In the current social science literature ‘land grab’ is used as a catch-all phrase to refer to large scale commercial land transactions between countries involving transnational corporations for the production of food, biofuels and timber. Under this broader context, I use the term land grab in this paper to refer to expropriation of land by a domestic government with the help of the eminent domain of state for profit making private companies towards non-agricultural uses in the West Bengal state of India. An attempt is made to construct the ethnography of land grab in West Bengal. In this description, field data are juxtaposed with archival sources and author’s personal experiences on the issue of reforming a colonial law, which was in vogue in India till early 2013. The findings of the ethnography revealed wide differences between the policymakers and the people towards development through land expropriation.

KEYWORDS: Land grab. Development. Displacement. Land acquisition law. Resistance against land grab. Resettlement and rehabilitation. Multisited ethnography.

Since it first came to power in West Bengal in 1977, the Left Front government attempted to improve the lot of rural poor by amending and implementing existing laws and making fresh legislations relating to land tenure and labour employment system, and ensuring the representation and participation of the marginalised communities in a rejuvenated local government or the Panchayat. The actions on the part of the government thus challenged the fundamental economic, political, and social structures on which the traditional village society was based. Indeed, the direct involvement of the political parties for the first time in the Panchayat elections of 1978 brought about a radical shift in the power politics at the village level. Thus many of the villages in West Bengal went through conflicts of varying intensities in the last quarter of 20th century. And there is no denying that all the noted factors as an external force has brought the underlying conflict of the traditional structure of relationships in the villages to the surface. In addition to these observations, the paper also attempts to offer a theoretical framework through which the problem under consideration could be conceptualized and addressed.

KEYWORDS: Agrarian classes. Structural inequity. Harmonic system. Integration theory. Coercion theory. Left Front government. Social conflict.

Meche community of Jhapa district is classified as an endangered ethnic group of Nepal with a total population of 4867. They are called as Bodo tribe in Assam province of India. The study is based on field survey of Dhaijan and Jalthal area of Jhapa district as well as literature review related to Meche people. They are influenced by Hindu religion and worship the God Shiva, Goddess Parbati, etc. The Meche people believed, the universe is inhabited by numerous invisible supernatural beings and powers which always influenced their daily activities. They worship house, celestial bodies (sky), forests, rivers, lands, birds and animals considering as abodes of supernatural beings and powers. Traditionally they worshipped by sacrificing animals but nowadays many households offer fruits, betel leaves, sweets instead of animals sacrificing. Baishagu Bachchhar and Chhorkhela are the main festivals of Meches. Nowadays, their festivals have been influenced by their Hindu neighbours. Makhalgiri is their traditional political institution. Several cultural changes have been observed in their rituals, festivals, and life cycle ceremonies as well as dresses and food habit. These have been discussed in the present paper.

KEYWORDS: Meche community. Jhapa district. Nepal. Culture change. Hindu influence.

Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs) are stagnant or declining indigenous community and their population is very small in India. In West Bengal, we have three such communities, viz. Birhor, Lodha, and Toto. The study intends to find out the nutritional status of children and adolescents, below 19 years, of the three PVTGs in West Bengal. Total 438 households, including 603 participants (boys and girls) aged from 6 months to 19 years has been selected. The WHO’s guidelines were applied to determine nutritional status, i.e. wasting, stunting, underweight and thinness. Nutritional indicators are significantly (F-value, p<0.05) different among PVTGs. Based on Composite index of Anthropometric Failure (CIAF), maximum undernourished boys-girls were found among Birhor and Lodha. Frequencies of nutritional status of CIAF categories are statistically significant ( 2-value, p<0.05) within PVTGs. Comparatively highest acute undernutrition is found among Birhor, followed by Lodha and Toto.

KEYWORDS: PVTGs, Children. Adolescents. Undernutrition. Birhor. Lodha. Toto. West Bengal. CIAF.

The present paper sheds light on the existing discourses of women empowerment in Buddhism by interpreting narratives of three Buddhist women monastics who are also world-renowned religious leaders in three different traditions of Buddhism: the Mahayana/Tibetan tradition, the Theravada/or the Ajahn Sumedho tradition and the Navyana /Ambedkarite tradition of Buddhism. The paper addresses the following questions: What is the relevance of women religious leadership in Buddhism? How do women religious leaders contribute to the phenomenon of women empowerment in Buddhism? Why is it necessary for Buddhist women in India to seek inspiration from lives of these ‘western’ women religious leaders? Findings reveal that existing discourses of women empowerment in Buddhism revolve around challenging notions of ‘religious patriarchy’ as Buddhist women resist the label of ‘the subaltern’. Buddhist women leaders take up religious roles, challenging the hegemonic wrath, discrimination and marginalization which they encounter in the institutional spheres of Buddhism. With a Buddhist economy biased towards the male monastics, seeking inspiration from lives of these women religious leaders is important for the Buddhist women in India.

KEYWORDS: Buddhism. Marginalization. Religious leadership. Buddhist nuns. Women empowerment.

