The present study aimed to explore the various festivals and ritual sacrifices observed by the Kutia Kandha tribe of Odisha. Using descriptive research methods, the study gathered responses through observation, interviews, and secondary data from different sources. Festivals among the Kutia Kandha tribe are occasions of great joy, unity, and cultural celebration. They mark important milestones such as harvests, changes in seasons, religious observances, and community gatherings. These festivals provide opportunities for the tribe to come together, reconnect with their heritage, strengthen social bonds, and pass down cultural knowledge to younger generations. Ritual sacrifices hold a significant place in the religious practices of the Kutia Kandha tribe.

Keywords: Dharani Penu, Festivals, Kutia Kandha, Ritual Sacrifice.

The aim is to provide a complete overview of robotic research in tourism and hospitality. The paper updates briefly. The textbook Robots, which describes the three types of robots — personal service, industry and professional service — highlights the value of human robots’ independence and cooperation, and includes examples from the hospitality and tourism industries. It analyzes 10 published publications between 2017-2022 identified by Scopus, Google Scholar, Web of Science, Research Gate, Academia.edu and IEEE. Only English literature was considered. Increasing opportunities for those who desire to print in the field are available. This paper has identified a number of robotic applications in various aspects of tourism and hospitality. Service providers should consider how robots affect the service scope and whether or not they need to be mended or changed so that robots and staff can better the service information (co-) generated inside it.

Keywords: Robotics; Service robots; Artificial intelligence; Human- Robot interaction; Tourism Industry; Hospitality Industry.

The educational empowerment of Scheduled Caste (SC) students is investigated experimentally in this study, which also explores the relationship between socioeconomic restrictions, quality, and access. It examines enrollment trends, dropout patterns, and academic achievement in relation to poverty and caste-based prejudice using survey data, secondary statistics, and literature. Results show that enrollment has significantly improved, but achievement and retention gaps still exist, especially for SC females. Inadequate school resources, economic instability, and institutional prejudices continue to be major obstacles. In order to achieve true educational empowerment for SC communities, the article makes the case for coordinated policy initiatives that combine socioeconomic support with high-quality education.

Keywords: Education, discrimination, poverty, empowerment, Students.

This study explores the rich cultural expressions of dance and music among the Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs) of Northern Odisha, with a focus on communities such as the Birhor, Lodha and Kharia. These art forms are not merely aesthetic practices but serve as vital expressions of identity, spirituality, and social cohesion. Through an anthropological lens, the research investigates how traditional performances are integrated into the life cycle rituals, seasonal festivals, and belief systems of these communities. It further examines how gender roles, oral traditions, and local cosmologies are embedded in musical instruments, movements, rhythms, and song texts. The objectives to identify and select specific PVTG communities known for their unique musical and dance traditions and to examine how dance and music preserve collective identity, pass down oral traditions, and foster social cohesiveness in the neighbourhood. The study has been conducted in Mayurbhanj PVTGs of Odisha. Fieldwork methods such as observation, interviews, and audio-visual documentation are employed to capture these performances in their lived contexts. The study also addresses the challenges posed by modernization, cultural assimilation, and inter-community influence, which are gradually reshaping traditional practices. Ultimately, the research aims to contribute to the preservation of intangible cultural heritage by highlighting the significance and evolving nature of dance and music among Odisha’s most marginalized tribal populations.

Keywords: Dance, Music, PVTGs, Intangible Culture, Mayurbhanj.

Buddhism emerged in the 6th century BCE in India, during a period of rigid social hierarchies, including gender-based inequalities. While many ancient traditions denied women spiritual agency, the Buddha introduced radical ideas that challenged patriarchal norms. His decision to ordain women as bhikkhun?s (nuns) and his insistence that women were equally capable of attaining enlightenment signified a revolutionary step in religious history. This paper explores gender equality in the teachings of the Buddha, examining scriptural sources, historical developments, debates on monastic roles, and the contemporary relevance of his vision.

Keywords: Ancient India, Sangha, Bhikkhunis, Therigatha, Eight Garudhammas, Nirvana.

Indian subcontinent is composed of cultural mosaic of different ethnic groups with their distinct cultural identities. After the passage of 79 years of independence, the Indian society is still blighted with some age-old problems of social stigma. People of India are differentiated as high, low, scheduled, non-scheduled, untouchables etc. and the scheduled castes and scheduled tribes continue to occupy the lower and tail end of social ranking and economic strata.

India is home to a rich tapestry of tribal communities, collectively known as Adivasis, representing a significant portion of the country’s population. These communities, recognized as Scheduled Tribes (STs) under the Indian Constitution, have distinct cultures, traditions, and languages, often residing in geographical isolation. While they contribute significantly to India’s cultural diversity, they also face unique challenges in their livelihood pattern; but political party in our country use their view like caste identity or religious or other diverse identities to muster votes. Under this backdrop in the present treatise we try to understand the notion of Indian Tribes in the present social scenario of globalised open-market economy where the traditional value system is feeble. The Indian Tribal groups, who are marginalised, placed in one end of continuum while other end is modern- urban society; both the groups having a wide socio-cultural diversity. With the extensive empirical studies among different tribal groups the present authors identified some cultural markers, chiefly applicable among PVTGs for inclusion in the list of tribe. Since Indian tribal situation is completely different from western world therefore, our interest is to find out indigenous way of identifying a group bring clarity in the conception of tribe through our personal empirical studies as well as with the help of cultural categories or attributes for identify a group constitute as a tribe and become included in the ST list or not.

Keywords: Tribal, Continuum, Grind of Consumerism, Evolutionary Scale, Particularistic aspect, Mode of Production.