the centre – one of the reasons for the growth of Eritrean nationalist movements, which led to the eventual independence of Eritrea. This centralization and oppression of different ethnic groups led to the Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) coming to power in 1991, and promising that Ethiopia’s peoples would no longer live under a centralized system, which oppressed the majority of the population. The new government went on to restructure the State, forming an ethnic federation with regional ethnically-based states and creating a most radical and progressive Constitution. The Constitution guarantees ethnic groups a wide range of rights – including secession from the ethnic federation. Yet the government is beset by claims from opposition parties and national and international human rights organizations that it is guilty of widespread violations of human rights. Furthermore, many ordinary Ethiopians are sceptical of the government’s agenda, questioning its commitment to promoting the rights of all ethnic groups. MRG’s Report Ethiopia: A New Start? analyzes the Constitution, which the government has fashioned in order to create confidence among ethnic groups and minorities in Ethiopia. The Report discusses the Constitution’s key points and focuses on implementation within the federation, assessing the claims of the government’s detractors. The report’s author, Kjetil Tronvoll, gives a balanced historical background to these issues and covers some of the principal areas for Ethiopia’s social, economic and political development. The Report concludes with a series of recommendations aimed at the Ethiopian government and the international community. Please note that the terminology in the fields of minority rights and indigenous peoples’ rights has changed over time. MRG strives to reflect these changes as well as respect the right to self-identification on the part of minorities and indigenous peoples. At the same time, after over 50 years’ work, we know that our archive is of considerable interest to activists and researchers. Therefore, we make available as much of our back catalogue as possible, while being aware that the language used may not reflect current thinking on these issues.

For years, traditional laws – or customary laws – in Asia have been eroded. This report argues that remaining customary laws should be retained and discusses the extent to which their erosion can be reversed. Traditional Customary Laws and Indigenous Peoples in Asia focuses primarily on two types of customary law systems – personal or family law, and land and resource rights law – and considers the complex situation, which is far from uniform throughout Asia. For example, in some areas customary law systems and procedures are generally respected, while in other parts of Asia, customary law has been so eroded that it is virtually nonexistent and unrecognized by governments. There are also many examples that fall between these two situations. The author discusses the many challenges facing indigenous peoples in the pursuit of their customary law rights and many of the issues that have yet to be resolved within customary law systems. These include the occasional conflict between women’s rights and customary rights. The report focuses on the situation in the Chittagong Hill Tracts of Bangladesh, as well as including numerous examples from the Cordilleras in the Philippines; Jharkhand, Mizoram and Nagaland in India; northern Thailand; and Sabah and Sarawak in Malaysia, among others. Traditional Customary Laws and Indigenous Peoples in Asia is essential reading for indigenous peoples, nonindigenous government and political leaders and officials, staff of donor and development institutions and NGOs, and international bodies such as the United Nations.