Menarche is an important phase of sexual development in females. In this study an attempt has been made to determine the mean AAM and to examine its relationship with socio-economic status (SES) as well as to test whether SES influences AAM or not, and simultaneously to know the differential mean AAM among both the tribes and non-tribes. A total of 915 adolescent girls in age of 10-18 years participated from Dongria Kondh Tribe (PVTG)of Niyamgiri hill and neighbouring non-tribal population. The mean age at menarche was found 12.06±0.77 and 12.45±0.91 years respectively among the tribe and non-tribal adolescents respectively. It is found that age at menarche have significant association with the socio -economic status among both the populations (p<0.05). The ANOVA test was also found significant (F= 13.813, df= 2, p<0.05).

KEYWORDS: Age at menarche. Dongria Kondh tribe. Non-tribals. Socio-economic status. BMI. Niyamgiri Hills. Odisha.

Culture is made of both tangible and intangible heritage. Visiting or revisiting the heritage sites which are the part of the past that is still accessible to the present generations comes under heritage tourism. Each heritage site, big or small, holds its significance in the total cultural fabric of a place. However, some of such remnants of the past in a large centre often get subjected to ignorance and ill-management. Mathas (monasteries) are a heritage of Puri but many of these important sites are losing their existence. This paper aims to determine the perception of residents and tourists towards four different mathas as heritage sites in the holy city of Puri in the eastern Indian state- Odisha. It also studies the role of local tourism stakeholders and popular tourism media in enhancing or diminishing a heritage site by drawing a comparison between the conditions of the four selected mathas. The data for this descriptive research has been collected using the anthropological data collection tools and methods from 100 respondents comprising tourists, residents and tour operators. The findings reveal the disparity in development measures in the region attributed largely to ignorance and adherence to the profitable tourism business.

KEYWORDS: Tourism anthropology. Tangible heritage. Intangible heritage. Pilgrimage centre. Matha (Monasteries). Puri. Tourist perception.

Non-communicable diseases (NCDs) have become a major concern for global health. Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) contribute 48% of the total deaths due to NCDs in India. Though several studies have been conducted in urban and rural areas, there is limited evidence on tribal communities. Therefore, the aim of the present study is to examine cardiometabolic risk factors with respect to obesity, hypertension and dyslipidemia among Meena tribal population residing in Delhi. The present cross-sectional study was conducted among 90 Meena tribal individuals of either sex, aged between 20 and 65 years, from New Delhi district, India. From the recruited participants, detailed socio-demographic information was collected. Fasting blood samples were collected to determine serum lipid estimated using spectrophotometry technique. Anthropometric and physiological data were also collected to determine obesity and hypertension status, respectively. The observed high prevalence of cardiometabolic risk factors among a single tribal community demonstrates rising public health concern which needs an immediate health intervention. These findings have been discussed presently in this paper.

KEYWORDS: Cardiovascular diseases. Cardiometabolic risk factors. Tribal population. Obesity. Hypertension. Dyslipidemia.

Babasaheb Dr. Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar left no stone unturned and challenged the basic patriarchal foundation to ensure equality of women, true to its essence of empowerment. His values and vision of gender equality and women empowerment found space in the constitutional framework of India. One of his most important introductions towards the cause was the Hindu Code Bill. Ambedkar’s ideas, over the years have influenced the enactment of a number of subsequent pro-women Acts. He wanted women to become the torch-bearers of the new reformed society, which is both casteless and classless in nature. Ambedkar’s theorization of the inter-linking nature of caste and gender-based oppression in India was a pioneering feat for various women rights movement in India. He believed in social transformation through his emphasis on the human rights, state socialism and political democracy and hence introduced Hindu Code Bill in the constituent assembly in 1946, but the first draft was made in 1948 and subsequently placed in the Parliament in 1951. An attempt has been made to discuss the sociological analysis of Hindu Code Bill in terms of gender sensitization, equality and empowerment.

KEYWORDS: Social equality. Gender mainstreaming. Women empowerment. Hindu Code Bill.

A disability is defined as an impairment in presence of barriers that interact to limit the participation and involvement of an individual in society. Anthropology is the study of humanity, a capacious and rich universe that subsumes all. The contribution and engagement of anthropology in disability is rather new. This was initiated by anthropologist Ruth Benedict when she explored cross-cultural implications of epilepsy. Any impairment is a human experience and thus is of natural interest to anthropology. The societal perceptions and attitudes towards any differences often expel the individuals from the social milieu. An anthropological perspective can be useful to understand the social environment in which these behaviors are shaped. The present paper is an attempt to gauge the contribution anthropology has made to the field of disability studies.

KEYWORDS: Anthropology. Disability. Impairment. Culture.

Agriculture is the backbone of the Indian economy and the new and advancement of the technologies can enhance this sector more perishable and growth oriented. The technologies and practices innovated and transferred to the field for adoption. The level of adoption is not similar for different tribal like other farmers. Advancement and adaptable technologies lead to agricultural advancement. The level of agricultural technology adoption among different ethnic groups in two agro-climatic zones namely Red-laterite and Terai in West Bengal has been studied. Randomly selected 400 respondents, 100 from each four ethnic group Santhal, Sabar, Oraon and Toto were interviewed with a pretested structured interview schedule. Santhal is the most adopter of agricultural technologies followed by Toto among other ethnic groups under study. Availability of resources like land holding, material possession and accessibility or exposed to communication agents has significantly impacted the adoption process among the tribal farmers of West Bengal.

KEYWORDS: Tribal. Agricultural technology. Socio-economic status. Adoption. Communication.